Third Heist
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A New World, A New Stage

Third Heist

“Alice, do you remember the code of Phantom Thief Fox?” a man in a black tuxedo and cape with a familiar cavalier hat asked as he smiled down at a little girl with brown hair.

“Of course!” the little girl said happily. “Fox never steals from the needy. Fox always returns what was stolen if it was for practice. Fox always announces their attempts first. And Fox always helps to bring down the bad guys.”

“Very good, Alice,” he smiled, before getting up and walking towards the window. However, before he left, Alice said one more thing.

“When I grow up, I’m going to be just like you, daddy!” she cheered.

Her father smiled, but shook his head. “No, Alice. When you grow up, you should be you. Everyone who has ever taken up the mantle of Fox did it their way. Some better than others, but in the end, they did their best, and became their own version of Fox. That’s why, you should do the best you can, but you should always do it your way,” he smiled, before he jumped out the window, using a nearby pipeline to slide down. However, as Alice ran to see, the scene started to blur and fade.

Alice blinked as she woke up. Yawning slightly, she was stunned for a moment at the sight of her new body, but quickly remembered what had happened. ”Guess it wasn’t a dream after all,” she thought glumly, before picking up her glasses and putting them back on. Hopping off her bed, she walked over and nudged open the door. As she walked down the hall, several of the servants were busy cleaning up, or moving a few things, while others were busy chasing out some of the more...troublesome Pokemon that had gotten in, many of which were Zubats...and there were a LOT of them. Paying them no mind, she continued down the hallway, retracing her steps from last night until she made her way to the dining room. However, instead of Sleight Hoof and/or Quick Storm sitting down to eat, she was treated to the sight of both of them cowering under the table, while several of the servants were trying to get out of a very large spider web.

“Zor?” she barked, catching their attention.

“Ah, Zorua. I see you’re awake,” Sleight Hoof chuckled nervously, before adding, “We seem to be having a bit of a problem.”

The deadpanned look she gave them just screamed “Ya think?”. Shaking her head, she looked up at the web, a part of her wondering why she was even doing this, considering she now likely had the weakness that Dark-type Pokemon had to bug types, and the web just screamed “Bug” to her. However, when she saw the cause of the web, up near the ceiling, her eyes widened in surprise. Up near the ceiling, simply clinging to the web, was a pair of Spinarak. Two very familiar looking Spinarak. Wanting to see if she was right or not, Alice quickly moved to the nearest strand of webbing and gave it a quick pull, before pulling it again into a pattern that only she and her team would know. The effect was instant, as the two Spinarak immediately climbed down from the web, both of them looking puzzled when they saw her.

“Who-”

“-are-”

“-you?” the two Spinarak spoke, the male starting, before the female continued, and the male finished.

“Why do-”

“-you know-”

“-that sequence?” they said, this time starting with the female.

Alice blinked in surprise, as since this was the first time she had actually heard them talk, she had never known that they had THAT kind of habit. However, she quickly smiled when she realized that she had been right. “That’s easy. I taught that to you two back when we were starting out 5 years ago, back when I first became Fox. That was our secret code for [All clear, I’m here].”

The two Spinaraks were completely shocked when they heard her say that, so much so that they actually fell off their own web. “B-b-but...that’s impossible,” they both said, their voices losing the synch they once had. “The only person who should know that is Alice and the others. We did not have a Zorua on our team, yet why do you know that which only Alice should know?”

“That’s because I AM Alice,” she sighed, before she quickly started to explain, not wanting to hurt their sanity more than she likely already did.

While this was happening, Quick Storm and Sleight Hoof were watching from under the table. “Well...I was definitely right about her being one of these strange animals…” Sleight Hoof chuckled weakly as they watched the small fox have a conversation with a pair of giant spiders.

“Is it just me, or does she seem to know them?” Quick Storm said, noticing Zorua’s behavior. True enough, not long after she said that, Zorua walked back to where they were, the two spiders crawling behind her.

“Well, looks like you sorted that out easily enough. Are they your friends?” she chuckled weakly, to which the fox nodded. “Alright then, could you ask them to let our servants down? I don’t think they like being stuck in that web much.”

Zorua barked and yipped a few times, earning nods from both the spiders, to which they quickly crawled back up the webs, and lowered the servants via more webs that they spun. Once that was done, the servants quickly gave them a wide berth, obviously a little wary of the two spiders. With that done, Zorua promptly walked back to the two of them, while the two spiders followed behind her. When she stopped in front of them, she looked up at them with her adorably pleading eyes which seemed to say, “Can they stay?”. Seeing this, the old couple looked at each other, before sharing an awkward chuckle. “So...mind if we take two more pets?” Quick Storm chuckled weakly.

“I don’t think she’ll take no for an answer,” Sleight Hoof chuckled weakly.

“I know I said it before, but I’ll say it again. We REALLY lucked out,” Jonathan said. After finding some shelter during the night before, the two of them had stumbled upon what appeared to be the town guard, which was the equivalent of the police for this town. Shortly after, they were met by an Electabuzz, claiming to be Lt. Surge of the Vermillion City Gym, and a Chatot named Denise, also claiming to be a former human. Turns out, with all the chaos that’s happening thanks to the confused Pokemon (and a few panicky ponies), Surge had been trying to rally up some help to calm everything down, and if need be, subdue any of the trouble making Pokemon. However, as most of the town guard had to focus defenses around the southern border which was close to the swamps, this left the remainder of the guard undermanned. As such, Surge was trying to rally together any Pokemon that were willing to help, or if possible, former humans. Naturally, they’d decided to help, so now here they were going on their first patrol.

Heat didn’t say anything, but just nodded in agreement. As of currently, they were in what appeared to be a business district, albeit nearly deserted, as it was clear that the Ponies, and really any other resident of the city were still wary of the Pokemon. Despite that, it was still a good sign that some were brave enough to venture out of their homes. It helped too that it seemed that most of the Pokemon had calmed down so it seemed that it was going to be an uneventful patrol.

“Stop! Thief!”

So much for uneventful…

Hearing that, Jonathan’s head immediately snapped in the direction of the shout. What he saw made him do a double take, as it appeared to be a Sceptile with a bag, obviously stolen from the Pony in question. “Hold it right there you!” Jonathan shouted, before dashing after the Sceptile, Heat following closely behind.

The blue clothed Sceptile cast a quick glance back and laughed. “Sorry dudes, aint gonna happen.” Another hearty laugh lit the air as he increased his speed with a ‘Quick Attack’. With practiced ease, he shot through heavy crowds, spooking several ponies and causing them to run in several directions. The streets quickly became rather chaotic, making pursuit quite difficult in the mess.

However, the duo hounding his tail were not so easily lost in the confusion. They had dealt with a few unruly crowds before. So they nimbly ran past the scared ponies, making sure not to get trampled while they did so.

With his keen eyes, honed from years of chasing after Fox, Jonathan was just able to see the Sceptile’s tail disappear into a nearby alleyway. He and his pokemon followed suit. With a quick glance and a tilt of his head, the Combusken nodded. The fire type nimbly jumped up onto the rooftops, while Jonathan kept to the alleys. The thief could be using either route to escape.

As the little Riolu ran, he almost past by a rather large, black robed figure. Turning his head, he quirked an eyebrow at the sitting figure. “You wouldn’t have seen a large green lizard by any chance run by here? Blue uniform? With a bag?”

“He went that a way, dude.” The figure extended a green arm in another direction.

“....seriously, that all you got?”

The robe figured pulled back the hood to reveal a chuckling Sceptile. “Yo, don’t mess with the classics.”

Jonathan just leveled a deadpan stare that seemed to say, ‘Are you kidding me?’, before shaking his head. “Either way, you’re under arrest. Come quietly, and I promise you’ll get off easy.”

The Sceptile’s smile left his face in an instant. “You fez can’t tell me what to do. No one tells me what to do. I’m my own mon, yo. I’m not going anywhere with a cop.” In the blink of an eye, he was at his feet and had thrown the cloak right into the little Riolu. He nimbly took to the walls, owing a lot to his arboreal species.

Usually, a cloak wouldn’t do anything, but now given his now smaller size….They were a foe to be reckoned with! Jonathan struggled with the infernal piece of cloth for a moment, but with Heat’s help, they managed to rip it off, just in time to see the Sceptile wall jumping to get away from them. “After him!” the Riolu shouted, before darting to the nearby fire escape. Now, as a human, all the times he had chased after Fox had made Jonathan an accomplished climber, especially with fire escapes and the like. However, now that he was a little Riolu...well, the mixture of a smaller body and his unfamiliarity with his new body slowed him down by a few crucial seconds. Heat on the other hand, quickly jumped toward and kicked off the wall, tailing the Sceptile with a wall jump of his own.

The Sceptile’s movements became a blur as he used his ‘Quick Attack’ to full effect. Even with this added speed, he, without any effort, was still able to find clean purchase on the sides of the walls. Of course, given how his paws could find traction on anything, it was no real mystery as to how. With a clearly practiced backflip off a wall, he jumped right onto the top of the buildings, managing to get out of their sight.

As his two pursuers found their own way to the top of the building, they were immediately barraged by a rather thick set of ‘Leaf Storm’. The attack blinded the duo. The sharp edges didn’t get too close, but Jonathan was nearly knocked over thanks to still being near the edge of the roof. With a steadying claw, Heat kept his trainer from falling over.

The little distraction had given the perp ample time to make a clean getaway. He was bounding across rooftops nearly, what it seemed, a league away. His laughter chimed annoyingly in the air. “You’re too slow!”

With an annoyed growl, the pair took chase once more. They were able to make some headway, but the thief had gained too much ground to catch him at their current pace. “Heat, Quick Attack!”

With a nod, the Combusken grabbed Jonathan and threw him onto his shoulders before speeding further along. In no time, they were once again on the Sceptile’s tail. They were so close that they could hear him muttering about ‘stupid cops’. The Sceptile took a turn around a large chimney and as the pair turned themselves to spot the perp, they instead saw several forms of the thief running in several directions. Some of them kept running along the building, others dropped into the alley below. All of them were the same and all of them could be the real one.

Jonathan, being a native of the world of pokemon, was quite familiar with the move ‘Double Team’. A good battle tactic it made, but it also made for a good headache when used in his line of work. It was especially aggravating because it left him with no other choice. “Split up.”

Heat reluctantly nodded. While splitting up was the ‘logical’ choice, it wasn’t the safest nor was it an ideal one in any circumstance. Jonathan was still getting used to his body and had no grasp on his Pokemon form’s abilities. If he was caught in a fight with the Sceptile, he wouldn’t win as of now. Still, desperate times bring forth desperate measures.

The pair took off, with Jonathan taking to the streets and his partner keeping to the rooftops. With an extra spring in his step, he took off after a set form.

The Sceptile turned and scowled at the cop. “Little dude, you’re really harshing my mojo.” With a jump, the thief landed on the ground with a thud. A small shockwave traveled along the ground, shaking the earth enough to throw Jonathan off his feet.

Thankfully, he quickly righted himself and kept up his pursuit. Of course, that little distraction had bought the Sceptile some time and he was out of sight. Jonathan scowled and strained his ears to pick up anything. His sense of hearing had definitely improved as he was able to hear some foot steps lightly running alongside nearby.

Jonathan quickly found himself in a small park...and his perp had actually stopped to take to rest against an apple tree. A red apple was held firmly in his his hands as he smirked at the officer. “Took you long enough, dude. You chasing skills are whacked, man. I ran circles around you like it was nothing.” He took a bite of the apple. “Hmmm, juicy.”

Jonathan’s eye twitched slightly in annoyance, but managed to keep his cool. This Sceptile was certainly annoying, but not quite at Fox’s level when it came to pushing his buttons. “We’ll see about that. Your first mistake was letting me catch up,” he growled, before charging right at him.

The Sceptile calmly let him charge….before twirling around him, grabbing him by the back of the head, and slamming his face into the bark of the tree. “I don’t make mistakes, cop.” He growled. “I haven’t been caught once by the fez and you aren’t going to be the first. So dude, just go take a puff or something.” He glanced upwards and threw Jonathan into Heat, who had attempted a falling kick. The duo fell to the ground, but were up again in less than a second. “I’m going to make this simple, dudes. Leave me alone...now.”

“Double Team then quick attack,” Jonathan barked, spitting out a few pieces of bark. His whole face would be sore for a while, or until he got to a center. It wasn’t looking too bad. Just a few scrapes. The Sceptile hadn’t smashed him too hard...Just hard enough to hurt.

Suddenly, there were several Combusken who rapidly attack the thief. The Sceptile nimbly blocked the moves, but Jonathan could tell he would rather flee than fight. Either he wasn’t that good of a fighter, a coward, or he was just nervous being that close to a fire type. It could have been all three. Neither made any ground and Jonathan didn’t like it. He didn’t know anything about this Sceptile, so he could very well be a strong opponent. He needed to end this fight soon.

“Flame charge!”

Heat’s whole body became engulfed in flame and his attacks became quicker. While the Sceptile could block them, the flames still licked over his skin. He let out pained groans as his flesh was seared. Still, he kept at it.

“Alright Heat, he’s wavering! Fire Spin!”

Heat opened his beak, and breath out a torrent of fire that encircled the Sceptile, cutting off his movements, while slowly damaging him with each passing second.

“A ring of fire, dude?” The Sceptile chuckled. “Originality isn’t your jam, is it bro?” Jumping up a bit, he slammed into the ground. Large rocks jutted out of the ground cutting off the flames from him. In seconds, he clawed his way into the ground.

“Oh no you don’t! Heat, Rock Smash! Full Power!” Jonathan barked. Nodding, Heat charged up his energy into his right claw, before slamming it into the ground. The shock wave that was created was enough to shake up the area where the Sceptile was, forcing him back above ground.

With an aggravated snarl, the Sceptile had already two charged green sphere or ‘Energy Balls’, which he fired with great precision. The attack smacked into Heat and Jonathan’s chests, knocking them off their feet. Without delay, the thief took off.

However, before he could get far, he was met with a Shadow Ball to the face, knocking him back. Looking at the source, he saw a Mightyena barreling straight for him. Acting quickly, he moved to dodge the charging Mightyena, but when he jumped up, the Mightyena went for its real target. The bag in his hand, which was quickly wrenched from his grip.

By that time, Jonathan and Heat had managed to get to their feet, and upon seeing the Mightyena, they recognized him immediately. “Howl?”

Howl grinned at Heat, but looked surprised at the Riolu. However, his attention quickly focused on the Sceptile who was the main issue right now. “So Heat, what’s going on anyway?”

Heat just shrugged. “Same old, same old, chasing a thief.”

“Oh? Well then, you’re under arrest, buster!” Howl growled. However, now that the Sceptile was actually standing still, and Jonathan wasn’t blinded by his annoyance and frustration, they could actually see the notable feature of the Sceptile. A jacket with an emblem that looked like Arceus’ ring.

“Hold on a sec,” Jonathan’s eyes widened in surprise. “A PLA member?”

Hearing that, Scep grinned. “Took ya long enough to notice. Guess all that action makes even supporters not realize-” anything else he was going to say was cut off by a double attack of Focus Blast and Dark Pulse that impacted right into his chest.

“By order of the Kalos National Police, the International Police, AND the Baltimare Guard, you’re under arrest!” Jonathan shouted, as the three of them quickly moved to round him up.

Scep’s eyes grew green. Vines wrapped around the feet of the acting police tripping them and keeping them from moving. “NO! Freaking NO! You coppers aren’t going to get me! I’m not going back into one of those pokeballs! I’m not going to have some snot nosed brat tell me what to do! So dudes, chillax.” He sprung to his feet, acting none for the worse, despite his current injuries might say. “This is the day you almost caught General Scep!” His back glowed and a storm of leaves flowed forth, covering Jonathan and crew in a sea of green. Yes, they cut him here and there, but again, nothing serious.

After a few moments in the sea of green, it stopped. Spitting out some of the dirt that got into his mouth, Jonathan groaned. “Well...at least we got the bag back…”

With everything calming down, Howl could finally recognize his voice and scent. “Wait, Jonathan?! How? What-?” the Mightyena sputtered.

“You might want to sit down first,” Heat sighed.

As the three of them talked, out of earshot their audience chuckled, before going after Scep, having easily seen through his trick. ”Well now, this certainly got interesting,” Alice thought, a grin creeping into her face as she tailed the Sceptile who had managed to evade both the Riolu and the Combusken. From what she could tell, this Sceptile was clearly a thief, and not some amateur at that. If anything, she couldn’t help but wonder just how far he’d stack against her, and without realizing it, she had started to instinctively slip into her Fox persona.

Earlier, after sorting out the issue with Spinner and Charlotte, Alice had decided to go outside, as she had a lot on her mind, namely what she was to do next. Anyone with half a brain could have told her that she wasn’t anywhere NEAR Kalos, and she had a sinking suspicion that that was just the surface of the issue. Another thing that made her uneasy was her new body. While she DID find Zorua to be adorable, the fact remained that nearly all her old skills would be heavily impaired by the smaller body, and a quadrupedal one at that. Fortunately, the walk certainly helped to clear her mind, but the real highlight came when she noticed a Sceptile swipe a bag from some random Pony, only to end up getting chased by a Riolu and Combusken, both of whom were shouting about arrests. ”Ah...good times….” she mentally chuckled as she remembered all the times she had that same line shouted at her. Taking interest, she decided to tail them from the shadows, using this as an opportunity to test her skills in her new body. True enough, her new body proved to be a slight problem, however she quickly adapted, allowing her to keep up with the chase, even from the shadows. Throughout the chase, she was intrigued by the tactics employed by the Sceptile, all of which were those used by an experienced thief, and true enough, despite the efforts of the Riolu and Combusken, they weren’t enough to catch the Sceptile, and it was only the sudden appearance of the Mightyena that allowed them to retrieve the bag.

Now, as the Sceptile slunk away, she was tailing him until he stopped in a nearby alleyway. Noticing that he had stopped, she decided to make herself known. “That little trick you pulled wasn’t bad...for an amateur,” Fox chuckled from the shadows, catching the Sceptile’s attention.

“Amateur?” Scep scowled, before turning to the source of the voice. To his surprise, out of the shadows stepped out….a little Zorua. His eyes widened and he gulped. “Okay dudette, it’s not safe to be all alone….unless you’re going to eat me….Yeah, I’m going to hope you aren’t going to do that.”

Fox blinked at his statement, honestly wondering where that idea came from. “Nothing of that sort. I just happened to stumble upon your little chase, and while you’ve certainly got talent, you're hardly a master thief if that’s all you have,” she chuckled, her tone teasing.

Scep snarled, bearing his dagger-like teeth. “Hardly a master thief? Little dudette, I taught myself everything I need to know about being a thief. I’ve stolen enough moola and other stuff from right out under some of the worst people you could imagine. What do you know about stealing?”

Smirking slightly at his reaction, Fox leapt forward, and bounced off his head, landing on a nearby railing. “Everything there is to know about being a thief. There is nothing in the world that Phantom Thief Fox can’t steal.”

“....You’re Phantom Thief Fox?” Scep blinked in confusion.

“I know what you’re thinking, and yes, Phantom Thief Fox is a human, or at least she was a little over 24 hours ago,” she chuckled, quite enjoying the look on his face.

In the blink of an eye, Scep jumped up on the railing, sat down, and took her little paw in a firm handshake. “Ah man, I heard so much about you. Gots to say, I never thought a human had it in them to be so good. General Scep, is my name,” he put a hand onto his chest. “Best thief in all of the PLA and general of our recon teams.”

“Oh? So you're one of that group. Yes, I’ve heard quite a bit about your little group, especially in the underground. You certainly know how to piss off plenty of the crime lords down there. Oh, how I remember the profanities I heard from one of the crime lords. Don’t know what you did to piss him off, but...nice,” she chuckled, before a grin came to her face again. “Speaking of which, since we’re on topic, I have a small...favor to ask, if you don’t mind.”

“Fire away little thief,” Scep patted her head. “I wouldn’t be a thief without the stories I heard about your family. Well, not a great thief. That old dude, your grandfather, I remember reading stories about him. Inspired quite a few stunts of my own.”

“Ah yes, grandfather Jack was certainly a...character. I do believe there was quite a rise in the number of new thieves when he was active. Oh the stories he used to tell me. He was certainly one of the more...unorthodox people to wear the mantle of Fox,” she chuckled, before continuing. “Anyway, as I said before, I was human until a little over 24 hours ago, and as you can probably guess, suddenly waking up in a body that is not only much smaller than my original body, but quadrupedal at that, doesn’t exactly vote much confidence in my skills at the moment. I propose a small challenge if you will, a game of tag. You’ll use every trick you know as thief to get away from me, and I’ll try to catch you. While I admit its a little odd to be the one chasing for a change, I can’t exactly practice and adapt my old skills into this new body without rousing suspicion. Doesn’t help that I don’t know who is or was human, and which of them were part of the law. My family has spent generations with the prestige of never getting caught, and I’ll be damned before I let that end thanks to something as trivial as suddenly turning into a Zorua.”

Scep stroked his chin. “Sounds fun, though you could have cut it down a bit.” He put a finger into an ear and twisted it about. “That was quite an earful, little dudette,” He huffed. “Earfull, thieves got to stick together, human or not. You’re not getting caught on my watch.” He stood on the railing and winced. He clutched his chest. “Ugh, this just hasn’t been my day...Don’t worry, I’ve taken hits to the chest all the time.”

“Alright, if you say so. However, word of advice, next time someone realizes that you’re with the PLA, don’t always assume they’re on your side. My team talked with a few Pokemon about this before, and frankly, quite a good number of them, especially the ones who like being with humans have a rather...low opinion of your group,” she said, before another thought came to her. “Actually, as far as the criminal underground is concerned, most of them think your group is a joke that would sooner blow themselves up before they made any real progress. The exceptions though...they think you MIGHT become a threat, and many of them wanted to make a coat or a hood ornament out of your skins.”

Scep sighed. “Alright dudette, firstly, yeah a lot of pokemon didn’t agree with us. They fought us, we fought them. How it always went. Can’t convince everyone,” he shrugged. “And those criminals” He snarled and balled his fists. “A joke? A joke?!! Those dudes peed their pants when we came storming in. A joke? I’d like to see them say that to the Commander’s face. You want to make a coat out of him? He’ll use your skull as a nightlight….He really did once.” Scep rubbed the back of his head.

“...okay, I’m not gonna ask how that was possible, but for all its worth….I’ve read the history books, and I’m pretty sure that at one point humans and Pokemon were equals...until humans decided to change that,” she said darkly. “When you know stories like that, what your group was doing makes sense. I suppose its a mixture of your...predecessors’ reputation, as well as how some of your actions affect both innocent and guilty parties that put you in such a bad light with most people,” she mused. “Though, I certainly remember the time when you replaced the Rangers’ Capture Stylers with jewels. Oh, we were laughing all week when that hit headlines,” she chuckled. “Anyway, whenever you’re ready.”

“Dudette, the Commander wouldn’t let innocents get harmed. He might not say it, but he cares about humans. We even took in orphans and raised as our own. Little honorary pokemon we called ‘em,” he chuckled and stood up. “Alright, let me catch my breath.”

“Well, wherever your commander is, I hope he at least tones down being...him. I don’t think the natives of...wherever we are, would appreciate it much, if the stories I heard about how....eccentric your leader is are to be believed,” Fox mused, stretching a little to limber up.

“He is strange,” Scep said, stretching himself. “But they’ll manage….It’s Roa I’m worried about.” He breathed in deeply, scanning the place for the best getaways and such. His legs tensed as he prepared to make his move.

“Ah yes, ‘Project Roa’. Another of Raziel’s...it would be too kind to call it a mistake. The only thing I regret in terms of him is that I never got a chance to use a heist to expose him to the authorities. It would have given me great pleasure to see another of his kind sent to the executioner for his crimes,” Fox growled darkly. One thing she really enjoyed about being Fox was the times when her heists lead to the arrest of the more...depraved criminals.

Scep glared at her. “Don’t call her a mistake… She’s just a kid. Yeah, she’s messed up in the head….Yeah, she likes to terrorize and kill, but that’s only when she gets in that ‘mood’. She rarely does and she’s really sweet….But if she ever does get in a mood, well, let’s just say she was a good way to flush out Raziel’s forces...or the few remaining after she ‘dealt’ with the rest….Word of advice, give her a plush toy. She loved them.”

Fox winced at that. “I apologize for that. I was referring more to Raziel’s work in general, and I honestly don’t blame any of the ones who came out of his experiments for anything they did...but unfortunately, most people don’t see it that way. If you ever find her, and I hope you do, tell her to beware of any Pokemon that might have been part of the law back home. Word underground on the PLA is that amongst the ones who the authorities deemed...too dangerous to leave alone, she was on the top of their list slated to be...’put down’. But enough about that. Are you ready? If not, I can wait for a little longer. Maybe a day, or however long you need to recover. That double attack HAD to hurt.”

“I’ve taken blows WAY stronger than those little stunts,” Scep rubbed his chest. “I even got shot once. Right through the chest. Kept on the job that night I did, dudette. Stole quite a bit of intel on some of Team Rocket’s where abouts in Hoenn.” He chuckled. “You should have seen Giovanni’s face when I crashed into his little meeting. Priceless. I even made off with his wallet. He never noticed.”

At this, Fox burst out laughing. “I take back what I said about you being an amateur. Anyone who can steal something right out from under one of the top dogs in the underground is no amateur. Shame we did not meet years before. I would have liked to have a Pokemon like you on my team. Rascal might have even liked to have more competition.”

“I might have let you,” Scep bolted down a nearby alley. “BUT YOU’LL HAVE TO CATCH ME!”

“Let the game begin, then!” Fox laughed as she gave chase. Upon starting, she was faced with the first obstacle of her new body, she had lost quite a bit of her speed thanks to her shorter legs, and her unfamiliar body would likely cut into her agility and finesse when the time came. However, she knew speed alone didn’t make a thief. Spotting a nearby discarded mattress, she noted the loose springs. Adding a quick burst into her legs, she ran at the mattress, and jumped on it at an angle. True enough, the springs reacted against her weight and velocity, and the angling allowed for her to be launched at the Sceptile ahead of her.

Scep ducked and spun around her. He leaped onto a nearby building and bounded alongside the walls. “And you said I was the amateur?” He said in good humor.

“Its too early for you to claim otherwise,” she playfully retorted as she chased after him. Looking to the right, she noticed a railing that was slanted. Quickly jumping on, she quickly ran on the railing after him, avoiding the obstacles below. All the while, the gears in her head were turning, thinking up a plan. Looking around again, she noted some clothes being hung out to dry, but what really interested her was the clothesline itself. “Mom was right. I’ve been watching too many cartoons,” she laughed to herself, before jumping on the clothesline, turning it into a makeshift catapult that launched her up on the same roof that Scep was running on.

“You’re quicker than I thought, dudette,” Scep smirked. “But let’s see if you’ve got a thief’s eye.” In an instant, there were several of him running around in all directions.

“Double team. Not a bad choice. However…” she mused, before she grabbed a nearby piece of glass and tossed it upward. “There is a fatal flaw!” The glass caught the light, and refracted in several directions, and on to the many Sceps. “There you are,” she mused, when the light revealed that one of them had a shadow, while the others didn’t, and chased after the real one.

“...That’s a new one,” Scep frowned. “How about Leaf Storm.” A hail of leaves shot out from his back, clouding the air in green.

Seeing the attack coming, she immediately ducked down, and instead of getting distracted by the cloud of greenery, focused on her target, or more specifically his feet, which she noticed were moving towards the left of the building, and jumped down. The moment the storm ended, she immediately chased after him.

“Huh...now that I think about it, I never did get chased by someone so tiny...or cute.” Scep shrugged slightly as he used his acrobatic skills to jump to and fro between the walls and along the rails of the buildings. His speed was enhanced with a ‘Quick Attack’.

“Okay, this might be a tough one…” she muttered. Running to the edge of the rooftop, she spied another clothesline, only this one had no clothes hanging on it. Seeing this, she got an idea. “Well...here goes something,” she muttered before jumping on the edge of the clothesline, and biting with her teeth, which unsurprisingly, shredded through the clothesline, which broke off, turning into an impromptu swing, but at the same time allowed her chase after him.

Scep turned to see the Zorua swinging right after him. “She’s crazy! I like her!” he grinned, before getting out of the way. Naturally, this left Fox with no way to stop, and unsurprisingly, landed in a nearby trash bin.

“What a dirty dudette,” Scep raced off. “I know I’ve got a ‘filthy’ mind, but your’s takes the cake….I’m not good with puns.” He grumbled.

“No, you certainly aren’t,” came Fox’s voice, before he felt a paw on his tail. Blinking in surprise, he turned to where he felt it, only to see the little Zorua fade into view. “Gotcha.”

Scep blinked in confusion, before smiling. “Well, how about that. You caught me, little one. Can’t believe I forgot about the whole ‘illusion’ thing.” He chuckled.

“That was kind of the point. I knew that my biggest advantage would be my illusions, but like any other good player, I saved my trump card for last,” she nodded. “Your really good though. I think you’d have given me a real run for my money even when I was human, and that’s saying something,” she chuckled.

“I’m not that good,” Scep rubbed his paw against his chest. “Okay, I am. I always was a bit of a thief.” He shrugged. “Even as a kid I knew. Stole everything I could at the breeding center. Just for kicks.”

At that Fox chuckled. “Normally I should say that kids shouldn’t steal. But if I did, then you can call me Pot,” she said as they shared a small laugh. “Though, my offer still stands. I dunno if I’m ever gonna go back to being human, since last I checked, humans don’t just suddenly turn into Pokemon for no reason. But just because I’m not human doesn’t mean I can’t still be Fox. I could use someone like you on my team.”

Scep was about to answer, but before he could, a voice rang out in the minds of everyone on the planet.

"Attention citizens of Equus, both old and new.”

”I am Lord Arceus, creator of the Pokémon realm. You have no reason to fear me, I come in peace. I have revealed myself to inform you that I am the one responsible for the Pokémon’s presence in this world, for the citizens of Equus, the Pokémon are the beings who have appeared over the past few days. I have my reasons for bringing them here, and to the leaders I will reveal them in time, but for now a warning. The Pokémon, while some may not seem it, are just as intelligent as any race who calls Equus home, and seeing as how they are my subjects, I will not tolerate them being treated any differently than you would treat your fellow Pony, Griffin, Minotaur, Diamond Dog, Changeling, Deer, Hippocampi, Zebra, Horse, Buffalo, Cow, Donkey, or Dragon depending on whichever race you belong to. To my Pokémon, I say this, I brought you, all of you, here so that you could live in peace, do not seek to harm the natives of this world, for I am the one responsible for your displacement. And to the Pokémon who went through changes when I brought you here I say this. You are the ones who proved themselves worthy, those who were fair, kind and good in the old world, consider this your reward. And to all of you, as sapients the laws of Equus, and the varying countries, now apply to you, and only the laws of Equus. That is all for now, but just to be clear, the Pokémon are not to be harmed simply out of spite, if you have a problem with what I’ve done, feel free to contact me, I currently reside in an ancient temple deep in the Everfree Forest, or a pocket dimension outside of the space time continuum, so if any of you wish to face the sheer power of a god, feel free to come by.” “Goodbye for now, though I doubt this will be the last you hear of me, and peace to you all.”

When the message ended, both of them just stared. “Correct me if I’m mistaken...but that message was either from Arceus himself, or someone pretending to be Arceus…” Fox started.

“Yep.”

“He didn’t just bring us to a new place, he brought us to a new world…”

“Sounds like it.”

“And if I’m reading between the lines right, he turned any humans he brought along into Pokemon. Is that about it?”

“Well, I dunno about that, but considering you’re a Zorua now...sure?”

“...oh, is that all then. In that case…”Fox promptly fell over and fainted.

“...so...now what?” Scep couldn’t help but ask as he was left with an out cold Zorua in an empty alley.

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a certain Riolu was flat on his butt, a look of abject shock on his face. “Oookay, please tell me I’m not the only one who heard that.”

“We all heard it,” Heat deadpanned, though his face was just as shocked as his trainer’s, while Howl sat on his haunches, a look of shock on his face as well.

“So...we’re aliens now?” Howl chuckled weakly, trying to say something to lighten the mood.

“We’ve just been flung to another world, and that’s all you got from it?” Heat deadpanned.

“Let’s...let’s go back. With our luck, I’ll bet there’ll be a riot for us to calm down,” Jonathan said as he shakily got back on his feet.

The two of them didn’t say anything, instead just opting to follow him.

To say the atmosphere was tense in the mansion, was like saying that ocean was a little wet. Just an hour ago, every Pony and Pokemon in the city, the world, and of course, the mansion, heard the message from the Pokemon god. Naturally, this left the Ponies...uncomfortable to say the least.

“For the last time, no means no! Now get out! Your boss has already taken away enough!”

Never mind, it just went past uncomfortable.

“Very well. But mark my words, you two have made a very big mistake. Next time, it will be more than just a Jewel that you will lose,” the stallion, a shifty looking pony with a dirty brown coat, and black mane, snorted before walking away.

This was the scene that Alice walked into, leaving a very confused Zorua. Earlier, after waking up from her shock induced coma, she had decided to invite Scep to follow her back to the mansion, seeing as the Sceptile didn’t exactly have anywhere to go at the moment (though she made him promise not to steal anything while they were staying at the mansion, something she emphasized with another death glare when she noticed the Sceptile inching towards a nearby vase).

“Ah, Zorua. I see you’re back...and I see you brought a friend,” Sleight Hoof sighed weakly.

Walking up to them, Alice cocked her head towards the direction of the stallion that had just left, obviously asking about that.

“Oh, him? It’s...it’s nothing you need to worry about,” Quick Storm sighed.

The look she gave them clearly told them she wasn’t buying it. Seeing that, the elderly couple sighed. “Alright. You’ll probably not understand half of it anyway, even if that ‘Lord Arceus’ said you’re all supposed to be just as intelligent as us,” Sleight Hoof sighed, before sitting down. “For starters, allow us to reintroduce ourselves. I’m Sleight Hoof, renowned Earth Pony illusionist. I can make magic trick that even baffle some of the best unicorns out there. This is my wife, Quick Storm, owner of Air Express, the biggest shipping company in Baltimare, and one of the biggest in Equus. What you don’t know, is that we weren’t always legitimate. Both of us come from poor backgrounds. Heck, we don’t even know who our parents were, so like most orphans, we had to do what was needed to survive. Naturally, this ended up getting us involved with a rather...unsavory crowd.”

“As you can probably guess,” Quick Storm continued, a tired look on her face. “Life back then wasn’t exactly easy, especially since we were part of one of the bigger criminal gangs, and well...we kinda got sick of it after a while. So we left…”

“Problem is, even after all these years, our past seems to be catching up to us. After we left, our old boss wasn’t about to let us just walk away scot free. Fortunately, an old friend of ours from the gang helped us get away. Before we left though, he gave us something to help kick start our new life, a rare jewel he snagged from the boss,” Sleight Hoof continued. “For a while, things went well for us. I had a lucky break when I was practicing my magic tricks, which put me on the track on my career, so much so that we were able to get on our feet without having to use the jewel, while Storm managed to get a job in a delivery company thanks to her fast flying speed. Eventually, we managed to build up our lives till we were able to live comfortably and settle down. Unfortunately, about a year after we settled down, we got an...unwelcomed visitor.”

“The pony who came was the boss’ second in command, though he’d become the new head of the gang since our old boss stepped down,” Quick Storm explained. “Anyway, he somehow found out that our old friend had stolen the jewel, and they wanted it back. We didn’t want any trouble, and especially when we heard that they had our old friend, we gave the jewel back without a fuss...only for them to turn around and say they had decided to make an example out of our friend…” both of them started to tear up at this point.

“We wanted to go to the police with this, calling them murderers, but they turned around and told us that if we so much as said a word, then they’d stop at nothing till everything we worked so hard for was in ruins. At first we weren’t afraid, then they pulled a cheap shot on us. They said that then our friend’s sacrifice would have been for nothing. In the end, we did nothing, got to keep our lives, but now with a threat hanging over our heads. That stallion you saw walk out was one of their enforcers. He gave us a message that the gang wants to use Storm’s company for their illegal trades, and now...now we don’t know what to do. They know they’ve got us in their hooves, so they’ll come again. But we don’t know what to do. If we give in, then we’re just as guilty by being accomplices, but if we refuse, then losing everything will be the least of our worries. They’ll tear and rip everything apart, making us watch as everything burns, and then they’ll get rid of us…” Sleight Hoof finished, before sighing tiredly, their already old features suddenly looking several years older.

Alice looked up at them sympathetically, before an angry look appeared on her features. She knew exactly what she would do, or rather, what she would have done back on Earth. Steal the jewels back, use it somehow as evidence, and use that to bring the gang down. Simple as that. Only one problem. She was… a Pokemon that was much smaller than her human form, she didn’t have most of her team, she didn’t have any of the resources she used to have, and more importantly, didn’t have enough information to really do anything that would really help. Fortunately, she knew where she could get information, but she couldn’t get it if they couldn’t understand her. Thinking hard, she realized something. A simple answer, so much so that she face pawed. Turning to an empty part of the room, she ran forward slightly, focusing on her human form, and jumped forward, doing a midair flip as she activated her illusion ability. There was a flash of light, and where the Zorua was, was now a human.

The old couple just stared at the thing that had been Zorua just a few moments ago, while Scep blinked, before muttering something that sounded like “Didn’t know Illusions could do that”.

“Can you understand me now?” she asked, shocking the old couple further, causing them to just nod dumbly.

“Good,” Alice smiled, before adding, “Now then, I’d like you to tell me everything you know about your old gang, and what you know about them now.”

“Why?” Quick Storm asked, more surprised by her words than by what she had just done. “I mean, what would you do with if we told you?”

Alice just smiled, as a black cavalier hat appeared over her head, having added that to her illusion. She then tipped it over, and said in a noticeably sly tone, “I believe its time for Fox to enter the stage.”

Editor’s note:
Evowizard - It's a great chapter that I'm really glad to have been a part of. It was rather fun to talk and write with you. (I'm still kinda new to this 'co-writing' thing, but it seems fun in my book.)

Author's Note

Finally done. Big thanks to Evowizard in helping write the chase scenes, as Scep belongs to him.

Fourth Heist
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A New World, A New Stage

Fourth Heist

“Huh, they weren’t kidding. They really DID set up a base here,” Fox blinked. Earlier, after Sleight Hoof and Quick Storm got over their initial shock (though they needed some time to come to terms with the big shock they had just went through), they had told her everything they knew, including the fact that the gang had set up a base in the city, apparently getting rather bold ever since the old boss stepped down. “Still, I’m rather surprised to hear that they brought the jewel here with them. Then again, maybe they wanted to use it against Sleight and Storm somehow. Any thoughts?” she mused, turning to Scep who was standing next to her on the roof.

Scep shrugged. “Makes sense to me. They probably wanted to rub it in their faces or something. So...is this how all your heists start? Seems kinda boring to me.”

“Most of them. I like to dazzle and be flashy in my heists to make all of them memorable, and I find that it works better when I know the layout of my targets first. That goes doubly so if I intend to pull a heist on targets like these, especially when I intend to expose them,” Fox nodded.

“I just wing it,” Scep said. “I want something, I take it. I want to piss someone off, I steal something of theirs. Plans are kind of not my thing.”

“Well, I can see your point, especially if it were just a random heist,” Fox mused. “However, my family didn’t get as famous as we are from just stealing on impulse. We became famous because we made people remember us, and we were uncatchable because we had planned our heists in advanced. Of course, no plan is perfect, so I’m always open to changes in plans, or ‘winging it’ when necessary.”

“Sounds like a lot of work, dudette.” Scep snorted. “I’d rather chill and eat nachos before a heist. Worked for me when I stole from Giovanni...I got shot, but I still got it done.”

“Fair enough. I’ll admit there are times when throwing caution to the wind in necessary to get something done, but I suppose this is just my upbringing and the kind of person I am. Either way, we’re already here, so let’s get to work,” Fox nodded.

The two of them easily snuck in from the skylines unheard, Scep crawling along the walls, while Fox cloaked herself in an illusion that made her practically invisible to the naked eye. When they got in, the first thing that crossed their minds was how...sloppy this gang seemed to be. While a few of them were patrolling, there didn’t seem to be any real sense of alertness to them. “You know, for a big gang, shouldn’t they have better security?” Scep whispered as they hid near the darkened corners.

“Yeah, I’ve stolen from Team Rocket bases that had better security, and those were so insignificant, that even when the Police got them, nobody in the underground cared. Compared to those, this place’s security is a thousand times worse. No cameras, no sensors, only a bunch of guards who look like they’d rather be drinking right now,” Fox nodded, before shrugging. “Oh well, makes life easier for us.”

With that, the two proceeded to take note of any and all openings and exits that were available, which were...quite large in number. Following that, they quickly located the target of their heist, the doublet jewel that was taken, a large red ruby with an emerald inside of it. The jewel was placed in a large room, probably to allow for easy guarding, though no guards were stationed at the moment, and the only notable protection that was provided seemed to be a glass display case.

“Are these guys seriously a major gang? Their security is non-existent, and this jewel is left out in the open where anyone could take it, and if it weren’t for the fact that Sleight already told us about the ponies’ ‘magic’, it looks to me that this thing is completely undefended,” Fox deadpanned, while Scep just shrugged.

“Beats me. I say we just take the thing now and save us the trouble later. I mean, are these guys really worth the effort?” he deadpanned, his usual playful nature gone from the sheer absurdity of the situation.

Fox was tempted. Oh, she was tempted, as from what she had seen, these guys barely registered on her scale of competence. However, if she did that, she knew that it would mean nothing in the long run. “No. We can’t do that. If we just steal it like this, it will mean absolutely nothing in the end. We won’t be able to expose them, and nothing will change for Sleight and Storm,” she sighed, before reaching into her neck fur, and pulled out a card, one she had made with Sleight Hoof’s help to look like one of her notice cards, complete with Fox’s mark on the side, before throwing it at the base of the display case, where it stuck.

“Whatever you say, dudette.” Scep sighed. “But If I, like, get shot or something, you owe me some pizza.”

“Fair enough,” Fox chuckled, before adding, “But I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that. I don’t think guns have even been invented here.”

“Yeah,” Scep rolled his eyes. “No guns. Just magical powers that could probably burn us alive or banish us to the moon….Hope it’s really made of cheese.”

Fox sweatdropped. “Normally I’d say now that the moon is made out of rocks, which is why we have Moon Stones, but considering this is a different planet, I wouldn’t be surprised if we found a house made of gingerbread, so...maybe?” she shrugged. “As for the magic, I already talked to Sleight about it, and I know how to counter it... You know Leaf Blade, right?”

“Do I ever,” Scep’s arms glowed. “Prepped and ready to roll some heads, dudette.”

“Okay, no heads rolling please. But if things go south for the heist, I want you to cut off the horns of every unicorn you can reach. They can’t use their magic without the horns. The Pegasi are no issue, as they need to be outdoors to manipulate weather, and Earth Ponies...Spinner and Charlotte can deal with them. They can’t use their strength if we tie them up,” Fox smirked as they exited the building, while signalling to Spinner and Charlotte to spin several webs in preparation for the heist they were about to pull.

As they were leaving, and heading back to the mansion, Fox couldn’t help but smirk. ”Equestria, hope you’re ready for Phantom Thief Fox.”

An hour later, they were back at the mansion, preparing for the heist to come.

“You know, even after everything, I don’t know which is harder to believe. That Alice or Fox, or whatever she wants us to call her wants to help, or that after all these years, we’re assisting in a crime...willingly,” Sleight Hoof said, a nervous laugh escaping him.

Next to him, Quick Storm sighed. “I don’t know, dear. Honestly, on one hand she says she’s about to pull a heist that’ll expose our old gang, meaning this is our chance to finally be free, but…” she trailed off, looking towards where the servants were preparing the carriage. After telling them of her plan, Alice had asked them if they had any means other than public transportation to leave the city, explaining that to avoid suspicion, they had to be out of the town before the heist took place, and they couldn’t stake any claims on the doublet until after everything blew over, as it would appear too convenient if they staked any claims on the doublet that would become key to exposing the gang right after it was stolen. As such, while they watched the small Fox and her friends prepare to steal something that had been taken from them, they were preparing to leave the city in their carriage/caravan that Sleight used to use back in his early days of his career, while most of their servants would remain in the mansion. They weren’t worried about their servants spilling the beans, oh no, if anything, the reason why they had a rather modest number of servants was because these were the ones they trusted, and knew about their past. What worried them was what would happen if anyone retaliated by attacking their home, even with the escape routes prepared. However, Alice had reassured them, saying that she’d do her best to make sure that they made it out of this in one piece.

Back with Alice and the others, they had finished preparations for the heist. “Okay, so everyone is clear about their roles, right?” she asked, earning three nods in confirmation. That is, until Charlotte and Spinner noticed something.

“But Alice-”

“-what if-”

“-someone recognizes-”

“-you later?” They asked.

Scep quirked an eyebrow at them, since this was the first time he heard them talk, but shrugged it off. Afterall, he deals with weirder on a daily basis.

Alice smiled when she heard them. “No worries. I’m way ahead of you,” she said as she formed another illusion, and in a flash of light, she changed...into a Zorua with blue fur instead of red. A Shiny Zorua.

“...That’s it?” Scep looked confused. “You just changed a color? No different species changes or anything dudette?”

“That’s what makes this disguise so perfect. As a Zorua, I’ll HAVE to use illusions some time during this heist, or any other heist. If I were to make myself look like another species, all it would take is one slip up and they’d know to look for a Zorua or Zoroark, which aren’t exactly common species I might add. On the other hand, with this illusion, they KNOW that they’re dealing with a Zorua, but they’d be thrown off by the fact that I look like a Shiny Pokemon, and spend their time looking for shinies, when in reality, I’m a normal one. Also, there are less chances of me being found out, as its easier to maintain an illusion that moves and behaves the same as I do,” Alice smirked.

“Makes sense...I guess,” Scep scratched his head. “Sounds like something Loom would say. Roa never was much for disguises...well, except that one time Sev wanted her to somehow cause a war between Kanto and Hoenn...Don’t know how that turned out.”

“...okay, one, glad my explanation made sense, cause after I said it, it sounded much better in my head. And two, no offense, but there is something very wrong with your commander if he thinks starting a war between Kanto and Hoenn would have did anything for Pokemon liberation,” Alice deadpanned.

“He wanted to weaken Hoenn before we struck big time,” Scep shrugged. “It was something we were discussing before we came here. Just another day in the office, dudette.”

“...well, that answers one question but leaves so many more. Remind me I had a question for you after we pull off this heist. In the meantime, I think its time we got some rest. Its getting late, and we need to be ready for tomorrow,” Alice said, dropping the illusion.

Just as Alice planned, her actions the previous day had not gone unnoticed. When the current leader of the gang saw the note left behind, his first instinct was to have all his enforcers find the joker who had the gall to do this...until his stopped himself. They had managed to maintain appearance thus far, and they weren’t about to blow it, not when they were on the verge of the biggest smuggling operation they had done in years. So with that in mind, he contacted the town guard, playing the card of a victim, all the while hiding the shipment of weapons that they’d illegally smuggled into Equestria to sell to the highest bidder.

The Baltimare Guard had been lots of things these last few days. Outgunned due to the appearance of Pokemon who could beat squads by themselves, overworked from all the issues that had came from the initial panic (though that was thankfully calming down), and overextended, due to having to maintain the peace, AND keeping guard over the city. So it came without saying, that the call they received was NOT welcomed at this point, especially when many of them were wondering what the buck was a thief doing actually ANNOUNCING that they were going to commit a crime. As such, the chief decided that since the perpetrator had to either be a hoax, or a complete idiot, meaning that he/she was not worth the time and effort of the main police force. So the task was given to the new division that had recently been added, not knowing the history one of its members shared with this particular perp.

“Alright, listen up everyone,” Surge said as he called the current members of the small division he had started, one which focused mostly on dealing with Pokemon, while assisting the main guard. “We just got word that some block head is planning on stealing this rare jewel from some small business owner who just set up shop here recently.”

Upon hearing this, Jonathan, who had been sitting near the back of the room with Heat and Howl perked up, and immediately jumped over the few members present, getting a closer look. “Wait, the perp announced the heist before pulling it off?” he asked.

“Yep. That’s what it says here. Honestly, what kind of thief tells the guy they’re gonna steal from ahead of time. Dofus is probably asking to be arrested,” Surge shrugged.

“Who sent the notice? Can I see?” he asked, to which Surge handed him the card. A very familiar card to Jonathan. Scanning his eyes over the contents, he froze when he saw the name. “It can’t be…”

“Huh? Is something wrong?” Denise asked, the human turned Chatot cocking her head in curiosity.

“Fox...no, it can’t be. This has to be some kind of prank, or a copycat,” Jonathan mumbled, not really hearing her.

“Fox?” Surge asked curiously, until it hit him. “Wait, you mean Phantom Thief Fox? You don’t seriously think someone like her could make it to this world, do you?”

“I don’t know. This looks too much like the notices she would send out back on Earth. Either way, looks like there’s only one way to find out,” Jonathan sighed.

A short while later, Jonathan found himself alone with Heat and Howl, and knowing that only they were watching, he tiredly collapsed into a nearby chair. “A fresh start, huh?” he said dryly, his mind still weighed down by the news that his old adversary may have been brought along to this new world.

“Well...it could be worse,” Howl chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. At this, Heat leveled another deadpan stare.

“Oh yeah? How could this be worse? After all, Fox is only the criminal we’ve spent years trying to catch, and so far we’ve turned up zilch,” Heat shot back

“Well...who’d you rather deal with? The psychos left on Earth, or Fox?” Howl said.

“...good point,” both Heat and Jonathan conceded. At the very least, they didn’t have to worry about Fox doing something stupid, and getting other people killed...

“Before we go, let me say something,” Sleight Hoof said he and Quick Storm had just finished loading their luggage into the caravan, while their servants hooked it up to the carriage that they would be riding in.

“Zor?” Alice, now ready as Fox, asked, as she was unable to speak in english when in this form.

“I think that what you are about to do is extremely stupid, and more than likely to end badly for you, so for all its worth, I wanted to say it was nice knowing you,” he half-joked.

“Dude, that’s like, what people say all the time where I come from,” Scep beamed. “Uncanny.”

The little Zorua took a quick look at him, raising an eyebrow, before she just shrugged, as when she thought about it, this wasn’t the first time her team had done something that most would call crazy.

Seeing that, the old couple couldn’t help but let out a bemused chuckle. “Well, for all its worth, good luck. We’ll be waiting not far from the northern exit, which is near where the gang’s hideout is located. But if we don’t see you by dawn, we’ll go first to Vanhoover,” Quick Storm said, before she and her husband boarded the carriage, while four of the servants boarded the caravan, with two of the servants, two Earth Ponies, attached the harness on themselves, and started pulling the carriage.

As the carriage faded into the distance, Fox trotted up to the nearby couch, and picked up the black Cavalier hat that Sleight Hoof had given her, and put it on. “Well then everyone, its showtime,” she smirked as she tipped the hat over.

A few hours later, at the gang’s hideout, the current head of the gang, a Unicorn Stallion, grumbled as he watched the so-called guards setting up their positions. “Go figure. I ask for guards, and they send me animals,” he snorted. After he had made sure to keep all their cargo hidden, he had contacted the town guard and inform them of the notice, not because he really cared whether or not the notice was real or not, but because he wasn’t about to take chances with his prize. Looking at the doublet, he smirked, remembering the looks on the couples’ faces when he had told them they had made an example of their friend, and using this little treasure to rub it in their faces was just the icing on the cake. However, his mood soured again when he remembered how instead of the town guard, they sent a bunch of the strange animals that had appeared all over the town (he didn’t pay any mind to the voice that everyone heard. After all, as far as he was concerned, an animal was an animal), with naught but a Unicorn officer with them.

“Alright, sir. All of us are in place. You don’t need to worry about your jewel anymore,” came a female voice, snapping him out of his thoughts. Turning to the source, he noticed the weird bird that looked kind of like a parrot.

Paying her little attention, he simply said, “See to it that you do.”

Now that everyone was in position, all that was left was to wait, and as the minutes passed, the tension soon became heavy.

“Alright then, let’s see who comes. Will it be a copycat, or did you get brought along?” Jonathan thought from his position.

“Oh? Looks like they got rather serious,” Fox mused as she watched the various Pokemon shuffling around the building. “Good. I was afraid this would be a boring heist.”

“Standard thugs,” Scep yawned. “Oh yeah..whatever...exciting.”

“Don’t discount them just yet. For all we know, one of those Pokemon could be a Champion or something. Oh well, we’ll find out in a few minutes,” Fox chuckled as Charlotte and Spinner crawled to the webs they had prepared, while she quickly jumped down to one of the nearby windows.

Scep couldn’t help but gaze at Fox in mild interest. He was a thief of...a set caliber. Honestly, the PLA never did have that many thieves, so he got a little lonely at times. Of course, it was his own fault. Sev found him a little too annoying, so he forbade a coalition of thieves….which wouldn’t have amounted to much. Scep never was a team player.

Yet, Fox seemed the exact opposite. Scep couldn’t really grasp it. Yeah, he had read all about her family, but to see an actual thief perform… He scowled. ”I’m a great thief...she just got lucky.” He didn’t like to be outdone, but he wasn’t going to try anything stupid. He may have been a loner, and liked being top thief, but he would never hurt an ally. Besides, she seemed fun enough. A little cheeky though… ”I wonder if that’s what the Commander would seem like if he was...normal.” So without another thought, he pursued. For now, he’d play along with Fox’s plan, and see what happens.

Inside the building, all the Pokemon and ponies were keeping watch on the doublet, while also keeping an eye on the windows and doors. However, just as the clock struck the appointed time, the lights suddenly went out.

(Play Fox's heist theme)

“What?!” Jonathan blinked, as the surprised and alarmed voices of Ponies and Pokemon filled the air, while he also heard the sound of someone pushing others aside, before one of the spotlights came on, Surge having used his own electricity to power it. Shining it on the case, he found that the jewel was still there, until…

“What’s that?!” one of the Ponies shouted in alarm. Hearing that, Surge immediately shined the light towards where the pony had pointed, and what they all saw make them stop in their tracks.

Up on the window, was an unmistakable figure. Black cape, black cavalier hat, slender figure, and flowing red hair. It was a human woman, and one Jonathan had seen multiple times. “Fox?!”

Under her hat, Fox smirked, before she leaped off the window railing, and to everyone’s surprise, she seemed to be flying in the air, straight for the jewel case.

Snapping out of his shock, Jonathan quickly signaled Heat and Howl, and the three of them lunged after here, but just before they got her, she suddenly flipped upward in mid-air, essentially jumping in mid-air, causing them to collide into each other. Seeing that, Surge acted quickly and fired a Thundershock at her, but she adjusted her position a bit, making his attack miss, while she hit the ground, rolling upon landing towards the display case. Seeing her, several of the Ponies attempted t dogpile her, but just as they were about to land, she rolled to her feet, and leaped toward the case, and to everyone’s shock and horror, the case suddenly shattered, right as her hand reached for the jewel mid-leap, and grabbing it, before she used the pedestal that the jewel had been on as a stepping stone, and leaped into the air again, landing on the other side of the room.

“Oh no you don’t! You’re not getting away again, Fox!” Jonathan shouted, lunging at her with his tiny fist cocked back as it started to glow, his body subconsciously initiating a Rock Smash attack.

However, to his surprise, Fox simply smirked, yet made no attempt to dodge. “What are you-?” he managed to gasp as he closed to gap, his fist already sailing towards her chest, a blow that could shatter bones if it hit. However, as his fist connected, to his surprise he went right through her, while his fist impacted against the wall, leaving a sizeable hole in it.

Pulling his arm out of the hole, he noticed that the wall was...hollow. However, that thought quickly got pushed aside as he turned to where Fox had been, just in time to spy a small figure leap up, and land on one of the deactivated spotlights. It was a Zorua. A Shiny Zorua. Gritting his teeth, he growled out, “Who are you?” as he wasn’t sure if this was Fox, or just some Zorua thinking it was pulling a funny prank.

The Zorua smirked. “Didn’t you read the note?” she teased, only to jump away as a Pegasus tried to blindside her, to which she quickly threw up an illusion of another Pony, causing the Pegasus to lose control in surprise and crash painfully into a wall.

“Enough games! Are you, or are you not Phantom Thief Fox?! Cause I doubt Arceus would have brought a criminal like her to this world!” Jonathan shouted.

“Criminal? I’m hurt. After all these years I would have thought that you cops would realize...that I’m no simple thief,” she teased, feining hurt as two Earth Ponies tried to dogpile her again, only for them to suddenly find themselves wrapped in webbing that had shot out of the darkness. “In that case, allow me to reintroduce myself,” she said, her voice proud and dramatic, just as something unexpected happened, her body started glowing.

“I am one of many generations,” she started, having noticed the glow, but still able to control her body enough to leap back up, effortlessly avoiding Howl’s attempt to pounce on her, while Heat’s attempt at a Sky Uppercut was cut short when he felt something small, but fast hit him right in the forehead.

“I’ve stolen from many, yet not once have I been caught,” she continued, as her body started to grow, shifting from a small quadruped into a tall biped.

“And I’ve done the impossible to get what will be mine,” she said as her form began to stabilize, before she jumped upward, giving a signal to which a pair of items were dropped down for her to catch.

“After all, there is nothing in the world that Phantom Thief Fox can’t steal!” she finished, as she put on the two items, just as the glow faded, revealing a shiny Zoroark with a familiar black cavalier hat and a black cape, just as she tipped it over her face in a way that he would never forget.

Upon this realization, Jonathan gritted his teeth. “FOOOOXXX!!” he shouted, just as the Shiny Zoroark held up her paw, revealing the doublet in it.

Smirking again, she jumped off the spotlight, just as it exploded from a blast of magic energy that the gang leader had fired. “I don’t know, and I don’t care what you’ve been saying all this time, but the game ends here!” he growled, his horn glowing brightly.

Fox just chuckled as she gracefully dodged each and every attack. While she had been a Zorua, she found the small body to be cumbersome, and restrictive. But now...now she was absolutely in love with her new form. The natural speed and agility of a Zoroark, added with her own training and skill, made for a body that was capable of far more than what she had ever been able to do as a human. “You know, you should really watch your temper,” she chuckled as she evaded blast after blast, the other ponies scrambling away to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

All the while this was happening, Charlotte and Spinner had already crawled away from their positions, and prepared for the final part, which was why they were next to Scep at the moment.

Scep watched in fascination as Fox moved and swerved around their blows. She was definitely a pro at this. He felt a conflicting sense of pride for working with her and jealousy. He didn’t like that. ”No need to be jealous of the dudettes skill, bro. She’s just doing her thing. Ain’t one to mess with someone’s on the job mojo.’”He needed to keep that in mind. That and not to jump in to help. The PLA rarely did things by themselves and that’s only when they had to. Yeah, he was a loner, but usually there were other operatives in case of failure or doing other things close by. He was going to be that operative now. Until then, he was content with letting her have her fun.

That and she deserved a little celebration for a job well done, not to mention evolving. That was quite stupendous, if he had to say so.

Back below, Fox was seemingly backed into a corner. “Nowhere left to run now,” the gang leader grinned and unhealthy looking grin as he charged up his horn again.

“Fox on the other hand seemed unconcerned. “You know, you should really watch your temper. Or else you might…” she jumped over another blast, flipping over the collected group, and landing next to the window. “Let something out,” she smirked, and jumped right through the window, down to the streets below.

The Pokemon were about to give chase, when they heard the sound of something crumbling, and something falling out. Turning back to the source, they saw that the hole that Jonathan had accidentally made had been further weakened by the multiple blasts of magic energy, and had now broken, revealing a room on the other side with several things falling out. At that moment, the lights suddenly went back on, revealing the contents.
(theme end)

Several hours later, Jonathan sighed as he sat alone atop one of the buildings, while Heat and Howl were asleep back at the police station. Earlier, after Fox got away, it turned out that behind the wall was a myriad of illegal items, most of which being weapons that were often sold in the black market, along with a few illegal substances. Needless to say, the owner of the building had tried to flee along with his workers, only for them to be quickly subdued by the Pokemon (he particularly enjoyed clocking the owner’s face after he called the Pokemon ‘animals’). After bringing them back to the police station, it was soon found out that not only were they illegal immigrants, but their identities had been falsified, revealing that they were part of a large gang that the various authorities had been trying to pinpoint for a while now.

Sighing to himself, Jonathan looked towards the sun that was slowly rising in the distance, his mind too bothered to get any rest. As it was now, he was so confused. How did Fox come to Equus? Did she know about the gang? And more importantly, where is she now? All those thoughts continued to plague his mind to the point he wanted to scream. However, in the midst of his confusion, one feeling suddenly bubbled up. A strange feeling of...joy. He had a purpose again. While he had failed to catch her back on Earth, the fact that she had been brought here, and apparently seemed determined to pick up right where she left off, meant that he had another chance to catch her and finally bring her and her legacy to justice. “I’ll catch you…” he said, a grin suddenly forming on his features. With that he got on his feet, and raised his paw towards the sun. “This I swear. I WILL find you, Fox. And this time, I’ll catch you!” he said, his words full of conviction, while the joy he felt at his sudden realization hit its peak, and with that, his body started to glow. The change lasted only a short while, but when it was done, where once stood a Riolu, a Lucario stood tall and proud.

However, just as he was realizing this, a card suddenly shot through the air, to which he managed to catch. ‘You remind me a LOT of someone I used to know, and like him, I’ll hold you to that promise. Better luck next time. Adieu.’ it said. Turning to where it came from, he managed to catch a glimpse of a familiar black cape in the wind, just as it and its owner faded into the shadows. Seeing that, he couldn’t help but smirk. “Alright then Fox, if that’s how you want to play it, then game on.”

Play main theme:

Author's Note

Next chapter done. I hope you all enjoy Fox's first heist in Equus.

Also, credit to Evowizard for helping me with Scep's parts

P.S.

The next chapter will likely be a while, as I am going on vacation starting from the 15th till the 27th. After that, then I'll be able to get back to writing, so please be patient.

Fifth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Fifth Heist

Opening theme:

Sleight Hoof and Quick Storm looked at the clock they had, slightly worried. It was just after dawn, and so far Fox had not returned. Earlier, just as they were preparing to pack up and move on, Scep, Spinner, and Charlotte had returned, all three of them looking quite satisfied. Unfortunately, as they could not understand them, all they could do was wait, as their return should have meant that Fox wasn’t far behind. So far though, she hadn’t turned up and they were getting a little worried. Just then, the leaves rustled a bit, before a figure dropped down. It was tall with black fur, a black cape and hat, and with a red mane.

The two of them jumped in alarm at the sight, but quickly relaxed as the shadows swirled around the figure, before parting to reveal the same form Alice had used to talk to them before. “Did ya miss me?” she teased.

“Not really,” Sleight Hoof deadpanned, though he did so with joking smile. “So...how did it go?”

Fox just grinned, before recapping the heist. By the time she finished explaining, Sleight Hoof couldn’t help but whistle, impressed by what she did. “Dang, you sure you weren’t an illusionist back in your old world? Cause girl, some of the stuff you pulled off, and with so few resources at that, would have made some of the best illusionists around her jealous.”

“Oh, I can’t be taking all the credit. I really have my team to thank for that. I only provided the illusions that made them see what I wanted them to see. Spinner, Charlotte, and Scep were the ones that helped make those illusions real. Even as a human I never could do anything like fly. That was me swinging from a web that we had prepared ahead of time. Furthermore, its thanks to Scep and his Bullet Seeds that I was able to make it look like the case shattered with a thought, not to mention the help they all gave me in keeping some of the more...close attacks away,” she smiled. She always believed that every successful heist was thanks to everyone working together. Heck, her father had always taught her that the trust each Fox shared with their Pokemon was one of the biggest factors that allowed them to become accomplished thieves. Likewise, Charlotte and Spinner who were in a nearby tree nodded their heads in agreement, looking quite pleased to be back helping her in her capers as Fox.

Scep was taken aback by the praise. He certainly wasn’t used to it. Usually, it would be ‘job well done….DON”T TOUCH THAT!’ Okay, maybe he would have gotten some if he wasn’t such a thief, but still. “Well….” he rubbed the back of his head, nervously blushing in embarrassment. “Just doin’ what I do best, dudette. Nothing special about that.”

“Nonsense. Every Fox who ever came before me managed to do what they did because they and their team worked together and trusted each other. After all, there is only so much one person can do alone. But when you work together, even the impossible becomes possible,” Fox smiled.

“Well, enough about that. From what you’ve told us, it looks like our old ‘friends’ have finally gotten into a hole they can’t get out of so easily,” Quick Storm chuckled.

“And now that you’re here, we better get going if we want to reach Vanhoover in a day. Not to mention we wouldn’t want any of the guards to find you,” Sleight Hoof added.

“Yeah, you’ve got a point,” Fox chuckled, before dismissing all her illusions, followed by taking off her cape and hat, before putting on a pair of reading glasses. “Let’s go then,” she said, her voice now sounding much more subdued as she slipped into her persona as Alice...even if the ponies couldn’t understand her again.

“We...really need to find someone to cast a Translation Spell,” Quick Storm deadpanned, earning an amused chuckle from the Zoroark as they quickly went back to the carriage/caravan, making their way to the next town.

Back in the city, most people, Ponies and Pokemon alike, were still asleep in these early hours. However, a few were awake, and in the case of a certain recently Evolved Lucario, very much wide awake.

Jonathan felt a rush of energy as he leaped from roof to roof. He just couldn’t describe the feeling of his new body, one which was far stronger than his old body. When he was a Riolu, his body felt strange since he was smaller than when he was a human. As a Lucario, his old body may as well have been that of an old man in comparison. For the last hour or so after he had caught a glimpse of Fox, who had promptly vanished, he had been getting acquainted with his new body, and frankly, he was loving it so far. However, his revelry was brought to a halt when his ears picked up on something.

“No! Stay away!” was the terrified scream.

Hearing that, he immediately stopped, and bounded off in the direction of the scream. Jumping off of a roof, he saw a Unicorn Mare being cornered by a gang of Stallions. “I already told you! I don’t give refunds, or rather, I can’t give refunds at this point,” the mare said, trying to put on a brave front.

“Well too bad. Me and the boys didn’t like your little show, so hand over the money,” one of the stallions sneered, before adding, “or...you could pay us back in other ways,” he grinned a perverted grin. At this point, Jonathan had seen enough.

“Hold it right there!” he growled, though to the ponies below, all they heard was “Lucario!”

The ponies looked up in surprise, just as a blue diamond dog-like creature landed between the mare and the stallions. “What do you want?! Can’t you see we’re busy here?!” one of the stallions grunted, not really caring about what one of the strange creatures wanted.

“The lady said no, so back off,” Jonathan growled, but again, they couldn’t understand him.

“Whatever. Let’s get him, boys! We can deal with the mare after this!” one of the stallions grunted, not realizing just how big a mistake they were about to make. The stallions lunged forward, intending to dogpile him. However, they didn’t get far, before Jonathan punched them in the nose, sending them tumbling back. Angrily, they got back up, and tried again, this time going from different directions, but they were all met with similar results as the Lucario lashed out with a roundhouse kick that knocked them into a wall.

“Okay, tough guy, huh? Well try this!” the lead stallion said, trying to keep up his false bravado as he levitated several items and chucked them at Jonathan, ending it with a sizeable trash can. Every last item was easily deflected, while the trash can was stopped dead in its tracks as the Lucario effortlessly caught it.

“What else you got?” Jonathan challenged with a ‘come here’ gesture of his paw. At this point, the stallions finally decided to grow a brain.

“That does it! This isn’t worth 10 bits!” one of them shouted, before they all turned tail and ran. However, they didn’t get far, as Jonathan quickly dashed forward, his new body’s agility allowing him to close the distance easily, and landed a quick blow to the back of each of their heads, knocking them all out. With that done, he turned towards Trixie. “Are you alright, ma’am?” Unfortunately, being a Pokemon now, his words were more or less unintelligible to her.

“Er...pardon me?” the mare asked, not wanting to accidentally offend him, especially after he had saved her AND effortlessly kicked the flanks of the gang of stallions so...getting on his bad side was very likely bad for her health.

Seeing that she couldn’t understand him, Jonathan sighed, figuring that the translation spell must have worn off. Looking around, he noticed a nearby stick, which he quickly picked up and used to write on the ground.

“Translation spell?” she read out, before realizing what he was asking. At that, a smug look appeared on her face. “Why of course. A trivial spell like that is nothing to the Great and Powerful Trixie,” she said proudly in a way that reminded him a little too much of a certain thief. As she said that, her horn glowed, before she casted the spell.

“Thanks,” he sighed. “As I was asking just now, are you alright?”

“Well, yes. I suppose I have you to thank for that. Er…”

“Jonathan. Jonathan Trace,” he introduced himself, extending a paw.

“Trixie Lulamoon,” she said, shaking his paw. “I must say, you’re certainly different than most of the other...Pokemon that I’ve run into.”

“That’s probably because I’m not exactly a...normal Pokemon,” Jonathan sighed. Despite starting to get used to this new body, it was still...weird. Shaking his head, he turned to the downed Stallions. “I’d better bring them to the station. Even if things didn’t escalate yet, they did attempt an assault,” he mused, as he picked each of them up, easily hefting them over his shoulders.

“Hm? Where are you going?” Trixie asked.

“The Guard Station. As a member of the City Guard, I’m supposed to report in any criminal activity, and attempted assault definitely fits. Actually, I’m going to need you to come with me as a witness,” he explained.

“You don’t even have to ask. I heard that these guys have been known to cause trouble, though I didn’t think much of it, since I am only going to be in town for a short time,” she snorted.

“Alright then, follow me,” the Lucario nodded as he led the way.

The trip to the station was...awkward to say the least, mostly due to the odd looks they got from the passing residents. Despite that, Jonathan decided to at least try to strike up some small talk. “So Trixie...you said you’re only going to be in town for a few days. Visiting relatives?”

“Hm? Oh no, I don’t have any family here. You see, I’m a traveling magician, so I go from town to town for my shows,” she said, a little surprised at the attempted conversation.

“Magic, huh?” he chuckled slightly, remembering Alice’s hobby on the side. However, the thought of his dear friend brought back a pang of worry in his heart.

“Something wrong?” Trixie asked, noticing his suddenly glum expression.

“No. Its nothing. Just...thinking…” he said, and with that, the conversation came to a halt.

Later, after dropping the stallions off at the station, it turned out that these stallions had a record for causing trouble, but since they were mostly minor incidents, it was often left alone. But now with the attempted assault, they were in for a world of trouble when they woke up. With that done, all that was left was escorting Trixie back to her wagon which she used for her shows. However…

“So, how’s it feel to suddenly be the knight in shining armor?” Heat joked, playfully nudging Jonathan with his elbow.

Jonathan sighed in annoyance, as they walked through the street. After he had told them about what happened, for some reason Heat and Howl wouldn’t stop teasing him about it. “Come on guys, lay off on the jokes already,” he groaned. “All I did was what I was supposed to do.”

“Yeah, but you did it ala superhero style. Announcing yourself when you were in a high place, jumping down, and absolutely overwhelming them. Maybe Fox is starting to rub off on you,” Howl sniggered.

“Don’t compare me to her,” he grumbled, though despite his tone, he was smiling an amused smile.

While this was going on, Trixie had to physically hold herself back from chuckling in amusement. Earlier, she had casted a translation spell on herself so that she could understand them, and she soon found herself enjoying the playful banter, like watching three brothers.

“You sure seem close to them,” she mused.

“Yeah, I’ve known them for 9 years now. They can be jokers at times, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, and no matter what, this big guys our big bro through and through,” both Pokemon grinned.

Seeing that, Trixie couldn’t help but smile slightly. However, when she turned her head forward, she saw that they had already arrived back at her wagon.

“Well, I guess we’re here,” Jonathan observed.

“Yes we are. Thank you again for the save,” Trixie nodded as she stepped into her wagon.

“Good luck with your shows. Maybe we’ll stop by and watch one of these days,” Jonathan said with a wave as the three of them headed back for the station.

“I’ll hold you three to that,” Trixie chuckled. “Trixie will make it a spectacle you won’t soon forget!” she boasted.

“Likewise, we’ll hold you to that, Great and Powerful Trixie,” Howl shot back with a grin.

At the same time, a good distance away from the city, the trip to Vanhoover was going smoothly. In fact, the trip was quite enjoyable as the party chatted animately with each other. In the carriage, Sleight Hoof and Quick Storm were planning what they wanted to do once they got to Vanhoover, particularly on picking out a good location for Sleight Hoof to hold a show, since with his reputation, most if not all stages and theaters would jump at the chance of facilitating one of his shows. On top of the roof of the carriage, Alice, Spinner, and Charlotte were planning on how to find the rest of their team, while also laughing as they speculated on what Rascal might be doing right now, as the Weavile had a penchant for getting into trouble. Even the servants seemed to be enjoying the trip, especially happy that thanks to the fox sitting on the carriage, it seemed that their employers’ pasts could finally be put to rest. Amongst them, was a young Unicorn with a white coat and black mane, the youngest member of the staff whom the old couple had encountered on the streets and took in several years ago, named Toichi, and amongst them, easily the one who was most happy about this recent development, second only to the old couple themselves.

However, one member of the group who didn’t seem to be part of the conversation was sitting on a nearby tree, from which he would jump to another tree whenever they got far enough. Scep still couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw her like this, as Alice Maximilion. She had explained it to him earlier, and he knew that Fox was just her name as a thief, but seeing her in her ‘human’ persona was something different altogether. For a moment, he wondered if all Zoroark were like this, since this kind of reminded him of Roa. Though, Alice hadn’t eaten anyone. Scep counted his lucky stars that wasn’t so. Still... it was weird seeing a friendly thief...or just a thief with friends. For the longest time, he was a loner. Honestly, the PLA just put up with him and the closest he had to friends was with the Commander and his family. Even that was strained at times. She had even given him credit for his services. Sev rarely did that, mostly because he was caught up in something at the moment. Lia would, but she was a kid. She thought the best of everyone. Alice was a puzzle alright. Maybe he’d figure her out one day. Until then, he kept to himself….He was used to that. They’d find him annoying anyways.

As the rest of the group chatted, before long they could see another town at the end of the path.

“Vanhoover! Dead ahead!” one of the servants, a burly looking Earth Pony, called out, before pulling out a harmonica and playing an upbeat tune, much to the delight of the mare next to him, who pulled out a flute from her saddlebag and played along, the music helping them pick up the pace a little.

“Good thing too. The suns starting to set,” another stallion, a pegasus, commented as he picked up a sandwich and took a bite. However, what nobody noticed was the bush shaking nearby. Everyone except the four thieves of the group.

“Hey, what’s…” Alice was about to say, before a blur shot out of the bush.

“My harmonica!”

“My flute!”

“MY SANDWICH!”

Came the three cries, one notably louder than the others, as the three ponies in question suddenly found the items they had been holding missing. At the cries, Alice’s eyes immediately darted about on high alert, looking for the thief (the irony was not lost on her), when one voice got her attention.

“Bleh! Who puts daffodils in a sandwich?!” came Scep’s indignant voice amidst the sound of him spitting something out.

“Well, that answers where the sandwich went,” she sweatdropped, before looking around again, as she did not see the two instruments with the Sceptile. Her attention was again caught by a small gleam in the nearby branches. Turning to it, she saw the two instruments...in the paws of a very familiar Weavile. “Is that…?” the rest of her question was drowned out by an angry shout.

“Hey! Give those back!” the Earth Ponies in the front angrily demanded.

The Weavile on the other hand just smirked. “Finders keepers, losers weepers! You’ll have to catch me first if you want them!” he taunted, before pulling down an eye lid and blowing a raspberry, before jumping off, the two Earth Ponies chasing after him, both of them shouting angrily, with some...choice words.

Seeing this, Alice, Charlotte, and Spinner sweatdropped at the feeling of Deja vu. “...that was Rascal, wasn’t it?” Alice deadpanned, and at the nods she received from the two Spinaraks, she promptly face pawed. “Come on, we’d better catch up before he gets them lost in the woods,” she said, before the three of them gave chase.

Just as they left, Sleight Hoof and Quick Storm exited the carriage after hearing all the noise. “Did we miss something?” Sleight blinked.

“Finders keepers, losers weepers, dudes.” Scep said reverently as though that explained everything, with his hand over his heart. “Finders keepers, losers weepers.”

The old couple blinked in confusion. “...is that a yes?”

Out in the forest, Alice was making use of one of her favorite ways for quick movement; Zip-lining on Charlotte and Spinner’s webs. The two Spinarak had crawled on, and latched on to her arms, and using their webs, allowed her to move faster through the forest as they pulled her along. Thanks to that, it wasn’t long before they caught up, and boy did the two Earth Ponies look angry. Rascal had the two instruments in his hand as he hung upside down from a tree, dangling them, only to pull back whenever one of the servants tried to jump up and catch him. And for added fun, he had frozen the bark, making climbing impossible. “Oooh! So close, yet so far!” he laughed as the stallion made a jump, only to miss and land face first on the ground, which was thankfully soft.

Seeing the scene, the three of them couldn’t help but let out a guilty chuckle as the mare tried to climb up the frozen bark again, only to fall flat on her flank thanks to the thick ice. Pointing Spinner at Rascal, he then shot out some webbing, which promptly tied Rascal’s feet to the branch he was hanging from.

“What the-?” he managed to gasp, before Alice leaped and landed on the branch, and before he could react, took both items from his paws, and dropped them into the hooves of the ponies below. Both of them gave her a quick thanks, before running back to the camp. “Hey, what’s the big ide-” he was about to say, until he recognized the two Spinaraks. “Spinner! Charlotte! Where’ve you two been all this time?!” Rascal said as the grin on his face threatened to split it. Then he noticed the Zoroark who was looking down at him with a bemused expression.

“Really now, Rascal? I thought I taught you better. Don’t make me have give you ‘a talk’ again,” she scolded.

“Do I…?” Rascal was about ask, when it hit him. The way she talked and scolded, her knowing about ‘a talk’, and the reading glasses. “No way…”

“Good to see you again too, Rascal. I see you’ve been up to your usual tricks,” Alice chuckled as she cut him loose, the Weavile too shocked to do anything but let her pull him up. “Now then, I trust you won’t be causing anyone anymore trouble tonight?”

“Uh sure thing. Whatever you say Alice,” Rascal nodded dumbly, still trying to process this new information.

Later, after they all made it back to the camp (and after some quick explanation to keep the two servants from pouncing on Rascal), they could finally sit down and talk, with Alice recapping what’s happened so far.

“Awww, you pull of your first heist in a new world already? And without me? I’m hurt,” he joked feigning ignorance.

“Well its a little hard to do that considering I didn’t know where you were,” Alice snorted, giving him a light smack on the shoulder. “The fact that I found Charlotte and Spinner was a real stroke of luck to begin with. I don’t think I would have been able to pull of the heist without help.”

“Speaking of which…” Rascal started, eyeing Scep. “Who’s the Sceptile? He a new addition to our team or something?”
“The name’s Scep, little dude.” Scep tilted his head in greeting. “I’m General Thief of the PLA and the best darn one in all of Hoenn. I’ve robbed everyone up to Giovanni.”

Hearing that, Rascal developed an amused smirk. “Oh? So you’re one of those guys, huh? Not a bad rep, but nothing compared to me. After all, I’m Rascal. Best darn thief in all of Kalos...okay, second best. Fox is still number one. Either way, I’ve robbed people from thugs to mob bosses blind, some before they could even blink,” he boasted.

“Cool story bro,” Scep snorted, giving him a thumbs up. He leaned back into the tree. “Wake me up when I’m supposed to be impressed.”

At that, Alice, Charlotte, and Spinner developed sweat drops. “Oh dear…” was the general thought they shared.

“Oh? Is that a challenge I hear?” Rascal smirked, his eyes gaining a dangerous glint.

Scep yawned. “I’m gonna be smart with you, dude. Challenges are for equals. Get back to me when you reach my level.”

“That so? Well then, how about I prove just how far up my ‘level’ is. Or maybe you’re just scared I’ll show that I’m the better thief,” Rascal dared.

Behind him, the sweat drops on his team mates heads grew bigger. “Should we stop them?” Charlotte and Spinner commented.

“Do you really want to get in the middle of this right now?” Alice asked them, to which they shook their heads.

Scep turned his head to glare at Rascal. “Don’t be getting out there ideas, little dude. I’m the best at what I do. Nomon could do it better.”

At this point, both Pokemon were glaring at each other so intensely, if one looked closely, they could practically see the lightning sparking between them. However, before anything else could be said and done, another voice cut in.

“Here I am, following your scent, and it leads me straight to a camp. So Rascal, what did you do THIS time?” came a female voice that was a mix of annoyance and amusement with a hint of snark.

Turning to the source of the voice, they saw the bushes part as a Liepard stepped into the camp. Scep’s eyes widened and he quickly stood up. He moved into a defensive posture, eyeing her intently.

Seeing his reaction, the Liepard raised an eyebrow. “So who’s the Sceptile? Any reason for the sudden hostility?”

Rascal shrugged. “No clue,” he said, and he was about to say more, until Alice decided to cut in.

“I think we’d get a better answer if we asked Scep directly,” Alice said, catching their attention, before smiling gently at the Liepard. “Isn’t that right, Shade?”

At this Shade blinked in confusion. “Er...do I...know you?” she asked, as something about the Zoroark with the reading glasses seemed VERY familiar to her, just as she noticed the two Spinaraks. “And why are Charlotte and Spinner with you?”

“Yeaaaah….about that,” Rascal started, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “This is probably gonna sound totally crazy, but...she’s…well...Alice.”

Shade looked at him like he had grown a second head, before she snorted, followed by her laughing her head off. “Really funny, Rascal. But seriously, who is she,” she said, still chuckling slightly.

“Oh well, I guess I’ll have to prove who I am...again,” Alice sighed, before walking up to her. Putting her muzzle near Shade’s ear, she whispered something to her, which caused her to go bright red.

“B-b-but…! That…! I only…!” she sputtered, before her eyes widened as the reality hit her. “But how? Why?”

“Guess Arceus decided to reward me,” Alice chuckled while shrugging. With that said, she walked over to Scep. “So...mind telling me why you’re acting like Shade’s going to bite your head off or something?”

Scep was silent for a moment, just eyeing Shade. He sighed and relaxed his posture. “Sorry dudette….force of habit…..” He scratched his arm nervously. “You see, Doctor Raziel...married a pokemon….A Liepard.”

“Wait what?” Rascal said in surprise, nearly falling off the branch he was standing on. “So you’re saying that on top of being crazy, immoral, and basically the kind of guy who makes it his life’s work to make the world a rotten place, he was a Pokephile too?”

“When you put it like that, he was pretty fucked up.” Scep snorted.

“Fucked up doesn’t even begin to describe the guy,” Rascal snorted. “Heck, he was one of those guys that was so bad, that even some of the other guys in the underground thought he was evil. And we’re talking the scum of our old world here!”

“Well at least the other guys weren’t cannibals,” Scep rolled his eyes.

At this a stunned silence descended on the group of thieves. “Pardon me for a moment,” Shade said, as she walked back into the bushes...before the sound of her being violently ill was heard.

Rascal was so shocked, he was just...staring into space.

Charlotte and Spinner, being the youngest of the group had pretty much fainted

Alice… “WHAAAAATT?! And this guy was...gaaaah! Of all the incompetent-! Corrupt-! And people actually…!” she went on in an incoherent tirade, before composing herself. “As much as I’m happy that he didn’t do it, but sometimes I wonder if Arceus should have just obliterated them all when he got out,” she sighed.

Scep shrugged. “You get used to it...or we did….Actually, we got used to a lot of things.” Scep rubbed his chin in thought and then shook his head. “....Is Shade alright?”

“I’m okay. Really, considering the kind of people we rob blind on a regular basis, you’d think we’d have seen it all,” Shade said as she stepped back into the camp, though she did look a little pale still.

“Sorry again dudette,” Scep rubbed the back of his head. “That Liepard gal, Parda...Yeah, she was just as zany as her husband. Tough as nails too. The two were pretty much inseparable.”

“I’m guessing there must be a story there, and though the fact that the guy actually had someone he loved is...touching, somehow I don’t think I really want to know too much about anyone who would fall in love with the second most wanted scientist in the world,” Alice deadpanned. “Besides, if she really did go along with Raziel, then odds are, she’s back on Earth, and with any luck, whatever Arceus likely did to punish whoever was left behind will leave her dead and buried with the rest of them all,” she sighed, just as a thought came to her. “Come to think of it, shouldn’t we be in town by now?”

“That’s true, but after you all started talking about your old world, we all stopped to listen,” came Quick Storm’s voice, as true enough, the ponies had been watching them intently. “Gotta say, this is better than any crime drama I’ve ever heard.”

The looks on the Pokemons’ faces was enough to give the entire group a good laugh, before they continued on and entered Vanhoover.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Finally uploaded this chapter. Sorry for the wait. Enjoy

Sixth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Sixth Heist

Opening theme:

Editor's Notes:
Aus - Well, writing Trixie’s scene was an absolute blast! This chapter was cute, awesome and Powerfully Great!!

V- Glad to be of help! Thank you for all!

(Use the bgm of this video clip)
In a wide open field, two children laughed as they chased after each other. “Hold it right there! You’re under arrest!” The boy laughed as he chased after the girl.

“You’ll never take me alive, copper!” the girl laughed back as she continued to run away, the two of them running circles around each other.

A while later the two of them were lying down on the grass next to each other watching the clouds roll by. “Hey, Alice,” the boy started.

“Hm?” Alice replied.

“You ever thought about what you wanna be when you grow up?” the boy asked.

“What I want to be when I grow up?” Alice asked, before thinking about it for a bit. “I dunno, but I think I wanna do something that works with Pokemon.”

“That’s...kinda vague,” the boy sweatdropped.

“Well what about you? What do you wanna be when you grow up, Jonathan?” Alice shot back.

“Me? I’m gonna be a police officer. I wanna help people and keep them safe,” Jonathan smiled as he answered.

“That’s a big dream,” Alice frowned, then smiled. “But I know you’ll be able to do it.”

“Thanks, Alice,” Jonathan smiled, but then frowned. “Can’t believe we won’t be able to do this anymore soon…”

“Yeah…” Alice sighed, but smiled slightly. “But just cause we won’t see each other, doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends.”

Jonathan smiled at that. “Yeah you’re right. Hey, Alice?”

“Yeah?”

“Friends?” he started.

“Forever,” she said.

(bgm end)

Jonathan groaned as he woke up, but smiled slightly, that dream being one of his happier memories. Lifting his right arm up, he saw the bracelet on it. The same one that Alice had given him as a present on the day he moved to Kalos all those years ago. “Friends...forever…” he smiled gently, before frowning as he got up. “I’ll find her. She HAS to be in this world somewhere…” he muttered as he got out out of bed. Right now, he had other things to worry about, namely cleaning up after the fiasco that was Fox’s heist, as his new division was getting the heat from it.

“So...you ready for the day, or you still dreaming about ‘you know who’?” Heat joked from behind him, causing him to jump slightly.

“Ya know, sometimes I liked it better when I couldn’t understand what you were saying,” Jonathan deadpanned as Howl walked into the room.

“Oh, don’t mind him, Jonathan. He did that all the time with us back on Earth. He doesn’t mean any harm,” Howl said.

“I know. Doesn’t make it any less annoying sometimes though,” Jonathan smiled slightly. No matter what, they were his teammates, and the closest thing he had to family since he had decided to move to Anistar City by himself all those years ago. “Well, let’s get going. Surge will want us in the office soon, and we still need to find Echo too.”

Heat and Howl nodded in agreement, following their trainer.

“Alright, the show will be tomorrow noon, so we can be ready to leave by night tomorrow,” Quick Storm said as she watched their servants move the various props that her husband used in his shows, while on the side, the Pokemon (with a couple of exceptions) helped with moving the items too.

“Ms. Storm, we’re just about done with moving all the stuff,” Toichi said, trotting up to the elderly mare.

Hearing him, she smiled, and ruffled his mane a bit. “Now now, Toichi. You know you don’t have to keep calling me, or Sleight so formally anymore. Not when our past can finally lay to rest,” she smiled.

“Alright...mom,” Toichi smiled, happy to be able to call her that for the first time.

“I’m guessing there’s a story behind that,” Alice commented as she walked up to Quick Storm. Yesterday, after meeting up with the group, they had found out that Toichi had been learning how to use a Translation Spell, and after a few quick casts, the Pokemon were now able to talk with the Ponies directly.

“Yeah, that. You see, Toichi is, officially at least, one of our servants whom we found several years ago. I don’t know how it happened, but the poor colt lost his parents somehow that was so traumatic, that he doesn’t even remember them. The only thing he remembered was his name, or at least part of it. We took the colt in out of pity, and overtime as we took care of him, he became more to us. He became like a son to us, when we could not have children of our own. We wanted to adopt him officially, but…” she explained.

“The criminal gang,” Alice guessed.

“Yeah. If we had adopted him, he’d just become another target for them. We couldn’t bare to do that to him, so we kept him as our servant in public. But in private, he was our son. Still, it hurt to have to teach him to treat us like we didn’t really care for him, or only saw him as a servant,” Storm nodded, before smiling slightly. “That’s another thing you have our gratitude for. Thanks to you, we can finally stop living that lie, and finally come out of hiding like we have been all these years.”

Alice just smirked, shifting for a moment into her Fox persona. “It was my pleasure,” she simply said. “Now then, let’s get all these things moved around. I’d like to be able to see just how good Sleight Hoof’s illusions are.”

“You’d better watch closely, Ms. Alice,” Toichi said, as he came by floating several items in his magical grasp. “Dad’s not called one of the best illusionists in Equus for no reason.”

“We’ll see,” Alice smiled.

“Patrol duty again, huh…” Heat sighed glumly.

“Can’t be helped. We’ve already cleaned up that gang here, so now we need to let the other police divisions do their jobs and clear out the rest of the gang. Not to mention as always, Fox leaves a clean trail,” Jonathan sighed as the three of them walked through the town, some of the ponies giving them a wide berth, obviously not used to the Pokemon yet.

“Well, let’s just do our best as always. Sides, how hard could it be now that we have 2 powerhouses,” Howl commented.

At this, Jonathan sighed. “Okay, one, How many times have I told you not to tempt fate, Howl? And two, I’m far from a powerhouse. I may have a Lucario’s power, but I don’t know how to use it. Heck, I’m afraid the next time I punch something, or SOMEONE, I’ll end up smashing them through a wall,” Jonathan sighed.

“Well...if you want to get the hang of it, I could always help,” Heat offered. “I AM a Fighting-type too.”

“That’s...not a bad idea. I think I’ll take you up on that offer,” Jonathan mused, before shaking his head. “But we’ve got a job to do first. Let’s talk about training after we’re off-duty.”

“Sounds good to me,” Heat shrugged. Though he would have liked it if they could do it now, since so far, the patrol had been...uneventfully boring.

“Have to admit though, after the first few days, the town suddenly getting so...quiet is a little unnerving,” Howl commented.

“Can’t be helped. With how we suddenly appeared on this world, I think the residents will need some time before they get used to what may as well be a peaceful alien invasion...and I can’t believe I just said that,” Jonathan sighed, before groaning at the last part.

“Still, I kinda wish something would happen. At this point, I’m willing to help get a cat out of a tree just to relieve the boredom from walking through a semi-deserted street,” Heat groaned as he looked over the nearly deserted street. Nearly, because there were still some small city Pokemon scurrying around the alleyways and such.

Suddenly, as though in answer to his wish, something did happen.

“Come one come all…!” came a familiar voice from through one of the alleyways.

Turning to the source, the three of them looked at each other and shrugged. The streets seemed safe enough right now. A small break couldn’t hurt. Walking through the alleyway, they came upon the wagon belonging to the pony from yesterday, Trixie. The difference was that the wagon was now a stage for what must have been her show.

A burst of magical fireworks erupted from the stage as Trixie stepped onto it. With a tilt of her hat and a smile, the fireworks stopped and she bowed.

“Thank you all for coming, The Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie will now start her show.” She pulled a deck of cards from behind her cape and shuffled them. “A simple card trick would make a nice start don’t you all think?” She shuffled the deck, frowned and then shuffled again.

“Hmm, this is strange...”

“Forgot how to do the trick?” one stallion jeered and several ponies laughed. Trixie smirked and placed the cards on a small table on the stage, before hopping down and trotting over to the stallion.

“Hm, not quite. You appear to have one of my cards,” she reached behind his ear and pulled out the Joker card. “Fitting,” she chuckled as the audience stomped their hooves in applause and laughter, the stallion merely blushed.

“But that was a simple trick, you came to see Great and Powerful, right?” Trixie vanished from the crowd, reappearing onto the stage with a puff of smoke. “Hmm, but Trixie requires a suitable guest from the audience for this one...” A little colt suddenly jumped up onto the stage, his bright eyes shining.

“Ooh! Me, memememe!” he cheered. Trixie chuckled and looked to the audience to see his mother give a nod of approval.

“Very well, you shall assist Trixie this evening!” She pulled out a stool and a sheet. “Now, stand on this stool little one, and we shall make magic!”

The Earth Pony colt nodded and stepped onto the stool, and Trixie placed the cloth over him. “Now, watch in awe as The Great and Powerful Trixie levitates this colt into the air... without magic!”

She removed her hat and true to her word, her horn did not light up as she pointed at the obscured colt, raising him into the air and then slowly lowering him back down. As the crowd clapped, she removed the sheet and the crowd gasped as it was revealed that the colt was gone. “Oh my, he seems to have vanished!?” Trixie said with mock surprise.

The crowd murmured and looked around, before a shout near the back got their attention. There was the colt, standing upon his mothers back waving madly and cheering.

“Thank you!” Trixie bowed again as the crowds cheers thundered throughout the area. “Now,” she pulled off her hat as a bunny leapt out of it, eating a carrot.

“Trixie was saving that snack!” the Unicorn pouted as the crowd laughed while Trixie chased the bunny around the stage. She did a flying leap and caught it with her hat, only for her hat to start floating off of the ground, Trixie hanging onto it’s large brim. Once she was a few feet off off the ground, a flock of doves erupted from the article, causing the crowd to go wild. Trixie landed neatly on all four hooves, before reaching into the hat and pulling out the bunny.

“And you let Trixie’s doves out, such a prankster you are~” She nuzzled the little rabbit and it vanished in a puff of smoke. “Now, Trixie calls for her assistant once again!”

The colt ran back up onto the stage, his short tail wagging happily. “For Trixie’s next trick... she shall saw this little one in half!!”

“Uh?” the colt’s enthusiasm suddenly wanted at that one.

“You shall be fine,” Trixie whispered. “Okay?”

The colt nodded as Trixie loaded him into a box and summoned a massive saw blade. Several member closed their eyes as she went to work, cutting the box in half, and then into quarters... and then juggled the pieces with her magic.

The colts mother couldn’t watch as Trixie floated the pieces there, “Hmm,” the magician wondered. “How did this go together again?”

“Um, Miss Trixie?” a voice came from the pieces. “I think that’s my left hoof,” one box wiggled, and then a second. “An’ I think that’s my butt.”

“AHA! Trixie remembers now!” The mare assembled the boxes and then opened them, revealing the colt wholly intact and laughing.

The audience stomped and cheered again with applause, Trixie bowed and smiled widely. This, this was what she lived for!

After the show was over, Trixie retreated back into the wagon, clearly to wind down after the show, and probably to count her her earnings. However, as she was sipping her drink, she heard the sound of more clapping, and as she wasn’t one to ignore her fans and bask in the glory (though thankfully she wasn’t as bad as she used to be. She had learned her lesson already), so stepping out, she was about to greet whoever it was, when she stopped upon seeing who it was. It was the same Pokemon from yesterday.

“Yo, we were in the neighborhood, and we happened to see your show,” Heat said.

“Oh, you were,” Trixie blinked, before smiling sheepishly. “Trixie admits that she is...surprised she had not expected to see you all again so soon…”

“Well, to be fair, we didn’t exactly agree on a meeting time, now did we,” Jonathan chuckled. “Speaking of which, great show just now. It was really something to see.”

Trixie smiled, but keeping up image, she quickly said. “Of course, one should expect nothing less from the Great and Powerful Trixie,” she said haughtily.

“You don’t have to keep that up when you’re not on stage, ya know,” Jonathan couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement.

“What do you mean?” Trixie asked.

“He means that you don’t have to keep up the act right now,” Howl simply said.

“Trixie has no idea what you are talking about,” she tried to deny. After using that persona for so long, after all old habits die hard.

“Well, I mean you’re acting all confident and a bit vain, but that’s all on stage. When you’re off stage, there’s no need to wear that mask. Just be yourself,” Jonathan explained.

“The greatness of Trixie isn’t something which ends once the show does… besides I have troubles talking like simple spectators.” She scoffed back with a bit of shame, albeit very small.

The three Pokemon looked at each other, sharing a knowing smile. “Well then, how about we help you learn how to loosen up?” Heat offered.

Trixie looked at the trio with surprise and hope, only to return to her boasting personality right after. “What’s the catch?” she asked with a scowl.

“No catch...unless you count helping us pass the time as a ‘catch’,” Howl waved off.

“Uhu…?” Replied the Unicorn mare with scepticism.

“Awww, don’t be like that. Personally, I’m bored as is, since the town calmed down, and we’ve been stuck on patrol duty. And besides, we’d love to have someone else to talk to,” Heat said.

“...” Trixie seemed to consider the offer, seriously, once more. “Well… if you want to be entertained by the great and powerful trixie, who am I to deny your plea?” she finally acknowledged.

“Glad to hear it,” Jonathan smiled. “It would be fun to see some magic tricks again like I used to.”

“It would be a bit each.” Trixie stated while magically placing her hat before them.

The three of them looked at each other, and chuckled. “Sounds fine to us. But let’s not do that just yet,” Howl said, before adding, “After all, you must be tired from the show. How about we just talk for now? If you’d like, you could even come on patrol with us. I mean, the streets have been more or less deserted all day.”

“Tell me about it… is not been a good day for business,” deadpanned Trixie as she replaced her hat atop her head. “And I suppose I could use a little change… just don’t think I will go and do your job!” she commanded at the end.

“Oh of course not. We’d never think of making a civilian do our duties,” Jonathan nodded, before adding, “Well then, guys. Shall we escort the fair lady through town?”

“Sir, yes sir,” Heat and Howl chuckled in return while giving mock salutes.

“At least you know how to treat a mare,” said Trixie with false praise, though she was smiling despite that. “You two may need some work though,” She added while looking at Heat and Howl. “Carry on then, I don’t have all day.”

“At once, M’lady,” the three of them said with mock bows, and at this point, Trixie’s facade cracked as all four of them shared a good natured laugh.

Back, at Vanhoover, Alice soon found a new reason for a headache.

“How many times do I have to say it till you get it? There’s no way you’re the better thief, you oversized gecko!”

“Oversized gecko?” Scep sneered down at Rascal. “That’s tough talk coming from a pint sized rodent.”

“Why you…” Rascal growled.

Ever since they had started talking, Rascal and Scep had gotten along about as well as oil and water. Not at all.

“Will you two shut up? You’ve been at this for hours already!” Shade practically roared, the Liepard all but ready to start tearing fur off her head if this kept up.

“Well he started it. Saying that he’s a better thief than us, teammates to the number 1 thief in the world,” Rascal pointed out.

“Dude,” Scep snorted. “You had to have someone there to help you steal. I did everything on my own. I stole from the best, so that makes me the best. Comprende, dude?”

“Oh yeah? Well for your information, none of us need each other to steal. We just like it better when we have each other’s backs,” he shot back.

At this point, Alice’s patients finally reached its limit. “Will you two knock it off?!” she shouted.

“As long as he keeps yapping,” Scep nodded towards his compatriot. “I’ll keep it up, dudette. Anything to shut him up. His voice is so annoying!”

“Hello pot, meet kettle!” Rascal snorted. Big mistake.

“That’s it!” Alice growled. “Since you two can’t learn to get along, you’d better settle your differences, or I’m kicking both of you out!” she said. “And I know how to do it. You two will be having a little contest of thieves.”

“Contest?” Scep grinned. “Why do we need a contest, dudette? You might as well give me the trophy now and save us the trouble.”

At this point, even Spinner got annoyed, and promptly covered the Sceptile’s mouth with webbing to get him to shut up until Alice was done.

“Yeah, well as far as I can see, you both won’t shut up until you prove it to each others’ faces. Therefore, both of you will be robbing the Vanhoover museum tonight. I’ll give you a list of things. The first to get all their items, WITHOUT tipping off any of the security, he wins,” Alice simply said, before motioning for Charlotte to remove the webbing.

Sending the spider pokemon a glare, he looked at Alice in confusion. “Wait...without tipping them off? Aww, but that’s the best part.” He crossed his arms and pouted.

“Well, that’s the first step in training as Fox. My first training was to make sure I didn’t trip alarms, since how could I be trusted to get out with impossible methods, if I couldn’t even avoid alarms in the first place,” Alice explained.

“You heard her, first step to being a master thief is stealth. Unless...you’re scared,” Rascal grinned.

Scep glared down at Rascal, bearing his teeth. His claws shone green as he powered up a ‘Dragon Claw’ attack. “I’m never scared, dude. I say, bring it.”

“Excellent. We’ll convene again later this evening on the museum roof. Until then...Shade, Charlotte, Spinner, keep them separated. Until then, I’ve got some recon to do,” Alice simply said, before cloaking herself in an illusion of a Pony with a blue coat and brown mane, and a cutie mark showing a cavalier hat behind a misty vale.

“You heard her, both of you, no interacting. Now come along, Scep. Let’s find you something to do,” Shade sighed, before ushering the Sceptile away.

“Whatever you say, dudette.” Scep shrugged. “Can’t say I can say no to a pretty dame.” He chuckled.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Sixth Heist. An interlude mostly, and introducing a new addition to Jonathan's group.

Seventh Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Seventh Heist

Opening theme:

“You want to do WHAT?!” was the very loud cry of surprise that Sleight Hoof and Quick Storm let out. Earlier, after getting things ready for Sleight’s show the following night, they were approached by Alice, asking them about notable sights in Vanhoover. When they told her that one of the sights included a museum filled with valuable and ancient artifacts, she had all but begged them to show her where it was. It was cute really, so they obliged, and showed her the museum while she was under an illusion that made her look like an Earth Pony.

