Old Scars, New Chances

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47 (Crossover)
Chapter 48 (Crossover)
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 53 (Crossover)
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Prologue
Chapter 5
Chapter 7
Chapter 29
Chapter 52 (Crossover)

Chapter 1

Ethan woke up with the sun’s rays burning into his eyes. He had not felt this bad in quite a while; he did not drink very often, not at all really. But he knew what a hangover felt like, and by the splitting headache and the dizziness he now had when he tried to stand up, it seemed like he had tried to drink an entire bar by himself.

“Please do me a favor and shut off, sun.” he grumbled to himself as he managed to pull himself up into a sitting position.

“I couldn’t have gone out drinking last night. I remember chasing after the Officer Jennys we got lucky and managed to put most of them to sleep and… did they catch me?” He entertained the possibility that it had been one more Jenny waiting for the moment to strike when he had his guard down with the rest. But if he had been caught, then he would surely have been taken to a cell of some sort.

“And this does not look like a cell. And I don’t recognize this forest either; it’s not the Forbidden Forest, that’s for sure.” This was too much for Ethan to deal with considering the current headache he was having. He brought his arms up to his face and groaned into two incredibly fluffy paws.

…

“You are going to remove your hands from your face now, and when you open your eyes, everything is going to make sense.” Ethan slowly opened his eyes and stared at the pair of paws that he held out in front of himself. They were covered in creamy white fluffy fur, with small brown fingers emerging at the end. After starting at his own fingers for a few minutes while moving them, he could no longer deny that these paws did in fact belong to him.

“I’m a Lopunny? Oh, I’m having this dream again. Any second now, an incredibly handsome man will come out of that forest to swoop me off my feet.” Ethan sat there patiently, staring out into the forest.

“Any second now, I’m sure he is very close. Oh, who am I kidding? I know this is not a dream; it feels too real. Vernus would have the time of his life if he could see me right now…” Ethan stood up, ignoring the headache he was having. He had no time for a mental breakdown when his Pokémon were missing.

Could they have been moved here with me? Were they transformed as well? He thought to himself as he began frantically walking around looking for any of his friends.

“Vernus! Zoey! Sax… anyone? Is anyone there?” Just as he finished shouting, he heard something nearby.

“Did you hear that?”

“Impossible not to, that was loud. Let’s go see what it was.” Rushing towards the two voices, Ethan thanked Arceus that he was not alone wherever it was he ended up. Maybe they could help him figure out where he had ended up and why he had been transformed into a Pokémon, he thought to himself.

He came out onto a small trail as he spotted the owners of the two voices he had heard. They looked like Ponyta, but not at the same time. Firstly, it was the colors: it did not match that of a Ponyta at all, and neither of them had the signature flaming mane it was known for either. Not to mention that the proportions were wrong too. And did that one have wings? But he couldn't deny that they were the first Pokémon he had met since he woke up. He hoped they could help him find his friends, or at the very least they should know where he was.

“Excuse me. My name is Ethan Summers. I’m not normally a Pokémon; I was a human just yesterday. That changed when I woke up here in this forest, could you tell me where I am?” Ethan was feeling rather lucky, all things considered. He may have woken up as a Pokémon in an unknown place, but at least he found someone that would hopefully be able to help him. And being a Pokémon himself now, he would be able to talk with them normally, he had just heard them speak and understood all of it.

“What is that thing? Some sort of rabbit?”

“It’s not like any rabbit I have seen before; it sounded like it was trying to talk with us. Did you catch any of what it was saying?”

“All it said was ‘Lopunny’, though it did seem like it was trying to tell us something.” And with that, all the luck Ethan had thought that he had came crashing back down upon him. Whatever these things were, they were clearly not Pokémon.

“Just my luck, I find someone and they can’t understand what I am saying. Vernus was always good at using his body language when talking to me or other humans to carry over what he meant, maybe I can do that.” Ethan began trying to gesture at the two ponies, hoping they would understand him this time.

“… It’s doing some sort of weird dance.”

So much for that idea Ethan thought as he planted his face in his paws.

“I think we should take it back to the village. Maybe it’s somepony’s pet, or, at the very least, somepony got to know what it is.” Ethan was really not a fan of this idea. While it could solve the mystery of where he ended up, he was not just about to go with two creatures he had no idea as to what they were.

“If not, hey, maybe it’s worth something to someone, it had an exotic look to it after all,” and that was the last drop. Ethan turned back to the forest, and started sprinting.

He heard a “Hey” behind him as he ran faster than he could ever remember having run before. At this moment, he was grateful that he had been transformed into a form that had the same basic motor functions as he was used to. If he hadn’t been transformed into something that wasn’t bipedal in nature, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to get used to a new body this quickly. With an exception of his new ears, it seemed like it was their job to get stuck on every branch and bush he ran past.

Diving into a bush that was large enough to hide him, Ethan hoped to Arceus that he had managed to lose the two of them. Only a few seconds later, he got his answer as he heard their voices again.

“How did you lose it, you featherbrain? How does a Pegasus loose anything that escapes on ground?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault. It was weaving back and forth between the trees; I can’t pick up any decent speed in a thick forest like this.” Ethan let out a happy sigh, they were close but he had managed to shake them.

“Whatever. This day is just too weird: first, somepony back at the village shows up with a weird red fox with multiple tails and we run into that bunny like creature. I say we head back, it’s been a long day.” Ethan poked his head out of the bush as he heard the two of them leave.

“A Vulpix? If it’s another Pokémon, then it’s worth checking out. Anything normal would be a breath of fresh air at this point.” All he had to do was follow them back to their village. Staying out of sight should be doable. Ethan stepped out of his bush and fell flat on his back as his head was tugged backwards, his ears stuck in said brush. “Dammit,” He cursed under his breath; maybe this wouldn’t be so easy after all.

Ethan stood in awe at the sight before him. He had managed to follow the two back to their village, but when he came to the edge of the forest, an amazing sight greeted him. In the distance, beyond the village was a humongous waterfall. Even this far away, he could hear the rumble it made. He knew that the Hoenn region had some majestic waterfalls as well, but he had never gotten the chance to see them for himself. He would have loved to just stand there and enjoy the sight a bit longer, but there were two problems with that. One, he had a Vulpix to find. Maybe if he followed the two weird looking Ponytas, they would lead him to her. It felt weird for him to call them that, as they were clearly not Ponytas, but that was the closest thing to what they resembled. The second reason was his fur, mainly the one on his ears. It had been beautiful, when he woke up. Now it was ragged, and was full of leaves and broken twigs. He did not know why, but it infuriated him to no end.

“Find the Vulpix now. Fix fur later,” he mumbled to himself, getting his priorities straight.

He noticed several things about the village and its inhabitants as he kept his eyes on the two. First was that they did not seem to follow any certain color code. They came in all possible color combinations from what he saw. Second was that he did could not see a single human. He also noticed that there were three types of them, if you looked away from the color. One of the two he had met in the forest had wings, the other did not. But here he also saw a third one; it had a tiny horn sticking out of its forehead.

Eventually, the two stopped at a house; they knocked and waited, so they obviously did not live there. One of the ones with a horn opened the door to greet them. Ethan cursed himself for not being close enough to hear what they were talking about. But maybe he did not need to; he spotted something red behind the horned one, red and curly. Those were definitely Vulpix tails.

“Jackpot,” he grinned to himself as he started to move around to the other side of the village. It would be easier to access the back of the house from there than to try sneaking through the whole town. He did not trust these creatures yet, better to be safe than sorry.

Sneaking up on the house from the other side was significantly easier that he had hoped. It was pretty much a clear shot from the forest to the backdoor. Not taking any chances, Ethan waited a moment before checking if the door is locked or not. He lost sight of the house and the creatures when he had to make his way around to the back, so he was not sure if any of them were currently home or not.

“Don’t hear anyone. Well, here goes nothing,” he reached to open the door, which to his relief was unlocked.

“Just because you did not hear anyone does not mean that they are not home. Just try not to make too much noise and you will be fine,” He mumbled under his breath, trying to convince himself that this was a good idea.

There she was, lying right in the middle of the living room with a rope attached to her, going from her neck to the stairs. A feeble attempt at keeping a Vulpix in place is he had ever seen one. It would have no trouble either biting through it or burning it off. But it hadn’t. It was still just lying there.

“Hello?” Ethan whispered as he moved closer. She was definitely female, that much was clear. Giving her a few pokes and shaking her a little, his fears were confirmed. She was unconscious.

“Let’s see, please be okay,” he began slowly inspecting her head, checking for any damage. It could be dangerous to move her if she had taken any blunt force to the head, so Ethan was extremely happy when he did not find anything. There was still the chance that she had been forced unconscious by a psychic type, but there wasn’t any way from him to check for that. In any case, she would be safe to move; hopefully she could tell him herself what had happened to her.

Untying the rope around her neck, Ethan picked her up, being careful while carrying her. “Alright, let’s get out of here,” but just as he was about to leave, he spotted the most beautiful object he could have ever imagined. It was difficult for him to comprehend the sheer magnificence of the object before him. He simply had to have it.

“No, that would be stealing,” he argued with himself. “Then again, I’m sure they wouldn’t miss it too much. And they would probably be able to get another easily.” The need for he felt for it was currently winning.

“But that doesn’t excuse stealing; have you really fallen so low that you are considering stealing Ethan?” Apparently he had, it would be so easy to just reach out and take it. He tried to, but he could not tear his eyes away from it, no matter how much he tried. He did not simply want it, he needed it. Fighting it was useless; it would be like telling a Zangoose not to fight a Seviper. It was a primal urge: he felt it deep within his soul. Not being able to withstand the torture of waiting any longer, Ethan reached out and grabbed the hairbrush, holding the Vulpix and his treasure safely in his hands as he ran into the forest.

“Vernus would never let me live this down. But it feels so good, I just can’t help myself.” Ethan had to hold back a shudder of pleasure when he first ran the hairbrush through the fur on his ears. He had been spending almost an hour into getting them back into perfect condition; at first, he thought it would be a tedious task, but he truly enjoyed every single second he spent either picking out the leaves and twigs of it, or running the brush through his fur, untangling every snarl along the way. But no matter how much he brushed it, he never got it just the way he wanted it, so he kept on going. He was so engrossed in his task that the world around him almost faded away around him, making him fail to notice as the sun began to set in the distance. He kept going until he could hardly see the brush anymore at all.

Ethan had made it safely out of the village with the Vulpix. He had stopped after they were a good distance into the forest, and he hoped that they would be safe there. Now he just had to wait for her to wake up on her own. Sadly, it did not look like she would wake up until tomorrow. Maybe she knew where they both were. Hell, maybe she was even a human herself. It was a longshot and Ethan knew it, but he was allowed to hope.