What they hadn’t expected, was that several hours later AFTER they showed her the museum, she basically told them that she was planning to rob it...and as a contest to settle a disagreement at that. Needless to say, that didn’t go too well with the old couple. “Going after criminals is one thing, but you’re stealing from a museum. A PUBLIC museum for Celestia’s sake!” Storm all but shouted.

“That’s certainly true,” Alice admitted, but then added, “However, like any other of my heists, I promise that everything will be returned safe and sound after the heist.”

“That’s not the point!” Sleight shouted. “When you helped us, I honestly thought that you were different than a regular thief, since you did what you did to help us only. But this...how could this help anyone?”

Alice sighed, but smiled slightly. “You two are good people, you know. Alright, I’ll explain it a bit. First how are the police standards here in general?”

Sleight and Storm looked at each other and deadpanned, “Terrible. While there are plenty of competent guards, the majority...well...its why there are so many criminals going around under their noses.”

“I see. Now...what would happen if say...a thief who kept pulling out new tricks, forced them to be on their hooves on a regular basis?” she continued.

“What...are you getting at?” Sleight Hoof asked, though he couldn’t help but feel...enthralled by what he was starting to see as an intricate plan.

“I’m thinking long term, Sleight. Fox is a thief, yes, but her real mission is to help people. Dealing with crime lords is great and all, but my real target is the police. By forcing them to remain on their hooves, over time, as they’ll have to raise the bar, get better training, and generally improving. Now what would happen if guards with those standards dealt with normal criminals?” she questioned further.

At this point, the old couples’ eyes widened. “They would take them down. The crime rates would drop, society would be safer over time…” At this point, they looked at the Zoroark before them, grinning ear to ear as they pieced her plan together.

“Damn girl, I can’t believe you turned something bad into something good,” Quick storm couldn’t help but say. “And to think you had planned that far ahead…”

Then both of them grinned. “Alright, you’ve got us. How could we possibly say no to that,” Sleight grinned. “We’ll help ya out how we can.”

Alice smiled and bowed. “Thank you. I promise though, that no matter what happens, I won’t endanger either of you. I promised you that I would give you your lives back, and I intend to keep that promise.”

“Eh, don’t sweat it. Normal went out the window when a God suddenly decides that Equus is a better place for him and his people to live. You’ve already given us everything we wanted, Alice. We’ll always be thankful for that,” Sleight Hoof said as he and his wife smiled warmly.

The heartwarming moment lasted for a while, until Alice remembered why she was here. “So anyway...about the museum. Any underground info you got?”

The couple chuckled before shaking their heads. “Sorry, as far as we know, the museum’s legit, so nothing here.”

“Oh well, I suppose its better this way. Somehow I get the feeling this heist is gonna be anything but smooth with how those two keep arguing,” Alice shrugged.

“...why does that fill us with dread so much?” Sleight and Storm deadpanned.

Later that night, atop the roof of the museum, the group of thieves were gather in preparation for the contest of thieves.

“Alright, so its agreed, this museum will be the spot where we decide which of you two is the better thief,” Shade said, chuckling slightly as she noticed that Scep and Rascal were once again glaring at each other.

“Sound fine to me.”

“Same here.”

Seeing that, Alice also let out an amused chuckle, since it’s been a while since she had seen Rascal this worked up. However, seeing Scep like this reminded her of something that had been bothering her. “Sorry to break up your staring contest, but Scep, could you follow me for a bit? There’s something I would like to say before we start.”

At this, the Sceptile turned to her in surprise. “Now?...Okay then.”

“Great. Follow me,” she said, as she walked to the other side of the roof. Once they were a good distance away, she turned to him. “There’s something I’ve been wondering. You’ve been a thief for...a very long time, right?”

“My whole life,” Scep chuckled. “Mom said even as a babe I couldn’t keep my hands to myself.”

“I see,” Alice nodded. “Pardon me if I sound rude or anything, but may I ask why?”

“For fun,” Scep looked confused. “Why else would I steal?...Of course, then the Commander wanted me to steal to help our cause...It’s still fun though.”

At that, she chuckled slightly. “It is, isn’t it?” she nodded. However, then she frowned slightly. “Alright then, I’ll be honest. Remember how I told you I had a question for you for after we finished our first heist? It has to do with your group. To be honest, even now I don’t know what to think of your group. On one hand, I can understand why you’d want to stand up to the humans, especially considering how horrible some people are, but...I suppose it’s due to your predecessors. First of all, how much do you know about the previous PLA?”

Scep frowned. “I...never asked. Most of the older members, the Commander included, refuse to even talk about it.”

“With good reason. I’ll be blunt. The old PLA, and especially its previous leaders were monsters. While you guys are freedom fighters, the old PLA...they were terrorists, and often time were just as horrible, if not worse, than some of the worst evil gangs to date...if the records are accurate,” she sighed.

“That bad?” Scep worked his jaw. “I mean, I guessed it was something rotten, but the Commander, if its ever brought up to him, says that whatever I heard was an exaggeration….of course...His eyes….The Commander is usually so confident, but...they look so battered when it’s brought up.”

“Alright, I won’t guarantee if the records are 100% accurate or not, since again, they WERE written by humans who could as well have exaggerated, but I do know one thing. There was an island that to this day remains deserted. According to the reports, the old PLA invaded that island, and slaughtered every man, woman, and child living there, and if the records in the underground are right, they did the same to any Pokemon who disagreed with them,” she sighed. “Now I’m not saying that your PLA is the same. Heck, you guys, as wacky as you are, are absolute saints in comparison. I just...alright, now I’m rambling. I’ll cut to the chase. What is the goal of the PLA? I know that should be pretty clear, but I need to hear it straight from one of its members.”

Scep didn’t say anything for a little bit. He simply looked at his uniform, specifically his badge. “We did that……….” He sighed and shook his head. “I didn’t know…..”

“Understandable, and don’t you give me that look. The ones responsible for that were the old PLA, and they’re dead, and probably paying for it in the afterlife. So don’t go feeling like you should shoulder the burden of something THEY did,” she cut in.

“Right,” Scep nodded. “Now, I’m going to be clear. I’m not the best one to ask this question, since I just work for the Commander because, well, he’s awesome. We wanted….” He scratched his chin. “Give me a moment...oh yeah, Pokemon rights...or supremacy….or national Taco Tuesday...The Commander wasn’t that consistent. Either way, we mostly just fought Team Rocket, Raziel, and the like, while trying to rule/co-exist with the Hoenn Government….again, the Commander mixed it up...That Alakazam really did a number on him.”

Alice winced at that. “...maybe when you find your commander, you should have him schedule an appointment with Arceus. It can’t be healthy having damage like that,” she said, a pang of sympathy in her voice, before smiling slightly. “And thank you for being honest. At the very least, you’ve made one of my worries go away. To be honest, I think my next question would be moot, but I’ll ask anyway. Say you all succeeded in the whole Pokemon liberation. What then? What would have become of the humans and the Pokemon who would have chosen to remain with the humans?”

“Now that’s a good question, dudette.” Scep hummed in thought. “I don’t think the Commander thought that far ahead. He just thought he’d be victorious and then everything would be right in the world. Some of the other generals sometimes bring it up, but honestly….we don’t have a surefire idea. Well, General Char wanted to set up camps and such for ‘heathens’, but General Gard always shot him down. Char’s always been a bit more….exuberant about the liberation thing.” He put a hand to his neck as if protecting it.

“Well...its a good thing he did. Otherwise I think you’d have had to prepare a region or two for those camps, considering how few people believed Arceus was even real, or worse, just a ‘powerful Pokemon’, the number of his heathens would have been....very high,” she sweatdropped. “But...thank you for answering my questions. Now while I have even more...questions about the PLA and their general sanity levels, at the very least I’m happy to know that the old PLA is dead and buried as it should be,” she said. “Alright then, let’s get back, we’ve been here long enough, and I still haven’t explained the rules.”

Once they got back, Alice immediately stepped up and cleared her throat. “Alright now, as we know this will be a contest to settle which of you two is the better thief,” she said. “For that, I have decided to do this in the same style as my training. The goal is simple, both of you will be given a list of targets. You must gather all your targets and bring them to me. The first to do so without tripping any alarms will win and be declared the ‘better’ thief,” she explained as Shade handed each of them a list, a small map of the general layout of the building, and a sack. “You have till the last stroke of midnight, which gives you both...2 hours to get in and get out. Pass that time limit, and you both lose. Any questions?”

Both of them looked at each other, both having noticed a few things, but they decided not to say a word, seeing as they saw that it could benefit them. “None at all,” they both said.

“Alright then. On your marks, get set...go!”

Both of them ran for the individual entrances on the sides. Jumping down, they immediately went to work with their individual doors, both of them picking their way in. Once inside, they immediately looked at the maps they were given, and went straight for the areas their targets should have been. Naturally, along the way they saw the security in the form of Night Guards, as well as a few of what Sleight and Storm had called ‘alarm charms’.

On their respective ends, both of them just smirked, before weaving their way through the alarms, with Scep scaling the walls to keep himself out of sight, while Rascal used his small frame and speed to dart from the shadows.

“You hear something?” one of the guards asked his friend. The two of them checked around, but found nothing. “Must have been my imagination…” and they resumed their patrol.

“Heh, not bad. Guess these ponies have better hearing than humans do,” Rascal mused as he came down from his hiding spot, before turning to the item on his list. “Oh well, time to win this thing.”

Likewise, Scep had been making his way through the museum, easily snagging his targets, whilst avoiding the guards. “Heh, this is easy. Don’t know why the dudette seemed so serious about it,” he chuckled. As he was through half his list, he noticed Rascal also coming up to the center of the museum. At this point he got an idea.

Ironically, it was the same idea that Rascal was having at the moment. When the two of them passed each other, when they thought the other wasn’t looking, they promptly grabbed items from the other’s sack. Naturally, this wasn’t taken well.

“Cheater! No, you’re the cheater!” both of them shouted in surprising sync. “Hey, stop copying me!”

“Why you...stupid gecko!” Rascal shouted.

“Rodent!” Scep shouted back as they heard the sound of a bell in the back of their heads, and with that as a cue, they lunged at each other, ending with them rolling on the ground as both Pokemon started clawing and punching each other, before finally breaking away.

“There is no way I’m letting you win!” Rascal growled.

“Right back at ya!” Scep growled. However, at that moment, one of the guards, an unicorn, walked into the room, having heard the noises. “What the?!” he gasped, before frowning. “Okay you two, hol-” he didn’t get to finish as he was promptly frozen by an Ice Beam from Rascal.

“Stay out of this!” both of them barked before resuming their glaring at each other.

Pandemonium soon broke loose, as Scep and Rascal proceeded to gather their targets, while at the same time, sabotaging each other. Soon the whole room was covered in bits of leaves and frozen portions, courtesy of various shots of Leaf Storm and Ice Beam respectively as they moved from room to room as the artifacts soon found themselves ping-ponging between the two thieves, yet by some miracle, all the exhibits and the artifacts were getting through this unscathed, save for getting some dust. Naturally, this of course attracted more guards...all of which ended up frozen within minutes of entering the room.

“Well, those two sure are getting at it,” Shade commented from their vantage point. Earlier, after the heist started, Alice and the rest of her team had entered through the roof, and had settled on the rafters.

“That’s putting it mildly. I’m starting to think I should have included a rule of ‘no sabotaging each other’,” Alice sweatdropped as she saw the seesaw battle where Scep would steal one of Rascal’s targets, only for Rascal to return the favor shortly after. As it was now, it was a miracle they hadn’t triggered any of the alarms. “You know, I wonder if this really counts as ‘not triggering the alarms, considering the guards…”

“They better hurry,” both Spinner and Charlotte commented.

“I bet they forgot the time limit after Rascal turned the guards into Ice Sculptures,” Shade deadpanned, looking at the various pony ice sculptures that now decorated the rooms, as by now Rascal had frozen pretty much all the guards. “I can’t believe they actually managed to miss all the exhibits with how they’re duking it out,” she added with a sweat drop, to which the others nodded in agreement with sweat drops of their own.

“Well, if they don’t hurry, this will officially be a double loss,” Alice sighed. Until she noticed something outside. “...correct me if I’m wrong, but is that a Hydreigon?”

Turning to where she was pointing, Shade, Charlotte, and Spinner blinked in surprise too. “Yes, yes it is. And a Salamance and a Reuniclus too,” Shade said plainly. “And they look like they’re headed this way.”

Outside, a few minutes earlier

“You need to be more careful next time! I can’t believe you just jumped like that!” Sally said while walking in front of the wet and damp Eric.

He didn’t change his expression, he just stared ahead with gloomy eyes.”I’m always careful. I thought things through and I don’t see any other method.”

Will sighed. “I’m surprised that you actually thought things through. I mean, jumping into the sea to rescue a stallion? That’s a very smart thing to do. Maybe the ones with legs should jump in next time.”

Sally glared at the Reuniclus. “Will, stop the sarcasm for a moment. It’s bad enough that I have to deal with Larry all the time. Now I have to take care of Eric.”

Will shrugged. “That’s a wonderful suggestion, Sally. Oh, wait, I’m wrong. Why should I shut up?”

Sally gave him a deadpan stare. “Your sarcasm is getting infuriating.”

“It’s your lucky day, Sally. I might consider shutting my mouth for once. You know, make everything sunshine again with the silence.”

Eric looked at both his Pokemon.”Just like the good old days.” He didn’t pay attention to both of them, since this is always happening.”Wet…I can’t believe this is happening to me.”

Just as they moved down the road, they passed a big building in silence. Eric took a sideways glance toward the building.”Hmmm?”

He stopped on the spot, turning around fully to face the building. His Pokemon admired him for his level-headedness, but they also admired him about one thing as well. His newly developed perceptiveness after his dark transformation.

Eric didn’t give a single thought about that, the only thing that mattered now was what he saw. Something very peculiar.”....why is the door open in the middle of the night?”

“Huh?”The banter of the two Pokemon was put to a hold when they heard Eric muttering about something. They turned around to see him looking forward like a statue to a building.

Will shook his head, or his entire body, before floating to his trainer, followed by Sally. They stopped in front of him.”Eric, come on. Stop daydreaming and lets go. The cold of the night is inviting and all, but I don’t want to see you get sick.”

“As much as I hate his sarcasm right now, Will’s right. We need to get you dried up!”Sally stated, worried about his health now that Will was soaking wet.

Eric suddenly put an arm up.”Wait…did you two notice anything?”

Sally and Will tilted their heads in confusion.”Notice…what?”

Eric pointed forward.”That….”They turned their heads toward the museum.

After scrutinizing every single detail of the building, she shook her head”I don’t see anything wrong. Why are we doing this? We should get back to Dawn!”

“I said, wait…..the door is wide open. There’s not a single security guard either.”Eric had expected a secure building for a museum would at least have some security at night. Not unless they wanted to be rob blind.”Which means, there are only two answers. Either the guard is incompetent enough to leave the front door opens….or..”

“Or what?”Will urged.

“Or unless…we've got a burglar on our hands.”

Sally groaned. She knew what he was thinking at the moment, and she was not agreeing to it. ”I thought you said you wanted to stop doing those…things. With this being a more peaceful world and all.”

“God Almighty Arceus himself is probably too incompetent when it comes to choosing the world we live in then. It’s not as peaceful as we thought if there’s a burglar running around.”Will quipped.

Eric ignored those two again. His mind is only on doing one thing again.”Maybe we should check it out.”

“What an excellent idea!”Will slapped his arm together.”The worse we can get is probably dying painfully or get accused by the cops. The latter is the best case scenario.”

“Eric….”Sally said in a warning tone. “Don’t…you're wet and hurt. Stop being a hero for once and let’s just go. It’s probably nothing.”

“I’m a part Dragon-type, being wet would hardly affect me. Look, you two can go home if you don’t want to. It’s probably dangerous so I’ll check it out myself.”

“That’s an even worse idea! You can hardly defend yourself!”Sally shouted.

“Uh, correction. He can defend himself with his hand-to-hand combat, or should I say, hand-to-head?.”Will added.

The Salamence turned around and glared at the Reuniclus.”Not helping, Will!”

“Just saying. Our trainer is not as defenseless as you think he is.”

Sally sighed.”Forget it. Eric, let’s-”She turned around to see…..nothing.”Eric!”

Will pointed at the museum.”Have you checked the museum? They say the exhibition is quite lovely to be robbed blind right now.”

Upon the implication, Sally turned her head toward the open door to see Eric now poking his head inside.”Eric!”She practically flew over to his side.

Will sighed while chuckling.”That’s our trainer.”He floated over to join them.

“Eric!”Sally landed by his side, poking him.”Eric, what are you doing!?”

He didn’t respond, but he kept his head inside the door. Until he muttered something.”Sally, come here.”

“Huh?”

Now Will joined behind Sally.”Are you going to tell us, Eric? Or are you going to stand there posing your pretty butt to us?”

Eric didn’t say anything. Just motioned the two over.”Just come over here, you two!”

Sally and Will looked at each other before poking their heads inside the door. The scene inside made their eyes wide open.

It was...subtle, but it was clearly the scene of a crime. While most of the museum was somewhat untouched, there were certain spots that had signs of a scuffle, most notable being the parts where things were frozen. And that included a few of what must have been the night guards. Not to mention, several of the exhibit locations were empty as the artifacts had been taken.

“What the hell happened here?” Sally questioned

“Probably an Ice-type.”Eric muttered.”Ice just don’t appear out of nowhere in this weather.”

“Yeah, and that is assuming ponyland does not have some kind of cryo-weapon or something.”Will added.

The Hydreigon gritted his teeth at the prospect.“There’s a burglar here.”Eric entered the museum proper to witness the chaos.”And the burglar is probably an Ice-type.”

Sally also stepped inside, glancing around to witness the ice.”Doesn’t look like a clean job to me.”

“Yeah, probably an amateur. The God Almighty is more incompetent than I thought. Bringing burglars into the magical land of pony and rainbows. What a fantastic turn of event wouldn’t you two say?”Will added his sarcasm into the conversation.

“Will, stop the sarcasm!”Sally warned.”And there’s a real burglar, keep it down!”

“Oh, now you want to stop the burglary?”Will raised an invisible eyebrow.”I thought you were going to drag Eric by the tail back to Dawn’s house? I’m shocked!”

“That’s different!”

“Ssshh, keep it down, you two!”Eric hissed.”There’s an Ice-type inside which means Sally won’t be a good choice nor will I. Will, I’m going to need you again.”

Will shrugged.“Whatever you say, Eric.”

Eric nodded.”Alright, let’s get to work.”Eric led his two Pokemon inside.

While making their way to the stairs on the other side of the room, they take a good look on the guards who are frozen solid. They couldn’t help, but pity the poor ponies who safeguarded this place from burglar. Their faces almost looked like that of ice sculptures, though strangely enough, many of them had rather...plain expressions, like they didn’t even realize what had happened until it was too late. Even Will is quiet.

But, Eric is undaunted. He kept moving forward or floated. It wasn’t long until they arrived at the bottom of the stairs.”I wish I had the Mega Wristwatch Keystone. It would be helpful now!”Eric muttered.

“Alright, you two should get ready. Sally, prepare to assist with Flamethrower. I want to surprise them.”

“Right behind you.”Sally declared. Flames already licking her lips.

“Let’s get this over with.”Will added.

Eric looked up the stairs.“I’ll go first, you two watch my back.”He floated up the stairs.

Sally and Will quickly went back-to-back just like what they had trained. Sally moved forward while Will floated backward, watching anyone that might ambush them. Since, Will doesn’t have legs, he doesn’t really need to watch where he steps on as he floated up the stairs.

When they’re almost up, Eric watched above the floor from the stairs before ducking and putting an arm head up.”Wait, I think I hear them.”

“The burglar?”Sally questioned. Eric nodded.

“They’re real-life amateurs. Couldn’t keep noise down like a professional would. This thief is either brave or dumb.”Will snickered.”Boy, here we are trying to stop some dumb burglar and he acted like some school kid stealing some cookies. I’m properly amazed, maybe I should give him a proper slap on the back and a clap.”

“Be quiet. And Will, keep watching our six. I don’t want any innocent get caught in the crossfire or anyone entering the building.”

Will gave a sarcastic salute.“Sir, yes, sir.”And he leaned his body down to give the first floor another look over.

However, what they didn’t know, was that someone else was here too.

“The sad part, I can’t disagree with them,” Shade idly commented as the four of them continued to watch the three Pokemon who had entered the building.

“Yeah…” Alice sighed, face palming as she remembered how quickly this contest had...devolved into an argument between those two. Heck, the only reason why they hadn’t realized that there were others here was likely because they kept arguing.

“What shall we do?” Spinner asked.

“Observe for now. If they need help, then we step in. If not, then Scep and Rascal are on their own,” Alice ordered, before smiling slightly. “I don’t know why, but I think tonight just got interesting.”

Back with Eric’s group, they slowly made their way through the old library.

“I don’t like this.”Eric muttered.”A Salamencite and Keystone would be useful now. It should end things quickly…..Dammit.”

“Where are we? This place is like a maze.”Sally glanced around the old library where they kept stuff from Equestrian past.

“You could say that again.”Will is glancing around behind them. Making sure, that no one would sneak up on them.

When they about turn around the corner, they heard…some conversation. They all stopped even without Eric needing to put up his arm head as a signal.

“You hear that?”Eric asked.

“Yeah, I heard it. Pretty loud, too.”Sally frowned.

“No, all I heard is just school kids arguing over cookies.”Will chuckled.”Of course, I heard it.”

Sally wrinkled her nose.”Someone is smelly.”

“Then that someone doesn’t know the proper code for hygiene.”Will quipped while grinning.”Maybe they should pose in an exhibit and lift their arm so we could smell the glorious smell from their armpit. Hoooray, for the one who wins, we shall give them a kiss.”

Sally sweat dropped.

Eric ignored those two, he peeked around the corner. What he saw made him blink.

There in the room, was a Sceptile wearing a uniform of some kind, and a Weavile. Both of them had several artifacts inside the bags they carried, but right now it seemed that both were...arguing with each other.

“Oh no you don’t. You’re not getting in my way THIS time!” the Weavile growled as he landed a kick to the Sceptile’s leg.

“And you ought to take a chill pill!” the Sceptile growled, as he whacked the Weavile upside the head.

“Oh yeah? Well maybe I’d be more ‘chill’, if you hadn’t cost us the contest!” the Weavile growled.

“You are one annoying dude, you know that? How did I ‘cost’ us anything?” The Sceptile retorted, anger in his fangs.

Eric stopped peeking. He looked back at his Pokemon who vigilantly watched his back this whole time like he had ordered them to do.”I was wrong, there are two of them. I should have known when we heard the argument.”

“What? Two?” Sally questioned.

“And if the argument isn’t enough of a sign. Those two aren’t loud enough to wake the entire town, then. Oh wait, maybe they should get a concert together. Name it, ’Argument Between Two Boyfriends.’ That and all gay stuff.”

“Well, they are both males. That much is true.”

“Who are they, then?” Sally tilted her head in question.

“A Sceptile and a Weavile. Sally, I was wrong, you had a type-advantage over the Sceptile.”Eric put his arm head to his chin.”We have to rethink our strategy.”

“Hey, I know what you’re thinking, Eric. Why does Sally have to go against the overgrown tree lizard.”Will complained.

“She has a type-advantage over him. Besides, Grass doesn’t do well against both Dragon and Flying-type.”A new train of thought went into his head.”Unless, the Sceptile knows Dual Chop.”

“What should we do, then?”

“Be quick about it.”Will reminded.”I doubt those two will continue their foreplay forever.”

Eric quickly tried to wrack his brain for the decent strategy when dealing with the burglar. Obviously, those two aren’t going anywhere for the moment. But he had to think fast on a solution.

It wasn’t long, he already knew a strategy.”I got it. Sally, take the Weavile on. Will, take the Sceptile.”

“What? Eric, I’m a Dragon and Flying-type. I’m at a disadvantage against a Weavile!”

Even Will is surprised at this….strategy he proposed.”Eric, I think you might be deluding from drinking that many sea water. Unless, we wish to see a real-life ice dragon then you better explain this.”

“You should know that whatever I decide always has a hidden meaning to them.”Eric explained.

Sally groaned, that doesn’t help much.”Eric, please say it straight on what you mean? I’m not as smart as you or Helen.”

Eric put his right arm head to his chin again.“We’ll take them by surprise first. If that doesn’t work, we’ll just have to do it the old-fashioned way.”

“Ah, the good old-fashioned way. It’s perfect actually, all we have to do is just charge head on into the fire and get sun tanned? It’s lovely and all, but I prefer to maintain my coloring thank you very much.”

The Hydreigon ignored the sarcasm, he glanced at his loyal Salamence.“Sally, can you do that trick again?”

Said Salamence raised her eyebrow.”You mean, that trick?”Eric nodded.

“It should get you out of jam.”He looked toward the Reuniclus next.”Will, prepare to use Future Sight and Pain Split. It should help as well. You’re a Psychic-type besides your moveset hardly worked against the Weavile. Only Sally’s.”

“Oh, now I see. Perfect plan, the worst I can get is probably get chopped by the overgrown lizard. If not, then we’ll take him down. Oh wait, maybe the Future Sight will fry him and we’ll get to eat a lizard for breakfast.”

“I still think this is a bad idea.”Sally said, head hanging low. Not liking where this is going.

“You’ll both do fine. Remember, watch each others back.”Eric peeked around the corner again, the Weavile and Sceptile still arguing like a husband and wife would.

“Get ready…..”Eric motioned his two Pokemon to follow him again toward the inner exhibit.

“You know, I know we should warn them, but those two clowns need to learn not to get distracted by arguing in a heist…” Alice sighed. Her team on the other hand…

“I bet you 10 Poke dollars that Rascal gets his butt handed to him,” Shade chuckled.

“No deal. We want to see it too,” the two Spinarak shot back.

Alice just sweat dropped. “Wow...some team I’ve got,” she face palmed.

Back in the exhibit, the two thieves had FINALLY decided to stop arguing, and were now looking away from each other defiantly, with their arms crossed and angry looks on their faces, the bags of artifacts all but forgotten on the ground nearby.

Naturally, this left them ill-prepared for when the attack came.

“NOW!”A voice shouted.

Both Pokemon had their heads turned toward the source, and they’re eyes widened simultaneously with shock. A Salamence went straight toward the Weavile while the Reuniclus just floated out of the exhibit calmly like he had all the time in the world. A Hydreigon floated out of the exhibit, giving the burglar his dark glare.

The Salamence right forelimb glow a bright purple. Dragon Claw attempting to rip Rascal’s face off. Rascal, acting on quick reflexes, flips over the attack, putting him right in front of the Salamence. “Cute. Now good night!” he growls, before firing an Ice Beam. However, the Salamence seemed to have anticipated this, as she suddenly spun around, her tail glowing with a Dragon Tail, which smashed into him while he was in mid-air, sending his attack off course, and straight to Scep.

Scep had a moment to look, and a split second to dodge, which he did via an impressive limbo maneuver. “Watch it, dude! You almost turned me into a Scepcicle!” he shouted, before charging at the Salamence, his claws glowing with a Dragon Claw attack.

“I present to you, who makes his grand entrance.”Will quickly floated sideways and right in the path of the Dragon Claw.”Will!”

Scep didn’t care, as long as his attack hits. The Dragon Claw is brought toward the face of the Reuniclus. Only he felt….lighter for some reason. He soon saw the reason as his eyes found that the Reuniclus body is glowing and so does he.

“Hey! Put me down!”He tried to struggle, but couldn’t. He is in the grip of a Psychic-type now.

“Sorry, what was that?”Will made an exaggerated show of digging his non-existant ear. “Can’t hear you properly with the sound of something of a cat screech here!”

“I said-”

“Oh, wait, I know! You wanted for me to redecorate your face. Uhm, correction, apply make-up to your face!”Scep suddenly found himself flung upward.

“No no no no!”His head banged on the ceiling. Bang, bang, and bang again.

Sally flinched each time when the Sceptile’s head is banged.”That’s gotta hurt.”

“Waaah!”Now he found himself flung toward the ground at high-velocity. He closed his eyes at the last second.

All seemed silence, silence, and silence. That’s when Scep decided to open his eyes. He find himself sighing in relief. His snout is just an inch off the floor. His hope is dashed when the light weighted feeling is lifted and he found his face made acquaintance with the tile.

“And there you go! Thank you for your patience! I hope you come back to Will Make-up Saloon soon!”

From their vantage point, Alice and her team winced. “That HAD to hurt. That’s it, we’re stepping in,” she said simply, as she gestured to Shade, who nodded and quickly fetched her cape and hat.

Back below, Rascal growled in annoyance, and gritted his teeth when he saw Scep groaning on the ground as he shakily got up. These two were good. But he wasn’t about to lose yet.

“Tough guys eh? Dark Pulse!” he growled, before firing the attack in a wide range, aiming for the Reuniclus first.

Sally glanced at the Weavile. Seeing the Dark Pulse heading straight toward her friend, she shoved him out of the way before diving to the left herself.

“Gotcha!” Rascal grinned evilly, before cutting off the Dark Pulse, switching to an Ice Beam aimed straight for the Salamence as she was in mid-dodge.

What he didn’t expect was Sally suddenly putting her wings out and doing a sideway spiral. Dodging the Ice Beam as it hit the wall. Sally quickly halted and stabilized herself.

As she did that, she saw Scep immediately lunge for her, another Dragon Claw ready, while the Sceptile looked pissed as hell.

“I will be your opponent, lizard!”Will put himself in Dragon Claw´s path again. This time, he didn’t do a thing. Letting the Dragon Claw slash him.

“Are you crazy, dude?!” Scep couldn’t help but gawk, even if he didn’t mind the fact that his attack had hit. He jumped back quickly in fear of retaliation.

“Maybe, maybe not! Why don’t you try tasting this!”His body glowed blue again. Scep braced himself for another Psychic attack, only that….it didn’t come.

Scep gave a deadpan stare.”Was that supposed to do something?”

“You blind? Maybe you’re lacking brain cells to process information. No, wait, I get it. Maybe you’re too dumb to recognize an attack when you see one?”Will gave off a clap.”Congratulations, my lizard, you just won the first prize. Where you get to pose there as I kick your butt.”

Scep growled. A grunt caused him to turn his head toward the source. “Eat this!”Rascal fired another Ice Beam toward the Salamence.

The Salamence took a deep breath and countered with a hot red Flamethrower. The beams collided in the center. Both fighters grunted as each tried to gain dominance over the other. Not one could gain ground over the other which in turn caused the beams to explode dead center. Dust kicking up all over.

Both Pokemon quickly stepped back. The Salamence flew backward toward the Reuniclus while Rascal jumped back toward Scep’s side.

“These guys ain’t half bad,” Rascal grinned. “So...where’s your trainer? He too chicken to show his face?”

“You can tell?” Scep commented.

“Yeah, these two are way too strong and coordinated to be some random wild Pokemon, and there’s no way they’re related, so that means they’ve got a trainer directing them. Again, where is he? Or is he just a big pansy?” Rascal taunted.

Eric didn’t react at the insult, just giving off a gloomy stare.

The Salamence and the Reuniclus looked at them with eyes full of determination. Until Will started another conversation.“Look at them, Sally. Like two guys on their first date. My, my, they’re already getting along quite well.”

Up on their vantage point, Alice nearly dropped the cape she was putting on, while Shade had to physically restrain herself from laughing to avoid drawing attention. Despite that, they managed to quickly get their heads straight again, and quickly moved into position. They wanted to help, but like always, they needed to be prepared before they could really be effective.

While that was happening, both thieves snapped their head sharply toward the snarky Reuniclus.”What did you say?”Both said at the same time while growling.

“I said, you’re both are doing quite well with your foreplay. Of course, I said you two are on a date. Am I missing something here?”

Both thieves gave a deadpan stare which said that they’re not amused at all.”You’re a very sarcastic mon, aren’t you?” Scep stated.

Will gave off a clap.”Congrats, congrats, for figuring out until now that I’m pretty sarcastic. Then, I should assume you guys are lacking brain cells to comprehend my sarcasm.”

The Multiplying Pokemon turned around to face Eric who all this time just glared at the opponent.”Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the two most gay and dumbest Pokemon on the planet. Here, we are now presenting two dating male Pokemons with the lowest IQ who have somehow managed the feat of figuring out that I’m a sarcastic idiot. Give them an applause.”

The two thieves’ eyes twitched, before they looked at each other. “Hey Scep, truce?” Rascal offered with a wicked grin.

“Until we tear trash mouth over there in half? Deal, dude,” Scep matched the grin, before they both glared death at the Reuniclus.

Sally, despite not really agreeing with Will’s sarcastic attitude at this time couldn’t help, but snicker. Even the gloomy Hydreigon is let out a small chuckle which is a rare thing for him to do.

Up on their spot where they moved across the roof, Fox couldn’t help but snicker. “What do you know, they actually got Scep and Rascal to agree. Guess miracles do happen,” she commented, while her team couldn’t help but nod in agreement, especially after what they had been seeing all night.

“The cards are already falling.”Eric muttered.

“Sally, deal with the Weavile! Will, do what you have been doing!”The Hydreigon took a deep breath before he unleashed the command.”Act on your own!”

“Got it!”Sally quickly charged toward the Weavile again. Dragon Claw in tow.

“Time to apply some more make-up! Courtesy of Will!”He charged toward the Sceptile, ready to catch him in his power again.

However, as the combatants were fighting, nobody noticed the soft sound of the simple count down. Nobody but Eric, as he was not directly in the fight.

“10...9...8…” the voice murmured.

“Hmmm?”Eric glanced around at the voice in order to find the source.”.....I must be imagining things.”

“7...6...5...4...:” the voice continued, just as Sally was going full speed at the Weavile with a Dragon Claw, while Will is getting beaten up by the Sceptile using multiple Leaf Blades.

“What!?”The Sceptile went to his knees. His entire being suddenly felt pain all over, while Will was glowing blue

“Oh, does that hurt?”Will grinned as the glow went away.

The Sceptile was now breathing heavily.”W-what did you...do to me?”

“Pain Split! That’s what!” Will grinned as he winked.”Now, say goodbye to the waking world of magical ponyland with a smile! I promise that I’ll apply my best make-over so here it is!”He gave off another exaggerated bow, just as he saw Sally miss the first swipe, only to nail the Weavile with the second swipe of already prepared Brick Break with her left forelimb across the face, sending him tumbling back.

“Checkmate….”Eric muttered as Sally charged again with Brick Break. Intending to end this.

Out of nowhere, a crackle of lightning is heard. Scep glanced above him as a blue heavenly lightning bolt was about to strike down upon his being.

“I present to you, overgrown lizard barbeque! We’ll be having that for breakfast!”

However, at that moment, the voice returned. “3...2...1...show time!”

The two attacks hit...only for the Weavile and the Sceptile to suddenly burst into what appeared to be multiple Pidgeys which flew into so many directions, they practically covered the room.

Eric glanced wildly around the room. His vision obscured with the Pidgey flying and let loose feathers.”What the….Pidgeys?”

The Dragon Pokemon meanwhile tried to bat the birds away. Somehow they reminded her of a certain bird. “What the hell? Ah, get away!” Sally tried to bat the Pidgeys in vain. “You’re ruining my move. Stupid birds!”

As the Pidgeys fluttered around, finding various exits in the form of open windows, they soon parted, revealing someone else now in the center of the room. It was a Zoroark. A shiny Zoroark, and one that was dressed in a black cape and a black cavalier’s hat. The Zoroark smirked slightly, before bowing slightly, much like how an actor would on stage.

“.....you!” Eric gaped while pointing at the Zoroark.”The cape, the ridiculous cap…..I should have known….”

“Oh? Now isn’t this a surprise. Do refresh my memory, as I don’t recall ever meeting you before, though I suppose that’s not saying much in this situation,” the Zoroark chuckled in amusement.

Will made another move toward a conversation. “Well, isn’t this a surprise. An unexpected guest. A cape? Seriously, what are you? The Queen of Parfum Palace? That would be nice if you put a crown on your head.”

“Nobody that important,” the Zoroark chuckled in amusement at his comment. “Just someone who’s come out to play for a little.”

“And I’m the Champion Diantha.” Will quipped. “You hear that, Sally? She said play a little. That means we have to give a proper spank to her butt for playing this late at night. Bad children. Don’t worry, just a minor turn of event. We shall rectify that.”

The Zoroark didn’t respond. Instead, she seemed to tremble a bit, before the trembling revealed to be full blown laughter. “Guess I was right. You all ARE an interesting bunch. Guess good things do happen when you go out for a little exercise,” she said as she reigned in her laughter. “As for a punishment, we’ll see who punishes who on account of what you did to my friends earlier,” she smirked. “But we’re getting off topic. I do believe I asked you who you were before. It’s quite rude to ignore a lady.”

“You’re no lady.” Eric replied with neutral face. “You’re a thief.”

Sally quickly flew back to her trainer side. “Eric, you know her?”

“Yeah, I know who she is. She’s the Phantom Thief Fox. But to me, just another thief who stole just for the fun of it.” This in turn caused Sally to snarl.

“Awww, really? Nobody ever does understand our grace and class,” Fox chuckled, feigning hurt. “Why does everyone lump us in with the common thieves when we’re so much more than that?” she said dramatically in mock hurt, before chuckling to herself.

“Grace and class?” Will began racking his brain for more conversation material. ”Let’s see, here we are with the Phantom Thief Fox. A guy…or a lady who said that she had such grace and class that’s somehow the reason she always escapes from the law. I’m not going to full and all with the detail, but here it is. A Phantom Thief Fox ended up in magical ponyland, we ended up encountering her, and about to fight her. God Almighty Arceus, your act is so full with pure incompetence that our brains had no choice, but to process the sheer aweness of this situation. Fantastic, isn’t it?”

At this, everyone sweat dropped. Everyone except Eric. “...friendly advice. Don’t bring him anywhere near the ‘Hall of Legends’ that Arceus is currently living in. Not unless you want to be short one team member,” Fox blinked, honestly not sure what else to say for once.

“I didn’t expect this to happen. That Key Stone would’ve been really useful now. Dammit.” Eric muttered. “No matter.”

“Sally, Will! Be careful, who knows what this thief will do next!” Eric tensed his arm. Preparing to fight her if necessary as well.

Fox just smiled, as she tipped her hat over, not once moving from her spot. “Well then, shall we begin the show?” she chuckled.

Eric glanced at Will who glanced back in return. Eric nodded to him. For once, Will didn’t reply with sarcasm, just a simple nod as well.

“I can’t let her escape. No choice, then.”Eric pointed an arm head toward the smirking Zoroark. ”Sally! Use Outrage!” He didn’t want to risk her escaping. At the command, Sally’s eyes glowed a murderous blood red.

“Outrage? Are you sure you want to have a berserk dragon in this museum?” Fox chuckled in amusement, seemingly not caring about the dragon charging at her. However, just as Sally was about to reach her, Fox shifted slightly, easily sidestepping her frenzied attacks, before tossing a small ball at her face, which exploded, coating her face in a web-like substance. “You see?” she chuckled.

“Sally!” The Dragon Pokemon growled while clawing at her face to get rid of the sticky substance.

“Is that all? I really need to work on Weavile’s training if he let her beat him. Speaking of which...Blizzard,” Fox simply said as she backed away, before Sally found herself in the way of a gale force blizzard.

“Flamethrower!” Fox’s eyes widened slightly as flame burst out of the web-covered mouth and went straight for her. Cutting straight through the blizzard.

“Not bad,” she mused, as the Flamethrower hit. However, what fell out of the flames was not a Zoroark, but a faceless dummy. “Needs some work before they can get the right shock and awe,” she idly commented as she stepped out behind Sally. “Back to the drawing board with you,” she said, before another Blizzard was launched, this time from a different direction. The Salamence grunted as the shards of ice hit her for four times the damage.

“Oh, really?” A voice sounded behind her. “Pretty lady, let me apply makeup to your face!”

“You’re really annoying, you know that?” Fox deadpanned, before she threw a small ball at him. The only move she could currently use: Shadow Ball, and a small one at that.

Will being cumbersome, couldn’t dodge fast enough. “Uh-oh.” The ball hit dead on, making it super-effective, even despite it being a watered down version due to lack of practice.

Then out of nowhere, a wave of pain hit the Zoroark. “Pain Split,” she winced. “Not bad. But not good enough,” she said, and before he could react, Fox had chucked a few more balls, which covered his face with webbing...right before he was blasted by a Hyper Beam from the rafters.

“Will!” Eric floated toward the Reuniclus. Sally, meanwhile struggled to get up.

Fox just sighed. “I think that’s all for today. The artifacts are all in the bag over by the side over there,” she said, gesturing to where she had stashed the artifacts that Rascal and Scep had stolen. “Unfortunately, I was unable to prepare a fitting finale, so I must regretfully bid you, adieu,” she smiled, before moving to jump out the window.

Before she could do such a thing, she felt another rising temperature heading toward her back. Glancing behind quickly, another Flamethrower was heading toward her. “Oh?” she mused in mild surprise, before easily sidestepping. “You’re pretty sturdy. Normally a Pokemon like you should not be able to stand after taking two Blizzards head on.”

Sally gave the Zoroark a death glare while breathing heavily. “Not like someone like you would understand me.” Somehow, through pure strength and will, she remained standing out of loyalty toward her trainer. That and coupled with her being the strongest of Eric’s team, she’s the jack-of-all trades of the team.

“Oh? I see, so she’s your trump card then? I’ll bet she’s even your starter,” Fox chuckled. “Alright then, I’ll answer that one. Liepard, if you will?” she said, before a Liepard jumped down from the rafters, standing between Fox and Sally.

“Sally!” Eric was getting worried about Sally. Getting hit by two Blizzard like that and to remain standing is not an easy feat. He bet that she’s struggling to keep her eyes open right now. “...... can you still...?”

She turned her head toward her trainer. “Don’t worry…..still can.” She strained out the words.

Seeing this, Fox sighed. “Really now, just stop. I take no pleasure in ordering my Pokemon to fight weakened opponents. Shall we call this night a draw and leave it at that?”

“Over my dead body, thief! It’s scum like you that made the world destroy itself.” The Salamence shouted, then she remembered her deepest memory of that ‘day’. “Scum, like you that made my life the way it is.” Flames already licking her lips again.

“Sally!” Eric shouted, getting increasingly worried.

Fox just sighed at seeing her like this. “Very well...if that’s how you want it. Know that I refuse to take any blame for what might happen next. Sucker Punch,” she ordered, to which the Liepard shot forward, and well...sucker punched Sally before she could react with the building Flamethrower in her mouth. “Play Rough.”

“Headbutt!” The Liepard head snapped backward at being suddenly headbutted before it could unleash the attack, however, she easily righted herself, landing on her feet.

Eric knew he couldn’t let this continue any longer. They had to end this now! “Let’s end this game! Sally…..use Giga Impact!”

“Toxic, then Hyper Beam. Sneak combo!” Fox ordered. In response to that, the Liepard fired the glob of poison at the charging dragon, the poison affecting her immediately, but not stopping the attack. However, when the attack was about to hit, Fox’s cape suddenly wrapped around her and the Liepard, before the both of them vanished, leaving Sally to crash into the ground, right before they reappeared not far away, with the Liepard already charging up a Hyper Beam.

Sally could only get a glimpse of what’s going to hit her. “I’m sorry, Eric.” And the beam hit.

“Sally!” Eric floated as quickly as possible toward the smoke where his Salamence lay. It wasn’t long before he held the Salamence unconscious head in his arm. “No…”

“That’s enough, Liepard,” Fox ordered, stopping the Liepard from charging another Hyper Beam. “We’ve already won.”

Eric gritted his teeth. “Dammit it all!”

Fox just sighed, not finding any enjoyment, nor fulfillment from this win. “Let’s go. We’re done here,” she sighed as she turned to walk away, but not before adding, “I’d better not find anymore ‘surprise’ attacks. Don’t push your luck.”

Eric ignored her. He just held his loyal Salamence head in his arm. “.........”

Seeing as he wasn’t going to say a word, Fox simply leaped out of the museum, disappearing into the night.

“......why does a thief like her have to exist!” Eric gritted his teeth. “I can’t believe this. Why does she deserve to be sent here?!”

He knew he couldn’t find the answer to that right now. There were more pressing matters at hand. The Eric glanced at Sally before looking over to Will. He sighed, he knew that his heroics got them into this situation and he’s going to take full responsibility for it. He took a deep breath to regain his cool before adding.“I’m going to get you both home.”

The Hydreigon had no choice but to carry Sally piggyback and Will bride style. Leaving just enough room for his wings so he could float. As he did so, his mind wandered back to the fight, wondering how he could have lost to a thief like her. After a while of thinking it through, he realized something. “If only Alexander was here…..he should be able to handle her.”

“Next time…..Fox, you won’t be going anywhere but to prison.”

Ending theme:

Author's Note

(25/1)-The chapter has now been edited further
Chapter 7 done. Special thanks to Uber Reaper for his OCs from his fic, "A New World, A New Dawn" (read it, I recommend it), in what I hope was a successful crossover. And also Special thanks to ThatOneVolcarona for helping to edit this chapter.

Editor's comment
Uber Reaper - Superb, tdn. You plan the heist perfectly. As always, the magician never reveals her trick. I'd like to see more in the future where we work together

ThatOneVolcarona - As always, great chapter! I really want to see what happens with Fox on her next heists as her name spreads trough Equestria

Eight Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Eight Heist

Opening theme:

“This sucks....” Rascal groaned as he and Scep were currently covered in bandages. After the heist, Alice had told them straight that due to violating the ground rules of the contest, they BOTH lost. As punishment, they were both bandaged up nice and tight, and so they were more or less forced to spend the night healing from their fiasco in bed.

“I would have been able to pull it off if you hadn’t gotten in my way,” Scep replied.

“I was on your way? You were the one that tried to sabotage me first!”

“Come on, I saw how ya looked at my bag, dude! You had that dirty trick planned from the beginning!”

“Will you two shut up? Some of us are trying to sleep here!” Shade angrily growled. “And for the record, we were watching. You BOTH had the same bright idea. Honestly, with how similar you two are, we think you’re related!”

“Are not!” both of them shouted...only to get webs to the mouth, as Charlotte and Spinner decided to shut them up for the night.

“Thank you,” Shade sighed to the two Spinaraks, before glaring at the two bound thieves. “And you two should sit and think about how you messed up. Once you do, we’ll remove the extra bandages.” With that, she went back to where she was sleeping.

Meanwhile, Alice was also up, thanks to the noise. Deciding to do something else since she couldn’t sleep, she decided to go to the work room, and maybe make more of her web balls, since she had used up several of the few she had managed to make on short notice. “One thing I miss about Earth...my chemicals and resources to make my small gadgets,” she sighed. As it was, she could only make a few of them till she figured out how to do so faster. Until then, she’d either have to be careful how many she used in a heist, and rely more on her own skills. As she walked into the work room, she saw that the room was not empty. Inside, reading a book, was Toichi.

Curious, she decided to get a closer look, and saw what he was reading. It appeared to be a book on various general forms of unicorn magic. “Aiming to be a master sorcerer?” she teased from behind him, causing the young unicorn to jump a little.

“Ah! Miss Alice! Don’t scare me like that!” he exclaimed.

“Sorry, sorry,” she chuckled. “But seriously, what’s all this for?”

“It’s for my Cutie Mark,” Toichi replied.

“Cutie...Mark?” Alice blinked.

“Its the mark that shows a Pony what their one true talent is,” he explained.

“...are they the marks on your flanks?” Alice practically deadpanned, and for the first time she noticed one thing that was different about Toichi. His flank was blank. “...which I just noticed you don’t have.”

“You don’t know about Cutie Marks?” Toichi looked surprised...before he remembered who he was talking to. “Right. You wouldn’t. A Cutie Mark is a mark that a pony gets when they find their one true talent. It basically tells them what they’re meant to do, or what they’re REALLY good at,” he explained.

“So...its kinda like a rite of passage then?” Alice mused. “Seems kinda...restrictive if you ask me. To follow a mark just because you have it....no offense.”

“None taken. A Cutie Mark just tells a pony what they’re REALLY good at. Not everypony follows it. Its really more of a guideline than anything else, since we’re able to choose for ourselves anyway,” he shrugged.

“Alright. I think that’s for the best anyway. So...Cutie Mark in magic?” Alice continued.

“Yeah. I’ve always felt good when I used magic, no matter the spell. I’ve always had a knack for casting,” he started. “But I still haven’t gotten my Cutie Mark yet…”

“Well, maybe you should just take it easy,” Alice suggested.

“You know you’ve got a knack for magic. So...I’m assuming that there are different types of magic based on all these books,” she explained.

“Yeah?”

“Well, maybe instead of looking at the big picture in one shot, take it a little bit at a time. Try doing a different type for a bit, then move on to another, and narrow it down. Who knows, maybe you’ll earn that Cutie Mark if you did,” Alice suggested.

“That’s...a really good idea. Thanks miss Alice,” Toichi smiled.

“Any time,” Alice chuckled, before yawning. “I think I’ll go back to bed. You should too,” she said, patting him on the head, before walking away, leaving the young unicorn to his thoughts.

Several hours earlier, Baltimare

Jonathan yawned slightly. It had been a long, and boring day again, as he and his team were stuck on patrol duty again. Seems that since the Pokemon came, things have been...relatively quiet, with the most left being the odd thief or something, and when you deal with Fox often, normal criminals are child’s play. “Nothing new today either,” he said.

“Just like yesterday,” Heat groaned.

“And the day before that,” Howl added.

“...I can’t believe I’m saying this, but...I wish some actual crime would happen. Then at least we wouldn’t be dying of boredom!” Jonathan groaned.

As if to answer his question, he noticed a pony dart into an alleyway, carrying what looked like a bag of some kind. Only it was moving.

“...okay, if that doesn’t just SCREAM ‘suspicious’, the I don’t know what else will,” Heat deadpanned, before the trio looked at each other. “Take a look?”

“Take a look,” Jonathan and Howl answered simultaneously.

Walking after the pony, they made sure to keep a distance...well, Howl followed closely, while Jonathan and Heat...especially Heat, kept their distance since they weren’t exactly the most stealthy Pokemon, partially thanks to their bright coloring. Fortunately, it was not needed, as the Pony was more preoccupied with what was in his bag. They would have continued following him, if it weren’t for the next thing he did.

“Oh shut up you mangy animal!” he grunted, before bucking the bag, causing a pained whimper to come from it.

At this, Jonathan decided to step in. “Hold it right there!” Jonathan barked.

The stallion turned, and upon seeing him, tried to bolt. However, that plan was stopped cold when all three of them dashed forward with a Quick Attack each, meaning that they were upon him before he could barely blink, and in short order, Heat and Jonathan had him restrained.

“Unhand me, you filthy beast!” the stallion protested, only to be silenced by a glare from Heat.

“Watch your mouth, cause from what we see, looks like you’re about to be going to jail soon,” Heat said, as true enough, Howl came back after ripping the bag open, and in his jaws was a Poochyena, a battered looking one at that.

“Alright, you. Talk! Why were you trying to smuggle this Poochyena?” Jonathan growled, his eye glaring angrily at the stallion.

“Or you’ll what?” the stallion challenged.

“How about a trip to the police station? I’m sure this little guy would have an interesting story to tell,” Howl said with a glare, as he let the Poochyena lie on his back.

“Please, you gotta help them!” the Poochyena groaned.

“What’s wrong? Who’s in trouble?” Howl asked.

“Those bad ponies caught some of my pack, and made them fight in those awful arenas. Lots of us got badly hurt, but I managed to get away before he tried to bring me back. I saw other Pokemon in cages too when I got out, along with some weird looking Pokemon who couldn’t speak...or use moves,” he explained.

“I see…” Jonathan mused, the gears turning in his head. He should probably report this to the guards first, but if he did, then there would be an inevitable delay, and from the looks of it, not only were Pokemon lives on the line, but also the lives of the local wildlife. With that in mind, he made up his decision. “Can you show us where this place is?” he asked the Poochyena.

“Yeah, no problem!” the Poochyena brightened. “Will you...help us?” the nod he got made him smile. “Thank you!”

With that done, Jonathan turned to the stallion. “Its your lucky day. You’ll be having a delayed meeting with the authorities. But for now, good night,” he said, before he punched the pony’s lights out. “Okay then, let’s go guys.”

With the help of the Poochyena, they made their way into a series of alleyways, leading to a building in some desolate alley, the kind of building most folk would steer clear of. “There’s another way in. I could get in, but…”

“We’re probably too big to fit,” Heat deadpanned.

“Yeah…”

“Well that complicates things. I mean, sure we could bust through the door, but we’re just a few Pokemon. A few thugs we can handle, but there’s no telling how many thugs there might be in there. Not to mention its a pretty dumb move to charge in blind...unless we have no choice,” Jonathan sighed.

“Or, you could ask for help,” came a small voice from above them.

Looking up, they were greeted to the sight of a Noibat hanging upside down, looking at them. A very familiar Noibat at that. “I was wondering where you two went. Who’s the Lucario?”

“Echo?” Jonathan blinked, before smiling widely, and before the little bat could respond, he had jumped up, plucked her off her perch, and promptly caught her in a bear hug. “It is you!”

“Ack! Who...wait...Jonathan?!” Echo sputtered.

“Yep. Its Jonathan, Echo,” Heat and Howl snickered. Eric had been getting worried about Echo since they couldn’t find her. Now he was just showing how relieved he was.

“Sorry, Echo. I was just worried,” Jonathan apologized, letting her go.

“Well, its nice to see you too again. But if I’m not mistaken, weren’t you supposed to be human?” she said, her tone amused.

“Yeah, we all thought that too at first,” Howl said with a smile. “But it’s Jonathan for sure.”

“Yep. Who else would it be but the big lug,” Heat added with a grin.

“You jerks…” Jonathan snorted in amusement. “...so, yeah. Weren’t we about to storm a gang hideout or something?”

“Right,” Both Heat and Howl nodded, much to Echo’s amusement.

“Okay then, what do you need me to do? You can’t exactly fit into the small hole over there,” she chuckled in amusement.

“Yeah, that’s what we need you to do. I want you to get in, and when I give you the signal, use Supersonic on the entire room. That should give us the opening we need,” Jonathan ordered.

“Gotcha,” Echo nodded, before flying towards the hole.

“Actually, what are we gonna do with this guy?” Howl commented, motioning to the unconscious stallion.

“You’re right...we can’t exactly leave him here. He might run off while we storm the hideout,” Heat nodded.

The four of them paused when they realized that. Fortunately an answer came to them. Almost very literally too. “Hey, isn’t that...?” Howl pointed out upon seeing a familiar mare apparently out for an evening stroll.

“Trixie!” they all called out as they moved towards the mare.

“Huh? Jonathan? What are you all doing here?” Trixie asked in surprise, not expecting to see them.

“Trixie, we need a big favor from you,” Jonathan said quickly.

“Er...very well. What is it that you require Trixie’s help?” she said, a little take aback.

“We need you to take this guy,” Heat said, motioning to the unconscious stallion. “To the guard station. He’s apparently part of some illegal group in this street, and we’re about to storm right into their hideout...without permission, though we have proof that would do the trick anyway,” Heat finished.

Trixie blinked in surprise, before looking at the stallion carefully. “Trixie supposes she can do that. But...Trixie is also concerned that…” she was about to explain her worries, before Heat promptly shook the stallion, waking him...only to send him into dreamland again.

“There, he’s out cold again,” Heat stated plainly, causing everyone to sweat drop at the Combusken’s...brash action.

“...sometime I worry about you,” Jonathan deadpanned.

“...Trixie will be taking the stallion now,” Trixie deadpanned. She liked to think of them as friends, but sometimes...they were a little crazy for her taste.

“Thanks Trixie. We owe you one,” Jonathan smiled.

“Trixie will be sure to collect,” she joked, before walking away with the unconscious stallion.

With her gone, Echo immediately moved to her position as she snuck inside. After a few moments, Jonathan got into position.

“Okay, everyone. Ready?” Jonathan asked.

“I’ll be right here in case anyone tries to escape,” Howl nodded.

“And I’ll be right by you when we bust in,” Heat grinned.

“Alright then. 3, 2, 1,” Jonathan said, before knocking on the door in a sequence. “Knock, knock!”

(Play Jonathan's theme)
Hearing the signal, Echo giggled. “Hope you brought earplugs,” she chuckled, before she let loose a Supersonic inside the building, disorienting the ponies inside, making them all confused. In fact, one was even just about to answer the door. “Who’s…” then he felt woozy. Then it happened. The door promptly came loose from its hinges, when a Lucario and a Combusken broke it down with a double flying kick, the door splintering, and their feet connecting with the unfortunate pony’s face.

“Dynamic Entry!” Jonathan and Heat shouted as they sailed through the air. Their unfortunate victim on the other hand…

“MY FACE!!” the pony screamed as he clutched his face, which now bore a paw print and a bird foot print.

“Baltimare Guard! Freeze!” Jonathan barked. However, despite having all the coordination of a drunken Spinda at the moment, some of the more burly ponies tried to charge at them...with all the grace of a Grimer. Unsurprisingly, that idea met little success, as Jonathan and Heat grabbed a piece of the door each, and hit them in the head with the boards, before grabbing them, and unceremoniously drop kicking them out the building. “Anyone else want to try being stupid?” Jonathan deadpanned.

Several of the guards shook their heads to clear the confusion, before looking at each other, and promptly charging at them.

“I love it when they pick the hard way,” Heat grinned, cracking his knuckles.

“You’re enjoying this a little too much, aren’t you?” Jonathan sweat dropped at his partner’s...enthusiasm.

“You kidding? I live for this!” Heat laughed, half joking, before he dove right into the fray.

“Hey, save some for me, buddy!” Jonathan couldn’t help but laugh, before he jumped in.

And now we close the curtains on this scene of gratuitous violence for a moment...note that from behind the curtains are sounds of pain, agony, and grown thugs crying like foals.

“Well, that was easy,” Jonathan commented as he dusted his paws off.

“Yeah. Good thing we found this nice rope too,” Heat added as they walked deeper into the building...behind them were the thugs, battered and bruised, all of them hogtied together with a single rope.

“Nice rope by the way,” Echo idly added with a chuckle as she flew by the groaning thugs, one of them muttering something about pretty birdie.

Inside the building, the ring leader of this illegal arena paced, an annoyed look on his face. “What in Tartarus is going on up there?” he growled.

“Err...sounded like someone screaming in agony, boss,” one of his body guards, a big burly Pegasus said.

“I don’t remember asking your opinion. No matter. Pain! Panic! I want this room locked up tight. Make sure whoever is coming doesn’t get in here.”

“You got it boss!” the twin pegasi said with a salute, before doing as they were told.

The entrance to the arena was promptly shut with the large metal door that was as thick and strong as the door on a small safe, and was promptly bolted shut. “I’d like to see whoever was dumb enough to come here just try and get in,” one of the guards laughed, his friends joining in as well. When they heard knocking on the door, their laughter only doubled at how stupid the intruder seemed to be.

Then there was a big thud as something impacted against the door. HARD.

“Heh, this guy must be pretty good,” one of them whistled, before adding. “But not good enough.” with a laugh. However, the laugh died an instant death when they heard the door groan...and promptly break off the hinges, flattening them in the process.

“SWEET CELESTIA!!! MY BACK!!!!!” they shouted as they were promptly crushed by the metal door, before the ones responsible for demolishing the door stepped in...and stepped on the door on the way in, much to their...displeasure, if the additional cries of pain were any evidence.

When Jonathan got a look at the room, his glare became one that could vaporize steel at the sight of the Pokemon and animals in cages, all of them in various states of injury. Upon seeing the pony that was clearly the ring leader. He growled. “You! This is the police! Come quietly if you know what’s good for you!” he barked. “If not, then come unconscious.”

At this point, the ring leader didn’t look so confident anymore. But he wasn’t about to give up. “Pain! Panic! Break them in half!”

“With pleasure!” His bodyguards laughed, and lunged forward at the Pokemon...and the boss got what he ordered...just not on the Pokemon.

“Heat. Flamethrower,” Jonathan ordered, to which Heat nodded, then fired a massive flame thrower, catching both Pegasi head on. The fire raged for a moment, and when it cleared, both Pegasi were covered in soot with a silly look in their eyes. Looking at each other, they laughed deliriously, before passing out from the burns.

“Pegasi barbeque, order up,” Heat laughed.

“Any other dumb moves you’d like to try? By all means, PLEASE dig yourself deeper,” Jonathan goaded.

The Ring leader visibly gulped, before his expression hardened. “Yeah, you’re dinner!” he shouted, before pulling a switch, releasing two BIG bears into the room. And they looked hungry.

“Ursaring? Nah, these must be native wildlife,” Jonathan calmly analyzed.

“So...this is your last stand? Kinda disappointing, really,” Heat deadpanned.

The Ring leader gritted his teeth in annoyance. “Shut up! Don’t you get that you’re about to be mauled by vicious bears and probably end up their dinner?!”

“I’d be quaking if it weren’t for the fact that I literally have bones of steel,” Jonathan deadpanned. “But still, just in case...Echo.”

“Right!” the small bat grinned, before letting loose a Supersonic on the bears, disorienting them, followed by an Air Cutter, which softened them up a little. “All yours,” she giggled as the bears tried to lunge at them in their drunken stupor. However as expected, the movements were sluggish, and completely easy to see. Naturally, that made dodging VERY easy for Jonathan and Heat.

“Now then, what say we give the good pony there his teddies back?” Heat grinned.

“Sounds fine to me,” Jonathan nodded.

The two immediately ducked under a swing from their opponents, and with a quick move, drove their fists into the bears, the force pushing them off their feet, and causing them to sail in the air, right at the Ring leader, who just stood there, gaping as the stared at the two oncoming bears until….

CRASH!!

“MY SPINE!!! SWEET CELESTIA MY SPINE!!!” the bears crashed into him, crushing him under their weight.

“Had enough?” Jonathan asked, peering down at the pony.

“YES! MERCY! FOR THE LOVE OF EQUUS, MERCY!”

“Good, so then, I see a bunch of cages, but no keys. I trust you don’t mind if I borrow the key,” he continued, only for the keys to be shoved into his paw. “Thank you.”
(End theme)

With the key, releasing all the captive Pokemon was easy, and after a quick trip to the guard house, the animals that had been held captive were all set to be returned to the wild. Poochyena was especially happy to be with the members of his pack that had been caught, as they returned back to the nearby forest. Likewise, the entire gang was rounded up and arrested in short order, a simple thing to do since Jonathan and his team had left them in a state that they couldn’t exactly resist.

As for the guard chief, while he was a little miffed that Jonathan and his team had acted on their own, he still congratulated them on account of apprehending the entire gang. Even Trixie got some praise and thanks for her part in alerting the guard. So all in all, it was a pretty good night for all of them.

Later, at a small cafe…

“To all of us being together again,” Jonathan smiled as he raised his cup, before it was clanked against against 3 other cups. And with that, the former human and his team shared a laugh, happy that even in this new world, one thing they could always count on was that they always had each other.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

And the next chapter is done. Focused more on Jonathan for a change. Hope you enjoy it

Ninth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Ninth Heist

Opening theme:

“All aboard, the trailer express. Next stop is...where again?” Shade attempted to joke...only she forgot the destination.

“Tall Tale,” Quick Storm supplied.

“Right. Tall Tale,” Shade nodded.

“So...what’s interesting about this next town?” Alice idly asked as she helped them load up their stuff.

“Well for starters, its one of Equestria’s centers for information. It’s also known for its historical records,” Toichi explained while putting down the book he was reading.

“Sounds like a fun town,” Rascal mused.

“It should be,” Sleight nodded, just as they finished packing up. “Well, let’s get going. We’ll need about a day at least to get to Tall Tale.”

“Right,” they all nodded as they boarded the carriage, and soon they were off, leaving Vanhoover behind.

The morning started out well enough for Jonathan. Wake up, freshen up, and get ready for a day in his new job. Of course, that didn’t last long, especially when he read the newspaper.

‘Attempted Robbery at Vanhoover Museum, mysterious thief sighted’

Raising an eyebrow, he decided to take a closer look as he read further into the story. At first, it seemed rather...silly, as aside from the mostly superficial damage to the museum, nothing important was damaged, and it looked like whoever did it had left the loot behind. However, when he saw the few pictures that had been included, as well as the description provided from witnesses, however few, he growled. “Fox...so that’s where she went,” he said glaring slightly. Putting the paper down, he quickly went straight to the chief’s office.

“You want to what?” the Guard Chief all but deadpanned.

“I want to go after Fox, sir. Back before we came here, I was assigned to apprehend her, and I would like to finish what I started,” Jonathan explained.

The Guard Chief sighed, honestly not sure what to do. On one hand, he could understand Jonathan, since Fox had first appeared in this city, and she had all but made a fool of them with her heist. However, the fact that she was now out of the city meant that she was technically not their problem anymore. However, seeing the determination in Jonathan’s eyes… “Alright,” he sighed, before adding. “But we’ll only directly help you to get to Vanhoover. If Fox is really jumping cities, we can’t afford to divert our resources,” he sighed. “I’m sorry, but we can only help send you to Vanhoover. Anything else, you need to figure out,” he explained, but not before sliding a badge over. “Here. We never got to give it to you till now, but consider yourself an official member of the Baltimare Guard. Now go do us proud, Officer Trace.”

Jonathan smiled as he picked up and put on the badge. “Thank you, sir!” he saluted.

“I’ll arrange for you to take the next train which is in 5 hours. I suggest you prepare yourself with that time,” the chief nodded as the Lucario ran out the door.

“So we’re going after Fox now?” Howl questioned.

“That’s the gist of it,” Jonathan nodded. His Pokemon shared a look before grinning.

“What took ya so long?” they laughed, as everything was going back to how it was before. And they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jonathan just smiled, always happy to know that they got his back. “Only one problem though…”

“Right, if she’s not in Vanhoover anymore...how are we gonna go after her?” Echo nodded. The four of them thought hard. How would they be able to do it...that’s when Heat got a crazy idea.

“I got an idea. It might not work, but its worth a shot,” he said.

“Well...let’s give it a shot, cause I’m drawing a blank,” Howl said.

“Right, first we gotta find Trixie,” Heat said.

“You want me to WHAT?” Trixie shrieked, forgetting her usual speech pattern.

“Help us again,” Jonathan sighed. “Yeah, I know that that doesn’t sound right, but that’s what we’re asking. Please, Trixie, as things are, we’re gonna be up a creek without a paddle, and your the only person we know who could help us…”

Trixie looked him in the eye, and seeing the normally strong officer actually pleading was...oddly endearing. Plus, he did REALLY save her flank the other day, and she really hadn’t done much to repay him, even if he insisted it was nothing. Sighing, she gave them her answer. “Alright, Trixie will help,” she started, before her tone became stern. “But Trixie has a few conditions.”

“Okay, name them and we’ll see what we can do. If we can’t meet them, then you’re free to go,” Jonathan nodded.

“Okay, first, Trixie expects to be funded for the trip to Vanhoover, her wagon included,” she started. “Next, since Trixie will be providing your transportation, she expects you all to pull your weight. Trixie could squeeze a few of you into her shows,” she continued. “And last, Trixie expects some insurance. Trixie will help, but she wants to walk away from this whole and intact.”

“We should be able to do the first, as for the other two...done. We’ll definitely pull our own weight, and as for safety...Fox doesn’t harm people on her heists, and you won’t be on the scene either way, so yeah, we can guarantee your safety,” Jonathan nodded. “Alright, meet us in an hour over at the train station, and we’ll tell you how it goes.”

“Trixie will be waiting,” she nodded.

It took some convincing, but the chief agreed to fund Trixie as well, so it wasn’t long before they were on their way. After having Trixie’s wagon attached to the back of the train, they were off.

“Alright, so what do we do when we get there?” Echo said as she perched on Howl’s head.

“Normal procedure. We’ll investigate the local police, ask them what they know. Then we move on to witnesses. From there, we’ll see if the guards found anything suspicious. Who knows, maybe the saw her leaving, and which way she went at that. Good thing I got this map of Equestria,” Jonathan nodded as he pulled out said map.

“Alright, so we’ll be playing detective, hot on Fox’s trail,” Heat chuckled. Business as usual to them.

“When Trixie agreed to this, she was somehow expecting something more...exciting. So far she feels like she’s in a crime drama,” Trixie blinked.

“Well, that’s cause we’re still investigating. The real action only starts when the perp comes to light. And with Fox, one way or another, you’ll get to see something spectacular,” Howl commented.

“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Trixie chuckled as the train made its way to Vanhoover.

“Here we are, Tall Tale,” Sleight Hoof said as the carriage approached Tall Tale. However, when the looked at the city, they did a double take. The city was seriously damaged, many buildings were under what appeared to be reconstruction. Some buildings had half of them destroyed, the streets were completely damaged with big circular holes on them, signs and poles were lying on the ground while a large crack divided the eastern part of the city in half. Alice could even see big rocks that had crushed a couple of buildings, leaving nothing but dust. It looked like if a monster straight out of a movie had been wrecking everything around. This wasn’t anything like the images on Toichi’s book..

“Geez, what Pokemon went on a rampage, and who or what ticked it off in the first place?” Rascal commented with a low whistle.

“Well whichever it was, I think its safe to say it was stopped,” Alice sighed, before turning to Sleight. “You sure you still want to be here?”

“Yeah I think so. Sides, if worst come to worst, we can just move on later,” he said.

“Alright, let’s go in then,” Alice nodded, before the carriages were pulled into the city. When they entered, they noticed various ponies going around, obviously busy with rebuilding. “So...where do we go from here?”

“Well, first we should look for a theater or hall to set up the next show. Its been a while since we were here, so we might need to ask for directions,” Storm said, before she did just that. However, not a single Pony even seemed to notice her when she was asking for directions.

“Friendly bunch,” Shade commented sarcastically. “So now what?”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to be direct. We’ll go to town hall. I’m sure we can get some help there,” Sleight chuckled slightly, before the carriages started moving towards their destination.

They soon arrived at town hall, before Sleight and Storm got off, Alice and her team watching from the carriage. As Sleight and Storm walked up to the door, the door opened, revealing a creature that Alice had never seen before. Its head was like a Talonflame’s, but it had clean white feathers instead of the usual orange and black; her body resembled the one of a female Pyroar, but with light brown fur covering it, and two white wings at its side. What impressed the party the most was the elegant look, which was shown by the golden eyeliner and a fancy pearl collar.

“Well what do we have here? Are you who I think you are?” She said with a delicate and sensual accent, “Sleight Hoof himself, I have not seen you in a long time, used to go to all your shows when I was younger.”

“Why yes. Recent developments have convinced me to come out of retirement,” Sleight chuckled. “Glad to see an old fan.”

“That is some wonderful news! Sadly, I am afraid I can not offer much to give you a proper welcome, you see… we had some problems recently… involving these new creatures that are roaming around.”

“Ah yes, the Pokemon. I can see that happening. Some of them certainly are a little...temperamental,” Storm said delicately

“I’d say that ‘temperamental’ is not the right word to define it. More like brute and destructive.”

“...yeah, I guess we lucked out, especially since the first Pokemon we saw was more or less a little fox,” Sleight chuckled awkwardly.

“The first Pokémon I saw was a horned beast with an iron helmet and claws of steel. Followed by a lime-green mantis-looking metal creature and a… shiny and good looking silver four-legged gentleman…” She said, pecking her beak with every word, before snapping back to her normal self, “Please do ignore that. Where are my manners? Come in, we can talk in my office, and you can introduce me this lovely-looking friend of yours,” She looked at Quick Storm with a soft smile on her face.

“Oh yes, this is my wife, Quick Storm. She’s also the owner of the Air Express shipping company,” he introduced.

“Sphinx, councillor of Tall Tale, in charge of internal and external affairs. Come in, we can have a small drink and chat for a couple minutes, I do need to get my head out of all the troubles surrounding the city, with the reconstruction and such. You can also invite the crew of your carriage to go around the city, I’ll get one of the guards to look after your vehicles,” She suggested, spotting the mysterious figure hiding behind the curtain.

“Of course,” they said, before Storm went into the carriage, and before long, several ponies came out.

“I told them they can walk around town if they want, since we don’t need to have them watch the carriage,” she said.

“Marvelous, well, shall we get inside?” She suggested, opening one of her wings and opening the door completely.

“Of course,” Sleight nodded as they walked into the hall.

As they walked to the main office, Sleight decided to strike up some conversation. “So...how have things been in Tall Tale lately? Aside from the Pokemon’s initial rampage at least.”

“Well, besides a couple problems related to the communications with Canterlot, help having to go everywhere they say. We have remained strong, before the incident, we had a stable income from tourists all around Equus, and we have grown from being a simple beach town, to almost a city. And even though progress has been slow due to… some odd decision making, we are getting there!” Sphinx pretty much whispered that last part, evading eye contact with Sleight, before getting back to her usual self, “And what about you, darling, how are your travels going, I imagine that with your age, you may have some troubles traveling as much as you did back in the day.”

“Er...not really. Thanks for the concern though,” Sleight blinked, backing up slightly from the tone. “We have our servants to help us, and I’ve been taking care of my health, so yeah...its really not THAT hard to go on a tour again. I just can’t do my escape artist stunts.”

“Oh yes, I make sure that he DOESN'T do anything stupid,” Storm chuckled.

“Oh dear, you have quite the job, don’t you?” She laughed softly, “Now tell me, had any interesting encounters with Pokémon yet?”

“You mean aside from how some Pokemon have become part of the Guard in just 2 days? Well...several of the smaller ones have been taken in by some of our servants as ‘pets’ of sorts,” Storm chuckled.

“Interesting. Well, even with the first impression I got from them, they have started to grow up on me, we are analyzing the possibilities they give us with their power,”

“I can definitely see that working. One of our servants casted a spell on some of them, and we can see that they’re as intelligent as any of us. I’m sure working together with them won’t be too hard once we establish more effective ways to communicate,” Sleight nodded.

“Well, I personally find some of them extremely interesting, let me introduce you to someone I befriended recently.” As Sphinx finished her sentence, she stretched out her wings and looked at the roof of the building, “Flame, darling, could you please come down to meet some visitors.” Sleight Hoof and Quick Storm looked at the same direction, to spot a red and black bird descending majestically towards them, landing on one of Sphinx’s wings.

“Sir, Madam, an honor to meet you” He bowed.

“The honor is ours,” the two ponies bowed in return, not wanting to look rude. “I see that you’ve all made use of translation spells too,” Sleight nodded.

“Its a requirement, after the incident, the mayor ordered it to ensure that we knew everything these creatures were saying, in order to prevent any future damage. It is also pretty convenient, Flame here helps me in delivering some messages across the city, and also makes for a lovely companion. I am sure that just as your servants, you must have a Pokémon of your own, I suppose you must enjoy the strange, Sleight Hoof, you are a magician after all.”

“Well, it was more my wife this time, but we did adopt one. A small black Fox-like Pokemon,” Sleight admitted. “She’s been a good friend, even if we decided to leave her back at the mansion since we weren't sure if we could properly take care of her while we were on our tour,” he said telling a half-lie.

“Yes, they are quite amazing, aren't they… well, here we are.” She said while pointing at a carefully carved white door near the stairs that lead to the second floor, “I suppose you must be looking for a place to stay, as well as a good stage, am I right?”

“Well, a stage at least. Finding lodging is easy enough. Its the stage that is usually the problem,” Sleight nodded. “So we were wondering if we could talk to the mayor directly.”

“I am afraid that not even I know where he currently is, but lucky you, you met the one that can help you. Flame darling, can you give a message to Perfect Scene for me? Tell her to reserve the best stage she has for one of the best shows she will ever receive, ok? You two, get in my office, we have some cups to drink and some chatting to do.” As the Talonflame left the scene, the two ponies followed the griffin inside.

“Why thank you,” Storm smiled.

“That’s very nice,” Sleight nodded as well.

As they walked in, they decided to strike up some conversation. “So, where is this stage you’re preparing? I was thinking maybe we could have it somewhere more open, so that more people can come watch. I think the ponies here could use some entertainment after working so hard to rebuild the town,” Sleight suggested.

“I see… I’m sure Perfect Scene can give you the plaza stage instead, Hingard Plaza is a place full of tourist and natives alike, on these troubling and stressful times, the plaza remains a happy and relaxing place for everyone.”

“That’s good,” Sleight nodded.

“Glad you like the idea, you just go and talk with her as soon as you arrive”

“Much appreciated,” Sleight nodded. “So...how have things been holding up lately? The issue with the Pokemon over in Baltimare have more or less been stable, though things have been a little tense. Other than that, no big issues.”

“Well, besides our little problem with the iron beast, the people in Tall Tale seem to have mixed feelings about the new creatures. After the attacks, many demanded to send the Pokémon away from the town, others suggested that only the Pokémon themselves are able to defend us against other Pokémon. After Arceus’ speech, the mayor decided to place some Pokémon specific laws. Nothing too extreme of course, but enough to keep things under control.”

“Fair enough. The Baltimare Guard seem to have responded by adding Pokemon into their ranks. Especially the supposed ‘Former Humans’ that seem to be floating around,” Storm nodded.

“Former…humans?” Sphinx asked surprised. “So the rumors were true… former champion…” She muttered, but Sleight heard her all the same, and more importantly, how she said it. “Yeah, they are quite impressive and useful. The reason that the Pokémon are still around is because of their power, our forces were nothing compared to the beast that attacked us. The mayor is afraid another attack may occur.”

“Well, that’s a smart move I suppose. But I don’t know if its really as big of a problem as you think. The Pokemon are clearly intelligent, so talking works too...most of the time,” Storm said.

“Its true. I’m quite sure many of the issues were solved by talking...though some probably needed to be...beaten up before they listened,” Sleight agreed, chuckling slightly at the end.

“Sometimes words are better than swords, but other times force is required to defend what’s important. Sadly here at Tall Tale we learned it the bad way…” Sphinx looked at the window in the middle of her office, destroyed buildings could be seen not far from there, and hard-working ponies tirelessly tried to fix what the Pokémon arrival had caused. “I’m not sure if the people of Tall Tale will forget these events easily, or completely forgive Pokémon kind as a whole.”

Sleight and Storm also looked on sadly, before an idea occurred to them. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Sleight smiled.

“I think I am,” Storm nodded. “Its too bad they’re so high strung...how about we change that.”

“What are you two planning to do?” Sphinx smiled

“Let’s show them that Pokemon are really just like us on the whole. Spread this message. ‘Any and all Pokemon who are interested, come meet us at our stage. Its time we showed everyone that you all came in peace, by giving them a blast!’,” Sleight smiled, before adding, “And cancel any and all sales for our tickets. This next show is for all of Tall Tale, and is now officially 100% free.”

“Schedule, darling” Sphinx called

“Yes ma'am?” The secretary replied

“I want you to take note of what mister Sleight Hoof and miss Quick Storm have to say. Whatever detail they may add, you write it down. I want their words to be spread around the city, and stop any events that may happen tonight, let the announcement be known to the poor and the rich, to any pony, griffin, or Pokémon that may be on the streets. Tell them that the show of their lifetimes will be showing to night and that they are all invited for free!”

“And leave the preparations to us. We’ll take care of the show itself,” Sleight nodded, before they got up to leave. “Thank you very much for the help, Sphinx. I do hope you can come to the show too.”

“It was my pleasure, and I think I will just do that,” Sphinx nodded.

“So...all set?” Alice asked when Sleight and Storm got back.

“More or less,” Sleight smiled cryptically.

“So...any word on this city? Its a tourist spot, and those tend to be pretty rife with crime,” Alice asked again.

“Well...not that we know. Buuut....we do know someone who might know,” Storm said cryptically. “We’ll need to make sure she’s in town, but that shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Oh? Who would that be?” Alice mused, interested.

“Oh you’ll see,” they chuckled before trotting away. “And one more thing, Alice. Be ready for tonight. Cause tonight may just be a night you and your friends will never forget.”

“I wonder what they’re gonna do?” Shade mused.

“Maybe we should find out,” Scep suggested.

“Nah, let them keep the surprise. Sides, it might be fun,” Alice said. “Besides, we’ve got a bigger issue to deal with. Namely your outfit.”

“What’s wrong with my threads?” Scep glared, a slight snarl on his mouth.

“Nothing. Its just that...it stands out too much. You were wearing it on our last heist, and you were seen with it. If you keep wearing that in public, it won’t be long till someone puts two and two together. If that happens, we’re through,” Alice explained.

“This, dudette,” Scep worked on his collar. “Is my uniform. I’ve worn it for years, proudly too. How else are they gonna know I’m PLA?”

“And on a heist that is perfectly alright. All I’m asking is that for when we’re not on heists, you wear something else. At least to avoid anyone making the connection on who you are,” Alice nodded as she reasoned.

Scep stared at her for a moment. “Well, you’ve got me there, but I’m not going to shy away being PLA any time soon.”

“I’m not asking you to. You being a member of the PLA is as much a part of you as being Fox is to me. All I’m asking is that when we’re not on Heists, don’t make it TOO obvious, and your uniform...kinda paints a bull’s-eye,” Alice nodded. “Besides, I’ll even let you pick. Sleight was really happy with some of the tricks I showed him, he’s actually paid me for some of the tricks. So I’ve got some money to buy some stuff.”

“There’s that word,” Scep tapped his chin. “Buy? I keep forgetting what that means. Buy? Buy?...Oh that, yeah we don’t ‘buy’ back in the PLA. Well, except for the ‘Honorary Pokemon’, though.”

“Fair enough. Unfortunately, I AM technically an honorary Pokemon, since remember, I was human a week ago, so yeah, as Alice I usually follow the law. Besides…” she smirked slightly. “Did you know, that sometimes the truth is a key part in some of the biggest deceptions?”

“Kind of,” Scep answered. “I wasn’t part of the intel things. That was Agent Gold and General Yan’s thing...Though Yan was more focused on destroying human intel and stations.”

“Then consider this a simple exercise. If you saw someone who always acted like an upstanding citizen, followed the law, and generally never caused trouble, would you consider them likely candidates for notorious criminals?” Alice chuckled.

“That’s sounds like a really boring person,” Scep deadpanned. “Though, we do have some of the Honorary Pokemon act like that. It works most of the time...Well, except with Raziel.” He shivered. “Guy made a necklace out of their teeth for his wife.”

“...excuse us,” the Fox gang deadpanned, before running to the toilet. When they got back, they all looked a little pale. “Okay, new rule. Scep, you don’t talk about what Raziel did. EVER,” Alice deadpanned.

“Anyway, as you just confirmed, yes, that is exactly the point. By keeping up an image of us being upstanding citizens, we can further distance ourselves from suspicion. Remember Scep, until you find the PLA again, you won’t have any real place to hide other than here. And that’s something we won’t be able to do if we give off who we are,” Alice stated.

“I’m actually surprised no one’s tried to attack me because I’m PLA,” Scep pondered to himself. “I mean, we weren’t exactly ‘buddy buddy’ with everyone in the world.”

“That...actually...you know...that’s really a good point,” Alice deflated, causing the rest of her team to sweat drop. “Anyway, so is that a yes? Can we at least get you some day clothes?”

“Sure thing,” Scep smiled. “Though no promises on the Raziel stuff. I don’t like it, but we might bump into some mons that do. So, I’ll keep my mouth shut for now...I really hope Roa’s okay. She might have...gotten scared and that never works out for everyone else. Hope they like blood red.”

“Well...at least we’ll know about it when it happens…” Shade chuckled weakly.

“Yeah, then we can go head first to the killing machine, even if its not her fault. I quite like having my limbs attached. That and breathing,” Rascal snorted, earning a smack upside the head from Alice.

“Be nice,” she simply said, before turning to Scep. “Okay, let’s go then. No point in stalling,” and soon they were out in the city.

It wasn’t long before they could find a clothes shop with a reasonable price tag to find Scep a new outfit.

“Okay, Scep, I guess you can take your pick, then we’ll see what happens next,” Alice said. “Just make sure to keep it legit. We’re not thieves right now, okay.”

Scep’s brain ceased to function. “Not...thieves?” He stared at her in horror.

“Er...yes, we kinda need to keep up appearance for now,” Alice nodded.

“No, I’m fucking done,” Scep glared at her. “I’m fucking done.”

“...wait...but we’ve only been here for like 2 minutes,” Rascal blinked, before he had a devious idea. “Oh wait, don’t tell me you’re too chicken to do this.”

“That’s Tauros shit,” Scep dramatically pointed a finger at him. “That’s fucking Tauros shit, little rodent!”

“Awww, but you won’t even play along for all of...20 minutes. Big chicken. Bawk bawk bawk bawk,” Rascal taunted.

“Er...Rascal...should we really be doing that in here?” Alice sighed.

“Chicken?” Scep’s stare wasn’t so much a glare, but more of a blank look. Though the eyes spoke of hatred. He leaned down to his level. “How about this. Did you ever go up against any of Raziel’s thugs, robots, or enhanced pokemon and humans, hmm? Any of that? Answer me fairly, dude.”

“Nope, but at least I’m not chicken enough to not even be able to play along for 20 minutes,” he grinned shamelessly.

“If I could blow up a mech,” Scep answered. “If I could take out a room full of guards without a scratch, I can do this. Still, don’t call me a chicken. I’ve killed plenty enough in my time, you wouldn’t be too different.”

“Oh yeah, then prove that you can do this,” Rascal grinned.

“Did Rascal suddenly gain a death wish?” Shade deadpanned to the side, causing Alice to shrug, though she looked worried.

“I will,” Scep growled and quickly went over and grabbed a few hawaiian styled clothes you’d see on one of those laid back, hippy types. “These’ll do, dudette.”

“Okay then, we’ll get that. But...something is missing…” she mused, before snapping her claws. “I know!” she went to another section, and when she came back, she had a pair of stylish sunglasses. “These might go well with that outfit,” she suggested.

“Aw yeah,” Scep grinned, putting on the shades. “The ladies are gonna love this new get up.”

“Perfect, now let’s pay for them now then,” she nodded, and unseen to her and Scep, Rascal had his paws up in a ‘V’ shape.

“Good job for a change, Rascal,” Shade chuckled. “I was worried he was gonna chop you in half for a minute there.”

“I was,” Scep happily commented. “But I don’t feel like it right now, dude. Ain’t got the right mojo at the moment.”

“Alright, so here we are,” Jonathan said as he looked up at the local Guard Office. Stepping inside, they were immediately met with a few of the guards.

“Halt! State your name and business here,” they stated...right before they realized that it was another of the odd cre-Pokemon that had appeared.

Jonathan was about to answer, when suddenly a Pegasus Pony interrupted.

“Who are you!? And I want you to answer that a few seconds ago!” The Pegasus literally said in a yell-like tone.

“I’m Officer Jonathan Trace, Baltimare Guard,” he started. “I’m guessing you’re the captain of this Guard?”

“What’s your business here, Officer? Be quick about it and I might just listen to you!” the Pegasus interrupted, more or less confirming his thoughts.

“Its about the recent attempted robbery. I’m quite certain I know who the perp is, and I’m chasing after her. I came here to inquire about any and all witnesses to the incident,” Jonathan quickly said.

“If you are looking for witnesses, I might be able to help you with that, Officer Trace! Word has reached my ear that our premier crea….Pokemons in town are in the know of the robbery currently in investigations!”

Jonathan frowned at his near slip, but decided to let it go. “Alright. Do they have names?”

“I don’t know their names, but I do know where they might be living right now!”

“And that would be?”

“They’re currently living with the Bat Pony mare in town called Solar Dawn! Him and several of his friends right now!”

“Alright then. Can you tell us what kind of Pokemon they are? Also, where does this...Solar Dawn live?”

“Well, the first one who commanded some big, and winged four-legged Dragon with axe-like wings is a hydra-like thing with three heads. The second one was said Dragon with axe-like wings. The third and fourth one is some green-ish bubbly Pokemon….thing and one that looks like a giant moth, though only the first three were seen at the robbery.”

“Okay, so a Salamence, a Hydreigon, a...I’m assuming a Reuniclus, and either a Dustox or a Volcarona. And about where Solar Dawn lives?”

“She lives nearby, everyone in here knows the only Bat Pony that lives here. You can ask them and they’ll point you in the right direction. But if you want, I could tell you.”

“Okay, I think that’s all, Jonathan nodded, jotting down the names and information into the notepad he had with him.

“Now then, if that’s all, Officer Trace or are you going to stand here like a Celestia-forsaken statue and prevent me from doing my job?”

“Didn’t you come into our way?” Jonathan mentally sweat dropped, but just left with a quick, “Thank you.” All that mattered now was that they had a lead.

Finding the house turned out to be very easy, as true enough, everyone knew where it was due to the resident. When they got to the house, they saw that the house was a rather normal looking one instead of a grandiose one like they had started to expect.

“After all the talk we heard, Trixie was expecting something a bit...more,” Trixie couldn’t help but say.

“Well, just goes to show you always have to take rumors with a pinch of salt,” Jonathan said, shaking his head.

“Might also be due to her species. I mean, they kept calling her a Bat Pony. Maybe that’s the equivalent of a Dark-type Pony?” Howl commented.

“Well, not like it matters. We came here for a reason, so let’s go,” Heat said, as he walked up to the door and knocked on it.

A few seconds later, the door opened inward to reveal a simple looking Bat Pony mare with the eyes of the deepest seas and blood red mane staring at them. The most peculiar thing was the golden-winged brooch she’s was wearing alongside the leathery wings attached to her sides.

Upon seeing the….weird looking Pokemon at the door, she glanced back and forth before scratching her head again. “Uh, can I help you….sirs?”

“Er...yeah. We’re looking for…” Heat started, taking a quick look at the list. “A Hydreigon, a Salamence, a...Reuniclus, and either a Dustox or a Volcarona. But mainly the first 3. We’re investigating the recent robbery, and we were told that they were witnesses to the crime,” Heat explained.

The mare frowned while glancing around in nervousness. She knows full well of who is the big chicken-thing is referring to. “Uh….can you excuse me for a moment?” She quickly went inside, not before closing the door.

“...so far so good,” Jonathan mused, though he certainly noticed the nervousness Solar Dawn was giving off. “But she sure seemed tense.”

“Maybe those Pokemon don’t like the attention. Or maybe she just doesn't like police,” Echo shrugged.

They were into their conversation that they didn't notice that the door had opened up again, revealing a taller than average Hydreigon standing in the doorway. “Who are you?” He asked with a straight tone as he towered over them all.

Jonathan blinked a bit at the sight of the large Pokemon, but quickly answered. “I’m officer Jonathan Trace from Baltimare. My team and I are investigating the recent robbery, and we were told that you and your team were witnesses to the incident.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He answered almost too quickly.

“Ah, I disagree. Several ponies in town CLEARLY testified that they saw, and I quote, ‘A 3 headed black hydra carrying an unconscious dragon with axe-wings, and a bubbly green creature away from the museum’. That was shortly after the attempted heist,” Jonathan said, the amused look on his face would have made Fox proud.

“.....dammit....” The Hydreigon muttered not loud enough for them to hear it. “I was carrying them after they got into an accident, I don’t know about the museum robbery until after I heard of it.”

“I don’t know why you’re avoiding answering, but at the rate you’re going, you’ll be feeding the other rumors. The ones that say that you’re accomplices of the attempted theft, or that you did the theft yourselves. Now really, please stop doing something that will risk you taking the blame for Fox’s actions. None of us, Fox included, want that,” Jonathan sighed.

“Hey, Eric! Is there something wrong out there? Is there anyone out there that needs a beating?” A female voice called out from behind the Hydreigon.

“No, don’t worry, girl! I’ll handle this.” Eric replied without glancing over his shoulder.

“Looks like there are a bunch of Pokemon out there playing the detective, Sally!” Another voice, this one male, said. “Isn’t that wonderful, now we got a bunch of kids playing investigations. Isn’t that rightfully cute? Sure, maybe you should leave them Eric, let them have a go at it and the worse is they ended up killing themselves.”

“Shut up, Will!” the female voice from earlier shot back.

“...your team, I’m guessing? Either way, I think it would be in all our interest if you came clean,” Jonathan simply said.

“Jonathan’s right you know,” Howl chimed in.

Silence occurred right after the Mightyena said that. It is broken when the Hydreigon let out a sigh. “What do you want to know?”

“Let’s start with names, then move on to what happened,” Jonathan smiled before holding out a paw. “Jonathan Trace, Baltimare Guard. These are my teammates, Heat, Howl, and Echo,” Jonathan started, gesturing to the respective Pokemon. “And this is our friend, Trixie. She’s helping us out for now,” he finished, gesturing to the mare.

Eric raised an eyebrow when he mentioned Baltimare Guard which weren’t even supposed to be here. “Baltimare Guard? If my knowledge is correct, this city is not Baltimare, it’s Vanhoover. What are you doing here?”

“I’m assuming you’re the former human of this group, correct?” Jonathan sighed.

“Yeah, what of it? I don’t see any relevance in your imminent questions.” He replied curtly.

“I am, or rather, I was the officer in charge of Fox’s case back on Earth. While I don’t think this was one of her actual heists, in that she isn’t directly responsible for it, I’m pretty sure she had a hand in this one,” Jonathan sighed. “And so far, you seem to be the only person who can confirm this.”

“The one who wore a cavalier hat?”

“That's right. Know any other Phantom Thieves who wear that and WEREN’T caught before this whole transfer?” Jonathan sighed.

“....no, I only saw this female Zoroark who does look like the Phantom Thief Fox judging from the hat and the cape she wore. I assumed it was her.”

“A Shiny Zoroark, right?”

“Yeah, she is.”

“Then its her. She literally just evolved after her first heist on this world, back in Baltimare,” Jonathan nodded. “Alright, so can you tell me what happened?”

“I was going back after I saved this stallion from an angry Tentacruel, then when were just passing the museum, I noticed one peculiar thing in the dead of the night….the door is wide open. I decided to investigate inside and found a Sceptile wearing some kind of uniform and Weavile attempting a robbery. I ordered my team to stop them and they did, the Weavile and Sceptile were nearly knocked out. After that, it was chaos, as suddenly this flocks of Pidgeys suddenly appeared everywhere and the Shiny Zoroark appeared. I assumed that with how the Weavile and Sceptile disappeared before she herself appeared, they’re her accomplices.” Eric had maintained his straight tone and face as he explained what happened.

“Yeah, sounds like Fox’s usual entrance. The Weavile we’re aware, but the Sceptile is new. Though...a Sceptile in uniform...where have we heard that before...” Jonathan nodded, while musing the last part.

“That PLA Pokemon!” Heat suddenly said.

“Right!” Jonathan nodded. “So he’s in league with Fox now, huh?”

“Anyway, you were saying?” Jonathan said, prompting Eric to continue.

“I tried to stop her, but…..she hardly fights fair. My Reuniclus, Will was knocked out by a Hyper Beam from the ceiling and,” The Brutal Pokemon chewed his lips as he prepared himself to say the next part of the descriptions. “Sally, my Salamence….she still tried to….fight the thief even after receiving two Ice-type attacks.”

“She what?” Jonathan blinked. “That was a very dumb move. Fox is a thief, so don’t expect her to play fair when it comes to battles. Furthermore, insisting on fighting after taking 2 Ice Moves...not the smartest thing to do. You should have called her off,” Jonathan said, shaking his head at the end.

“Sally can be stubborn, I would have called her back with her Pokeball if I could to prevent her from pushing herself, but that is out of the question now. In the end, I ordered Sally to stop her the best she can with her limited strength. We failed and she left as I tended to them and carried them back here that night.”

“Well...it was a good effort either way. Most civilians usually stay OUT of Fox’s way,” Jonathan nodded. “Thank you for the info. Is there anything else you can tell me?”

“Nothing more that is relevant, she’s probably already long gone by now.”

“Alright then. Thank you for your time, and sorry to bother you,” Jonathan nodded, before they left the house. “Alright then, next we’ll check on the border guards. Maybe they can tell us where she went...assuming they saw her that is…”

“Here’s hoping,” Echo commented.

Later, after getting back to the Carriages, The Fox gang was met with an odd sight. Sleight and Storm were there, but alongside them was a Unicorn Mare that none of them had seen before. She had a dusty brown coat, with a light blue mane. Her cutie mark was that of a magnifying glass over what appeared to be a note pad.

“Hey everyone, say hello to Info Scoop. She’s an old friend of ours, and one of the best Mares to talk to when you want to find out some shady business,” Sleight Hoof said.

“So these guys are the new friends you made, huh?” Info Scoop mused, before chuckling. “Always knew you two liked odd things. This fits right up your alley.”

“Charming mare,” Shade snorted.

“Nice kitty,” Info shot back in amusement.

“Witty kind of pony, eh? Those types are fun,” Rascal chuckled.

“So you’re an old friend of Sleight and Storm?” Alice asked, smiling pleasantly. “Nice to meet you, I’m Alice.”

“AKA the Fox, right?” Info Scoop chuckled. “I worked it out myself, especially since the gang that’s been squeezing us suddenly went defunct, and I’ve been paying attention to the stories. So the only reason Sleight and Storm would be housing you all, especially if you haven’t been in his shows, is if you all did something big for him,” she nodded.

“Very astute, Ms. Scoop. You’re the first person to figure it out...though you did have an unfair advantage,” Alice chuckled. “So, you have info on the crime in this city?”

“You’re darn right I do,” Info Scoop nodded. “If you’re aiming for the crime lords around here, I can point you straight to the biggest one of them all,” she boasted.

“And that would be…?” Alice goaded.

“Right right. Sorry about that,” Scoop chuckled sheepishly. “Anyways, to be honest...we don’t have all that many criminal organizations, this town is not that big, and being filled with mostly historical artifacts and such, not many can find valuable loot in here. Of course we have our regular street thieves, but nothing too dangerous. The real problem are not the outlaws, but the law itself. The biggest criminal of Tall Tale, Mayor Grumble.”

“Wait, what?!” Sleight and Storm gasped. “But...we just talked to one of his subordinates, that nice Griffin, Sphinx...and she didn’t seem to have anything bad to say about the mayor!”

“Consider yourself lucky, out of Grumble’s four subordinates, she is the calmest and the least involved in the ‘irregularities’ surrounding Tall Tale. She is a manipulative beauty, the one in charge of hiding what’s wrong with the management, it doesn’t surprise me that you couldn’t notice anything odd with her. They all have their roles, they protect the mayor’s corruption from the public eye. But out of all the times Grumble has abused his power, tomorrow night will be the worst he’s done so far.”

“I see....” Alice mused. “Alright, so what is this...action he is about to do? And do you know where it’ll happen?”

“Of course I do, finding out information like this is MY special talent. I always get a scoop when I can find one,” she said, sounding rather proud. “Anyways, out of all the things Grumble likes to do, taking money from the city treasury is probably his favorite. Five months ago, an obscene amount of money was sent to Canterlot, of course a… friend noticed this, researched about it, and found out the purpose of this withdrawal. Turns out, it was for an order of a statue, and from my own snooping, apparently its a golden statue of himself. It gets worse considering that such a withdrawal caused major trouble for the people, many prices rose, many ponies lost a lot that month, some were even forced to beg and even robe, the excuse? Government's fault, and the media was in charge of confirming that badly crafted story …”

“That scumbag...” Alice growled.

“Right,” Scoop nodded. “Anyways, I’ve recently got news regarding such statute, it seems like a wanted criminal group known for doing any kind of dirty work to anyone with enough bits is bringing the finished statue to town. Grumble has decided to hide the statue until the chaos caused by the rampage passes, imagine the reaction of the public if they find out that their mayor has decided to get such luxury in such times of need, they can’t risk it. They are hiding the statute in a storage building on the outskirts of Tall Tale, and apparently they are going to present it to the mayor tomorrow night.”

“Hm...alright. How are the Police in this town? Are they in on this, or is there anyone we could trust to do the right thing if they had enough evidence?” Alice asked.

“The police force is in chaos, some have dared to stand up against Green Lead, head of the department and overall security...lets just say that it didn’t end well. I doubt anyone would try to go up against the mayor directly…though I do have one name in mind, someone that could convince the police force to stand up, as well as the citizens, against Grumble if the right conditions are given. An old yet respected cop who is known to everyone, Golden Star. The guy is a saint and the incarnation of justice itself sometimes. Everypony loves him. Show him enough evidence, and you will see a massive riot, and Grumble being thrown to jail with his subordinates.”

“Alright then, we’ll do what we can,” Alice nodded.

“...I hate to suggest this, but at tonight’s show, everything is free, so most of the town should be there tonight. If things go well...you can use the show as a diversion to prepare,” Sleight sighed.

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t feel good about using your show for something like this…even if its just preparations,” Alice said.

“No, its okay. That would be the best time, so please do it,” Sleight said.

“...alright. If you insist,” Alice nodded, before smiling. “Thank you, Sleight.”

“Anytime, Alice,” he smiled.

“Alright, so you say you think you saw a suspicious figure that night dart into the woods?” Jonathan confirmed.

“Yes. That’s right. I would have followed, but as things were I felt it best that I didn’t since at the time I was the only one on patrol at the time, I didn’t want to leave my post for what I thought I might have seen,” the guard nodded.

“Alright then…” Jonathan sighed, checking the map. “If she really did exit through this way, that makes her likely destination...Tall Tale.”

“Then we’d better get going before she can jump towns again,” Heat said.

“Right, let’s hurry,” Jonathan nodded, the five of them heading quickly for Trixie’s wagon as they soon set out for the next town on the trail of the elusive thief.

“You know, when you said it was a surprise, I was expecting something big,” Alice blinked.

“And this?” Sleight chuckled.

“Let me put it this way. Big does not even begin to describe this,” she simply said. The place that Sleight had been given for his show was PACKED with an assorted number of Pokemon of all shapes and sizes.

“Alright everyone, settle down!” Sleight said, as the various voices of the Pokemon died down. “As you all know, we’re here for one thing only. To show all of Tall Tale, and maybe all of Equus that you all mean no harm,” Sleight started, earning several murmurs of agreement from the collective Pokemon. “That’s why, tonight we’ll show everyone the fun side of Pokemon, and by the end of the night, we’ll leave them with a memory that will make not even the most stubborn able to call you all monsters!” Sleight cheered, earning a resounding applause from the gathered Pokemon. “Now then, we have about 2 hours at least before the show till then, feel free to think up a performance, and if you’d like, show it to me before the performance, and I’ll give you some pointers if I see any necessary.”

With that, the area immediately became bustling again with activity, as the Pokemon milled about, thinking up acts for the show, a few of them taking up Sleight’s offer and showing him their stunts, to which the old stallion would comment and give helpful tips.