A sleepy yawn escaped his lips as he looked over to the Vulpix. “Goodnight, I hope to see you awake and well in the morning.” He leaned back and draped his ears over himself, effectively using them as blankets. Perhaps he would get some answers tomorrow.

Ethan berated himself for having slept as long as he had. He probably had slept in even longer had he not been awoken by cry of a few passing Tailows.

Sitting up, he glanced over to the Vulpix. She was still out of it, sadly. He did not have any sort of equipment to treat her, and the longer she remained out of it, the more dangerous it could be for her. But for now, he had no choice but to wait. His own stomach, however, did not share his way of thinking and wanted some nourishment immediately.

“... You can manage for a little while, right?” He glanced over to the Vulpix. She would also need food when she woke up, food and water. But the only place he knew for sure had both of those was the village, and he was not about to go back there.

“You have gone hungry before. You can manage a few more hours,” he convinced himself to stay with her until she woke up. They could handle everything together after that. So he picked up his brush again and started fixing his fur, as it had gotten a few knots and such during the night. Besides, it helped him pass the time.

The hours passed as he kept guard over the unconscious Vulpix, Ethan was nothing if not patient. Strangely enough, he never got tired of brushing his fur, it was as if it could never be perfect enough. He took breaks, of course, but he could never keep it away from himself for too long.

The evening of the day was approaching fast before anything happened.

“Urghh… what happened?” Ethan almost let an incredibly girly scream escape his lips as he scrambled to his feet.

“You knew that she was here, you should not be this surprised,” he looked to his hand that still held the hairbrush. “Your powers are almost scary,” he whispered, ignoring the fact that he had just spoken to said hairbrush. “Don’t move too much, you just woke up. Are you feeling alright?” He asked, kneeling down besides the Vulpix, who seemed a little disoriented at best.

“W-where am I?” She spoke as she finally opened her eyes.

“Here I was hoping you could answer that, but I guess we are in the same boat,” Ethan let out a disappointed sigh. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No… no I don’t think I am. I remember…” The words died in her throat as she moved her head to look at the person that was speaking to her. “Y-you are a Pokémon. I’m talking to a Lopunny, I can understand you.”

“Well of course you can. All Pokémon can understand each other.” Perhaps his hope about her being a human was not too farfetched after all. She seemed genuinely surprised that she was able to understand him.

“What are you talking about? I’m not a Pokémon, I’m a…” She was looking down at her small furry paws. “I’m a Vulpix?” And she finally noticed.

“Don’t freak out, please don’t freak out. You see, I used to be a human. My name is Ethan Summers; when I woke up here I was like this too.” He really hoped she would be able to keep calm. While it seemed normal to freak out over something like this, he needed her help. She was the only other person or Pokémon he had found after all.

“Ethan Summers?” She muttered the name under her breath as she tried to stand up, her legs shaking slightly.

“Here, let me help you,” Ethan said as he held his arms out, to try to steady her.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” He had no time to react as he felt something slam into his chest, throwing him backwards. He looked up to the Vulpix to see smoke seeping out of her mouth, a mouth that shifted into a smile as she began to laugh.

“The first thing I see when I wake up is some weird Ponyta creature, but before I could so something its horn began glowing and I passed out again. And now, as if things weren’t weird enough I run into you of all people. It has not been long since last time we met but it seems a lot has changed, and this time you don’t have any backup either.” She spoke as she began walking towards him on unsteady legs.

“I, Officer Jenny, hereby place you, Ethan Summers, under arrest for multiple cases of Pokénapping, assaulting an officer of the law, multiple cases of resisting arrest, and murder.”

Chapter 2 Author's Note

I had planned to wait a little longer to add this chapter but it seemed that I had to resubmit this story, since the two first chapters did not contain enough mlp realted content. So enjoy the early chapter.
Any feedback is appreciated.

Chapter 2

Ethan could not believe his luck. He had found another Pokémon, a former human no less. And she turns out to be an Officer Jenny, one of the ones that he had fought before coming here, it seemed.

“Don’t you think we have bigger problems on our hands… paws? I even saved you from those things that kidnapped you.” Ethan held his chest, getting hit with an Ember did not hurt as much as he thought it would, but it still stung.

“But I bet you would have just left me to rot if you knew who I really was wouldn’t you?” Well he couldn’t really deny that point, he would not have been so eager to rescue someone if he knew that said person would want to arrest him. “While I agree that the situation could have been… better, I still can’t let a criminal run free.”

He always had the option of trying to fight her, but he was not even sure if he could use any moves in this form. It was certainly not something he wanted to try since he had just felt her fire an Ember straight into his chest. “No, I guess you can’t. I must say I am impressed though, that was a nice Ember. How did you manage to get the hang of it so quickly?”

Jenny glared at him, to think that he was attempting to sweet talk her. She had no idea how she had managed to use Ember, she was just angry, really angry and it just happened. Not that she would ever let him know that of course. “I train daily with my Growlithe, of course I would know how to use Ember. It came naturally.”

“So you woke up alone too, huh?” He saw no need to be rude or act unfriendly towards her. Even though she wanted to put him in jail, they were in the same boat, metaphorically speaking.

A pained look crossed Jenny’s face. “… Yes, I hope he is alright.” Ethan felt the same; a lot of the Pokémon he had been currently taking care of would be fine on their own. But some wouldn’t, some of them he would have to find as fast as he could, Chii in particular.

“How about this then, we look for our Pokémon together?” he asked her. “You obviously don’t want to leave me alone, but you don’t have anywhere to take me either. We are stuck here together.” He did not like the idea any more than she obviously did. At least not by the grimace he saw her make, thinking about it.

“…Fine, but if you try anything, I will burn you.”

“Yea you already did. So don’t worry, ill behave.” They were about to leave when a powerful voice rang inside his head.

“Greetings 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.”

Ethan looked over to Jenny who had also frozen in her step with a shocked look on her face. Was she hearing this too?

“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.”

So they were in a place called Equus, so not just a place, a world. They were in a completely new world.

“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.”

That was a lot of races he had mentioned, Ethan wondered what race the creatures he had seen in the village were. Hopefully he could find out soon.

“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.”

Officer Jenny could not believe what she was hearing. That criminal was worthy? There had to be made some kind of mistake.

Ethan on the other hand had the biggest grin on his face as he looked at Officer Jenny.

“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.”

He had to admit, a chance to meet Arceus, the very idea seemed mind-blowing to him. Just the fact that the legendary god Pokémon was real was a big enough shock for the two of them.

“Goodbye for now, though I doubt this will be the last you hear of me, and peace to you all.”

And with that final statement, the voice faded away. Leaving the two former humans stunned as they needed a few moments to let what they had heard sink in.

“…No way.” Jenny was the first one to break the silence.

“… You heard it too?” He had to make sure.

“I… yeah, I heard it. Don’t know if I want to believe it though.” Jenny sat down, and looked over to Ethan. “Does this mean that we can’t go home?” She looked like someone had kicked her Eevee.

“Seems that way.” Ethan did not hate Jenny, or even dislike her in the slightest. She was just doing her job after all. But it was still weird for him to see the person that wanted him put in jail so sad. “We could always go see him. He said where he lives after all.”

“Go see Arceus. If someone had said that to me a few minutes ago, I would have called them crazy.” He had to agree with her on that one. “But finding our Pokémon comes first.” That and they had no clue where the Everfree Forest was either. Ethan did not feel the need to go visit a god, but he figured Jenny might, that’s why he had brought it up.

“How about we head back into town? I know neither of us had the best first meeting with the locals, but he said that he was speaking to all the inhabitants, right? That should mean that they heard it too, so it’s our best lead.” The only issue was how to communicate with them; on the other hand, that could also be considered a good thing. It would mean that Jenny couldn’t tell any of the inhabitants who he was. At least until he had explained everything to her.

“I agree. How far into the forest are we?”

“About thirty minutes or so.” He figured it had been far enough when he was escaping.

“Let’s go then.” She started walking ahead.

“…So, you want to talk?” He suggested as he caught up. “I mean, we got thirty minutes to kill and we are stuck with each other.”

“Not really, but go ahead I guess.”

“How are you feeling about being turned into a Vulpix? Would you have preferred something different?” His dad was a psychologist, and Ethan had picked up on some of his tendencies. Specifically he liked to dig, to get into a person’s brain, metaphorically speaking of course.

“… It’s okay I think. It could certainly have been worse. I have good speed, decent firepower. I like it.” She turned her head to look at Ethan. “How about you? A Lopunny would not have been my first pick if I were you.”

Ethan scoffed and jabbed his hairbrush threateningly in her direction. “And what exactly do you mean with that? I happen to think I look quite fabulous,” he said just as he struck a pose. His hands held together in front of his chest as he leaned slightly forward.

Officer Jenny tried not to laugh, but Ethan still heard a small snicker force its way out of her.

“You’re not bad looking yourself, but your tails could definitely use a little brushing.” Jenny blushed at the suddenness at his words, and looked at him with a questioning expression. “Don’t worry, I’ll do it.” Ethan said, holding out his hairbrush. “It will just take a moment.”

“Oooh no, I think you’re going to stay away from me.” She said as she took a hesitant step back.

“It will be no trouble really, no Vulpix with any amount of self-respect would allow her tails to look like that. It hurts me to look at them in that state.” He was slowly inching closer.

“I told you earlier, to not touch me. I don’t know what you are planning but I will have no part in it.” She spread her legs and took an aggressive stance.

“…Fine, if you won’t let me do it, at least do it yourselves.” He said, tossing the brush at her feet.

Officer Jenny looked confused down at the brush. Had he actually been serious? While she did not like it, she agreed with him. Her tails were in a mess, and it would only take a moment to make them presentable. So she picked up the brush with her mouth and got started.

“…So you think I’m a criminal?” Ethan decided to ask her while she was brushing herself. He had to take a shot at it.

“I don’t think you’re a criminal. I know that you are a criminal.”

“And nothing I say can make you think differently, can it?” Jenny stopped brushing and turned around to look Ethan in the eyes.

“Did you kill him? Did you kill Tarjei Elsioth?” Ethan looked back into her eyes as she stared at him. He could explain almost everything he had done. He did not steal Pokémon, he saved them when they needed to be saved. In most cases, he did not have to; he always reported it to the officials when he found or suspected something. But not all cases are solved, some fall through the cracks and someone has to pick up the pieces. Most of the Pokémon he cared for he did not even retrieve himself, but through others who had come across them, knowing they needed serious help. He had several friends that helped him with getting the Pokémon that needed help to him and get them back out to into the world when he was done. But that… was the one thing he could not explain. So he averted his gaze from hers. “Thought so,” she tossed the brush back to him since she was done and they continued the rest of the walk in silence.