“They sure look like they’re having fun,” Alice chuckled, walking up to him in her Earth Pony illusion. “This is a really good thing you’re doing, Sleight.”

“I would hope so. An entertainer’s duty is to make people smile. And besides, I’d hate to leave a city knowing that there’s so much tension between the residents and the Pokemon,” he smiled.

“Yet what we’re about to do...it might go either way,” Alice sighed sadly.

“It can’t be helped. In the long run, it would be better that you do this now, rather than later. Besides, the people deserve to know the truth. We believe in you, Alice,” Sleight smiled.

“Thank you,” Alice nodded, before going backstage. It wasn’t long before it was time for the show to begin. The stands were filled to the brim as pretty much the entire city had come to watch.

Backstage, Sleight exhaled, calming himself. Putting on his top hat and cape, he got out of the chair he was sitting on. “Nervous?” Storm teased.

“Oh, its only my biggest show yet, one that could potentially decide whether or not the people living here will learn to accept the Pokemon...or decide to run them out,” he said dryly.

“Oh don’t worry. Everything will turn out just fine. It always does with your shows,” Storm chuckled, planting a light kiss on his cheek for luck.

“Hope you’re right. This isn’t our usual show after all,” Sleight nodded, before stepping out and into the stage. When he was out, he beheld the massive audience. Putting on his best smile for his show, he looked at all of them. “Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome one and all to this one night only spectacular!”

The crowd cheered, looking forward to hearing what he had planned. “Before we begin, citizens of Tall Tale, I must offer you my condolence for the recent damage your city has suffered,” he started, lowering his head slightly, the top hat covering his eyes. Likewise, the crowd grew somber at that, though some looked angry as well. “However, I implore you all to not let this one incident make you turn your backs on the possibility that has been presented to us! Away from what may be our new friends!” Sleight said, his features brightening as he said that. The crowd seemed a bit confused, but some of them, notably the younger members who had befriended some of the Pokemon already smiled. “That’s why, tonight, I won’t be the only one entertaining you, but rather, all of the Pokemon who volunteered to help me show you that despite how they look, the Pokemon are really no different from you or I!” Sleight Hoof finished with a dramatic bow.

The crowd was silent for a moment, but then, one by one, they started clapping from the sincere speech. With that done, Sleight decided to open up the act, with something simple. He took out what looked like a deck of cards, and before the eyes of the audience, they seemed to float out of his hand, circling around him, before they started shifting around in the air, ending with them neatly returning to his hoof, once more a full deck. “Now then, to all the audience in the front row,” he started, trotting up to them. “Pick a card. Any card from the deck,” Sleight smiled.

The audience did so, and when all the cards were gone, Sleight pointed to one of them to reveal their card. Doing so, he showed the number: 5. “And first, we have number 5, come on out guys,” Sleight said, and from the stage, a pair of small Pokemon came out. A Totodile and an Eevee.

“And now...let the show...BEGIN!” Sleight called out dramatically

To the surprise of the audience, the two suddenly began to have a dance off as music started playing from seemingly out of nowhere. It was honestly quite cute with how the small Pokemon jumped about, and even did a break dance, which was pretty impressive considering it was the Eevee that did it. The cute display went on for a while, ending rather hilariously as the Totodile tried to do a break dance as well...only to accidentally spin into the Eevee, leaving both Pokemon in a heap. The audience winced at the sight, but upon seeing the two Pokemon pick themselves up, not the least bit injured from the accident, they laughed and clapped as the two exited the stage.

The rest of the evening went by in a similar fashion, with Sleight picking out a card with a number from the audience, and with each card, a different act performed by Pokemon was done. The crowd was mesmerized by the Psychic Pokemon who worked together levitating various items in synch, and using them to form various intricate symbols and designs, which was only matched by the act done by several Ariados who used their webs to form pictures of various Legendary Pokemon that left the audience in awe at how accurate and fast they worked.

The foals certainly had the time of their lives as several of them were allowed to be part of the show, as as Machamp juggled them, all of them laughing all the way as the Machamp seemed to be having fun too. Likewise, they also had a thrill as a few more volunteers were riding on the backs of several large Flying-types as they did several mid-air stunts, the foals cheering like they were on a roller coaster.

Rushes of thrill went down the spines of the audience as they saw some of the more daring stunts, such as the Whirlipedes and Sandslashes who did daredevil stunts by rolling at full speed off of a ramp, over several beds of spikes that came from Celestia knew where. Said thrill was soon doubled when the following stunt was that of a Venusaur juggling several torches with his vinewhips...only said torches were on FIRE thanks to the Magby that was with him, with more being added and soon set on fire too.

Even during the few intermissions, the audience was alive with chatter as they talked about the show, all of them having enjoyed the various acts so far, and were looking forward to what was coming next.

The audience was soon laughing again as they saw several silly acts done by some of the more silly looking Pokemon, notably a few Wobbuffet and Spindas doing a clown routine. They were soon in awe again as they watched several Butterfree spreading their powder from their wings, before a Beautifly flew into the veil, and used Morning Star to set the whole veil alight and spread it out, making it looked like stars were showering down on the audience.

The audience was soon left clapping when several bladed Pokemon, such as Scyther, Pawniard, and even a Honedge began carving several blocks of wood, creating several fine carvings of what appeared to be themselves, and in record time too.

The evening went on, and before long it was time for the final act, and what an act it was. For the finale, many of the Pokemon came together, and formed a pyramid together, ending with several of the smaller Flying-types landing on the top of the Pyramid, causing the audience to cheer loudly at the impressive sight of the finished pyramid. With that final cheer, the pyramid was suddenly encircled by a mass of red, which seemed to wrap around them, before shrinking and revealing itself to have seemingly been the underside of Sleight Hoof’s cape, as the Stallion was suddenly where the Pyramid had been.

“Thank you one and all! We hope you enjoyed this show as much as we enjoyed performing it!” he smiled. “Now then, everyone, take a final bow!” he said, as he took of his cape, and waved it, seemingly making it grow, before it shrunk again, having swept across the stage, revealing various Pokemon who had been on stage, as Sleight and all of them took one final bow for the night.

The last thing heard that night was the uproarious applause from the audience for what may have been the greatest show they had ever seen.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Sorry for the late update. I was having writer's block with this one. Enjoy

Tenth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Tenth Heist

Opening theme:

Alice inwardly frowned as they made their way to their destination. To be honest, she still felt bad about using Sleight and the Pokemon for cover, but thanks to the time constraint...they really didn’t have much of a choice.

“Chillax dudette. He already said it was okay, so let’s do this,” Scep grinned, once more in his PLA uniform.

“Scep’s right, Alice. Like Sleight said, it’s better if we expose the truth now instead of letting that corrupt mayor cause more damage in the long run,” Shade nodded, before stopping and adding, “And I can’t believe I just said Scep was right.”

Alice chuckled when she heard that. “Alright, you’re right. Let’s get to work,” she chuckled, as she put on her cape and hat in mid-air before applying her illusion.

When they got to their destination, they beheld a sizeable warehouse. Quickly making their way up to the roof, they were able to peer inside. Thankfully, since becoming a Zoroark, Fox had found herself having a MUCH easier time seeing in the dark compared to when she was human. Looking through the windows, they saw the state of their next target.

Inside the warehouse, crates of different size and color could be spotted. Most of such crates were laying next to the walls of the building, some more noticeable than others. A few of the larger crates were completely covered by sheets, others were open and revealed some clandestine weapons, probably for the use of the grunts. Yet what stood out the most was the crate placed in the middle of the building. This large open crate revealed a huge figure covered by yet another sheet. The shape easily revealed its identity, it was the statue that Info Scoop was talking about, guarded by several grunts. One of them was a bulky gray earth pony, who seemed to lead the group, telling the subordinates where to go and what to do. Fox looked closer, and spotted an eyepatch and a saddlebag, which held what appeared to be a small knife. The defense of the statue was...rather minimal at this point. That and the guards weren’t acting like guards at all.

“...this place is...as bad as Baltimare...at least for now,” Fox mused. “These guys don’t look like they really care about guarding anything...though considering they’re working for the Mayor, they might not THINK they need to be too diligent, since they’ve technically got the law on their side.”

“So they’re outlaws who have protection from the law?” Scep commented, before blinking. “And I have no idea how that even made sense.”

“Good point. However...that just leaves us with more openings to exploit...at least for now,” Shade chuckled, as Spinner and Charlotte crawled inside. “To avoid drawing attention, their lighting is minimal. Even so, they won’t suspect a thing with two random Spinaraks crawling about. We’d better make use of it before they get serious later.”

Before the two Spinaraks were in, Fox gave them a few more metal balls. “I managed to prepare these net bombs. You know what to do.”

“Roger,” the two saluted, before crawling in. As they crawled across the walls, they were sure to scan the room for any and all notable details. So far, nothing of note, since as Fox had predicted, security was likely lax due to them being backed by the Mayor. Of course, this left them with the perfect chance to find spots to set the net bombs, particularly in areas they could simply...herd some pursuers. With that task done, they were about to leave...until they noticed one of the large square containers that were covered in cloth move a little. Taking a closer look, they managed to find a small opening in the cloth, and what they saw made their eyes widen as they quickly crawled away. Moving back to the window, they reported what they saw, and when they were done, Fox frowned. “Well, that makes thing...problematic,” she mused, before chuckling slightly. “But nothing we can’t handle.”

“Of course not a problem, dudette. One good Dig, and that thing is going to be seeing stars,” Scep chuckled.

“Okay, not problematic, but interesting all the same,” Fox chuckled. “Alright then, we’ve done what we came here to do. Now we need to leave the notice, and I think we need a better location for that.” And with that, the Fox gang disappeared into the night.

The next day, the local guard station was host to an interesting guest. “Here we are. Tall Tale. Hope we’re on the right track,” Jonathan sighed as he and his team walked up to the door. When they entered, they crashed into a young light brown Pegasus who was about to leave the station. The stallion blinked, trying to identify the creatures standing in front of them. He still had a hard time acknowledging that Pokémon were real, yet he knew he had to treat them as equals, even if their presence was extremely intimidating.

“Uh… can- can I help you?”

“Er...yeah. I’m Jonathan Trace from the Baltimare guard. I was wondering if I could speak to the guard captain here?” Jonathan said politely.

“Uhm… Mister Green Lead is not around right now, he left for a meeting with the mayor.”

“Oh. I see...in that case, can I speak to whoever is in charge at the moment?”

“That would be Chief Golden Star, uhm… I’ll tell him you are looking for him. Please, come in” He said nervously, sweat running through his body.

“Alright. Thank you,” Jonathan nodded.

“Seems kinda jumpy, doesn’t he?” Heat whispered.

“He’s probably still getting used to us. Can’t really blame him,” Howl said.

As they walked in, they were told to wait as the stallion from before went to find Chief Golden Star. In the meantime, they watched as various Ponies milled about the station, though many of them seemed nervous about the Pokemon. “...why do I get the feeling they’re not too happy about us being here?” Echo asked.

“I think it might have something to do with the damages we saw before. The large foot prints make it very likely a Pokemon did it,” Jonathan sighed.

“Meh, guess we’ll just have to prove them wrong then if they think we’re dangerous,” Heat shrugged, not noticing the deadpan look his teammates gave him when he said that.

They waited for a little more, before the stallion from before called them them into one of the offices. Walking in, they saw a brown Earth Pony stallion sitting at the desk.
“Well...Silver Star was not wrong, a spiky dog, an over-grown chicken, a black wolf, and a purple bat,” He chuckled, “Welcome to Tall Tale, my friends. My name is Golden Star, currently the one in charge of the police force in the city. What can I help you with?”

“Er...yes. Thank you very much,” Jonathan nodded. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go straight to the point. I’m Jonathan Trace, Baltimare Guard. I’m here tracking a notorious thief from back on Earth,” He said.

“A thief? From your planet? Well we’ve received various reports of some minor confrontations with the Pokémon, but nothing too serious. Besides our own street thieves, I don’t believe the guy you are looking for is here.” Golden Star replied softly, proud of the peace surrounding the city.

“Well...its too soon to say. Fox is good at blending in with the crowd, and really, the only way we’ll know for sure is if…” Howl was saying, before one of the officers burst into the room.

“We’ve got trouble!” He said, looking very alarmed. “We just got this notice that there is going to be a robbery!”

“...something like that happens,” the Pokemon finished with a deadpan look.

“Bring that note here, boy. “ As soon as the note arrived to Golden Star’s desk, the Chief decided to read the note out loud

‘Tonight, I’ll be taking that which Mayor Grumble holds most dear. Phantom Thief Fox’ was what was written on the notice.

“Seems kinda vague compared to normal…” Heat commented.

Jonathan on the other hand, turned to Golden Star. “Any idea what the Mayor holds most dear?”

“Well, the deal is… Mayor Grumble owns many things that would be considered precious. He is a wealthy respectable stallion, so I wouldn’t be able to tell what’s the Mayor’s most valuable possession.” The Chief sighed.

“Well that narrows it down,” Jonathan sighed. “So where did you find this notice?” he asked the stallion who had brought the small note.

“Er...I found it attached to the front door just now. I don’t know how it got there, but I figured its better to be safe than sorry,” the stallion replied.

“Alright…” Jonathan nodded, before turning to Golden Star. “We should see where there is another notice.”

“Another notice? What kind of thief is this Fox anyways? Why does she announces her heists like that?” Golden Star questioned, he had dealt with many thieves in his past, yet this was one of the oddest cases yet, and it just started.

“She’s a Phantom Thief, and the latest in the line of people who have used the title. Fox, or rather, the title of Fox, has been around for the last 5 centuries. Its all part of their M.O.” Jonathan explained.

“Five centuries!? So you are saying that we are dealing with an expert thief, not the street kind, but the kind that would rob multiple banks the same day, and get away with it?”

“Well...Fox rarely, if ever, robs a bank, and even so...she always returns what she stole. But...yeah, that kind of thief,” Jonathan said, scratching the back of his head.

“Returns what she steals?... I’m getting too old for this kind of jobs, I don’t know how the thieves back on your planet work, but for me at least, this is far from what I am used to. This… Fox is an outlaw back on your planet, right?”

“Wanted in every region throughout the world, and with a secure position on the Most Wanted List back on Earth,” Jonathan nodded. “That’s the truth for every last Fox that has ever appeared.”

“In that case, I am obliged to help you, I can’t have a Most Wanted from another planet running around the city. I will need your help though, if there’s one thing I’ve learned since you creatures arrived here, is that the only way to stop a Pokémon is with another Pokémon. I’ll need every bit of information you know about how this thief operates. Silver Star,” He called, “Write a letter and send it to the Mayor’s house, we need to inform both him and Captain Green Lead about this attack, and we also need to know about the possible targets. Tell the Mayor to write a list of his most valuable possessions.”

“Yes fathe- I mean, Chief.” As Silver Star left the room, Golden Star took out some quill, paper, and a pair of glasses. “Now then, please tell me all you know about this...Fox.”

“We’ll help however we can,” Jonathan nodded. “Now then, as I was saying before, Fox often likes to leave her notices in places where her targets are located. Now, unless her target is in this station, she would likely send a second notice to where her target is located,” He started. “Now about Fox...the latest Fox, there are a few things you should know. First, is her Pokemon form. Unsurprisingly, she’s been turned into a Zoroark, AKA the Illusion Fox Pokemon. As the name suggests, they’re a species of Pokemon who make liberal use of Illusions to confuse and deceive their opponents,” Jonathan started.

“Well, that makes things far more complicated. A Pokémon that can create illusions... I still have a hard time believing this isn’t a dream… any idea of how to counter these illusions?”

“Normally? Plenty of ways. Illusions are still illusions, so they’re not real. However, that brings us to the next problem. This Fox’s style is that of a magician. Even as a human she made liberal use of magic tricks and illusions to run circles around the police. She’s a master of disguise, is ridiculously athletic, and above all, she was able to mimic another person’s voice near damn perfectly till you can barely tell the difference. And being turned into a Pokemon has only made her even better at it. Our only ‘silver lining’ at the moment, is that since she’s lost her resources, she can’t use elaborate tricks like she sometimes did back on Earth,” Jonathan explained. “As for counters...I might be able to do it. My new body, a Lucario, AKA the Aura Pokemon, can sense and read auras. I can use that to pierce the illusions. Problem is....I don’t have very good control over it yet...,” he sighed at the end.

“Magician…” He said while writing down the details, “So we may have something in common after all. This planet is full of different kinds of magic, and that has lead to many advances in how to counter it. This may not work, but I can provide you with some specialist in deceptions, unicorns that are able to differentiate between magic and reality. We don’t have many, only a couple to be precise, but it’s what we got.” Golden Star offered, decided to end this problem as soon as possible.

“Any help we can get is great. Unfortunately, next comes our third issue. Fox’s team,” Jonathan sighed, while Howl and Heat growled and Echo snorted in annoyance.

“From the reaction of your friends, I’ll guess that they are Pokémon as well, and not the nice-kind. How many and what can they do?”

“Okay, Fox’s main team from back on Earth include a Liepard, a Weavile, and a pair of Spinaraks,” Jonathan started. “Also, from what I’ve gathered, she’s recently had a new addition to her team, a Sceptile. The first two are Dark-type Pokemon, meaning that they’re immune to Psychic-types. The Spinaraks are bug-types, and since they’re small and agile, Fox likes to use them for espionage. Last is the Sceptile. He’s apparently a member of a rebellion group back on Earth called the Pokemon Liberation Army, or PLA for short, and a general at that. So yeah, she seemed to have recently gotten a fast powerhouse for her team,” Jonathan explained.

“I honestly did not understand half of the things you just said. But you seemed to know a lot about her and her ways.” Golden Star sighed, annoyed by the fact that he had no idea of what they were talking about, thus giving them a disadvantage.

“That’s because you’re looking at the guy who’s been assigned her case for the last 5 years. If there’s any officer who can tell you a LOT about her, its me, since everyone else either quit or ran away,” Jonathan sighed in annoyance at how often some big shots came by saying they would do what he couldn’t...only to give up after one or two failed attempts.

“In that case I have no other choice... what was your name again?”

“Jonathan Trace.”

“Jonathan Trace” Golden Star stood up, and rolled the paper containing his notes, “I now assign you and your friends to be part of the main team in the operation. We’ll need you in the front lines if we want to have a chance against this thief. Two other squads will accompany you as support, you tell them what to do, and they’ll do it.”

“I’ll accept the position. However, there is something I would like to request. I would like to request your assistance in this,” Jonathan stated.

“Well… I guess I could help… but I may end up being an obstacle instead of an aid, with my age, I am not the strong and brave cop I once was.” Golden Star sighed.

“That doesn’t matter. I’ve been paying attention since I got into this city. The ponies around here are either afraid or wary of the Pokemon, most likely thanks to whatever caused the damages in this city. Granted, it seems that after the show last night, they’ve started to get more comfortable, but still the air of...distrust is there. We need to be able to work efficiently if we want a chance at catching Fox, and I feel you might be the key to giving us that chance,” Jonathan explained. “I’ve noticed how the other officers act. They respect you. Me? I’m just some guy who only JUST became an official officer in this world a few days ago. Not exactly something they’d be able to respect right off the bat.”

“I understand… I have no other choice then, I will accompany you to wherever this Fox is going.” The Chief replied.

“Yeesh, you make it sound like we’re forcing you to do it,” Heat snorted...and promptly earned a whack on the head from his teammates.

“What Heat so eloquently meant, is that we’re not forcing you to do anything. We just believe that your involvement might help this operation greatly,” Echo explained.

“The only thing that is forcing me to do so is my duty with the people of Tall Tale. With such a dangerous opponent, I can’t let my age be an excuse.” He hummed.

“Er...actually...Fox is kinda...one of our most harmless criminals really,” Howl grimaced.

“As harmless as she may be, she is a criminal. We will catch her, no matter what we need to do, my team is your team, mister Trace”

“Thank you,” Jonathan nodded, but frowned when he remembered one last thing. “However...there’s something we should keep in mind about Fox’s heists,” he mused.

“And that is?...” Golden Star wondered, he needed to know everything about this thief, as he was in an obvious disadvantage.

“Many times in the past, her heists have lead us STRAIGHT into another criminal’s activities. Just before the transfer for example, her recent heist uncovered a massive counterfeit operation owned by one of the businessmen of Anistar City,” Jonathan explained. “Now, keep in mind, many of her heists have also not uncovered anything, but still...its something to consider.”

“So we are dealing with an anti-hero kind of person, how noble. You see, mister Trace, Fox’s next target is the mayor of this city. Mayor Grumble is an honorable stallion, a stallion of the people and chosen by the people.” Golden Star explained proudly, “This is nothing but another robbery, another act of disrespect to the laws not only of Tall Tale, but of the entire country.” Golden Star started showing irritation in his voice, he didn’t take those people that claimed that Grumble was a bad man easily.

“Like I said, it’s only a possibility. If anything, I think this is her just getting her kicks again,” Jonathan shrugged. “I only told you that so you would know everything you need to know about Fox. Our goal doesn’t change at all with this.”

“Then what are we waiting for? If there’s nothing else to say about the subject, we need to keep moving. Tall Tale Police Force, we have work to do!” Golden Star whooped.

“Alright! You heard the stallion, let’s go!” Heat grinned enthusiastically. Right at that moment, another stallion burst into the room, accompanied by the young pegasus from earlier.

“What on Equestria is going on in here? What are all these creatures doing in my station, Golden Star?” The navy-green earth pony exclaimed.

“Captain Green Lead, sir, we got some problems related to the mayor.” Golden Star explained calmly, “There seems to be an attempt of robe-”

“Save your words Golden Star, the kid already gave me your letter. Besides, Sphinx got an unusual note on her mail today” As he said this, the bulky stallion grabbed a small note from his bag, and dropped it in front of Golden Star. The note was exactly the same as the one that was left in the station. “Mayor Grumble’s life is at risk, if what you said on your letter is right, we need to protect the mayor from any harm tonight!”

“Well… you see, sir,” Jonathan interrupted, but decided to keep his mouth shut when the bulky stallion glared at him with a deadly stare. Aggravating the situation would not help right now.

“Someone bring a muzzle for the dog, I’ve had enough of these Pokémon for an eternity, and I want to see as few of them as possible, in fact, I want to see none. Ya heard me beasts? Get out of this office, now!” Green Lead shouted.

Jonathan’s team glared at him, but Jonathan held out a paw to settle them down. “Sir Green Lead, I presume?” Jonathan said, forcing his tone into a respectful one. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Officer Jonathan Trace from Baltimare. I’m here chasing after the thief in question.”

“I don’t care if you are what you claim to be. This goes under our jurisdiction, ours. You can’t come here and arrest a criminal just like that! This is an equestrian Police Force dammit! Ya Pokémon cause nothing but destruction, look at the chaos you have caused so far! We are still struggling with the reconstruction, and now another damn Pokémon comes here to ruin our lives even further. You are nothing but mindless and disrespectful beasts!” Green Lead shouted, stomping the ground with massive force, and causing a bunch of officers to leave in fright.

“Sir, with all due respect,” Golden Star interrupted, “If we want to assure the Mayor’s safety, and the safety of his possessions, we are going to need help. You remember the incident with the iron Pokémon. We had no chance against it. If it wasn’t for that metal spider creature and his ant-looking friend, this town would be nothing but a pile of rubble. We need their help. I already have the situation under control, we have squads getting ready, and I already named Mister Trace here a temporary member of the force. He is also a recognized officer of Baltimare’s police force. I am sure Miss Sphinx wouldn’t be happy if we got into trouble with another city. We need them. I will take full responsibility over their actions, and I will accompany them to wherever they need to go. This is for the good of the mayor.” Golden Star explained, calming the situation down.

“That’s correct. Furthermore, I AM a member of the Equestrian Police Force as well. So this is as much my responsibility as it is yours,” Jonathan calmly nodded.

“Fine….” The green stallion snorted in annoyance, ” But if anything happens to Mayor Grumble, if that Fox touches a single hair in the Mayor’s body, you are going to be demoted to a cadet, Golden Star. Understood?” Green Lead exclaimed, and looked at Jonathan, “And you…. you damn blue dog, if you even dare to do something funny, anything that can risk the harmony in this city… I swear I will hang you and that damn Fox tomorrow morning, I don’t care what that damn Arceus may think about it.”

Once again, Jonathan’s team was about to protest, but a gesture from their trainer told them to keep it to themselves...for now.

“Understood, sir.” Golden Star replied calmly

“I won’t be able to accompany you tonight, this whole deal with Fox has affected the Mayor’s agenda. I will be the one responsible for the Mayor’s safety, you make sure that this Phantom Thief is placed behind the bars.”

“Yes sir!” The officers present exclaimed in unison.

Once he was gone, Heat exhaled a small flame. “Charming guy. Makes me want to roast him.”

“I agree. He’s got some nerve treating us like that,” Echo nodded along with Howl.

“Keep in mind, they have reasons to be that way,” Jonathan sighed.

“Doesn’t mean we have to like it,” Howl snorted.

“That’s Captain Green Lead for you. He may be hot-blooded, but he is as worried about the security of this city as any of us. Anyways, this…” Golden Star pointed at the notice, “This was found in City Hall, what does it mean for you?”

“It means that most likely her next target is in City Hall...though about what Green Lead said, I highly doubt Fox would harm a hair on the mayor. Its not her style,” Jonathan said.

“At least we got a clue as to what she’s really going to do. Why don’t we start by searching for clues and looking for any possible target?”

“Sounds good to me. Even if we don’t find anything, knowing the layout of the area would definitely help us,” Jonathan nodded.

“Then you will go to the City Hall, accompanied by Silver Star. I will catch up to you later, I need to do quite the paper-work if we want to get this operation going. Team, let’s get to work.” Golden Star ordered

“Yes, Sir!” They all exclaimed, leaving the office.

While this was happening, little did they notice the Unicorn mare watching the conversation from a pair of binoculars. “So they’re already starting to move,” Info Scoop commented, before putting the binoculars away. “Now then, I’d better do my part,” she chuckled, as she trotted away.

“So did you get it?” Alice asked as Info Scoop walked into the location that they had agreed upon, Sleight and Storm with them as well.

“Of course. Who do you think I am?” Info Scoop snorted, as she brought out a stack of papers, photos and other bits of information she had been gathering for the last couple of months. “All the incriminating evidence I could get about our dear Mayor.”

“Perfect. When this night is over, Grumble won’t be able to lie to this city anymore. While our heist is going on, you know what to do,” Fox chuckled.

“You got it,” Info Scoop grinned as she put away the evidence. She was going to enjoy this night.

“So we checked the town hall, and we didn’t find any clues on Fox...at all,” Howl sighed.

“Were you expecting something else? This is basically a replay pretty much every other investigation we tried,” Echo deadpanned.

“Doesn’t matter. All we can do now is wait,” Jonathan sighed. Right now, they were with the rest of the Police forming a perimeter around the Town Hall. Night had already fallen, and now they were here waiting for the thief. “Anything yet, Gold?” Jonathan asked. After talking to the old stallion for a while, they had gotten rather friendly on account of both not really caring for the formalities much, as well as their own dedication to the law.

“Well, besides some of our colts falling asleep, we got nothing interesting. Ya sure this Fox is going to attack tonight?” Golden Star doubted, he too, was getting rather tired of waiting.

“Fox always, and I do mean ALWAYS keeps her word, especially for her annoucements. She’ll be here,” Jonathan said.

“Then we might as well just wait, Jonathan. Keep your eye sharp, we can’t let her hide right under our noses.” Golden Star replied.

“Too late!” came an oddly, chiper voice, and before Howl could react, he was promptly used as a springboard by a random Mare, who somehow managed to land on the roof.

(Play Fox's heist theme)
“Cause we’re already here,” came a familiar voice, as the roof suddenly shimmered, revealing a shiny Zoroark in a black cape and cavalier hat, with her paw petting the mare, which soon faded away to reveal a Liepard.

“Fox!” Jonathan growled.

“We need a pegasus team, now! Go catch her!” Golden Star ordered, as five armored Pegasus flew towards the roof where the two Dark-types were standing.

However, before they could get there, they were promptly knocked out of the air by a stream of leaves that had suddenly appeared. “Nice try, but you’ll have to do better than that, coppers,” came another voice as a Sceptile faded into view.

“Now then...it’s Showtime!” Fox chuckled with a snap of her fingers.

“Alright Fox, so we’re here. Tell me, what the hell are you after?” Jonathan demanded.

“Hmph. So it’s you again. That Lucario from Baltimare. Honestly, who do you think you are ordering a lady around like that,” Fox teased.

“Heh, guess me being like this would make me unrecognizable. Well, then its me, Jonathan Trace! And don’t you forget it!” Jonathan stated.

Fox for her part looked surprised for a moment...before she smirked again. “Well now, I should have known. Not many are as...tenacious as you are, Johnny-boy.”

“We’ll leave the chat for later. Fox, as representative of Tall Tale’s police force, I command you to hand yourself to us, or we will be forced to use the force.” Golden Star ordered

“Did he just?” Heat whispered.

“I think he did,” Howl sweatdropped, but they both decided to leave it be.

Fox just wagged her finger. “No no no, that won’t do. I can’t have you all missing the show. After all, it starts right about...now!” she said, as the Liepard and Sceptile dove to the side...just as a Pegasus tried to catch her from behind, only to go right through her.

“It’s an illusion! The real one isn’t there!” Jonathan barked, his eyes scanning the surroundings while he tried to focus. Looking around, he felt the world start to go blue as his new body started to react. At that point, he noticed a blue spot shaped like a Zoroark on a nearby roof. “There she is!” he said, just as she faded back into view.

“Follow me, the real show is this way,” she chuckled, before leaping from roof to roof, the Liepard and the Sceptile following behind after they had jumped from the roof of town hall.

“Should we follow her? What if it’s a trap?” Golden Star asked

“We don’t have a choice. I saw it with my Aura Sense. That Fox is the real one,” Jonathan gritted his teeth, before giving chase.

“Everypony, follow the Pokémon. Stay on your guard and be ready for everything!” Golden Star ordered, before running after the Aura Pokémon.

“All according to plan?” Shade mused.

“All according to plan,” Fox nodded.

“Oh boy, I can’t wait to see the look on their faces when we get there. Never thought we’d be robbing someone...by using the cops,” Scep laughed.

“Stick around, Scep. This is just the tip of the iceberg with how crazy we can do,” Shade chuckled.

“I think I will, dudette,” he grinned.

“Now then, looks like we’re almost there,” Fox noted, as true enough, they could see the warehouse, even if it was still a good distance away.

“Hold it right there, Fox!” came Jonathan’s voice as it turned out the Lucario and his team had also gotten on the rooftops.

“Not yet, Johnny-boy. Just a little more, and we’ll have the surprise ready,” she teased.

Down below, the ponies were also giving chase, though the remaining Pegasi had taken to the air by now.

“Second squad, keep repelling as many attacks as you can, we need to keep those pegasi in the air!” Golden Star ordered

“Got it, Chief!” A unicorn mare responded.

“Third squad, keep tracking those Pokémon, they can’t leave our sights!”

“Sure thing, Chief” A pegasus responded.

Golden Star was not happy. They were reaching the city’s limits and they still had no idea of what Fox was planning. Was she playing with them? Was she leading them to a trap? He couldn’t tell, and he knew that Jonathan, who had far more experience than him on the subject, did not know either. “Have any idea of where she may be taking us, Jonathan?” He asked the Lucario.

“No clue. But she’s definitely leading us somewhere. But the question is where,” Jonathan grunted, his team having relocated back to the ground when they had gotten to an open area.

“Let’s see… if I recall correctly, we should be arriving the storage complex near the coast. Not much can be found, multiple buildings that store some exportation and importation products from around Equus. Why would Fox want to... “ Golden Star thought for a minute, trying to connect the odd clues that seemed to point nowhere. Yet an idea crossed his head, of course it was mere speculation, but it was better than the nothingness they had to deal with. “Second Squad, Third Squad, speed up, we need to catch her before she reaches the storages!”

Up ahead, Fox just smirked as they were in good range, and upon seeing the second and third squad speeding up, tossed several smoke bombs right into the pursuing guards, blanketing them in smoke, as well as obscuring her from their view. As the ponies were left coughing and trying to clear the smoke, Fox had already covered herself and her team in another illusion, getting away from them while they were preoccupied.

“Gah, Third Squad, I want this smoke to disappear ASAP” Golden Star ordered, avoiding to breath in the smoke. As the pegasus flapped their wings to dissipate the smoke, both Golden Star and Jonathan saw how the team of thieves was now gone, leaving no trail behind.

“Our best bet is to reach the complex. There’s nothing else of importance around here to where she could be headed. Squads, break into smaller teams and search for them in the area, if they are hiding under a leaf, I want you to find them!” Golden Star was furious, never before had a thief played with him like that.

“Looks like they’re all here,” Fox chuckled as she, Shade, and Scep ducked into the spot where the others were hiding.

“They are? Great. Let’s get this show started then,” Rascal chuckled, earning a nod of agreement from the others, before they quickly moved to their positions inside the warehouse, while Fox remained outside. “Now then...it’s showtime.”

As the ponies and Pokemon outside searched, they were suddenly surprised by Fox’s voice suddenly calling out, “Ladies and gentlemen!” However, Fox didn’t seem to be anywhere in sight.

“Unicorns, scan the area!” The brown pony ordered, “Jonathan, can you feel her presence?”

Jonathan closed his eyes again, trying to concentrate...or he would have if a flashbang wasn’t suddenly tossed amongst them, completely ruining his concentration.

“Sorry, Johnny-boy. But I can’t have you spoiling the surprise,” Fox’s voice chuckled, as she appeared on the roof of one of the warehouses. “Welcome all, and thank you for coming to witness my latest spectacle. For tonight, I shall be taking that which Grumble values most,” Fox chuckled. “But to do that, I shall be asking for a few willing volunteers.”

“You must be nuts if you think we are going to help you in whatever cheap trick you are planning, thief!” Golden Star exclaimed, “You are giving Pokémon a bad name, you know? Things are tense enough on the city right now, and you are just making things worse. So bring yourself to justice now, or we will be forced to bring you ourselves!”

“Oh? Not to worry, I won’t be here long. As for helping, don’t you want to uncover the hidden truth of this city?” she goaded.

“What is she talking about, dad?” Silver Star asked

“I have no idea” Golden Star replied, “Listen, Fox. If you think you are trying to find a hidden truth related to the mayor, you are not going to find it! He is the pony chosen by the people of Tall Tale, a stallion of honor!”

“Oh, that’s just it. I already did long before this show even started,” Fox said. “Well, if you wanna find out, catch me if you can!” she laughed, before jumping down, and going into the warehouse.
(end theme)

“I dunno what she’s planning, but I’m not about to let her get away that easily,” Jonathan commented, before going after her, his team following.

“You heard the Pokémon, let’s go!” Golden Star followed, his squads not far behind.

The guards all surrounded the entrances, with Jonathan and Golden Star leading the charge against the side entrance. “Okay...on 3. 1...2...3!” he shouted, before they busted down the door.

“Dirty Work, I suppose everything is in order.”

“Of course Mayor, just as promised, the statue has been kept safe in our hooves since the metalworker in Canterlot finished. No one else knows about it, just as you requested. Of course, some of our guys took care of the metalworker as soon as we left, not a single word will leave his mouth.”

“You better be sure of that, ya criminal scum! If anything is revealed to public eye, I will make sure that you and your criminal group wannabes are placed in jail.”

“Green Lead, calm down. Very well, where is it?”

The three earth ponies advanced through the warehouse, as a large figure covered by a sheet was placed in the middle of the building, surrounded by many armed grunts.

“Mayor Grumble, I present to you… a thirty hoof tall golden statue of your own image!” As the gray pony kicked one of the stakes away, the white sheet started to fall. A golden figure of a slim, young earth pony was revealed, small modifications ordered by the mayor himself. The mayor was getting ready to celebrate the success of the operation, yet something interrupted him.

“Freeze! Hold it right there, Fox!” came Jonathan’s voice, as suddenly the doors were slammed open, and guards streamed into the room.

“Nowhere left to run, you….thief?” Golden Star said, only to stop short when he saw it was not Fox, but instead the mayor, with what he recognized as several known criminals. “Uhm… Mayor, sir… what’s going on?”

Both Grumble and Green Lead were stunned, why was half of the police force in there? Did they get a report about what they were doing? No, impossible, there was no way that they could know that they were in that warehouse. Dirty Work grabbed his knife ,and prepared to fight, but suddenly, Green Lead rammed the gray stallion and knocked him out, while the confused grunts pointed at him with lances, and swords, not knowing if they should attack or not.

“You dirty criminal scum! You think such a cheap trick like this can bring Mayor Grumble down? Presenting fake evidence against him in such a time of need, well played. But justice will always prevail! We discovered your secret plans, and we stopped you ourselves, with our own hooves. You are pathetic!” Green Lead quavered

“...is he serious?” Howl deadpanned.

“Captain Green Lead. With all due respect...that was some terrible acting,” Jonathan deadpanned as well.

“You damn Pokémon are too dumb to realize what’s going on, this is an act… of terrorism!” Green Lead defended himself

“...do I seriously have to point it out?” Jonathan sighed.

“Green Lead, don’t even try. You all signed your death sentence. Everypony, I want those idiots down and out!” Grumble ordered, as the grunts rushed towards the officers.

“Ah ah ah! You already made your bed, Mayor...no, FORMER Mayor Grumble. Its time you laid in it,” came Fox’s voice, as suddenly, from the roof there were several small explosions, followed by nets falling down right on top of several of the grunts and bodyguards, ensnaring them, and promptly pulling them back up to the roof.

“After all, it's only fair,” Fox said with a mocking chuckle as she reappeared on top of the statue.

“What the hell are you?” Grumble asked annoyed, “Some kind of demon… Fox… You! You are the one that wrote that damn note that got us all paranoid! This was your plan all along, wasn't it!? Bodyguards, take that damn Pokémon down!”

“Guilty as charged,” Fox chuckled, not seeming to be bothered by the remaining Pegasus grunts surrounding her. “And I am not a demon. I’m a Phantom. A Phantom Thief,” Fox chuckled as the grunts lunged for her...only to smash face first into each other, landing right on the statue, toppling it over. “Oops,” came Fox’s mocking chuckle as she dropped a few web bombs on the dazed grunts, covering them in webbing.

“Gah… this won’t be an easy one. You!” Green Lead grabbed one of the remaining grunts, “Where is the cage?”

“The… cage, sir? Oh the cage, uhm… the covered container, Sir” the pony replied frightened. Green Lead dropped the stallion, and looked at Grumble, who nodded. The two of them used the chaos as a distraction, and walked to one of the containers that was located at the side of the building. They grabbed the large sheet by each side, and revealed a large steel crate, containing a sleeping metal beast, an Aggron.

“The hell is an AGGRON doing here?!” Jonathan all but demanded as he knocked out another grunt.

“Wake it up.” As the mayor said this, Green Lead kicked the lock that sealed the cage. The sound of the destroyed lock woke up the Aggron, who began looking at his surroundings.

“You know, I just had a thought. How do you intend on controlling him? I don’t think he’d be too happy about this,” Fox chuckled...just as the Aggron looked at her.

“Mighty beast of the mountains, I as mayor of Tall Tale, request your help. These Pokémon that, together with those armored ponies, were sent by Steven Stone to humiliate not only you, but me who saved you from that soulless human, I ask your help in defeating them!” Grumble bellowed

“You work for the damn human? Very well, I will destroy you to regain my honor!” The Iron Armor Pokémon roared, stomping the ground and causing the whole room to shake violently.

“Hm...not much in the brains department are you?” Fox chuckled.

“...why are you aggravating it?” Jonathan let out a long suffering sigh.

“You’ll see. Speaking of which...think fast, big boy!” Fox laughed, before tossing something at the Aggron, which went splat in his face, revealing...a now pink headed Aggron. “Not fast enough.”

“You… how dare you… you all think of me as a fool, don’t you? You are the real fool! I will crush you, I will kill you all! In a few minutes you will be nothing but bones! Head Smash!” The Aggron called, as he ran towards Fox, trying to take her down with his iron horns.

Fox simply jumped aside, leaving the Aggron to demolish Grumble’s statue, while also knocking away several of the grunts like bowling pins. “Try harder,” Fox taunted.

“No! You idiot! You are supposed to crush her, not my statue!” Grumble shouted, a tear running through his face as the head of the statue fell off.

“Shut your mouth, you dirty liar, you…. you monster!” A shout of anger was heard throughout the entire room, as every Pokémon and Pony turned their attention to the source. A brown earth pony with tears on his eyes was staying near the entrance, his hoof above one of the grunts’ head. “For many years, many YEARS! I have defended your name. The damn media was right… YET WE DEFENDED YOU, BOTH OF YOU. I… was fooled, I was used by a corrupt system. YOU PEOPLE ALL DESERVE JAIL, no, you all…. YOU ALL DESERVE TO BE BANISHED FROM THIS COUNTRY!” Golden Star attempted to tackle the mayor, only to be brutally stopped by Green Lead, who kicked the old officer in the muzzle.

“I never did like you, ya dumb idiot. Too old and blind, yet that’s what made you useful. But I guess your usefulness has come to an end.” Green Lead said softly to Golden Star’s ear, before raising his hoof to try to crush his head.

However, before he could do anything, he was promptly punched in the side, HARD, sending him flying right into a wall. And before he could recover, he felt another blow, and another one, and another smash into him. “You! Worthless! Piece! Of! GARBAGE!” Jonathan roared as he savagely punched the corrupt officer. “Didn’t you swear an oath to protect and serve?! Didn’t your time protecting the people mean ANYTHING to you?! Didn’t it?!” he roared, and was about to land a blow that would have reduced his head to salsa...if someone hadn’t stopped him.

“Jonathan, that’s enough! You got him!” came Heat’s frantic voice as his team had grabbed his arm, to stop him from swinging, and surprisingly...a rope of webbing had wrapped around his arm too. Looking at the source, he saw that Fox had done it...at the cost of giving away her position, forcing her to jump away as the Aggron tried to crash into her again.

“They’re right you know,” she grimaced. “Don’t let these pieces of trash take away that which made you a thousand times better than them,” Fox said, her voice surprisingly concerned.

“Enough chit-chat!” A deep voice interrupted, as the Aggron had recovered from the crash, “You people, you are all monsters! That… Stone, you all work for him, don’t you!?” The Aggron roared, he was not being rational anymore, he just wanted to destroy them all. He stomped the earth once more, yet this time the colossal force revealed his next move, “EARTHQUAKE! DIE!”

“Oh boy…” Fox gulped, before grabbing Jonathan, who in turn grabbed Golden Star, and promptly lifted her arm, as another rope of webbing shot from the ceiling, pulling them up. Likewise, Jonathan’s team jumped out of the way, though only managing to limit the damage, while anyone else was hit with the attack, leaving the room full of groaning officers, and knocked out grunts.

“You dumb, giant, piece of metal, you!” Grumble exclaimed, trying to keep his balance, and ignoring the pain that was invading his body. “THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE PERFECT DAY, MY BEAUTIFUL STATUE WOULD REPRESENT ALL I HAVE WORKED for! YOU ARE ALL GOING TO-!”

“I got tired of you! You small, useless ponyta! You told me that you would help me get revenge on the champion, but you used me like a guard dog! Do you really think I am that stupid? Everyone here will die, but you, you will be the first one! Iron Tail!” The Aggron swinged his tail, which launched Grumble through the window and out of the building. “As for you punny Pokémon, I don’t care if you work with Stone or not, you insulted me, and you deserve the same fate as him! Stone Edge!”

“Geez, I wish Arceus was more thorough with the screening. We just HAD to get the psycho,” Fox snorted, as she quickly swung down, letting go of Jonathan and Golden Star, which sent them rolling, but unharmed. “Guess we’ll have to skip some of the tricks. Weavile, Focus Blast, but easy on the power,” she ordered, as said attack came flying from up in the rafters, impacting the Aggron head on.

“You little rascal! You will pay for this! Iron Head!” The Aggon advanced towards where the attack had come from, destroying the rafters and missing the Pokémon by an inch.

“Whoops, looks like we just got invited,” Rascal chuckled, before landing a Brick Break in the Aggron’s face again.

“Oh well, too late now,” Shade laughed, and fired her infamous Hyper Beam at the Aggron, pushing it back considerably.

“You cowards… stop fighting from the shadows! You are all cowards!” The Aggron began throwing Iron Tails everywhere, not even aiming at a target. His Stone Edge attack threw sharp rock projectiles in every direction, as his stomps began releasing low-powered Earthquakes. The building began to shake violently, as many containers and support bars began falling down. “YOU...YOU ALL! DIE!”

“Dammit! If that thing keeps rampaging...we have to stop it too!” Jonathan growled. “Heat, Brick Break! Howl, Incinerate! Echo, Shadow Ball!” he ordered, as his team rained down attacks, while trying to form an Aura Sphere...only for it to blow up in his face.

“Do be careful, I’d hate for our chase to stop short because of an accident,” Fox chuckled, before adding, “And Sceptile, another Hyper Beam too, please,” she ordered, as the same Sceptile that wore a PLA uniform appeared, and fired another Hyper Beam.

“Keep up the pressure!” Jonathan ordered, as both his and Fox’s team continued to rain blows down on the Aggron.

“He’ll tire out eventually,” Fox nodded as she opened her paw, and a sphere of darkness formed over it. “Try MY Shadow Ball on for size,” she chuckled as she hurled it at the Aggron, adding to the pressure.

“Ahhhgr! You can’t… you can’t stop mee!” The steel-type roared, as his speech slowly transformed into a primitive cry of war. The anger had taken his mind completely, his only objective, to destroy it all. The Aggron stopped using his attacks, and dedicated himself to punch, and kick whatever he saw, using his tail to try to knock down the flying opponents, and his head to knock down the bars. “AAAHHGROOON!!”

“Oh dear…” Fox gulped. “This is bad.”

“Ya think?” Jonathan deadpanned, any thoughts of arresting her leaving his mind at the moment. Instead, he turned to Golden Star. “Get everyone out of here now! That Aggron will bring this building down at this rate. We’ll try to stop it, but get everyone out in case we don’t make it!”

“Everyone, you heard the Lucario. Get your flanks out of here! Now!” He ordered, as him and his squad left the building, trying to avoid the many falling objects.

“Super… Superpower!” The Iron Armor Pokémon’s body began showing a strong red glow, as energy flowed through his entire body. He was ready to stomp the ground, but something stopped him from continuing.

A sound of crash could be heard, causing everyone in the vicinity to stare at the source which revealed a gaping hole through which a Salamence just went through. What really got their attention was that the Salamence was charging straight at the Aggron, bashing him sideways across the place and causing the metal Pokemon to slide several meters away, knocking him down, and leaving him unconscious on the floor.

“Well that was convenient,” Fox blinked, while Jonathan was just left gaping.

The Salamence landed, blasting wave of air upon her landing, making it look like if the brutal landing was nothing. Then her eyes glanced over her shoulder towards her main target.

The Salamence turned around, snarling in the process as well. “Fox!”

“Friend of yours?” Jonathan asked with a half-lidded stare.

“Maybe?” Fox shrugged. “Maybe she’s a former human I crossed?”

“Flamethrower!” A voice shouted and the Salamence obeyed, taking a deep breath and let out a punishing heat from her mouth toward no one else, but Fox.

The attack never hit, as Rascal countered with an Ice Beam, both attacks canceling each other out. “Now I remember,” she chuckled as she recognized the voice, before calmly looking towards the source of the voice. “I honestly didn’t expect to see you again after Vanhoover,” she said towards the Hydreigon.

“You?!” Jonathan blinked, honestly surprised to see the same Hydreigon from before.

The Hydreigon calmly stood besides the entrance, alongside a Reuniclus, and gave no response. But the Reuniclus did. “Well, looks like the lady decided to have company this time. Did the big bad boys scare you?” He taunted.

“Oh, nothing of the sort. We just happened to have the same target at the moment,” Fox shrugged, not the least bit bothered by the sarcastic insult, while her team snickered.

A loud, sarcastic clapping could be heard. “Congrats on finding such an excellent companion, lady. Honestly, and I mean honestly, I’m surprised that you could find a boyfriend in one night, especially with that attitude. Nicely done there.”

“Now hold it right there!” Jonathan growled. “I’ll have you know I have nothing to do with this thief, and I don’t take kindly to being used as the butt of your...insults,” he said indignantly.

“Yeah! You should watch it!” Heat nodded in agreement, also glaring at the Reuniclus.

“Look, it’s the child investiga-”

“Will….please for once….not now.” Eric cutted off the Multiplying Pokemon.

“Whatever you say.” Will shrugged.

“Can I help you? You’re obviously here for something,” Fox decided to ask.

“....just knocking you out and arresting you.” Eric simply replied, not wanting to give her more information.

“Yeaaah...I don’t think so. I’ve got nothing to say to a lousy trainer who can’t tell when his Pokemon should stop,” Fox huffed, before adding. “Besides, Johnny-boy has first dibs I think. Speaking of which, I’ve already gotten what I came for. Mayor Grumble is finished. So adieu,” Fox chuckled, as she was about to toss down another smoke bomb.

“Heatwave.” Then out of nowhere, she felt a presence right behind her. But what mattered was the rising temperature.

Acting on instinct, she and her team ducked, just as the Heat Wave passed over her, but her smoke bomb was tossed away. “That was close.”

However, due to her proximity, Jonathan and his team were forced to duck as well. “Hey! Watch it!” Echo shouted indignantly.

“All of you, move out of the way!” Eric ordered. “Sally, Will! Watch everything carefully, if the shadow doesn’t match the object, aim for it. Remember, watch the ceilings this time!”

“Got it!” The Salamence replied eagerly.

“Listen to what he says!” Jonathan ordered as he and his team got out of the way.

“See ya later, Johnny-boy,” Fox chuckled as she and her team jumped away from the source of the Heatwave, when she saw what she was up against. Only nobody was there. “Okay...this might be problematic.”

“Yeah...it definitely will be,” Shade nodded. Invisible or fast opponents were always a pain.

“Hey, you guys seriously still with this guy? Come on, you can do better than that,” Rascal commented to Sally and Will.

“Don’t tell me who I want to be with, scum! He’s my trainer, and I will always be by his side.” Sally growled.

“What she said.” Will commented nonchalantly.

“Forget it, it’s useless talking to them. What matters now is knocking them out.” Eric said in a calm, yet dark tone.

“It’s fine. We’re done here anyways” Fox chuckled as she raised her hand, preparing for another trick.

“Stop her! Stone Edge and Focus Blast at her feet!” Eric’s team quickly responded. Will placed his arm forward and readied a blue sphere while Sally summoned some sharp stones that floated around her.The attacks were rapidly shot towards Fox, forcing her to stay back.

“Alright. If you’re THAT persistent, I suppose we can humor you for a bit,” Fox sighed, her tone strangely lacking its usual enthusiasm, something that struck Jonathan as...bizarre as he and his team watched from a safe distance.

“Yay, looks like the lady about to perform some more cheap tricks. Can you wait while I grab a pillow and popcorn before I’m going to be amused by your imminent magic tricks.”

The Fox gang looked at him blankly. “...is he always like that?” Scep deadpanned.

“I don’t know if I want to know,” Shade commented.

“I don’t want to know either. With how chatty the lady’s gang can be, I’m not gonna ask stupid questions”

“I think that’s a yes,” Shade deadpanned. “Then again, with a motor mouth like that, I bet they just ignore him. Heck, any SANE person would ignore that.”

“Wow, look, there’s actually someone who could turn my inconsiderate sarcasm around. Congrats, cat lady, if only your parents were here to witness such achievement. They would be in tears.”

“Wouldn’t know. Haven’t seen them in a while. Yours?” she shrugged

“Oi! Are you two gonna keep trying to talk each other to death or something?!” Rascal butted in, a vein on his forehead, while Fox seemed...amused.

“Why hello to you to, lady guy. Did you enjoy dating with your match-up there?” The Reuniclus pointed at the bewildered Scep. “But let’s go into the main topic, did you ever learn not to butt into someone’s conversation? Conclusions: Looks like there’s no one to supervise with how impolite your are. Such as pity too, if only there were parents around to help their kids.”

“...” Rascal didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he turned to Fox. “Can I rip this guy in half?”

“Sure. Reuniclus reproduce via subdivision anyway,” Fox shrugged.

“Wow...for once I feel for Weavile…” Heat sweatdropped from their position. Howl and Echo just nodded awkwardly.

“...I dunno if I should be happy or scared about that,” Rascal sweat dropped.

Meanwhile, the Hydreigon tried to resist the urge to curse in annoyance. “Will, stay quiet for a moment. This isn’t the time.” Eric hissed under his breath.

“Yeah, whatever, make-up session about to start anyway” Will shrugged. “Of course, by rearranging their face.”

“Alright then. Showtime,” Fox smiled. “Sceptile.”

“Gotcha,” Scep nodded, before turning around, and unleashing a Leaf Storm on them. At the same time, Shade dashed through the haze of leaves, aiming for Will with a Sucker Punch.

For some reason, the Hydreigon and the Reuniclus remain rooted on the spot while Sally stood ways behind the group, also in silence. “Again, Heatwave, Alex!” Eric emphasized the command by pointing one arm to the gang.

“Switch!” Fox shouted when she heard him, and immediately the entire gang tensed, and jumped over the Heatwave that suddenly shot through the building, missing the brunt of it. When they landed, they immediately looked for the source.

“I see you clearly have another teammate. Care to join us?” Fox chuckled in amusement. After all, this was getting very thrilling.

“.......no.” The Hydreigon replied simply.

“The guy’s a little shy, but don’t worry, he’ll stick around for the ultimate dish. After all, he’s such a good chef.” Will quipped.

The Fox gang simply watched them keeping eye on their positions, before Fox chuckled a little, and turning into a laughter. “Not bad. You’re better than last time...or maybe last time was the fluke,” Fox mused. “Alright then, I guess we’ll have to get a little serious. However, do watch yourself to not demolish this building. There are still some people in here.”

“You first, Fox. I’m not falling for it this time.” Eric retorted, not once taking his eyes off his opponent.

“...I’m not kidding. That Aggron made this place pretty unstable, and thanks to fight that happened right before you showed up...yeah, we’re in a safety hazard right now,” Fox simply said.

“Then why don’t you try by knocking us out? Surely, it would be simple for the Phantom Thief Lady Fox to knock out a simple idiot like me and made a mad dash for freedom? Or are you really that stupid not to figure it out? Huh, figured as much.”

“Well then, let’s have some fun,” Rascal grinned, before inhaling deeply. When he exhaled, he let out a massive Icy Wind that made the temperature drop. Fast.

“Alex, Heatwave to cancel the Icy Wind!” And the heat came upon the icy wind full force right above, causing it to dissipate upon impact with each other.

“Hm? Well that’s annoying,” Shade commented. “Weavile’s Icy Wind at full power can’t be canceled out by simple flames. Seems to me you’ve got a strong one this time. Mind if you join the party? Its rather rude to keep hiding when everyone knows you’re around,” Shade idly said.

“Oh, now you guys think we’re rude? It seems we have hypocrites on our hands, look who is currently dodging attack like they have all the time in the world. You should really sit still, be pretty and get yourself fried.”

“That Reuniclus has issues…” Jonathan couldn’t help but comment. The more he was watching these guys...the more he was wondering if they should even be allowed on the streets. Those weren’t attacks aiming to subdue as far as he could tell.

“No thanks. I prefer this temperature just fine. Speaking of which, are you sure you should keep using Heat Wave here? Those support pillars don’t look very strong anymore,” Fox pointed out.

“Then why don’t you use those tricks to bring their state back to what it is once, huh? Oh, I get it, it seems the lady is running out of tricks, honestly, I’m shocked. For a lady who claims to have grace and class had actually faltered for a moment in the face of being crushed. Besides, I think you should be more worried of the chef around here somewhere.”

Eric wasn’t so worried, in fact, if the building came down, he had two Pokemon who could use Psychic anyway. Just enough for all of them to escape.

“...you all have issues, don’t you?” Fox deadpanned. “Even the authorities back on Earth didn’t try to kill us. And we’re on the most wanted list.”

“I’m...inclined to agree…” Howl commented from their spot. As much as Fox was a headache to them, they never wanted to resort to anything too drastic. These guys were starting to worry them more and more.

“Heatwave! Don’t leave one standing, knock them out!” Eric commanded the unseen opponent. Then the Heatwave came from behind the gang.

“You know, this is starting to feel like a luau. Too bad we got stuck playing Fire Limbo!” Shade commented as they ducked again.

Likewise, Jonathan’s group ducked under cover, and when he looked out again, his eyes widened. Just like Fox said, he could see that the intense heat was actually eating away at the supports, as they had already been weakened by the fight with the Aggron. Furthermore, the glimpses he had managed to get of the attacker told him that it had an insectoid form, bright red...wings, and a body shape like a Butterfree or a Dustox, leaving only one candidate. “A Volcarona...this guy’s ordering a Volcarona to shoot Heatwaves...in a building that’s ready to collapse.”

“Is this guy crazy? This place could go down with us in it if he keeps this up,” Echo gulped.

“So...what are we gonna do about it?” Heat asked.

Jonathan groaned a little. He honestly wasn’t sure WHAT he should do at this point.

Eric sensed the groaning of the support pillar, he chewed his lips. “That Heatwave is no good anymore. Might as well go with the other….”

“Yeaaahh...I REALLY think we should all do this another time. I’d rather not have it signed on my grave: Died cause a stubborn trainer insisted on fighting in crumbling building,” Fox interjected, her usual humor disappearing. She really wasn’t liking this guy right now.

“She’s got a point,” Howl sweatdropped. That did NOT sound like a nice way to go.

“Yeah, thanks for revealing that, lady. It was quite eye catching, at least the brooder still got one more card left, just enough not to collapse the building.”

As if on cue, Eric commanded a new move. “Bug Buzz!”

However just as the attacker came into view...he was hit by a Shadow Ball that came from the side. “That’s quite enough!” came Jonathan’s voice as he and his team stepped in, and this time, he was glaring at the Hydreigon. “Are you people INSANE?! We should all be getting out of here, NOT fighting like a pair of Fletchlings over a berry!” the Lucario said, hoping to restore some sanity to the situation.

“I’m with Jonathan. I think we can put trying to catch me on hold till after we’re AT LEAST out of this building,” Fox agreed, her team also nodding.

“No…” The voice of the Salamence behind the gang caught their attention. “I’m not letting you get away again, scum. Not. This. Time!” She snarled

Eric chewed his lips, he knew it would eventually come to this, but he didn’t want to. Once Sally is set on something, he knew there’s no stopping her. At least he knew Bug Buzz won’t collapse a building, what he didn’t expect is that the cop decided to intervene with Alex.

“Are you kidding?” Heat deadpanned. “Look around you, woman! Does this LOOK like a good place to try catching Fox? She won’t go down easily, and she is NOT worth risking our lives over, especially when we can do this once we get out!” The Combusken said in exasperation. This Salamence seemed obsessed for some reason.

The Salamence’s head snapped toward the Combusken. “Shut up, Combusken. This doesn’t concern you.”

“Actually, this DOES concern us,” Jonathan stated. “I’ve been watching this fight, and from what I’ve been seeing and hearing, I’m starting to wonder if most of the damages to the museum back in Vanhoover were YOUR doing. You all have shown little restraint in using what might be lethal force, casually talk of maiming people, and completely disregard the situation, namely the fact that we have more important things to worry about rather than Fox at the moment!” Jonathan growled.

“I know I should be a little insulted that I’m suddenly second banana, but I’m with Jonathan. I’d prefer you try catching me when we’re not in a potential death trap,” Fox agreed from behind.

Eric does sees their point and his resolve faltered for a moment, as if by cue, the Salamence looked back at Eric with a pleading look. Eric shakes his head. “Alex, Bug Buzz, no more Heatwaves or anything Fire-type.”

“Wait wait! Isn’t that just a little excessive, dude?” Scep commented.

“Don’t you dare! You’ll hit all of us, you overgrown barbeque!” Echo shrieked.

“You deaf, little lady? And I’m gonna take that as a yes. When the brooder told you to get out of the way, he mean it. You seem to lack brain cells to comprehend how to get away quickly. Besides, we’re out of range, not going to hit us. Probably just minor discomfort.”

“...that does it. We started here chasing after Fox, when we should really be chasing after you all right now! With how you lot are acting, you’re a bigger threat than Fox was!” Howl growled.

“Now, Alex, take them down!” Eric ignored them and the screeching sound came, before he quickly covered his ears.

However, thanks to the distraction that Jonathan afforded, the Fox gang was able to make a move, and right before the attack hit, they jammed something into the closest people they could reach, Jonathan’s group. The attack hit, and when it ended, everyone was still standing.

“And I thought you could get obsessive,” Fox chuckled as she pulled something out of his ear. “I only just met this guy once, and he’s already crazy obsessed.”

“What? What did you do just now?” Jonathan blinked, still surprised that the attack hadn’t hurt as much.

“Earplugs. Never leave home without them,” Rascal smirked as they all removed said earplugs.

When his mind caught up, Jonathan immediately glared at Eric. “That does it. You all are under arrest! Charges include attempted arson, possibly endangering lives, and attacking officers of the law!” he said, flashing his badge. “Come quietly, and I promise things will go easier for you,” he said, before adding, “The same goes with you, Fox. Despite what you’ve done today, I’m afraid I still have to arrest you.”

“Awwww….and here I was hoping I could get a free pass for exposing the Mayor,” Fox pouted.

“Oh, looks like the kid is playing investigators again. Figured you would done so sooner or later.” Will quipped.

“...and one account of possible mental instability for the Reuniclus,” Jonathan deadpanned. “So how will we do this? The easy way, or the hard way?”

“If they pick the hard way, I’m helping you. Personally, I find them a little disturbing too,” Fox added.

Eric began thinking his options inside his mind. On one hand, he could just let Fox walk away so no one would die, on the other hand, that would mean surrendering himself to the cop or he could continue this and hope for the best since he knows by taking Fox outside mean she would have a higher chance of getting away. He tried to think which one is best, and ultimately came to one choice.

The Hydreigon was about to raise his arms in submissions. But that was interrupted by a voice shouting. “No, Eric!”

They all looked at the source of the voice, it was the Salamence again. “We can’t give up! Not yet! Not until the scum is brought down!”

“Geez. What the heck did I do to get to this point? I mean, all I did was beat you guys in a fight. Hardly anything to get so worked up about,” Fox groaned.

“Yeah, tell that to someone who fights fairly which I mean you, lady.” Will mockingly pointed an arm at Fox.

“I never said it was a fair fight,” Fox snorted.

“...I want to ask, but somehow I know I won’t like the answer,” Jonathan groaned. “Look...Ms. Salamence, I don’t know what your beef with Fox is, but can’t it wait till AFTER we’re not in a place that might collapse at any minute?”

“No way! I won’t let the scum get out of the building and get away! We will knock her out right here!”

“...sir...your Salamence...needs help. So what is your answer?” Jonathan sighed. He just couldn’t understand why this Salamence was so...hell bent on catching Fox right here, right now. Even HE wasn’t that hell bent, and he had been chasing her for the last 5 years.

“Sally….maybe we should just…” Eric tried to persuade his Salamence.

But she wasn’t having any of it. “Eric, we can’t! I’m not going to let this scum get away! Scum like her is what make everything worse! Scum that should be wiped out!”

“...wow, since when did I suddenly get the same treatment as the madmen with doomsday weapons? I’m honestly a little insulted,” Fox deadpanned. “Listen here you, I’m a thief, yes, that I will not deny. But I’d appreciate it if you didn’t lump me in with the psychopaths and other nut jobs that were left on Earth.”

“Shut up! You and they are the same! Eric, you can’t give up!” Sally shot her trainer a pleading look.

Eric gritted his teeth. He shakes his head once more. “I’m sorry for this, officer, but….Alex, Bug Buzz again.”

“Hyper Beam!” Fox barked, before the attack was fired at near point-blank by Shade...though she was sure to watch the power level of the attack, so as not to do any serious damage. Unfortunately, it was not necessary, as the Volcarona vanished, the effects of the Quiver Dances still in effect. “I kinda figured we’d go this way. If this building collapses and kills us, I’m HAUNTING you for the rest of your life...provided you didn’t die as well,” Fox groaned, her voice thick with annoyance.

“I’ll add ‘resisting arrest’ to your charges,” Jonathan growled. “Echo, find him, then use Air Cutter!”

“Roger!” Echo said, as she let out a wave of sonar, quickly locating the Volcarona, and launching her attack. Unfortunately, no sound of impact is heard.

“While we’re at it, Shadow Ball and Ice Beam!” Fox ordered, as Shade and Rascal obeyed, aiming at Will and Sally respectively.

“You too, Howl. Shadow Ball. And Heat, Flame Charge!” Jonathan added.

“Sally, fly up and use Stone Edge!” He turned to address Will. “Will, Double Team and counter with Focus Blast. And Alex, use Hurricane!” The Hydreigon quickly moved out of the way.

Both them and the unseen Volcarona obeyed their trainer without a word. Sally quickly flew up and dodged the Ice Beam and summoned another array of sharp stones while the Reuniclus literally….multiplied, although only copies and prepared a Focus Blast. With the array of stones prepared, Sally launched it toward Rascal and Heat, while Will aimed the Focus Blast toward only Howl then a blast of powerful wind came. Turns out, Alex had used a Hurricane attack.

“Okay, this is getting a little annoying,” Jonathan grunted, as they all reacted quickly and didn’t bother fighting the force, rolling with the attack.

“Blizzard!” Fox barked mid-roll, for which Rascal immediately executed the command the moment he rolled out of the attack toward the landing Salamence.

“Alex, work with Sally. Heatwave to cancel the Blizzard!” The Volcarona appeared in front of the Salamence, preparing to use Heatwave to support his teammate.

“Not happening! Echo! Dragon Breath!” Jonathan shouted, as the Noibat intercepted the Salamence. The Dragon Breath hit, although not as effective as they hoped to be as the Dragon hardly flinched.

“Toxic, Liepard!” Fox added, Shade firing the attack at both Alex and Sally while they were preoccupied.

The ball of poison hit and splattered across the Volcarona’s face causing him to blink out of existence again. The second ball was easily avoided when the Salamence merely tilted her head aside and the ball hit the Aggron lying on the floor behind her instead.

“Again,” Fox simply said, as another Blizzard and Toxic was fired, both aimed at Sally.

“Howl, Dark Pulse! Heat, Sky Uppercut!” Jonathan ordered, aiming them at Will again. Howl fired first, but this time making the pulses in a wider range, while Heat followed closely behind it, his claws glowing.

“Not good! Will let the attacks hit! Sally fly up and use Dragon Dance!”

Will just grinned as he felt himself launched into the ceiling and the pulse of darkness hit his entire being. Admittedly, Sky Uppercut didn’t hurt much, compared to Dark Pulse at least, but still his grin is still on his face. Sally dodged the attacks aimed for her, but by gracefully spiralling upward, this in turn caused her eyes to glow red for a moment.

“Toxic, then Venoshock,” Fox calmly said. To Sally’s surprise, she was hit in the face by a glob of poison, followed by intense pain as the poisons were suddenly aggravated.

“Sally!” Eric gritted his teeth. Things are getting worse with the officer suddenly joining the fray, then a dull thud sounded beside him. Will just fell from the ceiling. “Pain Split, Will. Aim at the Liepard!”

“Not happening! Leaf Storm!” Fox shouted, before she threw a Shadow Ball herself.

“Bite, and Aerial Ace!” Jonathan added.

Echo darted immediately, hitting Will before the attack could be launched, followed by 2 hits from the Leaf Storm and the Shadow Ball, ending with Bite to the arm. “Just give it up already! Save us the trouble and your Pokemon the pain!”

“Will!” But Eric noticed that the Mightyena is still attached to Will’s arm. He got one idea. “Use Thunder then strike the Combusken!”

If the Mightyena eyes could have opened wide , his eyes would have rolled out of their sockets As he realized his teeth were still firmly clamped on the Reuniclus’ arms. Will grinned. “One fried...’cough’ dog, coming up!” The smell of ozone started to enter the dog’s nose.

“Flame Charge, Heat!” Jonathan barked, however, the target was not Will, but rather, his arm, allowing him to get Howl out, allowing them to evade MOST of the Thunder attack. They still got a decent blow, unfortunately, sending them spasming to the ground.

“Help them out! Pursuit!” Fox shouted, to which Shade charged forward as well.

But they forgotten the fact that there’s still one enemy and that enemy appeared in front of the Liepard. “Now, Hurricane!” The poisoned Volcarona send a large blast of wind that sent the feline flying back.

“Venoshock!” Fox followed up, as two more shots came from the ceiling, hitting Alex in the split second where he just finished the attack.

The Sun Pokemon is helpless as he fell down and hit the floor with a thud. “Alex!” Surprisingly, the moth still floated up, although with difficulty. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay...’cough’ ‘cough’, I mean, I think so…” Alex nodded.

“Seriously, let’s stop this already,” Fox sighed. “Your team is at a disadvantage...and we’re STILL in a crumbling building...which I think is getting worse.”

“She’s right. This is getting us nowhere,” Jonathan agreed.

As much as Eric hate to admit it, he knows he was in over his head and was thinking of just going away and forgetting all about this. And yet, his stubborn Salamence was still having none of it. “I’m. Not. Letting. You. Get. Away!”

“...is she serious?!” Fox gaped.

“...she isn’t going to shut up till we knock her out, is she?” Jonathan sighed.

Eric chewed his lips, he just hoped for the best at this point. He knew that Will had taken a lot of damage at this point, about the same amount of damage as Alex, and therefore he wasn't going to be able to end the fight quickly. “Will, finish the Pain Split, aim for Fox this time. And Alex….ready yourself.”

“Dude, you got a problem,” Scep deadpanned, before firing a Leaf Storm at Will.

Sally, quickly came forward and landed in the path of the Leaf Storm before firing her signature Flamethrower at it. Alex came to assist as he appeared with Heatwave ready, burning all the leaves away.

The Pain Split was fired, but at this point Fox was expecting it, so using a Smoke Bomb she managed to evade it. “This is getting ridiculous. Johnny-boy, let’s end this.”

“Yeah...I guess you’re right,” Jonathan sighed, before Fox reappeared and both nodded to their teams.

A barrage of Flamethrower, Venoshock, Leaf Storm, Blizzard, Hyper Beam, Dark Pulse, and even a Shadow Ball were fired at the opposing Pokemon.

“Dammit, Alex use-” Using the last of his strength, the fire moth attempted to protect his teammate and trainer by casting a transparent barrier before the command is made. The attacks pelted the Protect barrier without any risk of breaking through. The attacks settled soon and the barrier flickered away, but the caster on the other hand had collapsed into his side and slipped into unconsciousness. The poison finally did it’s job.

“Alex!” Eric went toward the fallen Pokemon and clutched the moth to his chest.

“Last chance. Give it up already,” Jonathan growled.

Will for once, didn’t say a thing as he breathed heavily behind the group while Sally looked at her fallen teammate in sadness. Then the pain from the poison shot through her again, causing her to grit teeth. “No….not gonna happen. I’m going to finish this for Alex!”

The next thing she got was a Shadow Ball to the face. “Are. You. A. Freakin. IDIOT?!” Fox shouted, her patience finally running out. “Look around you. Your friends can’t fight anymore. Our teams have been hurt, though not as badly. And we’re STILL in a building that looks ready to crumble! And for what?!” she shouted, and as if on cue, one of the pillars fell down. “See?”

Out of the smoke from the Shadow Ball that had impacted the Salamence’s face, she seemed largely unamused, seemingly not paying the attack any mind. All of them suddenly felt ‘intimidated’ and took a step back. “Eric, give me my order! I will crush them!”

Jonathan shook his head to get rid of the ‘fear’. “Choose your orders carefully!” Jonathan growled, as he and his team tensed up. “Wrong choice, and I WON’T be held responsible for what might happen!”

“...........” Eric stared with a straight face while still clutching the injured Volcarona to his chest. Then he spoke. “.....stand down!”

Sally was shocked to say at least. She glanced over her shoulder to her trainer. “....what?”

“Stand down, girl! It’s over, it’s not worth it.”

“But…..” The look her trainer gave her forced her to sigh and nod her head in compliance. “....fine!”

“Good,” Jonathan nodded. “Now let’s get out of here!” just as he said that, another pillar collapsed, and soon a few more followed.

“I agree! Let’s go!” Fox agreed, as she and her team turned tail and ran for the nearest exit. “See you guys around! You better not die!” and with that, she was about to exit the door. But before she could, a familiar heat came upon her. Fox sighed in annoyance before sidestepping with ease, not noticing what had been set alight.

“...you really have problems…” Jonathan deadpanned when he saw that, but shook his head, before running towards the exit with his team. Along the way, they noticed that Green Lead was still embedded in the wall. “...I really want to leave you, but that’s not what I should do,” he sighed, before pulling out the corrupt pony from the wall and running out with him.

“We should get out too. Unless, someone plan to make a cream splatter out of us.” Will floated out the door.

Sally for once, agreed, but the smile on her face couldn’t be missed by Eric who she had passed on her way to the exit. For in fact, she had noticed what had been set alight by her ‘goodbye’ Flamethrower.

Eric was the only one left in the building, he stared upward at the collapsing ceiling. Yet none of the small pieces of debris hit him as he silently stared. In the background he could hear Sally’s voice call out to him. Eric closed his eyes before calmly floating out the hole Sally had made earlier, while the destruction of the warehouse continued to rage on behind him. He cradled Alex like a mother would.

While this was all going on, unseen to the Pokemon, Grumble was trying to recover from the massive pain caused by the impact of the Iron Tail. He began cursing and muttering every single Pokémon he knew (which weren’t many) and was already planning on how he would get them all killed. The pain didn’t allow him to stand up, yet he knew he had to get away from his current location. The earth was violently shaking, and the building behind him looked like if it was about to collapse in thousands of pieces, at any minute, one of those pieces could land on him and finish him off completely. Grumble began crawling towards the woods, as he was thinking on who to call for help.

“Need any help, sweetheart?” A sensual feminine voice said from the darkness, Grumble recognized this voice, he had heard it many times before, it was the voice of his savior.

“Good Celestia, Sphinx. You have no idea how glad I am that you are here. Grumble searched for the origin of the voice, and found the griffin hiding in the shadows of the trees. “Now come here and help me out.” Yet as Sphinx walked towards him, Grumble’s expression changed to one of hate. The typically fancy and educated Griffin was now dressed in a black leather jacket, no make-up, and a Talonflame standing on her raised wing. On her jacket, a golden insignia which showed a crossed feather and a sword, with text of a language unknown to the pony gave hints of the griffin’s secret. “You… you traitor…”

“If anyone here is a traitor, it’s you, Grumble. When we got news of the mayor of Tall Tale being involved in some shady business, we had to get involved. I was born here, so I was the best candidate to infiltrate into your dumb groups, and act like another timber-wolf in the herd of ponies. You were all too focused on your wealthiness that you didn’t notice that one pony working for me was leaking information to third parties and those third parties shared the information with those that completely obliterated your plans. And now, it has all lead to this, you are out of the game, Grumble. I already gave most of the money of your personal bank accounts to all the citizens of Tall Tale, equally distributed to even the poorest of ponies. Neither you nor the group of idiots that you commanded have any money left anymore.” She said tauntingly. “Its a good thing I kept an eye on things, or else that mare might not have found half of the dirt she did on you and your group.”

“I swear.. I’ll get you and your damn group killed!” Grumble shouted, but he was shocked when Sphinx grabbed his head with her claws, getting him into a precarious position. She looked at him eye-to-eye, and left out a wide grin.

“Come on, Grumble, is that really the way to speak to a lady? Besides, you already lost, honey, it’s over.” Sphinx dropped Grumble’s head, who tried to stand up, only to be stomped by Sphinx,causing some minor injuries on his back,. “Don’t even bother, your friends will find you soon enough. These Pokémon, such amazing creatures, we could definitely use them, don’t you think?”

“Milady, it is almost time” The Talonflame interrupted

“Is that so? Shame. Flame, darling, I’ll need you to travel to Las Pegasus and meet our friends, tell them that I will arrive rather late to our meeting. The Tall Tale operation was a success, yet I have a new mission of my own, something that may benefit us greatly,” Sphinx replied

“Understood” As the Talonflame left the scene, Grumble began laughing, and coughing.

“Oh, I see you regained your sense of humor, what’s so funny?” Sphinx chuckled, placing a claw on his throat

“You idiot just revealed the location of your friends. I could give that information to anyone, I have my contacts, and you know it.”

“Oh Grumble, you are as naive as always. Las Pegasus is a vast city, and we are just a clandestine group looking to solve the world’s problems. Good luck finding us though, you will definitely need it. Well, I’m afraid I can not chat any longer. I’d say I had fun, but I didn’t. Don’t miss me, darling!” As she said this, she raised her claw, and violently slapped Grumble, knocking him down.

“Now where did that Champion go?” Sphinx asked herself, before flapping her wings and leaving the area.

Jonathan and his team were outside as they saw the building crumble. Fortunately, the one good thing of the destruction of the central support pillars was that the building crumbled in on itself. “That was a little too close,” Heat sighed.

“You can say that again. So...what happened to that Hydreigon?” Howl pointed out.

Upon his words, the group looked around and noted that true enough, the Hydreigon and his team were not present. “...you don’t think they were still in there, do you?” Echo commented.

“...we’re digging!” Jonathan gasped, before he, Heat, and Howl started digging through the wreckage. After half an hour, all they found was the unconscious, and half buried Aggron from before. Seeing the lack of blood or moans of pain, they surmised that they must have escaped through another exit. “They got away, huh...probably through that hole in the roof they made,” Jonathan sighed. “Oh well, for now we’d better get back to the guard station. We’ll deal with this when we get there.” And with that, they left the wreckage (though Heat piled on more wreckage on the Aggron. The last thing they wanted was it waking up and going on another rampage if it got out).

“Daaang. We REALLY trashed the place,” Rascal whistled.

“Let’s not make this a habit,” Shade commented.

“Awww...but where’s the fun in that?” Scep chuckled.

“Either way, good work everyone. Let’s get out of here though. The evidence against Grumble was already...hey, is something cooking?” Fox asked.

The others looked at her and gulped. “Er...you?” Shade offered.

Fox blinked, then noticed that part of her mane was on fire. “...I’M ON FIRE!!!!!” She starting to run around like a headless Torchic, attempting to put out the flames that were starting to engulf her mane.

“I got it!” Rascal shouted, before firing an icy wind at the spot, putting out the flame, but also freezing her in the process. “Well played,” she begrudgingly thought. “I think I finally found another rival...provided he keeps that Salamence on a tighter leash,” she couldn’t help but think.

When Jonathan and his team got back to the station, they were surprised to find that Grumble had been found...unconscious on the doorstep of the Guard Station. “...what did we miss?” Jonathan couldn’t help but ask Golden Star when he saw him.

“I am not sure, Jonathan. When we got here after evacuating the area and retreating, we realized that Grumble was nowhere to be seen. As we were getting ready to look for him, this Pokémon was dragging him down, and left him on the doorstep. Possibly the oddest of Pokémon I have seen yet. He was floating like if gravity didn’t exist, black and purple, and had heads for hooves; heck, he seemed to be wearing a wristwatch like if he was just another pony. He dropped Grumble and left, no one was able to ask questions, maybe the shock, maybe the confusion, who knows.” He explained, scratching his head.

“Well...at least he got out no problem,” Howl shrugged.

“Yeah...that was probably the same Hydreigon from Vanhoover,” Jonathan sighed. “At least now we got Grumble too. Now all that’s left is building a case. Guess we’d better start looking for evidence.”

“That won’t be necessary, Jonathan… this is by far the weirdest day I ever had.” Golden Star chuckled, “An officer that stayed here found this huge package filled with documents, receipts, photos… enough evidence to put Grumble and his direct subordinates to jail forever.” As he explained this, the Chief walked to a counter nearby, and grabbed the huge bag filled with papers, and dropped it on the floor next to Jonathan.

“Where in the world did these come from?” Jonathan gasped when he saw the pile of evidence.

“We still don’t know, but we sure are glad we have them. Today, so many heroes have fought against Grumble, both on the front lines, and in the shadows. Tall Tale will be able to grow more than ever thanks to you, and to every pony and Pokémon involved. “ The old pony chuckled

“Yeah...guess you’re right,” Jonathan nodded, as he picked up the folder...then noticed a small stitch on it. Tugging at it, a card fell out. A card depicting a black Zoroark head. “Go figure. I should have known it was her,” Jonathan chuckled.

“You know, she ain’t as bad as you made her. Given, she is still a thief, but a different kind of thief. Who knows, maybe she can get to the good guys’ side one day, I bet she would be one of the greatest detectives around.”

“Maybe. But I’ll still have to catch her first,” Jonathan mused, before shrugging. “I really wonder sometimes…”

“Hey, I just thought of something. With the Mayor being arrested, who’s gonna run the city now?” Echo pointed out.

“That is a really good question, a question I’d love to answer myself. With the current events, the destruction, the corruption, the political state in which Tall Tale is right now. I doubt many would be good candidates to take Tall Tale out of this mess.” As Golden Star let out a loud sigh, a unicorn mare, also dressed in a guard uniform, trotted up to them.

“Sir, if its alright, I would like to say something,” she started.

“Go ahead, soldier,” Golden Star said, not really paying attention to the mare.

“If I may, right now Tall Tale needs a leader they can trust. A leader who is honest and thinks of the people before himself,” she said. “I think you might be that leader, sir,” she finished, before walking away.

“...she...has a point,” Howl couldn’t help but say.

“Me?” The old colt laughed, “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly be honorable enough to fulfil that duty”

“Dad,” A voice said from behind him, a young light brown pegasus got closer to him, and hugged him with his wings, “You are honest, caring, loyal, generous, and the best father I could ask for. You are a leader by nature, just look at what you have accomplished today!”

“He’s right, you know. Since we came to this city, you’ve been the one who was always helpful, didn’t judge us solely for being Pokemon, and in general, you’ve been one of the best officers I have ever had the pleasure of getting to know,” Jonathan nodded.

“He isn’t kidding. Otherwise he wouldn’t have blown his stack on Green Lead like he did earlier,” Heat agreed.

“Not proud of how I did it, but I am NOT sorry about pummeling him. Trash like him doesn’t deserve to wear a badge,” Jonathan grunted.

“I feel… honored. Me, as a Mayor. Mayor Golden Star…”

“It has a certain ring to it, dad. I like it.” Silver Star smiled. As as he said this, all the officers presented started showing their support, many of them giving out their experiences with the Chief and the good times they had.

“I guess… I guess I can try. I will postulate myself for the next elections, after all, it is up to the town if they want me or not.” He raised his hoof and saluted his partners in arms. “I appreciate the help each and everyone of you have given me over the years. And you Jonathan,” He looked at the Lucario, and grinned “It was an honor working with you, even if it was for a brief time. As the current leader of Tall Tale’s safety department, I am obliged to give you this.” Golden Star walked to a shelf that was located in the middle of the room, and grabbed a black box with the insignia of the police force drawn on it. He opened it, and took out a small round blue badge, with silver lining, simple, yet impressive. “This, my friend, is the Badge Magnanimum, the badge for the brave and the good hearted, a badge given to those whose acts resemble the ones of the adventurers that funded this city. This is exclusive for honorary members of our police force, something so you can always remember us. Plus, as a reward of aiding with a rank A criminal, Tall Tale’s Security Department gives you 150 bits for you to use freely.”

Jonathan for his part didn’t know what to say. “I...I’m honestly honored, sir. But...I can’t accept this. I mean, I’ve only been here for 2 days at most, and even then, I haven’t done all that much,” he said honestly.

“I say that he deserves it!” An officer exclaimed

“He was the best fighter among all of us!” Another one pointed out

“Without him we would have lost as soon as they arrived in the area!” Another voice called

“The public demands it, Jonathan. Don’t go all humble now, you deserve it. This is a gift, from the entire city, to you: We owe you the harmony of Tall Tale, this is the least we can do.”

“Wow, if you put it that way…” Heat grinned, causing Jonathan to sigh, though he wasn’t upset.

“Alright then. Thank you very much. Its also been an honor working with all of you,” Jonathan smiled as he accepted the badge, and put it on, right next to his Officer Badge..

As the crowd cheered and laughed, Silver Star stood up and exclaimed “Let’s go celebrate with some Apple Cider, the drinks are on me!” The cheer became louder, and everyone started leaving the room.

“Jonathan, I’ll get ya your reward later, tonight, let’s celebrate with the guys, what do you say?” Golden Star smiled, pointing at the exist

“Well, alright, how could we refuse,”Jonathan chuckled. “Alright then, let’s go.” At this, his team joined in the cheering.

As this was happening, the mare from earlier slunk out of the office unseen. When she was out of the building, she quickly took the uniform off, and wiped off the make-up she was wearing, revealing herself to be Info Scoop. “Looks like my work here is done for now,” she smiled, patting herself on the back. However, as she walked down an alleyway, another voice called out to her.

“Scoop? We need to talk.”

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Done. This chapter was brought to you by me, Uber Reaper, and ThatOneVolcarona

Uber Reaper – Hiya guys, Uber Reaper here. Well, looks like another one of our crossovers is finished here. I definitely enjoyed getting to fight the legendary Phantom Thief Fox by tdnpony truly. Sure my characters got their asses handed to them, but it was fun nonetheless. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this heist as much as I do.

ThatOneVolcarona - “This was definitely a chaotic, massively active, and fun episode to do. I am glad and honored I could help with it, even if it was by providing information and doing some editing here and there. Hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did. Also if you want to know more about Sphinx’s mysterious group? Check out my fic, A New World, a New Champion. Although I would recommend you to just favorite and wait, as due to multiple reasons it’s going through a process of a remake/rewrite. Shameless Self-promotion, yay!”

Eleventh Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Eleventh Heist

Opening theme:

“Alright, so where is your old acquaintance?” Fox asked, as she, Sleight Hoof, Quick Storm, and Info Scoop were walking down an alleyway in Tall Tale. Earlier, Info Scoop had paid their carriage a visit, saying that she had something that she needed them to see.

“He’ll be here soon. Shoot might be laid back, but he’s serious when it comes to stuff like this. He’ll show up,” Info Scoop defended. Last night, shortly after leaving the Guard Station, she had run into him...or rather, he had called her. He had seemed to be in a hurry, but he managed to tell her the time and place to meet up with him, while also telling her to bring Sleight and Storm along. The Fox gang had wanted to tag along just in case.

As if on cue, a Pegasus Pony Stallion entered the scene. He had a dusty brown coat, and a blonde mane, with a camera cutie mark. “Sleight! Storm! Its been a long time!” he smiled up at his two old acquaintances. “Glad you could get a hold of them, Scoop.”

“He seems awful friendly for someone who’s ‘just an acquaintance’,” Rascal idly said.

“Quiet you,” Alice hissed. The last thing they wanted to do was piss off an informant.

“Yeah, what she said, dude,” Scep snickered, taking a jab at the Weavile who glared at him.

Ignoring the two bickering mon, Alice instead focused on the conversation between the Ponies.

“Alright, so Scoop told us you wanted to meet us here. She said there was something you wanted to tell us about, especially after the recent incident with the Mayor,” Storm said.

“That’s right. Anyway, I got some info recently from Canterlot. One of the nobles there, secretly a guy who just loves to dabble in illegal artifacts, and by dabble, I mean he loves to smuggle them and sell them in the black market. Anyway, he got wind of this mystic ring. Apparently, if the old stories are true, that ring can magnify an unicorn’s power, apparently to the point a mountain is just an annoyance. And by that, I mean they can blow up a mountain easily if they have the ring,” he said. “So point is, he’s gonna be coming for the ring. He’s due to arrive tomorrow night to get the ring, and bring it back to Canterlot.

“Alright, that’s going to be an issue,” Alice mused.

“And you are?” the stallion asked.

“Just call me Alice. I don’t believe you’ve introduced yourself, though,” she simply said.

“Ah...right. Sorry,” the stallion said sheepishly. “I’m Picture Perfect. A Photographer, and as you can guess, an old friend of Sleight and Storm.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Alice nodded pleasantly. “As I already said, you can call me Alice, and these guys are my teammates,” she said, gesturing to her team. “Shade, Rascal, Charlotte, Spinner, and Scep,” she said as she gestured to each of them. “So you’re an informant, like Info Scoop here?”

“Officially, I’m a photographer only, but yeah. So as I was saying, after I heard that Sleight and Storm were in town, and when I heard Scoop was making a few moves, it didn’t take me long to connect the dots that you all had something to do with it,” Picture Perfect said.

“We did help, but most of the credit goes to Alice here,” Sleight chuckled.

Picture Perfect blinked, before looking at Alice...before the dots connected. “You’re the Fox?”

“That’s me,” she chuckled, not really worried about her identity at this point. It wasn’t that hard to figure out, especially when you knew more info.

“Well, then. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Fox,” Picture grinned, shaking her paw with his hoof. “I must say, we all owe you a big thank you for exposing Grumble for what he really is.”

“All in a days work,” Rascal chuckled in amusement.

“So anyway, I can guess why you are telling us this. That Crime Lord getting that ring would be a BIG problem. Okay, I think we can squeeze together something. Maybe a little surprise for him,” Alice nodded.

“We going after another Crime Lord already? Cool,” Shade grinned.

“Heh, you guys sure don’t rest. Well, count me in,” Scep grinned as well.

“Alright then, please keep us informed. We’ll take care of the rest,” Alice nodded.

“Thank you. I really appreciate this,” Picture smiled sincerely.

You can count on me too,” Scoop grinned.

“Thank you, both of you,” Sleight and Storm smiled.

“Anytime. Us reformed criminals gotta stick together, right?” Scoop chuckled.

“Alright then, we’ve gotten tickets for everyone,” Quick Storm said as she handed out the tickets to them all. However, they soon found a small problem.

“Hm...looks like we bought too many tickets. We have one extra,” Sleight Hoof chuckled.

“Well, that’s not a real issue. Doesn’t cause us any real issues. We still have our plan,” Alice shrugged. “Anyway, we’re in agreement. We’ll split into 2 teams. Team one will board the train and scout the area. Once we’ve established the location of the target, we’ll move in on it at night, while everyone is asleep. That way, we’ll hopefully minimize the number of ponies who might get in the way,” she started. “As for Team two, they’ll follow from the carriages. If anything happens, we’ll need backup after we disconnect the train carriage,” she finished.

“Alright, so who goes where?” Toichi asked.

“Glad you asked. You see, we’re gonna need all of your help on this one. If we show up as just Pokemon, then ponies will get suspicious,” she explained.

“Alright, then if you’re taking volunteers, we’ll come along,” Storm said with a smile.

“Yeah, you can count on us,” Sleight grinned.

“Thanks. I was going to ask you two actually,” Alice couldn’t help but chuckle. “Aside from you two, I’ll be coming along. Also...Shade, Rascal, and Spinner. I’d like you all to come with us.”

“What about me, dudette?” Scep grinned.

“I’m sorry Scep, but you’re a little big. This is supposed to be a stealth mission in a train. Please understand, we’re trying to avoid a big fight if we can help it,” Alice explained.

“Hrm…” Scep grumbled, not really liking the thought of sitting a heist out. “I don’t agree to this….”

Alice smiled wryly. “Please Scep. In this heist, we might need your strength more if anything unplanned happens,” she said, using her rarely used trick. The dreaded puppy dog eyes.

Scep’s eye twitched, as Alice had been playing with her illusion ability, making her look quite cute at this point. Eventually he caved. “Alright, alright. I get it! Please just stop with the cute!”

“Thank you!” Alice smiled, as she quickly assigned the servants to team 2. However, just as she turned to Toichi, he suddenly spoke up.

“Miss Alice, I’d like to be on team 1,” he said.

At this, Sleight and Storm’s eyes bugged out in fear. “Toichi! What are you saying?”

“Mom, Dad, I don’t want to keep staying on the sidelines. Ms. Alice has done so much for us and I don’t want to keep watching. I want to help too,” he argued.

“But…”

“I can help. Watch this,” Toichi said, before taking a piece of prop armor, and casting a spell on it. He then struck it hard with his hoof, but it didn’t so much as bend. “I’ve been practicing my magic. I’ve gotten real good at enchantments,” he said, sounding a little proud.

“Well….alright,” Sleight sighed.

“Dear!” Storm said in alarm.

“He’s not a little colt anymore. He can make his own choices,” Sleight said, trying to calm her down. However, he still turned to Toichi and sternly said, “That being said, I expect you to listen to us. If we say run, you run. If we say hide, you hide. Is that clear?”

“Err..yeah. Okay, dad,” Toichi gulped.

“Perfect then, so we’re all agreed?” Alice nodded, earning a nod from everyone. “Alright then. Let’s all get some rest, and we’ll be ready for tomorrow.”

The next day saw that the train station was bustling as always as ponies boarded into the train. However, one thing that was...odd for the people today, was the small group of ponies boarding, with what appeared to be a group of Pokemon as well.

“So far so good,” Alice said, her form currently hidden under the illusion of an Earth Pony.

“Not surprising. We’re only just getting on the train,” Sleight nodded.

“Good point,” Alice chuckled as they got in. Finding a seat wasn’t hard, since they happened to be able to get an empty train carriage.

“Alright! Now we got this carriage all to ourselves,” Rascal grinned as they took their seats, said Weavile lounging around.

“So...now what? We wait?” Shade asked.

“Yes. For now,” Alice nodded. “We’ll make our moves during nightfall.”

The rest of the time was spent generally chatting amongst themselves, though Shade and Rascal had more or less taken to sleeping on the cushions. On the other hand, Toichi was pretty busy with his face buried in a book.

“Toichi has REALLY been serious about this, hasn’t he?” Alice mused as she watched the colt practice his magic. Enchanting magic. Lately she noticed that Toichi had been REALLY immersing himself in magical books, especially enchantments, evident by how he had been making a whole bunch of enchanted items lately, some of which he had given to her, though she had yet to really find a use for them yet.

“He certainly has. Looks like we have you to thank for it, though,” Sleight chuckled.

“Me?”

“Yeah, Toichi told us about it. You told him one night to try what he felt worked, bit by bit instead of trying to go for it all in one swoop. Its because he’s been trying various different types of magic that he’s been really serious about learning enchantment magic. Have to say though, he has the talent for it,” Storm chuckled.

“Well, glad to help I suppose,” Alice shrugged.

The group continued to enjoy the ride, till they noticed the sun setting. “Alright then, we’d better get some shut eye if we want to be awake for later,” Sleight yawned, before setting an alarm for later.

The group was jolted awake when they felt the train suddenly stop. “Huh? We can’t be in Canterlot already. Its too soon,” Sleight blinked as he shook himself awake.

“Nope, we’re still on the road,” Rascal yawned as he looked out the window.

“Well, its not a problem. We might want to get ready soon anyway,” Shade said as she stretched.

However, any further conversations were cut off when the door opened, and a Stallion walked in. He was dressed in a gray overcoat and fedora, but one could still see the purple coat and lavender mane underneath. The stallion noticed them staring. “What are you commoners looking at?” he snorted, before walking out through the back of the train car.

“...was that?” Shade started.

“Yep, that was Gray Hat, alright,” Alice nodded as she pulled out the picture that Picture Perfect had provided for them.

“Alright then, so show time?” Rascal grinned, while Sleight, Storm, and Toichi got out of their seats, ready to move away.

“Not yet. I’ll do some recon first. Its late enough, so most if not all the other passengers should be asleep. I’ll try and see if I can snag the ring without much fuss, but be ready,” Alice said, as her disguise faded away, revealing her true form. Switching to her Shiny illusion, she slipped on her cape and hat. “Just wait for my signal, but be ready to run if needs be,” she said to the ponies, before she disappeared from sight.

(Play Fox's heist theme)
As Gray Hat trudged through the train, grumbling in annoyance, he was unaware of his invisible stalker. As they walked through the trains, fortunately most if not all the occupants, few as they were, were fast asleep. However, every now and then, Gray Hat would get the feeling like he was being followed, and turn around. However, each time he even looked like he was about to turn, Fox quickly moved behind some cover, even with her illusion, just in case.

“Damn nerves. Now they’ve got me jumping at shadows…” he muttered.

This continued for a while, and before long, they were approaching the luggage carriage. Fox figured that they were reaching the final carts, and decided to wait for a bit, trying to avoid as much suspicion as possible. When the crime lord was out of sight, she continued the chase,and reached the next carriage. Many different packs were spread all over the vast cart, and Fox decided to investigate while advancing, careful of any possible traps that may be placed, or any hiding henchman that could be guarding the next carts. But what she saw was not what she expected.

“Is that…?” A saddlebag was lying in the middle of the cart, revealing some odd objects that seemed to hold quite the monetary value. One of these items caught her eye, a golden ring with a crystalline gem was shining with the light of the moon. As Fox advanced towards it, the colors started to change, tone after tone, simulating the colors of a rainbow. “That looks like a magical ring to me. But why is it here… just lying there?”

Taking a cautious approach, she carefully looked around for any signs of traps. Seeing none, she realized that it could very well be that magic was being used to make the traps invisible. "Now...how to..." she mused, before blinking as she remembered something. Reaching into her fur, she took out the glasses that Toichi had given her a day ago, a pair of glasses that were enchanted to let her see magical auras/signatures. “I owe you one, kid,” she chuckled under her breath as she put them on. Looking at the scene, she saw no signs of magical enchantment, save for the ring itself. “Alright...coast is clear. Maybe I lucked out and he gave the ring to some dumb henchman...yeah, that might be it…” she muttered, as she carefully crept towards the ring, her camouflage illusion going up again, before carefully removing the ring from the saddlebag, and hiding the ring under her cape. But suddenly, a bag dropped from its position, and a soft whisper was heard. Acting on instinct, she climbed the ladder on the wall, and opened the trapdoor she had seen earlier when she had scanned the room for possible traps. She got out of the cart, as a feminine voice shouted behind her.

“My ring!”
(end theme)

But Fox had no time to check the source, she had to run for it. Looking behind her, she spotted a shiny Scizor with a Bunnelby grasping its shoulder with its ears running after her.

“Huh, from Picture’s description of the guy, I thought he’d be too stuck up to hire Pokemon,” Fox mused to herself as she darted down the roof of the train, her paw on her hat to keep it from getting blown away while she kept up her illusion. .

“Get back with that ring, Zoroark!” The Scizor shouted.

Fox blinked in surprise when she realized he could see her. “That’s interesting...how the heck did he do that?” she blinked to herself, but kept running nonetheless, as the sound of rushing wind covered the sound of her footsteps. However, just to be safe, she tossed one of her smoke bombs over her shoulder, right into the path of the pursuing Pokemon. But once again, something unexpected happened, as a light blue bubble surrounded the spreading smoke, taking it back to the grenade and throwing it out of the way. As the smoke disappeared Fox noticed the user of the Psychic, which was… the Bunnelby?

At this point, Fox couldn’t help herself, and stopped running, and seeing as it was clear that her camouflage illusion wasn’t working anymore, dropped it. “Alright, now I’m REALLY curious. Since when can a Bunnelby do that?” she said, her voice a mix of curiosity and amusement as she eyed the two Pokemon, a good train car away. The pursuers also stopped, the Bunnelby falling from the Scizor’s shoulder and placing himself in front of it.

“Why should we tell you?” The Scizor said, on a voice slightly familiar for her. “Drop the ring, and we can all go home safe and sound.”

“No can do. The only place this ring is going is the junkyard...preferably in a million pieces,” Fox shook her head, never once losing her amused look.

“I won’t let you do that, Fox. I won’t let you escape… again.” The Scizor exclaimed

“Oh? Do I know you? You’ll have to forgive me, but identifying old acquaintances has been so hard lately,” Fox chuckled, her stance still seemingly relaxed, but she was ready to move at a moment’s notice.

“Makes sense. In that case, let me introduce myself once again. My name is Steven Stone, former champion of the Hoenn region, and you and I, Phantom Thief Fox, have some pending business to solve” The Scizor flapped his wings, and prepared to run towards her at any moment.

“Ah yes, Mr. Stone. Now that you mention it, the voice did sound familiar,” Fox chuckled. “So how’d the research go? Hope you're not still sore over that banana peel,” She chuckled, remembering the incident. An Aggron slipping on a banana peel, before bowling over the rest of his team was one of the funniest heists she had ever pulled off.

“Thanks to your little prank, we are not allowed to have fruits anymore, Iron Fist goes nuts whenever he sees any. What are you doing here anyways, I thought Arceus only brought the humans that were worth it.”

“Aww....why does everyone keep lumping me in with the regular thieves?” Fox pouted. “I would think someone like you could figure out that I’m no simple thief,” she said, her expression changing to one of amusement.

“Oh, I know you are not a simple thief. You are worse. Steel Wing!” The Scizor ran towards Fox, a soft white aura surrounding Steven’s wings.

Fox didn’t make any move to evade. Turns out it wasn’t necessary, since when Steven struck, it revealed to be a doll shaped like a Zoroark. “Well then, guess I was nice enough to be considered for the move,” came Fox’s amused voice as she faded back into existence another car down. “That was pretty rude though, attacking a lady when she is talking.”

“Layton, use Hammer Arm!” The Scizor called, but the Bunnelby glared at him, and sighed.

“Steven, I am not able to use anything but Psychic, and the moves this Bunnelby knows. None would be effective against Fox.” The Bunnelby explained, hopping back into Steven’s shoulder.

“Then I guess, I am alone on this, great. X-Scissor!” Steven ran forwards, his pincers glowing a light blue.

“I got a better idea. Fetch!” Fox said, as she tossed something right past him. The ring she had stolen.

“So this was just another prank then, huh? You planned returning it all along.” The Scizor chuckled

“Steven, that’s not the-” But Layton was abruptly interrupted, when the ring exploded, a mass of webbing coming out, covering both Steven and Layton in the sticky mess.

“Gotcha,” Fox chuckled, before she opened another trap door, and dove into the train.

Once she was in, she immediately switched to her illusion of an Earth Pony, before leaving one more illusion of herself, heading for the door, and for each train car she passed, she left another illusion just in case. Along the way, she happened to pass through the kitchen area...and boy was it a mess. “Dang, must have been one DISGRUNTLED customer,” she blinked. Of course, she couldn’t understand why anyone would be disgruntled after that delicious meal. Oh well, it didn’t matter to her anyway, since she was almost there.

Upon entering their train car, Fox immediately dove for cover behind one of the seats, and pulled off her hat and cape from underneath her illusion.

“Problems?” Spinner asked.