The sun was setting once they made it to the outskirts of the village. There appeared to be a town meeting, or hearing, in place when Ethan and Officer Jenny came to the outskirts. There were a lot of them gathered in front of a small makeshift stage. They seemed to have arrived in the end of whatever was going on though.

“-so until further notice, I want you all to treat these new… Pokémon with as much respect as you would a normal pony. Until we get receive word from our beloved Princess Celestia, I believe that it’s for the best that we act under the assumptions of what we all heard to be true. Remember, I know just as little as any of you do, but if you have any more questions for me, you can come to my office, goodbye.” And with that he left the stage in a hurry. Several ponies from the mass quickly followed after him.

“Seems like they are Ponies, good to know” Ethan commented.

“And it also seems like you alerted them to our presence.” Officer Jenny said, as most of the ponies had turned silent and was now looking at them.

“…Hi guys,” Ethan smiled and waved at the group, hoping that the meaning had carried over.

“Can they understand what we are saying?” Jenny asked, hearing comments like “they seem friendly” and “is that the one that was brought into the village earlier?”

“No they cannot.” Most of them seemed hesitant, but three ponies had enough courage to go over and greet their new guests.

“I… I just wanted to apologize.” One of the ponies that came over to them said suddenly. She had a horn and by her voice it seemed like she was female. She was looking at Jenny as she spoke.
“I just thought you were some kind of weird animal, so I’m sorry for knocking you out and tying you up. I thought you might have been a danger to other ponies nearby, I’m so sorry.” Ethan quickly moved the hairbrush he had apparently stolen from this mare, behind his back.

Jenny seemed a little shocked at the suddenness of the mare, but gave her a comforting smile. “I forgive you. I could see myself doing the same, had I been in your situation.” While they did not understand her words, but it seemed like they understood the feelings behind Jenny’s smile.

“So you are called Pokémon right? And can you understand us?” Since talking was no good, Ethan nodded twice at the questions.

“Then let us be the first to welcome you to Neighagra Falls Sanctuary. A small village that’s quite popular with travelers that’s here to see the falls, which I’m sure you have already noticed.” The ocean blue pony that spoke waved a hoof over in the direction of the waterfall. “My name is Mignon, I own a restaurant on the other side of town, you already met Mary Care, she is the town’s veterinarian and she is really shy so don’t be too hard on her. Lastly we have Zephyr Lotus. Would you like a tour of the town?”

“Well he seems really nice, at least he is trying.” Ethan smiled as he looked down to Jenny.

“Indeed.” Both nodded in agreement, making the stallion grin.

“Great, come along now, we have a lot to cover.” He said as the group began to move further into town.

Neighagra Falls Sanctuary was a small nice village. As Mignon had explained, it was a popular place for tourists to stop and the town thrived on the attention. As the tour continued, they even began seeing other Pokémon as well. Ethan spotted a small gathering of Swablu flying over town, while Jenny pointed out a single Nuzleaf who was keeping to the edge of the forest. And they were sure that more would show up as time passed.

“I think this might be the most exciting thing that happened in this town since Princess Luna came visited after her return.” Zephyr said with a laugh, making Mignon vince.

“Please dont mention that. She almost wrecked my entire restaurant with her royal Canterlot voice. I still find broken glass hidden away places after that incident.”

"You know she did not mean too, she said so herself." Mary added in. "Everyone would have some difficulties if they were gone from civilization for a thousand years." Ethan raised an eyebrow at that. He had heard them mention both Princess Luna and Celestia, but no queens.

“It’s a shame we can’t understand you. I would love to know more about you and what you are.” Mary said as they passed her clinic. Ethan silently agreed, it would make everything a lot easier.

“… What about Cursed Vision?” Mignon suggested.

“That cooped up old fart? You really think he could do anything?”

“Well, he said he was a professor of some kind at the Canterlot university back in the day right? It’s worth a shot I think.”

“That would be great.” Ethan explained happily, making all the ponies look at him.

“Well it sounds like they agree.” Mignon said with his trademark grin. “I have to head back to my restaurant. It’s just around the corner from here. Tell you what, come by anytime you feel like it, and I’ll treat you to a meal. A small welcome gift, good luck, you all.” He said as he walked away, waving back to the group.

“And I’m afraid I need to take my leave as well, it’s getting late and I have a few things to take care of. Mary, can you take them to Cursed Vision? I think the old fart has something against me so it probably would not help if I came along either way.”

“He doesn’t like anypony, but I’ll take care of it. See you later, Zephyr.” They waved him off as Zephyr took to the skies. It really did not look like his wings would be able to carry him, but he seemed to be doing fine.

“This Cursed Vision sounds like a real character.” Ethan smiled as they started walking again.

“If he can help us solve our communication problem, then he can be whatever he likes.” Officer Jenny had a point, now he just had to fix one problem.

“...Do you plan to tell them about me?” He asked.

“Of course I do. You’re a criminal, and need to be put away.” She had been planning on doing that ever since Arceus had his speech.

“Are you sure that would be wise? After all, it would only be your word against mine.” He really needed to explain to her what really had happened that night. “Do you really want to take a chance on whenever they would believe you, or me?” Ethan smiled at his victory when Jenny sunk her head in defeat. He had bought himself a little time for now at least.