“Not really. Turns out Steven Stone’s on this train, and it looks like he might be in cahoots with Gray Hat. Of course, I’m guessing he has no idea what this ring does, or else he would never have agreed to it,” Alice explained, as she pulled out the ring. Unfortunately…

“Er...Miss Alice, can I see that?” Toichi asked.

“Huh? Sure,” she said, giving him the ring.

The colt examined it for a bit, before sighing. “Sorry Miss Alice, but...this isn’t the right ring.”

“Huh? That can’t be right. It looked like the one Picture Perfect showed us, and it even has a magical signature. Those glasses you gave me told me it did,” she said.

Toichi’s face scrunched up in concentration. “Yeah, but...the magic signature is different,” he grunted, as he focused on distilling the enchantment. “The magic signature on this ring is really weak. That’s cause its….” he started, as his horn glowed brightly, and before their eyes, they saw what looked like symbols floating out of the ring.

“Huh?” was the only ‘intelligent’ thing the Fox gang could say as they were completely lost.

“Based on the spell matrix...this ring has a visual enchantment, particularly on the crystals. All this kind of enchantment does is make the crystals change color if you tilt it a little,” Toichi explained, and unnoticed to him, something appeared on his flank.

“Not to mention, now that I think about it...look at the picture,” Shade said, holding up the photo of their target. “There’s this small inscription on the side. This ring doesn’t have it.”

“Dang, you’re right. Its uncanny though, that a decoration ring could look so much like a super powered magical ring,” Alice couldn’t help but chuckle, as she lightly smacked her own head.

“Honest mistake. What matters now is that the real ring is still in Gray Hat’s hooves. We’d better get going now,” Shade said.

“Yeah, come on. We’ll all need to work together, especially since a Champion is on this train,” Alice nodded, before the four members of the Fox gang moved to the door, but this time they had the photo of their target with them just in case. “You guys might want to move away from here. This might get crazy,” Rascal added as they left.

“I think we should listen to them this time,” Sleight nodded.

“Yes, I think we should. Good work, son,” Storm smiled. At this point though, both of them noticed something. “Toichi...your flank!”

“Huh?” he asked, and when he looked, he saw what was now on his flank. A symbol that depicted a magic wand seemingly casting something on a purple crystal. “I got my Cutie Mark!” he said happily.

“And we can celebrate it AFTER we get off this train,” his parents chuckled, but they understood why he was so happy.

The three of them moved towards the front of the train, but along the way, Toichi suddenly perked up. “Oh man, I just remembered!” Toichi said.

“What’s wrong?” Storm asked.

“Miss Alice was busy working on one of her gadgets, and I figured out how to make an enchanted version of it. I gotta give it to her,” he said.

“No Toichi, wait!” Sleight tried to stop him, but too late, he had already ran through the door…

“We have to go after him!” Storm started...until they felt the train care they were in shake. Looking out the door, they saw their carriage, with Scep holding on to a strong rope of webbing that was attached to the top of the door.

Sleight looked between the door and the rope, noting the strained look on the Sceptile’s face, as well as the servants in the front…before sighing sadly. “We...we have to trust Alice on this. Or else this whole plan might be in danger…” he said.

Storm for her part wanted to protest, but seeing the look on her husband’s face made it clear that he liked this about as much as she did, and with a heavy heart, she nodded. “Alright…”

However, before grabbing on to the rope, they both looked towards the inside of the train again. “Toichi...Alice, please take care of him…” they thought before they grabbed the web.

The Fox gang made their way down the train, having already taken to the roof of the train, hoping to avoid any additional obstacles.

“Man, for once I wish we didn't have so many things in our way. This is the worst place for this,” Rascal grumbled.

“It can’t be helped. None of us expected a Champion to be on board,” Fox sighed as they continued to run down the train roof.

“At least we know this job is going to get interesting,” Rascal sighed.

“But is that really a good thing right now?” Shade idly said.

“Duck!” Fox exclaimed. Hearing her, Shade and Rascal did as she said, and the three of them promptly went flat on the roof.

A silver blur spun rapidly over them. It stopped mid air, and turned around, revealing a golden ‘X’ and cold red eyes. “Target found, subject: Fox. Reporting current location. Transferring second brain…” It said in an extremely robotic voice. His eyes went a pale white, before returning to their usual red. “Fox,” The Steel type deadpanned in a more natural way.

“Well well well, I was wondering when we’d see you. What was it Mr. Stone called you again? Layton, was it?” Fox chuckled, remembering the Shiny Metagross from a few years back.

“I am impressed by your memory. Many years have passed since… the banana incident. There is no way you can escape, Fox, Steven is coming this way at this very moment.” The Metagross said on his monotone voice.

“We’re on a train, tin head. There are PLENTY of ways to escape,” Rascal snorted. “Sides, if you haven’t noticed, YOU'VE got the clear DISADVANTAGE. 3 Dark-types against 1 Psychic-type. Sounds like a slaughter to me,” he grinned.

“Phantom Thief Fox, a title said to be transferred from generation to generation. Known for being stealthy and almost uncatchable, they are usually… not fighters. I know enough about the way you work, Fox, and I can sense that your Pokémon are not made for fighting. Besides, I am more than capable of dealing with Dark types.” Layton released two of his arms, which started shining a strong white glow. The Steel type began hovering towards them, charging his Hammer Arm on the way, aiming for Rascal.

“Weavile, Blizzard. Liepard, Dark Pulse. As for me, Shadow Ball!” Fox ordered. In short order, all three attacks flew straight at their target.

Layton stopped his advance, and dodge the incoming ice attack. As the Dark Pulse turned to follow its objective, the Psychic type jabbed it with one of his Hammer Arms, and proceeded to do the same with the Shadow Ball. Although unharmed, he paid the price of the attacks he used, as his movements became considerably slower.

“Now!” Fox said, as she threw several of her web bombs, catching Layton’s legs and holding them down to the roof. “Dark Triangle!” she ordered, before the three of them fired simultaneous bursts of Dark Pulse, the three beams racing in a way that looked like a triangle before they folded into each other, creating a stronger beam.

“Not so fast!” A voice said from behind the immobilized Steel Type. A Scizor rushed in front of his friend, as a lime-green neon-like sphere surrounded him, nullifying the attack. “It seems like I arrived just in time, huh bud? Get out of that mess and come help me out,” Steven exclaimed, brewing a Tailwind which sped his partner up.

“I hate it when our opponents arrive in the nick of time like some cartoon hero,” Shade snorted as she stuck her tongue out in annoyance.

“Give up, Fox. We don’t need to do this the hard way. There are more reinforcements coming this way, if we don’t stop you, they will.”

“We can handle Ponies easy,” Rascal snorted. “What are they gonna do? Buck us to death? Heh, I’ll turn them all into ice sculptures before they get the chance.”

“I never said anything about ponies,” Steven chuckled, showing himself confident on his actions. “That Tailwind was not just to speed Layton up”

Just as he said that, Fox’s instincts suddenly acted up, as her pupils dilated, and she dodged, just as an arm flew past her, nicking her on the arm.

As the Fox gang rolled away, they turned to see their attackers. “You again?” she deadpanned. “Okay, two times was a coincidence, but this...this is getting ridiculous.”

“Bug Buzz!” The horrible noise came at them as the one who gave command quickly floated back to get out of range as a familiar Volcarona quickly floated forward.

With no time to pull out their earplugs, the horrible screech blasted their eardrums. Were it not for it being muffled by the sound of the train itself, they would have gone deaf. “I see you’re all as charming as always,” Shade deadpanned.

“What I’d like to know is what you two are doing working for Gray Hat,” Fox winced. Her ears were ringing, but she wasn’t about to let it show.

“Who the heck is Gray Hat? What on earth are you even talking about? Explain yourself!” Steven demanded, getting his pincers ready to launch an X-Scissor

“Oh, only the crime lord who’s trying to get a ring that will let him blow up mountains with just a thought. Speaking of which, here,” Fox said, before tossing Pocket’s ring towards Steven. “That wasn’t my target. Turns out it just happened to look a LOT like the ring we were after.”

“You think I’ll let you do whatever madness of a plan you are pulling off here just because you gave me this ring back?” Steven deadpanned, while grabbing the ring on his hollow pincers

“....Try it, just try to give us one reason why should we believe you?” Eric growled, tensing himself up. “But you won’t, seeing as you’ve never given me a reason to believe anything, in fact, all you’ve given me is just another reason to go after you. Besides, we already let you get away for a second time, it won’t happen again.” Looking at his Volcarona, he added. “Alex, ready yourself.”

“Uhm, okay, if you say so. Sorry for what’s coming Mrs and Mr. Thieves.” Alex said softly, as the bug’s wings started to flap faster.

“Like I said before, you REALLY need help. Even Johnny-boy isn’t this obsessive, and he keeps getting heat for not catching us,” Fox sighed, as they prepared to once again play fire limbo.

“Heat Wave!” With a simple flick of the wings, a blast of heat came forward to scorch the thieves.

“Watch it with the Heat Wave!” Steven exclaimed alarmed, as he barely got away from the attack, “One hit from that, and I’ll be out!"

“Don’t you have ANY restraint?” Rascal grumbled as the three of them evaded the attack by ducking.

“He’s right. First it was the museum, then the warehouse, and now this train. Are you TRYING to get someone killed in the crossfire?” Shade added.

Considering the distance, Eric knew Heatwave wouldn’t be good anymore. He bit his lip as he bitterly remembered the warehouse incident. “Sorry about that, Steven! Alright, Alex, you heard him, no more Fire-types attack like before.”

“....alright.” The timid moth replied.

“Finally, I was afraid you’d set this train on fire just to catch us, ya nut!” Fox said in annoyance.

“Moonblast, go!” Steven called. From behind him, a Sylveon jumped into the air, shooting a large pink sphere towards them.

“Oh crap. Weavile, Liepard, Rock Smash the roof! We’re sitting ducks out here!” Fox barked, to which the two Pokemon obeyed, smashing their attacks into the roof, and blowing a sizable hole from which they fell into the train, right into one of the less crowded train cars, though they still scared off a couple of ponies who were thankfully not near where they landed...

“Okay, we've gotta move, before…” Fox said before she was interrupted.

“Miss Fox!” came Toichi’s voice, as they turned to see the colt in question running up to them. At the sight, their eyes bugged out. “Toichi?! What in Arceus’ name are you doing here? You’re supposed to be safely on the carriage with Sleight and Storm!” Alice yelled frantically.

“Yeah but....” Toichi started.

“No buts. This isn’t a game, kid. The last thing I need right now is to worry about you getting caught in the crossfire!” Fox scolded.

“I wanted to give you these,” Toichi said as he held up several yellow crystalline balls.

“And these are?” Fox raised an eyebrow.

“The thing you were trying to make last night. I figured out how to make magic versions of them,” Toichi explained with a big grin.

Fox’s eyes widened, before she smiled. That was just as she noticed their pursuers pouring jumping into the room. “Toichi, you’re a life saver!” Fox said, as she grabbed the items from the colt’s hooves. Throwing three of them, the balls exploded in mid air when they were near the approaching Pokemon, and they were suddenly covered in a field of electricity.

“Layton!” Steven called, looking for his metallic friend

“This appears… to be a modified paralysis status effect. My… calculations indicate that… the effect is temporary… yet extremely effective.” The Steel type stuttered, the field of electricity surrounding his body.

“Like em? I call them Shock Bombs. Don’t like using them much, but they’re effective,” Fox chuckled, before they turned towards the door. “Later. Come along, colt. Your parents would kill me if anything happened to you.” And with that the Fox gang continued on their way.

“Get….back...here!” The Hydreigon gritted his teeth as he lay on the floor on his side. Looking at the Volcarona beside him, it seemed like he wasn’t going be moving for a while either.
“...dammit!”

“Stop right there, Foxy! You ain’t gonna go pass through me!” A navy blue unicorn mare exclaimed.

The Fox gang looked at her for a moment...before Rascal and Shade burst out laughing. “Oh come on, we already dealt with the bigger Pokemon. What’s one pony gonna do to us?” Rascal said through his mirth, while Fox just sighed at their antics.

“Me? Nah, I won’t do anything, my body will though. Layton!” The unicorn’s eyes turned a pale white, before returning to normal, with the exception of the pupils now being a soft red color. “Transfer complete, initializing… magic.” the unicorn said, on a now robotic and deeper voice. From the horn of the unicorn, various neon blue beams shot towards the gang, aiming for each of its members.

“Not happening,” Toichi said, jumping in between them.

“Kid...what are you doing?” Fox asked, a sinking feeling in her gut all of a sudden.

“I’m helping!” Toichi said...a little too happily. But just as the beams were about to hit them, they disappeared in thin air.

“Non-Pokémon combatant appeared, unauthorized to harm. Awaiting orders from the main unit.”

“Yeah, not happening,” Rascal said, before firing an Ice Beam at Pocket’s body, freezing her. Immediately, the Fox gang went straight for the door again, while Fox made sure to pick up Toichi along the way.

“Come on, we’ve gotta hurry!” Fox said, her voice becoming urgent. They had to hurry, or else they might run out of time. With that in mind, they quickly went from train car to train car, unfortunately, along the way they ended up spooking a good number of the other passengers...of course that was probably due to them having Toichi in their grasps...though the foal sure wasn’t complaining. “Some Phantom Thieves we are right now…” Fox couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Meh, we got more important things to worry about right now,” Rascal shrugged.

“Sides, all that matters is that you get to catch the bad guys,” Toichi cheered.

“Kid...when this is over, your parents are definitely gonna be having a long talk with you,” Fox sighed. “But for all its worth...good job,” she said, ruffling his mane. “Either way, hope everyone is ready, cause the real show time starts now,” she grinned.

“You got it!” her team smiled as they continued to advance towards their target.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Part 1

Collab between me, Uber Reaper, and ThatOneVolcarona. Enjoy

P.S.

Sorry for the long wait. Was holding on to this for a while.

Twelfth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Twelfth Heist

Opening theme:

“Alright. This is it. Nowhere near as smooth as we would have liked, but we’ve gotta do this,” Fox sighed, as they were standing on the roof of the train yet again, only this time on top of the last two cars. Gray Hat’s personal train cars.

“Alright, since we don’t have any time considering we’ve likely got two heat seeker missiles on our tails...skip the formalities?” Shade suggested.

“Yeah. Its more important we get that ring,” Fox nodded, before frowning and turning to the colt that was still with them. “And Toichi, for Arceus’ sake, PLEASE go back to the luggage car. The last thing we want to do is involve you in this,” she sighed.

“But…” he was about to protest, but the pointed glare the Pokemon sent him told him all he needed. “Okay…” and with that, he went down a nearby hatch, going into the luggage car.

“Sir, Sir! We’ve received reports from the grunts in the front carts. There seems to be multiple disturbances all over the train! These… Pokémon even attacked some of our own grunts! What are your orders?”

“This was supposed to be a calm and peaceful trip. All those bits wasted in these damn carts, and on the damn excavation. If those Pokémon destroy the train, it will be all over. Gah. Tell them to fight off the threat, and overall, protect these carts, with your life if you need to!”

However, just as he said that, there was a sudden explosion, and the roof came down...right on top of a group of grunts, crushing them underneath.

“Thanks for the soft landing,” a mischievous female voice chuckled from behind the cloud of dust that was kicked up. When it cleared, it revealed a small group of Pokemon, one of them a large fox dressed in a hat and cape. “Hope you’re all ready for the show,” she chuckled.

“What the heck do you want!? Just leave me alone you freak!” Gray Hat demanded, “All of you, whoever grabs that damn Pokémon gets eight thousand bits as a reward!”

The still standing grunts reached for their weapons, as they showed lances, whips, and even swords, before rushing towards the group of Dark types.

Fox just smirked, before tossing a few metal balls at each of them, and when the balls impacted, the grunts were coated in sticky webbing, before Rascal fired an Ice Beam at each of them, freezing them solid. “What a cold welcome. Didn’t your mother raise you better?” Fox taunted in amusement, as they started to advance towards Gray Hat.

“You had one job! This is what I get for hiring cheap employees.” The unicorn muttered, as his body started shining on a strong glow, disappearing before Fox reached him, and reappearing in the next, and last cart of the train.

“Hmh...almost forgot Unicorns can do that. Oh well, good thing we got Toichi’s little gifts,” Fox chuckled, as she looked at the remaining 3 Shock Bombs she still had.

“Well, he’s got nowhere left to run, so the only problem is that ring,” Shade said.

“Then we’ll just smash it,” Rascal said.

“I’ve got a better idea. Spinarak, please ready one sticky web. You’ll be doing some fishing,” Fox ordered.

“Understood,” the Spinarak saluted as they moved to the door.

While this was happening, Toichi was still on the roof, having decided that this was better than going through whatever was in between here and the train car they had been on. However, as he was walking, he heard the sound of fighting down below, and from the sound of it, it was pretty intense.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” came a gruff voice behind him. Turning to the source, he saw a big stallion glaring down at him. “Sorry kid, but we can’t have any witnesses,” he smirked, before advancing on Toichi.

Toichi paled slightly, but quickly acted. Pulling out one of the two Shock Bombs Fox had left him when she sent him back, he threw one at the stallion, catching him in a shock field.

“Oh man...I hope they’re okay…” Toichi said worriedly, before looking at the last Shock Bomb he had. He then had a determined look, and promptly turned around, running back to the train cars the Fox gang was in. Along the way, he jumped down one of the holes to get there a little easier. “Miss Fox, wait!” he called out, hoping she was still close enough to hear him. However, as he started to run, a whip grabbed his leg, bringing him to the floor. A bulky earth pony pulled the unicorn towards him, not letting him continue.

“Bullet Punch!” A green blur rushed towards the grunt, as various weak yet repetitive orange colored punches struck the earth pony, leaving him unconscious. “Eric, you and your Volcarona go ahead. Frederick, go with them, we need to stop Fox before she tries anything,” Steven said.

“Alright, you heard him, we’re going ahead!” Eric exclaimed, as they all went by Steven, but not before adding. “And be careful, Steven, there might be some ponies left.”

“Don’t worry about me, as for you,” The Steel type glared at the young unicorn. Toichi glared right back at the sight of the people who were trying to catch his friend, and the longer he knew her, his new idol.

“Kid. I don’t know what kind of lies Fox told you, but if you think this is some sort of game, you are wrong. Fox is a criminal, and helping her only means you’ll end up like she will, in jail. Go back to your parents, I don’t think they’d like this,” Steven said.

“But Miss Fox helped my parents a lot. Its because of her the bad ponies can’t hurt them anymore!” Toichi shot back. “And she’s trying to do it again. If she doesn’t stop that bad pony from getting that ring, a lot of ponies might get hurt!”

“Bad pony? What bad pony? The only bad person here is Fox!”

Toichi stamped his hoof in annoyance. “No she isn’t! Miss Fox is the good guy...girl here! The bad pony is that crime lord mom and dad were talking about!”

Steven looked at Toichi’s eyes for a moment, his expressions, his words, there seemed to be no lies on his words. The grunts, the ring. Could it be that Fox was actually trying to help? Steven recalled the reports of the Fox heists back on Hoenn. Something was always odd about them. They almost always returned what they stole, and most of the times their heists lead to bigger arrests. The Ranger Union made it seem like they were just trying to eliminate the competition, but was it true?

“I can’t believe I am doing this. Kid… you said something about a ring, what exactly can this ring do?”

Inwardly Toichi was smiling. He was getting through to this Pokemon. “Well, mom and dad’s old friend told us about it. Its a magic ring that can amplify a Unicorn’s power to insane levels. According to him, if that Unicorn gets that ring, a mountain will be a minor problem, since he could just blow it up. Miss Fox is trying to stop him from being able to do that,” Toichi explained, hoping to convince the Pokemon that his family’s savior was a good guy...or girl.

“You have no idea how hard it is to believe you right now, but if what you are saying is true, then Fox is the least of our problems. I hope I’m doing the right thing. Kid, hop on my back, you wanted to go with her, then lets go.” Steven leaned forwards, and pulled back his wings, only showing a metallic bar which worked as the shell of his folded wings.

“Cool, I’m riding a metal lobster-bug,” Toichi grinned as he hopped on.

“I can’t believe I’m actually doing this,” The Steel type mumbled, before rushing forwards to the next cart.

Meanwhile, in his personal carriage, Gray Hat was frantically tossing aside various items that he had piled on top of what he was looking for in order to hide it. Finally getting to the bottom, He grinned as he pulled out the bronze box that held his prize.

“Going somewhere?” came a sly voice from behind him. Turning to the source, he saw the Pokemon from before, all three of them having confident smirks on their faces, and not a single one of his grunts in sight.

“Gah, guards!” Gray Hat called, but there was no response, as all of his henchmen were already knocked out. “My mother always told me, if you want something done right, do it yourself,” he muttered darkly as he pulled out the ring.

“And my dad always told me to be prepared,” Fox laughed, as from the ceiling, a rope of webbing shot out, snagging the ring in Gray Hat’s magical grasp and promptly pulled it back to Fox, who grabbed the ring. “Checkmate,” she chuckled.

Gray Hat became alarmed, as his ultimate weapon was taken away from him with extreme ease, “What, No! Drop that ring, you don’t know what kind of pow- WOAH!” As Grey Hat rushed towards Fox, yet slipping and falling due to a lone banana peel that was in the way.

“...that was random,” Fox blinked, before she noticed Rascal idly eating an already peeled banana. “...what am I going to do with you sometimes,” she chuckled in amusement. “Well, at least we go the-”

“Bug Buzz!” A familiar voice called, The gang’s their ears were once more assaulted by the deadly screech that came from directly behind them. When it died down, a Hydreigon barged in, followed by a Sylveon and a Volcarona floating backward to join up with his trainer.

“Good lord, man! Do you HAVE to keep doing that?!” Shade shouted in annoyance while all three of them were holding their ears. As the gang got back on their feet, Fox noticed that something was missing.

“The ring!”

“Looking for this?” They all looked back at the unicorn stallion, who was now holding the ring on his hoof, a malicious grin on his face.

“...gee, thanks for that distraction, ya maniac!” Rascal growled at their attackers. “You’ve ruined EVERYTHING, and now there is a high chance we are all gonna die! So thanks for ruining the day, hero.”

“What are you talking about?” Eric asked with a neutral look. “All I see is you thieves stealing someone’s ring.”

“Oh, you foolish Pokémon, there’s no such thing as a high chance, you see, there are no chances here. You are all, most definetly, going to die.” Gray Hat raised his hoof, getting the ring closer to his horn. “And that weird Pokémon is right, here, there are only thieves stealing MY ring.”

“No! Don’t let him put that ring on!” came Toichi’s voice.

“What?! Toichi?! I thought I told you to stay behind!” Fox gasped in alarm upon seeing the colt...riding on Steven’s back. .

With reaction faster than the eye could see, Eric quickly made a command. “Alex, Will-o-Wisp!” But before the orbs could reach the stallion, a strong glow started emanating from his eyes. The Will-o-Wisp stopped mid air, surrounded by a red aura, before disappearing into nothingness.

“It’s too late, behold. The power of the ancient ring!” The unicorn started floating, and as if gravity was nothing but an obstacle, the things around him started floating as well.

The only thing that Eric could think of saying right now is just two words. “....oh...shit!”

“Once again, thanks for ruining everything, hero,” Rascal groused again.

“Enough, Weavile,” Fox glared at him, before turning to Steven and Eric. “Okay, we’ve got a crazy pony who is more than ready to kill us with ancient powers that can blow up mountains. Truce?”

“There’s no other way, Fox. We need to get to an open area, do you think you can lead him to the roof?” Steven requested, getting his wings out and preparing to fight.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Fox said as she quickly rummaged through where she kept her bombs. “...and I know just how to do it,” she grinned, before looking at Gray Hat.

“Hey lame brain, I bet your mom was so retarded, she named you after the first thing she saw,” she taunted.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY MOTHER? YOU… DESPICABLE THING,” Knives and lances started floating around him, all surrounded in the aura of the ring’s power. “DIE YOU SCUM!”

But before he could actually do anything, a small metal ball went splat on his face, covering it in pink paint. “Whoops, too slow, PINK hat!” Fox laughed. “Heh, no wonder you need that ring. You probably couldn’t catch a snail with your power normally!” she laughed, before running up the ladder and out the hatch to the roof, her team following closely.

“YOU DESPICABLE THING!” Gray Hat fired a massive red beam towards the gang, who swiftly dodged it. The roof was no more, as a giant hole revealed the calm nightsky.

“You know, we’ve REALLY been tearing up this train’s roof. I wonder how nobody has called the authorities yet,” Fox idly commented as the Unicorn burst through a good chunk of the roof at the end. Fortunately, this left ample space for them to fight. “A little help would be appreciated here,” she said, calling down the hatch to her impromptu allies.

“Eric, Alex, Frederick. You go and help her, put as much pressure on the unicorn as possible. I’ll think of a plan to shut him down!” Steven called

That jolted Eric out of his trance. “...right, let’s go!” The three of them went up straight to the roof to join up with Fox’s gang.

As they did that, Steven turned to Toichi. “Kid, you seem to know about this ring. How can we stop its power?”

“Well...it may be strong, but its actually very simple,” Toichi started. “I mean, the ring may have magic power, but if we remove the ring...or maybe cut off his horn...or even destroy the ring, then he’ll lose all his power,” he explained.

“Cut off the ring… how?” Steven thought to himself, before realizing that he had a way to stop Gray Hat, a plan that was too risky, but possibly, the only plan they could use. “Kid, you’ll feel an odd sensation in your head for a bit, I need you to relax and let it happen. A voice will come through, don’t panic when it does. We’ll need you to keep us informed, but we also need you to be safe. Got it?”

“Uh...okay?” Toichi said uncertainly...then he felt a presence enter his mind. Gulping slightly, he forced down his instincts that were screaming for him to run and let the presence in.

“Mister Toichi, can you hear this?” A robotic voice inside his mind asked.

“If you want to say something, just think hard enough and it’ll be sent through the mental link.” Steven informed, getting ready to join the fight.

“Uh...like this?” he thought.

“Affirmative, welcome Mister Toichi. I am Layton, Steven’s partner.”

“Introductions for later, Layton. I’ll need you to go to the roofs final carts of the train, now. Pockets, I’ll need you to do the same, but stay inside. You’ll meet Toichi here, protect him from any harm, jump off the train if necessary, understood?”

“Got it Steven. We are going that way.” A feminine voice added

But before he advanced, something called Steven’s attention. Lying there, on a box, a light blue somewhat transparent crystal was resting with many other different kinds of gems. A strange white and gold pattern could be seen inside it, a pattern that Steven had seen many times before. In fact, Steven knew what the crystal was, as it was not a crystal, but a mega stone. “They were sent here as well...” Steven grabbed the stone, and tossed it towards Toichi’s direction, “Kid, give that to Pockets when she arrives, keep it safe, understood?”

“Er...okay,” Toichi nodded, taking the crystal, not the least bit understanding why it was so important. Steven pulled out his wings, which started flapping, allowing him to rush forwards, and into the fight.

Up on the roof, the Fox gang were gracefully dodging a veritable barrage of silverware and various other sharp metal items...well...as well as they could with the limited space. “This is getting ridiculous. We can’t even get close like this,” Fox grumbled.

“Alex, Protect!” Of all the thing the gang expected to happen, the Dreaded Bug has floated down in front of the gang and casted a Protect barrier of fiery color. The silverwares pelted the barrier harmlessly.

As it turns out, Eric positioned himself on the other side of the roof, thus trapping the stallion right in the middle. “Sylveon, Moonblast the Unicorn!” Frederick jumped over the Hydreigon before firing a pink orb toward the empowered unicorn.

“You too, Liepard. Hyper Beam!” Fox quickly ordered, as Shade obeyed, the two attacks flying at Gray Hat.

“You are all weak! WEAK!” Gray Hat shouted, stopping the attacks mid air, and returning them to their attackers,who were forced to dodge…again. “WHY CAN’T YOU UNDERSTAND? YOU ALREADY LOST!”

“Great, killed by a pony. This is how I end? Meh I expected worse.” The Sylveon sighed, before launching several small Shadow Balls towards the floating unicorn.

“Sorry, but I don’t intend to go that easily,” Rascal growled, before firing a Blizzard at the Unicorn.

“Alex, Quiver Dance, then Rage Powder, draw his attention away!” With the command, the Volcarona flickered out of existence. The pony never see it coming as a powder is spread all over him, turning his vision red.

“You won’t escape. DIE YOU PITIFUL BUG!” Gray Hat launched massive beams, aiming at the fast Volcarona, who barely managed to dodge the attacks.

“Hyper Beam!” The Volcarona gathered a massive energy right in front of him. Due to the effect of Quiver Dance, of course, the beam that was fired became more massive than normal.

“Dark Triangle!” Fox barked, as the three of them tried their combo move again, the high powered Dark Pulse racing towards Gray Hat.

The pony surrounded himself on a field of magic, which absorbed all the attacks, releasing the power in the form of waves afterwards, sending all the Pokémon back.

Alex went flying towards Eric, who quickly caught him just as the bug impacted his chest. “I got you!”

Shaking his head slightly, the moth looked up at his trainer gratefully. “....thank you for, uhm, catching me.” Eric nodded in return before releasing the bug from his grip.

“Hey, anyone wonder where Stone went?” Fox couldn’t help but ask as she picked herself up, dusting her hat a little.

“Meteor Mash!”

A silver blur flew above their head, showing four iron claws surrounded by a yellow star, rapidly spinning like a massive iron top. The Unicorn tried to stop him, but due to his speed and power, the attacks managed to hit, yet the unicorn took the damage like it was just a scratch. The unicorn grabbed the Metagross, and launched it towards the rest of the team. Layton slowed down, and revealed his four legs, landing next to the shiny Scizor that controlled him

“Guess that power boost wasn’t just his magic…” Shade groaned in annoyance.

“Toichi was right, we can’t do any sort of damage to him unless we separate him from that ring.” Steven informed

“That’s kind of what we were hoping to do from just now,” Shade idly said.

“Of course, it would have been SOOO much easier if SOMEONE didn’t insist on attacking us like a starving Growlithe on a piece of meat,” Rascal snarked again.

“Weavile, one more time, and you’re in time out after this,” Fox warned. She knew Rascal was a little sore with the Hydreigon, but this was no time to antagonize allies.

“No, he is right, it was kind of my fault. We’ll do it!” The voice of the Hydreigon caught their attention. “For the moment, Alex has the best chance of distracting him. Due to the effect of Rage Powder, the unicorn will focus his attention on Alex. “You try to think of something up, we’ll play cat and mouse for now.”

“Great, that’s just what I needed. Fox, I’ll need you to let Layton into your mind, I have a plan, but if he hears us, it won’t work.” Steven said, as his pincers began to glow.

“...fine. But it better be communication only,” Fox nodded, though she still focused her mind to keep up her mental block against anything OTHER than receiving and sending thoughts. The same was done by the rest of her team. When she felt the presence enter, she asked, “So what do you have in mind?”

After hearing what he had to say, Fox nodded. “Sounds good to me. Let’s go.”

“Hey, Gray Hat. You know, if what they say about the ring is true, then you must be really weak if you haven’t been able to take us out yet!” Frederick called

“SHUT UP!” Gray Hat exclaimed, preparing a large metal bar and aiming at him

“He’s right. In fact, here’s a present for LOSER,” Fox chuckled, before chucking a Shadow Ball at him from another angle, while he was in the middle of the attack.

“YOU PESKY BRAT!” Gray Hat changed his aim, and prepared the bar to be shot at Fox.

“Will-o-Wisp!” And yet another interruption came in the form of glowy blue flaming balls that were shot towards him.

“ENOUGH!” Gray Hat screamed, stopping the orbs, and ripping the metal bars in 3, and shooting each at the taunting Pokémon.

“Hammer Arm!” Layton called, destroying the metal piece that was shot at Frederick

“Ice Beam!” Rascal barked as he froze the bar aimed at Fox solid, while Shade smashed it with a Rock Smash. He then fired another Ice Beam at Gray Hat, nicking his hoof.

“Heatwave!” Alex called, flames surrounding the incoming bar. Until it became molten metal that dropped harmlessly on the roof.

“GAH! YOU ARE SO ANNOYING!” Gray Hat said, as various trees from the surrounding area began lifting off the ground, flying towards the Pokémon.

“Everyone, around us, dodge or attack but whatever you do, don’t let him throw you off the train” Layton said, before smashing a trunk with a Bullet Punch.

“Don’t need to tell us that,” Shade chuckled as she dodged another tree that passed right over her.

They all did as the metal saucer said, Both Eric, Alex, and Frederick went flat on the roof as a large part of earth was thrown at them.

“Weavile!” Fox shouted.

“On it!” he said, before using Blizzard to freeze it solid, followed by Shade destroying it with a Dark Pulse, which was then directed at Gray Hat.

Gray Hat, still focused on the trees, did not notice when the Dark Pulse struck him, and neither did he notice the damage that was supposed to make.

“And here I thought that was a ring that only powered up magic. Not defense. So how is the plan coming along? We can’t last forever here,” she asked over the mental link.

“I’m on the move, we just need to reach him, keep his attention on you. Eric, on me!

“Will do,” Fox mentally saluted, before she threw another Shadow Ball at him.

”Alright!” The former trainer pair charged at Gray Hat. Both from the opposite side of the roof.

“YOU THINK I CAN’T SEE YOU? YOU PESKY BRATS, I SENSE IT ALL!” Grey Hat exclaimed, sending various red beams at the two running Pokémon.

As swiftly as they could, the pair dodged the incoming beams as they reached their level. Eric had to reflexes to sufficiently do so, while Steven had the agility to dodge too. Soon, they were meters away from the empowered crime lord.

“YOU ARE ALL PESTS ON THIS COUNTRY, ON THIS WORLD. YOU DESERVE TO DIE!” Gray Hat took off a huge chunk of metal from the side of the cart’s wall. He ripped it and launched sharp pieces to all the Pokémon around.

“Eric, get rid of that! If I dodge more, I’ll fall of the train!” Steven called, looking at the Hydreigon behind him

His survival instinct kicked in once more when the sharp pieces were flying at them. He opened his mouth as a soft glow came, followed by a Dragon Pulse that blasted all the metal pieces away.

Shaking his head slightly, Eric quickly went forward first. “Time for the finishing blow, Steven!”

“Ok, lets finish this!” Steven exclaimed, as he started flapping his wings, brewing a Tailwind which speeded Eric up. “Fox, now!”

“You got it! Close your eyes!” she barked, before throwing a single, oddly shaped bomb. The bomb went off, revealing that it was a flash bang, and it went off right in Gray Hat’s face, blinding the half-mad pony. .

While Gray Hat was blinded, Eric floated next to the unicorn, and surrounded his neck with his arms, pulling it back to the roof level.

“Steven, finish it now!” The Hydreigon exclaimed as he struggled to hold the Crime Lord in place.

“Please work again…” Steven said to himself, as the thorns on his pincers glowed a bright white, he opened the pincers, and aimed for the horn. “BUG BITE!”

A loud chop, and then a metallic sound. Gray Hat screamed in pain, as the power he once held began fading. He looked at hooves, and saw his precious horn on the cold ground, the ring still on it.

“....it’s done.” Eric released the unicorn from his grip, watching him try to pathetically attempt to put his horn back.

“I think this has caused us enough trouble,” Fox simply said as she almost casually yanked the horn out of the now powerless pony’s grasp, and promptly dropped a web bomb on him. “Show’s over.”

“Give me the horn, Fox. I’ll give it to the authorities.” Steven ordered, opening his pincer.

“I’ve got a better idea. I think this thing has done quite enough already,” Fox simply said, as she tossed the horn into the air. “Hyper Beam.” And it was promptly obliterated, ring and all by a Hyper Beam from Shade.

“That’s a way to do it,” Frederick chuckled from the distance, as he called for a Wish to heal himself up.

“Did...did it work?” Toichi asked from the mental link, the colt trembling in where he was hiding.

“It did, thank you, Kid. Without you, I wouldn’t have known what to do. You are a hero,” Steven replied, sitting on the roof and letting out a loud sigh.

“H-happy to help,” the colt smiled weakly, finally crawling out of his hiding spot as the Pokémon went back into the train car, the now cocooned Gray Hat with them.

“Yo, Steven, I heard some crazy explosions going on up there. You guys Okay?” Pockets asked, seeing the dusty and injured Pokémon.

“My readings indicate that we are all on a stable condition. In other words, we are Okay.” Layton replied coldly.

“Well, glad that’s over with,” Rascal sighed.

"Yeah, that was tough. But you're still a fugitive, Fox, and even if you helped or not, I have to arrest you " Glancing at the Volcarona beside him, Eric nodded. "Alex....you know what to do."

“Why you dirty, double crossing…” Shade was about to say, but Fox stopped her.

“Enough, Liepard,” Fox sighed, and raised her arms up in surrender. “After all that, I’m way too beat to want to deal with these two. Sides, I’m fresh out of bombs I was carrying. So its better this way, right?” she sighed, but unseen to them, she winked at Toichi, who blinked, before his eyes widened slightly.

“Don’t worry Fox, I’ll try to help you out in court, if there’s one in this place at least. Maybe reduce your sentence a couple of years, who knows.” Steven shrugged, flapping his wings to regain a regular temperature. “Scizor sure get pretty heated up in battles, huh?

“Much obliged,” Fox nodded as they started to walk out of the train carriages. However, just as they were entering the luggage carriage, Toichi suddenly fell over, which the entire Fox gang ran to his side. “You okay, kid?” Rascal asked.

“Layton, analyze his body! Frederick, get ready to run back to the medicine room!” Steven ordered, as he walked towards the young unicorn.

“Steven… I suggest you back off. There’s nothing wrong with--”

“You were really cool Mr. Stone, but sorry. I owe Miss Fox more,” Toichi smiled regretfully. In the short time he had talked to Steven, he thought he was a cool guy, but in the end, he had to choose between Fox and him. Making his decision, the last Shock Bomb he had levitated out of his mane, and shot at the collective Pokemon, and soon detonated, covering them in another Shock Field.

“Oh, did I forget to mention? I was out of bombs, but the KID wasn’t. I’ll leave Gray Hat to you all. Adieu,” Fox chuckled, before the metal attachment that connected the luggage car to the last two train cars was promptly destroyed by twin Shadow Balls from Shade and Rascal, leaving the two remaining train cars to be left behind by the rest of the train, the Fox gang waving to them as they disappeared into the distance.

“You okay, kid?” Fox asked, noticing Toichi’s dour mood.

“Yeah...I just feel kinda bad for doing that…” he said as he watched the train speed off into the distance, waving slightly in goodbye.

“That’s fine. In fact, its good,” Fox smiled, giving him a pat on the back. “It means you’ve got a good sense of what is right and wrong.”

“Huh?” Toichi asked.

“They’re not bad people. Especially Steven. I should know, he was...is one of the most respected and honorable people on Earth,” Fox explained, before frowning. “Toichi...why DID you come along? I mean, while I’m certainly thankful for the Shock Bombs you made, you could have just given us the bombs and ran. Instead you came back. Why?”

“I…” Toichi sighed. “I wanted to help. You've done so much for mom and dad...you even caught that bad mayor. I guess I wanted to try being a hero like you,” he said.

Fox chuckled in response. “That was very brave kid,” she said, before her expression became stern. “But very stupid too. This isn’t a game, Toichi. You could have gotten really hurt out there...or worse…” she sighed. “As for what you think of me, I’m flattered, but I’m not a hero, kid. I’m a thief. I may help catch bad people, but I still steal and break the law. As far as the law is concerned, I’m a criminal.”

“But…”

“No buts, kid. You know about your parents’ pasts right?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, do you think they WANT to see you more or less follow in those footsteps? To see you get on the wrong side of the law, maybe even go to jail?” Fox said, her tone dead serious.

Toichi was taken aback by that, but just as he was about to speak, he started to imagine that happening. The answer came to him easily. “No…”

“Then there is your answer. I made my choice to become Fox, knowing exactly what it entailed, and what might happen. My advice Toichi, live your life well. You’re a good kid, and you’ve got a loving family. Don’t waste it,” Fox smiled as she got up. However, noticing how down Toichi looked, she added, “But...if one day...after you’re all grown up, if you ever decide to do something...a bit crazy, make sure you know full well what you are doing. This isn't a game Toichi. A little something you should know about heroes. They run a VERY big risk of dying young.”

Toichi looked up at her, and with a surprising amount of understanding, nodded. “Okay, Miss Alice. I understand,” he nodded. He understood what she was saying. She didn't encourage him doing things like what she did, but she wouldn't stop him either. All she was asking was that he make sure he understood completely what he was doing.

“Good. Now come on, let’s keep a look out. The others should be here….real soon,” Fox smiled, as in the distance she noticed the familiar form of a carriage, and an equally familiar Sceptile and old couple standing on the roof. Now she just hoped she didn't run into a certain stubborn trainers again...at least until MUCH later. She had quite enough of dealing with Hydreigons and Volcaronas for now.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Double post part 2.

Collab between me, Uber Reaper, and ThatOneVolcarona. Enjoy

Fellow author's notes:
Uber Reaper - Ah, classic traintop battles, how I love to kick a crime lord’s ass like that alongside TDN and ThatOneVolcarona. First time I had a three-way crossovers, nevertheless, I enjoyed writing it with these two awesome authors. With that, I hope you all like this crossover as much as I do. Enjoy!

ThatOneVolcarona - This was extremely fun and exciting to do. These two guys are great, and this crossover just shows how awesome they are. Hope you all enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed writing it. Also, don’t you just love blowing up trains?

P.S.

For Eric and/or Steven's side, see the following fics:
A New World, A New Dawn
A New World, A New Champion

Fourteenth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Fourteenth Heist

Opening theme:

(Use the bgm of this video clip)
The little girl laughed as she ran through the field, while a few small Pokemon scattered. She giggled slightly at the sight, the Pokemon poking their heads out curiously. Kneeling down, she gently patted a Skitty on the head, a gentle smile on her face. However, a sudden sound got her attention. Following it, she was met with an odd sight. A boy around her age climbing up a tree, in his hand a small Taillow.

“There ya go,” he smiled as he gently placed the Taillow back into a nest, where it chirped happily.

Watching the boy, she couldn’t help but smile...until she noticed the branch he was holding on to. Her eyes widened when she realized that he had grabbed onto an old branch, and true enough, it was starting to break. “Watch out!” she called out as she ran forward.

“Huh?” the boy blinked in surprise at the sudden shout, just as the branch gave way. What happened next was very fast, but needless to say, it ended with the two children in a tangle of limbs and groaning on the ground.

“That was really scary,” the girl said. “But you did all that for the Taillow?”

The boy nodded. “It was still just a baby, and it couldn’t fly. I wanted to help it,” he explained with a small mile, before adding. “That was pretty scary too, you running to try and catch me.”

The girl blinked before chuckling sheepishly. “Yeah...you could have gotten really hurt and after you saved that Taillow...I wanted to help too,” she laughed a little.

The boy laughed too at her admission. “Guess you’re like me that way,” he chuckled, before holding out his hand. “I’m Jonathan. What’s your name?”

“Alice. Its nice to meet you,” Alice smiled as she took his hand.
(end BGM)

Alice blinked when she woke up, but quickly smiled at the memory. “We really were alike that way, huh?” she chuckled before looking out the window. “Take care of yourself, Jonathan. I’m really sorry but...I can’t see you yet...not as Alice…” she sighed, not noticing the small tear that had escaped her eye.

Later that day, the carriages soon approached the next city. “So this is Fillydelphia?” Alice couldn’t help but ask as she looked up from the map. They’d been travelling for about 2 days through the woods, headed for the city, and they had just arrived.

“Yep. It took us a while, but we’re here,” Sleight chuckled as the carriages pulled into the city.

“So where to now?” Toichi asked.

“Hm...I know! Since we’ve already met up with Scoop and Picture, how about we go give Ink a visit as well,” Storm suggested.

“That would be nice. It’d be nice to not have to talk business with him for a change,” Sleight nodded.

“And where would that be?” Shade idly added. When the two Ponies looked at her oddly, she simply said, “You haven’t seen him in a while, so how are you sure he’s still in the same place...or even in the same city?”

“He’s in the same city alright. We got a letter from him recently,” Storm explained.

“As for where exactly...well, we’ll just get a map of the city, and we should find him easily enough,” Sleight added.

“Well then, we’d better find one,” Alice chuckled as they began going through the city.

Finding a map turned out to be not too hard. Navigating on the other hand…

“I feel like the first time I went to Lumiose…” Alice groaned as they got out of ANOTHER wrong turn.

“Sorry, its been a long time since we’ve been here,” Storm said apologetically.

“As long as we don’t get lost, its fine,” Shade commented in amusement.

“Oh we’ll find it...eventually,” Sleight chuckled awkwardly. At this point, their stomachs growled.

“How about lunch instead?” Rascal commented from his spot.

“Yeah, I think that would be good,” Alice nodded in agreement.

“Well...the cafe over there looks great,” Toichi pointed out.

“...that’s convenient,” the Pokemon sweatdropped.

With that, the group went into the cafe. It was modestly full, with a decent amount of customers (other Pokemon included), so after ordering their meals, they went to find a table. Walking towards the back, they found an open table...one that was right next to a table with an Earth Pony stallion who was scribbling notes on a notebook. He had a brownish colored coat, a black mane that was kept in a simple and short style, and a tail with white streaks running through it. His cutie mark depicted a quill on paper, which confirmed who he was.

Upon seeing the Stallion, Sleight and Storm blinked...then chuckled a bit as they walked up to the stallion. “Yo! It's been a long time, Ink!” Sleight laughed as he slapped a hoof on the stallion’s shoulder.

Unsurprisingly, the stallion jumped in surprise at the sudden contact,and unfortunately, right into a nearby chair, knocking it over. “Ouch...Alright, who’s...Sleight? Storm?” the stallion, White Ink, blinked, right before his mind caught up with him. “Sleight! Storm! It's been too long!” he laughed as he hugged the couple.

“Oh? So THIS is White Ink?” Alice blinked. “That’s…”

“Convenient?” her Pokemon supplied.

“Yeah. That,” Alice nodded, before walking over. “So...you’re White Ink? Sleight and Storm told me about you. I’m Alice. Its nice to meet you,” she smiled.

White Ink blinked, then smiled. “Its nice to meet you too, Alice,” he smiled. “I have to admit, I knew that they said they had a new companion, but I wasn’t expecting it to be a Pokemon,” he chuckled awkwardly.

“Its fine. We did suddenly appear out of nowhere,” Alice chuckled.

“So, how’ve you been so far?” Storm asked as they sat down to eat.

“Oh, same old same old, I’ve been keeping out of trouble, and writing more of my books,” Ink smiled.

“Yeah, that sounds about the same for us...mostly,” Sleight nodded.

“Doing something you probably shouldn’t again?” Ink laughed.

“Something like that,” Storm chuckled as they both glanced at Alice.

“Dunno what this is about, but something tells me it has to do with the girl over here,” Ink mused, noticing the quick glances.

“Well now, aren’t you quite the detective,” Alice chuckled.

“It comes with writing mystery novels,” Ink chuckled. “Let’s just say I put my less honest days to good work.”

“Makes sense. That’s more or less what Picture and Scoop did with their lives,” Alice nodded, before making sure nobody was listening in. “As for what they’ve been doing, let’s just say I have very mischievous...hobby if you will. After all, I’m pretty foxy if I do say so myself.”

White Ink blinked for a moment, before the pieces fell together. “Ah...I see. I WAS wondering why Sleight suddenly started traveling again. I suppose you have something to do with it,” he mused.

“Guilty as charged,” Alice chuckled. “You’re not going to rat me out, are you?” she teased.

“After your little escapades landed not only our old gang, but a few other crime lords in jail? Heavens no,” he chuckled. “I must say, I was even thinking of using you as a base for a new character in my stories. A thief who is adversary, rival, and sometimes ally to the detective. That has a nice ring to it if I do say so myself.”

“Interesting. If you’d like, I can give you some pointers later,” she chuckled.

“Perhaps I’ll take you up on that offer. Of course, its only fair that I repay you somehow. I know, I’m sure Sleight and Storm have told you, but I know quite a bit about what goes on around this city, much the same way Scoop and Picture do,” Ink offered.

“Wow, feels like one of those old novels you liked to read,” Shade chuckled. “Looks like you got your Baker Street Irregulars, Sherlock. Or would you be more Moriarty?”

“Neither,” Alice simply said.

“This happen a lot?” Ink idly asked Sleight and Storm.

“Often enough. I think Alice forgets that this is Equus, and not Earth,” they chuckled.

“I see,” Ink laughed...right as Toichi trotted up to them. “Ah, Toichi. How are you, kid? And what’s this? You finally got your Cutie Mark. Congratulations,” he said.

The group chatted with themselves for a while, before their meals came, along with a newspaper with some new info on the front page. Strangely enough, when they saw the headlines, Ink frowned.

“Something wrong?” Alice asked as she took another bite.

“Yes. Speaking of being an informant...what you’re seeing here is one of our local crime lords,” Ink explained. “Extra Layer is, publicly at least, known as an art collector who often opens galleries and art exhibitions. Thing is, his business, while mostly legit, isn’t quite there.”

“Er...dude? That doesn’t make sense. And I should know,” Scep scratched his head in confusion.

“Not here. Later, at my house,” White Ink quickly said.

“Nice place you got here,” Alice commented. After the cafe, White Ink had brought them to a modest looking home, one which while far from grand, had a rather warm feel to it.

“A little messy, but very charming,” Shade nodded in agreement. True enough, the house they had entered was rather full of various items, decorations, and curios. However, they were all arranged in a way that allowed for them to be rather nice looking.

“Why thank you. I never could get rid of all this stuff, so I had to be smart with it,” Ink chuckled. “Now then, about Extra Layer. As I said, his business, on the surface is legit, but in reality, he’s just a greedy criminal, particularly a counterfeiter.”

“So...are his paintings fake or something?” Rascal asked.

“Actually...they’re real. Thing is, he works like this. Whenever he opens a new exhibit or gallery, it's usually not long after that the items get stolen,” Ink started. “However, what most people don’t know is that those heists...they’re all staged.”

“...wait...so this dude goes and has people steal from him...FOR him?” Scep scratched the back of his head, understandably a little confused.

Alice on the other hand caught on quickly enough. “Let me guess, he has counterfeits of those items prepared ahead of time, and most likely he then sells the fake ones in the black market or something,” she deduced.

“That’s...actually correct,” Ink blinked in surprise. “That’s what he does. And on top of that, by doing so, even if they find out it's a fake, they can’t go to the authorities, or they would have to explain why they got it off of the black market,” he nodded.

“I see, so its a ‘perfect crime’ of sorts,” Alice nodded. “So...I’m assuming you have something you want to show or tell us? Otherwise this is a bit too little for us to work with, since counterfeiting operations only can be busted when you have actual proof.”

“Oh, I was just getting to that,” White Ink chuckled as he pulled out a map of the city, and laid it out. On the map was several marked locations. “All these are the store houses where he keeps his counterfeit items. Would they be proof enough?”

Alice took one look at the map, then looked back at him with a grin that threatened to split her face. “Oh this will do alright,” she grinned, the gears already turning in her head.

Meanwhile, back at Tall Tale, Jonathan sighed as he looked over the reports. “Well...I guess it was a long shot anyway,” he sighed.

“Did you find anything?” Howl asked.

“Nope. When they came back to check, they found no real evidence to support whether it was Fox or not,” Jonathan sighed as he pushed the files aside. “On top of that, they didn’t find anyone...not even tracks or trails,” he sighed.

“So...another dead end then,” Heat shrugged. “Oh well, no worries there.”

At this Jonathan chuckled. “Yeah, you got that right. This little road block isn’t going to stop us.”

However, the moment was ruined when Echo came flapping in. “Er...guys? Trixie’s show is starting soon, and well...didn’t we promise we’d help her with today’s show?”

The three of them stopped short as their eyes widened. “Oh crap.” And they were out the door ASAP.

Later that night, Alice was busy doing what she always did before a heist. Scout out her targets. “All clear here. How’s it looking over there?”

“Eh, nothing going on here dudette. Just a few guards. Nothing big,” Scep shrugged.

“Good. Most likely, the guards are short staffed since I’m sure Extra Layer wants to focus his security on the new gallery,” she nodded, before they quickly made their way into the storehouse.

“Alright, so what’s the plan? We go and steal all these ourselves?” Scep asked.

“No. Unfortunately not yet. As the gallery opens tomorrow night, now would be a bad time. Stealing it now would just let him know we’re on to him,” she shook her head.

“She’s right. If that happens, he might not even show up or something,” Rascal nodded in agreement.

“Good point,” Scep conceded. “So...now what?”

“First we get in, then we can prepare a little surprise for them all,” Shade grinned.

With that, the group made their way inside. As expected, the guards were lax here too. “Alright then, first of all, let’s find the counterfeits,” Fox said, as she handed them several crystals. “These are Toichi’s latest creation. They’re the first step to our heist, so place them in any boxes full of counterfeits.”

“Gotcha,” they all nodded.

Making their way through the store house, they easily evaded any and all guards placing the crystals in their targets no problem. Soon it was Alice’s turn to do so, but this time, she dropped in 2 pieces of paper in with the crystal. One of them a familiar black card. “Preparations complete. Phase one is done,” she grinned.

“So...what are these supposed to do? Toichi never told us,” Shade asked.

“I’ll tell you when we get back. Just trust me when I say this is gonna be FUN,” she grinned, as they quickly left the area.

Meanwhile, at the local theater, the audience was enjoying the surprise show that was being held. One of the comeback shows of the renowned Sleight Hoof. As of currently, Sleight Hoof was already at the finale, as from a seemingly simple trick he had, a sheet covering a table, when he pulled the sheet off, hundreds of pigeons suddenly flew out, covering the entire stage, before they flew up to the roof, and suddenly burst into a rain of playing cards.

Smiling, Sleight raised a hoof to the air, as 5 cards fell into his hoof, before he bowed dramatically, and revealed the cards. A perfect Royal Straight Flush of spades.

The audience cheered at the finale, the sounds of hooves clapping filling the room.

A short while later, Sleight was busy cleaning up after his show. “Yeahp, I still got it,” he grinned as he smiled into the mirror.

“You certainly do. You’re as vain as 30 years ago,” Quick Storm laughed, to which her husband huffed in mock annoyance.

However, before another playful argument could start, their attention was diverted by the sound of the door to the dressing room opening. Turning to the source, they saw the sight of a Earth Pony Stallion with a brown coat and jet black mane. He was dressed in a fine suit that covered his cutie mark. The two recognized him from the newspapers earlier. Alice’s latest target: Extra Layer.

Sleight blinked in surprise...before smiling. “Ah, Mr. Layer. I read about you in the news earlier today. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Oh nothing. I just wanted to congratulate you on that spectacular performance. I must admit, I too was a fan back before your retirement,” Layer chuckled.

“Well now, that certainly is wonderful. We’re always happy to see an old fan,” Storm chuckled, before adding, “Not to mention this guy just loves to get his ego stroked,” eyeing her husband.

“You’re one to talk,” Sleight snorted, the couple glaring slightly at each other, before they chuckled at their usual banter.

Extra Layer couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement at the scene. However, what he didn’t know was that in the middle of the playful banter, the old couple had been talking to each other another way. Through a few random signals that made up a code they had often used in their youth. When they were done with their conversation, they quickly cooked up a small plan. “Anyway, I thank you for coming here, Mr. Layer,” Sleight said, plastering on a fake smile. “And I wish you luck on your new gallery,” he said as he idly pulled out a tie clip from out of nowhere. “Here, for good luck,” he said as he gave the tie clip to Extra Layer.

“Why thank you,” Layer smiled, taking the clip and putting it on. “I’ll certainly wear this to the grand opening,” he nodded, before bidding them farewell.

“Oh yes, please do,” Storm chuckled as she pulled out another crystal, one that was glowing every few moments.

“Unexpected, but certainly to our advantage,” Sleight chuckled in agreement before they headed back to their carriage.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Another chapter done. Enjoy

Fifteenth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Fifteenth Heist

Aus - A classic Heist by my favourite Phantom Fox. Stay classy Alice~

Opening theme:

When the gang returned to the carriage, they were already going over the next phase in the plan. What they weren’t expecting was Sleight and Storm coming in...and looking like the Meowth that caught the Goldeen. “Well now you two look happy. Something good happen?” Alice jokingly asked.

“You could say that,” both of them replied, a notably cat-like grin on their faces.

“Well, don’t keep us hanging,” Shade chuckled.

“Alright. Get this, after the show, we had an...unexpected guest,” Sleight began, as they started to recap what happened. Once they were done, the group of thieves were soon grinning with them.

“Oh man, this is rich!” Scep laughed. “He came to you, you gave him a gift, and now his ‘good luck’ charm is about to screw him over!”

“But in all seriousness, great job,” Alice congratulated. “Thanks to you, the plan has a MUCH higher success rate now.”

“Toichi also deserves a lot of the credit too,” Storm smiled at their son. “After all, you’re the one who made these devices possible,” she said, to which the colt blushed slightly.

“Its not that great,” he said bashfully. After all, it wasn’t anything special, at least to him, since he just copied them out of some of the stories he had read.

“Great or not, the fact is you’ve created a large number of enchanted items already. That in itself is very impressive, son,” Sleight said as he ruffled the young colt’s mane.

“Well, enough of that mushy stuff,” Rascal grinned. “Let’s see what holes we can put our target in.”

With that, they quickly activated the crystal that was part of the pair, listening in on whatever it is currently getting from its partner. Based on the conversation, it seemed that Extra Layer was going over his plans for tomorrow night, particularly the staged theft that was about to happen.

“Perfect on both fronts,” Alice nodded. “Not only do we have proof against Layer, but on top of that, this means the gallery is mostly deserted now. This is a good chance to proceed with phase 2.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Scep grinned.

“So here we are,” Fox mused. It was strange really. This was the first time she had been Fox more than once in a night.

“Well, security is a bit better than the storehouse. Then again, those ARE real paintings and artwork in there, so I suppose it would make sense,” Shade commented.

“So what do we do now?” Charlotte asked.

“Set up the surprises now?” Spinner continued.

“Or just leave the calling card?” Charlotte finished.

“Just the calling card this time...on second thought, be ready to set up the heist too,” Alice said. “After all, we don’t know if he’s already prepared the stage for HIS heist. The last thing we need is our surprises mixed up without us knowing it. Of course, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take the chance if its good.”

“Good point,” the two Spinarak nodded.

With that, the group quickly snuck into the building. The art gallery was actually quite spacious, being at least 2 stories in height, and had a rather impressive spread of items. “Nice place he’s got here. So...what are we gonna be taking tomorrow night?” Rascal grinned.

Making their way around the nearly deserted gallery, they made sure to make mental maps of the layout of the building, noting any and all possible escape routes and entrances, as well any spots they can use to set up their impending heist.

As they were leaping through the mostly dark building, Alice couldn’t help but think that for a heist like this, a floor plan of the building would have been useful...but unfortunately, the limited resources prevented her from getting one as easily as she normally did. “The one thing I dislike about being brought here...is having to start from scratch…” she mentally sighed. Oh well, not much she could do about it now. At any rate, it was better than being left behind in a world that was probably falling apart now that the legendaries no longer helped regulate it.

However, her musing was cut short when she noticed what looked like a guard enter the room. Quickly jumping up to the rafters, they watched from above as the guard pulled out what looked like a magical flashlight, and used it to go over something in his hoof. A blue sheet of paper, which were undeniably floor plans.

“Jackpot,” Shade grinned, as she tensed up, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting pony. However, Alice stopped her.

“Don’t. If we take it by force, he’ll report to the other guards, and we risk compromising everything,” she said.

“Okay...but how do we get it then, dudette?” Scep asked.

Alice thought it over...and grinned savagely. Dropping down from the rafters, she quickly threw up an illusion, changing into her pony disguise, complete with a security guard outfit.

“Um...excuse me?” she said to the guard, putting up meek persona.

The guard blinked, then chuckled slightly at the seemingly meek mare. “Yes? Can I help you?” he started, then added, “Er...new recruit I’m guessing?”

“Y-yes. Er...you see, I’m not familiar with the building, and I seem to not have been given a map yet…” she said, her illusion shuffling nervously, projecting the image of innocence and vulnerability. “C-could I…?”

“Ah! Of course,” the stallion said, flashing as charming a grin as possible. Walking up to her, he showed her the blueprints.

She looked it over and smiled. “T-thank you,” she said, giving him a cute smile that all but melted his heart.

“Anytime. Its only right for a gentlecolt to help a mare,” he grinned.

“Yeah. You’ve been...a really big help,” she nodded...her tone changing at the last bit, and the last thing he saw was what appeared to be powder in his face...then everything went black…

When he woke up, he scratched his head in mild annoyance. “That was weird,” he groaned, then sighed. “I really need to get a date if I’m desperate enough for an imaginary mare…” he sighed, before finishing up his rounds and going home.

“I can’t believe he fell for that one!” Rascal laughed as the Fox gang roof hopped back to the hotel they were renting.

“Oldest trick in the book,” Fox agreed. “And just to make sure he thinks it was all a dream, I made sure to make it look like he had fallen asleep on the job.” After she had knocked the guard out with some sleep powder, it was a simple matter for the team to take note of any and all hidden compartments or entrances that may or may not have been built into the building. From the blueprints, which seemed to be authentic as far as they could tell, the gallery only had a couple of secret entrance/exits, unsurprisingly marked as ‘for emergency use only’. Once they had gotten a good bead on the area, she was sure to return the blueprints to the guard AND move him to a new position, namely on one of the many chairs that had been laid out so that when he woke up, or if someone happened to see him, it would look like he had fallen asleep rather than being knocked out.

“So this means phase 2, is done, right?” Shade mused.

“Eeyup, now all we need to do is wait till tonight...that and listen in on anymore of Extra Layer’s talk with his goons. Funny how we’re about to thwart a robbery...just so we can steal the items ourselves,” she chuckled at the irony.

“Aww, but Alice, don’t forget. We’re not really stealing it, we’re just...borrowing it,” Rascal grinned.

“Heh, you got that right. Its showtime,” Fox grinned.

The next day, the gallery was already abuzz as the soft opening of the gallery was already attracting a crowd. Even with the added security due to the advance notice that was found that morning. However, strangely enough, if one looked closely, it seemed that the extra security was simply more private guards. In fact, there didn’t seem to be any indication that the security was preparing for any robberies, nor was the public, or police aware of it.

Amongst said crowd, a certain colt was there too. However, unlike the rest of the crowd, he wasn’t there for the art. No, he was there to spy. Toichi couldn’t help but smirk as he imagined the music from that spy movie he once saw. Using the crowd to blend in, he made his way to the gallery without catching any attention...or he would have been able to, if he wasn’t wearing a trench coat...in the middle of a sunny day.

“I fail to see how wearing a trenchcoat is a viable disguise,” Spinner deadpanned from under the coat. Alice had told him to help Toichi in his endeavor. Unfortunately, it seemed that Toichi has not fully understood how some things that work in fiction didn’t work in real life, namely wearing a trenchcoat as a disguise. True enough…

“Hey kid, where do you think you’re going?” came the voice of one of the security guards as Toichi suddenly found himself lifted up.

“Ah...I…” Toichi gulped...before Spinner decided now was a good time to crawl out of the trench coat.

The guard looked at him funny, before sighing. “Oh, so that’s it huh? You just wanted to bring your er...pet spider along,” he sighed, trying not to think too much on the part of the giant spider Pokemon.

“Ah...er...yeah, Spinner likes drawing stuff with his webs, so I thought he’d like to see some actual paintings,” Toichi quickly lied, making up the excuse.

Spinner on his part gave him a deadpan look, before using his web to make a simple drawing of...well...some kind of fox?

The guard sweat dropped at the...VERY crude picture, not exactly sure what to make of it. “Well...we don’t technically have any rules on pets...so...I guess you can go in. Just make sure he doesn’t go leaving webs everywhere,” he sighed as he put Toichi down.

“T-thanks, mister!” Toichi smiled, as Spinner jumped on his back and they trotted in, the guard muttering something about ‘kids these days’.

“That was close,” Toichi sighed.

“That would be thanks to your disguise,” Spinner sighed. “A trench coat might have been usable in cloudy or rainy weather, but in broad daylight and on a sunny day, it attracts attention.”

“Well...we’re in right?” Toichi reasoned, though inwardly he was groaning at the reality that he was actually being lectured...by a spider. “So...yeah, you know what to do.”

“Of course,” Spinner nodded as the two of them entered the gallery. Moving discreetly, Toichi quickly went to the spots that the Fox gang had taken interest in last night. Using a quick motion to check, Toich smiled lightly after each time. It seemed that even with the extra security, the trick hadn’t been found out.

In his office in the opposite building, Extra Layer paced, a frown on his face. “Of all the times…” he growled as he looked at several news clips that he had gathered. All of them showing the same story: ‘Mysterious Thief Strikes’. Oh yes, he’d been keeping an eye on this ‘Fox’. She’d only been on the scene for a short amount of time, and already she’d caused an entire gang in Manehattan to collapse, got Grumble of Tall Tale exposed as a fraud (and sent to jail), and even caused the arrest of Gray Hat, a Canterlot noble. “And now it seems she’s singled out me for her next target,” he grumbled. However, shortly after he smirked. “Eh, what am I worried about? There’s no way she knows about my activities. After all, who’d be dumb enough to squeal on one of my transactions...unless they feel like joining in on the sentence. A thief is a thief, she’s probably just after the “Harmony of Equus” for her own collection,” he told himself. “Well, she’s not getting it. That painting is mine, and I’m not about to miss the profits,” he grinned. After all, he made sure anyone and everyone he’s ever had dealings with, he had ample information on them, just in case they ever decided to go against him.

As night finally rolled by, the gallery soon became crowded as many wanted to see the full unveiling of the exhibits. So far, the night was enjoyable as the visitors did get to do what they wanted, all the while Extra Layer was getting the publicity he was after as he talked with guests, and even explained a little on some of his favorite works, particularly the centerpiece of his gallery, the famed “Harmony of Equus”, a simple yet marvelous painting that depicted the many races of Equus, with Ponies and the Alicorn sisters in the center, a painting said to have been painted as a tribute to the peace of the world.

However, not everyone was there for the art...at least not in the way the majority were for. Outside, a small group of Ponies, all of them dressed in black clothes and ski-masks. “Alright, boys, let’s get to work. You know what to do,” the lead pony said, before they entered the building via a hidden door.

Inside, mingling with the crowd, White Ink smiled slightly as he looked at the clock. They had been listening in on Layer’s little plan for the night, and from what they had found, his plan should be starting soon. “Let the show begin,” he chuckled to himself as he moved into position.

As if on cue, the lights suddenly went out, naturally causing a panic as the guests started wondering what was going on, some even sounding rather panicky. The darkness lasted for a few moments, before the lights went on again...to reveal several paintings missing.

“What?! NO!!! Guards! Guards!” Extra Layer ‘panicked’ as he ‘frantically’ searched for his paintings. However, when he looked towards the centerpiece of his exhibit, he stopped short when unlike his plan, the painting was still there. However, thinking quickly, he quickly put on a relieved expression, and trotted over to the painting. “Oh thank Celestia that at least they didn’t get this one,” he ‘smiled’, though inwardly he was cursing the incompetence of his men. The Harmony of Equus was supposed to be one of his bestsellers in the black market. However, as he got close, he was suddenly struck in the head when several large objects dropped from the ceiling. “What in Tartaru-” the words died in his throat when he saw what it was. His hired thieves, all of them wrapped like mummies, and dangling upside down from the ceiling, with only their heads visible...well, as visible as it could have been with the ski-masks on.

“W-what?!” he gasped...before the reality sunk in. “Wait! Where are the paintings?!” he said frantically. If the thieves he hired were here...then that must mean…

“Right here,” came a calm female voice...right before a gout of smoke suddenly emerged from the center of the room, quickly blanketing the area. Once again, the ponies in the room were sent into a frantic chatter, as they moved away from the source of the smoke. However, when they did, the smoke suddenly parted, and with a shower of sparkles, the thief revealed herself.

“Welcome one and all,” Fox said, her tone amused as she gave a stage bow. The room suddenly became alive with surprised chatter, many of the audience not sure what to think of the strange Pokemon that had appeared. However, a few recognized her soon enough.

“Hey! She’s that thief who’s been in the news lately!”

Upon hearing that Extra Layer snapped out of his panic induced trance, and growled. “Guards! Arrest that creature!” he wouldn’t let her get away with the paintings. Hearing him, the guards acted quickly, and moved to pounce on her.

“I got something!”

“I got her!”

“Something’s got me!”

Were among the things that were said as they dogpiled her. However, once the dust cloud parted, it revealed...a bunch of guards grabbing hold of various parts of each other. Really, the sight was so comical and ridiculous that many of the onlookers didn’t know whether to laugh or to cock their heads to the side in confusion.

“Nice form. 4 out of 10 for sure,” came an amused voice, as standing to the side was Fox, her perpetually amused expression present. “Quite the welcome you’ve got here, Mr. Layer,” she chuckled. “I’m surprised to see everyone BUT the town guard. Especially since I DID send you an advanced notice. Care to explain why?”

Extra Layer was silent for a moment, his mind running several miles per second...before he sneered. “Really now? I don’t recall receiving any such notice. After all, had I received that, don’t you think I would have called the town guard. I suppose I should expect as much from a thief. Who would honestly believe you?” he chuckled.

Fox frowned slightly, before that same grin that filled Layer with so much apprehension returned. “Well then, it's a good thing I invited the town guards 5 minutes ago. They’ll be sure to join the party REALLY soon,” she simply said. “Hope you’ve got a good explanation for those guys right there,” she added, pointing towards the other thieves that were currently still dangling in place.

“What’s to tell?” Extra Layer lied smoothly. “They simply got caught in one of the security systems I put in place.”

“You sure?” Fox chuckled, a sound that was starting to grate at Extra Layer’s nerves as he struggled to keep his cool. He could NOT afford to give himself away, not to some alien thief!

“No matter, after all, its time for the show to begin,” she chuckled. “I apologize in advance for the simplicity of this opening act. I promise though, that act 2 will be MUCH more entertaining,” she added, and with a flourish, removed her cape. “Nothing up my cape,” she said...before waving it around, the cape seemingly expanding, and whipping around the room causing several ponies to back away nervously, all eyes on the swirling vortex of black cloth waiting for something to happen. Likewise, Extra Layer was focused on it too, not intending to give her a chance to do anything. Too bad he probably should have been keeping an eye on his painting which was slowly inching up behind him.

Back with Fox, the vortex began curling in on itself, before forming what could best be described as a black ball around where the Zoroark was. Suddenly, it started to compress...before promptly bursting in a shower of sparkles, much to the delight of many of the audience, White Ink even offering a small clap of his hooves at the sight, the Zoroark having seemingly vanished.

“Well...that was...interesting,” Extra Layer couldn’t help but comment. “At least she didn’t-” his words died in his throat when he turned to see the Harmony of Equus missing from its place.

“Fillydelphia guard! Freeze!” came the next sound as a squad of town guards busted down the door.

Extra Layer was the image of unamused at the intrusion. “Well...at least it can’t get any worse,” he mentally groaned. “I’m afraid you’re too late. The thief already left…”

“We are?” one of the guards blinked. “Darn it! We came as fast as we could, too!” they groaned. “Well...what happened here? And who are those guys?”

Extra Layer blinked. He actually forgot about those guys he hired. “Well...I was thinking of having a sort of...publicity stunt. I hired these three to ‘steal’ the Harmony of Equus...before they get caught by the security system at the end. That thief must have pushed them into one of the props I had ready,” he lied.

“I...see…” one of the guards said awkwardly. He was...confused, since Extra Layer seemed sincere...yet something just wasn’t adding up here. “So only the painting over there was taken?”

“Huh?” Layer blinked. “Oh no, its worse than that. Several of my paintings were taken. Why, they were right...there?” he gaped when he turned to where the other paintings that had been stolen had been...only to see that they were still there, like nothing had happened.

“Huh? That’s funny. Guess she put the paintings back,” came the voice of a random unicorn, as he trotted up to the painting. Taking a closer look, a small crystal fell out.

“Hold it! We’ll be taking that,” one of the guard quickly said upon the sight of the crystal.

Upon touching the crystal, it started to glow. “Hey, get a load of this,” one of the guards said...just as the recording began.

“Alright, you three, you know what to do, correct?”

“Yeah, boss. You already went over it several times. While everyone’s at the gallery, we’ll come in in the middle of that blackout you got planned.”

“Then while everyone is in a panic, we make off with the paintings you want, and move them to the store house.”

“Good. And once we have those paintings in the store house, prep the counterfeits. We’re making a profit soon, once I sell the counterfeits I’ve prepared for today.”

“Of course, I doubt I need to say what would happen if you mess up.”

“Er...no boss. Its fine.”

The guards were now staring at Extra Layer, who was sweating a little.

“...Don’t tell me you actually believe that! It could have easily been a fake. Made to trap honest ponies like me!” he tried to defend himself. However, at this point, someone else got their attentions.

“Officer, I think something seems odd here,” came White Ink’s voice as he pointed at the name signs of the paintings that Extra Layer claimed to have been taken as well. Particularly something about the ink on them.

“Hm?” The guards went to take a closer look. True enough, the ink actually looked like it was slowly dripping away. To their surprise, it appeared that another note had been stuck on top of the sign to the painting. However, when he read it, it was revealed to be covered in what looked like water paint, hence all it took was a quick clean up spell, revealing what it really said. “...3?”

Upon him reading the words, a crystal embedded on the frame of the painting glowed, before an entire crate full of copies of the painting suddenly landed on the ground with a large crash, the contents scattering on the floor. “This is…?” the guards blinked as they inspected the items. “Counterfeit paintings.”

At the sight of the counterfeit paintings, Extra Layer started to sweat a little, but quickly calmed himself. “Relax, its just one set. Anyone could have made those. Sides, they don’t have nearly enough evidence to…”

“Hey officer, I think there’s something on this one too,” came the voice of a Pegasus stallion who was standing at the side of another painting. He peeled off the note, and quickly wiped off the paint. “It says...2?”

Again, a crystal flashed, and suddenly another crate of counterfeit paintings appeared.

Seeing that, the guards immediately grabbed two more notes off of the remaining paintings. At this point, Extra Layer was starting to turn pale as a sheet, already having a VERY good idea about what was about to happen. That in mind, he started to inch towards the nearest exit…

“1?”

“Showtime?”

At the words, two more crates appeared, full of, unsurprisingly, more counterfeit paintings.

“Hey! Look over there!” An Earth Pony foal said as she pointed out the window at something, just as a bright light suddenly filtered into the room. There, out the window, on the roof of the nearby building stood Fox in all her glory, the bright fireworks going off behind her giving her an almost majestic figure.

Fox seemed to smirk, before taking off her hat and bowing like she had just pulled off a grand finale. Stepping aside a little, she pointed on of her claws behind her, just as the last of the fireworks went off, forming what appeared to be an arrow pointing downward of all things, the words ‘free (fake) paintings’ appearing over it. The words hung in the air for a few moments, before transforming into the words: ‘thank you, and good night’, ending in one more bright flash, and when it dissipated, the words and Fox were gone.

“Well...that was…” the squad captain started...right before a piece of paper fluttered down, and right into his hooves. Taking a look at it, he noted that it was a map of one of the areas in the city, with one section of the map painted with an unmistakeable bull’s-eye: the exact same spot that the fireworks had been pointing at. “Well now, care to explain what all this is about, Mr….Layer?” he said as he turned around...only to find that Extra Layer was gone.

A stunned silence descended on the room, before the guards put two and two together and came up with four. “...AFTER HIM!” the squad captain ordered, the guards quickly going after their new suspect. Fortunately they didn’t have to go far, as they were alerted by a loud “YAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!” that came from said suspect.

Extra Layer ran, silently cursing everything as he did. “Damn it all! It was perfect like it always was...like it always should be! How?! How did it all go this wrong?!” he shouted to no one in particular. No matter how he spun it, the reality was no different to him. He was through. Everything he’d built up was going up in flames around him. And for the first time since they had arrived, he cursed every last one of the recent arrivals. If only they hadn’t come. If only that damn god hadn’t decided to dump them here. Then Fox wouldn’t have come along and ruined his life…

Unfortunately for him, it seemed karma wasn’t done screwing with him yet.

“Er...is this really okay? Ms. Fox never said anything about this,” Toichi asked, not sounding too confident.

“Trust us kid, it’ll be fine. She’ll get a good laugh out of it,” Rascal waved off his worries, while Scep was busy carrying the Harmony of Equus.

“Ya got that right,” the Sceptile grinned. “Trust him, little dude, I know. The PLA did stuff like this ALL the time back on Earth.”

“...I don’t know if I should be the only negative vote, or if I should be wondering if the world is about to end if you two are agreeing with each other,” Shade sighed, before looking over at the two Spinarak on her back. “And why haven’t you two said anything?”

“We do not-”

“-see any-”

“-problems with-”

“-this plan,” they simply said, making it clear to the Liepard that she was outvoted.

“Er...okay then,” Toichi nodded uncertainly as his horn lit up, and the stuff that Scep and Rascal had prepared vanished.

Extra Layer turned the corner...only to run right into a bunch of banana peels that had suddenly appeared, causing his hooves to slide up from under him...right into an oil slick made from...vegetable oil?

“Whhhaaaatttt iiiiiissss thiiiiisss??!!!” he shrieked as he slid uncontrollably...right into a pile of water balloons, which naturally broke the moment he landed.

“Strike. Right into the meat scent,” Rascal grinned as he watched from the roof.”

Extra Layer groaned as he tried to dry himself, but for some reason, whatever was in those balloons reeked of meat, and thus, the smell was now all over his fur and mane. Any further attempts were halted when he heard the sound of barking. Turning around, he saw a pack of dogs...and they looked hungry.

“And there go the dogs,” Scep chuckled as he watched the stallion run like his life depended on it.

However, in the middle of their amusement, a sudden cold feeling overtook them.

“Scep?” Rascal started, his tone suddenly deathly solemn.

“Yeah, dude?” Scep responded, his tone matching the Weavile’s.

“Do you feel like you’re about to stare death in the face? Like we just angered a god or something?”

“Is that what this feeling is? I thought it was just the dudette behind us.”

“...now I wish it really WAS an angry god…”

“Yes, what pray tell is this I’m seeing?” Fox asked pleasantly with a smile on her face. Unfortunately the aura she was giving off only made it scary as heck, evident by how Shade, Toichi, and the Spinarak Twins had since retreated to the side, leaving the two trouble makers to their fates.

“...would it make it any better if we told you we thought it would be a funny joke for you, and that now we can’t stop it anyway?” Rascal said, cold sweat already forming.

“Aww, that’s nice of you, but from what I’m seeing, this is hardly a harmless prank. So sorry, I’m still going to have a word with you two later,” she said.

“...we figured as much…” and in a rare moment of seeing eye to eye, the two mon accepted the reality of their impending punish...er, LECTURE.

“Though on a side note, nice work with the trap placement. From what I’m seeing you two put quite a bit of thought into this,” Fox added at the end as they continued to watch the now impossible to stop situation.

Extra Layer ran like the hounds of Tartarus were on his heels. Well...all things considered, that might have been a pretty apt description actually, as another dog snapped at his hooves. Looking forward, he was treated to a sight that made him blink. “You have GOT to be bucking KIDDING me!” he groaned as lined up in front of him was...a ramp...and 3 hoops...that were on fire. Honestly, had it not been for the dogs on his hooves, he’d have done anything BUT what he was about to do. So running up the ramp, he sailed right through the 3 hoops, his tail catching a small fire on the way, though he managed to evade the dogs.

“Glad that’s over…” he sighed...until he realized WHAT he was headed straight for. An open garbage dumpster. “Oh buck this day…” he cursed before he landed right in the dumpster with a loud clang...followed by the sound of hissing as he aggravated the cats that were living in the dumpster, all of them making their displeasure known via using him as a scratching post.

A few seconds later, Extra Layer crawled out of the dumpster, covered in scratches. At this point being arrested felt like heaven. Unfortunately, it seemed Rascal and Scep’s...twisted joke had one more curveball for him. As he stumbled out of the dumpster, he accidentally knocked over a domino...which knocked over another and another till it lead to a switch of some kind, connected to the ‘conveniently’ placed machine that was holding a BIG bell shaped metal piece. The switch hit, and the machine let go. At this point, Extra Layer promptly soiled and wet himself when he saw the thing coming down on him. “YAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!”

At the end of that display, Rascal and Scep couldn’t help but laugh at the practical joke they just pulled off. However, the laughter was short lived when the cold feeling from before returned.

“Are you two quite done?” Fox asked pleasantly.

“Er...hold on,” Rascal chuckled weakly, before letting out a few more giggles at the sight of the bell covering the no doubt passed out pony. “Alright, I’m done.”

“Good. So...any requests before this?” she said, her smile growing wider, but thanks to her aura...it was anything but friendly.

“Er...5 minute head start?” Scep suggested.

“1 minute, and counting,” Fox simply said. That was all it took for the two trouble making mon to start running for their lives...well, not literally, but the principle still stood.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

And done. This took a little longer than needed, but I hope you all enjoy this heist

Sixteenth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Sixteenth Heist

Opening theme:

(Use the bgm of this video clip)
“Do you really have to go?” Alice asked sadly.

“Yeah...I’m afraid so…” Jonathan frowned. They had already known today was coming but still…

“Okay...in that case...I wanted to give you something,” Alice said, and before he realized what happened, he was already wearing a silver bracelet on his right arm...though it was a bit big...which probably explained how she got it on his arm so fast…

“This is…” he started.

“Something to remember me by,” Alice nodded. “No matter where we are, we’ll always be friends, okay?”

“Of course you dummy. Even if we can’t see each other, we’ll always be friends,” Jonathan nodded with a grin. “Well...see ya again...someday…” he waved one last time before going into the car.

(theme end)

Jonathan’s sleep was disturbed this time, oddly enough, by the sound of laughter. Giving a level stare at the door that lead downstairs he sighed slightly. Looking at his bracelet again, he couldn’t help but think of the dream again. “Its really weird. Back on Earth, it was so easy after we started living in the same city again. But now...I just...can’t stop thinking of her,” he sighed, before getting up and deciding to see what the commotion was all about.

“Man, what’s with all the laughter this early in the morning?” Heat commented as they made their way downstairs. What they found was Golden Star apparently laughing their flanks off about something on the headlines of the newspaper.

“...oookay, what’s so funny?” Jonathan asked.

“Oh nothing, just that Fox has been busy again,” Golden Star chuckled, showing him the article.

“...looks more like one of Weavile’s stunts,” Jonathan sweat dropped. Unsurprisingly, it was the story of another businessman revealed to have been a small time crime lord running a scam with counterfeit paintings. Apparently, he had been planning on staging a heist of some of his paintings, then selling counterfeits in the black market. Naturally, Fox decided to throw a wrench in the plan. So far nothing weird. What WAS strange was that the criminal was found under a bell...having soiled and wet himself, and the trail he left suggested that someone had placed a myriad of traps that he had sprung...way beyond what Fox usually did. So all evidence pointed to what they knew was easily the most mischievous member of Fox’s gang. Weavile.

“Dang, Weavile must have been feeling pretty nasty to pull that on this guy,” Heat whistled.

“Gotta admit though, it IS pretty funny,” Echo chuckled, while Jonathan continued to read.

“Alright, so we know where she is at the moment. She’s in Fillydelphia, so if we take the train, we might be able to catch her,” Jonathan said.

“Perhaps. The city is gorgeous, so even if you don’t catch her, it’s still nice to visit the place.” Chuckled the stallion.

“Speaking of gorgeous city, has anyone seen Silver? Or Trixie for that matter?” Echo commented as she landed on the table.

“Yeah, come to think of it, I haven’t seen him since last night,” Howl mused.

At that moment, the door opened, revealing a grinning, young light brown pegasus holding multiple bags, next to an azure unicorn, who sported a grin as well, “Sorry for being late, dad.” Silver Star said with a soft, yet cheery tone, “Trixie and I were hanging around in the plaza. She said she needed some things for her next act, so I got her a new cape, and… we probably ended up talking for a while”

“Whipped,” Heat whispered with a snort into Howl’s ear, earning a chuckle from the Mightyena.

“My, aren’t you two acting close,” Echo teased.

“Er...Trixie has no idea what you’re saying,” Trixie said, blushing slightly.

“We were just talking, I mean, I did enjoy the chat. She’s quite the interesting gal.” Silver Star added, blushing as well.

Golden Star chuckled, and got closer to his son to pat him in the back, “It’s fine son, it’s normal for a stallion your age!”

Silver Star’s face turned red, as he shook his head in embarrassment, “Nothing happened, honest! We just spent an afternoon together, that’s all!”

“Its morning,” Echo snickered. “You two weren’t fooling around now, were you?”

Trixie’s eyes widened, then narrowed, and Echo soon found herself in a magical grasp. “Now listen here, you. Yes, I spent a long time with him, and yes, I enjoyed it. But get this straight, NOTHING HAPPENED!” she said right to her face.

“Daang, we must be rubbing off on her,” Howl sweat dropped, as Echo flew away, sufficiently cowed.

“Er...sorry to break up the moment, but...we might have to go soon,” Jonathan sighed.

“Wait. What?” Trixie blinked.

“You have to leave? Why? I mean, it’s nice having Trix- you guys around.” Silver sputtered

Heat simply picked up the newspaper and showed it to them.

The two took one look at the article and sighed, “Fox is on Fillydelphia, huh? That’s pretty far away from here…” The pegasus said saddened, “I guess you do have to leave, Fox needs to be stopped and all that.”

“Hey, cheer up man. We liked our stay here, so once this whole thing is cleared up, we’ll be sure to come back again. Heck, maybe I’ll even ask for a transfer when we get back to Baltimare. I never was officially instated when I left,” Jonathan said with a smile.

“That’s!” The pegasus stopped himself, trying to remain calm, “That’s great, guys. It’s been a pleasure having you here. Specially you, great and powerful Trixie, it’s been fun.” He chuckled awkwardly.

“Of course. Trixie will certainly look forward to coming back to this lovely city,” Trixie said, trying, and failing, to keep her composure.

“Alright then, I’ll go get our tickets first, then we’ll plan our next move,” Jonathan nodded.

“...you’re joking,” Jonathan deadpanned.

“I’m terribly sorry sir, but it's no joke. There was an unfortunate accident involving a giant rock snake Pokemon...an Onix, I believe it was called. Fortunately, nopony was seriously hurt, partly thanks to said Pokemon helping in the aftermath, but the tracks were still badly damaged, so I’m afraid the train is out of service until further notice,” the clerk explained.

“...alright. Sorry to bother you,” Jonathan sighed and nodded.

“It's quite alright. We’re all having a hard time with all this,” the clerk nodded with a sigh.

“Yeah, that’s one of those things I guess,” Jonathan sighed.

Back at Fillydelphia, Alice was casually flipping through the paper, while at the side of the room they were staying in, Rascal and Scep looked notably...subdued while they munched on the food. After the stunt they pulled the night before, she had gotten a hold of them quickly enough, and with a few short commands later, the two trouble makers had found themselves dangling upside down, their feet tied up with webs that stuck to the ceiling, before Alice gave them one of her dreaded 2 hour long lectures about the importance of taking things into consideration, as well as her droning on about other factors that would have had an effect, what they could have done, etc.

Needless to say, when she was finally done, the two made a silent agreement to not try something like that again...unless they felt they could get away with it.

“Welcome to the team for real, Scep,” Shade chuckled as she walked by. “You’re not a full member until Alice has given you one of her lectures,” she laughed at the still pale looking mon.

“Well, all’s well ends well, I guess,” Sleight chuckled as he finished reading a paper as well.

“Yes, and at the very least, Extra Layer won’t be scamming anyone any time soon,” White Ink chuckled as well, remembering the headlines. He still chuckled remembering how the paper said
that when they got him out of the bell, not only was he in a puddle of his own fear, but he was apparently babbling incoherently like a nut.

“Well, I think that’s enough for Fox for now. We drew quite a bit of attention already,” Alice mused.

“About that, I’ve still got a few shows I promised to do, so we can’t just up and leave again,” Sleight mused.

“That’s fine,” Alice said nonchalantly.

“Eh? Oh, that’s good then,” Sleight blinked. That was easier than he expected.

“Of course, you’re our host, and you’ve graciously let us stick with you for free. Its only right that you get the final say on when we move from town to town,” Alice nodded. “Besides, with how we’ve been doing it, most likely, they’ll be expecting us to have left by now, so for all we know, this might be the best move to avoid suspicion,” she simply said.

“Well, good. In the meantime, I’ve been thinking…” Sleight mused, before rummaging through a box. “I was thinking of adding a few Pokemon as my faithful assistants. To spice up my show a little,” he said, as he pulled out an assistant outfit which was humanoid in shape.

At this Alice sweat dropped. “..isn’t that going to make me look a littles suspicious? I mean, another Zoroark suddenly showing up. Seems like tempting fate to me,” she said.

“It’ll be fine. We’ll just make a cover story for it, and you just don’t act like Fox...can you do meek, and innocent? Of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Sleight assured.

At this, Alice couldn’t help but grin. “Easily. I played that role all the time back on Earth,” she said. Looking at the outfit again, she chuckled lightly. “Alright, this looks pretty interesting. I guess it won’t hurt for me to appear a couple of times,” she mused.

“You will? Great! I’ll get everything ready, and then we can do some practice before the shows,” he grinned, before trotting off.

“I’d better get going too. I have a deadline to keep, after all,” White Ink chuckled as he got up. “Enjoy the rest of your stay here,” he said with a smile before walking off.

“You sure this is a good idea, Alice?” Shade mused.

“Its fine. Sides, we should have more to do than just being the Fox gang. We’ve got to make actual lives for ourselves sometime here, and Sleight’s graciously provided us with a possible outlet,” Alice chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess you got a point. As fun as being the Fox gang is, doing something else keeps it from being boring. So...magic assistants?” Rascal mused, having just recovered from Alice’s lecture.

“We’ll work things out. If needs be, we can wear costumes that would throw people off. Sides, Sleight is making the magic mostly. We’re just helping him,” she smiled, before getting up and following after him.

“So yeah, the train is out until further notice, so our only options are to either wait for the train and the rails to get fixed, which might take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks or go on foot, which should take us a few days max,” Jonathan finished explaining.

“Talk about bad timing,” Heat groaned. “At this rate, if we don’t hurry, Fox might jump cities again.”

“But even if we do go on foot, there’s a good chance she’ll be long gone either way,” Howl added.

Jonathan closed his eyes in thought, weighing the options. “...we’ll pursue them immediately,” he said.

“Why?” Trixie asked...a little too quickly. “I mean, wouldn’t we miss her either way?” she quickly tried to correct.

Jonathan caught that, but didn’t comment on it. Instead he simply explained. “That’s true, it sure looks like either way we go, we’ll miss her, but…” he sighed. “As it is now, we’d rather go for a certain option rather than an uncertain one. We don’t know for sure when the trains will be up and running, so by the time they’re fixed, there’s a good chance the trail will already be cold. However, if we take the initiative, there’s a good chance we might still be able to capture a few clues,” he said, a small smirk at the end, before getting up. “That’s how we always role,” he grinned as he walked towards the door, his team following him. “Golden, Silver, thanks for everything. We’ll be sure to come and visit again,” he said as they exited the house.

“I must admit, I’m quite surprised at the outfits you got ready for us,” Alice chuckled as they all looked themselves over. Despite being dressed in assistant outfits, Sleight actually made them look...quite tasteful actually. She, Shade, and Rascal were all dressed in tuxedo vests, with a top hat on their heads and a small black bow tie on their necks.

“Huh...not bad. Never thought I’d actually say that about a getup like this,” Rascal blinked in surprise as he adjusted the top hat, which somehow sate rather easily on his head fur.

“I guess this is alright,” Shade hummed as she adjusted her tie with her paw.

“Well, I think those outfits look pretty good on you three,” Quick Storm chuckled as she walked into the room. “Of course, I suppose it isn’t saying much since this is the first time I've seen Pokemon as assistants,” she added.

“Hey, if you guys are ready, we should start practicing. The next show is tomorrow,” Sleight called them.

“Yeah, we’re coming,” Alice nodded, as they left the room.

The sun was already starting to set as Jonathan and his group left Tall Tale. Looking at the map they had, they knew they were in for a long trip. “Okay everyone, hope you’re ready for this,” he grinned.

“Ready whenever,” his team grinned back.

“Trixie is ready,” the unicorn nodded simply, not feeling as frightened as she normally would have been knowing she was taking a path this long. Then again, she didn't normally travel with a group who could probably beat up a Hydra with one arm tied behind their backs...yeah, that was probably it.

“Alright then, next stop: Fillydelphia,” Jonathan said as they set off.

(play: Life is a highway)

The first leg of the journey took them through rather dense forests, though fortunately the road made traveling easier...well, except a few Timberwolves...that ended up as kindling before Heat’s breath.

At the same time, Alice, Shade, and Rascal were busy practicing for Sleight Hoof’s show, though considering Alice herself used magic tricks in her heist...the training was progressing very smoothly...well it was until they had a few...additions they wanted to try…

Jonathan and his group decided to camp out for the night, looking forward to a peaceful night under the stars...well, it would have been had a Manticore not decided to pick a fight with them...one that it lost when its stinger full of poison did nothing against Jonathan, before he and Heat promptly sent it into LEO, the night gaining, for a second, a new star that twinkled and faded.

The next day, both parties continued on their way, Jonathan’s group continuing on the path, which now opened into an open field, promising smoother trails for a while at least. Likewise, Alice’s group was busy helping with the stage preparations, especially Scep and the Spinarak Twins on account of them not directly appearing in the show...now if only they had thought ahead of time how to remove the heavy equipment from the tough Spinarack web...without someone getting crushed when Charlotte and Spinner either removed it or let it break down naturally…

As evening approached, Jonathan and co. soon met with the next annoyance in their path. a swarm of Parasprites looking to eat their supplies. A mad chase ensued when it soon became clear that long range attacks weren’t working. Fortunately, Echo soon found a counter: a supersonic scream, which promptly disoriented the swarm enough to forcefully disperse it. However, even after that was over, the group slumped over, all agreeing that for once, they utterly hated something so damn cute.

The night of Sleight’s next show was upon them, and the seats were soon filled, especially when they had heard that the elderly magician had added a few additions to his show, 3 new Pokemon assistants. The show started and went off without a hitch as the 3 new assistants showed themselves to be very much capable, both at performing tricks, as well as enchanting the audience. The show went on through the night without a hitch...well, mostly if you don’t count when a volunteer fainted dead when Rascal was about to saw him in half...only instead of a saw, Rascal had pulled out a sizable axe, saying a saw just took too long…

Jonathan and co soon found their next obstacle, the foothills that were part of Mount Canterhorn. Fortunately, this time no native hazards decided to get in their way….well, not including the occasional Graveler rolling down the hill, forcing them to either wait, or quickly move lest they end up bowling pins. Fortunately, a few friendly Gogoat decided to help them a little...by knocking several Graveler off course. But as they left the hills though, they could have sworn they heard someone scream ‘My cabbages!’ from where the Gravelers went…

Alice and Shade had become a big hit, as due to their builds, they could easily add acrobatics into the mix of the show...of course, on Rascal’s suggestion, they also occasionally added some comedy to it, as every now and then, one of them would ‘accidentally’ slip, and fall right into the vat of dye, so it wasn’t long before the two were now multi-colored.

Jonathan smiled. Even if it was still a while away, they had already been able to see the city in the distance, so normally they would need about a day more to get there...with the Beedrills chasing them...half a day.

Alice sighed tiredly after pulling herself out of what felt like the 10th bath in a row, but it was worth it, since it got all the dye out of her fur, even if she looked stupid with how her fur sagged. Well, at least Toichi said he wanted to test that hair drying spell he read up on. Of course, one test run later, and she and Shade walked away...looking like the angriest puffballs in existence...and biggest too.

“Well, that’s it for Fillydelphia, guess its time to move on,” Sleight nodded.

“Thank Arceus…” Alice groaned pitifully from where she was lying down.

“If you’re going somewhere after this, I’d recommend Manehattan just across the river,” White Ink said, having come to say his goodbye. “Picture Perfect contacted me the other day, looks like he’s gotten some business over there...and he’s got some info on one of the local crime lords there. Knock em down, girl,” he grinned as he waved them off, the carriage soon pulling out of town.

“Manehattan, huh? Didn’t you say that’s where it all started for you two?” Alice mused.

“Yeah. And thanks to you one of the biggest gangs there was taken down. Guess you’ll be doing the city another service,” Sleight said, a small smile on his face.

“...sounds interesting,” Alice grinned.

Meanwhile, show cart full of exhausted Pokemon and one exhausted pony pulled into Fillydelphia. “Finally...we lost those Beedrill,” Jonathan said, before they all collapsed, their eyes swirly…

(end theme)

Ending theme:

Author's Note

And done. Another breather chapter. Look forward for the next chapter, cause its gonna be another crossover.

Seventeenth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Seventeenth Heist

Opening theme:

The carriage pulled into the city, as the inhabitants came out. “So this is Manehattan. Feels like a mix of Castelia and Lumiose,” Alice mused.

“Well, Manehattan is known for its nightlife, as well as being one of the most active cities in Equestria,” Toichi said, remembering what he read.

“And they ain’t kidding,” Scep whistled, as the city seemed positively alive with activity despite it already being around 9 at night.

“Seems like a pretty fun town,” Shade mused.

“Yeah, and with LOTS of potential targets for us,” Rascal grinned.

“Easy there, let’s at least get ourselves set up BEFORE we rob anyone,” Alice sighed, holding his head down with her paw.

“Yes, mom,” Rascal said sarcastically.

“Hey, its not like we didn’t get a small fill of that already,” Alice chuckled.

“Correction, YOU got one with how you pretty much scammed that jewel peddler we met,” Shade snorted.

“Hey now, it's not like I swindled him or anything, we paid him the amount we agreed on...not my fault he had no idea how much it was REALLY worth,” Alice defended, before idly looking into the carriage window, at the items that seemed to sparkle inside, and when she did, Scep got a rather excited look in his eyes. “Speaking of which, do you know any jewelers who would accept a job without much fuss?”

“Well, we know of a few,” Storm mused.

“We’ll show you to them later on after we settle in,” Sleight nodded.

“Excellent,” Alice smiled. “So...where shall we be staying during our visit?”

“Oh, a fine establishment that I think we’ll all enjoy,” Storm smiled, catching their attention.

“Ah yes, it has been a while since we’ve stayed at the Moonshine Rose. I do hope their drinks are as good as they’ve always been,” Sleight grinned.

“19. Not old enough to drink,” Alice idly commented.

“Well, the hotel will still make a good base,” Sleight shrugged, before they headed for the hotel.

“Now what do we do?” Howl sighed as he leaned on the table.

“Well, at least this didn’t go to waste,” Jonathan sighed, referring to the fact that investigations were still in work on dealing with the recent Fox incident. “Let’s think. Assuming Fox has already moved on, we need to figure out where she’d likely go next,” he said, laying out the map. “And looking at this, our best bet is likely Manehattan,” he said, considering the city was certainly close enough to the city that moving from one to the other would only take around a few hours to a day at most.

“Fair enough, but…” Echo started.

“How can we tell if she’s there, or if she’s still here, or if she might have taken a completely different route,” Heat finished for her.

“...that I can’t say for sure,” Jonathan sighed. “However, our best bet is to either talk to the local police, and probably get some clues we can use. The best we can hope for is if there are any large...’targets’ for Fox, hopefully in Manehattan. At this point, even rumors would be helpful.”

“Then we’d better get going...I miss being able to just take a chopper or something,” Heat said, before sighing at the end. One thing they all missed about Earth was how much easier it was to chase after Fox.

With a shared nod, the group headed over to the guard station. Fortunately for once, this proved to be easier than expected, as not only were most of the more...high strung officers out on the field, but also, the badge Jonathan had been awarded in Tall Tale turned out to hold quite a lot of weight, if the fact that the remaining officers were more cooperative after they saw it was any indication. So it wasn’t long before they left the station with info that was very good for their current situation.

“Okay, so Fox hasn’t been active at all since the heist, meaning she’s likely moved on. And on top of that, there has been some recent activity about rumors of a drug cartel over in Manehattan,” Jonathan listed out.

“Sounds like the perfect setting for Fox,” Trixie commented, having listened to their planning a few times already in the past.

“Yeah, so all things considered, we can confirm that our best lead would likely be in Manehattan. Also, from the looks of things, we should keep an eye on this mare...Medicine Bits,” Jonathan said, remembering the information they got. Apparently Medicine Bits, while posing as an honest mare owning a pharmaceutical company, also owned an illegal business in the form of a drug manufacturer and a drug smuggling operation and cartel. In fact, she’d already been under scrutiny from the authorities of other cities, but she seems to have likely paid off most of the cops assigned her case, with the ones who probably didn’t give in ‘disappearing’ not long after. In short, a dangerous opponent if they ever saw one.

“This is a tough one,” Jonathan frowned, while his team nodded in agreement.

“Is she? She doesn’t seem all that different from the other criminals that Trixie has seen you take down,” Trixie blinked.

“No, she’s completely different,” Heat said. “Cause she’s got the local police in her back pocket.”

“Yeah, when that happens, we’ve got to be careful. One wrong word heard by the wrong people and we’re toast. The bad part is that the wrong people now include both sides of the law,” Howl nodded in agreement.

“Oh well, not much we can do about it. We’ll have to be discreet in this, and if needs be, go about it vigilante-style,” Jonathan sighed. “Its a good thing I asked for a copy of her file just in case. We might be able to find something,” he said as he pulled out said file.

“I can see why you wanted to come here,” Alice mused. The Moonshine Rose hotel was extravagant to say the least, with the decor and the atmosphere of the place just SCREAMING ‘high class’ and ‘5-stars’. A quick visit to the receptionist, and they were given the special family suite, made up of two large rooms connected to each other. After getting the keys, they moved to the rooms, and boy were they impressed.

“They ain’t kidding when they said their suites were royalty class,” Rascal said, his mouth hanging open.

“Feels as though we’re spending a few nights in Parfum Palace,” Shade agreed at the sight of the luxurious rooms.

“They even have a hot tub in here,” Alice deadpanned when she looked into the bathroom.

“Its agreed then?” Shade nodded sagely.

“Yeah, best hotel ever,” Rascal grinned...before they all quickly turned to Scep...who was eyeing a rather nice looking lamp on the table.