“Um… I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but we are here.” Mary said, catching their attention. They were standing in front of what looked to be a rather old house. The garden was in shambles, and the house itself looked like it could use with a new paintjob. “He lives by himself, refusing to live in the retirement home, even if it would be for the better with how old he is getting.” She sighed as she walked up and knocked on the door.

“So, how do you think this pony will be able to help us?” Ethan asked, looking down at Officer Jenny, who just scoffed and looked away. He could understand why she wouldn’t want to speak to him. He really wanted to explain what had happened to her but… it was complicated.

After several minutes, the door was covered in a red glow before it opened, revealing a really old horned pony behind it.

“Huh? Miss Care, got some new animals? They are mighty weird looking if you don’t mind me saying.” Both Ethan and Officer Jenny could feel a slight annoyance at how the old pony talked about them.

“Oh, no these are Pokémon. Umm… did you not hear it? It was a voice that explained to everypony what was going on.” She explained to him.

“Oh so that was real, was it? Sorry, thought it might have been my mind playing tricks on me again, hahaha.” He said as he started laughing. Sadly, the laughing quickly turned into a coughing fit. “Well, what do ya want?” He asked sharply as he recovered.

“W-well we have a slight problem, you see. These Pokémon can understand us, but we can’t understand them. We were hoping that you might know any sort of spell to help us with that.” She asked hopefully.

Ethan’s long fluffy brows furrowed in thought. They had magic here: the glow that opened the door earlier reminded him about a lot of psychic types, but they called it magic.

“… Well I’m afraid I don’t know any spells like that.” He said to everyone’s disappointment. “… Memory is not what it used to be. But I might have something in one of my spell books. Come on in.” He said as he turned around and slowly walked back inside. With their hopes relit, the group followed him in. “But clean your damn HOOVES OFF,” he hollered with a voice that did not seem like it could be coming from such an old pony. Ethan was sure that the old pony had to be related to a Whismur, or maybe even a Loudred from the ringing in his fabulously fluffy ears.

“Let’s see here… no…no… definitely not… here we are.”Cursed Vision had a dusty old tome, floating in front of him. “Ya might as well sit down while I see if I have a spell in here that can help… I can’t see anything, LIGHT.” Ethan had to admit, the old pony seemed like he were missing a few marbles in his brain jar. At least that’s what he thought until one of the lights from the other table seemed to hop down and walk over at his command.

“What the… it’s a Litwick,” Ethan poked both Jenny and Mary as he pointed to the small ghost Pokémon.

“… Is that another Pokémon?” Mary asked with curiosity.

“Yes it is,” Ethan nodded to the mare.

“Coming, master, I’m coming. Are we having guests?” It had the cutest little voice a ghost Pokémon could have. It hopped up onto the table and positioned itself next to the old pony’s book, providing light for him to read in.

“… We should do something. Litwicks steal the life energy of people.” Officer Jenny whispered to Ethan. “Or in this case, ponies.”

“That’s what we think they do. Ask him what he is doing here.” Ethan nudged her forward.

“Litwick!” She addressed him harshly as she moved towards him. “What are you doing here?”

“… Why, I’m serving master of course,” Ethan couldn’t help but laugh at the little guy.

“Stealing his life energy is more like it. Is that not what your kind do?” not a whole lot was known about ghost Pokémon, a lot of the known facts were nothing more than speculation.

“…No… and yes. I need energy to stay alive, but it’s enough of it in the air around master. I could take it from him directly, but that would hurt him. He seemed so grumpy but he was just all alone, I just thought he could use a little company.” He was just the cutest little ghost one could imagine.

“It’s alright, little guy, she did not know any better. Say, what’s your name?” Ethan asked as Jenny came back and sat down beside him.

“Master calls me Light, so I think that’s my name.”

“Here we go. Now, it’s been a while since I cast any spells of this kind, so don’t blame me if anything happens.” He gave no heads up or warnings. After those words had left his mouth his horn charged up and Ethan was hit in the chest with a red beam. It did not hurt anything; it simply made him feel slightly tingly.

“That… took more out of me than I thought.” Mary rushed over to the old stallion as he seemed to be exhausted.

“D-did it work?” She asked as she looked intently at Ethan.

“I don’t know. Can you guys understand me now?”

“Yes, yes it worked.” She sounded positively ecstatic.

“You’re a unicorn, make yourself useful.” The old coot said, as he shoved the book over to her. “I’m too old to be casting spells like these, you learn it. Light, show me to the bedroom.” He said as the Litwick took lead, guiding him out of the room. “See yourselves out.” And that was it for goodbyes, it seemed.

“I guess we should go now then. But I’m so glad it worked. So, what are your names?”

“My name is Ethan, and this is Jenny.”

“Officer Jenny.” She corrected him.

“She says hello. Can I ask you a few questions?” Ethan asked her. There was a few things he wanted to set straight.

“I’ll answer to my best ability” She answered with a smile.

“Well… I overheard that you are ponies. But there seems to be different kinds of you.” They walked out of Cursed Visions house and into the street outside.

“Well yes, there are three kinds of ponies… well four if you count the princesses.” She corrected herself. “Both me and Cursed Vision are Unicorns, we have magic, that’s how he was able to use that translation spell on you. You already met Zephyr, he is a Pegasus.”