“What?” he asked, acting innocent. “I like fancy stuff like this.”

“...just don’t take anything. I think we’d all like to be able to enjoy the hotel without getting kicked out,” Alice sighed.

Once they had already settled all their stuff, they moved on to other sections of the hotel...starting with the bar, at the old couple’s insistence. Turns out, the bar and the restaurant were one and the same, and much like the rest of the hotel, it had a classy, yet comfy feel to it. What they didn’t expect was to run into a certain stallion there too.

“Picture? What are you doing here?” Sleight blinked in surprise upon seeing the photographer at the bar.

Picture Perfect on his part was just in the middle of a drink, and unfortunately, the sudden voice caused his drink to go down wrong. So after a small coughing fit...and a hoof to the chest to straighten it out, he addressed them. “Ah, Sleight and co. Ink told me you’d be coming...though I didn’t expect to run into you all during my break,” he laughed awkwardly at the end.

“Well, neither were we, really,” Storm mused. “But it certainly is convenient. Here, how about you come to our room after this. We can talk more there.”

“That would be good. I’d rather not talk somewhere public really,” Picture Perfect nodded.

Jonathan sighed as they were on the road again. Trixie wasn’t too thrilled about jumping cities so soon, but considering the next city was Manehattan, a city that would probably appreciate/enjoy her shows more, she was a bit more willing to comply. Currently he was sitting at the back of the wagon, while Trixie was inside. Heat and Howl were busy pulling the wagon, while Echo was on the look out in the air.

Normally he’d have been helping them pull the wagon, but right now he was studying the files he had on Medicine Bits. As it was, they were planning on walking into the lion’s den. They needed to be prepared, as much as they can.

“Now before I start, I want you all to understand, that this is by no means a laughing matter. This next one is one tough cookie,” Picture Perfect said as they gathered around the table. After the group had finished touring the hotel, they met up with Picture Perfect in their room as agreed. Once they did, he pulled out a stack of photos, as well as a few files. “This is Medicine Bits,” he started, showing the picture of a Blue Earth Pony mare with a white mane and a cutie mark depicting a medicine capsule. “On paper she’s the owner of Magical Cure pharmacies, one of the top pharmaceutical companies in Manehattan.”

“And who is she underground?” Alice chuckled, already knowing where this is going.

“The owner and operator of a Drug smuggling and cartel business,” Picture Perfect answered matter of factly.

“Ah,” Alice nodded. “So, what’s she selling? I highly doubt she got high on the crime list by selling normal drugs.”

“Give the girl a prize. She’s got it right again,” Picture chuckled. “Yes, lately she’s become one of the main producers and sellers of a drug that’s been popular in the black market. Apparently its gotten really popular thanks to its effects. Its a hallucinogen drug, and in small doses, really helps makes you feel ‘good’, you could say. However, that’s not what makes it really popular to the criminal underworld. When taken in high doses, it makes the user more relaxed and...susceptible to suggestions/commands. Pretty good for negotiations, no?”

“I see, yes, that would be very good in an important business meeting,” Alice nodded.

“So...when can we pick this one apart?” Rascal grinned as he moved to pick up the file, but what he got was a smack from Picture Perfect’s hoof.

“Ah ah ah, not so fast. Bits might not SEEM all that dangerous, but she’s scarily efficient in her operations. It may not look it, but she’s more or less got the local guards in her back pocket. She’s already paid off many of the officers assigned her case...and even a few not assigned her case, while the ones who wouldn’t accept her...’generosity’, have been known to go missing,” he explained.

“I see, so leading the police on won’t do us much good then,” Alice nodded. “That’s definitely going to complicate things.”

“But we have a counter for that, don’t we?” Shade smirked.

“Of course. We simply have to cripple the business, while ousting everyone in cahoots with her. If we cripple the business, then she won’t have her money to bail her out, and if we oust all the officers in cahoots with her, she won’t be able to hide from the law. If needs be, we have to be ready to send what we know to Fillydelphia and any other city we can,” Alice nodded.

“So...are we going to steal some proof from them or what?” Scep asked, getting a little impatient.

“No, we can’t act recklessly,” Alice stated firmly. “As it is now, she has the field advantage,” she said, moving over to a nearby table with a chess board on it, and placing not just the black pieces, but most of the white pieces too on one side. “If we charge in recklessly, we’re only inviting disaster. On top of that, we need to be careful where and when we make plans. The authorities are part of her field too, so if the wrong person hears about this...its over,” she frowned. “Alright, here’s the plan. We’ll have to take this slowly. We’ll spend the next few days gathering all the info we can, be it locations, guard schedules, assets, anything. We need to finish this in one flawless move, or the counter attack will finish us for sure,” she ordered. “But before that, Picture, please tell us everything you know. Any info might just mean the difference between us getting through this or not.”

“Of course, that’s what I’m here for,” Picture Perfect nodded.

The next few days went by with a noticeably tense atmosphere around them as they gathered what info they could. First was of course finding where they were going to rob, which was easy enough, since the factory that was located around the outskirts...pretty hard to miss. The hard part however, would be getting inside information. Fortunately, they had a way to do it. Spinner and Charlotte were sent to infiltrate the factory, the two small Pokemon having gotten in relatively easily, since frankly, they looked like a pair of large spiders. An odd sight, but ultimately not particularly suspicious to the guards, a fact they made full use of when they swiped a copy of the guard schedule from one of the guard posts. However, as they couldn’t go too deep into the compound without arousing suspicion, the best they could do was leave a few recording crystals near any offices they could, before making their escape.

The next step of their planning involved one of the most crucial points...what they were gonna steal. Fortunately, Picture Perfect provided them with a good target.

“Yeah, this statue is a sorta lucky charm for Medicine Bits. Cause frankly, the first time anyone saw it was shortly before her business really took off,” he explained.

“I see. I’m guessing that statue has a little secret of some kind. Shall we take a closer look?” Alice grinned.

“Oh, I definitely recommend it,” Picture Perfect nodded.

...now came the hard part. After gathering the data, they need to put it to use...and send their notice.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and co were...oddly enough, not in Manehattan. At least not yet. Seeing as they might be in for a hard fight, they had agreed to take an extra 2 days to train out in the wild. Currently, they were training in pairs, with Echo and Howl sparring against each other, while Jonathan and Heat were working on combined moves.

Jonathan smiled inwardly as he felt himself slowly but surely gain control of his new powers, but he knew he still had a way to go, as he still had moments of lost control...especially when he was angry.

“Well, you’re definitely getting better at using physical moves,” Heat nodded...though he didn’t say anything about special moves. Those were still beyond Jonathan for some reason.

“Yeah, well, at least this strength has its good uses. I quite like being able to support you guys more directly in a fight now,” Jonathan nodded. “Speaking of which, let’s try this again. Rocket Uppercut,” he said, eyeing a nearby cliffside.

“You got it. I’m gonna break the cliff off this time,” Heat grinned, before they got into position. Jonathan took a calming breath as Heat stepped on his paws. During his training, he’d found that when he imagined a ‘river’ of sorts, and when he imagined to flow going to a particular part of his body, he noticed that that part often had more of a ‘kick’ to it whenever he struck or used it in any way. With that in mind, he focused the ‘flow’ into his paws as strongly as he could. Snapping his eyes open, he launched Heat into the air. However, to their surprise, the Combusken was launched up MUCH faster than normal...which made it a very good thing Heat already had his Sky Uppercut ready, cause when he rammed into the cliff side, it didn’t just break, no, it practically exploded from the force.

“Wow...you two did that?” Howl asked, his jaw hanging open, a look that was mirrored by Echo and Trixie as well.

“I...guess we did,” Jonathan replied, his eyes wide. However, when he looked at his paws, his eyes grew wider as he noticed that his paws were practically ablaze with what looked like blue fire, but somehow he instinctively knew what it really was. Aura. “Is this...my aura? How? I can barely use an Aura Sphere...unless… his train of thought was interrupted when Heat finally landed, the Combusken’s eyes swirly, yet he looked pretty damn proud of himself.

“Booyah, take that cliff…” he mumbled, much to his friends’ amusement.

Jonathan was about to go help him, when something caught his attention. Something was glowing up on the remains of the cliff, and a few remaining pebbles fell, knocking it, or rather them, loose. Acting quickly, Jonathan dove for the items, catching them before they hit the ground. When he got a good look at them, his eyes widened considerably, while his team followed him.

“What did you…?” the words died in Echo’s throat when she saw the items...before a grin crossed all of their faces, and when Heat, who had quickly recovered and followed them saw it, his grin threatened to split his face in half. “Jackpot,” was all he could say, and frankly, nobody could think of a better way to describe it either.

A few days had passed, and the Fox gang had gathered about as much info as they could. “So tomorrow is the time, huh?” Shade asked as she sat on her haunches.

“Yeah, we’ve prepared all we can, and I’ve already sent to notice,” Alice nodded as she sank back into the hot bath. Earlier that night, she had put all the info they had gathered to good use, and did the final step in preparing the heist. She infiltrated the factory. The information, all of it that they had gathered proved to be worth it and more, since she was able to locate several good entrances, as well as keep out of sight of the guards...though her fur got covered in dust from the air vent she had to crawl through. Finding their target took a while, as it turned out it was kept in a deeper section of the factory, albeit one used as a study/office of all things. Once she had found the target, she was about to leave her notice...but stopped. This was an important heist they were about to do. If she left the notice this deep in, Medicine Bits would realize she made it this far, and no doubt make entering harder. With her mind made up, she quickly retreated, leaving the notice on the glass of the Guard Post instead.

“So yeah, too late to turn back now,” Alice sighed. “Oh well, at least we got to enjoy a bit of luxury again before risking our lives,” she commented. Now she was by no means a spoiled girl who couldn’t live without the luxuries her money could buy, but after suddenly finding herself poor, she certainly wasn’t about to say no to a chance to enjoy the ‘good life’ again.

“Heh, can’t argue there,” Shade laughed. She enjoyed sleeping on the nice fluffy pillows the hotel had that’s for sure. And she could tell Rascal and the Spinarak twins were enjoying it too. Scep...was an odd case though, since they had to keep stopping him from taking anything.

Interestingly enough, another group was planning something similar, over in a motel across town. “Alright, we’ve spent time finding what we can about Medicine Bits...without arousing suspicion as best as we can,” Jonathan started.

“Yeah, and so far, no sign of Fox either...at least not yet,” Howl nodded.

“Hm…” Jonathan sighed. “A target like this should be irresistible to Fox. But…”

“She’s no idiot,” Echo nodded. “She’d probably be taking her time to plan out her heist.”

“Yes, and as much as I’d like to use Medicine Bits as bait, our duty to the people come first. We’ve scouted out as much info as we could, so there’s no point in delaying any further,” Jonathan nodded. “As we know, the main facility that Medicine Bits operates from is her factory, but thanks to that rumor we heard the other day, it seems she has another facility around the docks. Most likely it's a secondary facility, and less guarded than the factory. Therefore, we’ll raid the secondary facility first tomorrow night.”

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Another chapter done. I know I promised a crossover, but I stand corrected, its NEXT chapter, cause this chapter is just build up to the actual heist. Either way, enjoy

Eighteenth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Eighteenth Heist

Opening theme:

Alice grinned as she picked up her hat, and put it on. Everything was in place, and now all that was left was to execute the plan. Since this mission presented a larger danger, Sleight and his family had gone on ahead first, and would camp outside the city. They’d wait till dawn, and in the event Alice and co didn’t return by then, they’d go ahead to their next destination: Canterlot, with Alice and co catching up.

As expected, there was no news of their heist notice, meaning Medicine Bits definitely had something to hide in her factory that she didn’t want to risk the police finding. Oh well, that made it easier for them anyway. With everything in order, she and her team made a quick detour before starting their heist. It would be a real shame if she never got that secret weapon she commissioned a few days ago.

“Alright, so that’s everything. You ready guys?” Fox grinned as they stood several roofs away from the factory.

“Always,” Shade grinned.

“Do you have to ask?” Rascal chuckled.

“Can’t wait, dudette,” Scep nodded, while Charlotte and Spinner simply nodded without a word.

“Alright then, it's Showtime,” she grinned as they leaped into the night, aiming for their target.

Upon landing not far from the factory, they immediately went to work. Their timing had already been planned ahead, as this was the exact time before several key locations would have a shift in guards. Moving quickly, they leaped over the gates, just as the current guard left his post for a moment to shift, while dodging the few movement detection charms that had been casted around the area. With the first guard post cleared, they quickly ducked into the shadows again, keeping out of sight.

“Is it just me, or have the guards not changed at all?” Shade whispered.

“Its not just you. Something doesn’t feel right here,” Fox agreed. “But too late now, we have to keep moving. Be on guard though.”

“Right,” they all nodded as they moved deeper into the factory. It wasn’t long before they reached another key point, and one that was well guarded.

“Phase 2 begin,” Fox simply said, earning a nod as Rascal and the Spinarak twins jumped up...and grabbed on to the air vent. Opening it quickly, they crawled in.

When they got in, the others immediately began a mental countdown. Once it hit 0, Shade moved to the edge of the corner, and began meowing softly, her tail sticking out a little.

As expected, that caught the guards’ attention, as one of them moved towards the source to check on it. Noticing the tail that quickly retracted, the guard turned around the corner, his horn lighting up to give him a better view...before he was promptly pulled into the corner, his voice muffled by whatever was around the corner. Seeing that, the other guard gulped, and was about to call for help...before something snared him and pulled him up into the air vents. There was the sound of a struggle, before Rascal and the twins dropped down from the vent, while Fox and the others stepped out of the corner. “Suckers,” Scep couldn’t help but chuckle as they continued on. So far so good…

The next area was naturally a little bit more tricky, namely due to the fact that there were a few more guards standing by in the area. However, the fact that the area was a bit more enclosed than the others, made was normally a strength (easily guarded) into a weakness Fox was all too happy to exploit. “Sceptile,” she said, tossing a few items to him.

“You got it,” Scep grinned as he caught them. Using his species’ natural ability, he easily started scaling the wall. Timing it well and using the shadows, he slipped past the guards with relative ease. Finding a few key spots, he placed the items there, and when he was at a good distance, held his breath. As if on cue, the items opened, releasing a cloud of dust. Sleeping powder. By the time the guards realized something was wrong, it was already too late as one by one they soon fell asleep, the fast acting powder taking effect.

The Fox gang waited for a minute, giving the powder time to disperse, so that when they walked in, all that awaited them was a group of passed out guards.

“And now for the next phase…” Fox said grimly as they went through a different door than the one that lead towards Medicine Bits’ office where she kept her prized statue. Following the new hallway, they came upon the factory room where the shipments of drugs were being kept. Naturally, there were a few guards in the room too. However, like with the guards before, they had come prepared. The only difference was that as a guard happened to walk by as they entered, Fox darted forward, and with a precise chop to the neck, she knocked out the hapless guard, before stringing her up with one of her web bombs. Moving quickly, they did the same to the other guard patrolling, making sure to keep both guards out of the way.

“Now then, as long as she has these, she’ll be able to build herself up again and again,” Fox frowned.

“Well what are we waiting for?” Rascal grinned. “Let’s pull the plug!”

Fox nodded. “Everyone, use Toxic on any and all drugs you find. We’ll make them rot to nothing! I want this place completely taken apart!” she ordered.

“Roger!” came the replies, as they got to work. Acting as quickly, yet as quietly as possible, the gang proceeded to utterly ruin any and all pieces of shipment they could find, be it poisoning with strong poisons that rotted the herbs, or cutting it apart and spilling the contents to the ground, they took it all apart. It wasn’t long before they finished ruining the entire shipment, before Fox moved on and placed several bombs in the machinery in the room. “That should do it. Now, let’s go,” she nodded as they all left the room. Several minutes passed, before the bombs detonated, drawing the attention of every guard in the factory, and conveniently drawing them away from the Fox gang.

“Suckers,” Scep chuckled again as they dropped down from the ceiling, having hidden up there to let the guards guarding Medicine Bits’ office to pass.

“What did you expect? Right now they’re just dolls dancing to our script,” Shade chuckled as they made it to the office.

“And with this, its Check,” Fox nodded as they opened the door, revealing the office. Only they found a small problem.

“Guys? Where the hell is the statue?” Rascal deadpanned upon seeing that the statue wasn’t where it was usually kept.

“She probably just hid it. Search the room!” Fox ordered. The group spread out, quickly combing through the room. At first they didn’t find anything, but that changed when Charlotte found something lodged behind a bookshelf. “Found something!” she said, drawing their attention.

Upon closer inspection, Fox couldn’t help but whistle. “Oh? Not bad,” she chuckled as she tugged at the item, revealing it to be a handkerchief which was stuck...in the wall. “A secret passage. Might have fooled us too if it weren’t for this stroke of luck,” she admitted, before they grabbed the edge, and started pushing. Slowly the hidden door was pried open, revealing a passage that seemed to travel down rather deeply.

“Huh, a hidden passage,” Fox mused, before turning to them. “Should we check?”

The group made a show of thinking, before the all answered, “Let’s go!” and with that the group made their way down...but not before they closed up the entrance behind them. Last thing they needed right now was for the guards to come back and find the entrance...assuming they didn’t already know about it.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and co was headed for the secondary facility around the pier. “Okay, here we are,” he said as they got a look at the facility, and blinked in surprised. “What the…?”

“What’s with all the extra security? You don’t think…?” Heat started.

“Could very well be,” Jonathan nodded. “Fox must have had the same idea as us.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get in on the action,” Echo grinned as they made their way closer. Stopping a short distance away from one of the less guarded entrances, they saw two guards. Looking around, they found a few coconuts that must have fallen out of a crate or something, picked them up, and using his new strength, Jonathan, along with Heat, hurled them at the guards, catching them on the heads, before an audible ‘clonk’ like something out of a comedy show was heard, the two guards going down like rocks.

“Good thing they had helmets on. Or we might have had to find another way to knock them out,” Heat chuckled as they passed the two out cold guards quickly.
Getting inside, they managed to get past the few guards around, though somehow it seemed odd at how few there were, especially if the place had suddenly been...reinforced, for lack of better words. However, proceeding along, they found a few guards who had been knocked out as well.

“Either Fox got to them first, or someone else is here,” Jonathan mused as they quickly made their way deeper. They had a more important mission to do at the moment.

“Well well, what do we have here?” Fox mused as they exited the tunnel.

“Heh, guess Bits had more than just one facility. Clever,” Shade chuckled. They were wondering why it seemed so easy earlier, and why the shipments they had destroyed seemed fewer than expected.

“Alright then, everything’s all set,” Rascal grinned as the Fox gang were atop the roofs nearing Medicine Bits operations. The group easily leaped from roof to roof, but soon stopped short when they noticed a familiar form below.

“...oh come on! Them again?” Shade groaned in annoyance at the sight of a certain Hydreigon
“Wow, you’d think they were chasing us with how often we end up running into them,” Fox couldn’t help but chuckle.

“...don’t even start, Alice,” her team deadpanned, not bothering to call her Fox at the moment.

They saw the Hydreigon raised his arm again for a moment, then it went slack again. Before they could question such action, he just approached the napping guard, tapping him on the shoulder. In one fluid motion, he slinked behind and wrapped his arm around the poor guard, choking the breath out of him.

Another player entered the picture, a Serperior with the grace of a butterfly slithered closer.

“And a new player enters the stage,” Rascal groaned.

The snake planting a vine over the mouth before blowing a good night kiss on the guards head. He went down without a hitch.

“Well...that was fast,” Shade blinked.

“But convenient,” Fox grinned.

“How so, dudette?” Scep couldn’t help but ask.

“We’re going to check this place out, since our target’s probably here. Why go through the trouble of making our own distractions, when we have a volunteer,” she chuckled.

“Dudette, you are evil sometimes,” Scep said as they all shared a small laugh and silently followed.

“At least we still have the advantage...at least in terms of type...and numbers,” Shade pointed out, as it WAS still 5 against 2.

“Doesn’t matter. With how preoccupied they are, with luck we can get our target without even having to fight them again. But if we do, you all know what to do,” Fox said with a sly grin, as she pulled out several Shock Bombs and distributed them.

Just then, they heard a rattle which signified the fence gate sliding open. All of them looked down to see the fenced gate had been slid aside by the Hydreigon. He and the Serperior slinked inside before the Hydreigon shut it close once more. With several more motions from the Hydreigon, they nodded to each other before splitting up left and right respectively toward the outer edges of the maze of containers.

“So...what now?” Rascal asked.

“We find out what’s going on here, but watch ourselves. I’d rather avoid fighting that Hydreigon and his Pokemon again. Crime Lord or not, I’d rather not have us fighting in a collapsing building again,” Fox said, to which her team nodded with equal annoyance. As much as they wanted to settle the score, this was not a good time and place.

The Fox gang followed after the Hydreigon, Eric, as they remembered he was called. The group watched as the Serperior went to work, taking out the guards...in a way that was oddly sensual...for a giant snake anyway. That fact was rather obvious when Fox noticed the light blushes on Scep and Rascal’s faces. It was only hit home even more when the Serperior gave a goodbye kiss to one of the guards, prompting Scep to say, “Lucky bastard…”

“For once, we agree,” Rascal blushed as well.

On the side, Fox and Shade chuckled. “Boys…” they said in amusement as they continued to watch the events unfold.

The Serperior looked toward the downed stallion with a disgusted expression. “My trainer tasted better than this.” She grunted.

The Serperior heard a whimper, turning her head toward the source to witness the stallion she had backhanded before had leaned his back on the fence. It is obvious the stallion is scared half to death with how he was shaking.

The Serperior smiled before slowly slithering forward to meet the stallion face to face.

“S-s-stay back! I’m warning you!” he stammered, but she still moved forward regardless.

The Serperior coiled her tail around the hoof held out to placate the snake from advancing, a touch so delicate that it would feel like a mother embracing their sons. She slowly set it down aside, before slowly lowered her head beside his head.

“Sleep…” And sleep he did. The stallion’s eyes rolled up to the back of his head and slumped before promptly wet himself on the ground.

With a disgusted face, she left to resume her task.

“Well now, that was interesting,” Fox couldn’t help but comment after that display.

“Annoying is what it is. Is this guy an Elite Four in disguise or something? Cause he’s packing some power houses,” Rascal groaned. “Though...I wouldn’t mind dealing with that Serperior…” he blushed...and promptly had his ear pinched.

“No falling in love with potential enemies,” Fox said simply, though it was clear she found it amusing. “The same goes for you too, Scep. Especially on a heist. Go woo her AFTER we’re done.”

“You’ll really let us do that?” both of them asked dreamily, and at her nod, they suddenly straightened. “Yosh! Let’s do this!” they both said, and if one looked closely, it almost looked like there was fire in their eyes.

With that, the group of thieves moved towards their target. However, before they could get to the room, something else drew their attentions. They focused toward the center of the maze.

What they saw was surprising to say the least, the Serperior from before was in the clearing within the maze of containers with exits cut off. What drew their attention the most was that she was pitted against two Darmanitan.

Strangely, the Hydreigon was nowhere to be seen.

“...Fox...can I…?” Rascal almost pleaded.

Fox on her part chuckled in amusement. “Go ahead. I assume you want to go too, Sceptile?”

“Eeyup,” Scep grinned.

“Then go, oh shining knights,” Fox chuckled.

Another explosion drew their attention toward the battle. To their surprise, the Serperior actually did quite well.

The Serperior quickly slithered around a Darmanitan using a Flame Charge before she countered with a Dragon Pulse that sent him blasting toward the wall. His buddy followed, beating his chest like a gorilla and charged at the Serperior with a maddened gaze.

A barrage of Fire Punches is initiated, for all the good it does to the Darmanitan, it was useless against his opponent. Helen danced between the strikes with the grace of a pigeon, yet she knew the next attack was almost unavoidable with how close she is and with the Darmanitan opened his mouth as a sign. She lowered herself as low as she could and slithered between the Darmanitan’s leg.

She emerged to the other side with her foe turning around to face her with a snort. With another deep breath, he prepared a Flamethrower. Unknown to him, Helen smirked and jerked her tail back, thus the Darmanitan soon landed on his face, turns out she coiled her tail around his legs the moment she slithered between the limbs. He is helpless as the Serperior blasted him with another Dragon Pulse.

Both foes got their bearings back and soon resolved to charge together with Flame Charges. Yet, the Serperior stood there, not giving any reaction whatsoever.

Inches away from the impact, the Regal Pokemon bend herself backward and the meteor-like objects collided with each other followed by a thud.

They were recoiling from the collision with each other, and the snake saw an opportunity. The Serperior allowed her tail to glow green and spun. The Darmanitan got their legs sweeped underneath them and both crashed onto their backs, but their foe was far from done. Seeing them both on the ground, she did yet another spin, colliding her Leaf Blade to the Darmanitan and send him flying like a golf ball and the second Darmanitan wasn’t spared from such a fate either.

“Hot dang. How is that even possible?” Scep couldn’t help but ask, his jaw hanging open.

“Perfectly possible. Skill always trumps raw power,” Fox calmly stated. “Now then, unless we want to have to fight that, let’s keep moving,” she calmly said, before she and Shade dragged the two love struck mon away.

Quickly moving to a new room, they soon found an interesting new problem.

“Someone’s been watching too much TV,” Shade joked, as their next obstacle made themselves present. Several Machop and Machamp lumbered into their view, all of them having a dazed, almost zombie like look in their eyes.

“Tell that to a lot of them too,” Fox added, as several other Pokemon, all with a similar look lumbered in. “...feels like an old horror movie,” Fox idly commented. “We’d better deal with them now. We can apologize later. Now then, area attacks. Take out as many as you can in one shot!”

“You got it!” they all grinned, before a barrage of Shadow Balls, Blizzard, and Leaf Storm was fired, blanketing the entire group of zombies, and knocking them off their feet. However, the zombies quickly got back on their feet, not showing any notable signs of pain.

“Go figure,” Fox groaned. “Looks like we’ll have to either immobilize or knock out all of them.”

“Knocking out sounds good,” Rascal grinned, before they all jumped into the fray.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and co were met with a...bizarre situation. “...oookay, these guys need to lay off on the drinks,” Howl sweatdropped at the sight of the meandering ponies.

“...yeah, they definitely do,” Jonathan sweatdropped as he easily, almost casually knocked out another pony. The ponies were all meandering around, and clammering towards them...sorta like one of them zombie movies. Now, normally that might have been scary. However, when the zombies are...pastel colored ponies, it kinda kills the scare factor.

Eventually they got tired of dealing with what was probably the most pathetic zombie apocalypse ever, and proceeded to finish off all of them, leaving the room littered with unconscious ponies. “They’re gonna be having the mother of all hangovers tomorrow,” Echo chuckled as they continued on. They kept running before finding themselves in another large area...just as a certain group of thieves had finished closing another door...and boarding it up too, if how frantically the Weavile was freezing the door was any indication. However, when the Fox gang noticed them, the frowns on their faces told them something was not right.

“This really isn’t a good time, Jonathan,” Fox sighed at the sight of the familiar Lucario.

Jonathan on his part blinked in surprise. It was...rare to find Fox sounding so subdued, but when she was it rarely meant a good thing. However, he still had a job to do. “And other times are? Sorry, but I’m taking you in, Fox,” he said, while his team tensed.

“Normally I’d enjoy the chase that usually follows, but right now…” Fox’s eyes hardened as a Shadow Ball appeared over her paw, while her team tensed. “Duck.”

Jonathan barely heard her as he saw her throw the attack right at them. Acting quickly, they did just as she said...right before hearing the attack impact against something behind them. Turning to see what it was, and nearly jumped when they saw it. They were treated to the sight of a Haxorus of all things lumbering towards them, but what was really scary was the dead look in its eyes, like something that wasn’t quite alive, yet was able to walk. In short, another zombie, only unlike the ponies who were...laughable, this was...frikkin scary.

“The (censored) is this (censored)?!” Heat nearly screamed in alarm...right before the Haxorus was frozen solid.

“And that’s why this isn’t a good time,” Shade chuckled.

Jonathan blinked, before getting back up, albeit rather shakily. “What in Arceus’ name was that?”

“The end result of Medicine Bit’s illegal operations. As I’m sure you’re already aware of, the drugs she produces help to make living, sentient beings much more...suggestable to command,” Fox stated, her voice hard, and her expression angry. “This is the end result of too much of that drug.”

Jonathan blinked, before his eyes widened in horror. This wasn’t the first time he had heard of something like that. “You mean Zombie Drugs? Those kinds of drugs that could basically turn humans into ‘zombies’ of sorts? And she’s feeding them to Pokemon?!” Jonathan growled, his earlier fear replaced with anger.

“Not just Pokemon, she’s used the stuff on other races too, and even some of her fellow ponies,” Fox grunted, having ran into a few of them on the way. “Probably where those who wouldn’t be bribed went.”

At her words, Jonathan’s paws balled up into fists, remembering the ones he had just encountered. To turn other beings into mindless puppets...he wouldn’t stand for it. One look into Fox’s eyes told him all he needed to know, and without a word, the two nodded. They had a bigger fish to fry...no...charcoal, and her name was Medicine Bits.

“Ya know, with how easy it's become for us to just up and suddenly call a truce, I REALLY wonder why we’re on opposite sides,” Echo couldn’t help but comment. After they had agreed to a truce, they had decided they could cover more ground if they split up. However, Fox being Fox, decided to make a game out of this too. If their team could find and capture Fine Spice before the Fox gang, Fox would leave her target be. Alternatively, if the Fox gang got to Medicine Bits first, then they’d be taking their target as promised...even if Jonathan didn’t actually know what she was targeting this time.

“You really think Jonathan didn’t wonder about that before?” Howl snorted, remembering what their trainer had hoped to do after they caught Fox...back on Earth...though he figured that idea could still work.

“Meh, I don’t really mind. Sides, I’d rather work with her anyway, at least we don’t have to worry about her knifing us in the back,” Heat shrugged.

Jonathan didn’t say a word, focusing more on finding their perp. However, inwardly he was thinking something along those lines too. He often did wonder why Fox chose the life of crime despite all the good she was capable of doing...not to mention the good she already did do.

The train of thought was derailed however, when they turned a corner...and saw a rather unwelcome sight

“You again!?” Jonathan exclaimed.

Standing before them, with a Serperior by his side, was a VERY familiar Hydreigon.

“Eric, who are these people?” She asked as she retracted her vine.

The moment the Serperior, Helen, asked that, Eric analyzed the group with his observant eyes. “...he said, ‘you again’...did I know him from somewhere?” His eyes fell upon a simple silver band on the Lucario’s right wrist. He resisted the urge to rub his head. “....of course, I should have known.”

“Officer Jonathan.” Eric said out loud.

Helen nearly blanched. “A police? My, my....” The snake put up a vixen smile that seemed flirty.

“And what might you be up to this time, Eric?” Jonathan said sternly. “Not about to cause more property damage that could endanger lives, I hope.”

“Dear, we’re simply doing the community a service. Trust us in this handsome.” Helen winked, followed by heavy breathing.

“Oh that I don’t doubt. I DO have to give you credit for delivering Grumble to us,” Jonathan said, acknowledging his previous actions. “However, like last time, it's not the motive I’m concerned about. Its the method.”

“....let’s go, we’re wasting time. I don’t want to end up you hurting even more if we wait around.” Eric ignored him entirely and floated forward, unwilling to explain himself to a cop.

“I look forward to meeting you again, handsome.” With that the Serperior slithered away as well in a not-so-graceful way due to her earlier injuries.

“You really know how to get on people’s bad sides,” Jonathan said, as he grabbed Eric by the arm. “As an officer, I can’t allow someone as shady as you to run around...at least not until I have all the facts.”

“....even if I explain myself to you, I don’t think you would understand anyway. Please, let go of me, I’m trying to catch someone.” Eric tugged his arm, but the Lucario didn’t let go.

“I deal with one of the most whimsical thieves to have ever lived on a daily basis, and as it so happens, we have a truce to catch someone as well. Very likely, the same person you’re after. So try me. I doubt you could possibly top her,” Jonathan shrugged.

“.....I don’t really care about anyone’s opinion on my methods. As long as I didn’t harm them more than necessary then it’s fine, a line which I already crossed when my cover was blown.” The Hydreigon answered calmly, then he tugged his arm free. “...like I said, I don’t want to bother you or fight you. The two of us had someone to catch. Let’s go.”

“I’d like to be able to do that, but as it is now, I can’t,” Jonathan sighed. “As I said, your motive may be right, but your methods are wholly questionable. If I let you walk away, then I’ll be turning my back on the oath I swore to uphold as a police officer,” he said, as Heat jumped in Eric’s way. “You say you didn’t harm them more than necessary, yet you still endangered the very criminals you say you try to apprehend within reason. Getting smashed repeatedly in the face and dragged through the ground DEFINITELY counts as excessive force. So do us a favor, and come quietly. I promise you’ll get off easy if you explain.”

Eric stopped himself in his tracks, carefully watching the crossed-armed Combusken in front of him. “......you’re not going to let this go, officer?”

“Not a chance. Not unless I see proof that I should,” Jonathan said, his voice hard as steel.

No way out as far as he could say. He sighed in surrender, willing himself to avoid trouble unlike last time, lest he wanted to get chewed out by his mother or even putting Helen into more danger zones. “.....what do you want to know that I know about?”

Helen stared at Eric, now she really wondered if this is even the real one. The Eric she knew was by far unwilling to share information to those he didn’t trust. Either this one is an impostor, or...he had changed...somehow.

“Eric? Are you sure about this?” Helen questioned as herself surveyed the situation. It was four against one, her current wounded situation wasn’t exactly helping either. It made sense her trainer would choose this path.

“....I know that I’m acting out of place right now, but please Helen….” Looking at her straight in the eyes, he pleaded. “....trust me on this. The last thing I want is for us to get into more trouble.”

The voice that reached out to her was definitely his, it was unmistakable. She smiled and brushed a vine under his chin. “But of course, why wouldn’t I trust my dear trainer? Go get them, sweetie.”

With a nod, Eric turned to face the Lucario proper, fixing him with his best neutral look on his own. “...make it quick, I don’t want to waste time, not with my Serperior needing medical attention.”

“Alright then, let’s get started,” Jonathan nodded.

“Mind if I join in?” came another familiar voice as Fox suddenly appeared on a nearby ledge, her team behind her.

“...one moment, please,” Jonathan sighed, before turning to Fox. “Did you find anything?”

“Our target? No. But I did manage to thrash more of Medicine Bits’ shipments. Nobody’s gonna be taking part in those drugs...not after what we did to them,” Fox chuckled.

Eric wasn’t going to ask how, or why Fox was involved. He just resolved to let out an annoyed sigh while rubbing his head.

“Alright then,” Jonathan nodded, before turning back to Eric. “For starters, you can tell us what you’re doing here? Manehattan is pretty out of the way.”

That one….Eric couldn’t exactly answer straight, at least not the first part. “....I was here trying to look for something for my ailing dad. Then I got sidetracked momentarily when I rescued a police pony from some….’persuaders’. I learned this place from the cop then I wanted to check to see if it was as illegal as the pony said. It seems it was.” His mind was momentarily brought back to those crates inside the container Helen had cut in half with Leaf Blade.

“Alright. Fair enough,” Jonathan nodded.

“You seem pretty cooperative this time,” Fox mused, just a little suspicious. “Any particular reason why?”

“.....let’s just say, someone chided me for my…..methods.” Eric said cryptically. Twisting the truth as far as he could to prevent them catching on.

“...fair enough I suppose,” Fox shrugged. “And you’re right about this place being suspicious. the owner of this place, Medicine Bits is another crime lord, only one specializing in drugs. You’ve already seen the Pokemon zombies wandering around here. Well, that’s the end result of an overdose of her drugs, to cut a long story short.”

“We’re here to take Medicine Bits down, so we’ve agreed to an alliance of convenience,” Jonathan explained.

With that much knowledge on their fingertip, Eric connected the dots fast enough to send someone spinning. “....so that’s how the security was so tight…normally because to spend that much manpower guarding one place is inefficient. We were the bait for you two, huh?” His face was blank, carefully hiding his slight irritation.

“Nothing of the sort,” Fox waved off. “In my case, I just finished raiding the main factory when I found this secret passage to this place...right as you came barreling by. So yeah, call me opportunistic if you will,” she chuckled.

“...we had nothing to do with it,” Jonathan sweat dropped. “We were on a raid of our own, and had to fight through security when we ran into Fox.”

“....anything else? If not, then I have to do things right now, then bring my Serperior back for some medical treatment. Use me as a bait again if you want, but leave Helen out of this.”

“My, what are you talking about, we’re in this together.” Helen leaned her face closer again and rubbed her cheek against his. Eric lightly pushed her away, Helen made a disappointed ‘awww’

“Oh don’t worry, I don’t plan on making a habit out of it. Sides, its not like I made you do anything you weren’t already planning to do,” Fox waved off, a small part of her enjoying this...though the rest of her quickly squashed it.

“....then we’re done here. What I said is the truth, trust me or not is your call.” With one arm carefully hoisting Helen up, they made their way toward the crime lord’s perceived hold out : a cargo ship.

“You can go on ahead. Don’t worry, I’ll be joining you soon enough. After all, the show isn’t over yet,” Fox chuckled as she walked over towards Jonathan who was trying to get up.

“Geez, you really went overboard didn’t you with that raid you did before,” Fox chuckled lightly as she got to the Lucario. Noticing the wound on his leg she hadn’t noticed before, she frowned, and before he could say anything, ripped off a piece of her cape and used it to tie the wound. “So...do you think we can trust him?” she idly asked.

“Huh?” Jonathan blinked, before sighing. “Honestly, I don’t know. Heck, I barely get the guy. One moment he seems normal enough, and the next moment he can do some things that make me question his sensibility...or sanity.”

“Yeah...that team of his doesn’t help much either, huh?” she mused as she finished tying the wound. “Its a good thing you’re a Pokemon now, so this should heal in a day.”

“Yeah, that team of his makes me wonder too. But...I think we can trust him. It didn’t seem to me like he was lying,” Jonathan sighed before looking at his bandaged wound.

“True. I kept an eye on him, so either he’s a very good liar, or he’s telling the truth. I’m hoping its the latter,” Fox nodded as she got up to leave, but Jonathan stopped her.

“...why?” Jonathan couldn’t help but ask. It seemed odd for him to do it now, but for some reason, he felt that this was the best time. “Why do all this Fox? People may think you’re a criminal, but I can tell you’re no simple crook. You’ve done good before, heck, you’ve saved lives before, so why? Why waste your talent by being a thief? You could have been much more than this…”

Fox on her side stopped for a bit, then sighed. “We all have our own paths, our own choices to make. I became Fox of my own choice and free will, and I don’t regret it,” she said with finality. “Now come on, the Hy...Eric, will need our help.” And with that, the two teams followed after the Hydreigon. However, as Jonathan’s injury made his movements a little slower, they were quickly left behind by said Hydreigon. However, they kept going. Eventually they followed him to another large room, an area where cargo was kept, and found Eric and Helen staring down a mob of zombie Pokemon. Seeing that, Fox and Jonathan looked at each other and nodded.

The incoming wave of brainwashed Pokemon jumped at them like a moth drawn to a flame.

However, before they could do anything, several attacks shot through the air, and hit them, knocking them all back.

“Sorry we’re late. We took a wrong turn to where the party was,” came Fox’s voice.

Turning to the source of the sound, Eric saw Fox and Jonathan (the Zoroark helping the Lucario stand due to the wound on his leg), and both their teams.

“Looks like you guys could use a hand,” Jonathan chuckled as they eyed the assortment of zombie Pokemon and Ponies.

The former human nodded. No one is getting in or out now. “...Helen, can you manage?”

“I (cough) might be able to.” Just seeing her head bowed low was enough to trigger Eric’s worry.

“Here’s a better idea. Take a breather,” Fox said as she and Jonathan’s team stepped forward. “Alright everyone, let’s do some crowd control. Area attacks again!”

“You got it!” they all grinned, before a wide array of attacks were fired, hitting a large number of opponents, blowing them all away. However, unsurprisingly they got back up.

“Tch. There’s got to be a way to stop them from constantly getting back up,” Jonathan grunted. “Do you think we can use those web bombs of yours?”

“I didn’t carry enough. And they can only hold so much before they break eventually,” Fox said, as both of them jumped out of the way of a few stray attacks.

While this was going on, the rest of their team was wiping the floor with the zombies. “Sorry for the headache,” Howl said, before blasting several of the Pokemon with Dark Pulse.

“Just try to keep it to a minimum!” Heat added, before hitting several of them with Rock Smash on the head, knocking them out instantly.

“They’ll feel this in the morning,” Echo chuckled as she fired a concentrated Supersonic.

During the general chaos of the situation, Eric kept a solid survey of the situation with his back planted close to Helen who assisted. So far, they had no need to act, because their impromptu allies had assisted them in their defense.

“Get down!”

Duck he did, just close enough to let a Hyper Beam pass by and graze his head by mere inches. Before he could celebrate his successful dodge, he traced the beam to a new target.

His entire world seems to slow down as he came to full realization where the beam headed towards.

“Stupid Pokemon and stupid thief. Ruining everything I worked for.” Medicine Bits incessant grumbling was unheard in the chaos. She had made sure to slink away from the bridge and across the ship toward safety while her buffoons of pony power will keep them busy.

A flash to her right dashed the hope from her, turning toward the source, a bright beam was heading toward her. Nothing in her long line of preparation could prepare her for this. She decided to cover her face and braced.

A slight draft of wind, and an explosion is heard, kicking up dust.

Was she dead? She could still feel her five senses, which means she’s still alive and kicking. Opening her eyes and uncovering her face from her own hooves, she nearly tripped backward when there is yet one of the more scarier Pokemon was in front of her.

Before she could scream her heads off, he fell forward, smoke rising from a spot on his back.

The fighting was pretty intense, as while the zombies had no coordination, it made them all the more unpredictable. However, the two teams had plenty of experience with situations like this, and as such, were adapting quickly. Fox on the other hand, upon seeing the army of zombies, was quick to run to a safe spot, Jonathan with her, as his leg wouldn’t have let him be nearly as effective as he needed in a fight zone like this. As such, the two of them decided to focus on directing their teams in the fight.

“Leaf Storm to your right, cover Heat’s back!” Alice ordered.

“Roar! Keep them off of Liepard!” Jonathan ordered as well.

Once again, the irony of the fact that the two ‘enemies’ made an incredible combination was not lost to them, but they ignored it in favor of winning the battle. A good thing too, as Fox noticed one of the zombies, a Kingler, was about to fire a Hyper Beam...one aimed right for Eric’s head.

“Get down!!!” Fox shouted towards Eric. Fortunately she was in time, as the Hydreigon ducked, much to her relief. However, it was at this point that they realized the Hyper Beam had a new target: Medicine Bits.

“...karma is a bitch,” Jonathan couldn’t help but say, finding it oddly appropriate that Medicine Bits was about to die at the hands of one of her victims.

“Rest in peace,” Fox offered as a sign of respect, as the Hyper Beam was upon the mare. What happened next surprised them. Eric had jumped, and placed himself between Medicine Bits and the attack.

“Wait, what?!” the two gasped in shock as the Hydreigon somehow forced himself to get in the way of the attack, before visibly wincing when the attack struck...HARD.

Medicine Bits didn’t know how to react, here it is one Pokemon went into the way of the beam that was supposed to struck her. A groan caught her attention, looking at the downed Pokemon, he is still conscious.

Nonetheless, she wasn’t one to waste opportunity. She grinned at the Pokemon’s stupidity. “Idiot. But thanks for being my idiot for the moment!”

However, when she turned to run, she suddenly found she couldn’t. Looking down, her eyes widened at the sight of the thick coating of webs now covering her hooves.

“My my, got caught in a sticky situation, have we?” came a voice that purred dangerously close to her.

That voice caught the mare’s attention, her mind told her not to look, yet she did it anyway and looked up. That prove to be a mistake once her eyes made contact with a pair of blood-red slitted ones, her body, even with every effort she put into it, refused to follow the brain’s command to move.

“Care to repeat what you just said to my precious trainer, you ungrateful bitch?” The venom in Helen’s voice was enough to melt steel, all injuries forgotten momentarily.

Likewise, the two other teams who were approaching backed off a bit, yet one thought was shared. “Dead mare in 10 seconds” they mentally gulped, and decided wisely to stay out of the way.

“I will check my trainer, do keep yourself in place. If there so much as a single hair is gone from his face….” Helen licked her lips to ensure the implication sink in. “....I’ll make sure that you will go through your worst fear!”

“....s...stop.” Eric’s voice surprised the Serperior.

Glancing behind her, she found herself relieved that her handsome trainer got back up although it was obvious he was in pain. She moved herself to help when he nearly doubled over.

Once a vine is secure around his shoulder, she asked. “Oh dear, are you okay?”

“.....I’m….fine, don’t worry about me. What about you?”

“You’re still you as always, worrying about myself instead of yourself.” She made sure to peck his cheek as a token of gratefulness. “Thank you for caring.”

While the exchange was happening, both Fox and Jonathan stared in well...they honestly didn’t know WHAT to think really. The guy they had pegged for a borderline psycho had just dove in the way of a potentially fatal attack for a mare who had no qualms of using illegal substances to reduce sentient beings to mindless slaves. Then said mare (as expected) spits on the gesture, and he STILL stopped his Serperior, even worrying about her when he’s the one who looks ready to keel over and die. This was too much for them at the moment, and gave them something to think about...later. Right now they had a crime lord to arrest.

“Medicine Bits. For production and sale of illegal substances, illegal use of said substance, and enslavement of sentient beings, you’re hereby under arrest,” Jonathan stated as he grabbed her hooves, and ripped them off the webbing, before looping them over her back, and cuffing her. “You have the right to remain silent, and everything you say will be used against you in court....and don’t bother denying it. We both have undeniable proof,” he added, looking towards Fox, who shrugged before handing over the evidence she had gathered.

“Make sure not only the local police get that, kay? If I were you, I’d send it to Fillydelphia, somewhere she DOESN’T have her hooks in,” Fox stated.

“....where are you going?” Eric breathed in air that has been expelled from his lungs with discomfort.

“Don’t cha know? I’m not done yet,” Fox chuckled, before throwing down a smoke bomb, and when it cleared, her team and her were gone.

“Gah! Dammit Fox! Come back here!” Jonathan growled as he chased after her...with a limp, but not before mashing Medicine Bits into the webs again, this time making her FACE get stuck in the webs.

Seeing the mare was in need of help, he floated over and roughly pulled her out before looking over at the cop. Eric wanted to mention about the Dodge City clue, but kept it to himself anyway. They still didn’t give him much reason to trust them nor proof it otherwise.

“....let’s go….we’re done here, Helen. Be careful not to aggravate your injuries. If there’s anything wrong, tell me, alright?” The mare protested as the Hydreigon dragged her by the back of her shirt collar, shouting protest along the way.

The pain had returned once the adrenaline had worn off, but Helen had enough strength to slither. “But of course (cough), sweetie.”

Meanwhile, Fox had already found what she was looking for, another office in the bridge of the cargo ship, and true enough, it was the one where her target was stashed. By the time Jonathan got to the room, she already had the statue in her hands.

“S-stop right there!” Jonathan huffed, his injured leg dragging him down.

“You really shouldn’t push yourself like that,” she said.

“Not like you’re giving me much of a choice,” Jonathan grunted.

At his words, Fox frowned slightly, before looking at the statue, and before Jonathan could react, she lifted the statue...and smashed it to the ground, revealing what looked like a small scroll inside. “...there. This show is over,” Fox smiled slightly, before she and her team jumped away towards the nearby window.

“W-Wait! Fox! Why did you…?” Jonathan sputtered, honestly surprised at her actions.

“We may be on opposite sides of the law, Jonathan, but I’ve never once thought of you as my enemy. I quite enjoy our...rivalry you could say, and I’d hate for you to push yourself more than you’ve already done,” was Fox’s answer, her voice sincere as she and her team soon vanished into the night, leaving the surprised group of cops.

“...well...guess all the times she’s been playful with you really were that,” Howl blinked, honestly not sure what else to say.

Jonathan for his part didn’t know what to say, and instead just wordlessly picked up the scroll that had been hidden in the statue. Honestly, this night had gotten to the point he didn’t know WHAT to think anymore.

Jonathan sighed as he and his team walked back to where he left Medicine Bits. However, when they got there, they stopped short when they noticed she was gone. “...Eric,” Jonathan sighed, having a good idea who probably took her. “Come on guys, let’s get going. We’ve got a vigilante to catch up to,” he sighed tiredly, his leg still giving him hell.

The group made their way to the exist, the guards either still unconscious, or having cleared out when the fighting started, no doubt wanting to save their own necks. What they didn’t expect was to find the Hydreigon standing at the entrance.

“....looking for her?” The Hydreigon nonchalantly asked, throwing the mare on his arm onto Jonathan’s feet. “....you’re the cop. Take care of her.”

Jonathan just picked up Medicine Bits, completely ignoring her protests since frankly, he didn’t give a damn about what she had to say at this point. “Any particular reason you didn’t just do it like you did with Grumble?”

“.....because there weren’t any cops around the area. I’m not a cop, dragging around a mare in front of everyone in the city that never sleeps is bound to give me more trouble. You’re a cop, you can go drag an innocent-looking civilian and no one will bother you, simply saying it’s police business.” Eric explained in detail.

“...I’m not THAT blunt normally, but fair enough,” Jonathan sighed, before hefting Medicine Bits over his shoulder. “And I’ve decided that we’re not turning her into the police...at least not in this city...” he sighed as he started walking away...but not before knocking Medicine Bits out with a quick strike to the back of her head. “The last thing I need right now is you making a scene,” Jonathan grumbled. This was why he hated playing vigilante.

With his job is done, he turned. “....then we’re done here. Let’s go, Helen. I’m going to look that wound of yours.” He flicked his head toward the exit then made his way toward it.

Helen was in agreement, but not without a few parting words. “See you later handsome! Take (cough) care.” She slithered to join her trainer.

“...wait. You seem really interested in stopping criminals and the like,” Jonathan sighed, a small part of him wondering why he was bothering. “But why are you doing it this way? There are plenty of more legal ways to do what you do.”

“....do I need a reason to do the right thing?” Eric’s back was still onto them, not bothering to glance behind him.

“No, but I think it helps to do it in a way that doesn’t make you look crazy,” Heat deadpanned.

“Oh, but that is just the part of his charm. Strong, silent type.” Helen pushed herself into Eric’s comfort zone again, only for him to gently push her away.

“.....what she means to say, is that I always thought….cops are just either too incompetent or are just too much of a glory hound or…..too corrupt to care. So….I don’t really bother dealing with the law…sometimes they just got in the way. And there are only a few people you could trust who are working with the law.” Right now, Eric was staring at them over his shoulder to watch their reaction.

The four of them looked at each other, then shrugged as they walked away. It was clear to them Eric wouldn’t change his mind, and who were they to force him. So with that they agreed to leave him alone. After all, they had a bigger fish to fry.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Another crossover done, and another encounter with Eric the Hydreigon.

Enjoy

Nineteenth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Nineteenth Heist

Opening theme:

Alice sighed as she lay against the bark of the tree as she sat on a thick branch, looking up at the sky. Ever since the heist ended, she couldn’t stop thinking back to what Jonathan had asked her, or rather, Fox. “The reason why I’m still Fox…” she thought. The answered seemed so obvious back when she first decided to become Fox again, and she still believed it. Yet somehow, Jonathan’s question bothered her to no end.

“Something on your mind?” Shade asked as she climbed up on a the branch next to her.

“...something like that,” she sighed.

Shade quirked an eyebrow, before her face gained a knowing smile. “Its Jonathan, isn’t it?”

Alice’s eyes widened for a moment, before they relaxed again, yet she said nothing, which to Shade, only confirmed her guess. “Honestly girl...how long are you going to dance around the issue? We both know why he has such an effect on you,” Shade chuckled.

Unknown to them, Toichi had decided to check on them, but when he heard them talking, for some reason he decided to stay back and listen. However, Shade’s words made him VERY curious. He always knew Alice seemed oddly...fond of that cop who keeps chasing her, but now it seemed like it was more than just fondness...and he wanted to know why.

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one dealing with it,” Alice grumbled as she sat up, before looking towards Manehattan, her eyes gaining a far away look. She remained like that for a moment before sighing. “You can come out now, Toichi. I’m not a master thief for nothing, you know.”

“Sorry…” the colt said, a sheepish smile on his face at being found out. “I guess I was just curious. Why do you think about that officer so much?” he asked innocently.

Alice sighed at the question, but smiled slightly. “I kinda figured you’d ask that…” she chuckled lightly, before looking up at the sky again. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tell you...my...connection with that officer, Jonathan…” she said.

Meanwhile, another group was having a similar scene…

“...Trixie is curious,” Trixie started as she looked at Jonathan who was currently lying on the roof of the wagon.

“About what?” Heat asked.

“Trixie has noticed that Jonathan often looks at that bracelet on his arm when he has nothing else to do. Why is that? Trixie is curious as to why that bracelet is so important to him,” she explained.

“Ah that. Yeah, that was before he met any of us. All we know is that it's very precious to him, seeing as Alice gave it to him,” Howl nodded.

“Alice?” Trixie asked in surprise.

“And that is something you probably should ask him yourself,” Echo chuckled as they walked away, leaving Trixie to blink in curiosity, before she took their advice.

After explaining it to him, he gained an almost nostalgic look. “This bracelet, huh?” he smiled. “Yeah, it was a gift...and a promise…” he started as he began to tell his tale.

As the two former humans started to tell their tale, without realizing it the two began to weave a single overall tale.

“My connection to him starts with my ancestors…” Alice started. “As you know, for generations my family has been the identity behind the mask of ‘Phantom Thief Fox’. I don’t think I ever told you my full name. I’m Alice Maximilion, the 21st Phantom Thief Fox.”

“Just as Fox has been around for generations, my family has spent just as long chasing after them,” Jonathan started. “No matter where, if a Fox was active, you could bet a Trace was chasing after them, and I’m the latest in the long line.”

“But this time...there was something a bit different than normal,” Alice sighed. “Normally a Fox and a Trace would never meet before they continued the...tradition, but this time...it didn’t go that way.”

“This time I had a met someone who I honestly can’t stop thinking of, even more than Fox,” Jonathan sighed.

“That cop, Jonathan Trace…” Alice started.

“Alice Maximilion…” Jonathan started.

“Was...is, my childhood friend...and my best friend too,” they both said, a small smile on their faces.

“We were born in Hoenn, and in an odd twist, happened to live not far away from each other,” Alice explained. “I met him by chance when I was 4. I still remember seeing him climb up a tree trying to help a Taillow that fell out of its nest,” she chuckled at the memory.

“You know how sometimes you bump into someone and end up befriending them? Well...let’s just say I fell on her this time,” Jonathan chuckled lightly. “She was an interesting girl, curious, playful, and we hit it off pretty well.”

“It wasn’t long before we became friends, and soon we were best friends,” Alice said a warm smile on her face at the memory. “But...those days didn’t last…” she sighed.

“We were able to just have fun and play together for 5 years till we were 9...then my dad got a promotion and a transfer. We had to move to Kalos shortly after,” Jonathan sighed. “The day we left, Alice gave me this bracelet. It wasn’t just a gift though...it was a mark of our promise together…” he smiled.

“Our promise that no matter what, we’d never forget each other, that we’d always be friends, and more importantly, that we’d meet each other again some day,” Alice remembered, a small tear falling from her eye.

“5 years passed after that…” they both said.

“During the time, I decided that I wanted to inherit my father’s title, and for a few years, he trained me to be the next Phantom Thief Fox, while at the same time, I found Shade during the time, as well as met Charlotte and Spinner,” Alice nodded, remembering her training. It was harsh at times, but she knew her father did it with every intention of keeping her safe, and he succeeded that’s for sure.

“I applied for a trainer license not long after we started living in Kalos, and eventually got Heat as my starter. We met Howl a few months later while I was on my journey. But after I got my fifth badge, I decided to follow in my parents’ footsteps and joined the police when I was 11, and I passed my training when I was 12,” Jonathan smiled at the memory. “2 more years passed, with Echo joining the team along the way, and one day, the station got a notice. One I was expecting to happen eventually. It was a notice from Fox. I still remember the police scrambling to the scene, ready for him. But when Fox appeared, boy were we surprised to see a woman rather than a man, since it turned out the previous Fox had already passed down his title to his successor. As you can guess, she got away,” he smiled wryly at the end, before it turned into a genuine smile. “But it wasn’t all bad. The next day, when I was going to work, I was...surprised when someone suddenly covered my eyes, but when the voice asked me to guess who it was…” he smiled warmly remembering that moment. “It was Alice. After work, I met up with her at the park, and we talked.”

“I had decided to be a researcher after I finished my training, and I managed to get a scholarship at Anistar University in Kalos. But of course, like any good member of the legacy, I didn’t want to just fly into Kalos and live like anyone else, I wanted to say hello to my new home, the Fox way,” Alice chuckled at the end. “You wouldn’t imagine my surprise when on my first heist, Jonathan was there. After that, I made it a habit to come visit him when I could, we often talked over lunch or when he was in the park to clear his head. Life was great for the most part. Sure we couldn’t play like we used to, but in the end I was happy that we could fulfill our promise of meeting each other again,” Alice smiled, a few tears falling from her eyes, her face gaining a look of nostalgia despite it not being so long ago.

“And that promise hasn’t changed,” Jonathan affirmed. “We made a promise and I intend to keep it. I WILL find her again,” he stated with conviction.

When the two finished their respective tales, their audience could only look in wonder. For Trixie, she honestly couldn’t help but admire how loyal Jonathan was to his friend, though after hearing that story, she could tell he saw her as more than a friend, even if it looked like he himself didn’t realize it. So with a nod, she walked away, happy that she had a chance to understand her friend a bit more.

Toichi on the other hand, was a mixture of intrigued...and confused. “But Ms. Fox...if he’s your best friend...why doesn’t he…?” he tried to word it carefully, but Alice could already tell what he was thinking.

“Why doesn’t he know?” she sighed. “That’s easy. I didn’t want him to know. I guess I was...just too afraid to tell him…” she sighed.

Toichi thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. You wouldn’t want to lose him as a friend,” he nodded, while Shade facepalmed on the side, as once again her trainer completely missed the REAL reason why she’s like this, but decided to leave it be for now.

“They really ARE made for each other,” she sweat dropped. “They’re both utterly clueless,” she sighed remembering how everyone BUT Alice and Jonathan could see how they really felt about each other.

A few hours later, Jonathan and Co. entered the guard station in Fillydelphia, a squirming burlap sack with them. When the chief questioned them on the sack, they opened it, revealing the currently hog tied and gagged Medicine Bits, before presenting all the evidence they had on her. When the Guard Captain saw it, he all but grabbed the evidence, and after a quick processing, was shaking their paws so much they felt like their arms were about to come off. Needless to say, the Guard Captain was VERY pleased when they could take Medicine Bits away, said mare glaring at Jonathan and Co. with enough heat to dry a riverbed. Not that it mattered, they had enough evidence to make sure she would stay locked up for a loooong time.

“Now what?” Echo asked as they left the guard station. “The normal, we go after Fox,” Jonathan sighed.

“Yeah, but where do we go after this? We kinda left her behind in Manehattan, and by now she’d be gone,” Howl sighed.

“Maybe, but…” Jonathan pulled out the map. “The next big city she hasn’t been to is...Canterlot,” he said.

“Wait...isn’t that?” Echo blinked.

“The capital of Equestria? Yep. And do you really think Fox could resist making a statement by stealing from the very heart of Equestria?” Jonathan chuckled. “No, if anything, she’s aiming to bet it all, and if she succeeds, she’s basically cementing herself as one of, if not THE best Thief in Equestria, to be able to steal stuff from under the noses of royalty.”

“...Alice, I have to say this straight,” Sleight sighed. “This is the most INSANE plan you’ve cooked up yet!”

“I have to agree,” Storm nodded. “Are you seriously planning on stealing the Crown Jewels, from the castle, under the PRINCESS’ noses at that?!”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Alice nodded.

“...I worry about your state of mind sometimes…” Sleight deadpanned in response, before sighing. “Alright, what kind of ‘miracle’ is Fox about to pull this time?”

“I have a few ideas, but first, we’ll need to plan it out a little,” Alice chuckled. “Looks like we’re gonna be paying the castle a few visits first.” And with that, they gathered around to plan their heist and its preparations. This was easily going to be the biggest heist they’ve pulled in Equestria, and they were NOT about to screw it up.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Another interlude chapter. Now we know the full history behind Alice and Jonathan's friendship.

The chapter was shorter than I expected, but there was no point in forcing it to be longer than necessary

Twentieth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Twentieth Heist

Opening theme:

The next day, Alice got up bright and early as she walked out of the hotel they were staying in. “Ready everyone?” she asked, as Shade walked after her, Charlotte and Spinner on her back.

“Anytime,” she grinned.

“Let’s go then,” she chuckled as she cloaked herself in an illusion, seemingly transforming into an Earth Pony with a blue coat and a brown mane, with a Cutie Mark depicting a cavalier hat behind a misty veil.

“Alright then, Misty Night,” Shade chuckled, remembering the name they had come up with to use while scouting for info.

It wasn’t long before they were exactly where they wanted. Amongst a tour group. Inside of Canterlot Castle.

Alice, or rather, Misty Night, half-listened as the tour guide droned on about the history of the castle. It was very clear to her that this group must have had bad luck to get a guide who was about as lively as a Metapod. Scratch that. Metapods were more lively than this. However, like any good Fox, she made sure to make full use of this, as with the guide AND the tour group utterly bored, it was easy for her to sneak glances and looks, committing key locations and guard points that she saw to memory. And naturally, being in a tour group worked as well as she expected, as any guards who might have noticed her simply chalked her up to being curious about the castle...and after they heard the tour guide drone on, some even offered her a look of sympathy.

Alice offered a polite wave/nod each time a guard noticed her, putting up the meek facade she often used as a civilian. However, even with things going so good so far, she was still on guard. The World Summit that had been held in the castle had only just ended about a day or two ago, meaning there could very well still be more than just the normal guards remaining. On top of that, the biggest issue she was worried about was the Legendary currently living in the castle.

That thought quickly went to the side, as she found an opening, and with a few quick gestures, Charlotte and Spinner crawled up the wall, and settled on the ceiling, before the two Spinarak got to work. Scurrying across the ceiling, they were searching around for their real target, while also taking note of any notable locations or points. However, remembering that there was someone they wanted to keep an eye out for, they made sure to keep their conscious thoughts geared towards the idea of ‘finding a home’, which hopefully would be enough to trick Mewtwo, if they passed him, into thinking they were just a pair of normal Spinaraks looking for a nice home.

Back with the tour group, Shade and Alice were both giving their best impressions of bored out of their minds...which wasn’t hard at all considering the Tour Guide was now droning on about some statues lining the hall. However, what they were really doing is taking note of the guards patrolling the halls, keeping track of their movements, and memorizing any points where the guards switch. Along the way, Alice would ask an odd misleading question every now and then, like why the guards looked the same, or if there were any known passages in the castle, making sure to ask in the tone of a curious person who simply wanted to know for the sake of knowing. It paid off, since it turns out, there were a couple of passages, though they didn’t really lead anywhere important, and more importantly, she found that the guards’ looked identical since the armor they wore had a special enchantment, making them literally look like an army of identical mooks.

The tour continued on relatively uneventfully...until Shade noticed a certain legendary coming their way. Acting quickly, the two focused on the Tour Guide’s explanation...and gave in to the mind numbing boredom that it was causing.

True enough, as Mewtwo floated by, he spared a glance at the tour group...and he actually mentally winced in sympathy. Even without reaching out, he could already FEEL the sheer boredom the tour group was giving off, and decided he had better things to do right now, and quickly left. Had he stayed a few more seconds longer, he might have heard the mental whisper of ‘sucker’ coming from the Tour Group.

Several hours passed, and before long the tour was over. When that was done, Alice and Shade quickly ducked into a corner, Alice dropping her ‘Misty Night’ guise, just as Charlotte and Spinner crawled along the wall.

“Did you find it?” Alice asked, earning a nod from the two Spinaraks.

“We-”

“-also left-”

“-a trail of breadcrumbs for you,” they said.

Alice nodded. “Perfect. Initial infiltration, successful,” she grinned, as they quickly headed back to the hotel.

“So the first step went without a hitch?” Rascal grinned.

“Yep, that tour worked like a charm. And the boring guide made it even better camouflage,” Shade chuckled.

“Well, if the guide was as boring as you say it was, then I can imagine how it would keep people out of your heads,” Sleight couldn’t help but sweatdrop as he and Storm listened.

“Now now you two, we’re not out of the woods yet. We still need to scout out the area at night,” Alice chidded.

“Right. So when do we do it?” Shade asked.

“Why, I think we ought to do it tonight,” Alice said without missing a beat.

“Eh?!” Sleight and Storm blanched. “But didn’t you just scout it out just now?”

“In the middle of a tour group. We only got to see the public sections of the castle, but none of the deeper areas. Charlotte and Spinner were able to locate the vault, but it would be better if I saw it for myself,” Alice started. “Furthermore, when the heist happens, we won’t have the luxury of cover, so its better we get a feel for it now.”

The old couple stared at her in disbelief, while her team just grinned. “Well, what are we waiting for?” Rascal grinned.

“Night time. Its still the middle of the day,” Alice deadpanned, before walking towards her bed. “Now in the meantime, I think I’ll get a bit more sleep,” she yawned. “Being a Fox is murder on the internal clock,” she sighed.

The night was quiet as sleep fell over the citizens of Canterlot, as only the gentle chirping of crickets could be heard. Likewise, in Canterlot castle, it was nearly completely quiet as only the guards were actually still awake, Celestia having gone to rest for the night, Luna off doing her duties in the dreamscape, and Discord...well, nobody actually knew WHAT he was up to...and none of the guards really cared to find out. As such, the night guards were keeping watch...even if they didn’t actually expect to see anything in particular. Too bad too, cause for once, something WAS happening.

Moving quickly, Fox easily darted from shadow to shadow, using the surrounding foliage as cover. Shortly after waking up, she had found that she had enough time for a quick stroll, which she did...and had gotten some more basic info on the castle from a few passing locals, adding to the info she had from the tour. As such, she knew that there were 2 sets of guards depending on the day, just as there were 2 Princesses that governed day and night. It helped too that some ponies seemed to see the Princesses as goddesses of sorts, and were more than happy to tell of their greatness. Of course, instead of making her chuckle, the stories brought a small smile to her face. “Equestria is certainly lucky to have such kind rulers,” she mentally mused. It almost made her feel bad for the trouble she was going to cause them. Almost, since she fully intended to make this into a statement.

Quickly ducking behind some cover, Fox made sure to keep an eye on the guards. Seeing an opening, she quickly darted past them, and leaped over the gate in a single fluid motion.

“Did you hear something?” one of the guards asked. The others looked around, and seeing nothing shrugged, before resuming their paths.

Fox lightly chuckled to herself at the close call, before resuming her path, and quickly sneaked into the castle. “I trust you didn’t find any issues sneaking in?” she chuckled.

“You kidding? These guys may be more alert than the other guys we’ve dealt with, but they’re still full of holes. And one hole is all that the Fox gang needs,” Rascal grinned as he stepped out of the shadows.

“Now then, shall we get going?” Fox chuckled, to which they both proceeded to move through the castle.

As expected, the guards had been shifted to the Night Guards, most of which consisted of Thestrals, or Bat-ponies as most liked to call them. They were about to pass a corner, when Fox suddenly held her arm out, stopping Rascal. “Something wrong?” he asked.

“Careful. I’m pretty sure Thestrals have better night vision than ponies. Shadows will only give us a limited amount of cover like this,” she said.

“Ah. Gotcha. Good thing the same can be said for us Dark-types,” Rascal nodded.

Fortunately, this didn’t prove to be too much of an issue. While the Night Guards did nullify some of their stealth, the guards still followed a formation that was mostly similar to the Solar Guards, giving them openings to slip through, and since at this time, most of the castle was asleep, and with with Princess Luna busy doing her duties, meant that there were few to no real obstacles in their way. However, one obstacle was the hallway leading towards the vault, with two guards standing watch at the entrance.

However, she already anticipated that. Taking out an item that looked like a web bomb, only light blue in color, she quickly clapped her paws around it, causing it to burst, and coating her paws in a sticky substance. Behind her, Rascal did the same. Nodding to each other, they quickly pressed their paws against the wall...and began to climb, the substance providing them with enough traction to scale the walls nearly silently. This of course presented a small problem, as they couldn’t exactly move fast, but if they took too long, they ran the risk of being found out too. As such, they had to time it well, inching closer to the entrance, they waited right as the guards looked away, and quickly went in, the sound catching their attention, yet when they turned, they saw nothing, making them shrug before resuming their posts.

“That was close,” Fox sighed slightly as they walked towards the vault. “Huh, so it really is practically impenetrable,” she mused as she lightly examined it. No key or dial for her to manipulate was present, and from the looks of it, there was no small opening for her to use. And when she used the glasses she got from Toichi, the amount of magic the door was giving off forced her to pull the glasses off before the light blinded her. “Okay...we...might have bitten off more than we can chew with this,” she admitted.

“Eh, we knew this wasn’t gonna be easy, so nothing new there,” Rascal shrugged.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Alice chuckled, as they quickly began looking around for openings. That’s when Alice remembered something. Putting on the glasses again, she winced at how bright the vault door looked...when she realized something. Only door itself gave off the bright aura. Everything else? Nothing. “Well well, what do you know, looks like they only enchanted the vault door itself, but nothing else.”

“Oh? Well then, I think we can exploit that,” Rascal grinned as he pulled out a calling card. However, Fox stopped him.

“Wait. Its too soon for that,” Alice stated.

“Then when?” he asked.

“Soon. We need to formulate a proper plan before we can do that. In the meantime, let’s get out of here first,” she said, before moving towards a nearby room that seemed to lead to a dead end. When she looked up at the entrance to the room, she smiled at the confirmation of a Spinarak web with a small jewel on it. Walking towards one of the suits of armor she grabbed hold, and turned the head around, causing a passageway to open. “Its a good thing Spinner likes zipping around with those webs of his. Otherwise he would never have found this passage,” Fox chuckled as they made their exit. Taking the passage, they soon came out in another room, one not far from one of the doors of the castle, and soon they were out of Canterlot Castle, and making their way back to the hotel.

The next few days passed by quickly. After the successful infiltration, the Fox Gang spent the next few days going over plans and details for their heist. Needless to say, this was their most dangerous attempt yet, particularly due to the presence of 4 Legendary class opponents in Canterlot Castle. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that for once, Alice was more focused on making as many contingency plans as she could rather than actually succeeding in the heist. One of the main issues though was the fact that they couldn’t easily breach the vault. However, the revelation that only the door was impenetrable gave rise to other possibilities, such as the use of a drill or something to get into the vault and steal the jewels from the inside. Before long, nearly a week passed and the Fox gang was as ready as ever for the heist. Making up their minds, a quick second infiltration into the castle was done, only this time Fox was sure to leave her notice. On the vault door itself.

Jonathan sighed as he and his team finally made it to Canterlot. The last few days had been spent making sure all loose ends regarding Medicine Bits were tied up. It was getting to the point where Jonathan was all but ready to start ripping hairs out of his head, when some idiots from Manehattan were still trying to get Medicine Bits off the hook. It was a good thing though that they had ended up getting the same sentence as her on accounts of being accomplices, or he’d probably have grabbed them and punched them so hard, they’d live the rest of their lives on the moon.

But that was a while ago, and now he honestly wanted nothing more than to put the issue behind him and move on. He had a thief to catch after all, and if he was honest with himself. He’d rather spend his nights chasing after Fox than having to deal with all the politics in the office.

“Nice place they got here,” Echo couldn’t help but comment.

“Well, it IS the capital city,” Jonathan pointed out with a chuckle. “Come on, let’s find a place to stay for the night first. We can worry about Fox tomorrow.”

“Right,” the others nodded in agreement.

Alice yawned as she woke up. Today was the day. All their time planning, preparing, and gathering information would all come to a head at the end of the day, so all that was left was to mentally prepare for the heist. Looking out the window, she noticed that it was still pretty early in the day, before she decided to go out for a bit. There weren’t many Ponies or Pokemon up yet, but despite that, she quickly put up the illusion of her being a pony. It might have just been her being paranoid, but considering she was about to pull one of the biggest heists ever, she felt the less people might connect to her, the better. The morning stroll was relaxing and helped her greatly. She soon passed a cafe called ‘The Daily Grind’, and noticing the enjoyable smells coming from within, decided that breakfast was in order.

“Welcome!” came the voice of the mare who apparently ran the restaurant, who fittingly enough, was named Mocha. “What can I get you?” she asked.

Looking at the menu, Alice nodded. “A cup of coffee sounds good for now,” she said.

“Coming right up,” Mocha smiled. “Oh, and sorry, but since I’m still cleaning up front, could you please take a seat in the back?”

“Of course,” Alice nodded as she went and took a seat. Shortly after, the coffee came while she browsed the food menu, and took a sip, sighing in enjoyment at the taste. She continued to browse for a moment, not too sure what she wanted to eat when she noticed another customer come in. A Luxray. A rather large Luxray at that. He seemed to chat with Mocha a little, and apparently his name is Seth. Like with her, Mocha asked him to take a seat in the back since she wasn’t done cleaning, so it wasn’t long before he got a seat that happened to be right behind hers.

“Phew, note to self, run more often,” he said as he got comfortable, before adding, “I certainly hope things calm down at least, the last thing I need is another incident like the last.”

At his choice of words, she inwardly chuckled at that, and for some reason, she decided to answer to it. “And now that you said it, it’ll probably happen,” she said, catching his attention. “Murphy’s law and all that.”

Seth turned around at her voice. “I suppose I just did, it’s somewhat of a habit of mine,” he chuckled. “Oh, my name is Seth Crescent, might I have yours?”

When he introduced himself it all came into place for her. It explained why the name sounded familiar. Seth Alexi Crescent. A rather well known name in both the public community, as well as the criminal underground. He is, or rather WAS a well known Pokemon rights speaker, particularly in the area of human/Pokemon relationships. Honestly, she only vaguely kept up to date about him back on Earth, especially after he seemed to get arrested every week, while also being charged with numerous charges that anyone with half a brain could tell were false charges, and utterly bogus, to the point she had once face palmed at the sheer stupidity of the law enforcers at times. Not only that, but his arguments were that of common sense, yet the public seemed so set in their ways, it was ridiculous...honestly not that different from her own research really. With that in mind, she decided she’d be a little honest with him. He seemed like a nice guy after all. “Alice,” she simply said. “And I’ve heard of you. Didn’t expect to see another former human here,” she said, smiling slightly.

“Another?” Seth blinked at this information, no doubt surprised by her choice of words. “Um... you’re a human too? But you’re a pony.”

At his words, she dropped the illusion, shedding the image of a pony, and revealing her real form. “I prefer it when ponies don’t stare,” she half-lied.

“Understandable,” Seth nodded, not suspecting anything at all.

“So Mr. Crescent, how is Equus treating you? Better than Earth I hope, considering humanity is more or less extinct...physically at least,” she asked, as she took a sip of her coffee.

“That’s a morbid way of looking at it Miss Alice,” Seth replied with a dry tone. “But yes, certain things have gone well, but I suppose a new set of problems simply replaced the old ones a the same time.”

“Considering what our ancestors pulled on Arceus and the other Legendaries, and not to mention the crap the bad parts of humanity have done over the years, I personally think humanity got off easy,” she shrugged. “As for problems, it's unavoidable. Especially since Arceus seems to have good intentions, but...well...he doesn’t think things through if this exodus was any indication,” she chuckled at that.

“Perhaps he lost his ‘Performing a Rapture’ instruction book?” Seth laughed. “Still, I am glad for one thing in particular. That those who could not find love in the old world, can finally have it in this new one.”

At his statement, Alice laughed cutely. “Maybe someone should write him a book called ‘Raptures for Dummies’, in case he tries again. As for love...I’m glad for them too. That was one law that I think went a BIT too far,” she chuckled.

“Understatement of the year right there,” Seth replied. he turned in his seat so he could talk more comfortably. “So what brings you to Canterlot Miss Alice? Seeing the sights?”

“Friends of mine. They have some business here, and since they’ve been so kind to me since I got here, I’m doing what I can to help them,” she said smoothly. “That’s another thing I like about this world. Aside from a few...unsavory spots, it’s a very beautiful world,” she said. Then a thought crossed her mind. He had asked her why she was here...and she had never said she was from out of town. “How did you know I was from out of town? I doubt you memorize EVERY Pokemon in this city.”

“Magic!” Seth replied, to which she gave him an amused, yet deadpan stare. At that, he tapped his nose and nodded. “This actually. The ponies and Pokemon living here all have a rather unique scent, one I noticed that ponies and Pokemon from Ponyville didn’t have, and one you do not have. It may sound silly, but my nose has never been wrong.”

In the split second that he had his eyes closed in a smile, she felt her smile drop into a frown, though she quickly reigned it in and asserted her Poker Face. This was bad. She had been talking around town, and during the time, she had heard that Seth Crescent had joined the Royal Guard, and even led the first Pokemon division of the guards. All things considered, that meant that he’d likely be one of the obstacles in her way later, so she couldn’t have him figuring her out by simply her scent. Forcing her smile back, she said, “Well then, maybe I should bathe in the scent a bit more so that I don’t give it away so easily,” she joked. “So, any recommendations? I’d have gone for the castle, but...I would think that’s not exactly a tourist spot.”

“The castle is generally open to the public, for those that wish an audience with the Princesses, or want to tour the Gardens. Other than that, I’ve had little time for sightseeing myself.” He paused for a moment as he thought. “We do have the Sundial that Arceus dumped here, and the Falls are quite nice as well, oh, and the Crystal Caves if the Carbink living there will let you.”

Hearing about the the sundial, she smiled. “Ah yes, the Sundial. Maybe I’ll visit it later. It would be nice to feel like I’m back home again,” she said as a slightly nostalgic look appeared on her face.

“You’re from Kalos?” Seth asked. “I visited the region a few times, but it was mostly to visit Diantha for training or simply to catch up... plus the odd hunt for a Mega Stone or two.”

“Yeah, I heard about that. You’re Diantha’s unofficial apprentice, weren’t you? As for me...I’m actually from Hoenn, but I moved to Kalos for my college degree a little over 5 years ago. I’m a little disappointed I never got to finish my degree before we were sent here, since it wasn’t easy working to be a researcher,” she sighed a little glumly. While she didn’t mind the transfer too much, it still bummed her a little that her degree was now going to waste.

“A researcher?” Seth asked. “And I wasnt aware I was known in the Kalos region...” He sighed, “At least not for that reason. I hope no one thought ill of Diantha because of it.”

“Don’t worry. It wasn’t common knowledge. Let’s just say I know a few people, and leave it at that, so I know a few things the public doesn’t usually know,” Alice laughed, since it was true. Seth Crescent’s status as an unofficial apprentice wasn’t something the general public knew about.

“So mysterious,” Seth chuckled. “But I’m glad. I would’ve hated to learn that I brought scorn upon yet another of my friends, simply because they were my friends.”

At his words she winced slightly, remembering how his name had somehow come to basically carry a stigma to anyone associating with him. “Honestly, I thought it was kinda dumb. I mean, your only real ‘crime’ was speaking out against what you thought was an unfair law. Last I heard, you never did anything illegal... except your supposed ‘abuse’ of your Pokemon, but if you really did do that, then you’d have been convicted long ago. Sides, its not like you did anything like those evil teams did,” she sighed in annoyance, remembering another thing about Earth that just made her shake her head incredulously all the time. “You would think the authorities had better things to do than chase people who LOVE their Pokemon. Last I checked, the crazy guy with the doomsday weapons is a bigger threat than the guy doing ‘it’ with his Pokemon,” she ranted, remembering how many times she felt like telling Shade to shoot the tv with a Hyper Beam when the news kept talking about the police arresting Pokephiles...when Teams like Team Rocket or something were causing bigger problems.

Seth blinked, but that didn’t stop the wide smile he was wearing. It was nice to see that someone else could see the skewed priorities that Earth law enforcement seemed to possess.

“Heh, I think the only person that liked to aggravate the law more that me was that ‘Phantom Fox’,” Seth replied. “Now there’s someone I’d happily share a drink with, though I doubt a thief would have passed Arceus’s little screening...” he sipped at his water and sighed. “Pity.”

“Not exactly,” Alice chuckled as she took another sip, inwardly chuckling at the irony of his statement. When he heard what she said, Seth coughed into his cup as he looked at her.

“W-what?” he spluttered.

“My friends are traveling magicians. We’ve been to a few towns, and some of them had one thing in common. Fox hit them,” she simply said, secretly enjoying the look on his face.

Seth blinked, before he chuckled... which turned into gut-busting laughter. He wiped a tear from his eyes as he beamed widely. “Well I’ll be damned, I may yet get that drink.” Mocha gave him an odd look as she brought out his breakfast.

“Someone tell a good joke?” she asked.

“Something like that,” Seth giggled. “I should read the paper more often from the sounds of it.” He took a sniff of his breakfast and hummed appreciatively. “This smells delicious Mocha~”

“I sure hope so,” she replied. “Would you like anything else Miss...? Huh? Where’d that pony from before go? She didn’t pay for her coffee yet.”

Alice just chuckled at her expression. “You’re looking at her. I’m a Pokemon known as Zoroark, the Illusion Fox Pokemon. I think you can guess the rest. And just to avoid a fuss, here ya go,” she said, before placing some bits on the table. “I promise they’re real.”

“So, you’re like a Changeling?” Mocha blinked as she took the Bits. “You Pokemon sure are full of surprises, next thing you know, you’ll tell me that there’s talking ice-cream and walking cupcakes.”

Seth and Alice remained conspicuously quiet, only for Mocha to facehoof. “Really?” she asked as the two nodded. “I need a drink...”

Seth munched on his hash brown and sipped at his latte while the two girls spoke. He was really getting the hang of gripping things with his paws now. He quickly inhaled his pancakes and his coffee, feeling the pleasant buzz from the caffeinated beverage.

“While you're at it, could I order something more. I’ll have a cheese omelette, with some hashbrowns on the side,” Alice ordered.

“Can do,” Mocha smiled. She noticed Alice’s sharp teeth and decided she’d at least ask. “Just an omelette? Or would you like some diced bacon added to it?”

“You serve bacon here? I’ll have some,” Alice smiled. It had been a while since she had some.

“I live in the most multicultural city in Equestria,” Mocha winked. “You gotta adapt if you want to succeed here. I’ll be back with your order soon.” She trotted off, whisking Seth’s empty plate away as well.

“Mmm, that was good,” Seth hummed happily. “Mocha makes the second-best food in Equestria, no doubt.”

“Oh? Is it really smart to say a chef’s food is second best in front of the chef?” Alice chuckled.

“Unfortunately, my lovely marefriend has to take precedence,” Seth smiled, the smallest of blushes gracing his cheeks.

“Fair enough,” Alice smiled, just as her food came...until she realized what he said. “Wait... marefriend?”

Seth nodded, “Her name is Apple Fritter, she owns the local orchards here in Canterlot and provides most of the city with them...” Seth trailed off as he thought about the cute, little mare. “Her desserts are nothing short of ammmmazzingg~”

Alice took a moment to process this. “Alright, I guess if humans can fall in love with Pokemon, Ponies shouldn’t be too much of a stretch,” she sighed, before deciding to take a bite of her food. When she did, she she smiled widely. “Delicious! One thing I love about this world is how delicious the food is.”

“It is pretty amazing,” Seth agreed. He probably shouldn’t mention he was also dating one of his Pokemon. “I try to remember the things I would eat back home... they pale in comparison.”

“Its true. My family was quite wealthy back home, yet even the food I was able to eat pales in comparison to this,” she smiled as she ate with gusto.

The distant bell tower chimed and Seth’s eyes widened as he realised the time. He was so bucking late! He jumped to his paws and hastily grabbed his bags.

“I’m really sorry Miss Alice, but I have a rather urgent appointment to get to... well, more like the pony I’m meeting is not one you want to keep waiting.” He bowed his head apologetically and ran from the cafe, leaving a small pile of Bits on the table for Mocha.

Said mare came out from the kitchen and blinked. “Wha? Where’d Seth go?”

“He ran off. He had some important meeting. Why?”

“Just wondering why he ran off like his tail was on fire,” Mocha replied. She scooped up the bits and then blinked. “Oh, he left his wallet behind.”

Alice blinked at that, before quickly scarfing up the remainder of her meal and placing some bits on the table. “I’ll bring it to him. I can still catch him if I hurry,” she said, picking up the bag.
“Thank you,” Mocha called out as the fox ran off and smiled. “Such a nice girl.”

Alice chased after the Luxray, glad that as a Pokemon, she didn’t have to worry about stomach problems from running after eating. It wasn’t long before she saw the Luxray’s form...approaching the castle. THAT made her pause...before she ducked behind some cover. By now she knew that the Princesses would have gotten her notice, and no doubt would be making plans. Pushing down a part of her that felt a little guilty about taking advantage of the situation, she casted an illusion that made her appear invisible, and followed after Seth, though she was careful to not get too close, knowing that the Luxray’s nose would find her if she did.

Walking inside the castle, she wasn’t surprised to see the increase in guards and quickly realized that Seth was headed towards the area where the Princesses live. However, another issue arose when she noticed that Seth had gone through a door...guarded by 2 guards. Normally she’d simply knock them out, but that was impossible at this point. Any hints that she was here would only increase the chances of her getting caught. Fortunately, she knew an alternative. Walking down another hall, she moved over to one of the air vents she had found the other night. Crawling in, she made her way through the vents. Remembering the rough location of the throne room, she quickly made her way through the vents, and finding the opening she was looking for, and started to listen in on the conversation.

“SO HOW DOES IT- WHOA!!” Seth’s voice boomed through the hall. “THIS IS LOUD!”

And she promptly recoiled from the sound of Seth’s voice suddenly gaining the strength of a thunderclap.

“HUZZAH!” The voice of one of the Princesses, Luna, if the dark coloration was any indication, thundered back with the same strength as Seth’s voice. “TIS GOOD TO SEE OUR SPELLCRAFT WORK THUSLY!”

At this point Alice had jammed earplugs into her ears, which were fortunately enough to keep most of the noise out, just enough that she could actually understand what was being said without going deaf.

“THIS IS PRETTY COOL,” Seth replied. “I WISH I HAD THIS BACK ON EARTH, WOULDA GIVEN MY SPEECHES MORE IMPACT!”

“WE ARE GLAD YOU LIKE IT,” Luna smiled. “I WAS WORRIED THAT THE ENCHANTMENT WOULD NOT WORK ON A POKEMON!”

“WELL, IT SEEMS TO WORK JUST FINE,” The windows rattled at this point as the throne room door flung open and another Princess, Celestia no doubt, stood there, looking very annoyed.

“FOR THE LOVE OF ME, WOULD THE TWO OF YOU SHUT UP!!” Her voice sent even Luna flying as the Solar Alicorn snorted and teleported from the room.

After that, there was a notable lack of sound, yet Alice noticed their mouths were still moving, so she took off her earplugs to listen in on more of the conversation. She was interested in the fact that Seth’s new accessory now gave him resistance to magic, in addition to giving him easy access to Mega Evolution again. As expected, the main issue they had called him to discuss was about her upcoming heist, and discussing possible counters for it. However, upon learning of her ‘method’, the batpony, Grissom, seemed to get an idea. After that, Princess Luna left the room, leaving Seth alone with Grissom.

However, when she listened for the plan...Grissom turned around and said that there was no plan, much to her surprise. “You’ve got some nerve,” she thought in annoyance when Grissom pretty much said he planned to use her as a method of discrediting this...Ironside, and the council. Though she did find it amusing when Seth pointed out the large holes in his plan...and quickly started to wonder who was the idiot who hired this ‘Council’...which quickly got an answer. “The rumors weren’t exaggerating. That ‘Prince’ really IS more of a problem than a help,” she sweat dropped. Deciding that she had heard enough, she quickly covered herself in her illusion, and snuck out of the castle. Good thing too, as not long after she got out, she saw Seth leaving as well.

She was about to leave unseen...when she remembered WHY she was following him in the first place. So quickly putting on her facade, she walked towards him. “There you are, I was waiting for a while here,” she said feigning annoyance, catching his attention.

“Alice? What are you doing here?” Seth asked in surprise.

“You ran off after leaving your money that you forgot your wallet. I figured I’d give it back to you, but I didn’t expect you to be going into the castle, and into the deeper parts at that,” she explained. She then added, “So...how was it? You seem to have friends in high places if you can go in there of all places.”

“Ah, well thank you for returning my money,” he took his money pouch and placed it back into his bag before shooting a glance at the castle. “As for having friends in high places, well it’s something like that,” Seth replied. “I work for the Princesses you see, as part of the Royal Guard that covers Pokemon-related incidents.” His gaze narrowed as he recalled what had just transpired. “Though I feel a little left out of the loop now...”

Unseen to him, Alice developed a sympathetic look, since she had seen it as well, but quickly changed it back to a normal expression. “I see...This is probably classified, but...wanna talk about it? Maybe I can give you some advice,” she offered sincerely. Even if they were going to be opponents, she still didn’t like seeing him depressed like that.

Seth smiled at that and nodded. “As long as you can keep it a secret, at least for now,” he said.

“Sure. Not like I know anyone who’d want to know about anything going on here. I’m only going to be here for a day or 2 more. Depending on how long Sleight’s show takes,” she shrugged.

Seth nodded and a small smile crossed his face. “Well, it looks like you were right about Fox being here in Equestria. She’s after the Crown Jewels here in the capitol... but the ponies here are convinced that they can handle it themselves, and I think they severely underestimate her skills. Their treating her like a common thug, not the skilled Phantom Thief that she is.”

Alice mentally chuckled at that. It seemed the difficulty of this heist might have started to decrease even more. However, she quickly put on a convincing look. “That IS a problem. As someone who’s lived in Kalos when she was active, I know how things usually go down. If they don’t take Fox seriously well...let’s just say they’re about to get the biggest serving of humble pie in their lives,” she idly commented. “Actually...considering its Fox...that might not be such a bad thing.”

“Yeah, we’re kinda banking on that actually,” Seth chuckled. “Though the way my luck’s been running lately, the Crown Jewels will either be damaged, failed to be stolen or she’ll decide to keep them...”

“Oh, don’t be so pessimistic. Just be careful. You won’t be able to go through life if you keep expecting the worst. Sure, you should plan for it, but don’t expect it to happen,” Alice said, patting him on the shoulder, though inwardly she was a little offended that he thought she’d actually keep the Crown Jewels. That went against the code her family had followed for centuries. “Sides, this is Fox we’re talking about. Her track records pretty good if you ask me.”

“I’m plenty optimistic,” Seth replied. “But Murphy has been quite active in pursuing to prove me wrong at every step. Between a power-mad Unicorn, Checkmate, the PLA and Arceus-knows what else...” Seth cut off his own rant and looked a little abashed. “Sorry, I’m kinda dumping all this on you and you’re just trying to help.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” she smiled. “I did ask after all,” she said. “Anyway, I think I’d better get going. I’ve got some stuff to do, not to mention I wanted to at least sightsee a little,” she said. “You take care now.”

“I will, and thanks for hanging out with me for a while,” Seth smiled. “Maybe next time you can meet my family? Rika will positively adore you... be warned, she's a hugger though.”

“Maybe I will next time. Next time I come to Canterlot that is,” she smiled, before walking off. She was happy that she managed to cheer him up a little. However, the time for the heist was approaching, and at that time, he wouldn’t be faced with Alice. He’d be up against Fox, and Fox didn’t intend to lose.

It was a relatively normal morning for Jonathan. Wake up, have breakfast, read the paper, find a headline showing Fox had left another notice, run to the police station. Yeah, normal. It was for that reason that he and his team were currently making a beeline for Canterlot Castle this afternoon (after the late night last night, he didn’t wake up till it was nearly 9).

When he got to the castle, as expected, the guards stopped them. However, when he showed them the badge he had earned in Tall Tale, and when he explained that he had info on Fox, the guards were willing to let them through. After a few directions from some of the servants, they found his way to the room where the Princesses were, but seeing as they WERE coming unannounced, they agreed that it was best if Jonathan go in alone first. However, when he stepped in…

“STATE THY NAME!” One of the Princesses, Luna, he guessed, bellowed with the intensity of a sonic boom, causing the Lucario to stumble back from it’s force.

Jonathan quickly regained his composure, and got back on his feet and saluted. “Officer Jonathan Trace, Baltimare Guard, and formerly of the Kalos Police Force,” he stated, his voice disciplined and respectful.

“Baltimare?” The other Princess, Celestia, echoed. “They always did enjoy not filing their paperwork correctly... or at all.” She looked at the Lucario and nodded. “Very well then Mr. Trace, what may we do for you today?”

“I heard that Fox is planning a heist on this castle. Requesting permission to join the defense,” he stated bluntly, deciding that being direct might be his best chance right now. The last thing he wanted to do was to sound flowery and risk the princesses not taking him seriously.

“That’s... quite abrupt,” Celestia said, while the batpony with them nodded as well.

“With all due respect, ma’am, sir. I was in charge of the Fox case back on Earth, and have been pursuing her for the last 5 years. I have a better idea of how she will likely act, and I am proud to say that I am one of the few officers to have come close to apprehending her,” Jonathan stated.

“And in five years, thou hath yet to catch her... even once?” Luna stated with a dry tone. “Your resume is less than impressive Officer.”

Jonathan’s stoic expression cracked a bit at the statement, her words feeling like a blow to the gut. However he didn’t falter. “Understood. However, I have intel on Fox’s likely movements, and have been tracking her since she resumed her crime spree on Equus. And for all its worth, I did manage to catch her once on Earth....unfortunately she had already planned for that too that time…” he groaned at the last part. The princesses and the bat pony seemed to discuss amongst themselves for a moment, before Princess Celestia stepped forward.

“Very well Officer Trace,” Celestia replied with her usual regal tone. “As a Princess of Equestria, not only do I recognise your station, I also grant you permission to assist with this case. You will need to find Captain Ironside, the stallion in charge of this endeavour.”

“Much appreciated, your highness,” Jonathan smiled and saluted, before adding, “If I may suggest, assuming you already have a perimeter secured, have guards ready to shift from location to location if necessary. Unfortunately, Fox’s Pokemon form, a Zoroark, has only made her more efficient in terms of her ability to sneak into locations. I wouldn’t put it past her to send out decoys and tricks to confuse the guards before she moves in on her target.”

“Those details are being left up to Ironside,” Celestia said, the smile disappearing from her face. “I’m afraid our hooves are tied this time.”

“Understood. I will report to Captain Ironside immediately,” Jonathan nodded.

“Also,” Grissom said with a small smile, his fangs glinting. “You will be working with our own Pokemon division on this case, do try and get along with them okay? They may be your best bet.”

“At this point, I’ll take anyone. We need as many able bodies as we can if we want even a CHANCE of catching Fox. We’re going up against 5 centuries worth of refined techniques,” Jonatan sighed.

“That’s quite the tall order, I do hope you succeed,” Grissom smiled a little too widely.

“Why do I get a bad feeling about this? Like I’m suddenly dancing to one of Fox’s scripts?” Jonathan mentally groaned when he saw the smile. However, he simply nodded, and went off to find Captain Ironside.

“This is going to be fun~” Grissom grinned as the Lucario left.

“I pray no-one gets injured tonight,” Celestia added.

“Should I bring popcorn?” Luna asked. The other two turned and looked at the Alicorn, looks of shock on their face.

“It’ll be buttered!” Luna defended.

Finding Captain Ironside proved to be easy enough. Talking to him however…

“Not if Tartarus freezes,” Ironside replied, once Jonathan had stated his request. “I’ve already said no to you creatures, and yet you keep asking. Is ‘no’ a word you simply do not understand, or is there nothing but air between your ears?”

Jonathan looked almost...stunned at the response, but quickly recomposed himself. “But sir, all I’m asking is that you arrange the guards to be able to quickly respond and adapt to the situation if needs be,” he explained. “Fox works via tricks and confusion. A rigid approach to her just won’t work.”

“A thief is a thief,” Ironside replied. “My guards have never failed and nor will they tonight.”
“Totally wish Shining was still here,” one of them whispered to another.

Jonathan for his part resisted the urge to groan. “Not every thief is the same, sir,” he tried to reason. “Fox...every Fox that ever appeared on Earth has never been caught before. And even now, after 5 CENTURIES of gathered knowledge and expertise, they still continue to evade the law.” he sincerely hoped that could make Ironside see reason…

“Then it simply goes to show how truly incompetent your law enforcement is,” Iron smirked. “If it were me, that thief would be rotting in a cell by now.” Ironside thumped his hoof on the table and the map that was on it. “Tell you what, you can help out. I kind of feel sorry for you at this point, and maybe seeing real stallions catch a thief might make you a better Officer.”

Jonathan REALLY wanted to groan at this point. This stallion was full of himself, and for all it was worth, he HOPED he could deliver. But after years of dealing with Fox, he had a pretty good idea how someone like him would end up, and it wasn’t with Fox behind bars. Despite that he forced himself to push down his ire. “Understood. Thank you very much, sir,” Jonathan said insincerely, though Ironside never noticed.

“Good,” he snorted as Jonathan walked outside. “Maybe there’s hope for your kind yet!” he grunted as Jonathan walked away. He didn’t once notice the glare the Pokemon were giving him.

Once he was outside, Jonathan slammed his fist into a nearby wall, cracking it. “Real stallion my ass. That idiot isn’t even taking her seriously. All he’s done is made this a whole lot easier for Fox,” he grumbled. “That moron is lucky Fox returns what she steals, or I’d hate to be in his shoes when this is over.”

“So now what do we do?” Heat groaned, exhaling a small blast of flame. He SO wanted to do that to Ironside, but he knew that would just cause more problems for them.

“What we’ve always been doing since we got here,” Jonathan sighed. “Work with what we’ve got.”

“Right,” the others nodded...right before they heard an explosion coming from the training fields.

“What the?! We’d better check that out!” Jonathan said, to which he ran towards the source, his team following behind him.

“Hey! Is everyone alright? I heard an explosion…” Jonathan shouted as he got to the location...then stopped when he saw the Mega Charizard Y. “...and suddenly I think I know where the explosion came from.” Looking around, he noticed that aside from the Mega Charizard, there was a large Luxray with some kind of cloth tied to his leg and wearing a torc with a Keystone, and an Absol wearing an Absolite.

“Yeah, just getting in a little practice,” the Charizard chuckled. He walked over to the Absol and scooped her up into his arms, and soon took off with her.

“Just be back soon okay?” the Luxray called out after them.

“No promises!” Ignis grinned as he took off. The Luxray turned back to Jonathan and offered a paw.

“My name is Seth Crescent, former trainer and current employee to the Princesses Guard.”

At this Jonathan blinked in surprise. He knew that name. It was the same name of the person who was wanted for allegedly trying to promote human/Pokemon relationships under the guise of a Pokemon rights activist just to justify his own alleged desires, and his supposed abuse of his Pokemon. Of course, while many seemed to eat it up for some reason, he wasn’t most people. He had actually taken a close look at the records, and honestly, he had never seen a bigger pile of bogus charges than this. Even more astounding was how nobody had ever bothered to pick through this, seemingly all too ready to see Seth Crescent as another villain, despite it being painfully obvious someone was framing him. Even after he brought this to his higher ups, nothing was done about it. Just another confirmation that there was something wrong with the system, and he had intended to fix that...eventually. Shaking his head slightly to bring himself back to the present, he took the paw and shook it. “Its a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Crescent. I’m Jonathan Trace, formerly of the Kalos Police and currently of the Baltimare Guard,” he said...before he got a mischievous idea, and grabbed Seth’s leg. “I’m afraid you’re also under arrest, for charges including Pokephilia, apparent abuse of your Pokemon, and a whole other pile of Taurus Crap charges,” he laughed, before letting go, getting a kick out of the look Seth had when he said he was under arrest.

It took Seth a few seconds to process what the Officer had said and powered down the Discharge he had been building.

“I am so very glad Selena wasn’t here to overhear that,” he sighed. “I would really hate to explain to Celestia why my Absol be-headed a Lucario on her lawn...”

“She probably wouldn’t have got far. Isn’t that right, Heat?” Jonathan simply said, as his team walked into the clearing.

“Of course not. If she even tried, she’d be kissing Quick Attack, followed by a Sky Uppercut to LEO,” Heat, chuckled.

“LEO?” the Earth Pony mare asked, confused by the term.

“Lower Earth Orbit... or Equus Orbit in this case,” Seth explained.

“You can tell when someone goes to LEO by the little ding in the sky that happens every time,” Jonathan chuckled. “Anyway, all jokes aside, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Crescent. I always like to see the so-called ‘Most wanted’ when it comes to cases like Pokephilia. You wouldn’t believe how many of those charges are just plain crap.” and it was no joke too. There’s a reason why Jonathan personally disliked dealing with Pokephilia cases, they were either often based on utterly overblown charges, or practically killed him on the inside when he made an arrest...with a few exceptions.

Seth scratched the back of his head while the Earth Pony looked away, blushing.

“Well... there might be some truth to those charges now...” he replied with a small smile. “Regardless, it’s nice to meet an Officer that doesn’t have a Braxien stick up his ass.”

“Well...dunno what to say about that. I mean, as long as it’s consensual, I don’t really see the problem,” Jonathan shrugged.

“It is, don’t worry about that... besides, we’re all Pokemon now. It’s not like we really have a choice.”

“Well, unless you go native,” the Earth Pony grinned.

“...Yeah...I think I’ll stick to my own kind,” Jonathan commented. “Anyway, seeing as you’re working for Princess Celestia, I assume you’re the Pokemon division that Grissom told me about,” Jonathan started.

“That’s right, well I am anyway. My Pokemon are included by default it seems.” Seth looked to the sky, but doubted Ignis would be back anytime soon. He then glanced at the trio of Pokemon that accompanied the officer. “So these are your partners I take it?”

“Yep. These guys have stuck with me through thick and thin for years now. Wouldn’t find any more loyal or dependable Pokemon anywhere,” Jonathan grinned. “Let me introduce you. This is Heat,” he motioned to the Combusken. “Howl,” he gestured to the Mightyena. “And Echo,” he pointed at the Noibat.

“Yo,” Heat greeted.

“Its nice to meet you,” Howl nodded.

“Let’s get along,” Echo smiled.

“Nice to meet all of you,” Seth nodded. “They look pretty strong too.” The trainer in him suddenly had the urge for a battle... except he had none of his Pokemon. “Wish I could introduce my team... they’re all a bit indisposed though. The Charizard from before was Ignis, and the Absol was Selena. I also have a Sylveon, Rika.”

“And I’m Apple Fritter,” the Earth Pony mare spoke up. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Though... do try and refrain from arresting my Seth again hmm?”

“As long as he doesn’t do anything that would force me to, we’re all good,” Jonathan waved her off. “So...not to be abrupt or anything, but...I do believe we have bigger things to worry about now.”

“Yeah... Fox.” Seth sighed. “And yet that idiot stallion is just going to let her take the Jewels from the way he’s carrying on... not to mention that my team and I can’t even help.”

“Yeah...that guy didn’t even listen to my when I was suggesting how to better anticipate Fox. Jerk even had the gall to call our world’s law enforcement incompetent when he doesn’t even KNOW how much we sometimes invest in trying to catch a Fox,” Jonathan grumbled.

“Well,” Seth replied. “I’m in no position to question the laws... priorities anymore,” he said. “But is there a specific reason you can’t catch her after all this time. One person surely can’t be that good. Even a Champion can be defeated...”

“Yeah. In a fight. But Fox just plain doesn’t work that way. Every Fox that has ever existed knows the tricks his or her predecessor knew, so they’ve been...refining their techniques over the centuries. What more, even though we know one is coming, there is no way to tell HOW they’ll do it. Especially with this Fox. She’s a frikkin magician. I have to second guess everything I saw whenever I chase her, and the one time I DID manage to catch her...well, let’s just say there was a puff of smoke, and suddenly I was handcuffed to the railings,” Jonathan groaned.

“That... sounds like tonight is going to be a massive pain in the ass,” Seth replied with a groan of his own. “Like I haven’t had enough of those already...”

“Well...if it's any consolation, at least Fox’s heists are usually entertaining...if you get to see what she does,” Jonathan said almost feebly.

“Maybe I’ll grab takeout,” Seth mused. “So at least we’ll get dinner and a show.”

“Do they have curry? That always helps me stay up,” Jonathan idly commented. It was one of his favorites, and oddly rare in Kalos.

“Get some for us too while you’re at it,” Howl chuckled.

“Curry for four,” Seth nodded. “I’ll remember.”

Grissom chose that moment to fly from the castle, landing neatly in front of them.

“Hey there Seth, I was hoping to find... you.. here?” He looked at the carnage that Ignis had wrought and sighed. “Well, guess where our tax dollars are going now...”

“Sorry bout that Griss,” Seth chuckled. “I did tell him to take it easy... and, well the castle is still standing sooo, silver lining?”

“...I don’t know how I’m to respond to that,” the Thestral sighed. “Anyway, I got you and your team on the case tonight. so here’s hoping for a successful mission hmm?”

“Sweet, I knew I could count on you,” Seth grinned.

“Oh and I see you’ve met Mr. Trace as well,” Grissom replied. “I hope you gentlestallions can get along.”

“I don’t think we have a problem here,” Seth smiled. “Unless Mr. Trace disagrees?”

“No problems here. I’d rather work with Mr. Crescent any day. At least we’d actually be able to get something done,” Jonathan snorted as he gave another glare at the castle where Ironside was.

“Amen to that,” Seth agreed. “I almost hope Fox wins at this point.”

“Crescent. With how the current person in control is acting...she’d be able to win with her hands tied behind her back,” Jonathan deadpanned.

“Well, paws in you wanna get technical,” Seth replied. “Still, Fox has never dealt with us before, that that should put a nice spin on things.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Still…” Jonathan sighed. “I had high hopes that in Canterlot, I’d be able to coordinate something that could finally catch her. Now though….” he shook his head. “Either way, if you don’t mind, I’d like us to go over the plans I had. I’ll have to adapt it, but I should be able to come up with something workable for us…” And with that the Lucario went to work thinking on how to proceed from here.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

And done. Finally this fic is catching up to my various crossovers. So yeah, its basically a sort of copy of the same chapter that Aus had, only from my characters' POV...sorta. Either way, enjoy.

Twentyfirst Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Twentyfirst Heist

Opening theme:

Alice frowned as she mixed the liquids in the beaker she had, wincing again as the smell assaulted her nostrils. Fighting back the need to gag, she brought it to a nearby burner, and heated it till it was a certain temperature, before adding a few more ingredients, mixing again, and cooling it quickly, using Rascal’s Icy Wind. Note that the Weavile was wearing a clothes peg over his nose.

“Is it ready yet?” Rascal asked.

Giving a small sniff to it, Alice nodded.

“Finally,” he sighed pulling off the clothes peg. “So...we gotta use that stuff, huh?”

“No choice. With our current new opponent, if we don’t do something to stop him from identifying us, we’re sunk,” Alice sighed. “I’m just glad I still remembered the rough formula for it, since we don’t have access to all the normal ingredients...well…most of them anyway.”

“Right. Let’s...just get this over with already,” Rascal sighed as Alice placed the liquid into a spray bottle, as the two walked out of the room, to where the rest of their team was, and a few squirts later, the sound of gagging could be heard.

Night was approaching, and as such, the Fox gang was going over their plans one last time.

“Alright, so we’re all clear on the plans, right?” Alice asked, coughing slightly from the last remaining bits of the smell.

“Yeah, we got it,” Shade nodded, though she also coughed a little.

“Yeah, we got more than one plan here. First plan is that you guys sneak in and cause a distraction. While that’s happening, I’ll go and drill a way in with this hand drill,” Rascal nodded, pulling out said hand drill. “So while you’ve all got them running around like Torchic without heads, I’ll be stealing the jewels from inside the vault.”

“Right. But just in case…” Alice said as she looked towards Scep.

“You got it, dudette. I’ll stand by and stop anyone who might figure us out,” he nodded.

“And in the event it fails…” Shade nodded.

“We’ll move to plan B,” Alice said, before frowning. “However, we also need to watch out for the real danger in our heist…”

“Right, the Princesses, Mewtwo, and above all, Discord,” Rascal agreed, glad his role wasn’t one that required him to have to directly deal with any of them.

“Right, so while we ARE aiming to steal the crown jewels, I’m more worried about us getting out of this, so if you see any signs that more than one of them...or Discord is in our way, signal everyone and get out of there,” Alice stated.

“No need to tell us twice, dudette,” Scep chuckled. You’d have to be PRETTY crazy and dumb to keep fighting with THOSE odds, especially when they’ve got nothing to gain from it.

“Right, so while you four worry about guarding around the vault, Alice and I will keep them on a wild goose chase,” Shade nodded.

“Also, don’t forget, thanks to Toichi, we can use these now,” Alice added, as she handed out what looked like small bracelets with a single large jewel and a single smaller one next to it embedded into them, as well as several earpieces which had jewels in them as well. “They’re an improved versions of what we used in Manehattan. Touch the smaller jewel on the bracelet and talk into the larger jewel to communicate with the earpieces. Since this is still pretty new, the bracelets are set to communicate to all the earpieces. And don’t worry about any other sounds getting through. As long as you don’t touch the smaller jewel, this won’t transmit anything,” she explained.

“Right,” the others nodded, before taking their respective items, though in Spinner and Charlotte’s case they got collars with Jewels.

Jonathan sighed as he punched another training dummy. He’d been staying out of the castle for the most part after discussing plans with Seth and the others, partly cause he wanted to get a bit more training in, especially with the trick he had discovered, and more importantly, he just didn’t want to be near Ironside more than he needed to. He didn’t know, and frankly, he wasn’t sure if he WANTED to find out why, but the stallion seemed to view Pokemon and generally anything from Earth in the same regard as one would a pile of mud.

“So...what are we gonna do about tonight?” Heat asked. “No offense to the guards here, but their captain...sucks.”

“...not gonna argue there,” Jonathan sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know if we WILL be able to stop her this time. In the last cities, at least we had actual support. Right now, I get the feeling Ironside would sooner saw his hoof off than listen to me...Fox is going to have a field day with him.”

“...yeah, that’s for sure,” the others simply nodded. Now all they could do was wait and do their best when the time came.

Time went by quickly enough, and before long they were all gathered at the castle, with Seth carrying four containers full of their order from earlier. Following him was a Charizard, a Sylveon, and an Absol. “As you requested,” Seth smiled as he passed the order to Heat.

“Thanks a bunch!” the Combusken smiled as he took the containers and passed them out among his team, who all proceeded to eat.

“Oh yeah, one thing I LOVE about this planet is the food. Its five star everything here!” Jonathan smiled as he scarfed up his meal till the last piece.

“Heh, I met someone who said the same thing today,” Seth chuckled as he opened his own food, homemade Apple Fritters from his lovely marefriend. It’s scent was beyond heavenly. “Ohhh, my little Apple has outdone herself this time~”

True enough, when the smell wafted over to the other Pokemon, their mouths watered as well.

“...could we...try some too?” Echo said hopefully, the smell all but making her drool.

Seth pondered for a moment, the look on his face was like they’d asked him to saw off a leg... until he chuckled. “Sure!” he replied with a toothy grin as he used a claw to slice up two of the fritters into equal parts and offered them to his new friends. “Though I will warn you now, any apple dish you eat after this, and any you have eaten before will be forever ruined.”

“Oh, now you’re just being silly,” Heat laughed. No way was something THAT good....or so he thought until they each took a bite…

If there was ever heaven on Earth, at that moments, their taste buds just died and went there, and all they could do was stop in stunned silence.

“Err….” Seth looked a bit worried.

“DELICIOUS!!!” they all shouted. “Dang man, you are one lucky bastard to be in a relationship with someone who cooks so well!” Howl couldn’t help but say as he was too busy jumping up and down.

“Apple Fritter is a special mare,” Seth smiled as he ate his food, savouring each and every bite. “Honestly, I’m the lucky one. I don’t know what I did or what God smiled on me to gift me with two wonderful ladies.”

“Oh? Didn’t know you were such a playboy, Mr. Crescent,” Jonathan jokingly jabbed, while his team snickered.

“The whole ‘herd’ thing was Fritter’s idea,” Seth explained. “Apparently polygamy is encouraged here, and I’m still getting used to it really... but I care for both of them, and I’ll do anything to ensure their happiness.”

“Aw, you’re so sweet~” Rika cooed and she nuzzled him and kissed his cheek. “You get extra huggles tonight for that.”

Seth blushed, and then realised that he hadn’t introduced his team. “Oh, right. Everyone, this is Rika, Ignis and Selena,” he said, gesturing to the Sylveon, Charizard, and Absol respectively.

“Hey,” Ignis said, offering a small salute while the Absol just gave a curt nod. Rika waved and smiled widely before resuming her nuzzles.

“Its a pleasure to meet you. Likewise, this is my team. Heat, Howl, and Echo,” Jonathan smiled as he introduced them, while all three of this Pokemon waved. “Let’s all get along. We’ll be working together tonight after all.”

Seth nodded, “I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t... though for me, it’s a bit weird to be getting along with lawmen and ladies such as yourselves.” The Luxray offered a smile and a polite bow. “Also, please call me Seth.”

“Likewise, call me Jonathan. I don’t care much for formalities anyway,” Jonathan laughed, polishing off the last of his meal. After that, his expression turned serious. “Alright, now first things first,” he started. “Let’s go over the plans again.”

“First, we’ll have Ignis and Echo positioned on the roof. We don’t know what Fox’s point of entry will be, so it’s best to cover all bases. I want Selena outside and waiting, should Fox actually pull this off, she’s our best bet at a swift pursuit.” Seth looked to Rika and smiled. “And I want you to simply be you. Punish the naughty Fox should she misbehave.”

“Why does that last statement fill me with so much dread?” Heat deadpanned.

“Either way,” Jonathan sighed. “Likewise, I want Howl to patrol the corridors. Of all of us, he has the best chance of tracking them if they’re inside...assuming Fox hasn’t recreated the compound she used to mask her scent back on Earth. Also, Heat, you’re with me. We’re going to stand guard over the vault.”

“Roger!” both Heat and Howl said as they both saluted.

“Mask her scent?” Seth blinked in surprise, before sighing. “I just wonder if my new vision can see through her illusions?” At that, the Luxray’s eyes shone with a gold light as he looked at the four Pokemon in front of him. “I don’t know exactly how a Zoroarks illusions work, but I don’t think she can imitate a skeleton of whatever she’s disguised as.”

“Yeah, Luxray eyes should be able to pierce the illusion...but…” Jonathan sighed.

“Fox has more than just Zoroark illusions in her arsenal,” Howl groaned. “That thief is a magician, so even if you see her, you’ll never be able to tell what else she has in store…”

“Great...” Seth groaned.

Once everyone was in position, Seth and Jonathan were at the Vault, the Luxray had a few ideas on how Fox might steal the Jewels, but there was something he needed to confirm for himself.
As Seth stood before the Vault, Ironside glowered. While his unit still had point on this mission, the Princess had allowed Seth and his group as backup... just in case.

“Well?” Ironside said gruffly as the Luxray stared at the vault, his yellow eyes glowing. “Are you done yet?”

“You really shouldn’t rush him. I mean, humans don’t normally have X-ray eyes, so he probably needs time to get them to work properly,” Jonathan sighed in annoyance. He just didn’t understand Ironside’s animosity with Pokemon in general. “And for that record, we’re supposed to be working together. Antagonizing each other isn’t going to help.”

“For your records!” Ironside snapped. “We have protected these Jewels for generations. They have never once been stolen and the arrival of you Pokemon doesn’t make one saltlick of difference!” he stated. “On top of that, only Princess Celestia’s magic can open the vault. I’d like to see this thief TRY to get the crown jewels!” he laughed.

“Oh, she’ll find a way,” Jonathan, sighed. “This isn’t the first fortified vault she’s cracked, and it probably won’t be the last. Trust me, I know.”

“She’s also never dealt with magic... real magic before either,” Seth replied.

“I wouldn’t be so sure. She’s been to several towns already, all of them had some form of magic security. She broke all of them,” Jonathan cautioned.

“If you fillies are done gossiping, maybe the real law enforcement around here can actually get back to doing their jobs?” Ironside said curtly.

Heat glared at the Unicorn, before whispering to Seth. “That guy...almost makes me want to LET Fox get in and steal the Jewels.”

“Tell me about it,” Seth muttered as Ironside went on a tangent about not recognizing Jonathan’s authority.

“Is this guy REALLY the captain of the royal guards?” Jonathan mentally groaned, resisting the urge to facepalm. Fortunately, he was spared from further annoyance when Seth suddenly bolted from the room, and deciding that following the Luxray was better than listening to Ironside’s monologue, ran after him.

As this was happening, one of the guards blinked a little at the sudden action, but smirked all the same, and as ‘he’ was a short distance away from the other guards, all of whom were too focused on the vault, none of them saw ‘him’ take out a few small balls, and roll them on the ground. Once that was done, ‘he’ took out a small bottle. “Showtime,” ‘he’ whispered, before smashing the bottle on the ground, just as the balls burst, releasing a thick fog of smoke. Naturally there were several shouts of alarm, as the heist began.

In the midst of the smoke and confusion, the guard’s form shimmered, revealing the form of a Zoroark, a sly smile on her face as she got to work.

“She’s here!” Heat growled, while Jonathan nodded as they ran after Seth who had darted back into the hall, just in time to see Fox make her appearance, seemingly floating down somehow, her claw tipping her hat over her eyes like normal. The two of them tensed, ready to make a move when…

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE FOX!” Seth’s voice boomed throughout the hallway like a thunderclap, causing several nearby ponies to grab their ears, while Jonathan and Heat recoiled from the sudden noise.

Fox was inwardly chuckling to herself as one of her illusions seemingly levitated down, while the real her was safely concealed within the shadows for now. However, her smile dropped when she saw Seth tap on his torc, and remembering what happened last time, she quickly pulled out a pair of earplugs and jammed them into her ears. Naturally, the booming voice still got through, but she managed to block most of it out, enough to avoid dropping any of her illusions, and making her illusion frown, talking for her as she removed her earplugs. “Arceus you are loud,” the illusion deadpanned, before the smirk returned. “I see you could make it to the party, Johnny-boy. What surprise do you have in store for me this time I wonder,” the illusion giggled at the Lucario.

“Oh, I’m not providing the ‘surprises’ this time Fox. That’ll be covered by the locals,” Jonathan shot back.

“Awww....and I was hoping we could have a little fun,” Fox teased through her illusion. Chuckling inwardly, she always did enjoy the banter and the game of cat and mouse that would ensue. However...

“OH, JUST GET A ROOM ALREADY,” came Seth’s booming voice, catching them off guard. Turning to the Luxray, they saw him put a paw to his mouth, obviously forgetting that his voice was still being augmented. Seth put a paw to his mouth, forgetting he still had the enchantment active, leaving the people in the room with ringing ears.

After the ringing subsided, Alice felt herself blushing at the Luxray’s choice of words, but keeping her emotions in check, she willed her illusion to simply look amused. Regaining her composure, she said, “Aww….I had no idea you wanted little old me that way Johnny boy. Maybe next time I’ll catch you. I promise I’ll be gentle,” through the illusion...before she realized what she had just said and felt herself blush a bit more brightly.

Jonathan for his part went bright red, before glaring at Seth. “I sooo wanna punch you right now. But fortunately for you, I’ll settle for something punching someone else instead. Heat?”

“Sky Uppercut!” Heat shouted...only to have several balls thrown into his face, courtesy of Charlotte who was hiding in the shadows. The bombs exploded, and with a cold gust of wind, the Combusken fell back with Ice covering his face, the Combusken frantically trying to get the ice off when he came to his senses.

“Ice bombs. Finally got them right,” Fox chuckled through her illusion, glad at the success of the gadget she and Toichi had been working to recreate. “Don’t worry, I made sure its harmless freezing.”

Have Heat use a Fire move!” Seth called out, but after that, he seemed to hesitate for a moment. However, the moments hesitation was cut short when Ironside and several other guards charged towards her illusion, knocking Seth aside without a second thought. From where she was watching, Alice frowned, but ultimately ignored it, as she had anticipated that Ironside would likely try and charge at her, or rather, what he thought was her with all the intent of a missile, before they dogpiled her illusion.

“Heh! And you thought this criminal could escape justice!” Ironside cheered, no doubt thinking he’d won.

Fox felt like chuckling mockingly at the sight. Did he REALLY think he would be able to catch her THAT easily? With that, she created another illusion, only this time next to the pile. “I still am,” she said through her illusion that stood next to the pile, seemingly mocking them by simply being there. “Nice form by the way. 5/10”

Seth moved much faster than the guards, leaping from one wall to the other as he pounced at Fox, but kept his sharp claws sheathed. he didn’t want to hurt her after all.
At the same time, Ironside lunged as well. And unknown to the two of them (and partially due to Fox’s actions) so was Heat.

“Its probably too late to say this, but…” the illusion started, just as the three of them pounced on her...and promptly did a hard and and painful headbutt with each other. “...you’re all gonna need an aspirin after this,” she finished as the illusion faded away.

Jonathan’s eyes narrowed at what had just happened. Focusing on his Aura Sight, he noticed a form moving around the room. Switching back to normal, he saw that he couldn’t see it with his eyes. “There you are…” he grinned as he slowly approached, before pouncing on her.

Fox tensed when she instincts flared up, turning just in time to see Jonathan lunging for her. Slightly cursing herself for forgetting about his Aura Sense, she relaxed as the Lucario plowed into her, the two of them rolling on the ground as a result, which also caused her to drop her other illusions, except her shiny illusion. The two of them came to a halt with him pinning her down, but in the split second that happened, she inhaled something that made an odd feeling in her stir, and before she realized what she had done, she had craned her neck up, and kissed him right on the lips. When her brain caught up with what she was doing, she found herself blushing, which didn’t help when she noticed Jonathan had a similar blush. Fortunately, her training also caught up, and she quickly focused again. Taking advantage of the situation, she pushed him off of her, sending him rolling away.

Jonathan on his part was still trying to get his brain to reboot. After suddenly getting kissed on the lips by Fox of all people, he felt like his mind shut off for a second, but by the time he got to his senses again, she had already pushed him off.

Forcing herself back into her Fox persona, Fox quickly put on her normal teasing expression. “I always did think you looked yummy, but I never thought you were THIS yummy,” she said teasingly, before throwing one of her web balls at his paw, promptly sticking it to the floor, the Lucario trying to get it off, while fighting down the blush on his face. It didn’t help either that she felt a bright blush on her own face, but like any other good Fox, she quickly pushed it down, reasserting her Poker face. Good thing too, cause at that moment, Seth pounced on her, having used Ironside as a springboard, and probably returning the favor from before. Seeing as she couldn’t dodge, she quickly relaxed her body again, and when the heavy Luxray came barelling down, she rolled back, grabbed his paws and used the momentum to throw him off. “Nice try, but not good enough, kitty,” she teased, before picking up her hat and dusting it off.

“Spry little thing, aren’t you?” Seth smiled. “I can keep this up all night, what about you?”

“Is that a date I hear? Alright, I can party all night if I have to. In fact, let’s get this party REALLY started!” she smiled, before throwing another smoke bomb at the ground, blanketing the room.

Now that the stage was set, she went into action. “Game start,” she whispered into the jewel she had. And with that, she focused on the image of the Crown Jewels she had seen. When the smoke cleared, she had covered herself with her cape. “And now…” she smiled, before opening it, and revealing to her audience...all the Crown Jewels, suddenly in her arm. As expected, the sight stunned many of the guards into silence, as Fox inwardly smirked. Everything was going just as planned.

The stunned silence was first broken by Ironside, who roared as he charged again, leveling his spear at her. “Don’t let that thing take the Jewels. Permission to use lethal force is approved!”

“Now where have I heard that before?” Fox playfully chuckled, just as she noticed Jonathan get free. Easily side stepping Ironside’s blind charge, she jumped to another ledge. “Well, catch me if you can, pit bull,” she taunted before dropping the jewels into the sack she had pulled out, and promptly kicked off from the walls and wall jumping to get away from the corridor, the sounds of heavy hoof steps following her as she led them into the castle.

“That’s my cue,” Rascal grinned, from where he was hiding. Under the vault. Earlier when the heist had started, he had started tunneling into the ground with the hand drill, and when he got to thicker parts, like the rocky foundation, a quick Rock Smash weakened it enough for him to continue drilling. He listened as the sound of hoof steps could be heard, waiting for them to subside. When it did, he started drilling upward, and right into the vault. However, just as he started to break into the vault, the drill was hit with a strong electric current, shocking the Weavile silly. “Gah! What was that…” he groaned as he pulled the drill back into the ground. Shaking off the tingly feeling, he decided to try again.

Up above, Scep’s eyes narrowed as he saw the Luxray, the Lucario cop, and the Combusken had still not left the room. At first he didn’t make a move, but when the Luxray actually managed to attack from outside the vault, he knew it was time to make a move. But contrary to what many thought, he was no idiot...at least as far as fighting went. He knew that he’d be in trouble if he tried taking on all three of them at once, especially with that Combusken still there. So with that in mind, he moved quickly, and before they could react, he struck the Combusken from behind, knocking him out. However, at this point the Luxray had let out another discharge, shocking the drill again. And this time, Rascal got the message. This way wasn’t going to work. “Plan B! Plan B!” he said in pain as he retreated.

Back in the fight, Scep grunted when he heard that through the jewels they were using to communicate, while in front of him, the Lucario ran over to the Combusken who had been shocked by the attack. “Sorry, but you’re gonna be joining him soon. Nothing personal, dude,” he said, gaining their attention.

Shade slinked through the castle corridors, looking for her quarry. Knowing Jonathan, he’d have probably sent Howl to scour the corridors looking for them. While the Mightyena wasn’t a problem by himself, if he were to run into Fox at an...inopportune time, that would make things all the more difficult for them. So naturally, it was her job to make sure he didn’t get in the way, especially since this was hardly the first time she’d done it. Her musing was cut short when Rascal’s voice was heard through the gemstone in her ear. “Well that complicates things,” she sighed, as Plan A had ended up a bust. Nothing too new there. Fortunately, it was at this point that she picked up a familiar scent. “Bingo,” she chuckled, as she homed in on her target.

Howl was busy sniffing around, trying to see if he could pick up anything really. So far it was going zilch.

“Looking for someone?” came a familiar sultry voice, as he turned to see one of the Fox gang idly watching him from one of the ledges.

“Liepard!” he growled. “Since you’re here, obviously that means Fox is somewhere in the castle too. So where is she?”

“She’s…” Shade started, pausing for a moment. “Around,” she finished, causing Howl to nearly fall over. “But she doesn’t have time to play with you,” she chuckled. “I on the other hand…”

Howl tensed as Shade jumped down. He already knew what was coming next, seeing as this wasn’t the first time she had singled him out. Taking the initiative, he immediately lunged forward, catching her just as she landed. As the two rolled on the ground, Shade quickly kicked him off, before the two of them prepared to fight. “The rest is up to you, Alice,” she thought. “I’ll steer him out of here so you’ve got a clean shot.” And with that, the fight began.

While the battles in the vault room and the hallway were going on, Fox was running around the hallways, leading Ironside and the guards on a wild goose chase as they were chasing after her with the intent of a bloodhound. “Is this all you’ve got? Honestly, I think I might just fall asleep with how BORING you lot are,” she taunted. However, just as she said that, the gemstone hidden in her ear glowed, and Rascal’s voice rang out. “Plan B! Plan B!” it said, causing her to frown slightly, before brightening up again. “Oh well, at least this will be FUN,” she chuckled to herself.

Ironside smirked as Fox entered a corridor, “I have you now little street rat,” as two Unicorns at the far end sealed the room off with a spell. “Nowhere left to run, vermin,” he sneered.

“And they make people like you honor guards? Wow, I’ve met Grimer who were more courteous,” Fox taunted as she headed straight for the sealed door, but just before she hit, the room was filled with smoke courtesy of a few more smoke bombs.

“Relax, she can’t go anywhere,” Ironside said to his troops. “Spread out and surround it, formation Delta!”

The troops nodded and they took point, placing themselves around the cloud of smoke. Unicorns had their shield-spells ready, while the Earth Ponies had their weapons pointed at the cloud. However, this was what Fox wanted. “Can you say...friendly fire?” she chuckled under her breath, as from the cloud, a few Shadow Balls shot out in several directions, narrowly missing some of the guards. Several rookie guards fired some spells back, only to hit their companions on the opposite side, knocking them over. While this was happening, Fox cloaked herself in another illusion, and easily made her way out of the smoke cloud, just as Ironside surrounded it with a shield spell.

“Try and get out of that!” he goaded. “My shield is as strong as Shining Armor’s, I could contain an Alicorn if I wanted to.”

“Good thing I’m not an Alicorn then,” Fox chuckled as she stood behind him, before quickly rolling away. As expected, he turned around and fired. What she hadn’t actually expected was for the blast to be strong enough to reduce the section of wall to dust. “Scary...but convenient,” Fox mentally sweat dropped as Ironside roared, “ACCURSED MONSTER!”

“You DO realize that we’re considered equals to Ponies now, right?” Fox casually said, quickly shaking off her momentary trepidation as he leaned against the new hole/escape route. “Thanks for the escape route by the way. Toodles,” she laughed before exiting the corridor.

Ironside facehooved and chased with his remaining guards, this thief would not escape him!

Echo sighed as she perched on the Charizard, Ignis’ shoulder. Craning her ears, she listened intently for any signs of the signal...though there certainly was some commotion going on inside.

“Sounds like we’re missing out on all the fun little buddy,” Ignis chuckled.

“Can’t really be helped. We’re out here on intercepting duty. Our job is to wait incase she gets out, so we can catch her by surprise,” Echo shrugged.

Ignis turned, this was the first time he’d heard the little bat speak.

“...You’re a girl?”

“So I am. What of it?” Echo blinked, not sure where that came from.

Ignis shrugged, causing the little bat to flutter her wings to stay perched. “Nothing really, just had Noivern trouble in the past... Sorry, I meant no disrespect little lady.”

“None taken. Not much I can do if another Noivern or Noibat caused you trouble,” Echo shrugged, knowing that there were always those types in every species.

Ignis looked down at the Palace, “I wonder why Seth hasn’t sent a signal yet...?”

“Come to think of it...I haven’t heard anything from Jonathan. You don’t think…” at this they both looked at each other. “Time to step in?”

“Time to step in,” Ignis confirmed as he took off from the roof and glided down to the ground. “Let’s hope things haven’t gone to hell yet...”

“Knowing Fox...it probably already has...one way or another…” Echo groaned.

“Goddammit,” Ignis muttered as they flew down the hall, and soon entered the Vault...just in time to see a Sceptile standing over Seth’s unconscious form, Jonathan and Heat not far away, as both were out cold too.

“You... BURN!!” Ignis roared as he fired a Flamethrower at the grass lizard.

“Huh?” Scep got up from drawing a mustache and glasses on Seth, before ducking underneath the flames. “SWEET ARCEUS!” He got back up and shook his fist. “Watch it next time, JERK!”

“FIRE BLAST!” Ignis roared again, the fire star leaving no room to avoid in the narrow hallway.

“WINDOW!” Scep jumped out the broken window. He sighed. “Thank the engineers for windows. I’ll never break one again…..” He smashed the one next to him. “Okay, after that….maybe.”

Ignis snorted and placed Echo down, “Look after these two okay? I have a lizard to barbeque!” he said before he flew after the Sceptile.

“Er...yeah, you do that,” Echo sweatdropped. Judging from the sounds she was hearing, this was probably the safest spot for her anyway. With that in mind, she turned towards the unconscious Pokemon...and bit back a laugh at the ridiculous scribbles all over their faces. After letting out a few chuckles, she went to work wiping it off, seeing as they probably would like it better if they didn’t wake up with said scribbles. However, she probably should have been paying more attention, as just as she finished cleaning up the scribbles, she suddenly felt herself get snatched up, and then blackness.

Charlotte sighed as she finished wrapping up the Noibat in webbing. She didn’t like doing that, but it was for the sake of the heist, and in the end, she had decided that she would always side with her trainer first.

Back with Fox, she was playing one of her favorite games: Make the police chase you to stupid lengths. “Geez, are you even trying? I’ve seen Slugma move faster than you guys,” Fox taunted as she led them around the castle. This was going to be easier than she thought if THIS was all she had to deal with. If this was the standards for guards even in Canterlot, then no wonder crime rates were so bad. Though on the other hand, considering they’re the guards to Princesses who can literally move celestial bodies...maybe they never bothered training properly? Speaking of which, she couldn’t help but wonder where the Princesses were. She DID announce her heist, so it seemed strange that after all this she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of even one of them. Then again, remembering what that bat pony had talked about before...

And further thoughts were cut short when she heard a chirpy voice say, “They are kinda slow,” from right behind her.

Fox blinked, and turned around, but only saw an empty corridor.

“So... watcha doooing?” the voice said again, a small pink head emerging from her mane. Two bright blue eyes stared at her and a small smile crossed the Sylveon’s face.

“...I’m not sure if I should wonder how you got in there without me noticing, or squee at how positively adorable you are,” Fox commented as she continued to run, not really concerned at the ponies chasing after her with the single mindedness of a guided missile.

“I dunno, a friend taught me to do it... I don’t understand all the technical stuff though... something about walls...” She blinked and then hugged the Zoroark. “Ah, so fluffy~ Sethy is fluffy, but you’re fluffier!!”

“Why thank you, I quite like the fluff too. One of the things I like about being turned into a Zoroark,” Fox chuckled as they conversed despite the chase.

“Oh, so you’re a human?” the Sylveon, Rika, asked. “Ah, that’s right, silly me... I’m supposed to stop you from being naughty…” a smile crossed the Sylveon’s face as her ribbons wrapped tighter. “Unless you want to be naughty?”

Fox mentally gulped. She did NOT like the look on that Sylveon’s face. However, spying an incoming pillar, she had an idea. “With that look, I almost feel tempted. But I think I’ll keep being naughty. Bye!” Fox said, before turning a corner...in such a way that Rika’s face met said pillar, throwing the Sylveon off.

“The face? AGAIN!?” Rika groaned as she clutched her head. She staggered up and fired a wild Moonblast, which missed Fox by mere inches, singing her fur and blasting Ironside right in the face…

The stallion stumbled back, knocking his own guards over like bowling pins. From his perspective, it looked like Fox had fired the blast.

“Thanks for the assist!” Fox quickly said with a laugh as she ran down the hall. “Okay, I think I’ve riled them up enough. So now...time to go to the finale,” she thought. With that in mind, she took a turn, heading straight back to the vault. When she got back to the vault, she was met with the sight of an unconscious Seth, Jonathan and Heat, and judging by the small web cocoon, Charlotte had made short work of Echo too. Normally she would have felt a little bad, but ultimately forced herself to keep going, but this time, she felt like someone had stabbed her in the chest, especially when she saw Jonathan unconscious, no doubt after a fight with Scep if the slight bruises were any indication. However, the approaching sound of hoofsteps reminded her just how far she’d gone, and she wasn’t about to let all the planning and the chase go to waste. She was about to put up an illusion of a broken window...when she noticed that two of them already were broken. “...Scep…” she sighed in annoyance, before cloaking herself, and going into a good position to strike. This was the last stretch...and unfortunately, one that hinged completely on Ironside acting how she’d predict...and her gamble that they HAD to have had some kind of spare key for the Vault in the event the Princesses weren’t around...or maybe someone got stuck inside.

It wasn’t long before the guards entered, the room, before helping the fallen Pokemon up...and cutting open the cocoon Echo was in, as Fox had plucked her down before getting into position.

“Stop chasing her,” Seth groaned as he woke up, while Ironside scowled at them... again. At least that was until he saw the broken window.

“They broke the windows... and a wall...” he groaned.

“The last one was kinda your fault,” Fox thought in amusement, but frowned at Seth’s words. She had heard that he had apparently graduated school at the age of 11, so he was considered an academic prodigy. Now it looked like he might have seen through her trick...literally most likely. True enough…

“She’s baiting you,” Seth said. “She doesn’t have the Jewels, she never did. They’re still inside the Vault.”

Fox frowned as he confirmed her suspicions. Looks like the Skitty was out of the bag. However, she held her ground, as for once, the scowl on Ironside’s face was a welcomed sight. It was obvious to her from the start that he saw the Pokemon with disdain, something she found annoying. But now...now she was hoping that same disdain would cause him to play right into her hands again. “Come on, come on,” she mentally muttered.

“He’s right! For the love of Arceus, listen for once!” Heat added, no doubt due to the look on Ironside’s face.

“Nonsense! We all saw it! She had the jewels!” The stallion shouted.

“Tauros’ eye,” Fox grinned. One that only became wider as Ironside walked over to the Vault and pulled out a crystal, one that held a powerful, magical glow.

“This is crystallized magic from Princess Celestia, an emergency key if you will,” he said as he pressed it against the door as the runes lit up and the door slid open.

“You idiot-” Seth moved to stop him, but it was obvious his injuries were having none of that.

“I’ll prove I’m right!” Ironside yelled as the door opened, and revealed the Jewels sitting there. Ironside blinked and shook his head. “No.. impossible...”

Jonathan for his part finally felt himself reach the limit of his patients. This whole time, Ironside had been treating them like they were practically dirt, even when they had ideas that made sense if you just think about it, but he seemed to want nothing to do with even common sense if it came from a Pokemon. And now he had practically handed the jewels to Fox, who was no doubt still in the room. “You fool! You just played into her hands!” he shouted as he tried to run to the vault, but nearly fell over as his body was still sore from the beating it took.

“And such a gentleman too, opening the door for a lady~” Fox chuckled, before another smoke bomb rolled into the vault, covering it with smoke.

“Dammit! Echo, use Gust!” Jonathan barked, and Echo did just that, seeing as she hadn’t actually received much damage at all, parting the smoke a little and revealing Fox standing with the Crown Jewels behind her.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all to our grand finale,” Fox chuckled.

“I will NOT be beaten by some low bred criminal!!!” Ironside roared, before lunging at her like a rabid dog. Fox heard and saw him, and suppressed another sigh. There was no way Jonathan had NOT mentioned Fox’s 5 century long record, yet he was STILL treating her like some common crook. It seemed to her that this pony was deluding himself into thinking she was just any other criminal, and in his current state of mind after she’s clearly proven that deluded view wrong, she just plain couldn't take him seriously anymore, and with a simple duck, he sailed right over her, and smashed right into the stands holding the Crown Jewels, launching them into the air.

As the jewels fell to the ground, the air was suddenly enveloped in a tingly feeling, as one look at the only Electric-type in the room confirmed that this was Lightning Terrain, before the Jewels suddenly paused in mid-flight, simply hovering there as the magnetic field generated by Seth’s Lightning Terrain held them in place.

“Heh... floatyyy~” Seth half-dazed giggle could be heard before he fell to the floor.

Fox however quickly took it in stride, maintaining a seemingly unconcerned look. turning towards Jonathan, she blew him one last kiss, something she did many times, before her cape envelop her like a large black tornado, before said tornado enveloped the falling crown jewels, before it twisted, and flew right out of the vault and out one of the broken windows, pulling the bits of broken glass with it. And by the time anyone could get their bearings, Fox had already left the building...and left the windows repaired somehow.

Fox landed perfectly outside, the real Crown Jewels safely in her hands. Immediately taking off running, she was soon joined by Rascal who had ditched the hand drill. “You got them?” he asked.

“See for yourself,” she chuckled as she showed him the jewels.

“Looks like mission complete to me,” came Shade’s voice as she ran up next to them. The Liepard looked fine for the most part, though she did have a few bite marks and few bits of singed fur, testaments to her fight with Howl.

“Now all we need is to find Scep,” came the voices of the Spinarak Twins as they crawled out from under Fox’s cape, having jumped in shortly before the escape.

“Speaking of which, where IS Scep anyway?” Fox mused...before an explosion was heard. “...found him....”

The battle between Scep and Ignis raged on, the mighty dragon firing a boosted Fire Blast, but suddenly two blurs sped in the way, before intercepting the attack, the two blurs being revealed to be Shade and Rascal, both using Protect to block it, but even then, they were barely able to fend off the attack. It didn’t help either that both looked a little frazzled, like they had been in a fight before this.

“How the hell are you still alive?” Rascal gasped. The Fire Blast exploded and the smoke gave the three the opportunity to escape.

Scep gave the Charizard one last look. “Yeah... fuck this,” he bolted along with his partners, leaving Ignis to roar in the distance.

“Have fun dear?” Shade giggled as they ran.

“I SO WON THIS FIGHT!” Scep yelled back at Ignis. “Don’t mess with the PLA!”

“Dude,” Rascal pointed out. “Your ass is on fire...”

“FUCK!” Scep turned to blow out his tail….again. “I’ll get that overgrown lizard.” He activated his Leaf Blade.

Another roar from Ignis told Rascal and Shade that it was time to go. “Just forget it and run, you ain’t got much tail left!” the Weavile yelled.

Scep growled and recalled his attack. He glanced at his teammates and then at Ignis’ direction. He roared in frustration. “NEXT TIME! YOU HEAR ME?!! NEXT TIME!” He shook his fist and took off.

Fox continued to run, as Rascal and Shade had went to fetch Scep first. All in all, she felt pretty good about tonight, though she still had a hard time believing that the Princesses had practically let her take the Crown Jewels. However, just as she was thinking that, there was a brilliant light that came from the palace grounds. Fox’s eyes widened when she saw the light. That was the light of a Mega Evolution.

“What does that light mean?” Spinner asked her.

“That we should run a lot faster,” Fox replied. Though she had to admit, she was having the time of her life right now. She almost laughed when her remaining team, along with a rather singed Scep caught up with them.

“What happened to you?” she asked the Sceptile. “Decide to work on your tan?”

“I was fighting a damn fire lizard!” Scep snapped, he glared back at the distance. “NEXT TIME! I’LL BRING YOU DOWN!”

“You first!” A voice said from not far behind him as a Mega Absol was hot on their heels.

Scep growled and fired Bullet Seed. The Mega Absol easily leapt over it, before she fired a Hyper Beam at them.

“Hit the deck!” Fox shouted as they all dove for cover, the Hyper Beam impacting behind them, sending them tumbling away with the resulting explosion. Groaning as she got to her feet, Fox idly commented. “I don’t suppose I can get you to leave us alone, can I?”

The shake she got was all the reply she needed. “Fine then. Time for our new secret weapon, she said, a small grin on her face as she looked at Scep, who blinked...before grinning as well. he was waiting for this. Fox reached into the fur around her neck, and pulled something out. Tossing one of the two items at Scep, he immediately grabbed and equipped the armband to his right arm, a gemstone that was light green with a dark green and orange helix inside was attached to it. Sceptilite. Likewise, Fox placed the other item, a fox shaped domino mask on her face, revealing that embedded in the forehead of the mask was a Keystone.

When the Mega Absol, Selena, saw that, her eyes widened in shock and horror.

“Time to take it to the next level! Sceptile, Mega Evolve!” Fox called out as she touched the Keystone. The two stones resonated, and Scep started to change. When the light subsided, he stood tall as a Mega Sceptile now.

“Aw yeah!” Scep grinned, before aiming his tail at Selena. Incidentally, it was the portion that had been singed...which promptly was fired like a missile at her. She didn’t have time to dodge, before she was hit, sending her tumbling back.

“Don’t draw this out! Hyper Beam!” Fox ordered.

“You got it, dudette!” Scep grinned as he fired the attack, hitting the still dazed Mega Absol. When the smoke cleared, her Mega Evolution wore off and she collapsed.

“Now let’s get out of here!” Rascal said as they ran for it, Scep turning back to normal.

“This...was an utter fiasco,” Jonathan sighed. After Fox escaped, he had tried to find Howl...only to find him knocked out in one of the hallways, the claw marks all over him giving him a pretty good idea who was responsible. “Sending Howl out into the halls was a bad idea. Fox knew I’d try to use him to track her, so she sent Liepard to take him out of the equation,” he sighed. It probably wasn’t an exaggeration to say that this had been the biggest loss to Fox yet, and the sad thing is, after how the ‘guards’ performed, he honestly couldn’t see how it would have been possible for Fox to NOT succeed. With that in mind, he walked down the hall, meeting up with Seth before they both went to the throne rooms, rehearsed apologies prepared already. At least, that was the plan, until the sound of angry voices erupted from the throne room.

“It was those blasted Pokemon!” Ironside defended himself, with the Council behind him, none too pleased about being woken up to this particular turn of events. “If those creatures hadn’t gotten in the way, then the thief would be behind bars where she belongs!”

Outside the door, Jonathan just shook his head in disgust. Ironside didn’t want them to help to begin with, and kept on disregarding them, and now he wanted to pin the blame on them? This was getting annoying. With that in mind, he was about to walk into the room, when another voice spoke up.

“Really now?” Luna deadpanned, unamused. “We would have thought that with assistance, even you would not be able to, how do you say... ah, screw it up!”

This made Jonathan stop. He was happy that the Princesses were objective, and for some reason, he felt he and Seth should wait a bit.

“This is quite the mess,” Celestia sighed. “And I would like to know exactly how the Vault was opened in the first place? Given that only I can open it.”

“Well uh,” Ironside sweated as he looked to the Council for help, but they decided that the ceiling offered an interesting view.

THAT sounded like a good time, so both he and Seth decided to enter now, Seth clearing his throat as he walked in, earning quite a few glares and a few mischievous smiles. Well, time to go to work.

“So,” Seth started. “Would you like to hear our report Princess?”

“We certainly would,” Luna said as she suppressed the wicked grin that threatened to appear on her face.

“Alright. At 22 hundred hours, Fox entered the vault room. Her exact method of entry is unknown, as she used an illusion to appear as though she entered through a window. Upon her appearance, Captain Ironside appeared to dogpile her, but I believe what he dogpiled was an illusion, as she appeared right next to him. Following a few provocations, ending with Fox seemingly having taken the Crown Jewels from out of the vault, Captain Ironside proceeded to take ALL the guards in the room with him in a mad chase after Fox, falling right into her hands, as the Crown Jewels we saw proved to have been only illusions, as Seth can confirm, due to seeing into the vault,” Jonathan reported.

“Indeed,” Seth nodded. An attempt was made to tunnel in from under the Vault, but I managed to thwart that, only we were then attacked by one of Fox’s assistants. And since the helpful ‘Guard’ here was trying to apprehend a ghost, Officer Trace and I were unfortunately overcome, due to our opponent being a highly skilled fighter from the PLA. What occurred after that is a bit of a blur to me I’m afraid.”

“PLA?” Luna echoed. “Perhaps I shall have a talk with Sev about this.”

“The chase the Guards here gave caused quite a bit of collateral damage, as well as greatly hindering the process. Phantom Fox was able to steal the real Jewels when Captain Ironside opened the Vault himself.”

“The Captain opened it?” Celestia turned her magenta eyes towards the now panicking stallion. “Captain Ironside, can you explain?”

“Well, I uh...”

“The Council gave him permission to access the Vault,” one of the nobles stated. “In the event of a worst case scenario, the Jewels were to be taken to an undisclosed location for safe keeping.”

“I did not ask that,” Celestia replied. “I want to know how he opened the Vault.”

“With some sort of key,” Seth said. “All he did was press it up against the door.”

“He also said it was apparently some kind of crystallized magic. Your magic to be precise. I assumed he had gotten it from you,” Jonathan simply said.

“My... magic?” Celestia’s mane suddenly shifted from its gentle pastel colors to a raging inferno. The heat could be felt throughout the entire room as she turned her glowering glare to the Council.

“YOU WILL EXPLAIN. IN FULL DETAIL. NOW!!!”

“We.. ah...” The designate speaker was far too terrified to speak. he’d committed the worst atrocity possible, betraying the trust of Princess Celestia. “It was them,” he said pointing at the rest of the Council. “I’m sorry Princess, I didn’t want to do it, but the others insisted it was for the greater good.”

“Traitor!” one of them spat, only to realize what he’d said. “Oh buck!”

“And the plot thickens. Man do I wish I had popcorn right now,” Jonathan mentally chuckled. He was NOT liking this council’s attitude, and it was always fun to see their types get knocked off their high horses.

“YOU STOLE MY MAGIC!?” This was one of the greatest insults to any magic user, and for these privileged-born fools to steal the magic of Celestia herself? To her great credit though, the mare slowly calmed down, her blazing mane turning to a sweet, pastel pink. She would go to her happy-place later... but as for now? “The theft of the Jewels is of little consequence now,” Celestia said, her voice was straining to remain calm and Seth saw that her heart was still racing. “Captain Grissom, if you would?”

“With pleasure,” The Thestral grinned, his fangs glinting in the light. “To all members of the Council. You will be placed under arrest for treason against Her Majesty, Princess Celestia and Her Majesty, Princess Luna. You will be stripped of your titles and nobility and incarcerated until such time that a formal trial can be arranged.”

“You can’t do this!” one shouted. “It’s an abuse of your power-”

Jonathan leveled a deadpan and incredulous stare at the choice of words. If anyone was abusing power, it was them from what he could see. Fortunately Princess Luna saved him the trouble of saying anything.

“POWER YOU STOLE FROM MY SISTER! IF IT WERE THE DAYS OF OLD, I WOULD SEE YOU ALL HANG!!” her voice exploded.

“Ironside!” Celestia said, her nerves under control... for the most part. “You are my Captain of the Guard, the one to succeed Former Captain Shining Armor... He would be most displeased to see this turn of events...”

Those words cut deeper than any blade. Iron respected Shining Armor more that anything. And now... he would never receive that respect in return.

“You have shown both incompetence, and disrespect to fellow officers, one of which actually had a plan to prevent the theft of the jewels, that might have worked... had you taken the time to listen to him! Effective immediately, you are demoted to the rank of Private, and will be re-deployed for border patrol.”

“The border!?” Ironside cried. “But.. I will not see my family for months! Please Your Majesty, have leniency!”

Okay, now Jonathan felt conflicted. On one hand he definitely thought a serving humble pie was much needed, but... not THIS much. Looking at things objectively, he had to give credit to Ironside for the...zeal he showed in doing his job...though his attitude STILL needed work. He was about to say something, but Seth beat him to it.

“I request that Officer Ironside remain here in Canterlot!” he said. “I know how it feels to lose family, and to fight for what you truly believe is right. Officer Ironside is misguided, and that has caused his ability as a Guard to suffer. Therefore, I request that Private Ironside be drafted into the Pokemon Corps, as a liaison between Pokemon and Equus-born citizens.”

THAT sounded like a pretty good idea. Ironside learns his lesson AND some humility, while they get to keep a dedicated officer. “I support Officer Crescent’s request. Despite his...shortcomings, Private Ironside HAS shown dedication that is...rare amongst many officers...at least back on Earth. It would be a waste of good help,” Jonathan nodded.

Celestia closed her eyes for a moment, before a small smile crossed her face. “Well Ironside, it would appear that you have made an impression, though whether it is a positive one or not remains to be seen. You have abused my trust, the trust I grant all my little ponies.” Celestia crossed the room and climbed to her throne. “I am not infallible, and tonight proves that more than anything... What has transpired here is my fault, for giving you power you could not use wisely.”

Ironside shook his head, “No Princess! It’s not your fault. Please don’t blame yourself for my failings!”

Celestia nodded her head, “You have been granted a lifeline Ironside, but it is your decision to take it.”

Ironside looked at Seth and Jonathan, the two Pokemon that despite everything, offered him a chance to prove himself and keep his family. “I’ll do it Your Majesty. And I thank Lord Seth and Lord Jonathan for their unparalleled generosity.”

“Okay, now you're just being a ham,” Seth laughed.

“But in all seriousness, next time someone tries to help or gives you advice, listen to them first. Its incredible what kind of trouble could have been avoided if people had listened to each other,” Jonathan sighed.

“...I, I will strive to be a better stallion. One worthy of being called a Solar Guard!” He saluted the two Pokemon, who returned his gesture.

Celestia nodded and smiled, though that smile vanished when she looked back to the Council. “My verdict on you still stands... unless Seth has other opinions.”

Seth shook his head. “I got nothing, do what you will Princess.”

Several members gulped as Celestia looked back to them. “Well, then my decision stands. Your valuables will be passed onto next of kin and your land and titles revoked. Your families will not pay for this disgrace, the blames lies with you and you alone. A new Council will be appointed in the next few weeks, by way of public vote, rather than based on suggestions by nobility. Captain Grissom, please escort these ponies to their cells!”

“With pleasure, Your Majesty,” he grinned.

“We will not stand for this!” one shouted and turned to run, only to face a Luxray and Lucario. Both brandishing their badges.

“Yeah... I don’t think so,” Seth said.

“And if you’ve got any further complaints at this point, I think our friends would be willing to have a word with you,” Jonathan smirked, as their respective Pokemon teams walked into the room. “Feeling like trying your luck?”

“...We surrender,” one mare said.

Jonathan sighed again as he felt the warm water flow over him. After everything that happened, a shower felt like something he’d very much need. However, despite what happened, one thing wouldn’t leave his mind. Touching his lips where Fox had kissed him, for some reason he just couldn’t get the feeling it had elicited off his mind...and that worried him greatly for some reason.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

After a long time to get here, finally I present to you Fox's side of the Canterlot Heist. Enjoy

Twenty Third Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Twenty Third Heist

Opening theme:

“So looks like we got dealt our first loss here,” Shade mused as she sat on her haunches on the roof of the carriage, her paw placing a stone on the board.

“Mhm,” Alice nodded as she made her move...before she smiled lightly. “How long has it been since we were able to play like this?” she mused.

“You started getting very busy after you started going to college and became Fox, we were lucky to be able to play a game once or twice a month,” Shade chuckled. “That and we didn’t know Sleight had this board...even it if is just a 9X9 size,” she said, before adding, “ So, you don’t seem particularly miffed that you lost that heist.”

“Honestly, we’ve been dealing with so many ponies who either walk headlong into our traps, or evil types who are trying to act smart, but fall apart easily. It was refreshing to see that someone managed, even if it was from an oversight, to beat me at the game...it keeps things interesting, and shows that these people can also improve and learn,” Alice answered as she made her next move. “After all, isn’t that Fox’s main purpose? To push the people to evolve and develop.”

“Yeah, too bad it seems only the Princess of a small town is the one to do it first,” Shade mused as she placed another stone on the board.

“Don’t discount the ones in Canterlot yet. I’m pretty sure we didn’t get interference cause they let it happen. Remember, when we started that Heist, we only had about a 20% or less expected success rate. The fact that the biggest obstacles never showed up...there is no way that was possible unless they purposely stayed out of our way,” Alice said.

“Right, you did say they talked about it. Guess they used us this time, huh?” Shade mused.

“Doesn’t matter, we got to show we could and did steal the Crown Jewels, and they got to discredit their corrupt council. Everyone wins,” Alice shrugged, placing one more stone.

Shade looked the board over...and sighed. “I resign,” she said simply. “So, what now?”

“Sleight said our next stop is supposed to be Las Pegasus...Equestria’s Sin City,” Alice said as she cleaned up the board.

“Sounds like a gold mine for us,” Shade chuckled.

“Of course,” Alice nodded. However, little did they know that the trip to Las Pegasus was going to take a bit longer than expected. The path they were riding on lead them through a rather old and worn road. Unfortunately, seeing as they were in a large carriage/caravan...well, it was only a matter of time before something happened…

Sleight and Storm groaned as they got up. “Is everyone alright?” Storm asked. “Say ‘aye’ if anyones too hurt to move.” Fortunately none answered.

“What in Arceus’ name happened just now?!” Rascal groaned as he got up. “Sorry about the caravan,” he apologized...before he blew a hole through the door...which was above them, as the caravan had tipped over and landed on its side. Everyone crawled out to see what had happened.

“...that’s the last time we go through steep hills,” Storm deadpanned when she saw that they had slid down from the main path, the wheels on the caravan/carriage had broken off during the fall.

“Now what do we do?” Alice mused as it was pretty clear they weren’t going anywhere without the carriage, seeing as it held all the props for Sleights shows...some of which would probably need replacing too after this accident.

“For now...make sure everyone is okay, then set up camp. We can worry about finding help after we’re on more stable grounds,” Sleight said.

“Right,” everyone nodded. The work that followed wasn’t particularly difficult, as fortunately they didn’t land too deep into the woods. The only real hassle was getting the caravans/carriages back up and standing...that and pushing it into a more manageable location, something that took all of them to do now that the wheels had broken off. Fortunately, once that was done, it was a simple matter to set up camp and the like, with the carriage facing the outer parts of the woods, so the fire would keep away any predators.

“...Its getting dark. We’ll worry about finding help tomorrow,” Sleight said to the assembled group, who just nodded.

With that done, everyone went around doing whatever they wanted around the camp. As for the group of thieves, a thought crossed Alice’s mind. “Hey guys,” she started.

“Yeah?” they asked.

“I just had a thought. Scep’s been on our team for a while now, right?” she mused, earning nods in response, though they obviously weren’t sure what she was getting at. “Well, we never did teach him a few of our ‘tricks’.”

“Huh, good point,” Shade mused.

“Wait, you saying you’re gonna teach me some of the moves FOX uses?” Scep said in surprise.

“Yes, you’re part of the team, so it's only fair that you learn too,” Alice smiled.

Scep was practically in her face when she said that. “Well lay it on me, dudette,” he said with a grin that threatened to split his face.

“Alright, first things first, we’ll start with something simple,” Alice said. “Our special Substitute move.”

At that Scep’s face fell slightly. “Seriously? Lame. Come on dudette, any mon can learn Substitute. Give me something harder than that.”

“Don’t go scoffing at it just yet, Scep,” Shade chuckled. “You’re right, any mon can learn a NORMAL Substitute, but this isn’t a normal Substitute.”

“That’s right. A normal Substitute cuts the user's strength by a significant portion, creating a shield that would take the damage, but ultimately, still leaves them weakened. Not very good for battles against stronger opponents, or even long drawn out battles,” Alice started. “However, our substitute uses the bare minimum of power. In short, instead of a shield, we’re creating a disposable double that can take any damage, yet still costing you only the bare minimum,” she grinned. Durability sacrificed for ease of and repeated use.

Scep blinked a bit...before he caught on to what she was trying to tell him. Once he did, his eyes widened at the realization, followed by his grin returning. “Heh, not bad. Guess your family became one of the best thieving family for a reason,” he chuckled. “So...how do I do this?”

The rest of the evening was spent teaching Scep finer details like how to consciously control the amount of energy put into a move till it was just right. It wasn’t easy, and took a good amount of time, but one big factor that greatly helped them was Scep’s level of enthusiasm. The Sceptile may have been laid back most of the time, but damn when he set his mind on something, he gave it his all. However, it wasn’t long before it was time for some rest, so they decided they would continue another time.

The next morning, the group unfortunately couldn’t continue the lesson immediately, as Sleight wanted to go looking for a town, or somewhere they could get help and fix the carriages. It took them a few hours, but they eventually did find a small town not too far away from the woods. Fortunately despite being small and looking a bit remote, it seemed the town was pretty friendly, and even had a few Pokemon working with them in addition, so hauling the carriages over wasn’t too hard thanks to a small group of Fighting-type Pokemon.

“Don’t worry sir, we’ll have your carriage good as new in a few days,” the Earth Pony said with a smile as the carriages were placed inside a workshop.

“Right, thank you,” Sleight said with a nod, before turning to his group. “Looks like we’ll be here for a while.”

“Eh, that’s fine. Seeing as we’re all in one piece, and it's not like we haven’t been busy lately, I think a small break wouldn’t hurt,” Alice shrugged, while the others nodded in agreement. “So I guess we’ll be on ‘vacation’ for the next few days?”

“More or less,” Storm nodded. “This town seems nice enough, so we should be alright till then. Besides, I noticed you were busy last night.”

“Heh. True. Hey Scep, you’re in luck. Looks like we have a prime opportunity to give you the full crash course. Looks like you’ll be a full fledged Fox Pokemon soon enough,” Alice chuckled.

“Bring it on, dudette. I can take anything you dish out,” Scep grinned back.

“Alright, let’s get started then,” Rascal grinned.

Finding a clearing outside of town, the group of Pokemon were quick to set up a training area, making use of the large rocks, as well as the trees in the area.

“Alright, Scep. As you know, we already covered one of the basic evasion techniques. We’ll still keep working on that, but since we’ve been given this rare opportunity, we’ll be working on a lot more than that,” Alice started. “We’re going over a few of the more useful moves that a Fox normally knows,” she said. “Since we did a defensive move, let’s practice an offensive move,” she suggested.

“Alright, what you got, dudette?” Scep grinned.

“We’ll work on the Rebound Shot this time,” Alice said, before turning to Shade and nodded.

Shade smirked lightly and powered up a Shadow Ball. However, something seemed...different about it this time. Aiming it at several trees, she fired. The attack sailed through the air and struck. However, instead of exploding like it normally would, it rebounded, struck another tree, and did the same again and again as it rebounded against 5 trees in a semi-star formation, before finally the Shadow Ball exploded...followed by all five of the trees falling over from the punishment they took.

“That was the Rebound Shot. Normally a Pokemon Move like that would only hit one target and explode, but with the right control of energy, it's very much possible to have it strike multiple targets. While it may or may not be the best move for a straight up battle, when trying to take out opponents unseen, with some practice, it's the perfect move. Not to mention it can also let you save up on your strength what with one shot being usable on multiple targets,” Alice explained.

“So it’s like pinball,” Scep scratched his chin. “Gard does stuff like that, though he sometimes uses live ammo, if you know what I mean.”

“...I can see that happening. Psychic power + body...instant live ammo…” Alice sweat dropped. “Anyway, to use the move, you’re gonna need to have good control of your energy...something you had practice with using that Substitute. Assuming you’re using an energy based move, you need to make the attack solid enough to actually rebound, but not so much that it won’t either dissipate eventually, or blow up after a few rebounds. You can try it now if you’d like,” Alice nodded.

Scep nodded. “Seems simple enough,” a small greenish blue ball of energy formed around the tip of his finger and he fired at a tree. The small attack bounced off...and smacked Rascal in the forehead. He grinned and turned to Alice. “Easy peasy.”

“Lemon I’m gonna squeeze you to death!” Rascal growled as he pounced on Scep. What followed was a comical dust cloud with various random limbs being visible every now and then.

“...Rebound Shot. Mastered. We can move on...after they’re done fighting,” Alice sighed. The others just nodded.

After those two stopped fighting...and getting any injuries bandaged up, Alice was explaining the next move. “This one is a tough move, partly due to the mental discipline needed...and the fact that we don’t have anyone to help us practice with,” Alice explained.

“I have plenty of mental discipline,” Scep remarked. “Just ask my psychiatrist.”

“Alright,” Alice nodded, not wanting to dig too deeply into that one. “This move is called the Void Mind Shield. It's a, so far, absolute defense against Psychics trying to probe our minds. However it's only absolute when it's fully mastered. Other than that, it's mostly just a strong mental barrier that while you can’t break, it's still possible to go around it...if you know what I mean,” she explained. “I can’t actually show you since we don’t have any Psychics to help us, but I’ll do my best to explain. First of all, do you know how normal mental barriers work?”

“Kinda,” Scep shrugged. “I’m okay with mine, but never gave it much thought. I’m usually out of danger by the time they know I’m there, dudette. ‘Sides, aint no barrier Gard can’t crack.”

“Oh, he won’t be able to crack this one. Well...he shouldn’t at any rate. A normal barrier works by forcefully keeping a psychic out. However...if a psychic is either strong enough and/or has enough time to work with, there isn’t a barrier they can’t crack, cause it’d be like repeatedly hitting a wall with a sledge hammer or wrecking ball. The wall’s gotta give eventually. That’s why we developed this technique. You see, what makes this tricky is that instead of putting up a barrier, we’re inverting it,” Alice explained.

“Now pretend I’m not a scientist,” Scep said. “And say it again.”

“Basically a Psychic needs to get a hold of your mind to actually work with it. Mental barriers are walls to prevent that, but like all walls, they can only take so much before they break. So, instead of creating a wall, we create a vacuum or void. Hence the name,” Alice said. “Basically the idea is that, one of my ancestors figured, if a Psychic wanted in, then let’s give them what they want. they don’t have to break any walls, but all they’ll find is a void. They can’t work if we give them nothing to work with,” she said.

“That’s easy,” Scep said. “Gard says there’s nothing up here to begin with.” He chuckled.

“...moving on,” Alice sighed, somehow she got the feeling she wouldn’t get along with this ‘Gard’ at all. “The key to using this technique is a tricky state of mind. As we are trying to create a void, you need to be able to temporarily detach yourself from the world. Basically picture a black sphere, and picture yourself entering it. You and the world are no longer connected. You are at the moment, a void,” Alice said as she took on a meditative pose (sitting lotus style) and closed her eyes, her expression becoming more and more neutral with every word till it was completely blank.

Scep put his ear close to her head and tapped it. “Huh...It really does work. I can’t hear a thing in there.”

“...that’s cause you’re not Psychic, dead brain,” Rascal snorted. “You wouldn’t be able to hear anything from her head even if she wasn’t using the void mind shield.”

“Oh well aren’t you the psychic expert, dark rat.” Scep scoffed.

“Enough, both of you,” Alice said, her voice stern, yet it seemed to lack any real emotion behind it. “Another benefit of this move is peace of mind. Anyway, I’ve taught you the basics of it, so I’d like you to practice it when you can,” she said as she got up, emotion returning to her expression. “This is a move we’ll probably have to work on ongoing, so there’s no big hurry to master it. Just give it a shot for now,” Alice ordered.

“Eh, I’ll try dudette.” Scep got into a prayer position. “Char always griped how I need to learn to more ‘at peace’ with myself. Almost cut off my head a couple times, ‘cause of it.”

“...somehow I don’t think Char actually has peace of mind. Almost cutting a person’s head off cause he’s not more at peace is NOT a sign of peace of mind,” Alice sweat dropped.

“Oh no, he’s very peaceful when he isn’t slaughtering his enemies.” Scep said with a comfirming nod.

“Somehow that feels like a contradiction…,” Shade sweat dropped by dropped it all the same.

“...okay, the next move...should be a piece of cake for you,” Alice said. “Its called the Line Dash. Its not so much a technique as it is a skill,” Alice explained. “What it simply is, is training to allow one to move quickly even when standing on the bare minimum of area, namely a narrow area like a clothesline or thin beam,” she explained.

“Don’t I already do that, Dudette?” Scep asked. “I’m pretty quick.”

“Yes, but are you THIS quick?” Alice chuckled, before she back flipped up the tree, and jumped up and up till she was near the top with a branch so thin, it could probably only JUST support her weight. Even then for how long was anyone’s guess. Smirking, she ran forward, running on the branch so quickly, her feet seemed to barely touch it, before she leaped off, landing in a half-slide on another thin branch, before moving and leaping from tree to tree, before ending in a somersault, landing back right in front of Scep. “I should also mention, that move was derived from Ninjutsu. Yeah, one of my ancestors was a Ninja,” she said with a small smirk.

“Pfft. I can do that dudette.” Scep smirked and put a hand on his hip. “How do you think I became so renowned in Hoenn?”

“Well then, show me what you got,” she chuckled. The small grin on her face made it clear she was enjoying this.

Scep rotated his joints and snorted. “I’m a tree dweller by nature for a reason,” and then he took off like a flash, jumping onto a tree trunk. His fingers gave him perfect suction as he flipped upwards and twirled as he somersaulted onto a pair of small branches light enough not to break them. Hooking and hopping from branch to trunk in seconds, showing off his species aboral nature, before coming to stop near the group. “Easy.”

“...natural Sceptile abilities aside, I’m starting to think he was meant to be a Fox Pokemon at one point or another,” Shade mused. “Even I didn’t get it THAT quickly,” she sounded slightly jealous at that. Understandable, as she started her training the same time as Alice.

“I’m a born natural,” Scep smirked.

“I think the part where you’re learning and using my moves with barely any difficulty can confirm that,” Alice chuckled. “Alright, the next move isn’t gonna be as easy,” Alice chuckled as she moved around him a little, but when he turned to see her, to his surprise, she was gone.

Scep stiffened up and shook a bit. His eyes widened and he shot to his feet. “Oh no, no, no. Not these illusion tricks again. I had enough with Roa...especially when she was going on her tangents.”

“It's not an illusion,” Shade commented. “Look closely. You should find her if you do,” she suggested.

Scep sighed in relief. Roa’s illusions were especially terrifying and he didn’t feel like going through them again. He should have known Alice wouldn’t have done so, but it was more out of habit really. He quickly scanned the environment, using his keen thieving eyes he’d honed over the years to spot any number of hidden trinkets.

“This next move is called the Presence Veil. It's one of the more advanced moves, and frankly, I haven’t fully mastered it,” Alice explained. “This move was invented from what little knowledge my family has gathered on the training of Aura Guardians. It works by inverting our auras in such a way that we become...unnoticed by normal senses. However, while it SOUNDS like the perfect stealth move...even the current complete form of it is hardly perfect. If someone is actively looking for you, they can see through the veil, not to mention it's useless against Aura Sense, so an Aura Guardian or a Lucario would be able to pierce the veil easily enough.”

“Oh I think I’ve heard of this trick,” Scep said. “I think some of our assassins do that...I think. Don’t think I’ve asked them. I always did great already.”

“Not surprising. It would make sense for assassins to develop similar moves. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere out there is an assassin who’s created a more superior version of this move,” Alice shrugged. “Either way, this is our next lesson. For now, we’re gonna need you to get in tuned with your own aura. And no, we’re not going to suddenly be able to fire Aura Spheres or something. You need to be born with that ability. But people learn to manipulate their aura plenty of times in life.”

“Well, hope you’re patient, cause just the first step isn’t easy,” Shade mused as Alice got into a lotus position. “The best way to get attuned with your own aura is via meditation. In fact, it's safe to say that only a handful of Foxes have ever fully mastered this move.”

“Is there a less boring way?” Scep asked. “Not exactly the most patient type.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll just do this in sessions. A couple of hours a day. This isn’t a move that can be learned quickly,” Alice sighed. “And as far as I know, there isn’t a faster way. Pokemon are by nature able to manipulate their own Aura in a way, though none as well as the Lucario line. This exercise is meant to allow us to consciously do that, rather than our normal instinctive way.”

“Well if you say so,” Scep shrugged. He trusted her well enough to listen.

Two hours later, they had stopped the session. “Alright, that’s enough for now. Did you start to grasp your own aura even if just a little? It should feel like a flowing river in your own body,” Alice said.

Well, there was a river of saliva running down his mouth as he snored in his pose.

“...I see you’re gonna need a LONG time to learn this move…” Alice deadpanned, as Rascal smirked, before forming a small block of ice...and putting it on Scep’s head. Naturally this caused the Sceptile to jump at the sudden awakening.

Scep was normally one for flight. That was his thing, however, he was one who enjoyed a good nap. So he didn’t run for this hills. No, his first thought was of Rascal’s ice. Said Rascal found a Leaf Blade next to his throat in mere seconds. Scep was hovering over him, hissing angrily as he bared his dagger like teeth. “Don’t do that again.”

“No promises here,” Rascal grinned, as with a poof, it revealed he had been threatening a Substitute dummy, the real one reappearing next to Alice who had a deadpan look on her face.

“Some days I worry I’m gonna have to stop the two of you from killing each other…” she sighed in mild annoyance.

“He’d gonna get what’s coming to him, dudette.” Scep growled.

“Not on my watch,” she sighed. “Rascal, please stop bothering Scep at every chance you find. Scep, please don’t kill Rascal.”

Rascal snorted at that, but said, “Fine,” all the same.

Scep snorted. “Fine. I won’t kill him. I’ll just kick his behind from here to the other earth when I get the chance. Won’t even see it coming.”

“...I can live with that,” she sighed. “Anyway, the last move we’ll work on today is one you shouldn’t have any issues with. It's the Smoke Shift move. It's basically using a smokescreen/smoke bomb to make a quick exit,” she explained, before tossing him the smoke bomb. “Let’s see how far you can get before the smoke dissipates.”

“Oh I know this all too well,” Scep smirked and dropped the bomb. He had a bit of a plan in mind. There was a small town nearby and he wanted to browse the local selections. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.

“Rascal, you might want to watch your back,” Alice said simply. Didn’t take a genius to figure out why.

Rascal didn’t have any time to think on that since he was sent flying by a well placed kick by Scep. “Take that, rat!” He shook his fist before throwing down another smoke bomb and vanishing.

“Well, I see you’ve gotten that move down pat,” Alice chuckled, looking towards Rascal who was hanging from a tree, his eyes swirly. “It's getting late. Let’s go back. We have a few more days to practice more,” she said, to which they nodded, before heading back to town.

The next few days went by relatively simply, with the Fox gang spending most of the time training, especially Alice who was working on mastering more of the moves a Zoroark could learn, which was successful, if the fact that she managed to use Night Daze was any indication. However, the time wasn’t just spent for them training and the carriages getting fixed.

Toichi sighed as he put down the gem he was working on. Smiling slightly, he thought of why he was doing this in the first place. He always enjoyed listening to Alice’s tales of her family, and her life before coming to Equus, and he particularly liked hearing about the things the humans had achieved before coming here. When the thought about that, he couldn’t help but wonder if Equus could use things like that too. While some things would be hard to remake (not to mention probably frowned upon, like those ‘Pokeballs’), but some of the technological wonders that the humans achieved should be possible with a smart application of magic. Heck, some of the devices he had given her for use on her heists proved that. Speaking of which, another change that had happened since he met Alice, was that he felt like he wanted to question so many things. He questioned why his special talent was enchantment, questioned what he wanted to do from now on, really, even if he was only in his teenage years, he was looking forward a lot.

Looking back at the device he was working on, he couldn’t help but smile and silently thank his new idol again. If she hadn’t appeared in their lives, would he have lived his entire life pretending to be his parents’ servant? Would his parents have been living in fear for the rest of their lives? Well, he’d never know, and really, he was happy to leave it like that. So with that in mind, he continued to tinker with the spell matrix.

The days went by quickly, and before long, the carriages were fixed, and Sleight had managed to replace most of the props that had been badly damaged. “Well, it took a while, but we’re finally ready to move on,” he chuckled.

“Oh, don’t act like you didn’t enjoy our little break,” Storm snorted, elbowing him lightly. “We’ve been so busy going everywhere lately that I think we all enjoyed this chance to just relax and unwind.”

Several servants nodded behind her.

“Well, guess you’re right,” Sleight chuckled as they boarded the carriage. “Alright everyone, all aboard, cause next stop is Las Pegasus,” he said with a grin.

“Alright, let’s go everyone!” Alice smiled as they were soon on their way once again.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Sorry I took so long for this filler. Its not easy when you're working while thinking up something like this. Well, next chapter is the start of the Las Pegasus Arc, which hopefully I can do faster...as soon as i remember the lines that I need to add in the middle and all that. Well, either way, enjoy.

Twenty Fourth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Twenty Fourth Heist

Opening theme:

“Well, here we are. Viva Las Pegasus,” Sleight Hoof mused as the servants went to work unpacking and moving the stuff for his show into the theater hall. “Good thing scheduling a show was so easy.”

“What did you expect, dear? You’re only one of, if not the, most famous illusionist, especially cause you’re an Earth Pony,” Quick Storm chuckled.

“Yeah, you got that right,” he chuckled back.

“Um...sorry to interrupt, but...could you point us out to where we’re going to stay. I’ve got to...keep an eye on these two,” Alice said, before looking back at Scep and Rascal...both of whom were currently mummified with Spinarak webs...several layers of them.

If looks could kill, the glares both of them were giving her would have vaporized her off the face of the planet. “We’re still with Sleight Hoof and Quick Storm. The last thing we need right now is for you two to go on a merry raid. You can do that later.”

More muffled grumbles. “Huh…” she sighed. “Fine, but at least wait until we get to our lodging before you do anything,” Alice sighed, before using her claws to slowly cut through the webs, starting with Scep cause he was bigger, and thus more work.

“You know, you COULD have just asked me to do it,” Shade teased.

Alice stopped, then face palmed. “Right...Shade. Please?”

“Oh alright, since you asked so nicely,” the Liepard chuckled, before cutting the webs to shreds.

Scep jumped to his feet, a little distance away, and glared at the group. His face peeled back into a snarl, baring his teeth. “Never….Again.” He said with much venom. He looked like he was about to attack someone, but he held himself at bay.

“For once we’re in agreement. We’re serious, Alice. We would have listened if you asked,” Rascal growled.

Alice just gave them a deadpan stare that seemed to say ‘Really?’

“Yeah, when Snorlax fly,” Shade snorted, before running away laughing.

Alice just sighed as a bemused expression entered her face. “Alright, I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to take any chances, especially while we’re in no position to find an escape route...yet,” she said. “Anyway, about our lodging,” she turned to Sleight Hoof who was shuffling nervously. “...you DID get us lodging when you scheduled this, right?”

“Ah...about that…” Sleight chuckled nervously as he started backing away, only to stop when he felt Quick Storm’s hoof on his shoulder.

“Dear….what aren’t you telling us?” she smiled. A smile that made him shudder, which soon became worse as the Pokemon (except Scep, who was idly leaning against the carriage) were now glaring at him too.

“Yeaaaah….haha….about that, I sort of….forgot to book us rooms,” he squeaked.

Alice glared at him, before sighing. “Well that’s just great. So much for enjoying the city while we were here...well, I suppose we can make due with the carriages again.”

“I don’t see the problem, dudette.” Scep spoke up. “I never got to be in those fancy hotels...other than to steal from them. Us PLA didn’t go into cities often and if we did…..” He broke out into laughter. “There’s a reason Hoenn cities are always so chaotic. The Commander loves/hates it like that….I mean, he once tried to covertly set off ketchup bombs all over the capital. He thought it would lower human morale.”

“...you PLA are really good at answering one question...at the cost of leaving soooo many others in the process,” Alice deadpanned. “Well, even if we can’t get a hotel, we still need a place to sta-” the rest of her words were cut off when a flyer promptly blew into her face.

“Holy moly,” Scep pulled back and looked around. “Looks like the Commander strikes again.” He covered his face. “So sorry, dudette. Nice knowing you.”

“...do I even want to know?” Alice groaned as she pulled the flyer off of her face. “Let me guess, another one of your Commander’s...okay, there is no nice way to say this....crazy plans?”

“He tried to blind humanity by putting glue on flyers, getting a few large, industrial windmills, and blowing them in everyone’s faces to stick it to them,” Scep said.

“I don’t know which is crazier. The idea, or the fact that it actually makes some sense for a change,” Alice sighed, before reading the flyer, as she had nothing better to do. “...if your commander really did blow this flyer, I’d kiss him right now.”

“Be ready for a lifetime commitment,” Scep said with a snort. “He’d take it to heart.”

“Okay, make that I’d thank him profusely, cause this flyer just answered our problem,” she amended, before showing him the flyer, an ad for an apartment building, and from the looks of it, one that was both Pony and Pokemon friendly. And they were renting out rooms.

“Hmm,” Scep rubbed his chin. “It’s clear, helpful, and informative….No way the Commander could have blown this in your face.” He quickly looked upwards. “No offense.”

Elsewhere, a certain Seviper vowed vengeance!!...For some reason...I don’t know, he’d smack somebody or something….Maybe with a cheese rocket launcher.

Back with the Fox gang, Alice had shown the flyer to Sleight Hoof and Quick Storm (who was having a ‘talk’ with her husband about keeping a checklist). After a quick read of the flyer (and Sleight Hoof all but ready to kiss Alice for the save), the group set out for the building in question.

When they got to the location, they beheld the Unity Building. At least, that’s what the plaque next to the flimsy gate said. It appeared to be roughly seven stories tall, with some sort of garden on the roof, and made of red brick, save for one patch of steel wall that appeared to be trying, and failing, to blend in next to the door.

“You know, I know this was convenient and all, but...is it just me, or does that steel wall fill you with a sense of...I should really get the hell out of here?” Shade deadpanned.

“Not really,” Sleight Hoof and Quick Storm said.

“Yeah,” Scep narrowed his eyes at it. “It’s almost like I know it from somewhere...I’m getting a Loom-ish vibe...Just be careful of some lasers, or buzzsaws….and giant sledgehammers...or beercans when said Loom is drunk.”

The Sceptile’s words proved to be slightly prophetic, as a camera popped out of the wall and tracked each of the arrivals before beeping once and returning to its place within the wall.

“...That’s it, I’m convinced. Are there any other apartments around here?” Alice said, tearing up the flyer. She would have walked away, if it weren’t for a magical grip that suddenly had her arm.

“Oh, come on, Ms. Alice,” Toichi chuckled. “It's just a camera. Nothing to be worried about.”

“Somehow that doesn’t fill me with confidence…” Rascal groaned.

Scep snorted and waltzed right up to the door. “You are all chickens. I’m gonna get the best room in the house, you watch me.” With that, he just pushed the door open and stepped inside.

“You know, wasn’t it he who first said that this place had the feel of his team’s resident mad scientist?” Shade whispered to Rascal.

“Shhh! I wanna see what happens. I hope there are Sledgehammers,” the Weavile giggled.

The entryway appeared to be a large, mostly-empty lobby, with a desk situated in front of the main set of stairs. Off to one side was a door to, presumably, the ground-level apartment. It was what was behind the desk that was interesting.

A Gabite that looked only vaguely like one. The shape was right, but the pattern of the colors was all wrong. There was a red stripe across her middle that reminded Scep of a Kecleon, and even her head had their patterns. She appeared to be vaguely bored or annoyed, and that only increased when she saw there were visitors.

“Yeah yeah, whaddya want?” she groused. “If you’re here to point and laugh at the freak, I’ve got a move all ready for you.”

Scep blinked in confusion. “Point? Laugh? Dudette why would I do that?”

“Oh I dunno, everymon else seems to think that I can’t hear them whispering about me, so just get it out of your system.” The Ground/Dragon type raised one arm and looked at it, clearly waiting for something.

“Dudette,” Scep rolled his eyes. “I am not going to make fun of you, ‘cause you’re different. I’m a PLA general. We’re all strange. You should see the Commander. Heck, he’d probably give you a high rank solely because you were different. Me? Aint one to judge on appearances, just actions.”

At that, the Gabite blinked before lowering her arm and actually looking at the Sceptile. “...Okay, either you’re just messing with me, or the rest of ‘em were right about how not everymon is an ass.”

“Everyone’s an ass, just some more than most,” Scep laughed. “Name’s Scep.”

The dragon actually laughed with him. “Ain’t that the truth! I’m Christine. So what’re you here for?”

“Some rooms for me and my crew,” Scep gestured out the door. “I’m used to roughing it, but they like it all cozy and nice.”

“Ah. Well, bring ‘em in, and I’ll try to not bite their faces off, as long as they’re half as civil as you,” she said with a wink. “Oh, and so long as you aren’t rude about it, go ahead and ask me the obvious question later...over a drink, though. Long stories deserve one.”

“A drink?” Scep licked his lips. “You’re speaking my language, dudette. It’s been so long since I’ve had a thirst quencher.”

“I know where the booze in this place is kept,” Christine replied. “I can get it easy. But go get your crew, Bit oughta be up here in a few. You saw the camera, right?”

“Seems like something Loom would make,” Scep nodded.

“Bit takes care of the outside defences,” the Gabite replied. “And when he notices new arrivals, he comes up to help handle pricing, along with making offers to the ‘mon that can help keep this place running. Don’t be surprised if he makes a few to your crew.”

“We’re not ones to be tied down,” Scep snorted good humoredly. “We like to roam...Well, I like to. Most mons don’t really care for me.”

“You’re good in my books; you were at least polite when you first saw me,” she replied with a smirk. “And I’m pretty sure they’re the sort of ‘mon that like to save a few bits on their room. I think that defines everyone, really. G’on, get ‘em in here. Let’s see how this plays out.”

“Alright, alright,” Scep held up his hands and chuckled. “Don’t be so pushy, dudette. I might begin to think you want me outta here. What? Tired of my ugly mug already?”

“More like wanting to get the pain over with. You watch, I’ll bet you your choice of drink they won’t be able to keep their damn mouths shut when they see me.” She looked more than slightly downcast at the end of her statement.

Scep smiled, but activated a Leaf Blade. “I’d like to see them try, but I know they’ll be civil….Well, most of them….Okay, I’ll hit them extra good to teach ‘em better.”

Christine did not reply verbally, instead choosing to rest her head on the desk she was situated behind, sighing while she did.

“And put a smile on that face,” Scep said as he walked outside. “It looks better on you.”

His back was turned, so he didn’t notice the blush or reflexive shimmer that coated her form before she returned to normal.

When Scep called them in, the first thing that happened was Alice walking in, taking one look at the Gabite, and suddenly she was at the desk. Like literally. In an instant. Staring intently at the Gabite.

“GAH!” Christine did not scream, no matter how many testimonies would say otherwise. She reacted calmly and reasonably by jerking her head and entire body back into her chair and scooting it a few feet. “Can I help you?”

“Fascinating. You’re a Gabite, but you’re certainly not a Shiny. Hm...markings like a Kecleon, and other slight differences...a possible evolution or adaptation?” the Zoroark analyzed, having gone into ‘researcher mode’ the moment she saw the odd Gabite.

“I’m going to take that as a ‘no,’ you can’t be helped,” the dragon deadpanned before looking over at Scep. “She do this a lot?” she asked with a roll of her eyes.

“She can be stupid sometimes,” Scep chuckled. “But she doesn’t mean anything by it.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” she responded before looking to the dark-type in front of her. “And Scep’s the only one I feel remotely comfortable telling...as well as the only one whose name I know,” the dragon prompted.

Alice blinked for a moment, before realizing what she was doing. “Oh dear,” she gulped, suddenly going straight. “I’m terribly sorry about that. I get caught up whenever I see something that might tie in with my research...well, my research from back on Earth at least. I guess old habits die hard,” she said nervously. “I’m Alice. Its nice to meet you.”

The dragon had noticeably stiffened at certain words during Alice’s speech. Namely, ‘research’ and ‘Earth’. Her tail lashed a little bit, colors dancing along it before it returned to normal. “I’m Christine,” she said in a tone with more than a touch of steel in it. “So, you lot want a room?”

“Er...yes. My team and I would like to rent a few rooms for the next few days. Same for our...benefactors as well,” she said, motioning to the Ponies who had stepped in and stiffened a bit at the sight of the dragon.

A new voice spoke up as a Porygon-Z ascended from the basement level. “Greetings and salutations,” it said, understood by Pokemon and Ponies alike. “This unit is designated as Bit. For how long would you like to stay, and how many rooms will you require?”

“Well…” Alice started, before motioning to Sleight Hoof.

Seeing the cue, he stepped forward. “Hm...I think we’ll be staying at least 4 days, since I’m going to be doing more than 1 show here. As for rooms...I think 6 or 7 rooms will do. We are a rather large group.”

Bit dinged a few times as he ran the data through his self. “Recommendation: you rent two apartments worth of rooms. Our usual weekly rate is fifteen bits. Eight bits per apartment for half a week comes to sixteen bits, unless one of the Pokemon you travel with has any moves that could make the running of this apartment house easier,” the Program recited. “Two adjacent apartments are available on the fourth, fifth, and sixth floor.”

Sleight Hoof, and the rest of the group blinked at the rather...mechanical way that was said. “Er...right. We’ll do that. Anyone want any particular floors?”

There were no answers.

“Alright, we’ve got…” he mentally counted. “14 people in total.”

The Porygon actually blinked at that. “Clarification: you meant you needed six or seven bedrooms?”

“Well...yeah, I figured some of us could bunk together or something,” he said, while Quick Storm nodded in agreement.

Slowly shaking his disconnected head, the Program pointed one limb to the stairs. “The sixth floor is entirely open, and each apartment comes with both a master and a guest bedroom. Four apartments per floor. Eight bedrooms in total. Revised bill: thirty-two bits.”

“That works. So...who’s gonna bunk with who? I’ll be with Quick Storm that’s for sure.”

“We can take an apartment,” Alice spoke up, motioning to herself and the other Pokemon.

“Same here,” some of the servants said, until they realized that there were 6 of them.

“2 of you can bunk in our apartment,” Quick Storm smiled.

“Yeah, so I guess we’re gonna rent a floor then,” Sleight Hoof chuckled. Then added when he remembered the dragon from before. “Though...you got any other tenants or employees we might want to avoid?”

Christine snorted once as Bit nodded. “The Nurem family takes up apartment 301. The pony landlord is in 202. Lala of Checkmate is beyond that door there,” the program pointed with his other arm at the ground floor door, “and Jessie, James, and Meowth are in 403. Two pony families live in 501 and 502, and the seventh floor is split between Pokemon families and ponies.”

“Alright,” Sleight Hoof nodded, before the Ponies all made their way upstairs. Alice on the other hand…

“Excuse me, but I’m pretty sure I heard wrong. Did you say Nurem? Cause there is no possible way HE got brought along here,” she said, though her eyes gained a dangerous glint. Likewise, her team tensed up, while Scep also did the same.

The Porygon-Z responded in kind, his eyes also flickering to their red state. Even Christine’s colors flickered at the accusation in Alice’s voice. “Information freely given: He had a son, nimrod,” the program stated.

“Yeah, and Vincent’s a freakin’ saint compared to the old guy,” the dragon deadpanned. “So would you like to try for strike two, or would you rather shut up now?”

Alice blinked in surprise, trying to remember the details she knew about Nurem, then relaxed when she remembered that particular report, and the info on the former wife of Dr. Nurem. “False alarm guys. Right family, wrong guy,” she said, though she didn’t really need to since the others had remembered that detail too when Bit pointed it out and had dropped their stances. All but Scep. “Sorry about that. Let’s just say your friend’s family name tends to...raise alarms,” Alice apologized, having not noticed Scep still tense.

“We know,” dragon and program stated in unison.

“I was in the mainframe for a while. I know why the name attracts its share of bad press,” the program said. “Vincent, however, is intent on taking it back from the Doctor. Thus, this building.”

“He’s treated us like family,” Christine growled. “We survivors stick together. That means stand down unless you want a Flamethrower up your ass, Scep!”

Scep yelped and jumped back in fright. “Well excuse me for being a little paranoid, dudette. I don’t know anything much about this Nurem guy, but we knew about Doctor Raziel….” He shivered in fright. “I don’t want to end up some experiment….or eaten...but then, he was a bit of a cannibal, so he didn’t care if he ate humans or Pokemon…” He looked around nervously. “So, he’s not any of that?”

“Well...maybe you could call Vincent down? Maybe talking with him will ease Scep’s worries,” Alice suggested.

Bit beeped in the negative. “Ill-advised. Su-” at Christine’s growl, the Porygon-Z hastily changed his descriptor. “Lucy is a Lucario, Vincent’s girlfriend...and in her first Heat.”

The Pokemon all winced at that, while Alice looked a bit...confused. “Er...former human here, and Pokemon mating wasn’t really my area of expertise. Explanation please.”

“Look,” Scep cleared his throat. “When a mommy and a daddy Lucario love each other very much…..They bonk each others brains out for hours, upon hours, upon hours on end, destroying everything in their path with as much violence as possible……” Scep winced. “Yep, that’s Lucario heats….or really any heats. I’m glad we got rid of them with Loom’s pills.”

“...I don’t suppose you have any of that on you right now?” Alice shivered, offering a silent prayer that whatever Vincent ended up as, it was sturdy.

“Nope,” Scep shrugged. “Looks like I’m gonna have to chance it….Though, there ain’t any girl that’s gonna put up with me, so I don’t have to worry...ever.” He grumbled.

“Hey, the doc set the bar pretty low,” Christine said. “I know a dozen gals you could win over easy just by saying that you ain’t gonna cut them open or inject them with anything...or I would, if I knew where they were on this damn planet.”

Scep turned green...er. “No...don’t want to think about all that...damn flashbacks. I knew I shouldn’t have looked.”

The dragon seemed to take notice of what she had said and its effects on Scep and coughed to re-attract attention to herself. “And since I know a few of you are probably wondering, the kid apparently came over as an Abra. He’s a Kadabra now, though, and if I know him, he’s been listening ever since Bit came up.”

“I highly doubt he’d heard much from me or my team, seeing as we’re mostly Dark-types here,” Alice pointed out.

“I’m grass...thanks for remembering,” Scep snorted.

“I did say most. Charlotte and Spinner are Bug-types if you recall.”

Got that right, a voice said, everywhere and nowhere, but mostly in their minds. That’s why I waited until Bit came up, he’s Normal-type, I can borrow his ears. Trying to do it with Christine is...ill-advised. And by the way, well done on your anger control, Christine. Welcome, guests. Do make yourself at home. I’d greet you personally, but I have to monitor my love.

“Vincent Nurem, I presume,” Alice said, her voice becoming more...businesslike in a way. “I’d say it's nice to meet you, but...we’re not exactly talking to each other directly...of course, the fact that I can still hear YOU is pretty incredible considering the type of Pokemon I ended up,” she chuckled. “Either way, could you talk to Scep for a moment. It would be best if you could calm him down a bit. Unfortunately your...I don’t want to call him your father, seems to be a really bad topic...not that I can blame anyone for that.”

I’d apologize, but you try leaving a Lucario bound and helpless and see how much retribution they promise you! And it’s taking me using Bit as a transmitter to reach you, thanks to your typing. Otherwise, I’d have talked to you all the moment you set foot in the house. And call him the Doctor if you must refer to him. They once were two separate people. As for Scep...that depends on him.

“Well, as much as I like my new body, I didn’t choose it. That would be Arceus. As for Scep…” she turned to see Scep trying and failing to not tremble like a leaf. “...yeah, please do talk. He looks ready to lay an egg.”

Behind Scep, Rascal was rolling on the floor in laughter, while Shade was looking at him in amusement.

“I’m….fine,” Scep tried to stand tall. “I am a high ranking general...of the PLA….I have faced Doctors before…” He couldn’t help but glance at the exit. “And….and….”

At this point, Rascal decided to be an ass, and sneak up to him, before whispering, “Time for the experiment…” in a really creepy tone.

“TAKE RASCAL!” Scep screamed like a little girl. “I DON’T WANT TO DIE!” He made a dash for the exit, only to run into a thin, familiar red line that had appeared in his way. Christine’s form shimmered back into view, and she looked at him with disdain.

“Look,” she said, “If you aren’t going to at least try to listen to him, I’m taking all the booze you try to drink tonight for myself.” She then shot a glare at Rascal who had the gall to whistle innocently and mouthed the words ‘you’re next.’

...Scep, is it? Vincent’s ‘voice’ rang out in the Sceptile’s head.

“And now he’s in my head,” Scep gulped. “Look dude, look. I’m not trying to be a dick. I’m just trying to save my hide.” He looked at Christine. “So, give him a chance?...He isn’t going to do anything?....None of that ‘doctor’ stuff?”

The Gabite had barely opened her mouth before Vincent’s much more...tense voice rang out. You’re confusing me with the man who was my father. The one who injected me with Abra DNA when I was a babe and eventually lost his sense of right and wrong. I’m not him. I won’t ever be him. We made that promise together, and Arceus himself told me he’s not here. But if you still want to leave, I’ll understand.

Scep frowned. “Aww, why’d you have to make me feel all down? I don’t even know who your father is really? Some small shot mock up doctor or something?” Scep shrugged. “Eh, we didn’t think nothing about him. Now Doctor Raziel is where I’m afraid….” He shivered. “Now that was a villain, dude...He’d put your pap to shame...Whoever the fucker is.”

“Actually...it's the other way around,” Alice commented, earning a confused look from the Sceptile.

The Zoroark sighed, before explaining. “Dr. Raziel is indeed a very bad man, high on the world’s most wanted list, much higher than some other, more publicly known criminals like say...Phantom Thief Fox, or even Team Rocket. But despite everything, he was only the number 2 most wanted scientist on the list,” she shook her head. “No, that dubious ‘honor’ goes to Doctor Rupert Nurem. Wanted internationally for several hundred, maybe nearly a thousand cases of kidnapping, illegal experimentation, abuse of both human and Pokemon life, hundreds of cases of murder, and a single account of child kidnapping and abuse, with the child in question being Vincent up there,” she listed off. “Raziel was a monster, but compared to him, Nurem...he was considered an abomination.”

“Oh, so he was an asshole,” Scep sighed and gave a thumbs up, to which the Zoroark facepalmed at how...simple a reaction that was. “Kudos for making it, little dude.”

During the speech, Christine had turned away, her colors fluctuating wildly, but her breathing becoming deep and regulated. Bit dinged a few times. “Eight hundred and fourteen,” he stated the number simply.

“Geez…” Scep smacked his head. “I didn’t mean….I’m so….Gah.” He walked over to a wall and smacked his head. “Stupid. I should’ve just shut up…” He smacked his head again. “Oww, why’d you have to make the walls so hard. That hurt.” He clutched his head.

The only reply he got was awkward silence from everyone in the room, so silent, that they could almost hear the crickets chirping.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Scep looked at them pleadingly. “I’m not a dick. I didn’t...I...gah.” He growled. “This is why I don’t hang around other people. I say...gah. Sorry I even came here. I’ll go find some park and chill there. Maybe I’ll learn to keep my mouth shut.” He stalked over to the door.

“For the record, Scep, we’re only awkwardly silent cause you’re asking why the wall was so hard after you hit it with your head,” Shade trolled.

Christine reflexively stopped the Sceptile by putting her tail in the way and glancing at him over her shoulder. “I...I think I still owe you a drink...and I think I need one right about now,” she stated, shuddering slightly at the memories. “After all, I’m pretty sure you’re still winning our bet from earlier.”

“I don’t deserve a drink,” Scep snorted. “I...I don’t deserve anything really. I’m just some lowly thief...I even made you frown and all that...bringing that up. Aint right and I should’ve known better….Just shows you how stupid I am.”

Everyone is stupid on their own, Vincent said softly. It falls to someone you let into your life to tell you when you’re being stupid, so you can fix it. I learned that one recently enough.

“Huh?” Scep rubbed his chin. “Then I know what to do, little dude. I’ll start all over.” He jumped out the door and...then walked back in. “Hey, I’m Scep.”

The dragon blinked a few times before catching on and smirking, letting out a little laugh. “Hey, I’m Christine. What say we get a drink and ditch these guys?”

At those words, Rascal wolf whistled...and got smashed in the face by Christine’s tail for his trouble, and sailed over the counter. “You were asking for that one, you know,” Charlotte and Spinner deadpanned at their downed friend.

“Totally...worth it…”

Scep smiled wildly. “I like you… I really like you.” He laughed. “Let’s get that drink.”

“Yeah, two seconds. Vincent!”

At that, a small bag fell to the lobby in front of the dragon, clinking as it did. She scooped it up and jerked her head at the door. “C’mon, I know a place.”

And with that, the two were out the door, leaving everyone else to their own devices. “...so...Unity Building, huh? Other than the security system up front, anything else we should know about this place?” Alice commented.

Bit beeped before listing off the features of the apartment building. “A garden on the roof, growing some Berries. A furnace that can run on Fire-type moves, an air-conditioner that can be similarly powered with Ice-type moves. A generator and capacitor that can be used to store excess Electric-type energy, and a water tank atop the roof that is designed for Water-types to fill easily.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I suppose Rascal could help with the air-conditioner,” Alice suggested.

“No thanks. I’m here to kick back and relax,” came the response.

“...nevermind, she sighed. “So...I guess we might as well go to our rooms. Anyone else we should meet before we get comfortable?”

Well there is the issue of-

“WOBBUFFET!” the blue blob took the pleasure of introducing himself from his position of standing quietly in the corner of the lobby. Loudly. At the top of his lungs. Right behind Alice.

Naturally, this had the expected effect. “Er...can someone get something for Alice to land on. I don’t think she should be hanging from that chandelier for much longer…” Shade blinked, though the same thought was running through their heads. “How the hell did we NOT notice him before?!”

Wobbuffet merely snickered and stood underneath the one he’d just startled, nodding his whole body once. “Wobbuffet,” he stated, holding himself rigid in preparation.

“I don’t know what you said, I don’t know why I didn’t understand what you said, but I got the gist of it. Fine, if you’re asking for it....Payback Cannonball!” Alice shouted, letting go, though not actually using the move, and landed on the Wobbuffet. “You know, is it just me, or have I seen you before?” she idly commented as she could now see the Wobbuffet up close.

The blue blob took the brunt of the attack without complaint, only deforming slightly before snapping back to his usual self. “Wobbuffet? Wobbuffet Wobbuffet. Wobbuffet.” Here he pointed at the other members of her team and nodded, but pointed at her and shook his whole body in the negative. “WobBUFFET.”

I’d apologize for him, but that’d defeat the point. He doesn’t talk, and I’m trying to get him to.

“Well, whatever he’s saying, all I can tell for sure is that he seems to know my team, so I probably met him when I was still a human,” she mused. At that particular moment, a female Pyroar and male, very odd, very familiarly odd, Meowth came up from the basement.

“Bit, what is taking so long to deal with the new arrivals?” the Pyroar asked in a very familiar voice.

“Huh? Is that…?” Alice blinked, trying to remember where she heard that voice before. Likewise, her team were also wondering why these two seemed so familiar. At that particular moment, it clicked. Not by what the Meowth was saying, but by the fact that those who listened discerned the fact that he was speaking English.

“Probably the amount of ‘em,” the bipedal cat said. “I mean geeze, I thought our circus was bad. These guys only need a tent to surpass us.”

“No way,” Alice blinked. “Jessie? Meowth? Is that you?”

Jessie and Meowth blinked in turn, looking at the Zoroark before them. “Why is that voice so familiar?” Jessie mused. “I want to say I know you…”

“Well, it HAS been a while. It's me, Alice. Alice Maximilion. We met shortly after you...left your previous employment,” Alice chuckled, while her team smiled as well, when they recognize them.

While it was slightly unexpected by almost everyone there, Jessie responded to the revelation that Alice had made it to the new world and come to visit with a hug that most humans would not think themselves capable of surviving. “Alice!” She cheered. “I had wondered about who else made it, and I’m glad to see you’re one of them!”

“Well, last I checked I never did anything too wrong back on Earth, so...yeah. And as you can see, everyone else came too,” Alice smiled as all her Pokemon came up and hugged the former Team Rocket members as well. “So what have you two been up to? Not getting into any trouble I hope.”

“Depends on your definition of trouble,” Meowth said with a snicker. Jessie shot a look up to her passenger before replying to the statement quietly.

“Remind me again, whose idea was that?”

At that, the Meowth fell silent before turning away. “No idea what you mean,” he stated, pointedly not looking at any ‘mon for a moment.

“We’ve been well enough,” Jessie said to fill in the silence. “Vincent offers us shelter and sanctuary, in exchange for services rendered. The only real times of excitement are when Wobbuffet sneaks up on someone. Like I’ve told him not to.”

“Wobbuffet!” the psychic defended himself. He then pointed at some of the Pokemon in the lobby and nodded. “Wobbuffet, wobbuffet.” He then pointed at Alice and shook his head and self before tilting it to one side. “Wobbuffet? Wobbuffet.”

“...yeaaah...still have no idea what you’re saying,” Alice deadpanned, before turning to Jessie. “So...same old same old, then? Guess some things just never change,” she laughed, before adding, “Careful though, you wouldn’t want someone like say...John, or maybe Jonathan to find out you’ve been naughty kids now, do you?”

Or me, but once I found out, I forgave them, seeing as how they listened to reason, Vincent’s ‘voice’ spoke from around them. I’ve...I’ve been doing a lot of that.

“Ya know, for a guy who’s supposed to be having his brains fucked out by a lust crazed Lucario, he sure is talking a lot,” Rascal idly commented, earning him a light smack on the head from Shade.

Well, Lucy is a bit tied up at the moment, which is how I’m able to even withstand her Heat. It’s also why I didn’t greet you in person: someone has to monitor the bindings, make sure they’re not too tight that they hurt her, or too loose that she gets free and ties me up instead.

There was a pause as the new arrivals processed that. Then they all blushed. “Ooooh, so you into bondage then,” Rascal was the first to talk again, before his eyes glinted mischievously. “Alice is into that too, especially with Spinarak webs,” he laughed, before dodging a Shadow Ball, courtesy of the human turned Zoroark, whose face was bright red through her fur, a mixture of embarrassment at the implication, and indignation at his exaggerated statement.

“I only tie you up in that stuff so you don’t do something stupid...again,” she yelled.

Easy there, a chuckle filled the air. I’d rather not have to explain why any more walls needed replacing to my insurance provider. And sorry to say, but that’s the last thing you’re going to learn about our bedroom practices. Welcome to the Unity Building, and try to leave it intact.

There was the slight sound of static as the mental ‘voice’ cut out this time. Bit blinked a few times before nodding and making for the stairs down. “Arrivals settled, price determined. Returning to computer project.”