“Yes, I wanted to ask you about that. How is he able to fly with wings that small, it does not look like they should be able to carry his weight.” Ethan asked.

“Well… I don't know too much about the specifics only that its magic that helps them fly. Just like we Unicorns have our own magic, the pegasi has their own. It allows them to fly and even walk on clouds.” Ethan remembered seeing some of them pushing clouds around, so that explained that. “Then there is the Earth ponies, like Mignon.” she explained.

“And what about the Princesses? I overheard you talking about a Princess Luna.” Ethan asked.

“Yes, she is one of our princesses. She and Princess Celestia raises and lowers both the sun and moon respectively.” Mary used her magic to draw a small glowing Alicorn in the air. “They have the abilities of all the three pony races.” she said as the drawing poofed out.

“Wait… did you say that they raise and lower the sun and moon?” Ethan asked, confirming if what he had heard was right.

“Um.. yes, Princess Celestia controls the sun and Princess Luna the moon.” Ethan was a little flabbergasted at that. He knew that there were powerful legendary pokemons, but it was something else to be able to move celestial bodies.

“You also mentioned that she had been gone for one thousand years, is that really true?” he asked. There was some Pokémon that could reach that age but it was still rare.

“...I don’t know too much about it, but yes. I would ask Cursed Vision if I were you. He is much more well-read then I am so he should be able to explain it better. I would really love to stay and talk, but I have to go back home as well soon, I got some clients. And I got this spell to learn too, so we can get you to talk too, Jenny. Why don’t we do it like this: come to my clinic tomorrow and I think I should have the spell ready by then. I would love to talk more now, but I have a lot to do today, sorry.” She seemed genuinely sorry, but she had done more than enough for them already.

“Don’t worry about it. It was nice to meet you, Mary Care. We will come and visit tomorrow and I’ll be happy to answer any and all questions you might have.” Ethan gave her a big smile.

“See you tomorrow then, Ethan and Jenny. Goodbye.” She waved back to them as she trotted away from them.

Ethan and Officer Jenny waved back to the mare as she rounded a corner and disappeared.

“That certainly went well. Though you could have been a little nicer to the Litwick, you know.”

“He did not seem to mind, so no harm done…” a small rumble could be heard from her stomach.

“…Hungry?” Ethan asked with a grin.

Jenny looked away with a small blush on her face. “…yes.”

“So am I, let’s take Mignon up on his offer then.” Truth was that Ethan was starving, it had been over a day since he had last ate. But he had just had so much on his mind that he had forgotten about it; it’s not every day you get plucked from your world and dumped into another with a new body after all. So they took off, walking back to where Mignon had said his restaurant was located.

“…Do you hear that?” Ethan asked after they had walked for a little while.

“Not anything besides the ordinary.” Truth was, she was getting a little impatient and wanted to get to the restaurant as soon as possible.

Ethan was sure that he had heard something. There was the normal background noise: the waterfall, the ponies going about their day, and something else… he could hear a voice, a familiar voice. And it was… crying?

“I’ll be right back.” Ethan said taking off as fast as he could down the street, ignoring Officer Jenny’s calls. He had to find the owner of that voice; it was getting louder so that meant he was in the right direction.

It was a small alleyway between two houses that he spotted her. It was a small pink and white ball of fur, but said ball of fur was shaking and crying. It was no doubt; he had heard the very same crying a lot of times before.

Silently walking over so he wouldn’t scare her, Ethan kneeled down next to the Skitty before picking her up and holding her tight to his chest.

“It’s alright, Chii, everything is alright. I’m here.” She struggled at first, but quickly calmed down. She was still crying, but not so heavily, a mere sniffling at that point.

“M-Mary?” Chii looked hopefully up to Ethan with her teary eyes. But he met her look with a sad one as he shook his head.

“No, it’s me, Ethan. I’m sorry Chii…” Chii started shaking again, as she held back her tears. “It’s alright, you're safe. Just let it out.” She tried not to, but it was only a few seconds before she was crying heavily again. She pressed her face into his fur as he held her. He could hear Officer Jenny call out for him as she closed in on them. It had been a stressful couple of days, to say the least, but Ethan could not help but let out a small smile at he looked down at her.

Perhaps things would work out for the best after all.

Chapter 3

Officer Jenny came running after Ethan. She couldn’t believe he had just taken off like that. She thought he was trying to escape her. At least she did, until she came to the alleyway where he was standing, holding a crying Skitty to his chest, comforting it.

She was about to walk over to them but stopped when she looked at him. He had a dark expression on his face as he shook his head and nodded down at the Skitty. Whatever was going on she was not to interrupt, she understood that much. So she sat down and waited. She did not feel that hungry anymore anyway.

After an hour, Ethan walked out of the alley, Chii having cried herself to sleep in his arms.

“There is a park over there. Care to join us?” He did not wait for Officer Jenny to give her answer; he figured she would follow him anyway.

“…Who is that? Is she one of your Pokémon?” She asked once she caught up with him.

“This is Chii. And I suppose she is.” The park was almost completely empty, only a few ponies near the edge who were observing a few Wurmples who were making their way up a tree.

“Chii… I know that name,” Jenny thought out loud. Ethan had already taken a spot on a bench, and Jenny jumped up and sat down next to him. “Who is she? Why do I know that name?” she asked.

“It doesn’t surprise me that you remember her name. For a few weeks, I think everybody in Hoenn knew about both her and her trainer’s name. Mary Costatilla, that name mean anything to you?” Ethan could see her realization almost immediately.