“Well, you heard the Porygon. We might as well settle in. It was nice meeting you 2 again. Tell James I said hi, will you. We might be busy later,” Alice said, before she and the rest of her team made their way upstairs.

-break-

Later, after they all settled in, the Fox gang was sitting around in their room, as Scep hadn’t returned, with Shade betting that he wouldn’t be back till morning at least, though nobody took her up on that bet. As the five of them sat around, Rascal smirked a bit, before tapping his claws in a sequence. A sequence they invented back on Earth. Recognizing it, Alice and Shade moved closer, while Charlotte and Spinner closed their eyes for a moment, and had Vincent not been pre-occupied with Lucy, he would have noticed what felt like the two Spinarak suddenly fading away from his senses, but as he was preoccupied, he didn’t notice it. “Alright, Rascal, what is it you want to talk about that needs us to go to this length?” she asked.

“Oh, I was just thinking. We’re in the Sin City of this world, a city ripe with nightlife and crime,” he started, before a face splitting grin appeared on his face. “Sounds like the perfect place for us to...introduce ourselves again.”

The four of them looked surprised, before an amused look crossed Alice’s face. “Interesting. It HAS been a while since we did a spontaneous heist, and we have just enough time to prepared. Problem is, we don’t have a target.”

“Would this help then?” Shade cut in, before pulling out another flyer (one she had picked up on the way there), and showed it to them.

“Hm… ‘Crown Jewel Casino celebrates reopening after repairs and 10 year anniversary. Special centerpiece: Gemstone Roulette. All gamblers welcome for celebration’,” she read as she noticed the date. Tonight. “Why yes, Shade. I think this really works,” Alice mused. “Let’s get to work.”

-break-

The new manager of Crown Jewel looked around happily. After that fiasco a few weeks ago, they had to close down the casino for repairs, though thankfully the repairs were financed by the money that Pegasus Air had made off of them when the old manager was in control. After the last manager had been arrested, he had been promoted to the new manager, and he was looking forward to running a good as new, and hopefully this time, clean business.

“Sir! Come quick!” came the voice of one of the employees. Blinking in surprise, he ran to where they were calling, the Gemstone Roulette, and one of them was holding a card, which read: ‘The Gemstone Roulette will be mine. Phantom Thief Fox’. “Why me...?” he mentally moaned. Of all the people it could have been, why did HE have to be the next victim of the thief who had recently robbed 3 of Equestria’s Princesses. THE PRINCESSES! With those facts, what chance did his casino have…

-break-

Several hours later, it was nearing midnight, yet like any other big city, life was still going at full speed in Las Pegasus. One such example would be Crown Jewel Casino, with a very large number of nobles and other wealthy folks coming in to have a good time with some good old fashioned gambling. However, despite the fun atmosphere, it was...dampened a bit by the presence of a good number of the town guard. “Well now, looks like this city has a pretty fast response,” Shade mused as they watched from the roof.

“Well, it is a rather...chaotic city. I’m sure their responses are faster because of that,” Alice mused as she put on her Fox guise. “Well then, shall we get ready?”

“You got it,” they all nodded, as Shade slinked away, making her way to her target.

The festivities went on for a while, everyone enjoying himself. Everyone except the guards, who were anxiously awaiting their target. Blackstone on the other hand was relaxed and chilling.

“Ahhh, my favorite part of a good old stake out, waiting around for whatever’s about to happen, to happen,” he said casually, glancing up to the ceiling where Noi was currently making like a shadow and hiding from the halflight. “You see anything Bit?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary at this time,” Bit replied.

“Not for long,” Fox chuckled. “Hit it, Liepard,” she said to her communication gem, as Liepard shut down the power.

The lights went out, plunging the casino into darkness.

“Flash,” Bit responded, lighting up the area around and beneath him by causing his form to glow with an intensity similar to what the lights had been. Blackstone had thankfully shielded his eyes before he started and when it had eventually dimmed down even further he was able to see the room. Those unlucky enough to be looking at where he had been were seeing a few Bit-shaped spots for a minute. However, the scene that was revealed after the darkness was lifted was...no different than it was before the lights went out. That is, until a black shape appeared behind one of the guards.

“There she is!” one of the guards shouted, before charging, and unfortunately, tackled the unwitting guard in the process, ending in a messy dogpile. “Did we get her?” His answer was the black shape slipping through them, revealing it to be a cape, which just floated in space for a moment.

“Do you really want an answer to that?” Blackstone asked the guard rhetorically, rather disgusted by the display. “Congratulations boys, you’ve graduated from Thief Catchers to Cape Catchers, sadly that doesn’t come with any more bits or benefits.”

“Reveal yourself,” Bit stated, his disconnected head swivelling around near constantly as he looked for the one he was supposed to be guarding the Gemstone Roulette from.

As if in response to his words, the cape suddenly twirled into a spiral, before shooting through the crowd and into the middle of the room, and when it uncurled, it revealed the form of a Shiny Zoroark, dressed in a black cape and a black cavalier hat, standing confidently in the crowd, before bowing slightly, much like how a magician would bow on stage.

Bit’s head snapped around to point directly at the Zoroark, his body rotating to join it in its orientation after a second’s time had passed. “Phantom Thief Fox, I presume,” Bit stated.

“Guilty as charged,” Fox chuckled in amusement.

“A cute choice of words,” Bit stated before pointing at the night guard between the Illusion Pokemon and the Gemstone Roulette. Taking this as his cue, Blackstone stepped forward and cleared his throat.

“Do you think you could stop wasting my time and resources on this so that we can go back to doing our real jobs and stopping murders and rapists?” Blackstone inquired, glancing over her with a raised eyebrow. “Or are you really that important?”

“Honestly, not really. But, I’m already here, and like any good magician, the show must go on,” she said, her confident look never once leaving her face.

“Ooooh, you’re a magician, and this is a stage show is it?” the thestral asked, raising an eyebrow further. “Funny, it looked like a robbery, then again, I guess those things can get confusing, robbery, stage show, magic trick, grand theft, tomato, tamaato.”

“...you know, you don’t have to strain yourself for a come back,” she deadpanned.

“And neither do you apparently,” he replied with a small shrug. “‘Cause that sounds practiced, meaning I’m not nearly the first officer’s valuable time you’ve wasted.”

“We’ll see about that,” she chuckled again in amusement.

“So this is your first time?” he asked. “Guess I should be honored by that, sorry miss, I’m a married stallion so I’ll have to turn you down.”

Fox just chuckled in amusement. It wasn’t everyday she dealt wit a cop with wits like that. This was gonna be fun.

“Officer Blackstone, in what condition would you like these thieves?” Bit asked, his gaze never wavering.

“Leave us something to arrest, will you?” Blackstone asked, not glancing away. “And don’t use too many bright lights eh? Being nocturnal, that kinda thing hurts my eyes.”

“That depends entirely on how difficult this becomes,” Bit stated in reply, three colored orbs already rotating around his form as he prepared his favored Tri-attack.

Fox just stood there, her hat tipped over her face, revealing one of her eyes, her seemingly constantly amused expression never leaving it.

All at once, the orbs dissipated as Bit canceled his favored move, going for a super-effective move instead. “Signal Beam,” he said, causing a multi-colored beam of light to leap from his beak towards the Fox.

The attack struck, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake, the thief seemingly taking a direct hit from the attack.

Blackstone, however, hung back and looked around. “Yeah, it’s never that easy, come out miss,” he said with a small shrug as he kept his head on a swivel.

“Very perceptive. Kudos for being the first pony here who didn’t fall for that,” came Fox’s voice, and suddenly, she was standing behind Bit.

He didn’t think, so much as react. “Thunder wave!” The electricity burst from his form and washed through the room, impacting those unlucky enough to not have taken any cover prior to his startled outburst.

The thief’s body hit the ground, electricity crackling from it, but to the surprise of everyone watching, the body revealed to be faceless with the word: ‘Gotcha’ written on it.

Bit returned to his position over the Roulette wheel, keeping his head on a swivel and reacting to the slightest of noises, a bit twitchy as he realized he’d been tricked into incapacitating most of the Guard he’d come to help. “I. Will not. Fail. I. DO NOT. FAIL,” he stated as though they were more laws of physics or the universe than just opinions.

“Now if only I got a penny for every time someone said that,” came Fox’s teasing voice, the thief now standing on the other side of the room.

“I’m guessing you’d have about three in that piggy bank,” Blackstone stated as he got back to his hooves, having dived away from Bit’s electric attack. “Noi! Deafen this vixen!”

To his surprise, Noi didn’t respond immediately. He looked up and saw why. At the moment, there were a pair of ridiculously large spiders advancing on his Pokemon. “Noi!” he exclaimed.

“Ah yes, you didn’t think I came here alone, did you?” Fox chuckled, as she looked up. “Spinaraks 1 and 2, do tie that Noibat up. I’d rather it not interfere.”

“Yes ma’am,” the two of the saluted, before firing matching strings of webbing.

Noi stared at the oncoming netting and then grinned and her ears turned in the direction of the Spinaraks. The netting was inches away from her before a BLAST of physical sound slammed into them, tearing them apart and crashing into the pair of bugs.

“You’ve eaten your last Zubat!” the little Noibat shouted shrilly at them, unleashing another wave of sonic energy at them.

“No, I didn’t think you’d be alone,” Blackstone said with a small smirk as the two Bug Types were put into full retreat. “I planned ahead, imagine that.”

“You’d be surprised how few do,” Fox deadpanned, as the two Spinaraks decided to let go, and fell...right into her hands. “Think fast,” she said, before they both fired webs at Blackstone.

The Thestral flared his wings and launched himself backwards before the webbing could hit him. “Darling, I’ve been on the force for longer than you’ve been alive,” he drawled before Noi let out an angry screech from above. “Think fast.”

And a blast of sound slammed into the Fox’s sensitive ears...and that would have been a problem...if it weren’t for the fact that she simply stood there like it was nothing. If anything, it seemed she was more focused putting something into the Spinaraks’...ears...things...or whatever it was bugs used to hear.

“GUST!” Noi shouted before flapping her wings hard and brewing up a small windstorm around the fox.

“Yeaaah. I think not,” Fox simply said, flicking a pair of metal balls over at Noi, but positioned in such a way that they were aimed ABOVE her. Noi, being an agile little thing, darted away from the metal balls and darted towards Fox, clear Wing Attacks on either wing.

“Freeze,” Fox chuckled. From his spot, Rascal grinned and with the precision of a sniper, fired an ice bam at the Noibat, freezing him solid, leaving him to land on the ground with a clatter.

Which gave Fox just enough time to notice the rather large Thestral’s front hoof before it slammed into her jaw, hard.

Fox grimaced at the pain, but instead of fighting the force, she relaxed her body, rolling with the blow. Still hurt though. “Ouch. Should probably have seen that coming,” she chuckled as she rolled back to her feet, the two Spinarak jumping off her hands.

Blackstone didn’t say anything this time, he simply swept at her across the ground and came up strong, hoof slamming into her crotch followed by one to the stomach.

Unfortunately for him, what happened next completely ruined his awesome moment. Fox burst into a cloud of smoke, revealing another dummy shaped like a Zoroark, only this one had the words: ‘you fell for it’ written on it, as the metal balls attached to it burst, coating him in webbing and nets.

“Well, now that’s just plain cheating the laws of all reality,” the stallion muttered, struggling in the bonds.

“It's all in the Phantom Thief Handbook,” Fox chuckled as she reappeared. “Don’t worry, those will dissolve in time, so no need to worry about it getting stuck in your mane,” she finished, before turning back to Bit. “So...anything else? Or can I go now?”

Bit made the sounds of heavy breathing as he focused his attention on the Fox’s form. In fact, it was a little too foc- “Lock-On,” he stated, smirking slightly.

“Oooh, not bad. Let’s see if you can catch this trick. After all, it's showtime,” Fox smirked, her hand on her hat as she said her favorite catchphrase. And with that, she charged forward.
“Zap Cannon,” Bit said in response, his head automatically tracking the form he’d Locked earlier. Normally, he never touched this move because of its inaccuracy, but in this case, he needed not only the damage, but the paralysis effect.

Fox smirked again, seemingly unconcerned with the attack heading her way. However, right before it hit, she vanished.

Bit actually twitched visibly at her disappearance, and decided on a new tactic then. “Dark Pulse. Dark Pulse. DARK PULSE! I WILL NOT LET YOU GET CLOSE, MUCH LESS SUCCEED!”

The waves of pure shadow erupted from Bit’s form and swept through the room, each one meant to find and push Fox back. However there was a notable lack of resistance.

“Nice choice. But there is one flaw,” Fox teased again, before she suddenly dropped from the ceiling, and tagged Bit with a small ball, before jumping away.

Bit’s eyes shifted then, to their red version with cross-hairs. He. Was. Pissed. Or insane. One of the two. Despite that, Fox continued to look on with her amused expression, like she wasn’t staring down an angry Porygon-Z.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she said.

“ICE BEAM,” he stated, before aiming at the floor around the Roulette Wheel. “AREA DENIAL MODE IN EFFECT.”

The target Fox was so intent on was ringed with ice from the program’s attack. He then turned his gaze back to her, blind fury still driving his actions. “PREPARING SIGNAL BEAM.”

Fox just watched on with her amused expression. “This has certainly been a fun night,” she mused.

Bit took aim, before reconsidering and going back to a move that had almost worked before. “LOCK-ON. NO ESCAPE POSSIBLE NOW. SURRENDER OR FACE MY NEXT ATTACK.”

“Tsk. Tsk. Silly Porygon. Haven’t you learned by now?” she chided, waving a finger. “There is nothing impossible for Phantom Thief Fox,” she said, tipping her hat over her face again.
“ON YOUR HEAD BE IT. ZAP CANNON.” The familiar move came at Fox again, Bit not intent on needing to recharge...or explain the property damage that using a Hyper Beam would bring.
Fox just smirked, before saying, “Checkmate.” As she used several web bombs...on her cape, while wrapping herself in it. The attack struck, hard, covering her from view.

Bit waited for the smoke to clear, hoping he’d finally done what he’d been asked to.

However, from the smoke, a figure suddenly dashed forward, and before he could react, it tagged him several more times, and with a snap of a finger, he suddenly found himself wrapped in several layers of webbing, before he felt a sharp blow to the top of his head.

“Didn’t I tell you? You didn’t want to do that,” Fox teased, not looking the least bit damaged.

Bit struggled, trying to get his arms, tail, and head free of the webbing. It felt wrong, so very wrong, for his head and body to be this close! “Grrr...DiScHaRgE,” he muttered, hoping that it might help his situation. His body sparked, but ultimately sputtered out, the attack failing to do what was needed.

“Don’t bother. That webbing is a special solution I made myself. Its strong as a Bug-type’s web, while being non-conductive, fire proof, and even ice resistant. Only way you’re getting out is if you had someone with claws get you out, or you wait for it to dissolve within the hour,” Fox simply said as she casually walked over to her target. “Now then, as promised, the Gemstone Roulette is mine. Adieu,” she said, before seemingly floating up to the ceiling, her target securely in her arms, and landing on a balcony, from which she made her exit.

The program’s scream of rage could probably be heard half the city away as he cursed not only Fox, but the ponies that had put him in this situation to begin with. He never failed! Granted, that wasn’t a point of pride, considering his past ‘employment’, but the point stood!

Outside the Casino, The Fox gang winced as they heard the scream. “Maybe I went a bit too far,” Fox winced, honestly feeling a little bad about Bit. They honestly hadn’t expected to see him on the scene, hence why instead of all of them, only she entered the Casino. But, like any other Fox, she adapted, and delivered on her promise...Bit was just unlucky to have put himself in the way. She was just glad she had packed enough of her special solution to coat her cape with. Otherwise that last Zap Cannon would have fried her.

“Well...all’s fair in love and war?” Shade offered, before they beat a hasty retreat.

“Hey, come to think of it...where is the Guard Station anyway? We kinda have to know to give this back,” Rascal commented.

Everyone thought about it for a moment, then facepalm/paw/whatever-ed. At least, for the moment. After said moment, they saw several ponies in suits of armor running by towards the Crown Jewel, shouting something about how they had to secure the scene and form a perimeter.

“Time to go!” Fox said as she quickly stuffed the Roulette into her cape, before they took off into the night. Along the way, they happened to pass a certain residence, where a certain young Griffin had gotten up for a glass of water, only to be treated by a sight that he would remember for a long time. Wow...he looks awesome… Was the thoughts on one Bruce Claw’s mind as he watched the Phantom Thief leap into the night.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Hey everyone. Sorry its been so long. Life has been so hectic, and with the Group so quiet I just never got to finishing this until now. Anyway, part 1 of 4 of this crossover with Thadius0's A New World, A New Mind.

Twenty Fifth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Twenty Fifth Heist

Opening theme:

The next morning, the paper arrived bright and early, like usual, and Lala picked it up and took her usual seat behind the desk. The headline was something about how a roulette wheel had gone missing, and she shook her head.

Bit’s form slowly floated in, his head lower than usual as his failure weighed heavily on him. “Hello, Bit,” she said, surprised slightly that she said it first. Upon hearing no reply, she looked up from her paper to see that he was...despondent, crushed. There weren’t many times she’d seen a ‘mon this sad. She put her paper down and walked over to the Program, gathering him up for a hug.

“How did I fail?” he whispered. “How...could I fail?”

Lala connected the dots quickly. “You were there?”

“I tried to stop it,” he said with a nod. “I failed. Miserably. I thought I stood a chance, but James was right. How could I have failed so badly?”

“Sometimes, Bit, you meet someone better than you.” She hugged him a bit tighter before letting him go and nodding. “Doesn’t mean you can’t pick yourself up and try again.”

At that moment, Sam came down from above, noticed the scene, and wisely decided to just keep his mouth shut and go on to work. He stopped, briefly laying a claw on Bit’s form and looking him in the eyes, letting him know he had others to count on, before going on his way.

“Well, at least having you around shuts him up,” Lala joked. “First time he’s not flirted with me.”

Bit gave a weak smile, but it was a forced one. “I...I think I’m going to sit in the lobby for now. At least, until I can compile the data from last night, so that Ace has an answer as to how this could possibly happen.”

“It’s your home,” Lala said softly before returning to her paper. “Do as you will.”

At that moment, some of the new tenants came down. “Morning, everyone,” Alice yawned as her team followed after her. “What we got for breakfast?”

“There are some leftover Berries from the first harvest that James and the Nurem family store in their apartments,” Lala replied while turning the page, making sure the front one was displayed prominently to the lobby. “Though if you’d like to bask in sorrow instead, I think Bit still has plenty on tap.”

“Thanks. It's been a long time since I had some good old Oran Berries. Anything you guys want?” Alice asked her team.

“We’ll go see what else they’ve got, then we’ll decide,” Shade answered, earning a nod from her former trainer.

While walking to get the berries, Alice noticed the paper and asked, “Fox strikes again?”

This time, it was Bit that answered. “Yes. And I failed to stop it from happening. I’ve...never failed in doing what I set out to do before. It’s a...novel feeling. I don’t like it.” He looked up from the floor, looking from the headlines that Lala was reading to Alice’s form, a ticking noise slowly growing louder as he went over the data, especially the information right in front of him. “...Alice, did you ever meet any other Zoroark in your time on Equus?”

Alice blinked at the odd question, her mind moving quickly. Considering that Bit was a Porygon-Z, a computer based Pokemon, she had an inkling as to why he was asking. “Meet? No. Saw? Yes. There was this Zoroark in Manehattan I saw once. And I saw two more in Ponyville, and of course there’s Fox. A little hard to not see her whenever she makes headlines,” Alice answered, giving him a half-truth. .

The information about where Alice had been, along with the list of heists that had been pulled by the Fox in Equus and other Zoroarks, was quickly cross-referenced. “Interesting,” Bit mused. “Several possible options spring up upon this information...do keep an eye out, Alice. Fox seems to be hounding your steps.”

Alice’s eyes narrowed just a little, not enough to be noticed. So Bit managed to notice THAT pattern, huh? Well then… “I’ll keep that in mind. That, or she could be running away, and I just happened to be travelling with Sleight Hoof when it happened,” she said, deciding to try and lead him down another path.

Bit blinked, but rotated one of his arms in a ‘go on’ gesture, or as well as he could approximate one.

“There’s this Lucario who’s been on her case. I didn’t think much about it when I first saw him in the paper, but the more I read, the more I’m starting to think he might be Jonathan. Jonathan’s the cop who was assigned her case, and he’s been chasing her for 5 years now, and knowing him, something like this wouldn’t stop him. Heck, from the looks of it, he went straight after her,” she then giggled. “He always was cute when he got so determined. Fox may be a lot of things, but I know she’s not stupid. In this world, we’ve all been stripped of most of the things we had access to on Earth. So naturally, Fox lost her hideouts in the process, and is probably now running to keep away from Jonathan.”

Bit dinged a few times before making a sighing noise. “Should I meet this Jonathan, I will attempt to collaborate with him, then. I do hope someone like him would have insight into last night’s...dismal failure.”

She was about to leave it at that, but then something came over her again, and before she realized it she had said, “Actually, if you do meet him, tell him where I am. I do miss him,” she said, her cheeks becoming slightly red when she said that.

It would appear that Equestrian Timing still had a sense of humor, at least, judging by the way that Christine and Scep attempted to sneak into the lobby unnoticed at that moment...well it would have been if they didn’t have this odd smell coming from them that even Alice could smell despite her nose not being as strong as natural born Pokemon.
.
“Don’t bother trying you two. You may have washed the sex off, but I can smell the mate scent from up here,” Shade called out from the second floor.

“Mated Pokemon have a scent?” Alice blinked, before going into researcher mode. “That’s interesting. Bit, what do you know about that?”

Bit shrugged and whirred before accessing the relevant files. “Mated Pokemon tend to excrete a fluid during the act of coitus, unique to the ‘mon in question, that marks their mate as ‘theirs’, different from the fluids most would think of. It tends to be located near the salivary glands, and is linked to ‘love bites,’ during which the Marking occurs. The more predatory and monstrous the ‘mon, the stronger the scent of the Mark.”

As he said that, Alice continued to list it down on the notepad she had pulled out from her mane, all the while looking like a kid in a candy store. “Fascinating,” she smiled again, before looking at some older notes. “Now if only I could find more proof about my theory of human and Pokemon relations in their origins. It won’t do much now, but I hate leaving things hanging,” she muttered as she walked up to her room, breakfast all but forgotten.

Bit looked to the Spinaraks and tilted his head to the side. “She is aware that the Legends are on Equus as well, that she could go see them, or that I did and still have information from exchanging with the Regi Trio, right? I could tell her about the origins of humanity.”

The Spinarak twins shared a look, before saying,

“She did.”

“But she-”

“-and we quote-”

“-did not want-”

“-to take-”

“-the easy way.”

Both of them shook their heads. “She’s worked too long on this to just take an easy way out,” they said in stereo. “She’s stubborn that way.”

Bit nodded as well. “Well, I do have the notes from the facility...and there are more than a few things in my archives she might want to know about. But I’ll not talk about them around the others.” The program looked to the ceiling to emphasize who he was talking about.

Jonathan sighed as he and his team stepped out of the wagon. It was a little strange that it took them this long to get to Las Pegasus, but there was a good reason for that. After the incident in Ponyville, he had went to Korrina and Lucario, asking for help. No matter how he spliced it, he just wasn’t getting good enough control over his Aura abilities for some reason or other. Lucario had agreed to help him train, which yielded...mixed results to say the least. On one hand, he had gotten a decent grasp of his aura, enough so that the use of his ‘special style’ didn’t tire him out so quickly anymore, and enough so that he was starting to be able to blend in various martial arts he had learned while back on Earth. Of course, as it was now, he still wasn’t about to pick fights with any strong Pokemon just yet.

“Alright, so now that we’re here, where do we start?” Howl asked as he padded up next to him.

“Same place as always. The news,” Jonathan nodded, before picking up a newspaper. True enough… “Dammit. We were late…”

“Fox strikes again?” Echo asked with a sigh, before Jonathan showed her the paper. “Called it.”

“We’d better get to the Guard Station,” Jonathan nodded. “Maybe we can still pick up on her trail...but considering this looks like one of her ‘play heists’, odds are, she’s still in the city,” he added.

“Not so fast,” Trixie said. “We still need to find our lodging. And Trixie still needs to prepare her show, so nobody is going anywhere just yet,” she said.

“Right,” Jonathan sighed. “But let’s try to make it quick. The longer we wait, the trail might go cold...of course, seeing as the heist had been done last night, I think we have ample amount of time before it starts to get cold.”

After they got everything in order, Jonathan and his team went asking around for the location of the Guard Station. Finding it wasn’t too hard, neither was getting clearance to see the Chief of the Day Guard. It seemed now that he had been given special permission by the Princesses, he was essentially a special ops officer. As such, it wasn’t long before he was standing outside the office, waiting for her to return from speaking with a with a witness of the recent heist. It wasn’t long before the door opened, revealing a mare and a Porygon-Z.

“Another recruit from Canterlot for me to train?” she asked him, getting her office door with a quick flash of her horn. “Or is there another reason you’re waiting outside my office like a statue?”

In response, Jonathan quickly saluted, then walked into the room. “Officer Jonathan Trace, Baltimare Guard, and Canterlot Pokemon Special Division, reporting for duty,” he said, though he noticed that the Porygon-Z perked up a little at his name for some reason.

“Hm? I don’t remember the Guard Captain of Baltimare ever saying anything about a transfer,” Ace commented. “So, why are you here?”

“I’m not here for a transfer. I’ve been assigned Fox’s case, and I’m here chasing after her,” Jonathan explained. “I just arrived here today, and from the looks of it, she got here first.”

“Ahh...” she frowned as she walked into the room, gesturing at him to come with her. “So you’re specialize in catching this pompous stage magician, or at least attempting to I’d wager?” she inquired.

“Well, yes. No offense...but from the tone of voice, I get the sinking feeling you’re not taking her seriously,” Jonathan sighed, his memory of Canterlot still VERY fresh.

“Oh no, I’m taking her very seriously,” Ace said pointedly. “I just dislike the blatant disregard she has for the law and those who have to waste their time attempting to stop her.”

“Well, alright then. Just checking. The Guard Captain in Canterlot when I was there didn’t take her seriously and well...everyone knows how that turned out,” Jonathan nodded.

“Yes, remind me why you’re the one standing here instead of there being an actual ‘stallionhunt’ out for this fool,” Ace said, shaking her head. “No offense kid.”

“Because said ‘fool’ isn’t as much of a fool as you might think,” Jonathan said, his eyes narrowing slightly, before he shook his head. “Fox isn’t as good as she is for being impulsive. Most if not all her heists are preceded with plans and schemes she had likely prepared ahead of time. Thinking of her like any other thief just won’t cut it.”

“Well obviously,” Ace said dryly. “Doesn’t change that it’s a waste of my time and resources, but that’s neither here nor there. What are you here for in specific sir?”

“The same reason I’ve been through the last several towns for the last 3 weeks. I’m trying to catch her, but at the moment, all I can do is try and help to coordinate the local Guards to try to catch her. Something that is easier said than done due to the fact that I don’t know if and when she will move on to the next town,” Jonathan sighed, before showing her a map of Equestria he had. One that was notably marked up. “As you can see, she’s been quite a busy thief.”

Ace studied it for a moment before nodding her head. “Yes, and at this rate you’re probably never going to catch her,” the mare observed. “You’re going where she is, not where she’s going, and if she keeps getting things done in a single night and then vanishing...”

“I’m well aware of that. And I HAVE been trying to predict where she will go next...something that is notably easier now that she’s already hit most of the major cities and towns,” Jonathan sighed in annoyance. “Problem is, I can’t be sure until she sends a notice...but that’s neither here nor there. Point is, we know she’s here, and knowing her, I doubt she’s gonna stop with one of her ‘play heists’ like this. Especially in a city like this.”

“Oh? What makes my ‘beautiful’ Las Pegasus such an interesting destination for her?” Ace asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jonathan just leveled a deadpan stare at her.

“Does she enjoy the gambling or is it the sun?” Ace inquires.

“Cute,” he deadpanned. “But seriously, you DO realize that Las Pegasus is also sometimes called the Sin City of Equestria, right? A city like this is probably BRIMMING with potential targets for her.”

“Of course I realize that, which is why it’s extremely annoying that she’s here wasting my time along with the time of every single one of my other guards who have to stop doing their jobs to go and chase her on an ultimately meaningless hunt,” Ace stated flatly.

“Well I can give you some good news on that regard. She’s probably had her fun already, so the next notice she’ll send, will very likely be connected to a crime lord or something. Its the same M.O. she used back on Earth,” Jonathan sighed.

“...” Ace sighed hard. “You know, there are times that I wish this sort of person would just be a private detective instead of a thief.”

“You’re not the only one,” Jonathan sighed. “Honestly, back on Earth I often wondered what she’s doing on that side of the law considering how much good she did at times.”

“From what Bit told me, it’s a family brainwashing kind of thing, or at least a mantle of some kind,” the mare grunted. “Pass it on to the kids telling them it’s the Honest to Celestia proof and they’ll believe it.”

“There are no confirmations that any of the previous Foxes were related at all. Of course, I also thought something along that lines for the likely reason,” Jonathan simply said. “And mantel or not, it sure works. Every last Fox has been known to be very...passionate about what they do. My ancestors can all attest to that.”

“...” Ace looked at him for a long moment before shaking her head. “Son, if your ancestors failed that often they should have found another occupation.”

“...low blow,” Jonathan deadpanned. “I’ll have you know, with the exception of Fox, ALL of my family, myself included, have boasted a 100% catch rate for criminals we’ve pursued. Furthermore, my family are the ONLY officers who have ever gotten even CLOSE to catching Fox. I even managed to catch her once...then she turned the whole thing into an escape artist trick…”

Ace shrugged seeing that that particular conversation wasn’t going anywhere. “So, your advice?”

“For starters, let me tell you what I’ve worked out so far. First of all, as I’m sure you’ve probably figured out by now, Fox is a former human, same as me,” Jonathan started. “Like all former humans, we’ve lost all of our resources from back on Earth. Yet despite that, Fox STILL remains able to move from town to town with ease. That implies that…” he led on.

“That she found Equestrian friends,” Ace finished with a small nod. “Question, how much actual magic have you employed against her, Guard level casters?”

“Whatever the towns had been willing to afford. Security charms don’t do much. Magical traps? Would work, if she didn’t keep fooling some guards to trigger them for her, not to mention the traps SHE sets. Then on top of that is her assistants. The Pokemon that help her with her heists...aside from the Sceptile, all of them were the same ones she had from back on Earth. Heck, the only time so far she’s ‘failed’ is when Princess Twilight switched out the target with a decoy, and from the little message Fox left for her, she was playing,” Jonathan sighed, shaking his head. “Unicorns haven’t been so effective either, since even magical grips don’t do much against her tricks. Makes it impossible for them to concentrate.”

“Has anyone tried throwing fireballs yet, or ice, or electricity?” Ace asked, listing off the three basics.

“Tried that. Especially the fireballs. Her web balls are resistant to all three. Not to mention there’s never a guarantee that the target is real with how she works. The only times there was some NEAR success...was with that Hydreigon and his team I met a while ago, but I don’t recommend it,” Jonathan sighed. “Honestly, who uses area attacks in a building with pillars? They could have brought the house down. Not to mention we’re trying to CATCH her. Not KILL her.”

“Yes, I can see how that would be a problem with a Hydreigon,” Ace said with a nod. “We had one of those trying to do a bit of destruction on the outskirts of town, thankfully we had enough ice specialists over there to drive it off.” She frowned. “That being said, there are a bunch of AOE spells we could use that do non-lethal damage.”

“Then prep them. Our best bet to catch her is to incapacitate her,” Jonathan noded. “Just a warning though, like always, even with AOE attacks, Fox may or may not be in the area of effect. There is a very real possibility that she will try to make us take each other out of the fight.”

“My husband ran into a bit of that last night, yes,” Ace agreed with a small nod of her head.

“Good. Now, moving on. There is the issue of who her host might be. We already know that she’s travelling with someone. Problem is, we don’t know who she’s traveling with,” Jonathan continued.

“No information at all?” she asked with a frown.

“None. Assuming they left Baltimare the day after the first heist, unfortunately they did not take public transportation. And any notable records of people leaving on foot were more or less eclipsed with all the Pokemon related issues at the time,” Jonathan shook his head.
Ace frowned for a moment. “How expensive have her heists been do you think, in terms of how many bits had to be put into them to carry out?” she asked shrewdly.

“Hard to say. Many of her tricks are similar to how she did it on Earth, though some notably less extravagant. Furthermore, with her new powers, she’s more than able to make up for her lack of resources to make her tricks. As for her metal balls...we can’t be sure, since the mechanics seem simple enough,” Jonathan explained.

The unicorn nodded and closed her eyes. Another dead lead. “Maybe I’m asking you the wrong questions,” she mused before opening her eyes and glancing at him. “Tell me everything she’s done since she got here, that you’ve been aware of at any rate.”

“From the records we’ve got, she’s hit several cities, normally sticking to one heist each. However, her actual ‘play heists’ have been few in comparison. Most of her heists have unraveled a criminal element of some kind, which is why I believe she’s not done with Las Pegasus yet,” Jonathan explained. “In terms of targets, they’ve varied, though the only thing in common is that all were valuables...except Tall Tale, in the sense that it wasn’t actually anything tangible.”

“Oh?” Ace inquired, raising an eyebrow at him.

“The mayor was ousted for being in league with several criminal groups. His reputation and good name were completely shattered,” he said simply.

“Right,” Ace mused with another nod. “Bit said that it was something similar to that, at least that she mostly targeted criminals. So... I guess we know where her next real heist will be, the biggest criminal she can find because when you’re a magician, why bother with the small stages.”

“Not always. She is also efficient. Most if not all the criminal groups she ousted….once she was done, they never got back up again,” Jonathan said. “She might also aim for those she can permanently ‘kill’.”

“You know, the more I hear about her, the more I want to give her a lecture about wasted talents...” Ace muttered.

“Get in line,” Jonathan chuckled. “So...now what? We play the waiting game again? Cause at this rate, unless Fox makes a move, it looks like we’re stumped.”

“Personally, I’m going to finish filing the paperwork she created last night that my husband was too busy getting ‘unwebbed’ to do, and then go back to the job of keeping the ponies from starting a streetwar with the Pokemon,” Ace said with a sigh. “No offense, Jonathan was it? But this is really a rather minor blip on the radar, and one that doesn’t seem to have much long term effect in good ponies or Pokemon’s lives.”

“None taken. Fox may have been on the most wanted list, both here and on Earth, but her priority level...really kinda low since comparatively speaking….she’s harmless,” Jonathan nodded.

Ace nodded and frowned faintly. “I can offer you one of our Temp Desks near Bit, a few of the guards if you really need them, and access to a ‘moving library’ of knowledge but that’s about all unless you have something really solid for me,” she said, shaking her head.

“Hm….if only we could narrow the search. Fox wouldn’t appear as anything but a Zoroark. She’s too proud of her title to not be anything other than the symbol of every Fox, but that won’t work. We can’t just go catching random Zoroarks,” he sighed.

“Yeah, a sheriff by the name of Lonestar was employing one as a detective last time I checked a bit out of the city,” Ace said, shaking her head. “I’m not the kind of mare who goes after people based on Race, hence why we have a few griffon guards and such.”

“That’s good. I hate those kinds of people. They don’t do good jobs since they’re too bigoted to see the reality,” Jonathan nodded. “Well, so all we know is that Fox is definitely a Zoroark, is here, and really that’s about it.”

“You know, Bit mentioned something interesting,” Ace commented. “He said with illusions, she may just be a he, disguised as a she.”

“Fox is a she. I have dealt with her enough to know that. If not….” Jonathan suddenly looked a little green when he thought of the implications.

“Actor like that could do a lot of things to your mind,” Ace replied with a soft smirk before frowning. “And how would you know for certain?”

“....for starters, she kept flaunting her...assets at times back when we were on Earth,” Jonathan sighed, before adding, this time moving closer to her, “And between you and me...we kinda locked lips in Canterlot when I had her pinned down. She did it to get away, but I was still caught off guard okay,” he said, blushing slightly at the last part.

“Uhuh,” she said before shrugging. “In the future if that happens again, throat punch her. If nothing else it’ll stagger her.”

“...not a good idea. I’m still not 100% used to my new strength. I’d rather not risk caving in someone’s throat,” Jonathan sighed. “But this has got me thinking...Zoroarks are mostly male, and assuming that Fox wasn’t acting as a girl the whole time, and by the way, please stop pointing that out, I think I’m gonna hurl if I keep having that image in my head, but anyway, that could be a good search criteria…” he mused.

“Yes, yes it could,” Ace said, then frowned. “Would she be ‘mated’ with anyone, or have pups?”

“...as far as I know, she isn’t, and Howl, my Mightyena, never said anything about her being mated. He’d have smelt it,” Jonathan shook his head. Though for some reason the idea wanted to make him growl.

“Well then, you know what the factors to consider in your search are?” Ace asked. “You’re looking for a female, un-mated Zoroark who’s new in town. Start there. If you can think of more then add them to that search.”

“Good idea,” Jonathan nodded, before glancing at the clock. “Wow, time sure flew. I didn’t realize we’ve been here for over an hour already,” Jonathan blinked.

“Keep going at this rate and my paperwork will go bad,” Ace smirked and shook her head. “So, anything else?”
“I dunno. I think that’s about it for now. I’ll see what I can do about that search,” Jonathan nodded, as he was about to leave.

Ace frowned for a moment before speaking up. “You could pay a visit to the Nurems, Vincent can scan the city last time I checked.”

“I’ll consider that,” Jonathan nodded. However, suddenly there was a small disturbance in the office, as the receptionist’s voice was suddenly heard. “Hey! You can’t go in there without permission!” Before the door swung open, revealing an out of breath Zoroark. A FEMALE out of breath Zoroark. The moment she saw the Lucario, she recognized his eyes, and the bracelet he wore. “Jonathan?”

Alice had been idly reading a book she had on her when she noticed Bit come back. “Yo, Bit how was your day?” she asked pleasantly.

“Eventful,” Bit said simply, before adding. “Oh and Alice, there is something you should know. Earlier at the Guard Station, there was a Lucario. He said his name was Jonathan Trace.”

THAT got Alice’s attention. “Jonathan? Jonathan is here?” she asked, for some reason suddenly feeling very excited.

“Affirmative, he was at the Guard Station last I saw,” Bit said...then blinked when there was a Zoroark shaped puff of smoke...and the door opening and closing.

Jonathan stood there, his mouth gaping slightly. Here they were talking about looking for female Zoroarks, and one comes charging into the room. That was when he recognized the voice, and the reading glasses. “A-Alice?”

“It really is you!” she laughed, before promptly tackling him with a hug.

Jonathan was...surprised to say the least. Not that he wasn’t happy, he had been hoping to find her...but at the same time, of all the Pokemon he expected her to be, a Zoroark wasn’t one of them. On top of that, he had never seen her this...affectionate. Sure she’d tackled him with a hug before, but somehow this one felt...different. It didn’t help either when Ace said, “Jonathan, I have paperwork to do, can you fraternize with your apparent long lost lover outside of my office please?”.

That was the last straw. “Wait, but Ace, Alice and I aren’t like that!” Jonathan panicked, and somehow, Alice didn’t seem to notice. “I’ve known her since we were KIDS for Arceus’ sake!” he said, getting more and more flustered.

Ace shrugged. “You’re still hugging in my office,” she said, though she winked at him. “Besides, you don’t want an ‘old mare’ like me to ruin your reunion, go get her a coffee.”

“R-right,” The Lucario nodded, but very much hesitantly. “Alice, let’s talk outside. This...isn’t really the best place for this….”

“Ah, right. Sorry. I was just so excited when I heard you were here,” Alice smiled, before they both walked out of the office.

“Alice? You okay?” Jonathan asked, just a little worried. Alice was still hugging him rather affectionately now that they were in an alleyway not far from the Guard Station. He knew it had been a long time, but he never expected her to be acting so affectionate...and oddly enough, he didn’t really mind it.

That seemed to snap Alice out of whatever she was going through, causing her to let go and look sheepish. “Ah, sorry. I guess its just been so long and really….I don’t know what came over me,” she said, though for some reason something in her didn’t like her letting go of him.

“Yeah...it has been a while,” Jonathan nodded...and tried to ignore the odd feeling that welled up in him when she let go. “So...how’s Equus been treating you?” he asked.

“It's been great…” Alice smiled as the two of them started catching up.

Alice sighed as she got back to the Unity Building. While she was happy that she got to talk to Jonathan, even tell him where she was staying, she couldn’t shake the odd feelings that had been left over from their meeting. It was strange really, she knew she cared for him, but she had never felt like this before. So tired and confused she was, that she only offered a nod of acknowledgement as she passed Lala and went right upstairs. Once she got to her room, she flopped down tiredly on her bed. When she did, Shade glanced at her and chuckled lightly.

“So, I assume you finally got to talk to him?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Alice sighed. “Wasn’t quite the way I expected though…”

“How so?” Shade asked.

“I just felt...weird. Like I didn’t want to be apart from him or something. I’ve...never felt that way before…” Alice admitted.

All her Pokemon shared a deadpan glance at each other when they heard that. Once again they wondered just how someone as intelligent as her could be so dense, a Legendary probably couldn’t break it. “Well, at least it went well,” Rascal deadpanned.

“Not really. Now I’ve got a killer headache,” Alice groaned, having not been feeling ‘herself’ for a while. “Rascal, could you ask downstairs if they have any aspirin?”

“Sure,” Rascal nodded with a light sigh, before going out the door. Making his way down, he was met with the sight of the Kadabra and Leavanny. “Hey, uh...Vincent, right?” Rascal started, catching their attentions.

The Kadabra nodded and folded the paper, putting it on his lap and clearing his throat before responding. “And if I recall correctly, you are...Rascal. It’s nice to finally be able to meet you.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you too, I guess,” Rascal said a little uncertainty. “Er...look, sorry if we just met and I’m already asking, but do you have anything for headaches. Alice has a real bad one right now, so….”

“Ah, if there’s one thing I have a slight excess of, it’s headache medication from my time as an Abra. Nasty thing, overextending yourself with Psychic powers at such a stage. Hurts like...well, I won’t say.” Vincent closed his eyes and opened one hand, causing a small bottle to appear above it in a flash of blue light. He held it out towards the Weavile while saying the next part. “For her...she could probably get away with two tablets like the instructions say, but I’d watch her if I were you. If this medication makes her the slightest bit loopy, she’ll need someone making sure she doesn’t do anything she shouldn’t until it wears off.”

“...duly noted. Thanks again. I’m sure Alice will be too,” Rascal nodded, before running up the stairs with the pills.

“...And give him about ten seconds to realize what he was talking to a Kadabra about…” Vincent muttered before picking the paper up and reading again. “Oh...well now, that’s amusing.”

True enough… “Ya know, I just realized, I got headache medicine from a Kadabra,” Rascal deadpanned as he watched Alice gulp down 2 tablets as instructed.

“Considering some Kadabra are known to cause headaches, it's probably a good thing he has this stuff on the ready,” Shade nodded. “So...is it working?”

“Well...it worked....wonder where he got this stuff. Fastest headache medicine I’ve ever taken,” Alice blinked as her headache pretty much vanished. Then the side effects kicked in. Suddenly, from her perspective, she seemed to see things slowly start to move faster. “Er...guys?” she mumbled.

“What? Why are you talking so slowly?” Shade asked, but from Alice’s perspective, she’s the one talking too fast.

“Okay....this got weird fast…” the Zoroark blinked and got out of bed, yet to her surprise, it felt...longer to reach the ground…

Likewise, to her Pokemon it looked like she was moving in slow motion. “Oh man, what the hell did we give her?!” Rascal balked.

“Well, I’m going to find out,” Shade growled, before going down the stairs.

“Nurem!” came Shade’s angry voice as the Liepard ran down the stairs.

“Yes?” Vincent replied with a quirked eyebrow. “What’s the problem? Did the pills not work?”

“Oh, they worked alright. What I want to know is why Alice looks like someone set her to slow motion. Heck, even WALKING takes her much-much longer than it should physically be possible,” the Liepard angrily said, but in the process, made herself a bit unclear.

Vincent blinked a few times before extending his hand again and resummoning the pill bottle from where it had been taken to his hand. He turned the small plastic thing around and paled. “Oh shit,” he said. “I gave her some of my headache medication, not the over-the-counter stuff.”

“Well that’s just perfect. I hope you have a way of fixing this. If not, you’d better pray its only temporary,” she growled.

Vincent glared, a light blue glow coating his form for an instant before he seemingly calmed down and looked at Shade sadly. “I got these for when I was an Abra, training with Luke, so that I could go to sleep without feeling like my head was on fire. They aren’t permanent or habit-forming, but seeing as she shares your Type, I really, really doubt I could do anything to fix this. I swear to you, had I known, I would have never given you this bottle. Her headache will be gone, but I wouldn’t ask her to do anything quickly. There, ah, is a quick cure, but she won’t thank you for it,” he finished, rubbing his mustache and looking away.

“...I’m afraid to ask, but what is it?”

“About three cups of coffee to help her shake off the feeling of moving through molasses,” Vincent replied to the Liepard. “Of course, once the meds and caffeine wear off, she’d wind up feeling worse than when she started unless she drank a pitcher of water as well.”

“...fine. I’ll write a note, then strap her into bed. I just hope she’s patient. If not...I guess knocking out is an option…” Shade groaned.

Before she left to enact her plan, Vincent called her name to get her attention again.

“What?” Shade sighed.

“Please...I am so very, very sorry. Please believe me when I say that. I didn’t mean to do this to her. I never would do this to anyone intentionally.”

“Yeah, I know. Still doesn’t make this any easier…” Shade sighed. “Trust me kid, I may not look it, but I can tell when people have bad intentions. Its all in the eyes. And you? I get the feeling you wouldn’t hurt a fly if you could.”

“Oh, you got me mostly right...right up until my family is hurt.” Vincent folded up the newspaper, unintentionally showing Shade the headline before continuing. “As Bit and I say to one another, you don’t hurt a member of the Nurem family. Once Lucy’s out of her Heat, I intend to find this Johnathan that he told me about and see if we can’t corner this blasted Fox and make her understand that statement.”

“Ah...I see. Well, good luck with that...though personally I think that sounds kinda excessive...especially since nobody has really been seriously hurt or anything during one of her heists. Lasts I read, any and all injuries from Fox related crimes tended to be either superficial, or purely accidental,” the Liepard chuckled nervously.

“Wounds are more than just the flesh, and more than the skin can scar. Bit doesn’t take failing in his duties well...actually, that’s an understatement. He was as close to breaking since the Lab when he came back from helping the Guard.” Vincent clenched one fist shut, blue light dancing before he calmed himself. “Type restrictions be damned. I will not let this stand.”

“Well alright. But word of advice, I know through Alice that Fox isn’t the number one thief in the world for no reason. The moment the heist begins, some say that anyone trying to stop her are really dancing at her fingertips,” Shade said cryptically, before walking up the stairs.

Alice was NOT enjoying being in slow motion, and needless to say, when Shade came running in with a note that explained that she would likely stay this way for a whole day, she was less pleased. When Shade then wrote a note about the Nurems… Oh crap didn’t even to begin to describe how she was feeling now. At this point, she was so sick of the crap she was getting today that when Shade suggested knocking her out to help time ‘go faster’, she had asked them to make sure she didn’t wake up till morning. And that’s why currently she was passed out with a small bump on her head.

To say that Info Scoop was nervous would be saying that dragons could be slightly covetous of jewels. She’d just seen two Pokemon making some sort of deal in an alleyway, and she had to make sure they didn’t notice her listening in. She was quite thankful for the translation spell she’d had cast on herself so that she could understand Pokemon, but once the ‘mon learned about it on her, they’d been very careful about what they said.

“Got the bits?” the Machoke asked. In response, the Tyrogue pulled a brown sack about an inch closer and opened it up to the larger Fighting-type. It apparently met with his satisfaction, as he picked the sack up and moved it out of sight. After a moment’s worth of rummaging, a dozen small, wrapped candies were given to the Scuffle Pokemon, who pulled a different bag close to him, stuck them in it, and walked off with his new burden. The Superpower Pokemon looked about for a moment more before picking up a few things from his impromptu workspace and walking off in a different direction.

The mare counted to thirty, slowly, before walking to where the deal had gone down, taking note of everything, but finding her eyes attracted to two things.

The first was one of the blue-wrapped candies, apparently left behind by accident. Info picked it up and quickly hid it in her saddlebags, under all her notebooks and pencils.

When she noticed the second thing, she could have sworn her heart stopped for a moment.

It was a note, apparently addressed to the ‘mon who had been here not a moment ago.

Hey, big M, word is some sort of shipment is coming in from the pony capital in two days time. Boss mare says she’d get you more than usual if you performed security for her. You in?

Info Scoop wanted nothing more than to run right to Sleight Hoof and Quick Storm and tell them what she’d learned, but knew that running would only attract attention.

Still, a walk seemed so slow with the payload of information she had.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Pat 2 of 4. I'm aiming for a quadruple update to make up for lost time

Twenty Sixth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Twenty Sixth Heist

Opening theme:

Jonathan sighed as he and his team walked through the city, his paws fumbling a little for some reason.

Behind him, his team and even Trixie shared an amused look knowing just who they were going to meet. “So, you finally found your friend?” Trixie asked, still having the amused look in her eyes.

“Huh? Oh yeah,” Jonathan said. “Sure didn’t expect her to turn up here...or that she turned into a Zoroark of all things.”

“Well...Zoroark are pretty shy, and Alice is pretty shy herself, so...maybe?” Echo shrugged. Truth be told, considering how Alice always acted, they were all expecting her to have turned into a Fairy-type or something. Definitely not a Dark-type, but eh, stranger things have happened.

It wasn’t long before they made it to their destination, the building known as the Unity Building. Walking in, they were met with the sight of a Leavanny sitting at a desk.

The Leavanny, Lala, looked up from her spot behind the desk, folding the paper and nodding at the small party of Pokemon and mare that entered the building. “Hello. Renting, or visiting?” she asked.

“Er...visiting. I’m looking for Alice Maximilion,” Jonathan said. “Tell her it's from Jonathan Trace.”

After he said that, there was a voice that rang out in everyone’s head. Ah, hello. My apologies that I cannot greet you in person. I am a bit busy at the moment, but I can spare you some concentration for a greeting and directions.

Jonathan blinked, but remembered that this was probably the one who owned the establishment, one Vincent Nurem...much to his surprise at hearing that name of all things. “Ah...that’s fine. I was really just looking for my friend. Is Alice here?” he asked.

There was silence for a moment before Vincent responded again. Yes, but you won’t like what happened. Allow me to apologize in advance before I tell you...yesterday, she had a headache, and one of her partners asked for some headache medication. I accidentally gave her some that I used when I was an Abra, mistaking it for some over-the-counter pills. The effects of said dosage should have worn off by now, but if they haven’t...I apologize again. I would never do that knowingly or willingly.

Hearing that, Jonathan relaxed a bit. “Alright, I’ll believe you that it was an accident. Still, could you call her down?” he said...then face pawed when he realized how stupid the request was. “Right...she’s a Zoroark now. No psychic communications for her. Which floor?”

According to Bit, she and the ponies she came in with are on floor six. I’m...not sure where, they handled the organizing of who got what apartment themselves. But seeing as how there are only four choices, you have a 25% chance of finding her on your first shot.

“...works for me,” Jonathan shrugged as he walked up the stairs.

Going up the stairs, he soon found himself on the right floor, before checking the rooms. His luck must have been good today, as on his first try, he found the right room, and was treated to the sight of a Zoroark laying in bed, surrounded by a concerned looking group of Pokemon. A very familiar group of Pokemon.

“Excuse me?” Jonathan said, knocking a little, catching their attention.

The Pokemon all blinked, before they grinned “Hey Jonathan, its been a long time,” Shade greeted. “Looking good too.”

“We were wondering when you’d turn up. Alice will be really glad once she sees you,” Rascal chuckled, wiggling his eyebrow suggestively.

“Nice to see you too, Shade, Rascal,” Jonathan chuckled slightly, before frowning as he looked at Alice. “...is she okay?”

“...more or less. She needed help killing time so we…” Shade coughed.

“We knocked her out on her request,” Rascal sighed. None of them liked doing that.

“I see…” Jonathan frowned, but he knew that there was no way they’d hurt Alice without good reason. They cared for her too much. “Is she alright now?”

“She’s sleeping from her hangover, but on the whole...yeah,” Shade nodded.

“That’s good. Can I see her?” he asked.

“We’d insist even if you didn’t ask,” Rascal chuckled, as they stepped aside, letting Jonathan come in. When he got to the bedside, he idly noted that the Pokemon gave them some space for some reason.

Placing a paw on her arm, he noticed she started to stir. When she woke up and saw him, she seemed surprised, but smiled quickly. “Its...been a while,” she said. “Not counting earlier…” she added with a light chuckle.

“Yeah…” Jonathan nodded. “So...what have you been up to?”

And so the two old friends took the rest of the time just talking, and sharing stories, though as much as it pained Alice, she gave him a...modified...version of her story. “Heh, looks like you’ve had quite the time here too, Alice. And assistant to a Magician? Guess your hobby came in useful after all,” Jonathan chuckled.

“Well, looks to me like you’ve been really productive since coming here,” Alice chuckled lightly. “Didn’t wait to chase after Fox did you?”

“Well you know me, I don’t give up,” Jonathan nodded in agreement. “I’ll get her eventually.”

“I’m sure you will,” Alice said, though she had to fight hard to keep her expression as she felt the stab of guilt at her words.

“So...you gonna be okay?” he asked concerned.

“I’ll be fine. I’m a Dark-type now. I’m not gonna lose to something like a weird hangover,” Alice said, earning a laugh from Jonathan.

“Right, as if something on the mind could beat a Dark-type,” Jonathan nodded, getting her joke.

However, the moment was interrupted when Heat came upstairs. “Jonathan, we’ve got trouble!”

“Okay, so from what I’ve gathered,” Vincent said as he spread the papers in front of him, all of them aglow, “these charges are all about how we didn’t go through the ‘proper channels’ for our renovation, along with using untested technology for some of it.” The psychic sighed before forcing the papers into a neat pile.

“All of them say I need to go to the courthouse and dispute the charges in person, or rather, in ‘pony,’” he snorted.

“Sounds like a load of Tauros shit to me,” Jonathan commented. “While I can’t say for the ‘untested technology’ part, I know a few basic laws, and you already got the okay from the landlord, who as far as I’m aware, owns this land and building outright,” he said. “Furthermore, I don’t see anything about a defense attorney, or anything that should appear in a normal case in court. I dunno what’s going on, but I smell a rat.”

There was an indignant squeaking from a corner, as a small family of Rattata scurried on their way, though not without glaring at Jonathan.

“I didn’t mean you guys!” he quickly called after them.

“And as for him owning the building outright,” Vincent picked up, “I did pay him, both with Bits and with installing the technology, so we’re co-owners.”

“Still, something’s up,” Sam said, having gotten off of work not too long ago and eyeing the pile of documents. “Why didn’t we get any warnings or inspectors or the like?”

“I dunno, but I’m going to get to the bottom of this,” Vincent growled. “These ponies are going to learn why not to mess with our family.” He set the documents to hover behind him as he went for the front doors, but stopped as he felt a paw on his shoulder.

“Not alone, you’re not. This whole thing reeks of something foul, and I wouldn’t put it past whoever is running this scheme to arrange for you to have a little ‘accident’. I’m coming along, AND I’m reporting this to Ace,” Jonathan said. This whole thing seemed VERY suspicious to him.

Vincent’s expression softened a touch at the Lucario’s words. “Fine,” he muttered. “Come along if you must, but I doubt anyone will get the drop on me.”

“Trust me kid, if its one thing I’ve learned, is that its ALWAYS possible for someone to get the drop on you. Of course, in my case, only Fox has ever done that, but the point still stands,” he said. One good thing that came from dealing with Fox, was that he’d gained a very high level of awareness, something he had to hone if he wanted even a chance of catching the elusive thief.

What they didn’t know was that Alice had been at the top of the stairs, listening in on the conversation. “This...needs looking into, don’t you agree?” Alice mused. Next to her, Sleight and Storm nodded in agreement.

“We thought so too, so we went snooping around town a while ago. You’ll never guess who we ran into,” Sleight smirked.

“One of the Equestria Irregulars?” Alice guessed, using the moniker she coined for their three friends.

“Bingo. We ran into Info Scoop earlier, and boy did she have something to say,” Quick Storm nodded.

“Lay it on me,” Alice smiled as the two began explaining.

The town was eerily quiet as Vincent, Jonathan, and Heat walked down the street towards the courthouse.

“Not to sound like some old movie, but...It’s quiet. Too quiet,” Heat said, his expression dead serious. Next to him Jonathan didn’t say a word, but kept his sights trained on the surrounding. This scene looked waaaay too perfect for an ambush or something.

“Yeah,” Vincent commented. “But I’m not picking up on anything besides us, so...wait, scratch that, pegasus just came into range.”

“Well, we’d better see what he wants. Heat, if he proves hostile, submission maneuvers. Catch his wings, and if needs be, twist them,” Jonathan ordered, his voice cold as his instincts were warning him to be careful. This whole thing stank of a set up. Nothing good ever came from those.

Around the corner came more than just a pegasus pony, though. He was accompanied by a Houndoom, a Liepard, a Mightyena, and even a Scrafty. The pony himself was rust-red with a grey mane, and his mark did not inspire confidence that he would be reasonable. His voice just removed any doubt.

“Pardon me, but is one of you Vincent Nurem?” he questioned as a knife was held by his right wing, somehow.

“Oh yeah? Who wants to know?” Jonathan growled, stepping in front of Vincent. His instincts were telling him that this guy was trouble, and the vibe he was giving...somehow he doubted Ace would be too upset if this guy came back in a body bag. This guy was giving the vibes of a killer...and one that would have been put on death row back on Earth.

“Everyone calls me Mayhem,” the pony responded. “I’m here to give Vincent a little lesson in why you don’t mess with mob families.” The Pokemon next to him nodded in unison as he finished his statement. “So, is that him there?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Doesn’t matter, you’re not getting him. I’ll see to that. So here’s the deal. either you come quietly, and tell us who put you up to this, or we’ll do this the hard and PAINFUL way. Your choice,” Jonathan said as he and Heat stepped forward, their postures defensive.

“Oh, I love doing things the painful way,” the pony stated. “Others always make such interesting screams. And if you think I’m going back to that cell, well, you must be crazy. I’m getting that kid, one way or another.” The knife moved to a hoof and was pointed at Vincent’s shivering form.
“Get him,” Mayhem commanded of the four who’d accompanied him.

Jonathan didn’t answer, instead, he merely glanced at Heat, their eyes making contact, and Heat just smiled. No holding back. They were dealing with a maniac, and they would not let him get away.

The four Pokemon charged, yet the two Fighting-types simply stood their ground. Seeing an opportunity, the Houndoom and the Liepard lunged for them. However, just as they were about to pounce, the two officers moved. Taking a quick step forward, both delivered devastating thrusts into their assailant’s abdomens, knocking the wind out of them, before grabbing them, and promptly flipping them like flapjacks, before throwing them at the remaining two Pokemon, leaving them tumbling into a heap. When they stopped rolling, Jonathan simply gave them a ‘come here’ gesture.

“You’re going to regret that,” Mayhem said, flipping his knife back to his wing and deciding to join the fray. “C’mon, get up you four. I need that kid, and you said you could do this.”

Too bad for them, Jonathan had other plans. “Now!” he suddenly shouted, as Heat rammed his right claw into the ground, hard with his special Rock Smash, the shock causing rocks to jut out, while also creating a shockwave that threw their opponents off balance. At that moment, Jonathan surged forward in a burst of Extreme Speed, his fist glowing with a Focus Punch, which he delivered right into the guts of the Scrafty and the Mightyena, before nailing the still dazed Liepard and Houndoom with a roundhouse kick, sending all four flying back. To top it off, he landed a haymaker on Mayhem’s side, while grabbing his knife, and wrenching it free. “Had enough?” he challenged, before casually snapping the knife in half, the weak metal worthless before his strength.

The pony got back to his feet and actually glared at Jonathan, his smile finally slipping. “I am not going back empty-hooved,” he hissed.

“Keep this up, and I’m going to have to send you back with BROKEN hooves. So do yourself a favor and come quietly,” Jonathan shot back. He’d already seen the look in Mayhem’s eyes, and he knew he couldn’t let him get anywhere near Vincent.

“I don’t do quietly,” Mayhem replied, glancing at the shards of his knife. “And if you think I’m powerless without my knife, I’m going to wonder what you’re on.”

He proved his words by snatching one of the sharp metal shards with his wing and flinging it at high speeds towards Heat.

The Combusken didn’t look impressed, as a single burst of Flamethrower melted the metal shards to puddles.

“Fair enough,” the pony replied. “Still can’t go back without the kid, so your words are meaningless.” With that, he took to the air, hovering and looking behind the two intently.

“Oh no you don’t! Heat, Rocket Uppercut!” Jonathan shouted, as he immediately got down to one knee, his paws joined together in front of him.

“Gotcha!” Heat nodded, before stepping on his paws, and was promptly pushed upward, his claws glowing with a Sky Uppercut that was enhanced by the velocity.

Mayhem took the brunt of the attack on his chin, flipping over several times before landing on his back, more specifically, landing on his wings, which cracked audibly. While he didn’t scream, he did still pass out from the pain.

“It's not over yet,” Jonathan said, eyeing the other Pokemon dangerously. “Anyone else want some?”

The four Dark-types took one look at the scene, and made their choices.

“Screw this!” the Mightyena said. “Nobody said anything about Fighting-types!”

The other three voiced their agreement and bolted with him, vanishing down the road.

“Smart boys,” Heat smirked, before picking up the unconscious pony. “Should I check for consciousness?”

Jonathan simply walked up to the Pony, and promptly landed a sharp blow on a spot on his head that would guarantee that he was unconscious. “No consciousness,” he chuckled, before turning back to Vincent… “Wait...where did Vincent go?”

Heat looked around, and noticed that Vincent wasn’t there at all. “Huh? He was here a minute ago,” Heat said, perplexed.

A cry of pain from one alleyway, a familiar cry, got their attention.

“Found him!” Heat shouted, before they both dashed in the direction of the scream.

“Looks like we must have missed one…” Jonathan growled, before closing his eyes, and pumping his Aura into his legs. Whoever was doing this was gonna be in for a world of hurt.

When they arrived at the scene, they were met with the sight of several Kadabra, no doubt a Double Team, and a gloating Honchkrow

“Oh no, what am I to do?” the Honchkrow asked. “When confronted by so many handsome lords, oh what am I to do?”

Seeing the opening, Jonathan shot forward. “Shut up and go unconscious!” he shouted, catching the Honchkrow’s attention...too late for the Honchkrow as Jonathan’s foot plow into his face, and since said limb was being flooded with Jonathan’s aura...the Honchkrow soon found himself embedded into a wall.

“... bloody rouges...” the Honchkrow muttered before he passed out.

“You okay, kid?” Heat asked, as the Kadabra copies disappeared.

“Yeah, sorry we couldn’t help you sooner. Guess we were too preoccupied with the opponents right in front of us,” Jonathan said.

Vincent’s form glowed as he both channeled another Recover into himself, then sealed his strength back up again. He glared at the bird, before looking at Jon and Heat with only slightly smaller glares. “Which was probably their plan. I’m taking the Vincent Express to the station,” he said, before vanishing in a burst of blue.

“...gee, don’t mind us, not like we won’t mind a ride,” Heat said sarcastically, though there wasn’t much heat behind it considering what Vincent had just gone through.

“Come on, Heat. Walking is healthier anyway. Wouldn’t want to get pudgy now,” Jonathan joked, before the two of them shared a laugh as they hefted both the Honchkrow and the stallion over their shoulders and headed for the Guard Station.

However, little did they know that they hadn’t been alone. “Curiouser and curiouser,” Fox mused as she watched from afar. “But this is becoming bigger than I thought...perhaps I will need to be more...direct here,” she said to herself as she got up to walk away...right before she held her head. “Darn headaches…”

“His name is Mayhem,” Ace said, looking at the newest arrival to her jail. “Or rather, that’s what everypony calls him. If there was anyone that knew his birth name, it would have to have been his parents. Shortly after having Tolerance,” here she snorted, “The colt grew jealous of all the attention they were giving him, and, well, that square is still burned down today. He just stood there and watched the fires burn. Luckily, or not, depending on how you look at it, we saved the foal, but quite a few ponies died in the surrounding buildings. And then he got worse.”

“Translation: He’s a psychopath,” Jonathan deadpanned, having run into his fair share of them back on Earth. “But what’s he doing on the streets? Shouldn’t he be locked up?”

“Mmhmm,” Ace responded. “I put him into a mental institution, and for the past ten years, he’s stayed there. Caught him mid-torture. He’s...unpredictable, save for one thing: he loves to bring others pain, and prefers to use a knife to do it. Likes to draw it out.” She said flatly. “Sometimes the mob families would pay him to do something, and he’d do that job, and do it well. But there was usually collateral. Eventually they stopped paying him, and he killed anyways. His death toll is relatively low, but that’s only because he didn’t like getting new ‘toys’ after the old ones broke.”

“Well...just make sure he STAYS in there this time. I’d recommend straight jackets with chains. Throw in a muzzle if needs be. Can’t be too careful with those types,” Jonathan sighed. “Anyway, he was after the kid. Any info on who sprung him loose?”

“No, and it infuriates me,” Ace growled. “Mayhem won’t sell out his employers, ever. Those other Pokemon you talked about, we can’t find them. And as for that wonderful amount of paperwork you brought me,” here she looked back towards her desk, “The only thing we can find is that as of so far, we can’t find anything. All of them ‘spontaneously’ decided to file charges against the building on the same day. That’s not an uncommon tactic, especially for the now-defunct PegasusAir, for when they want a building or to pressure the owners, but it’s nigh-impossible to trace. The one line we might have is the institution itself from when Mayhem was busted loose, but that’s going to take time to figure out how it happened.”

“Time you need assuming you do this the ‘legal’ way,” came a new voice, a distinctly feminine voice.

Turning to the source of the voice, they were treated to the sight of a certain someone fading into view.

“Fox?! What the hell?!” Jonathan gasped, not expecting to see the thief here. In fact, he wasn’t expecting this at all. This was the first time, probably in recorded history, that a Fox basically walked up and showed themselves in a Police Office.

Ace didn’t so much ask a question so much as launch a trio of small telekinetic ‘bullets’ at the figure’s forehead, all charged for stun.

The bullets hit...the wall, as they went right through the Zoroark.

“A little quick on trigger, are we?” Fox chuckled, as she was now suddenly leaning against the opposite wall.

“Better quick than dead,” Ace replied blandly as she looked over the Fox and then back to Jonathan. “This the girl who’s been eyeing you?”

“What?” Jonathan said flatly. “That’s Fox, not some girl.”

“Johnny boy is cute, especially when he’s flustered, but I just like to tease him,” Fox chuckled in amusement.

“I noticed earlier,” Ace said with the smallest of shrugs. “When he and his friend Alice met up in my office, poor dog got red as a rose.”

“The Maximilion girl? I’ve seen her from time to time. Honestly not surprised, seeing as they seemed close,” Fox simply said. “But enough about that. Before anyone does anything...rash, I’ll have you know I’m on your side right now.”

Ace let out a masculine bark of laughter. “Oh? Give me a single good reason why I shouldn’t slam your head into the table and cuff you myself, aside from the fact that you’re probably not where you appear to be.”

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. I honestly ought to thank Arceus for this new body. It's only fitting that I become the very Pokemon that inspired the first Fox centuries ago,” she chuckled. “But to answer your question, I’m here to help with your...recent incident, and from the info I’ve got, we stand a MUCH better chance of resolving this if we work together. That and I just knocked out the other officers in the building to get here. I think I can take one on any day.”

“Oh wonderful, there’s more of that senseless violence and problem causing that you seem to be so good at causing,” Ace shot back venomously. “Do you even realize how much chaos that’s going to cause here for us? I mean honestly Fox, the level of stealth that you’ve displayed so far means that you could have been in this office without anyone knowing a thing. Now I’m going to have to have everyone checked for concussions and possibly suspend them from duty.”

“Now don’t get ahead of yourself. I never laid a finger on any of them,” Fox chuckled. “I just didn’t want anyone interrupting. Otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered spreading the Sleep Powder.”

Ace stared at her for a moment before glancing at Jonathan. “Is there any likelihood that she’s actually in this room?”

Jonathan sighed, before walking up to Fox. “Let’s find out I suppose,” he said, before poking the Zoroark on the arm. It was solid. “She’s real,” he reported.

“Aw...just a tap? I wouldn’t mind you doing more that that,” Fox teased, her lips puckered as though she was asking for a kiss. Jonathan blushed at the implication, but backed away with a grumble.

The next thing the Fox knew there were a pair of hooves planted solidly in her stomach and she was thrown into the wall. “That was for my husband, you arrogant bitch,” Ace said calmly. “Now let’s get on with it.”

“Fair enough, fair enough,” Fox said, grimacing slightly, but simply dusted herself off, not looking any worse for wear. Thank Arceus part of her training was how to instinctively role with blows and relax muscles on impact, or that could have caused some actual damage. “Anyway, let’s just say I know a thing or two about this incident,” she started, baiting them a little.

“Cut the ‘I’m mysterious and playful’ shit and get to the point,” Ace stated blandly.

“Geez, way to kill the mood,” Fox sighed. “Fine, I have no idea about Mayhem, but I got some info that one PegasusAir is starting up again. Looks like you weren’t very thorough in cleaning them up, seeing as one Quick Notes has taken over.”

Ace frowned faintly. “Ah,” she nodded her head. “I suppose I was still a bit busy keeping an all out street war from erupting at the time to focus on everything,” she said before frowning a little more. “Though the name does not ring a bell.”

“Well, according to my informant, she was apparently the secretary of the previous owner...well, former now I suppose,” Fox shrugged.

“Huh,” Ace said befuddled. “I suppose that would make sense, we did take in their higher ranking executives, it’s hard to grab every single pencil pusher.”

“And this is why I like being a thief more,” Fox commented, sticking her tongue out. “No stupid politics and protocols to worry about.”

“Indeed, but you get to waste the guard’s time with your antics along with their money and make them look like imbeciles,” Ace said with a grunt. “Hurray for you.”

“Point. So, what are you gonna do about it NEXT time?” Fox goaded with a slight smirk. “What are you gonna do the next time I, or someone like me comes along?”

“I wouldn’t tell you,” Ace said blandly.

“That’s fine,” Fox chuckled. “Now then, before we get off topic again, here’s the deal. Normally I’d go about my usual way of doing things, but...I decided that an unusual situation requires an unusual approach. My informants got a hand on what they were paying local Pokemon with. Looks like she’s managed to replicate Rare Candies and Pokemon Vitamins, and seems to be paying the Pokemon with them. Buuut...there is a flaw. Like all big operations, there must be documentation....” Fox simply said, leading her on.

“She’s right. If we can get those documents, we’ll have legal proof of their actions, and we can catch them, Pokemon be damned,” Jonathan begrudgingly agreed.

“Not just that. She’s got Pokemon on her side because she has a monopoly on what they want at the moment. If we can get the data on that too, we can publicly manufacture it, and thus break any chances of future monopolies happening,” Fox added.

“I see...” Ace mused before letting out a small sigh. “I wish Abby was here to offer assistance, the most reliable form of Pokemon help we have in this town is Vincent and much as I realize he tries to help, the kid is a few plates short of a suit of armor.”

“...you do realize the kid is in the room, right?” Fox deadpanned.

“Not sure she cares at the moment,” the Kadabra deadpanned right back while glaring at Fox. “What with you being here. Can’t say I blame her either.”

“Doesn’t matter. As long as the job gets done, I really don’t care who I work with. Though Police are ALWAYS preferable,” Fox shrugged.

“When you’re not using them to further your ego,” Ace said flatly. “So, Fox, do you have a plan?”

“...I’m surprised you didn’t ask about the stuff that PegasusAir has been making,” Fox commented.

“It doesn’t really matter in the end,” Ace said with a small shrug. “From Jonathan’s reaction it’s legally damming.”

“And potentially very bad,” Vincent pitched in. “Candies and Vitamins were used often enough at the lab...the Vitamins focus on one particular attribute and provide the nutrients needed to the ‘mon who ingests it. They then assimilate it into their systems and become better at whatever it was meant to help with. Taking hits, dishing them out. Faster, stronger, better. And quickly, too. The Candies...they help a ‘mon grow instantly. From whatever rung they were on to the next.”

Ace blinked. “You know. Your entire old world either annoys me or makes me extremely concerned,” she stated. “Because here candy is made of sugar and vitamins help your body work.”

“If you think that’s weird, hear this. Apparently eating rare candies can temporarily boost a Unicorn’s power...but after it wears off, it's like a sugar rush,” Fox added.

“Oh joy, next you’ll tell me it’s impossibly addictive too,” Ace grunted.

“Wouldn’t know,” Vincent said. “Maybe not in small doses, but they’re not supposed to be eaten by non-Pokemon anyways. The only one that did overeat on Candies in the lab...escaped.”

“I fed a few of my Pokemon candies when I could, but they sure didn’t seem to get addicted to them, and I’ve never heard of a human who tried them getting addicted...aside from them wasting a good Rare Candy,” Fox shrugged. “But we’re getting off topic...again. Anyway, point is, PegasusAir is trying to make a comeback, and I KNOW that’s not going to be a good thing. But I’m not so sure going it the way I usually do would be a good idea this time, so I came to you with the information. So are you in on this little scheme of mine?”

“Oh no, please do walk into a lair of artificially enhanced ponies and Pokemon with the intent to steal from them,” Vincent said with more than a hint of snark to Fox. “I’ll warm up the popcorn and fetch Bit to watch the fucking fireworks when you do.”

Jonathan frowned when he heard that. The way Vincent was talking it was as if he actually...relished in the idea of Fox getting herself killed. But that was crazy. Vincent had issues, but he wouldn’t actually want to see Fox dead from just ONE incident...right?

“Maybe you should. Of course, the only fireworks I intend to set off are the ones signalling PegasusAir’s permanent end. So do put aside the animosity for now...or do you want PegasusAir to come back? I hear they’re not too fond of you and your family, and seeing as they might just try to take over the city next…” Fox simply said, seemingly not the least bit worried about Vincent. Seemingly being the keyword, as she was inwardly frowning. She’d have to be careful with this one. It seemed he was more unstable than she thought.

“You. Broke. Bit. You may not have laid one finger or claw or whatever on him, but he doesn’t take failing at all well,” Vincent stated. “Were this any other time, I would break you in return.”

Now she was getting annoyed. Yes, she made a mistake, but this...this was taking it too far. Everything going on, and he was STILL fixated on that? He could at least TRY to put it aside till after the greater threat was dealt with. Not to mention it was rather petty all things considered. “I’ll say it once. I’ll say it a thousand times. I. Am. Sorry. Breaking someone was NOT on the list of things to do on my Heist,” Fox commented with a hint of annoyance, though she did include a tinge of guilt in her tone as she WAS sorry. “It goes against my personal code to do damage like that, and so far, I’ve been able to avoid it back on Earth. I had no intentions of changing that.”

“Huh, it’s almost as if your actions have consequences that you should consider before you commit a crime for fun and drag down other people in the process,” Ace commented lightly. “Maybe you should think about that.”

Now Ace was getting on her nerves too. What did they think this was? A joke? Some game that she was playing? Either way she reigned in her emotions and kept up her poker face. “I always do. I did the exact same I did back on Earth, and if anything, I thought the police came out stronger for it. Johnny boy and his family being one of the strongest examples. And before you all start ganging up on me, let me put it this way, which would you rather have failed against? Me, or someone who actually wanted to take the items I’ve stolen? I’ll tell you straight. I could have taken any and all the items if I wanted to. But I didn’t. I have my reasons, but at the end of the day, I don’t truly mean anyone harm,” Fox explained.

“Fat lot of good that does to those that simply can’t handle you,” Vincent retorted, glancing at both Mayhem and Fox, before delivering a final barb. “Cause from where I’m standing, the both of you break your fair share of beings on your way. Maybe you should share a cell when all’s said and done.” With that, he vanished, unable to stand Fox anymore.

Inwardly Fox let out a sigh of relief, glad he was gone, or she might have lost her cool and punched him in the face if he kept talking. Honestly, did that boy think the world revolved around him and his family or something? The nerve. “Hmph. Easy for him to say. Like I said, I never intended to hurt anyone OTHER than the crime lords. Heck, I was only planning for the local Guards to begin with. The Porygon-Z was an unexpected variable. I adapted, he couldn’t. It’s cold, but its a fact of life,” Fox snorted...but then her expression softened as she did think about it as a whole. “But...for all it’s worth, he’s got a point. Maybe tricks that work on Earth aren’t the best for Equus. Speaking of which, with all our arguing, I never got to suggest that he go through Mayhem’s head. Maybe he can find incriminating evidence on PegasusAir,” she sighed, before deciding to ask something. “Actually...can I ask you all something? And be honest about it.”

“I’ll try,” Jonathan shrugged.

Ace just grunted.

“I’d like to think the Porygon was an isolated incident, but seeing as I can’t stick around long after heists anymore...anyone else I accidentally hurt?” she asked.

“Well...you already know the answer for Earth. Aside from our bruised pride, nothing but superficial injuries, be it both human and Pokemon,” Jonathan said, though he glared slightly at her. “As for Equus...none that I can think of...of course, I had to chase after you shortly after too.”

“My husband’s rather angry at you but honestly I’d say the only people who got seriously injured were the two or three mares who were robbed because their officers were busy dealing with you,” Ace said, her features tight. “You know, I’m sure that that’s not actually what you look like... mostly because every once and a while it flickers ever so slightly, so I’m guessing you could get a real job at some point. If you ever do, I’m sure a security company or two could benefit from your knowledge, or you could go into criminal justice.”

“My condolence to the mares. Again, I can only control what happens in the heist itself, and I do try to avoid any unnecessary injuries whenever I can. Also, not bad. You actually noticed. Yes, this is an illusion, but how it's an illusion...well, you’ll just have to find out,” Fox chuckled. “As for a job...let’s just say that’s not an issue,” she chuckled. “Either way, I’ll be going now. I’ll come back if I find anymore info. In the meantime, I trust you and Jonathan can cover the rest.” And with that, she was gone, fading away into the darkness.

“Have to admit, that is pretty impressive,” Jonathan commented. “I’ll head over to the Unity Building, and see if I can get Vincent again,” he said, before he walked out of the office.

“So...how did it go?” Heat asked as they rejoined Jonathan.

“You’d almost need to be there to believe it,” Jonathan chuckled, before relaying what happened.

“What? She was actually there?” Echo said in surprise.

“Yeah, she was,” Jonathan nodded.

“Wow, this must be REALLY serious if Fox came herself,” Heat mused, while Howl just frowned.

“Something wrong Howl?” Echo asked.

“...yeah, a thought crossed my mind. Vincent...can we really trust him?” Howl asked.

That made them stop short, Jonathan frowning deeply. “You picked that up too, huh?”

Howl nodded. “Fox is a criminal, a thief, and our all time headache...but she doesn’t deserve to die,” he said, to which they all couldn’t help but agree. “No offense to the kid, considering the life he’s endured, but something about him rubs me the wrong way.”

“You’re not the only one,” Jonathan sighed. “I thought something was off, but I kept writing it off as something left over from back on Earth. But fact is, we don’t have a choice. We need all the help we can get,” he sighed again. “But if they try anything funny...you know what to do.”

“Roger,” the three Pokemon nodded. When they capture Fox, they would let the Justice system judge her. NOT a group of escaped experiments whose morality just came into question.

Once they got back to the Unity Building, one quick question to Bit and he was now on the way to the basement to talk to Vincent. When he got there though, he saw Vincent talking to another Lucario. “...is this a bad time?” he blinked.

“You’d have to be more specific,” Vincent said. “To what do I owe the pleasure, officer?”

At this Jonathan sighed. “You kinda left before Fox could finish her suggestion. She was suggesting we have a psychic rummage through Mayhem’s head, maybe get some info that could help us build up a case against Quick Notes and PegasusAir,” he explained.

“They’re back?” the other Lucario questioned, her ears going back and flat while she unconsciously snarled.

“I assume you’re Lucy. Glad to see you’re back to the right state of mind,” Jonathan said. “I’m Jonathan Trace, Baltimare Guard, and Canterlot Pokemon special division.”

“While I am...loathe to admit it,” Vincent said, his eyes shut and his fists balled. “She has a point. Is she there at the moment? I don’t think I could control myself if she was.”

Jonathan inwardly sighed at that, but if nothing else, one thing he’d gained from years of chasing after Fox, was a Poker Face that could fool most people. “Nah, she vanished not long after you left. I think you might have given her some food for thought, since she’s only just realizing that Equus seems to be reacting differently than how it was on Earth in terms of her heists,” Jonathan said, feigning some levility. “Just hope this doesn’t throw her off her game. For once, I’d prefer if Fox was at the top of her game,” he inwardly sighed again. They needed everything they had, and that included Fox’s usualy sharp mind.

“Fine,” Vincent said. “I’ll help, but understand something, mister Trace. The moment, moment, that Quick Notes is down, I’m going after Fox.”

He fought the urge to groan at that, but he knew he had to play along. “Sure,” he shrugged. “But I’ll have to ask that you refrain from doing any lasting damage. She may be on the most wanted list, but she doesn’t exactly deserve death row as far as the law system is concerned, and as she said, she never meant any harm,” he sighed. “That’s also assuming she even sticks around. From the way she was talking after you left…”

“Really, I don’t care if she sticks around,” Vincent said. “I just want her as far away from Bit as possible. Fixing him is going to be an effort and a half. He already was broken once. He doesn’t need an encore. Her being around at all is going to hamper his recovery something terrible.” With that, he vanished in a flash of blue, supposedly on his way, leaving Lucy to examine Jonathan.

“This Fox, you’ve been chasing her?”

“All over the world for the last 5 years on Earth, and more or less the whole time I’ve been on Equus. Not easy, since I don’t have many of the tools I had back on Earth but…” he clenched his paw. “I’m making due with this new body. Honestly, if I could choose, I think I LIKE being a Lucario more than being a human.”

“Yeah, same,” Lucy said. “Of course, for me the choice was Riolu or Lucario, so no brainer there. And if mister high-and-mighty is to be believed, this was something you earned. So yeah, welcome to the Lucario family,” she smirked, before walking past him on her way out. “Now if you’ll pardon me, I have a few forms to practice before I join you in this endeavor.”

Jonathan nodded as he watched her go.

Half an hour later saw Jonathan watching what was soon to be an interrogation of Mayhem, all the while his eyes were fixed on the mad Pony. He’d been bound in a straightjacket, muzzled, and there were even chains and padlocks wrapped around his form. A bit excessive, but nobody wanted to take any chances with this one getting loose again. In fact, Jonathan had personally suggested this configuration.

“Let’s just do this,” Vincent sighed, holding a spoon out and closing his eyes.

The process took a few minutes, as it was clear Vincent was making his way into the Pony’s mind. However, to Jonathan’s surprise Mayhem suddenly screamed, before he broke down crying.

“Okay...that’s a little disturbing…” Heat’s eye twitched, the Police Pokemon all wondering what the hell Vincent did to him.

“All she said was that she was putting a few things in the works, and that in exchange for help to ‘pressure’ us, he’d get the city to play with,” Vincent reported. “While she pointed the mad dog at us, she hid any proof that she got us out of the house for him to savage us from that conversation. As well, they kept him blindfolded and chained up until the meeting actually started, and there was nothing in the place they met to indicate that they intended to use it for more than that meeting.”

“Well that wasn’t as helpful as we would have hoped,” Jonathan sighed. “Hopefully our other source will have better luck.”

Ace just leveled Vincent with a singular stare. “And you wonder why I dislike you,” she said very simply. “The hell did you do to him?”

Vincent smiled a sick smile then. “Made him really feel the things he’d done over the years. Not my fault he was just a little colt when he started down the wrong road.”

Jonathan suppressed an eye twitch at that, but ultimately quickly put on a mask of levity again. “Damn...you are one scary kid. Didn’t think you’d pull a Penance Stare on the guy. Oh well, I guess it was appropriate,” Jonathan shrugged. He was half serious for that matter. On one hand it was fitting for a psycho. On the other hand, this seriously pushed the ethical limits. That and he was now positive he didn’t want the kid anywhere near his brain.

“I need to find a mind shield of some kind,” Ace grunted before glancing at Jonathan. “Jon, is that normal for dealing with psychics?”

“Depends on how stable and/or sadistic the psychic is. Though, pulling a copy of a comic book anti-hero’s signature move is new,” he shrugged. Inwardly he was wondering the same.

“It is not my fault they make it so easy,” Vincent commented with a huff and crossing his arms. “Seriously, the amount of things they’ve done is like a big red button, begging me to press it.”

Jonathan leveled a deadpan stare at the Kadabra. He was seriously wondering if the kid fully understood what he was doing.

“Just be sure to watch your own head, kid. You’re likely not the only powerful psychic in the world, so don’t go doing it too often. You don’t know who you might piss off,” came Fox’s voice as she faded into view again. “I’ve got more info on PegasusAir.”

Vincent clenched his fists and studiously looked away, not giving Fox the courtesy. Only Ace’s right eye twitched a little bit as Fox appeared. “Fine. Out with it. Sooner we get this over with, the sooner things can go back to bucking normal, whatever it is that means these days.”

“There’s gonna be some big shipment coming in from Canterlot. Apparently one of the mob families that owe PegasusAir have finally paid up. Its scheduled to come in tomorrow night,” she said simply.

“Hmm…” Ace said. “While I can’t go poking around the shipping manifests of what few import and export companies remain after the first time without probable cause, you have no such restrictions. If you’re truly as solidly ‘behind’ us as you say I’d request that you and a certain Fighting-Type escort you to make sure you don’t break more laws than absolutely necessary on your jaunt around the city. And no, I don’t care if you’d prefer to go alone.”

Fox just sighed. “Personally, I’d rather go it alone, but I can read between the lines. Alright, Johnny-boy can come with me. Might need that muscle anyway if a fight breaks out,” she shrugged.

“I’m gonna just take that as a yes. Honestly, the only reason I’m willing to do this is because at least I can count on you to not stab me in the back,” Jonathan sighed. “Alright, then, we’ll be ready tomorrow night at 8 PM. We’ll coordinate further from there. Would that be alright with all of you?”

“Fine by me,” Ace said, and Vincent gave a curt nod, not looking at anyone in particular. “Oh, and Miss Fox? Just so you’re aware, I’m fairly certain once this operation of Notes’ is swept up, I’m giving you more than a buck to the stomach.”

“Awww, and here I thought we’d be such good friends,” Fox chuckled, before her face became more serious. “Understood. Though all I ask is one thing in return when this is over.”

“I make no promises,” Ace said. “But speak.”

“Five minute head start,” Fox grinned.

“You’d be lucky to have five seconds,” Vincent hissed. “You two can deal with her. I’m off to make sure Bit isn’t stuck in a loop.”

“Oh shut up, you stupid kid,” Fox inwardly growled. She was REALLY getting tired of Vincent’s seeming inability to put aside smaller arguments when the future of this city was on the line.

The Kadabra vanished again, leaving the Guard and Jonathan with Fox and a heavily weeping Mayhem.

“Charming kid. I feel sorry for anyone who’s dumb enough to really hurt someone he cares for,” Fox mused. “So then, 8 PM tomorrow. Its a date, hope you’ll show me a good time, Mr. Trace,” Fox chuckled, before her cape wrapped around her before she vanished.

“Oh, and Ace, bring as many able bodied officers you can. I HIGHLY doubt this is going to be as clean as I would prefer it to be,” Fox’s voice rang out, before fading away as well.

“Is your life always so interesting, Mr. Trace?” Ace asked with a dry tone. “Because I much preferred my job of a month ago, when it was routine and boring.”

Jonathan simply stared at her, before saying in a long suffering tone. “Every. Damn. Day. It’s why I’m the only one who they have to deal with Fox. Everyone else who’s ever dealt with her case was smart enough to quit.”

“Let’s check our friend here back in the nuthouse and co-ordinate what we can for tomorrow,” Ace said. “I think the first thing I need once this mess is done with is a damn massage, and I know just the Thestral to give it.”

“...ookay, not gonna ask anymore there. But...got any drinks to go with one of those? I’m technically underaged, but at this point, I’d like to see if it works,” he groaned in response.

“Not while we’re on the job,” Ace commented before pulling out a file of the still-in-business shipping companies. “Now let’s get cracking on who could possibly receive such a shipment.”

“Right, right. An officer’s job is never done,” Jonathan shrugged helplessly.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Part 3 of 4. One more to go

Twenty Seventh Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Twenty Seventh Heist

Opening theme:

Alice lay on the bed she was using during her stay, her team by her side. “You all ready?”

“Of course,” Shade nodded.

“We are ready,” Spinner and Charlotte agreed.

“Now if only Scep would get out of bed,” Rascal smirked, to which they all leveled a deadpan stare at him. “What?”

“At any rate, you know the plan right?” Alice said.

“Of course,” they all nodded.

“But that aside...can we trust them?” Shade asked.

“If you’re talking about Jonathan, you all know the answer to that,” Alice nodded with a small smile, one they all agreed to. If there was one thing they could count on it was Jonathan’s moral integrity, which is why they like working with him when the situation calls for it. He would never stab them in the back.

“But if you mean the Nurems…” Alice frowned. “Not in a million years,” she said bluntly. “Keep an eye on Vincent and Bit especially. I wouldn’t put it past them to turn on us the moment this is over, or if the opportunity presents itself.”

“Understood,” the four of them nodded dead serious. They were the latest in the long line of Pokemon who fought alongside and protected the Fox, and like their predecessors, they would not fail their friend and master.

Ironically, a similar conversation was taking place outside the building. “So this is it huh?” Howl mused.

“Yeah, we’re gonna stop PegasusAir before they can even get a foothold on the city,” Jonathan nodded.

“Been awhile since we were part of such a big alliance,” Heat nodded.

“But what do you think of our allies?” Echo asked.

Jonathan frowned at that. “Well, Ace is a bit hard to work with, but she’s clearly a professional so we can trust her. Fox, I don’t need to discuss, right?” he chuckled at the end, one they all shared. It was honestly ironic that the person they were supposed to arrest, is also the person they knew they could trust to not stab them in the back. “But as for Vincent…” Jonathan frowned. “I’d like to think we can trust him, but from what I’ve seen, he’s unstable, and a little too mentally centered on his family.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Echo blinked. “Focusing on family, I mean.”

“Not when it seems to me that he’d sooner turn on Fox just because of what she accidentally did rather than focus on PegasusAir that is the bigger threat. While I would be angry too if anyone hurt one of you, I would also look at the full picture. Vincent seems to be fixed on only the fact that she did it rather than the full picture. The fact he actually lumped her in with a psychopath for no real reason is pretty clear.”

“...good point…”

“As much as I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt, I can’t in good conscience trust Vincent and his family to not act on personal interest during the mission. That’s why…” Jonathan sighed. “If any of you see them, especially Vincent and that Porygon-Z, looking like they’ll turn on Fox, I want you to stop them,” Jonathan said.

“Roger,” the three of them nodded. They knew what Jonathan was thinking and they agreed. They would catch Fox, but they would do it on their own terms. Not by taking advantage of her acts of good. Doing anything less would leave a horrible taste in their mouths.

“I think now would be a good time for us to make our exit,” Sleight Hoof said to his gathered group.

“You got that right. Things are getting way too crazy for comfort,” Rascal nodded.

“Of course, we’d better get out of town before the fighting gets serious,” Quick Storm nodded in agreement. Of course, they all knew the plan. They would get out of Las Pegasus...but with Alice and her team ‘getting off’ sooner, with them coming back to play their role as the Fox Gang.

With that in mind, the party came down the stairs, their luggage packed and ready to go. Along the way, Scep came out of the room he’d been more or less confined to, followed by Christine, both of them looking a bit dazed…and reeking of what they’ve been doing.

“Seriously?” Shade deadpanned, but shook her head all the same as they made their way down. They soon saw Vincent at the base of the stairs.

“If you’re wondering what’s going on, Jonathan told me about what’s happening yesterday, and Sleight Hoof thinks that since our time in the city is up, it would be better if we cleared out,” Alice explained.

“Ah,” Vincent said. “Can’t blame you. How much did we charge you again? I think we can afford a small refund if you’re leaving a day early.”

“Now now, young man. None of that. You’ve been very hospitable to us for the last few days. Besides, my shows have turned over a decent profit, so we can afford to pay you in full. And with what’s going on, I can definitely afford to be a bit more charitable,” Sleight Hoof said, before giving Vincent a bag full of bits.

“We’re really sorry to just run like this, but none of us are really fighters. If we were to be here when everything goes down, we’d just be liabilities to you,” Alice said, bowing in apology. Of course, how sincere it was...she couldn’t say herself.

“Speak for yourself, dudette,” Scep snorted, not looking too happy about leaving so suddenly.

“Ya know, Scep, if you want, you CAN stay behind and fight. Heck, if you want to stay here, be my guest,” Rascal groused.

“Really, you two? Now?” Alice sighed in annoyance, but nodded all the same. “He’s right though. If you want to stay and help them, we’re not stopping you.”

“I’d certainly appreciate more time with you,” Christine purred into his ear. “But, no pressure.”

“I’m sold. I’m not leaving your group, but I’m not leaving my mate hanging like this. I’ll meet you guys down the path in a day. You already showed me the map and path you’re taking,” Scep said, nuzzling Christine.

“Alright then. If that’s everything, I guess we better get going,” Quick Storm said, to which the rest of the ponies, and most of the Pokemon went straight for the door, and quickly exited the building, leaving only Alice behind.

“Good luck. It was brief, but we had fun during our stay,” Alice smiled, inwardly chuckling at the fact she was trolling Vincent without him realizing it, as her one night of ‘fun’ was inadvertently the main cause of one of their issues, before she walked out the door.

“Take care, you guys,” Sam said. “And if Fox gets away from us and shows up on your path, sock ‘er one for us, will ya?”

Vincent nodded his agreement with the statement, while Lucy merely snorted. Bit, however, remained silent. Which was starting to get more than a touch eerie.

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Alice chuckled awkwardly...before scowling once she knew they couldn’t see her. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she’d never have to see them again.

“Okay, calm down. Yes they are annoying, yes you don’t like them, but you have a mission to take care of,” Fox said as she looked at her reflection. “You are calm, you are in control, you are the Fox,” she said with a deep breath, as her the cool mask of the Fox persona was slipped on. “Alright, let’s do this,” Fox said.

“You go make sure PegasusAir doesn’t get its second wind. We’ll standby a bit outside the city limits until you finish,” Sleight smiled. “Good luck Fox.”

The Pokemon nodded before they made their way back into the city.

Meanwhile, at the Police Station, Jonathan had just finished relaying the plans and the situation.

Vincent tilted his head following the explanation. “You’re sure?”

“Yes. I’m positive. We were able to get some info on the ships that dock in the area. Our best bet is in field 7, where most of the larger ships dock in, perfect for one hauling supplies, or a large number of items,” Jonathan said. The info hadn’t been easy to get, what with PegasusAir having eyes and ears nearly everywhere, but he hadn’t been chasing after Fox for 5 years without learning a thing or two about stealth.

Bit finally showed some semblance of emotion then. “If we have a location and a time, then we are ready for this play to end,” he stated, his eyes flickering quite quickly between their normal state and their red one.

Jonathan shot a quick suspicious look at the Porygon-Z, one that nobody noticed, before continuing. “Not that simple. Unfortunately, this mission is gonna need stealth as well as power. We need to keep the guards busy, while some of our guys will slip in. For that reason, while I’m supposed to keep an eye on Fox, I suggested that each of us send at least one person in to infiltrate the ship, and maybe the nearby offices. Captain Blackstone has already volunteered to be the representative of the town guard, and I was hoping you’d be willing to be part of the stealth team, Vincent. And of course, there’s Fox...yeah, this is gonna be REAL fun night,” he said, groaning at the end. As much as he trusted Fox to not stab them in the back, Fox was still...Fox…

“As we’ve had proven to me, I’m useless when it comes to Dark or Bug types...unless I really exert myself, I don’t think me being on stealth would do you much good. I could probably co-ordinate the thing, run comms for us all, but I can’t have it both ways,” he finished ruefully while keeping his recent lessons with Luke close to the chest. “Either I can go in, or I can sit back and help. Which would you prefer?”

“We’re going in blind anyway, so you may as well be on the front line. Only Dark-types are immune, and we’ve got plenty of Fighting-types on our side, so your level of psychic power would be too valuable to lose at this point,” Jonathan mused. “Again though, the plan hitches on one of us getting the documents that should be in the ship, as with that, we can get proof of Pegasus Air’s most recent illegal activities. Once we get that, and if possible, records of all of Pegasus Air’s activities, we can stop them cold for good this time.”

“Fine,” Vincent muttered with an eye roll, “but I don’t know any Fighting moves. Or really anything to help with Dark types. And sad to say,” he said, glancing at the rest of his family, “But Sam isn’t a stealthy ‘mon, Lucy would rather be on the offensive, and Bit...is a bit too unstable right now to trust to a sneaking mission.”

“Understood. As for Fighting moves, I’ll have Heat standby with you in case. As for stealth...as much as I hate to admit it, the fact we’ve got Fox on our side, as long as the distraction works, we’ve got a very high chance of success,” he shrugged.

“That ought to work,” Vincent said slowly. “So, when are we going? Cause some of us don’t do well with waiting too long.” Even as he said that, Bit’s arm’s twitched slightly.

The moment they saw that, Heat, Echo, and Howl tensed slightly, but relaxed when Bit did.

“Then I’m afraid to say, that the shipment is supposed to come in at around 8 PM tonight. Since the shipment will land in an area away from the main nightlife areas, even at that early hour the place will be all but deserted. If you want, meet us at the Guard Station at 7 tonight. In the meantime, I suggest you train a little, prepare yourselves for tonight, and get plenty of rest. We’re gonna need everything we’ve got for this,” the Lucario sighed.

Sam, Lucy, and Vincent nodded, moving to leave, but Bit merely closed his eyes...an act that garnered more suspicious looks from the four Police Pokemon present. So much so that when they were outside the room for a bit, Jonathan looked at his team and said, “Be ready.” To which they just nodded.

The day had crawled by for everyone involved. But at last, the time for the mission came, and everyone was gathered at the Guard Station. Everyone but a certain thief.

“...Why am I not surprised?...” Vincent muttered.

“Oh, she’ll come. She never breaks her promises, so she’ll come. We just have to wait. Knowing her, she’ll want to make a flashy entrance,” Jonathan sighed.

“Does she ever do anything normally?” Lucy questioned.

“She’s a Phantom Thief. Them and normal don’t mix,” Echo deadpanned.

“I think we went beyond abnormal when she went straight to us to offer/ask for help,” Howl commented.

“Though how much is out of a sense of obligation and a sense of guilt are up for grabs,” Sam muttered, rotating his joints and flexing his claws.

“She’s here, isn’t she? Considering she’s been on a thieving spree since she got here and Arceus, nor ANY of the Legendaries even did a thing about it must mean something,” Heat shrugged.

“Maybe the Legendaries just didn’t want to leave little old me behind. I’m flattered to be the center of your conversation, by the way,” Fox said, before appearing in a flurry of her cape that had suddenly appeared in thin air. “As they say in old Kanto, ‘Kaitou Fox, Sanjou!’” she joked, before giving a stage bow.

Her sudden appearance had the effect of galvanizing the small family of Nurem that had gathered with the Guard in the station. While previously the foursome had been looking around at everything and tapping or fidgeting nervously, none of them took their eyes off of her once she revealed herself. Or rather, none of them took both eyes off of her. Of course, because of that none of them noticed the four Police Pokemon keeping their eyes on the experiments, just in case they made any moves. This was too important to let petty grudges mess it all up.

“Looks like the party’s all here,” she mused, ignoring the stares. “So Blackstone, when shall we start? Oh, and before we begin, no hard feelings for last time, okay. Nothing personal.”

“Oh yeah, of course no hard feelings,” he said, giving her a lopsided smile. “See, I’m not a guard captain, I’m actually secretly an Alicorn Prince with a thing for BDSM so what you did was fun for me,” Blackstone deadpanned. “So, thanks to Jonathan and your efforts, we know where the shipment from Canterlot is coming in. Jon?”

“Right. As we know, the shipment seems to be a shipment from Canterlot. It should be scheduled to arrive in field 7 by around 8 PM tonight. We’ll divide into 2 teams, our main force will create a distraction via a head on assault, during which our stealth team consisting of Blackstone, Fox, and myself, will infiltrate the ship, and secure any and all documents and incriminating evidence,” Jonathan explained.

“Keep in mind, ponies, ‘mon, and others,” Ace commented from next to her husband, “We don’t know how many ‘mon there are going to be in there, or how powerful they are, considering some of the rumors we’ve heard. If you think you’re outmatched, there is no shame in running and living instead of dying some sort of ‘hero’s death.’ Your purpose is to keep their eyes on you while our small team gets what we need. But if you get the chance, don’t be afraid to knock some upstart down a peg, and remember, if it’s do or die, do whatever you have to not die.”
The roars of approval were deafening, and when they died down, Fox decided to add her last two cents. “Well, you all heard the mare. I hope everyone is ready, cause it's showtime,” she smiled from under her hat.

“So, how you enjoying your first night as thieves?” Fox joked as she, Jonathan, and Blackstone ran along the nearby rooftops, giving them a good view of the field, while also letting them plot potential routes.

“Bizarre,” Jonathan deadpanned. Of all the things he thought he would do in his life, spending a night as a thief of sorts was not one of them.

“While I enjoy the night,” Blackstone said before lightly jumping and gliding to the next roof, Noi flying silently a few yards above him, “This is a side of it I had hoped never to see.”

“Aww...you’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ll be sure to show you the glitz and glamour that is a night in the life of a Phantom Thief,” she chuckled, pulling out a rose from Arceus knew where.

“Why does that not fill me with confidence?” Jonathan deadpanned.

“Because you know her?” their thestral companion filled in.

“Probably,” the Lucario sighed. “Anyway, let’s get ready. The signal should come any minute now.”

With that, they got into position, ready to spring.

Bit watched his timer count down. Not far behind, Echo and Howl were keeping an eye on him. As it was now, Fox was in a spot Bit could easily snipe if he were so inclined to. As such, it was an unspoken agreement between the two mon that they were going to make sure he STUCK to the plan.

The members of the Guard, along with several ‘mon who they’d recruited over the last few weeks to their cause, were assembled on the other side of a tall chain link fence, beyond which they could see the faint outline of an airship and the building it had landed near. Or they could just be random blobs in the darkness. Which is what he was about to fix.

When it got to ten seconds, Bit turned his head to those behind him and warned them. “Shield your eyes.”

Every pony, ‘mon, and other followed his advice. Once the timer hit five seconds, he floated up to the gate and started to ascend. At zero, he was approximately twenty-five feet in the air. Perfect.

“Flash,” he said, and for a moment, there was a Bit-shaped star hovering in the air, blinding the workers that had been in the process of dragging in the large crates. Everything about the warehouse was thrown into the very stark light emanating from his form, revealing that the main doors had been open, along with the fact that Quick Notes employed ‘mon and ponies that just could not look away.

“THIS IS THE LAS PEGASUS GUARD!” Ace bellowed. “SURRENDER NOW OR BE TAKEN IN BY FORCE!”

Naturally, not a one of them followed her orders. Lucy gave the chain and padlock blocking them from entering the yard full of either fleeing or charging mobsters a quick Force Palm, and the Guard surged to meet their foes.

While the guards were providing the distraction, the stealth group had snuck into the building where Quick Notes made her office. “What is it with Equestrian Crime Lords and making it so easy for me to get in,” Fox chuckled as they entered undetected.

“Don’t jinx it,” Jonathan sighed as he noticed his body start to fade away, Fox cloaking them in an illusion.

“Stick close,” she said seemingly ignoring his statement and grabbing his paw. The moment she did though, he blushed slightly, one that was hidden by the illusion. Good thing too as he was wondering why something like this was having that reaction on him. Little did he know, Fox was thinking the same thing, only in regards to herself.

Blackstone didn’t say anything as he followed. Being unseen and due to the illusion and with the majority of the guards diverted, it made sneaking in easy enough. They slowly made their way through the building and eventually came to Quick Notes’ office. A fact that was obvious seeing as Quick Notes herself was in the room.

“Oh for the love of Luna, but how is this happening again?” they heard her groan as she put her saddlebags and briefcase on top of the desk, no doubt for her files.

Seeing her chance, Fox moved towards her. “Nighty night,” she said, giving Quick Notes only a split second to look...before Fox knocked her out with a sharp blow to the back of her head. With that done, she dispelled the illusion, revealing the three of them.

“Remind me again why you didn’t do that to us at the casino?” Blackstone said as he regained visible form.

“Cause then you wouldn’t have been awake for the show,” Fox simply said, a small part of her enjoying the annoyed look that got out of Blackstone. “That, and we kinda need to knock her out BEFORE she managed to destroy any documents.”

“Yes, but you could have waited until she picked out which documents she wanted,” Blackstone said. “Now we’re going to have to go through them all, and if there’s one thing Ace hates more than criminals, it’s paperwork.”

It took a second for Fox to process it, and in that single second she came up with one realization: She got trigger happey. “...whoops,” Fox had the decency to blush at this. “Well...how many could she possibly have? And even if she has a lot, a LOT of it must be incriminating in some way, right?” she tried to reason, though that didn’t stop the sweat drop from forming.

“And now we’re gonna have a hard time sorting through it. Thanks a bunch Fox, for tempting fate,” Jonathan deadpanned. A quick search of the mare’s knocked-out body revealed a small set of keys in her saddlebags, which opened up her desk on the first try.

“Or we could get incredibly lucky with this mare’s attention to detail,” Blackstone muttered as the first drawer revealed a slew of files, but some were tagged with a sticker of a campfire while others weren’t.

“So...should we sort through them while everyone is fighting outside, or should we just grab everything and run?” Fox commented.

“Let’s grab the ones she wants destroyed first,” Blackstone said. “If we have room after, we can take the rest. Let’s use her bags as well, more space the merrier.”

“Now you’re talking,” Fox grinned, as the proceeded to grab all the documents that had the campfire sticker on it, before packing up anything else they could get their hands on.

“Uhhh... what?” Quick Notes groaned as she started to come to, but Fox was fast, and in a second she had whacked the pony on the head again with one of the large paper weights on the desk.

Jonathan glared at her when she did that. An act that was mirrored by Blackstone.

“What? Last I checked we didn’t want her to wake up while we’re here,” Fox defended herself.

“We also want to take her alive, something a little hard to do if you keep hitting her on the head,” Jonathan deadpanned.

“Oh dear me, but this won’t do,” a voice said from everywhere and nowhere. “Someone pilfering boss’s desk? I’m going to have to deal with you…”

“Ghost-type?” Fox guessed.

“Ghost-type,” Jonathan groaned in annoyance. Of all the Pokemon the mare could have had, it HAD to be a Ghost-type, which he was completely useless against.

The briefcase snapped up the files that they’d been pulling out of her desk before clicking and locking shut. A soft ‘kekeke’ echoed around the room afterwards.

“Now that that’s out of the way...why don’t I have some fun with you three?”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Fox smirked, before yelling, “Duck!”

Hearing her, Jonathan and Blackstone immediately hit the ground, just as Fox let out a Dark Pulse from her body, the waves emanating through the room, and hitting the Ghost-type in the room.

The Gengar grunted as he faded into corporeality, sliding down the wall and glaring at Fox. He then drew one hand back, and it started to drip with a purple fluid. “Say goodnight!” he snarled before dashing at her with a Poison Jab.

“Curfews canceled,” Jonathan shot back as he got between Fox and the attack, the attack harmlessly hitting him in the chest, his Steel-type neutralizing the Poison.

“And once more,” Fox grinned, before throwing a Shadow Ball at the Gengar. The attack hit, causing the Gengar to drop the brief case with the files in it.

“Blackstone! Now!” Jonathan shouted, to which Blackstone dove for the briefcase, and snatched it up.

“Go! We’ll handle short and ugly here,” Fox ordered, to which the thestral nodded and flew out the door with the precious documents.

Now that they were alone, the two Pokemon focused their attention on the Ghost-type hovering there.

“You’re not leaving here alive,” the ghost proclaimed, before starting to sing an unearthly tune. “All who face me fail!”

“Too bad for you, nothing is impossible for Phantom Thief Fox,” Fox grinned, before several Shadow Balls appeared between her two paws, albeit smaller than a normal Shadow Ball. “Shadow Barrage!” she shouted, before the Gengar found himself pelted by the balls of super effective energy.

“Keh!” he hissed as his energy fled. “Oh no you don’t. You’re falling here.” His form wavered and vanished as he melted into the floor, casting a shadow where he’d been, before that, too, vanished.

“Alright, if that’s how you want to play...Johnny-boy,” she started, getting his attention. “Shield Quick Note,” she said as energy started building up around her.

Seeing what she was about to do, Jonatha quickly lunged for Quick Note, and used his body as a shield from the attack to come.

“Night Daze!” Fox declared, before the energy dispersed in a massive dome shaped shockwave, obliterating the room they were in, and devastating nearby rooms.

Outside, the room they had been in seemed to explode with energy, just as Jonathan came tumbling out, the unconscious mare in his arms. Nearby, Blackstone got off his flank, having been bowled over by the shockwave, though the documents were safe.

Likewise, even the ones on the battlefield saw that, causing several ‘mon and ponies to finally get in prone positions and allow themselves to be taken in. Bit took the blast in absently, and Lucy took advantage of the distraction to knock a few foes out. Sam blinked a few times and sighed at the thought of Fox being that strong.

Gengar rolled and huffed as he too hit the ground, but picked himself up and glared at Fox. “Oh you are going to regret that!” he spat. However, to his surprise...she was gone.

“...Oh fuck m-” he didn’t get to finish his sentiment, as his earlier attack finally took effect on him, and he fainted.

Back with the battle, Jonathan and Blackstone had rejoined the rest of the group, after Jonathan had secured Quick Notes

“Is everyone alright?” Jonathan asked.

“We’re great,” his Pokemon said.

Sam and Lucy looked around, clearly not seeing someone, and Bit was the one to voice the question.

“Where. Is. She?”

Even the tone was hostile, something that immediately put the Police Pokemon on guard.

Jonathan quickly regained his focuse and looked around and noticed that she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “She must hav-” his statement was cut off when he suddenly fell over. “Damn...Perish Song…” he managed to choke out before passing out.

“Jonathan!” came the worried voices of his Pokemon as they crowded around him. However, they all sighed in relief when they realized he was just knocked out.

What nobody noticed was during the chaos, Fox had snuck away, and got to the water. Dropping a few glow sticks, the water bubbled just as she lost consciousness, letting herself fall in. As she was in the water, a pair of claws caught her, pushing her back up for a moment, and when she was over the water, several webs covered her nose and mouth, making a makeshift face mask and keeping the water out, before she was pulled under again by her Pokemon, all of them having the same facemasks, with Rascal and Shade swimming her to safety, while Charlotte and Spinner clung on to them. As they swam, they could hear the sounds of searching, as well as a few of Bit’s angry beeps here and there, which only made them smirk.

“So close, yet so far. Sorry Vincent, but nobody is taking Fox in today,” the four of them thought as they continued unseen to the streams outside the city.

Several hours later, Alice sighed as she lay on the roof of the carriage. The recent heist had been a close one, but knowing Jonathan, he’d be sure that all the evidence they got was put to good use. However, despite a job well done, and once again evading the authorities, she still felt uneasy, and she knew why. “Maybe I was wrong to act like we were still on Earth. Maybe I just didn’t realize that ponies were so...fragile in comparison to humans. Sure, Bit breaking down might have been partly due to his own nature, but I should be more careful too,” she thought with a sigh. As she sat up, she smiled slightly at the next destination. They were going back to Baltimare. “Maybe its time Fox took a little break. After all, we’ve already hit Equestria. Maybe its time Fox took the world,” she grinned.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Part 4 of 4. I am officially back.

Twenty Eighth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Twenty Eighth Heist

Opening theme:

The carriage was filled with a happy atmosphere as all of its occupants were in a good mood. Not that anyone could blame them as they could already see the city of Baltimare from the last hill they went over. In fact, some of the servants were playing a few instruments to help the travelling go more smoothly, much to Sleight, Storm, and Toichi’s delight.

Of course, not everyone was enjoying it. “I kind of wish they’d turn down the volume…”Alice groaned from her spot, rubbing her head a little. Ever since the fight in Las Pegasus and her first hand encounter with a Perish Song, she’d been having a few migraines every now and then. Fortunately though, those didn’t last all that long and were slowly but surely getting fewer and shorter each time, meaning she was recovering.

“...we could ask them to do that,” Shade suggested.

“No, let’s not be a wet blanket. Let them have their fun,” Alice said shaking her head. “You can join too if you want.”

“Nah, I’m fine here,” Shade said.

“Spend time with Scep? No thanks. I’d rather stay right here,” Rascal snorted.

“We will stay here,” Spinner and Charlotte said.

Alice chuckled slightly at that. “Thanks guys,” she said as she laid down and closed her eyes. How nostalgic, moments like this were the times when she felt her mind wander back to her time on Earth, of the few simple days where she wasn’t Fox, just Alice who was spending time with her Pokemon.

Meanwhile, another party was taking a break of sorts.

“So now what?” Trixie asked as she took a bit of the fruit Echo had picked, her face brightening at how perfectly ripe it was. She used to be sceptical about how Echo’s species, Noibat, could tell when fruit was ripe, but with how Echo always picks the fruit that is ripe while avoiding the ones that aren’t, she was a believer now.

“For now, we head back to Baltimare,” Jonathan said as he placed more wood for a fire down. It was still midday, but after everything that’s been happening, everyone was too tired to try to make it to Baltimare by night. “Once we get back then we can think up a new plan of action.”

“Wonder how the chief is gonna react to this,” Howl mused.

“Eh, even if he reacts badly, it's not like it's anything we haven’t heard before,” Jonathan shrugged. It was true too. He’d already endured being chewed out for his ‘failure’ to catch Fox for the last 5 years or so. So much so that he’d gotten numb to it.

“Well, no point worrying about it now,” Echo shrugged.

“In the meantime, let’s train a bit,” Heat grinned.

Jonathan smirked at that. “Alright, but this time you’re going down, bird.”

“Dream on, doggy,” Heat smirked back as the two walked to a more open area to spar.

Jonathan just chuckled at that, a small smile on his face as he remembered again the days when they would just train for the sake of training.

“Ah, it's so good to be home,” Sleight smiled as they unloaded and entered the mansion.

“Feels like we’ve been on the road for so long,” Storm nodded in agreement as she trotted up next to him. However, just as they entered the main hall, a blur shot past in front of them. The only thing they saw was a notable color of yellow...and what looked like a lightning bolt shape.

“Stop thief!” came an angry shout as several of the servants that had remained in the house barreled past them, not even realizing they were there, all of them intent on catching the blur.

“...what just happened?” Toichi blinked.

“If I were to guess…” Alice mused. “Seems like the servants were chasing a Pikachu. Good luck trying to catch one of those on the run,” she chuckled.

“Pikachu?” the three ponies asked.

“Small electric mice,” Shade clarified. “They’re native to many regions back on Earth, and generally live in forests, though they have been known to come into cities and chew on power lines.”

“I see…” Sleight said, though that was a lie. Honestly he didn’t see, but figured he’d just roll with it. Any thoughts he had were cut off when they heard the sound of something smashing.

“That...doesn’t sound good,” Storm groaned as they followed. When they came to the room, Sleight and Storm fought hard to suppress a scream. The once well decorated room now looked like a tornado had hit it, with furniture turned over, a grandfather clock smashed, and pieces of potted plants scattered all over. That and it seemed someone had been playing with the yarn, with how it was scattered all over.

Scratch that, once the full scene set in, the two looked like they wanted to have a heart attack, something Alice and Toichi quickly took notice of. “Okay mom, dad, I think you need your rest,” he said quickly.

“Yeah, just relax. We’ll sort this out. Maybe a nice nap will make it all better,” Alice said comfortingly...but winced when she heard another smash. “I hope…” she whispered to herself.

“I...maybe you’re right…” Sleight sighed, wiping a bit of sweat off his brow.

“Yes...maybe a quick rest will help,” Storm sighed as well before Toichi ushered them away. A few minutes later, Toichi ran back into the room. “We need to stop this chase…” he started, and winced when another crash could be heard. “Before mom and dad have a heart attack from the damage to the mansion!”

“You’re right. Everyone, follow the destruction!” Alice said as they did so.

When they got to the next room, they saw the servants, an almost manic look in their eyes, climbing on each other to reach for the chandelier where the Pikachu was. “What the?! For Celestia’s sake stop that!” Toichi shouted. Just in time too, as his shout surprised them enough to cause them to lose balance and fall, fortunately not hitting the chandelier.

“What in the world were you thinking doing that?!” Alice asked incredulously. But once she got a closer look at them...she wondered if she even wanted to know anymore. The reason for that. The servants looked like possessed ponies what with the bags under their eyes, the slightly manic look...oh and they looked frazzled and slightly charred, meaning they probably experienced first hand why Pikachu could be considered such annoying pest sometimes.

“...when was the last time you all slept?” Toichi deadpanned.

“Sleep?” one of them slurred, as if it was an alien concept.

“Can’t...sleep. Must...catch...annoying...mouse!!” Another said...to which all of them agreed...in a way that reminded Alice and Toichi of mindless zombies.

“...oookay...that’s not disturbing at all…” Shade said sarcastically.

“...maybe you should all lie down...preferably before mom and dad have a heart attack from all the damage this chase is causing,” Toichi sighed. THAT seemed to finally make them realize the mess they were in.

“...we are so fired for this…” they groaned when the realized that in their rage/obsession induced chase, they’d probably worked up enough damage to owe their bosses...for about a decade or so...hopefully…

“We’ll try to work something out,” Alice said reassuringly. “Just leave your little ‘pest’ problem to us. After all, it takes a Pokemon to catch a Pokemon.”

The servants just nodded before wordlessly leaving. They weren’t in the mood to possibly dig themselves deeper than they already have.

“...okay, so now what do we do?” Toichi asked, as they had already noticed that the Pikachu had left during the conversation.

“For starters, let’s catch its trail,” Alice said, pulling out some yellow fur, a bit that got snagged during the chase. “Shade?”

“On it,” she nodded as she took a whiff. She wasn’t exactly a dog, but her nose was good enough to tell where the Pikachu was. Not hard considering there was the distinct smell of ozone that was present around Electric Pokemon, especially ones that had used electric moves.

“So once we find the little dude, what are we gonna do?” Scep asked. This was the first time they’d directly planned to catch anyone.

“Well, we can’t exactly let him keep causing havoc in this house, or Sleight and Storm will keel over. Fortunately, I have a few ideas on how to contain him,” Alice mused.

The little Pikachu scurried through the mansion, a mischievous smirk on his face having outwitted the ponies again. However, his mirth didn’t last for long, as one of the winged ponies suddenly came into view, aiming to grab him, to which he was forced to evade, before it gave chase. He quickly started running again, but as he ran more ponies tried to catch him, while some gave chase, forcing him to evade more and more. However, as he ran, he never noticed that some of the ponies who didn’t give chase vanished after a while. That and the ponies appearing were leading him somewhere.

It wasn’t long before he entered another room, one that was suspiciously empty. True enough, the moment he got in, the door closed behind him as all exits were sealed shut with Ice Beam.

“That’s far enough my scurrying little friend,” one of the ponies chuckled, as its form faded revealing a female Zoroark with glasses in its place. “I can’t exactly have you indirectly destroying this mansion,” she said, her tone somewhere between amused and somewhat annoyed. “So do us a favor and give yourself in. I promise we’ll let you go after that,” she said.

The little Pikachu noted the new ice coverings and regained his smirk. The reason became apparent as he turned around with his cheeks sparking. He was going to try launching his attack off the ice.

However the Zoroark was faster, and threw something into the ice, expanding what appeared to be a coating of web...right as the electricity flew, striking the webs...and did absolutely nothing. “Surprised?” The Zoroark smirked as the move failed. “You’re not the first Electric-type I’ve dealt with and you won’t be the last. So what’s say you save us the trouble and surrender?”

The Pikachu let a look of surprise shine through momentarily, then grinned as his tail began to glow white. If Plan A wouldn’t work, perhaps Plan B would.

But once again the Zoroark saw the move first, and with a snap of her claws, the Iron Tail was stopped by a Leaf Blade from the Sceptile. “Next,” the Sceptile chuckled lightly, before knocking him away.

With his exits blocked, and his attacks blocked, he decided he had no other choice. He merely sat down, crossed his arms, and assumed a pouting face. There wasn’t any way out… for now.

“Done?” the Zoroark mused, before nodding. “Good. Okay guys, let’s round him up for now,” she said, as the other Pokemon appeared, one of them being…

The Pikachu began hyperventilating almost instantly, his eyes locked on one of the newcomers. Shortly after his cheeks began sparking wildly and building up a charge. With one last panicked look, he unleashed a wild Discharge hoping to create any exit, any exit at all to escape.

This time Alice didn’t expect that, so the Discharge hit all of them, and happened to blow open one of the doors that had been sealed. Unsurprisingly, the Pikachu bolted the moment the door was open. “Okay...that didn’t work like we expected,” Alice groaned.

“No kidding. He took one look at Shade and he went ballistic,” Rascal groaned, rubbing his head.

“Ailurophobia...ironic…” Alice sighed. “New plan…”

As the Pikachu hightailed it out of there, his mind was in full panic. Not another one! He thought, Why is there always a cat? It’s like Vermillion City all over again!

As he ran, he never noticed the Zoroark following after him as her eyes glowed. The moment they did, the Pikachu was met with the sight of Meowth blocking one of the doors.

(insert Benny Hills Theme)

Almost instantly a shock left his body, aimed at the Meowth, as he hung a left to get away and stun the Meowth.

The Meowth dodged the attack, letting him get away. Of course, had he been paying attention, he’d notice it vanishing. Of course that meant little when the next thing he saw was a Purugly coming out of another door.

Once again, his panic heightened, and an even stronger bolt shot towards the Purugly. Immediately after, he turned right and went down another hallway. All the while thinking, How many cats does this place have?!

Once again though it seemed that the world was not through messing with him, as the Liepard from before suddenly came down from the ceiling like a spider lunging for its prey, her teeth and claws bared.

With a loud shriek, the Pikachu gathered what electricity he had left and fired it in a Thunder towards the Liepard and ran as fast as possible… Well as fast as he possibly could with his newfound lack of energy.

The attack hit...before the Liepard poofed out of existence. Of course, right after that, he felt a tapping on his shoulder. Turning around…

“Boo,” Shade simply said, standing right behind him.

His fear took over him again… But he couldn’t do much besides a few weak shocks. His flight had left him low on electricity and at this point all he could do was huddle in fear trying to back away as quickly as possible.

Shade quirked an eyebrow. It seemed this Pikachu had a knack for going against what Alice expected. Well, that’s what contingency plans are for. “Toichi, drop it,” she said, right as something big fell on the Pikachu, before he realized he was now inside a large glass jar of all things.

(Theme end)

“And that’s game,” Alice nodded in satisfaction as she entered.

He was still afraid, there was no doubt about that. But he didn’t have much freedom in this jar. Just who were these Pokemon? He hadn’t met any like them during his stay in this strange town. He certainly hadn’t met anything close to them in the forest. With a last sigh, he plopped down, resigned to his captivity it seemed.

Alice nodded when she saw that. However, noticing that the Pikachu was still trembling, she motioned with her hand to Shade, who nodded in understanding before leaving. “Now that I have your undivided attention,” she started. “Let’s start with this. You got a name?” she asked.

At this point, the Pikachu got the hint. This Pokemon was commanding the others. “Thief,” He said simply. His fear was vanishing as the cat was out of the area. It got him wondering if those other cats were under this one’s command as well.

“Thief huh?” she nodded. “Interesting. Are you a trained Pokemon by any chance?”

“Trained?” He tilted his head before getting it.. And then shaking his head.

“Ah, so wild it is,” Alice mused. “Well then Thief, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Alice. Alice Maximilion. It's a pleasure,” she said pleasantly, giving him a slight bow.

“I’ve never heard of any Pokemon having a name like that,” he said.

“I’d be surprised if you did. After all, I wasn’t always a Pokemon,” Alice chuckled. “I’m one of the humans Lord Arceus brought along and transformed. This form of mine now is known as a Zoroark. Unless you came from Kalos, I doubt you’d have ever seen one.”

While he hadn’t seen a Zoroark, he readily recognized it as a species of Pokemon. On the other paw… “What’s a Kalos?” He asked. He had no familiarity with human terms unless they were related to stuff that could help his horde.

“...I see…” Alice sweat dropped. “Well, that’s not important,” she sighed. “For starters, what were you doing in this mansion?”

“Gathering stuff for my horde. I’m the only one that can get around human places without being caught… for the most part,” he added in, looking at his glass prison. He wondered where the rest of said horde was. He hadn’t seen a single one of them in this city at all during his time here.

Alice nodded. “I see...and where would this horde be? You see, we ourselves just came through the nearby forests. I think we’d have noticed a horde of Pikachu in the area,” she pointed out.

“I… don’t know,” he said with his ears drooping. “We were in a forest but.. I don’t know where they went when we came here. I haven’t seen a single one. So I’m gathering stuff for when I finally do find them.”

Alice frowned at that. On one hand she could respect the sentiment, but on the other hand...Thief acting like this could cause more problems down the road. “I’m afraid to say...that might be difficult,” she said, pulling out a map from her mane, then spreading it out for Thief to see. “Currently we are here, in Baltimare,” she started, pointing at the spot on the map. “And considering Arceus didn’t exactly pick the locations by hand...your horde could be anywhere...here…” she sighed as she indicated almost the entire map.

Most of the horde wouldn’t even know perspectives, Thief had to know this due to his own job within the horde. And with that, he could actually grasp what this meant. He didn’t exactly like it either, letting his ears droop even further down. “So… it’s hopeless?” He asked.

“Alone? Probably,” Alice said, causing his ears to droop even further. “But with some help? It's possible,” she said, causing him to perk up in surprise. “You see, this mansion belongs to my...benefactors, if you will. They’ve been lending me some support in my endeavours, and I believe that if we ask nicely, it's possible that they can help you as well,” she said.

His ears perked even further up with the hope that brought… and he peered up at Alice with his attempt at the ‘cute’ eyes. “E-even after the damage I caused?” He asked.

Alice opened her mouth then closed it. “Er...we’ll probably need to work on THAT part. For one, we’ll probably need to help clean up...and we’ll probably need to help pay for the damages,” she admitted before placing a claw on her chin as she thought about it. “You know, you certainly have a talent. You’ve been able to evade capture for a long time, not to mention you managed to weave your way through the mansion...not to mention technically you didn’t do much smashing per say...I have a proposition for you…” she mused. “I could use a mon like you in my gang. So how about this. You join my team, and we’ll help you find your horde.”

Thief didn’t even need to think about this one. He hopped back to his feet and nodded. Then a thought came to him. “Um… What about the cats?” He asked. All things considered, cats were still the bane of his existence.

“Oh those? Those were just my illusions,” Alice waved off, as she conjured up the same illusions she used to herd him. “This is the power of a Zoroark, the Illusion Fox Pokemon,” she explained. “But if you mean Shade...well...I’m afraid we’re gonna have to work on that, seeing as she’s an important member of my gang,” she admitted at the end while scratching the back of her head.

Thief gulped nervously but nodded. If it meant finding his friends and family, he would do what it took. He reached out a paw and tapped the glass. “Can I come out now? I promise I won’t run,” He said.

Alice was about to nod...but then she stopped short. “Er...you did kind of piss off the servants...and Sleight and Storm looked like they were gonna have heart attacks...I think its best….and safer for that matter...if you stayed in there for a bit,” Alice admitted awkwardly. “Er...this thing is breathable right?” she asked, as Toichi trotted up next to her.

“Of course, I only wanted to catch him, not kill him,” Toichi nodded. “Speaking of which…” his horn lit up, before he casted the translation spell on Thief. “There, now anypony who talks to you should be able to understand you,” he said. “I’ll...see if we can help Mom and Dad calm down…” he sighed.

“So they couldn’t understand me before this? That might be a good thing…” He scratched an ear awkwardly. He may have thrown a couple insults out as he ran from the servants. He did that when running from humans before and had gotten used to the fact that non-pokemon couldn’t understand him. Perhaps this was for the best.

“Okay guys, grab a broom or something, cause we’d better start cleaning…” Alice sighed slightly, as everyone complied. They all knew that being guests, it was only right that they helped clean up. Now they just had to also think of how best to avoid getting their newest member killed.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

New chapter, and introduction to the newest member of the Fox Gang, Thief the Pikachu.

Thief belongs to TSLsmokey, and is being used with permission. Also special thanks to TSLsmokey for helping with this chapter.

First Heist
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A New World, A New Stage

First Heist

Gillian Mansion, Anistar City
The atmosphere was tense as police officers were all over the mansion grounds, as well as inside the mansion itself. Inside the mansion, at the vault, a chubby man was pacing nervously as a young police officer did his best to calm the man down.

“Mr. Gillian, I assure you, our department has sent its best to keep your statue safe,” the young man assured, referring to the foot tall statue/idol made of pinkish crystal that was carved to look like the Legendary Pokemon, Diancie.

“You’d better mean that, officer…” Gillian started, before looking at the name on the young man’s badge, which read ‘Jonathan Trace’. “Officer Trace,” he continued. “After all, keep in mind who exactly you are dealing with,” he huffed, before pulling out a hand sized card. On the card, a message was written, ‘I shall be taking the Eternal Idol at 22:00 tonight’ with a symbol that looked like a Zoroark head stamped on the bottom right side of the card.

Jonathan frowned as his fist clenched. “Not to worry, sir. I assure you, this will be the last heist Fox ever pulls.” Without another word, he walked away. Once he was out of the room, and out of earshot of anyone, he banged his fist against the wall and let out a tired sigh. “How many times have I made that same promise now?” he wondered to himself out loud, just as a small whimper was heard from his side. Turning to the source he saw his Mightyena, Howl, looking up at him with a concerned look in his eyes. “I’m okay boy. Let’s just catch her this time.”

As he walked to his post, his mind drifted to exactly who the thief they were dealing with was. Their perpetrator to be was the infamous Phantom Thief Fox, or rather, the latest in the long line. Phantom Thief Fox was a title held by the mysterious thief who had never been captured before. Not a single one of the many thieves that had appeared over the years had been captured even once. He knew, as his family had a...history with the infamous thief, as all of them had tried, and failed to bring the thief to justice. Now it was his turn, and he was determined to finally do what no one had ever done before, and catch Phantom Thief Fox....unfortunately so far he’d been about as successful as the rest of his family in that endeavor: close, but no cigar. However, he quickly shook his head, as a determined look came to him again. “I always did like a good challenge, and I’m not about to let this one beat me.”

An hour later, Jonathan was at his post, his loyal team of Pokemon consisting of Howl the Mightyena, Echo the Noibat, and his first Pokemon, Heat the Combusken. “Got anything, Echo?” he asked, as Echo let out another wave of sonar. “Noi…” she shook her head. “Alright, so she’s not here...yet.”

“Combusken, bus?” Heat asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got something to deal with that. Its not usually my style, but I had them instal emergency grates, AND had them electrified...and yes, I made sure to keep it at non-lethal levels. We want to catch her, not kill her,” Jonathan explained, answering Heat’s question.

As they were talking, Howl had been sniffing around, growling in frustration at how the thief had somehow managed to conceal her own scent to the point even Growlithes couldn’t track her.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get her this time. She’ll be her in…” Jonathan checked his watch, and saw that the appointed time of the heist was about to start in 3...2...1!

(Play Fox's heist theme)
“Over there!” one of the officers shouted, pointing at a nearby window. At these words, the spotlights they had ready were aimed at the window, revealing a figure dressed in a black cape and a black cavalier’s hat that concealed their face. The only real noticeable feature was the long red hair that flowed from under the hat. With the spotlight on her, she immediately jumped from the window, landing on a nearby railing, and began running along it, heading straight for the vault.

“Stop her!” Jonathan barked, before chasing after the thief. It wasn’t long before they caught up to her, finding her standing in front of the vault with the two guards they had posted there in her way. “End of the line, Fox. You’re under arrest!” Jonathan grinned. However, Fox had other ideas, and promptly threw a smoke bomb to the ground, covering the hall in smoke.

“Clear the smoke! Hurry!” Jonathan ordered between coughs, as some officers released several Flying-type Pokemon who quickly blew the smoke away. When the smoke cleared, they were treated to the sight of the vault door...which was hanging open, while the inside was empty.

Their stunned moment of silence was quickly broken as Jonathan noticed a familiar cape from the corner of his eyes. “She’s getting away! After her!”

The mad chase continued as officers started to pour in from nearby rooms. However, Fox managed to easily dodge and jump over them all. Before long, they were soon in the main hall again, just as Fox was about to make a break for the windows.

“Gotcha!” Jonathan said with a smirk, before pulling out a remote, and pressing it. At the press of the button, metal grates fell down and covered the windows, and just as Fox was about reach them, electricity sparked off them, forcing her to jump off the wall, landing right in the middle of the room, and smack in the middle of the police officers. “End of the line, Fox. It took long enough, but you are under...did you get shorter?” Jonathan asked, his face gobsmacked as now that the chase had ended, he noticed that Fox seemed to have shrunk. In his moment of surprise, he didn’t catch the eye that glinted under the hat.

“Weeeavile!” came a voice from under the cloak, before a shock wave shot out from under it.

“Combusken!” Heat shouted, before pushing Jonathan out of the way. However, that was what the attacker was counting on, as the movement caused Jonathan to drop his remote, which was cut in half by the shockwave. What happened next was too fast to catch, as from behind them, one of the officers smirked, before she promptly jumped on the shoulders of a nearby officer, and using him as a springboard, jumped high into the air, while the Weavile under the cloak ditched his disguise and jumped up after her, both of them landing on the railing of the second floor.

“What are you-?” Jonathan started, before his eyes widened. “Wait...you-”

The officer chuckled slightly, before pulling off her uniform, and her face, revealing a familiar black outfit underneath it.

“Phantom Thief Fox!” he shouted in surprise.

“Bingo,” she said in her usual flirty tone as she eyed the windows. “Electrified grates? I’m shocked. Is that anyway to treat a lady?” she teased.

Jonathan grit his teeth in response.

“Oh don’t give me that look. If you’re wondering, it was during my little smoke screen. You should really keep better track of who you have deployed. Impersonating one of them was just too easy,” she chided, as from her cape, she pulled out the Eternal Idol.

“That doesn’t change a thing, Fox! You’re still trapped AND surrounded. Give yourself up quietly!”

“Surrounded? Yes. Trapped? I think you need to take a closer look at your grates,” she chuckled. At her words, Jonathan raised an eyebrow, before turning towards the windows, and realized, much to his horror, that the grates had retracted the moment the remote was destroyed.

“Now then, as promised, the Eternal Idol is mine. Adieu,” she giggled, blowing him a kiss, before she and the Weavile jumped right through the closest window.

“After her!!!” Jonathan roared as he gave chase. Reaching the window, he saw Fox land on the ground, just as the other officers were about to surround her...only for her to drop another smoke bomb, covering the area in another thick cloud, and once it dissipated, all that was left was a card with her mark on it. Seeing this, Jonathan clenched the railings so hard, if he had applied anymore pressure, it would have broken. “FFOOOOOOOOXXXXXX!!!” was the shout that was heard for at least a mile away.
(theme end)

Not far from the mansion, several officers ran through the alleyways and streets, searching for their perp, but she was nowhere to be found. “She’s not here,” one of them reported. “Keep looking. She HAS to be here somewhere,” another ordered as they quickly ran into another alleyway. Once they were gone, a familiar chuckle was heard.

“Persistent as always I see. I suppose that’s a good thing, since it makes them more competent than the average officer,” Fox chuckled as she slowly descended down to the ground, a pair of strings attached to the devices that were on her wrists, with the strings connected to a large spider web above, as a pair of Spinarak climbed down. “Nice job on the web. I knew I could count on you, Spinner, Charlotte.”

“Spinarak!” the two of them said happily, before Fox pointed the device on her wrists at them, and a pair of recall beams shot out, and sucked the two in.

“Now then,” she mused, before jumping towards the wall, kicked off it, and then kicked off the opposite wall till she was on the roof. She then began running along the rooftops till she made her way to the nearby woods. Walking into the woods, she came upon a large tree, and making sure no one was looking, tapped the bark 3 times, waited for a moment, then tapped it again, causing part of the tree to open, revealing it to be a secret passage. Jumping down the passage, she landed in the secret base that had been set up near Anistar. Walking to the nearby table, she took off her cavalier hat and her cape, hanging both on the table. Picking up a vial off the table, she sprinkled a few drops on her hair, before walking to another room. After a quick shower and dress, she walked out of the bathroom, her appearance almost completely different. Where once was a red-headed master thief, was now a young woman in baggy clothing and reading glasses with long brown hair. Smiling slightly, she walked to the table, and pressed a button on her wrist device, letting out her Pokemon: A Weavile named Rascal, A Liepard named Shade, and A pair of Spinaraks named Spinner and Charlotte respectively. “Good work everyone,” she smiled gently, pouring each of them a bowl of Pokemon food, to which they happily ate. There was nothing like a good meal after a successful heist.

With her Pokemon taken care of, Fox turned to the Eternal Idol that was on the table and picked it up. “Now then, let’s see what secrets you hide, shall we.”

The next day found a rather...noisy beginning for the police station in Anistar City. “Gah! Not again!” was the frustrated shout that came from a certain officer’s temporary office. There, sitting on the table of one Jonathan Trace, was the Eternal Idol, with a note taped to it. ‘Last night was fun. I certainly look forward to our next run’ was what was written on the card, right next to lipstick mark on the side, showing that Fox had literally sealed it with a kiss.

Jonathan was about to tear the note apart when he noticed more writing on it, which said, ‘P.S. I would check the base of the Idol. It looks pretty loose’. Blinking in surprise, he did what the note suggested, and found that he could actually turn the base, removing it. From inside the statue, a flash drive fell out. “What the-?” he blinked, before taking the flash drive to the chief.

A few hours later, Jonathan laid down on a park bench and sighed tiredly. The contents of the flash drive revealed that Mr. Gillian, who had made his fortune in the trade of rare stones, had actually been doing a counterfeit job. A majority of the stones he traded, especially the Mega Stones, were counterfeit stones. After a quick arrest and search, the data was proven to be very much true, so now Mr. Gillian was looking forward to a few years in jail for his crimes. Too bad that didn’t stop his boss from grilling him for Fox’s escape last night, even if it had led to a bigger arrest. So here he was, trying to calm his nerves, both from annoyance at his boss, as well as frustration at the darn thief. Thinking of the thief, he remembered the note, as well as the way she would always flirt and toy around with him during her heists like it was some game to her, and added with the fact that he had to admit, she DID look rather lovely…. “Gah! What am I thinking?!” he thought as he vigorously shook his head to rid himself of any strange thoughts. Fox was a thief, and despite her heists often leading to more significant arrests, the fact remains that she was still a criminal that needed to be brought to justice.

Laying his head back down, he would have fallen asleep, if not for something, or rather someone, bothering him. “Jonathan? Is something wrong?” came a familiar voice.

Opening his eyes, he saw a young woman with long brown hair, a pair of reading glasses and a cute smile on her face. His childhood friend, Alice Maximilion. “Ah, Alice!” he said, quickly sitting up, causing her to giggle cutely, before sitting down next to him.

“I heard Fox was at it again last night,” she started. “Soooo, how did it go? Did you catch her this time?”

Jonathan just sighed in response. “No. She got away again,” he sighed, to which Alice just patted him on the back.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get her eventually. After all, didn’t you always say that a Trace never gives up?” she smiled warmly.

“Yeah...I guess you’re right…” Jonathan chuckled weakly, just as Alice placed her closed hands in front of him. Opening her hand slightly, revealing a Fletchling, which chirped up at him cutely. “You’re really getting good at that, you know,” he smiled gratefully. While he sometimes still found it hard picture how someone working to be a Pokemon Researcher would have street magic as a hobby, he had to admit, Alice sure knew how to use it to cheer people up. “Thanks, Alice,” he smiled as he got up.

“Hey, what are friends for?” she smiled as she stood up as well. Looking at the time, she noticed that it was nearing the end of his break, so pointing that out, the two of them walked out of the park. However, just as they were about to leave the park, Alice tripped and fell over.

“Ya know, normally I’d be worried, but seeing as this is like the hundredth time you’ve tripped for no particular reason, I’d say you’ve got a shot at being a comedian,” Jonathan laughed slightly, expecting her to get up and join in the laugh as well like she always did...only this time he noticed she wasn’t moving. “Alice? Come on now, you’re scaring me,” he said, as he gave her a nudge, before turning her over, only to realize that she wasn’t breathing. “Oh Arceus! Alice!” he exclaimed in worry, but before he could do anything, a sudden tiredness overtook him, and he soon found himself collapsed on top of his friend. The last thing he heard before blackness covered his vision was:

“Rest now my children, for when you awake a whole new world shall be your home.”

Author's Note

Well, here is the first chapter of my new fic.

I'm sure some of you will probably be wondering stuff about the characters, but don't worry, as I will be making chapters that detail the pasts of the characters here.

Also,

Bubba was here.

Thirteenth Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Thirteenth Heist

Opening theme:

“You know, this was a much better idea on paper…” Rascal groaned. Currently, the Pokemon (Alice included) were busy pulling the carriages, as Sleight and Storm’s servants were all in bed, covered with heat patches to soothe their sore muscles from the exertion their plan had put them through.

“Can’t be helped, they went all out to help us, so its only fair we return the favor,” Alice sighed. “Sides, think of it this way, we’re all not exactly Pokemon built for strength, so the training would be good...most of us at least,” she said idly, their eyes going over to Scep who didn’t seem all that tired.

“Like I said, I’m not a general for nothin,” Scep said with a small smirk, one notably aimed at the rather tired Weavile.

“Right, right, let’s just keep pulling,” Alice sighed, not wanting to let the argument start. “We’ve still got quite a way to go, and we’re trying to get to those woods by noon, if not mid-day.”

“Right…”

And so the group of thieves turned temporary carriage ponies trudged on to the woods in the distance. They were purposely avoiding Canterlot, as with their latest caper, going there now would be suicide.

Meanwhile, back at the abandoned train cars, a certain Lucario scratched his muzzle. “So...do we even know who these train cars belong to?”

Chief Golden Star walked out of the police carriage, two other earth ponies holding papers for him to sign “These carts belong to a stallion in Canterlot that goes by the name of Express Route. His company owns a tenth of Equestria’s available trains. But who he belongs to is not of much importance, but what we need to find is what exactly happened here,” The old officer said.

“...where was this train headed? You might find something if you ask the station this train is on. Maybe someone might know something,” Jonathan mused.

“The train was headed to Canterlot city, the capital. We’re still waiting for the reports of the company, as luggage belonging to Tall Tale citizens that boarded the train are missing. But our dragon back home got sick, and messenger birds usually take a couple of days if lucky. Until now we got nothing to work with,” Golden Star sighed.

But before Jonathan could say anything, a cry was heard in the plains, a cry coming from the skies.

“Pidgeooo!”

The officer searched for the origin of the source, to find a large cream-colored bird with a colorful crest, descending towards them with a long blue ribbon attached to its leg, and a scroll of paper firmly grasped in its claws.

“What in Tartarus is that?” The officer said in shock, as the bird landed on the wooden roof.

“A Pidgeot. A high level Flying-type Pokemon native to the Kanto and Kalos regions. Judging by the scroll of paper, I think its a trained one,” Jonathan answered.

“Greetings. As the Lucario said, I’m Pidgeot. I was hired by mister Express Route to deliver a message to the Tall Tale police department.” The Flying type announced with a dignified tone.

“Jonathan, do you mind? I don’t really speak bird” The officer chuckled awkwardly, admiring the Flying type.

The Lucario nodded, and stepped towards the Pidgeot. “We’re the Tall Tale police department. What’s the message?”

The Pidgeot tossed the scroll to the Lucario’s feet, and flapped his wings, taking to the air once again, “My sole assignment was to deliver the scroll. The contents inside it are unknown to me. Farewell” The Normal type said, before soaring away into the mountains.

Jonathan picked up the scroll and unrolled it as the others grouped around him to see.

“Directed to Captain Green Lead and the Tall Tale Police Department.

We’ve confirmed that luggage belonging to Tall Tale citizens and tourists was lost on the incident surrounding the disappearance of the train carts, and the destruction around the train itself. We also have two witnesses who seem to know what happened, and whose stories fit with the description given by our experts.

Two dangerous criminals seemed to be the cause of the wreckage, one of them being a Canterlot noble who was later discovered to be guilty of illegal artifacts contraband, and is currently being held by the authorities. The second criminal seems to be a Pokémon that goes by the name… Phantom… Thief Fox…”

Jonathan stared for a moment then shook his head. “Must have been collateral damage,” he shrugged.

“Yeah, doesn’t sound like Fox to go demolishing trains,” Heat agreed, while Howl and Echo nodded.

Golden Star scratched his head, slightly shocked at the current information, “I don’t really believe in destiny, but if I did, I’d dare to say that yours is firmly tied to this Fox gal. Jonathan.”

“...well...my family HAS been chasing after the various Foxes for generations…” Jonathan admitted, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

“Do keep reading, we need to know as much as we can about this case,” The pony requested, leaning once again closer to the Lucario.

“Right,” Jonathan nodded, and continued reading. “One of the witnesses explained the situation in detail. He claims to have fought both criminals, and also claims that Phantom Thief Fox was responsible for the arrest of the noble, Gray Hat. The witness, who goes by the name of Steven Stone, says that, and I quote, ‘Fox managed to escape by detaching the two final carts from the main unit, Gray Hat’s loot with her.’ More details were given, yet we considered them to be irrelevant to your case. Any further help is unnecessary, but appreciated if given.”

“...well, that explains the train carts at least,” Jonathan sweat dropped. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t tell us where she went,” he sighed. “So...now what do we do?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Jonathan. I’d like to have an answer for you, but unfortunately, my detective skills are too rusty. The letter did say that help was unnecessary, meaning that they’re probably going to get rid of these carts soon enough. I’ll call some investigators, feel free to search the cart. If anything happens I’ll take full responsibility over it. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a lead.”

“Right. In the mean time, let’s get back to Tall Tale,” Jonathan nodded. And with that, they all returned to the city.

The sun was starting to set by the time the carriage/caravan reached a small clearing in the woods. Once they stopped, Shade and Rascal collapsed, feeling quite tired from pulling the cart all day. Alice on her side wasn’t faring all that much better as she stood down and heaved a sigh of relief.

“You guys need to work on your endurance,” Scep chuckled again.

“If I weren’t so tired...I’d turn you into a popsicle,” Rascal groused.

“Would it kill you both to NOT take shots at each other every chance you get?” Shade sighed tiredly in annoyance.

“Don’t answer that. Please. I don’t need, or want to know,” Alice groaned as she got up, watching Sleight, Storm, and Toichi coming out of the carriage. “So how are they?” she asked, referring to the servants.

“Still pretty sore. I think we’ll have to set up camp ourselves,” Storm shook her head.

“Well, good news is that at least this is a good spot. We’re not too deep into the woods, but we’re far away enough that nobody is likely to find us,” Sleight added.

“I’ll set up the campfire!” Toichi grinned, before trotting over to a few nearby rocks and started levitating some of the larger ones towards the carriage.

“We’ll help dig the trench...just give us a moment,” Shade volunteered.

“You sure? The dude over there looks ready to…” Scep started, before he was interrupted.

“WE’LL go look for firewood,” Alice quickly said, before pushing him towards the woods.

Scep was about to protest, but stopped short when she gave him a pointed glare and mouthed the words, ‘Quiet you’, as they started to go deeper into the woods.

Shortly after, Alice and Scep were walking through the woods, both carrying a sizeable pile of firewood in their arms.

It was quiet moments like this that one often pondered about many a thing. Like for example, a former human companion. When he thought about Alice right now, his steps slowed just a hair. She was pretty much his only ‘real’ friend after all. Oh the Commander tolerated him and they looked out for each other, but with all the bickering Scep couldn’t tell where to place that at. This wasn’t even the half of it. He actually was taking her orders like a…...Pokemon to a trainer. He should feel disgusted by that, but he wasn’t. This didn’t sit right with him really. He was a free mon, yet he wanted to continue adventuring with her.

Scep stopped walking and glanced at the firewood intently as he lost himself in thought. ‘Does that make her my trainer or something?’

“Something on your mind, Scep?” Alice idly asked, noticing his troubled look.

“I…..” Scep sighed. “Dudette, I gotta be honest. This whole thing, traveling with you guys, it’s….a bit to take in really.”

Alice nodded. “I suppose this is quite a change of pace compared to your norm. Anything I can do to help?”

“You’re doing more than enough, Alice,” Scep said. “I just….never thought I’d be so obliged to help a human before.” He chuckled. “It’s almost like you’re my trainer or something. Silly, huh?”

Alice thought about it for a bit. “Ya know...now that you mention it...it does kinda feel like that. Of course, I don’t have any issues with that, but if it makes you feel better, I never thought of my Pokemon the way...many humans did. If anything, I usually let them do what they want, and if they ever felt like leaving, they were free to go any time.”

“That’s….kind of it though.” Scep frowned for a moment then shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t want to go. I never did feel like this with that little girl all those years ago who picked me, but now? Dunno. Just different.”

“Well, like I said. I don’t own you or anything. Heck, I never felt like I owned any of my team. You’re your own person, and if you ever feel that this team isn’t working out for you, you're free to leave,” Alice simply said as she continued walking.

“....I’ll think I’ll stay a little bit longer,” Scep stated, walking alongside her. “I like the adventure and you don’t whack me upside the head whenever I steal things of yours.”

“I’m a thief. I’d be a hypocrite to whack you on the head for stealing stuff. I only do that when you and Rascal start fighting,” she chuckled.

“Yeah,” Scep chuckled himself. “That was pretty tame though. You should have seen the time I stole some of the Commander’s ‘private’ collection….” He looked around, before whispering. “I think the Commander had a thing for Pike Queen Lucy.”

“It's kinda ironic that the leader of the PLA has a thing for humans,” Alice chuckled. “Oh well, I’d rather he be like that than be like...his dad…” Alice shuddered. “Its a shame I didn’t know about this sooner. I might have thrown in my support with your group if it weren’t for all that conflicting information on you guys.”

“Would’ve loved to have you on the team,” Scep smiled. “Who knows, if we bump into the Commander, he might make you a PLA member….Though, probably best to omit Lucy stuff. When I brought up why the Commander had a vid of her swaying backside he yelled ‘RESEARCH’ and smacked me........He does that a lot.”

“I think I’ll pass on full membership. Sides, as it is now, I’ve got other things to take care of at the moment. And noted. I won’t even mention the name,” Alice sweatdropped at the end. The two started walking in silence for a while...before another thought came to Alice. “Hey Scep,” Alice started.

“Yeah?” Scep responded.

“You know how the PLA’s goal was Pokemon liberation and all that? Actually, in a way, I think you guys already won.”

“Alright,” Scep fistpumped. “....What’d I win?”

“...I’m assuming one of your biggest win conditions would have been Arceus being freed, right?” Alice deadpanned.

“Lame,” Scep pouted and crossed his arms. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for the big guy, but what about little ol’ me?”

“...you know, I sometimes wonder if you and Rascal aren’t related. You two behave VERY similarly to each other…” she sweat dropped. “Anyway, my point is, Arceus is free, Pokemon aren’t on Earth anymore, and considering that Arceus probably left something or someway to deal with the criminals left on Earth, humanity is pretty much finished...at least physically. Point is, the Pokemon have been liberated from the humans...in a way, so yeah, technically you guys won.”

“I’m sure the Commander is jumping in joy right,” Scep smiled…..and then laughed. “Oh boy no, he’s going to be pissed.” He clutched his stomach as he continued laughing.

Alice looked at him funnily for a moment, wondering why he would be pissed, considering a win is a win. Then it hit her. “Ah, I see...true, since you have no idea how Arceus got out, odds are it was a human who let him out. Boy, I hope for his/her sake they didn’t get brought along. I think a LOT of former humans would use him/her as stress relief if they ever found out that he/she is indirectly responsible for all this.”

“I bet he’d prefer them to the Commander,” Scep’s laughter died away. “He wanted to be the one to save Pokemon and free Arceus. He kept saying it was his destiny.”

“Er...not to rub salt into the wound, but do the Elemental Plates and Spear Pillar mean anything to you?” she asked.

“Char would always preach and talk about them,” Scep shuddered. “When he wasn’t….purifying heretics, he was looking for them. Sev gave him that mission...They do sound fancy though. Always wanted to snatch them up.”

“Well...my ancestors got their hands on a few of the plates from time to time. Actually, we’ve stolen a lot of things that were said to belong to some of the Legendaries… But anyway, at least you were on the right track. The plates are more than just fancy items. Aside from giving a boost to any Pokemon of the corresponding type, there are a few old records and legends about them. Our ancestors who sealed away the Legendaries in the first place were a bit sloppy in destroying information, so the legends say that those plates are the key, or at least part of the key in breaking the seal. And all things considered, looks like its true to me,” she said.

“Same here and I don’t even know half of what you’re talking about,” Scep answered.

“Ah...sorry. I’m rambling again. I was studying to be a Pokemon researcher before all this happened, and my interest was our origin. Thanks to my family’s connections, I was able to dig up some of the...classified documents and artifacts found. In fact, I was planning on writing a paper on a possible origin of humans. Your General Char would probably have my head if he ever heard about this, but I think humans were once a species of Pokemon themselves,” she said, getting into what her team had dubbed: Researcher mode.

“You’re right,” Scep deadpanned. “He’d have your head for that...Or burn you in ‘holy fire’. He’s not exactly a fan of humans.”

“Maybe, but there is evidence to support that, though I can explain that later. From what you’ve said, I’m guessing this Char has his reasons...aside from the bad blood that Arceus has with the worst of humanity. Was he abused by humans?” she observed

“His father was a saint from what I hear,” Scep explained. “Thought everyone was equal. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. Still, he did recon missions from time to time and took his son for a spin….There were Team Rocket members in the area….They shot him down with an RPG. Char’s been afraid of heights ever since, which is why he won’t evolve past a Charmeleon. Thankfully, he survived the fall thanks to his father’s bulk and escaped.”

“My condolence. He’s not the only one who’s lost people they cared for to people like Team Rocket. I’m fortunate that I’ve...had it easy, but my family does know the grief,” Alice sighed.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Scep sighed. “And I’m sorry for bringing it up….I shouldn’t have, cause I don’t know that pain. Both my parents were still alive last time I saw them and I’ve never been that close with anyone. It’s not right for me to hear or talk about others like this.”

At this, Alice sighed and looked away. “Truth is, I’ve never felt that grief first hand either. Last I talked to them, mom and dad were alive and well, mostly cause my dad was VERY good at covering his tracks from the time he was Fox. But... I have seen it. Do you know why Fox steals, yet always returns what is stolen?”

Scep shrugged. “Dunno, I never return what I steal…..Okay, I do, but that’s after the Commander beats me upside the head for it.” He rolled his eyes.

Alice sweatdropped for a moment, before continuing. “Its a long story, but it started from the first Fox, 500 years ago. If I’m not mistaken it was in Orre...before it became the wasteland it is today. Even in those days life was hard, and people horded what little they had. My ancestor was a penniless orphan, and with how things were at the time, he had all but resigned himself that he was going to die. However, at the brink of it, a kind family aided him, a stranger and outsider. For the first time, he experienced true kindness,” she said, a distant look in her eyes. “However, once again, humanity’s ugly side reared its head. Another family, one who was high ranked, yet greedy and jealous of what they saw, hated how that family was happy despite being poor, so they decided to take the only thing they could think of. They took everything the family owned, and because they were highly ranked, they were able to...cover up their tracks. My ancestor, angered by that injustice, and wanting to repay their kindness, sought a way to help them. He tried talking to the people, yet they were afraid. He tried talking to the authorities, yet they turned him away. After a while, he came upon his answer. If the right way wasn’t going to give him his answer, then maybe the answer was in the wrong way. Taking a big gamble, he did the only thing he could think of, he stole what he could, initially intending to give it all to the family that helped him and tell them to run, but in the middle of that heist, he stumbled upon something else. Documents of the family’s dealings. That was when he realized another alternative. Taking the documents, he leaked them to the authorities, and shortly after, that family was exposed, and everything they had taken was returned.”

“That...sounds...awesome!” Scep smiled. “That guy was a bro if I ever heard of one. Man, I wished I could have chilled with him.”

“And that was just the beginning,” she chuckled. “Seeing what his actions had done, my ancestor for the first time felt like he had found his calling. At first he wasn’t a Phantom Thief. He was just a thief who would sneak in, steal what he needed to expose his target, then give it to the police anonymously, while leaving a trail right back to his targets,” she explained with a small smile.

However, he wasn’t quite good enough at hiding his tracks. A few years later, a group of bandits, hired by one of the people he had ‘ruined’, managed to trace him back to the family who had helped him in the beginning, and took them hostage, threatening to kill them if he did not show himself. Naturally, he had been ready and willing to give his life, but he knew that if they killed him, nothing would stop them from killing his dear friends anyway. Desperate, he prayed for an answer. What he got, was a glimpse of a creature whose image would forever be burned into his mind. A creature who could melt into the shadows, appear as anything it desired, a Zoroark.

Inspired by it, he began planning his very first heist as the Phantom Thief that would become a legend. A heist so crazy and complicated, that only a mad man would think of putting it into action, yet he had something that would aid him greatly,a bond of friendship with many of the Pokemon that lived in that area. Donning an outfit modeled after the creature that inspired him, and with the help of his Pokémon allies, he managed to save his dear friends, all the while creating a spectacle that the people at the time would remember for generations. It was in that heist that he announced himself as Phantom Thief Fox, right before he and his friends fled the town. After that, time passed, he fell in love, married, had a child, and inspired by the tales, his child followed in his footsteps. This happened again and again with each generation, and before long, Phantom Thief Fox became a legend, even if each of them was a different person. But in the end, we all followed his footsteps, his desire to right the wrong that couldn’t be corrected by the so-called ‘right’ ways. And I’m proud to be the latest in this legacy,” she finished.

“Whoa,” Scep said. “You’re the most epic family I’ve ever heard of….Got any sisters?”

At this, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry, but no. I’m an only child. Of course, I do have a few cousins, but they weren’t all that interested in being Fox. Help Fox? If needs be, they’d do it. But actually be Fox, they didn’t quite feel up to it,” she said. “Who knows, as far as I know, all of them led pretty honest lives, so I don’t see why they wouldn’t have been brought here. We might just run into some of them,” Alice chuckled.

Back in Tall Tale, Jonathan sighed slightly as he speared another piece of litter and put it into the bag he had.

“Remind me again why we’re doing this,” Heat idly commented.

“Its just Jonathan being overly responsible again,” Echo jabbed as she carried a similar bag, to which Heat and Howl placed bits of litter that they had speared.

“Maybe. But remember, I DID nearly beat Green Lead to death,” Jonathan frowned as he looked down at his paws. Even now he sometimes jumped when he saw himself and didn’t see a human in the mirror. “Even if he was a criminal, a police officer’s duty is to arrest them and let the law decide their fate. What I did…” he shivered at the memory. He wasn’t deluded. He knew full well that if they and Fox hadn’t stopped him, Green Lead wouldn’t only be in a full body cast. He’d be in a coffin. Quickly shaking off the thought, he simply said, “Even if I’m an officer, I am no more above the law than anyone else. I’m just lucky that considering the circumstances, the penalty was greatly lightened.”

“True, but even Golden Star said you didn’t have to do this,” Howl pointed out.

“...how can you expect the people to follow the law, if the enforcers don’t follow them as well?” Jonathan simply shot back. “Besides, its a nice change of pace…”

“Well....I guess you got a point there,” Heat sighed. Having known Jonathan the longest, he understood what Jonathan was trying to say, and he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. He remembered that he had promised Jonathan that he’d help him control his new powers...but so far all he ever did was just help him get a basic feel. Heck, as he was now, Jonathan was probably the worst Lucario ever with how he could barely use his Aura...or any non-physical moves for that matter. Sighing, he walked up to his partner and patted his shoulder. “Look, Jon...what happened...wasn’t fully your fault. You saw Green Lead about to kill Golden Star, and you reacted like anyone would if they saw someone trying to kill their friend. And its kinda my fault too for not helping you get better control.”

“And now Heat’s acting responsible? Is there something in the water here?” Echo playfully jabbed, earning an annoyed, yet amused look from the Combusken. “But he’s right though. You’ve probably been having a hard time getting used to being a Pokemon, and we really haven’t done much to help.”

“Yep. So its settled then. Once we’re done with the trash today, let’s all do a little training. Sides, how long has it been anyway since we did training that didn’t immediately involve police work?” Howl said.

“True,” Jonathan conceded. “Guess it would be fun to act like a normal trainer again...as normal as a human turned Pokemon can be at least,” he joked, as they all shared a small laugh and continued with the work.

A few hours later, Jonathan and his team were at the Guard Station, with Golden Star and Silver Star. “Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?” Jonathan asked.

“Well, we have good news and bad news. The bad news is that we were unable to find anything related to Fox on the wrecked carriages. The good news are that we received reports from a town nearby about a suspicious looking group roaming around in the woods. Nothing certain, and it may just be simple adventurers. We’re investigating further, meaning that you may get a lead soon enough, maybe in a day or two.” Silver Star explained.

“Sounds good. I’ll be done with my community service by then,” Jonathan nodded.

Golden Star chuckled, and patted the Lucario on the back. “I told you already, no one’s asking you to do that. You’re free to go whenever you want! You did a great job back there, and Green Lead is getting better.”

“Its fine. The fact is that criminal or not, I nearly acted like I was his judge, jury, and executioner. As an officer, I am no more above the law, and how can you expect others to follow the law if the enforcers don’t follow them,” he said simply.

"You're an honorable pony... er, Pokémon, Jonathan. This town is in debt to you." Golden Star chuckled softly, "Things have been out of control ever since Pokémon arrived her, the Aggron, the Mayor's betrayal, the current electoral season. Without your help, I would have gone nuts by now!"

“Oh, you’d have managed. You’re a good leader, Golden. You’d have come out on top,” Jonathan chuckled.

Golden Star let out a friendly laugh, and softly bumped the Lucario, "Don't praise this old machine, my friend! I know my limits, of course I would have tried my best, and maybe you're right, but you made things so much easier for us ponies."

“Maybe maybe,” Jonathan chuckled at his modesty. “Anyway, I think I’d better get back to work. My sentence is based on time, so maybe I can shave off some more before the day is over.”

"Then go, my friend. You don't want to miss dinner back at my place. Silver Star is making his town famous casserole."

“Oh we are there!” Heat and Howl grinned, while Jonathan just chuckled at their antics, though he himself was mentally agreeing to it. That casserole was GOOD.

Later that night, in the forest that were on the border of Fillydelphia, Sleight Hoof’s carriage was parked as all the inhabitants were sitting around a merry campfire they had going on, while a hot pot of soup bubbled slightly over it.

“Say what you want about this world, but the grub is way better than on Earth,” Rascal grinned as he polished off his third bowl.

“Hate to say it, but I agree with him,” Scep admitted as he downed another bowl.

“You two really aren’t dropping it, are you?” Shade chuckled.

Alice on the other hand didn’t say anything before putting her bowl (which had been polished up as well), and moved over to where their host was sitting.

“So, where are we headed next?” she asked.

“With our current route...our best choice is Fillydelphia,” Storm said. “Hey, isn’t that where White Ink lives?”

“Why yes, I do believe he’s currently living there,” Sleight nodded.

“And old friend of yours?” Alice asked. When they nodded, she chuckled. “Interesting. Let’s see what show Fillydelphia can yield for us next,” she grinned.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

Next chapter done. Another breather chapter between towns.

Special thanks to ThatOneVolcarona and Evowizard for helping me to fine tune this chapter.

Enjoy

Twenty Second Heist
View Online

A New World, A New Stage

Twenty Second Heist

Opening theme:

Alice awoke with a start from her bed. “What in the world…?” she blinked after she calmed down. That dream...she honestly couldn’t remember it as clearly anymore now that she had woken up, except that it involved her and Jonathan. But the effects it had on her were apparent. Her fur was slightly drenched in sweat, and...why did she feel so hot and bothered?

Sighing as she got up, she went to the shower to clean herself up. What she didn’t notice was Shade who had noticed an odd scent.

Shade groaned lightly as the odd smell reached her nose. Looking to the source, she saw Alice moving to the bathroom. “...I knew something wasn’t right when she said she kissed Jonathan…” she groaned before going back to sleep. She just hoped Alice didn’t have anymore close encounters with Jonathan for now. Especially if this is what she thought it was.

The next day saw the carriage arriving in a quaint little town south of Canterlot. “Here we are, Ponyville,” Storm said as the carriage came to a stop.

“Isn’t this the town that seems to be the epicenter of weird things happening?” Alice asked.

“...Yes,” Storm sighed. The hamlet’s reputation certainly preceded it, even to newcomers of this world.

“...Well, at least that means our visit might be memorable one way or another,” Alice shrugged.

“Well, considering this is where the bearers of the Elements of Harmony live, I guess it’s to be expected,” Sleight replied, before stepping out. “Anyway, we’re not going to be here for long. We just want to stop and re-stock on some supplies.”

“...Wait, we were just in Canterlot, but why didn’t we restock then?” Alice blinked in confusion.

“Have you seen the prices there? Lots of the bigger shops are waaay more expensive than other places around Equestria. We’d get a better deal coming here,” Sleight deadpanned.

“...Good point,” Alice sweatdropped. She had to admit, some of those shops she visited WERE pretty expensive. Then again, considering it catered to nobility…

“Anyway,” Sleight said as he walked out of the carriage. “Alright everyone, we’ll all split up and go into town for supplies, and if you want, you can look around the town. But be sure to meet up back here by evening. We’ll be getting ready to go by then,” the old Earth Pony said with a smile, talking to the other occupants of the carriages.

“So...what to do for the day?” Alice sighed, once more in her guise of ‘Misty Night’, as she and her old team were walking through the streets (Scep having decided to slink off on his own for a bit).

“Well, we’ve got a whole town to explore, so...start from there?” Shade suggested.

“...That works,” Alice nodded.

So the group spent most of the morning looking around town, taking in a few of the more memorable sights, such as a few of the local Pokemon, and the local architecture. Though their personal favorite had to be the bakery that looked like something out of a children’s book. Heck, the fact that they could get in and out with a plateful of Pokepuffs and Poffins was already a difficult thing to do, seeing as the place was crowded as anything.

“Hard to believe it's already been about a month or so, huh?” Alice mused as she licked the remainder of the icing off her claws. She wasn’t sure if it was just something about this world that made things taste delicious, or if it was because she had been missing them since arriving on Equus, but those Pokepuffs and Poffins had to be the best she had ever tasted.

“You got that right. Feels like just yesterday we were robbing the hapless crime lords of Earth blind,” Rascal laughed. He had to admit, he probably enjoyed his life as a Fox’s Pokemon more than he probably should, but hey, there’s a reason why she named him ‘Rascal’ after all.

“Well, as much as I enjoyed the treat, I think I’ve got us another place to see,” Shade said, as she pointed in a particular direction.

“Hm? What do you have in mind?” Alice asked, turning to where she was pointing. What she saw was the large tree...that had windows and a door on it. “...some things on this world just plain don’t make sense...and that’s saying something considering where we came from.”

“...so...we gonna check it out?” Rascal asked. With that, they were on their way. Going there, they soon found that it was a Library...with an Alicorn for a Librarian. The group of thieves nearly had to physically restrain themselves from gawking. Fortunately, the Library seemed to be having a busy day, as the librarian and her assistants were busy sorting through the books, while also returning books that visitors had finished reading, and also looking for books that visitors requested. In other words, it was easy for them to walk in relatively unnoticed.

“Guess its true what they said,” Alice mused as they found a more secluded spot to talk. “A Princess really is living in this small town.”

“Kinda weird considering the Princesses are basically Legendaries here,” Rascal mused.

“Keep in mind though, this one, Twilight Sparkle, is supposed to be pretty new,” Shade reminded.

“But if the info is correct, she’s also the personal student of Princess Celestia, and quite the accomplished spell master and scholar,” Alice added.

“Guess that’s why she’s that Magic Element thing,” Rascal shrugged. “So...what are we gonna do about it? Gonna see if she’ll put up more of a fight than Canterlot?”

Alice thought about it for a moment. She had heard that Ponyville had its sizeable share of weird things happening on a nearly weekly basis...but then again, she just hit Canterlot AND stole the Crown Jewels. At this point, she was honestly wondering how she could possibly top that. “...let’s just wait and see. We’re only going to be here till the end of the day, so unless we find something actually worth stealing, we’ll leave Ponyville be,” she said with finality.

“Roger,” her Pokemon nodded. With that, the group decided to enjoy the library, picking out a few books to read, and generally taking the time to enjoy the local literature...that is, until Alice noticed a door that led down to a basement. Now, never let it be said that Alice was overly nosy, but she was always a curious person, with her double life as a Phantom Thief not helping things, and ever since being turned into a Pokemon, that curiosity had only grown, likely a side effect of her transformation, as the natural instincts of a Zoroark, while normally kept in check by her human mind, still had an influence on her. Didn’t help either that living the life of a Fox, she may as well have always been a Zoroark in a human body.

Sneaking in unnoticed, she saw what looked like a mix of a basement/laboratory, evident by the various bits of equipment...and were those Evolution Stones?...several of which had been smashed. “Guess this Princess really is a scientist type,” she couldn’t help but chuckle. With that in mind, she continued to snoop around, until she came across what appeared to be a rather old looking book. “Well now, what do we have here?” she mused, picking the book up. Flipping through it, her eyes widened when she realized it was a spell book, and not just any spell book. It was a spell book that belonged to Starswirl the bearded, a premier magic user of old, if what she had read about Equestrian history was accurate. Either way, she knew that she’d just found a good target. Smiling slyly, she pulled out one of her calling cards, and with a nearby quill, wrote down her notice. Once the ink dried up, she placed the card inside the front page of the spell book, and cloaked it in an illusion. Carrying it up with her, she snuck back into the main library, before placing the book inside the return slot, ensuring that Princess Twilight would find it later.

“Found anything good?” Shade asked, a knowing smile on her face.

“You could say that. Come along everyone, we’ve got another job tonight,” she said.

“Great,” Rascal grinned as well, before the thieves quietly exited the building.

“Alice...you really like to cause trouble for the Princesses, don’t you?” Sleight sighed in mild annoyance after Alice told him what she had done. But then he gained an amused smile. “So...what are you about to do THIS time?” he chuckled.

“Oh, we have something prepared,” Alice smirked, as she put on an earpiece into her ear. “Isn’t that right, you two?”

“Understood. We are in position,” Charlotte and Spinner nodded from their spot inside the Library. Earlier, Alice had fitted them with the same equipment they used during the Canterlot Heist. Seeing as Princess Twilight was known for her intelligence, Alice decided that for this heist, they would benefit from having some eyes and ears INSIDE the Library, meaning their job was to report in case of any changes and the like. Speaking of which, it seems the dragon, Spike, had finally found the notice Alice had left. It was time to start their part.

Alice smiled slyly as she watched the Princess run out of the Library frantically. After Charlotte and Spinner had informed her of the Dragon finding the notice, she had moved to be on standby around the Library, just to see what the reaction would be first. Seeing the Princess and the Dragon run out of the Library, she casually let herself in, before moving to the basement again. True enough, she noticed a small safe inside the basement, no doubt the spot where the Princess was keeping the book. Chuckling to herself, she went over to the safe, and using the glasses Toichi gave her, checked for enchantments, she found that it was covered in a barrier, which only confirmed to her that this was the safe she was looking for. Now she simply needed to find a way to trick them into opening it for her. “Guess I’ll be doing a replay of Canterlot,” she mused as she looked around the basement, taking note of any traps, which she found none, meaning the Princess likely hadn’t set them up yet.

“Now, how best to set things up for the heist?” she mused. She considered Digging a hole/passage for her to sneak in later...but that would be too conspicuous, seeing as the library is in the middle of town, so not much sneaking room there. “Hm….” she mused as she scanned the room. Then she found what she was looking for. A large cabinet in a dark corner. Looking closer, she was delighted to find that it even had a niche at the top, which would be a perfect place for her to hide. However, that wasn’t all she had in mind. Quickly cloaking herself in an illusion that made her seem invisible, and made her way through the rest of the library. One thing she noted, was that the library had a number of ways in, especially from windows in the upper floors.

“I trust I can count on you two to let me in when the time comes, right?” she chuckled towards her two Spinarak, both of them just saluting in response. “Alright, I’ve got an idea on how we’ll do this, but in order for this to work, I need one of you to standby in the basement till the time of the heist. When I give the signal, I want one of you to knock on the door of the basement...from the inside,” Alice said.

“Leave it to me,” Spinner volunteered, before crawling away, headed for the basement.

“I’m counting on you,” Alice nodded, before turning to Charlotte. “Please keep an eye on the Princess. Let me know if she’s up to anything that might be a problem to the plan I’ll explain to you both over the communication later.”

“You got it,” she nodded.

“Awww, come on dudette, at least let me join in the fun,” Scep groaned. After Alice got back, she had explained the plan. Due to the fact that the library itself was a rather small area, too small for all of them to operate efficiently, Alice had told them that she wanted them on standby, while she handled the heist itself.

“Sorry guys, but I’ve already scouted the area. This isn’t like Canterlot or any of the other places we’ve hit. All of us crowding together here will only get in the way,” Alice said apologetically.

“Dang. And here I was hoping we could go up against a Princess after all,” Rascal sighed.

“But as always, Alice knows what she’s talking about,” Shade said. “Let’s trust her as always. If she ever needs help, she’d tell us.”

Rascal sighed, but relented all the same. Scep seemed a bit more reluctant, but in the end he nodded as well. He’d learned by now that Alice only made the best plans she could, so if she thought there really wasn’t anyway for them to join, she would do what she felt was best.

Jonathan grunted as the stop shook him awake. After finishing up in Canterlot, they had gotten info that suspicious figures had been seen leaving Canterlot through the south. As such, he and his team had given chase, to the quaint town of Ponyville.

“Nice town they’ve got here,” Echo mused as she took in the sight of the town.

“Yeah...nice,” Trixie sweatdropped. While she had long since gotten over her...issue, that still didn’t change the fact that this town seemed to be a trouble magnet....which made it oddly fitting that Fox might have passed through here, seeing as Fox herself was trouble.

However, as they got out of the carriage, the first thing they noticed was the rather tense air that seemed to hang over some parts of the town this evening. “...Oookay, guess we came right in the middle of some trouble,” Howl mused, before the four police officers shared a look, already having a good idea who was probably responsible.

“Trixie, if we’re not mistaken, a Princess is living in this town right?” Jonathan asked her, to which she nodded.

“Yes, that would be Twilight Sparkle. I can even show you where she lives,” the mare nodded.

“Alright, let’s get a better understanding of the situation first then,” Jonathan nodded as they followed after Trixie. The path they took led them to the center of town, to what appeared to be a building...built into a tree...that was somehow still alive.

“...Okay...not gonna question that,” Heat deadpanned.

However, as they followed after the path Trixie had taken, the mare was suddenly ensnared by some kind of magic trap the moment she reached a certain distance, and was suddenly restrained on the ground. “Someone help! The Great and Powerful Trixie does not wish to be a lawn ornament!” she screamed, but at that moment, the door opened, revealing a purple alicorn...who was notably smaller than all the other Princesses they had seen so far. Sighing at the sight of the trapped mare, she released the restraints, just as Jonathan and co caught up.

“Arceus, Trixie! What happened?!” Jonathan asked in alarm as they got close.

“Sorry, sorry, I was expecting... someone else,” the alicorn, Twilight Sparkle, apologized.

Hearing her, Trixie sighed, having a good idea who could possibly be the cause of this, seeing as they were after her as well. “Let Trixie guess. The Fox?” Trixie deadpanned as she got up.

Twilight gasped and pulled Trixie off of the lawn and over to her. “You know about the Fox!?” She shouted excitedly.

“Trixie knows a little about her,” she nodded, before pointing at the Lucario. “Jonathan knows more about the thief.”

Twilight dropped Trixie and smiled widely at the Lucario, a little too widely. “Hello there,” she said, never losing her grin. “I’m Princess Twilight.”

Jonathan and his team stepped back a little at that, a little unnerved by the grin on the Princess’ face. However, he quickly regained his composure and spoke. “Er...right. I’m Jonathan Trace, formerly of the Kalos Police, and currently from the Baltimare Guard, and recently, the Canterlot Pokémon Special Division,” he introduced himself. “We were looking for you, Princess Twilight, but seeing as you’ve got your...home on lockdown, I’m guessing Fox is already at it again.”

“She’s trying to steal Starswirl the Bearded’s Spell Book,” Twilight said with a nod. “Hence the magic traps.”

“Sounds like her. Alright, since we probably don’t have much time, we’ll do what we can do. Ideally, we wanted to get the local guard together to prepare some defense, but seeing as Fox is working faster than normal today, we’ll have to make due,” Jonathan sighed. True they hadn’t actually known that she was already here...or that she was already preparing another heist, but he DID at least have a standard plan of action...too bad Fox moved too fast for him this time to implement it, nor did it help that this town apparently didn’t have an official guard or anything. “Oh, and before I forget, let me introduce my team. You’ve already met Trixie. This is Howl, Heat, and Echo,” he said, gesturing to the Mightyena, the Combusken, and the Noibat respectively.

“Nice to meet you all,” Twilight said, her smile finally back to normal. “This is Mage and Rainbow Dash,” she said, gesturing to the Mismagius and the pegasus who were floating near the door. “And the rest of my friends are inside... do you wanna come in?”

“That would be much appreciated,” Howl spoke up, to which the others nodded.

Twilight smiled and gestured for them to follow her, which they did. “So, welcome to Golden Oak’s Library,” she said as she let them inside. When they got inside, they were treated to the sight of a good number of Ponies and a pair of Lucario, and the Mismagius from before. “This is Korrina,” Twilight said, introducing the Lucario wearing a helmet, who nodded from her place on the couch.

“Shalour City Gym Leader,” Jonathan nodded in acknowledgement, remembering her, seeing as he fought her once. Fought and won that is. “And her partner, I presume?” he added when he noticed Lucario next to Korrina, remembering him from the last time he had seen her.

Lucario nodded. “That’s right,” he said with a smile before turning to Twilight. “I heard someone scream, what happened?”

Twilight shuffled nervously on her hooves. “I... may have accidentally pinned Trixie to my lawn.”

“Hmph, ‘accidentally’,” Trixie huffed, much to their amusement.

Twilight chuckled nervously. “Anyway, the rest of my friends are watching the other entrances.”

“You alright Twilight?” came another voice as a VERY pink pony came down the stairs, followed by a Gallade and a Gardevoir.

“You didn’t actually catch the Fox did you?” the Gardevoir asked.

“No, I caught Trixie,” she gestured to the mare. “Jonathan, this is Pinkie Pie, Gene, and Belle.”

At this Jonathan blinked in surprise. The name ‘Gene’ was pretty common as far as names went, but as a police officer, the name, added with the Gardevoir, made the possibility of who he thought this Gallade was very likely. “Gene? Now where does that name ring a bell?” Jonathan mused, deciding to test the waters.

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Uhh... common name?” She asked hopefully.

“I tried to marry Belle about three years ago in Unova,” Gene said with a sigh. “Oh, and I use to be human and Belle... not so much.”

“Oh right! That Gene,” Jonathan mused, before walking over to them, looking them over. He had heard of the story of the case...and frankly he saw several BIG holes in it, so it was time to put it to the test.

Belle glared at him, but Gene held an arm out and stopped her from stepping forward. “Yeah, that Gene.”

He looked at them intently for another moment, noting any and all signs he could find. “Protective stance, normal hostility, and no notable signs of abuse. Yep, guess I was right. Another Tauros shit case,” he stated plainly. “Can’t charge you for abuse when I see none.”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief and Gene just smiled. “Thanks. Glad to see that some police could tell for themselves,” he sighed. “So... you here about the Fox?”

“You could say that. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Jonathan Trace, formerly of the Kalos Police Force. Formerly because well…” he chuckled awkwardly.

“...We’re not seeing Kalos ever again,” Korrina deadpanned, before a thought crossed her mind. “You know, your name sounds familiar...where have I heard it before?”

“Probably cause you’re looking at the guy who’s been working on Fox’s case for the last 5 years,” Jonathan deadpanned.

“Oh right,” Korrina said, recalling the news reports she’d heard his name from. “Should’ve guessed you’d show up.”

“Yeah well, I’m not one to give up. Sides, this new body actually makes being a police officer easier. Too bad the same can be said about Fox. Anyway, all we can do is be prepared. I’ve noticed that using Aura Sense, I’ve been able to get better glimpses of Fox in her illusions, but even then, she’s still extremely hard to catch,” Jonathan stated.

“Well we’re prepared,” Twilight said with a chuckle as she reset the traps outside the library. “We’re watching all the entrances, and aside from the trap spells outside, I have plenty more around the safe I’m keeping the book in, as well as a few barrier spells just to be safe.”

“Not a bad lineup,” Jonathan nodded, rather impressed. “But we can’t be sure. Word of advice, when she comes, keep track of what you’re doing, and think before acting. That’s how Fox got the Crown Jewels. She used a series of tricks and misdirections to fool the guards, and get the Crown Jewels. Basically, just watch your step.”

“Got it,” Twilight said with a nod. “So... now what? We wait for her to show herself?”

“That’s usually how it goes. Unless we can figure out who Fox is, that’s all we can do,” Jonathan sighed. That was the million Pokedollar question. If they could only find out who Fox really was...they’d be all the more closer to catching her. With that in mind, he and his team quickly made themselves comfortable and joined in on the wait.

Meanwhile, Charlotte and Spinner crawled up to the balcony that they had agreed upon earlier. Carefully opening the balcony, they quickly aimed and fired several webs, creating a thick rope of webbing leading from the balcony to a nearby house, not worried about anyone seeing as most if not all of the townsfolk were asleep.

After the set the rope on the balcony, if one noticed, the rope suddenly pulled downward, like something was exerting weight on it, though nobody could see anything. That changed however, when the weight vanished, and whatever was causing it climbed into the library, the illusion vanishing to reveal Alice in her Shiny Illusion. “Is everything set?” she asked.

“Of course,” the two of them nodded as she put on her Fox outfit. Moving down into the Library itself, once more cloaked in an illusion, she peeked down the stairs at the assembled crowd...and stopped short when she saw Jonathan again. For a moment, she felt...odd when she saw him, but she quickly shook it off, instead focusing on the door to the basement. Making sure nobody was looking, particularly when the Princess was busy talking, she quietly made her way to the door, and with a slight tug, opened it just a crack to let her get in easily. The door made no noise as it did, which was to be expected, as Charlotte and Spinner had gummed up the door’s locking mechanism with their webs so that just a small pull could have freed it, while she had made sure to grab some oil and use it on the hinges earlier, ensuring that the door would open silently when she did without drawing any attention, as she had finally managed to create a decent copy of her special compound that hid her scent fully from Pokemon like Howl, though had he been a Growlithe or some other Pokemon with a super sharp nose...he’d have probably sniffed her scent. Slipping inside, she put on her magic detecting glasses...and noted that the Princess had been busy, placing several magical signatures, most likely traps, all over the room, some even overlapping with each other. Fortunately, it seems Princess Twilight had left a path that was small, yet free of trap triggers, possibly she started by placing traps near the entrance before working inward...perfect for exploitation. Carefully treading her way into the basement, she found her hiding spot, and got in. “Alright everyone, time for the waiting game. Stand by for...about 2 hours at most...or until they start getting...antsy, whichever comes first,” she ordered via communication jewel.

“Understood,” Charlotte and Spinner nodded as they moved back to keep an eye on the targets.

“Huh? The dudette is just...waiting? Lame,” Scep snorted from where the three of them were listening.

“Hardly,” Shade shot back slightly miffed. “This is a pretty common tactic Foxes use. Psychological warfare,” she said.

“This is still lame,” Scep snorted.

“Well it's just how it goes sometimes,” Rascal shrugged.

Shade sighed. “Hey Scep, are you good at games?” she idly asked, deciding to try something different.

“What kind of games?” Scep’s eyes looked at her with newfound interest.

“A little game called Go. Its a little obscure, but its a form of chess,” she chuckled. “Not sure if it exists here, but I could easily make a board with how simple it is.”

“With a name like that, I think it’s right up my alley.” Scep grinned. “Get up and go. That’s the PLA way. No sitting around and ‘waiting’.” He rolled his eyes.

“Well then...let’s see if Sleight has something like that,” Shade chuckled, deciding to ignore that jab for now.

Incredibly enough, Sleight DID know about the game, and actually had an antique board and stones. Now the two mon were facing each other with a blank board and two jar fulls of stones, one jar full of black stones, while the other full of white stones. “This is Go. The goal is to capture the most territory on the board, via encircling them. Oh, and unlike chess, Black goes first,” Shade said.

“Sounds easy,” Scep nodded. “I choose Black. I don’t like to give my opponent the first move.”

“Alright,” Shade nodded, giving him the jar full of black stones. “I’ll explain the rules as we go along. It’ll be easier instead of explaining it all in one shot,” she said as she took the jar full of white stones.

(Play: "Get Over" by Dream)

Scep frowned as he looked over the board. “Where do I put the stones first?”

“Each turn, you can place one stone on any open point, which is where the lines intersect. Just so you know, unlike Chess, we don’t start with a set number of forces. We have to build our army from the ground up,” Shade said. “And yes, we can capture pieces, but to do that, you have to surround them first. Capturing instead of killing if you will.”

“Sounds like something the Commander would love to play,” Scep scratched his chin. “Never did hang around him too much, but enough to know him well.” He placed a stone off to the right corner.

“That's a start,” Shade nodded, as Scep’s first move was a good enough start to gain more territory. “But then again, the game is just starting,” she chuckled. "Also, the game ends whenever either of us feels that no more moves are necessary."

The game progressed steadily, Shade being sure to give proper information at points where they were applicable. Scep...was actually holding his own well enough for a beginner, though it also helped that Shade herself was no pro. She just remembered playing this game with Alice back when she was a Purloin, and seeing as she was the ‘teacher’ here, she made sure not to make any insane moves. However, she still maintained a steady lead.

The game lasted a good hour and a half, seeing as they weren’t using a full sized board. The board Sleight had was a smaller 9X9 grid, the type used by beginners, so the game wasn’t one that would last for hours on end.

“And stop. I think that's all the moves I I want to make,” Shade said, as she saw no need to make anymore moves, seeing as much of the board had been riddled with white and black stones, leaving only a few remaining blank areas.

Scep frowned. “But I was just getting started. How does the Commander make stuff like this look so easy?”

“His mental health aside, he’s still a leader, and from what you’ve told us, one infinitely better than the LAST guy running the PLA, especially in how he treats both his own men and his prisoners,” Shade said as she counted the pieces with her tail. “A leader must be able to look into the opponent's strategy, see through it, and devise the best strategy with his own troops in mind. Really, the reason why I wanted to show you this game, is cause its the same strategy that Foxes have used for a long time,” she explained. “They don’t start with a set number of forces. If anything, they always have to build from the ground up, like in a heist. Every time we do a heist, Alice wracks her brains thinking how best to use our individual skills to the fullest, and devise plans based on the terrain, location, and various other factors. And above all, do you know what is the one unacceptable result for a Fox?”

“Getting caught?” Scep asked.

“Wrong. Losing one of their teammates. To Alice and any Fox really, the idea of one of the people under their leadership dying in a heist or a mission...that’s beyond unacceptable. Why do you think Alice’s main focus was escape plans for the Canterlot Heist? She knew if any of us went up against any key players alone, we’d lose for sure. And to her, that meant a LOT more than getting her target.”

“I guess I see,” Scep frowned. “Never gave my own Commander’s orders that much thought. He just always seemed to know what to do and how to do it. It just came to him and we’d win.”

“Part of that might be natural talent, but like any good leader, he probably spends time...likely losing sleep too, thinking of how best to apply his forces, with as few casualties as possible,” Shade nodded as she finished counting. “Speaking of which, I win. Not bad though, you managed to keep up pretty well for a beginner.”

Scep stared at the board. “I don’t think he ever slept. Not really.” He said more to himself. He sighed, looking a bit ashamed.

“Well then, next time you see him, be sure to let him know that you appreciate what he’s done. I won’t claim to know what goes on in his head, but everyone likes a little recognition,” Shade smiled as she cleaned up the board. “Well, the next heist should be starting soon. If you want to continue listening in, be our guest. Or if you want, a stroll through town wouldn’t hurt. You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

“I’m going to go for a stroll and….pay my respects,” Scep stood up and walked off. It lacked his usual laid back swagger and fit more akin to a soldier.

(theme end)

Back in the library, time continued to tick by, but for the ponies and Pokémon inside the library, it felt like it was crawling. “Anything yet, Echo?” Jonathan asked, to which the Noibat shook her head, as her sonar had not picked up anything yet.

“Where is she?” Rarity wined. “I need my beauty sleep, and this little stakeout is cutting into it.”
“I do believe one of the reasons why they’re called Phantom Thieves, is because they only come at night, when most are asleep,” Webber idly pointed out.

Rarity huffed. “Terribly inconvenient if you ask me.”

“Welcome to a normal night in my life. Stakeouts like this were pretty common back on Earth whenever a Fox appears,” Jonathan snorted, though he could sympathise. He’d been working quite a bit for the last few days, so some rest would have been much appreciated at this point.
“Point is, there’s no guarantee when she’ll show up, only that she will,” he sighed.

Rarity groaned again and sat back down.

As this was happening, Trixie was busy reading a book she had taken off of the shelf, though she was able to keep herself busy, she couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. Up till now, she had never really seen the infamous Fox up close. But if the stories she heard were anything to go by, then the thief was nothing short of a master magician if she used tricks and illusions that could so thoroughly fool people was any indication. “I wonder though...alright, let’s see how you stack up, Fox. The great and powerful Trixie will be seeing through your illusions this tonight,” she thought with a small smirk.

Likewise Jonathan was also trying to keep himself calm. “So Fox it looks like Fox is playing a waiting game tonight. Calm down. If you lose your nerve now, you’ll walk right into any and all of her traps,” he mentally reminded himself.

All in all, Jonathan’s group were doing what they could to mentally prepare as like anything else Fox did, nothing was for certain. There was no telling when or where her stage would begin.

However, at that moment, there was the sound of a door knocking. Everyone’s attention turned to the front door, but the sound wasn’t coming from the front door.

“Umm... I think it’s comin’ from the basement,” Applejack pointed to the door.

Hearing that, Jonathan’s eyes widened. That shouldn’t be possible on accounts of how long they’ve been waiting...unless...Fox had been in the Library from the start! However, before he could think on it further, Princess Twilight had already rushed over to the door, opened it and peered in.

“Huh... I don’t-” her words were cut off when from her basement, a swarm of Zubats suddenly flew out, covering the entire Library.

On reflex Jonathan and his team flinched, but after a few seconds, they quickly recomposed themselves. To have this many Zubat emerge from the basement was impossible. That meant that this was…

“Where did all these Zubat come from?!” Korrina managed to shout over the chaos.

As if to answer her question, the entire room was seemingly enveloped in a black cloth-like material, before the entire swarm vanished, while the black material furled together, before revealing the owner. A shiny Zoroark with a black cape and a black Cavalier hat standing on the opposite side of the room. Smirking slightly, the Zoroark stood up to her full height, before bowing slightly, like a magician before an audience.

Jonathan tensed when he saw Fox, but something wasn’t right. Something was nagging at the back of his mind.

However, the issue was taken out of his hands when Princess Twilight glared at the Zoroark and shut the door to the basement. “So, you’re the one who’s trying to steal Starswirl’s Journal.”

“And you must be Princess Twilight,” Fox chuckled in amusement. “As for stealing, you mean...this?” she mused, before pulling her paw out of the cape, revealing the spellbook in it.

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock before he gaze hardened and she lit up her horn. “Give. It. Back. Now.” She growled.

“Make me,” Fox taunted, twiddling the book like it was bait on a lure.

Twilight snorted and galloped towards the Fox, charging a beam of energy as she did.

While that was happening, Jonathan had closed his eyes in concentration, reaching out with his aura sense...which was still erratic most of the time. However, it still told him what he needed to know. Something Lucario realized as well a second earlier than him.

“Twilight! Stop!” Lucario called after her, but she either ignored him or didn’t hear him.

However, when she fired, the shot went right through Fox, and shortly after, so did Twilight.
“I tried to warn you,” Lucario said with a sigh. “That was an illusion.”

Twilight grumbled as she stood back up and looked around the room. “She’s here... somewhere.”

The Lucario sighed and closed his eyes, searching the library with his Aura Sense. “It’s faint but... I sense something coming from the basement.”

Upon hearing that, Jonathan’s eyes widened as the pieces fell together for him. Fox must have been hiding INSIDE the Library the whole time, explaining how she could have set up her illusions from inside the building. However, that also meant she probably had several tricks planned. Unfortunately things moved FAR too quickly for him to actually manage to stop, as Rainbow Dash had already darted for the basement, heedless of Twilight’s warnings. As soon as the Pegasus opened the door and flew down the staircase, the alarms went off and a deep rumbling signified the activation of the traps Twilight had placed.

“... should’ve known that was going to happen,” Mage said with a sigh.

Inside the basement, Fox resisted the urge to laugh. Her Zubat and fake Fox illusions had done the job in riling them all up, and the knocking on the door served to put them into overdrive in terms of paranoia. However, even she couldn’t have expected that the moment she got out of the way of the door, it flew open, as a Pegasus flew right in...right into the traps that were in place, triggering ALL of them, with the one she got caught in giving the funniest effect.

“FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA! SOMEPONY HELP ME!!” the Pegasus shouted as she was trapped in what could best be described as a slime trap...one that seemed to be growing too. “OH SWEET HARMONY! IT’S IN MY FEATHERS!” she shouted as she was now being wrapped in the goo, just as the others came in.

“Someone help me!” Dash shouted when she spotted them.

Mage flew down to the Pegasus and prodded the goo. “Wow, this is a pretty advanced gooey trap, not so much magic aside from what contained it though,” she turned back to the others.
“Anyone know anything about cleaning gunk off of a Pegasus?”

Despite herself, Rarity smiled. “Oh, I know a few mares who would be more than happy to help.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened and she whimpered in fear. “Anyone else help me?”

As they were busy focusing on the Pegasus, Fox looked towards the safe, and casted another illusion over it.

“Uh...guys? We have a problem,” Mage said when she saw the safe...or rather, what it appeared to be.

Where the book had been kept, the shield was still up and strong, but the book was missing.

“NO!” Twilight shouted, rushing over to the safe and ripping away the magic shield, and in her haste, the front of the safe too...which revealed that the book was still inside the safe.
“Oh thank Celestia,” Twilight sighed as she grabbed the book and hugged it. “It’s alright everyone, it’s still here.” She showed them that the book was in fact still in her possession.

At this point, Fox was grinning almost savagely at the sight, and in a quick blur of motion, did the same thing she did in Canterlot, she grabbed her target using her speed, while the Princess was at her most vulnerable.

“Ah crap,” Mage moaned.

“W-what?” Twilight whimpered, looking at her empty hooves. “N-no... this can’t be happening... this is impossible!”

“Awww...I’m surprised at you, Johnny-boy. How could you forget the most important thing about little old me?” Fox teased from up the stairs, drawing their attention to her who was standing casually at the top of the stairs, the book in her paws. “Nothing is impossible for Phantom Thief Fox. And as promised, the spell book is mine. Adieu,” she said with a wink, before closing the door to the basement...and locking it too.

Turning away from the now locked door, Fox let out a jaunty little whistle as she walked away with the book. All that was left was to trigger the outside security, and she’d be able to walk away no-

“Hi!” An overly cheery voice said from directly behind her.

Fox stopped short, her mind trying to process what she was hearing. Turning around, she was met with pink, pink, and well...pink. In the split second, her mind raced, namely wondering how the heck did this pink Pony get out when she had well… “...Didn’t I just lock you in there a moment ago?” Was all she managed to say, her mind still trying to process how the pink pony had suddenly appeared.

Pinkie looked at her in confusion, then back at the locked door. “Oh wow, that is weird, wonder what happened.”

At this point Fox grabbed the only LOGICAL conclusion she had at the moment. “...Oh I get it. Another earth pony magician. Nice try, kid, but you’re not about to catch me with small tricks like that,” Fox smirked, before throwing a smoke bomb, covering the room with smoke as she escaped through the windows. Once she was at the window sill, she quickly threw several ball bearings at the ground, triggering the traps, before leaping off the window, and over the traps.

Once she landed, she looked back at the library and smirked, then turned back to see the same earth pony standing in front of her.

“...I’m starting to understand how the cops must have felt…” she deadpanned, tough her eyes still bugged out when she saw the Earth Pony, who she could have sworn had teleported somehow. “How did you do that?”

Pinkie smiled. “I just used the door,” she said with a giggle.

At this, Fox couldn’t help but smirk. This girl was good. “...You’re not bad, kid. Keep this up, and you might be an incredible magician one day. But, I’m afraid today is not that day,” Fox chuckled, before a bouquet appeared in her hands, which was promptly shoved into Pinkie’s face, the pony suddenly going woozy, before passing out as the sleep powder that Fox had coated on the flowers taking effect.

“Glad that’s over,” she sighed as she leaped up to a nearby roof.

“You’re telling me,” a familiar voice said off to her left. “Those flowers tasted really weird, where’d you get them?”

Looking over, her eyes all but jumped out of their sockets when she saw the pony she had just knocked out. At this point, Fox decided to do something that she would never mention to anyone, for it would forever be a stain on her personal record. She ran. No grace, no glitz, just plain running like hell.

(Insert Benny Hills theme)

“Did I get away from her?” Fox wheezed as she stuck her head out of a barrel.

“Away from who?” Pinkie asked just beside her, sticking her head out of the same barrel and looking around.

Fox was gone so fast, she left an outline behind.

“I’ve had to have lost her this time…” she panted, hiding in one of the apple trees.
“This is a fun game,” Pinkie said, hanging upside down from the tree by her tail. “But who are we running from anyway?” Pinkie looked away and swallowed one of the apples hanging near her, when she looked back, the Zoroark was gone. “Shoot, I forgot to ask for the book again.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but that pony is impossible,” Fox wheezed, clutching her chest as she stuck her head out of the bell tower in Town Hall.

“I’m not impossible,” Pinkie argued, her voice echoing slightly as she stuck her head out of the bell. “I’m Pinkie Pie.” She smiled at Fox.

“...” at this point, something broke, and from her cape, Fox pulled out dozens of small metal balls, and before Pinkie could react, found herself in a cocoon made out of webbing, which covered the entire bell along with her too.

“Help! I’ve been cocooned!” Pinkie shouted from inside the ball of webbing.

Fox’s only response was to give the bell several sharp blows, making it ring loudly, before she vanished into the night.

(theme end)

“Okay, Sleight was right. This town is crazy. Physics defying ponies? That shouldn’t be possible...and that’s saying something coming from me,” was all Fox could say as she pulled out her target for the night. “Oh well, at least I managed to ge-” her words died when she opened the book out of curiosity only to find it blank. Blinking, she put on her glasses...and saw that there was no magical signature whatsoever on the book, meaning only one thing. The book was a fake.

Fox stopped short at the realization, seemingly unable to comprehend...before she started to chuckle...then laugh. Not a sarcastic laugh, or an angry one. But an honest laugh, like someone who had been told a good joke. “After all that trouble, I was tripped up by something as minor as this,” she laughed. “Well played, Princess. I completely forgot about decoys tonight,” she said, tipping her hat lightly in concession. At this point trying to go back to steal the real one would be asking to get caught. So it looks like she had just been dealt her first loss on Equus...and she was perfectly okay with that.

While this chase had been happening, back in the library basement,Twilight stared at the door for a moment before a smile crept onto her face. “Hehe, she just... and we all... hehehe...”

The ponies all took a few steps back at the sight, while Jonathan and his team looked apprehensive at the sudden development, namely the frightening look the Princess was developing. Gene, not aware of the danger, took a step towards her. Before he could speak, however, the unstable alicorn's eyes flashed briefly. Everyone else could only watch, too stunned to move, as she looked around in confusion for a moment before gasping and darting to the door. A quick spell disengaged the lock and she darted through.

Spike was the first to run after, followed closely by the other ponies, leaving the pokemon to bring up the rear. They reentered the main room just as Twilight started doing something they never expected.

"Heh... Hehehe... Haha!" the princess cheered. "Take that, Fox! You failed!"

"What are ya' talking about, Twi?" Applejack asked, more than a bit worried about her friend's mental state. "That Fox character got away with the book."

"No she didn't," Twilight corrected bluntly. As Applejack opened her mouth to argue, Twilight's horn lit up, pulling a book off one of the shelves in the 'accounting' section and held it out for the others to see.

Starswirl the Bearded's Book of Spells.

Twilight smiled proudly at everyone's confused expressions before explaining. "That was a decoy. Fox was expecting her target to be put under heavy security, so she went after the book that was the most protected. She didn't even bother looking on the public shelves. Then I just used a memory suppression spell on myself until the decoy left the library, since my acting skills aren't very good."

Hearing that, Jonathan blinked before his eyes gained an incredulous look. After all that, they had actually managed to beat Fox...with a decoy, one of the most basic tricks in this situation. This...was getting too much.

"Ha! Take that, Fox! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous being, 'never get involved in a land war in Zebrica', but only slightly less well known is this; 'never go in against Twilight Daisy Sparkle when books are on the line!'"

Rainbow tried to hold a snicker in with her hooves. "Y-your middle name is Daisy?"

Hearing this, the two Spinarak that had been watching the whole thing decided to crawl out the window. Once they were out, they touched the small gemstones they had as collars. “Fox, we have a small problem.”

“If it's about the book, I know,” Fox said from the other side, but she didn’t seem upset. If anything she seemed amused. “I already found it out after I got the pink pony off my tail, but...if she went to that much trouble for this thing, I suppose we can let it slide for once. After all, it's not like this was a serious heist anyway. Let her have her moment,” she chuckled, before cutting off the line.

Back in the library, Jonathan sighed as he was processing what had just happened. While he was busy thinking, Applejack came to him, and idly commented, “So...did Twi jus fool that Fox with a fake book?” she asked.

“Looks like it to me,” he shrugged, not sure what else to say.

“So...why didn’t ya try that?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Well...truth is, back on Earth...I did. But it never worked. I mean, I tried, but she kept finding out they were fakes, and would always either steal the real one and the fake, or even switch them around till she made off with the real one,” he said. Before a thought crossed his mind. “Actually...I bet she’s already figured out that he book is a fake by now, but maybe...she doesn’t have the resources she had back on Earth, and blending in isn’t quite as easy now for her, so maybe...maybe she only had one shot…” he mused, the gears starting to turn in his head. It seemed that his options for the future had just increased.

Likewise, Trixie was also thinking over what she had seen. Fox was...strictly speaking, her tricks used in this heist were nothing special. But it was HOW she applied them that made the difference. She had heard of it, but actually seeing it up close was a completely different thing. It was clear to her, that Fox was the real deal. A master illusionist, not from how complex the illusions were...but rather from how she applied her illusions to utterly ensnare the minds of her targets. If Twilight had not taken that extra step, it was clear to her that Fox would have walked away with the spell book tonight.

Ending theme:

Author's Note

And done. Sorry it took so long, but I wanted to get it just right.

Special thanks:
Evowizard: Helping me to write out the scene between Shade and Scep (apologies to anyone who actually plays Go if I made a mistake, as my actual knowledge of the game is a bit limited)

V-Oblivion: Special thanks for these little gems:
Alice and Fox (Zoroark): http://sta.sh/01c040i5u6q6
Alice and Fox (Human): http://sta.sh/0sks30tssux
Jonathan (Lucario): http://sta.sh/023g72sh4zp0
Jonathan (Human): http://sta.sh/0zgak5abz1a