“She… she was the daughter of that famous coordinator right? She got into Pokémon Contests herself but she…” She faltered a bit. Being a cop meant that she had to deal with a lot of bad things, but that did not mean that she liked talking about it.

“Yes, she killed herself.” Ethan let out a sad sigh as he glanced down at Chii. She was sleeping on his lap, curled up into a small bundle with one of Ethan’s ears as a blanket. “But there is a lot more to the story than that. I thought you were hungry.” He gave Jenny a small smile.

“It can wait, besides, I’m curious.” She really was. She was used to working with criminals, and most of them had their own way they acted. The mask they used to hide their real self when they were in the public, so to say. That’s why she was a little surprised as she sat there besides Ethan. She could tell that he was not lying, that his concern for that Skitty, for Chii, was real. That was not the way a Pokénapping murderer was supposed to act.

“… I guess I can tell you the story. Just promise me one thing. Don’t mention anything I tell you to Chii, that or Mary.”

“I promise.”

“The beginning is a good a time to start as any I suppose. You see, I had heard rumors about Mary Costatilla but I had not had the opportunity to check it out myself yet. Maybe if I had, things would not have gone so wrong. I don’t know everything about what happened either. Only what Chii told me and what I could manage to gather up after it had already happened. But I’ll tell you what I know.” Ethan said as he began the story…

Mary could only barely contain her excitement. It was her seventh birthday and she was waiting for her parents to come out with her gift. They had given her no hints about what it could be, as they used to. But she did not mind, that only made it more exciting as she made guesses to herself.

She really wanted a new dress, the one she had was only a month old but the new one was even better. It had a beautiful white lining across the top part, with a wonderful purple ribbon lining and a silk scarf that made her love it even more.

She was too caught up in her own fantasies, that she did not notice it when her parents walked in the door. They were carrying a large box that had holes in it, and some sound could be heard from it. Like something was moving on the inside.

“Mary dear.” The mother caught her attention. “Your father and I discussed this for a long time, and we think that you are finally ready for this. Just remember that this is a big responsibility and we will be helping you with taking care of her. Happy birthday!” The mother leaned down and gave the box to her daughter.

Being as excited as most children are when they get presents, Mary tore the lid off and froze.

“~~Hello!~~ Skitty!”

“A Skitty!” Mary exclaimed as she picked up the small Pokémon and hugged it tightly to her chest. “I love it, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, so much!” She almost had tears in her eyes at that point; every child wanted a Pokémon of their own.

“I promise, I will love her, take good care of her. She will be my bestest friend ever.” She looked down to the Skitty, who reached up and nuzzled her cheek. “I will always love my Chii.”

“Are you excited, Chii? I know I am.”

“~~Of course!~~ Skitty!” Chii answered. Both of them were excited, as one should be for their first Pokémon contest. Mary had decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps: she was going to be a Coordinator.

The two of them had grown extremely close over the past years. They practically did everything together. Mary loved Chii like nothing else, and Chii loved her back. Chii saw her almost as a mother figure, since she had been taken only moments after hatching. She would do anything for her Mary.

So they stepped into the Contest hall without a single doubt in their hearts.

“But all good things come to an end… and that was no exception…” Ethan said sadly as he continued.

Mary ran crying through the house, ignoring her mother’s calls as she threw open the door to her room and threw herself onto the bed, crying heavily into the pillow. She did not even notice it when her mother walked into her room.

“Mary…” She began.

“I can’t believe we lost. We trained so hard for this and still…” She sniffed a bit, before the tears started again.

“It’s only a loss; it’s up to you to grow stronger because of that loss. Train harder, and prove to them that they were wrong, the next time you try…” Her mother walked over to her and put a familiar weight down beside her. “You are both in this together, Mary dear. Imagine how she is feeling.”

Mary heard her mother walking out of the room as she turned her head to see Chii sitting there with teary eyes besides her.

“~~I’m sorry Mary. I promise that I will do better the next time. Next time we will win, I’m sure of it.~~ Skitty, Skitty Skiski Skitty Ski.” Chii said as she nuzzled her trainer, comforting her as best as she could.

“…Thank you, Chii. You’re the best; I don’t know what I would do without you.” Her wiped her tears and hugged her best friend back.

The two of them were confident that they would learn from their first loss and come back stronger. But once one loss turns into two, two into three, four, five, and six… Eventually things become that much harder to bounce back from.

“I can’t believe that good for nothing judge. That fucking BASTARD!” Mary threw her backpack against the wall.

Chii hopped out of the way as it landed right where she had been standing. She had tears in her eyes and was on the verge of crying again. Things had been so hard on her trainer over the years. It was alright in the beginning but the constant losses starting getting to her. That and the other Coordinators made fun of her, most of them. There had been a nice girl, but eventually she left too. She only wanted her Mary to be happy.

“~~P-please don’t be mad. I know that we-~~ Skitty, skitty ski-“She was cut off as Mary threw another book into the wall, just next to Chii.

“Just shut up. This is your fault too. If only you could do better…” She took a few deep breaths and sat down as she tried to calm herself down. “No… I’m sorry, Chii. I’m the one that needs to do better. I’m so sorry, my little Chii. Can you forgive me?” She did not even have time to look up, before a small ball of fluffy fur jumped into her arms.

“~~Of course, I forgive you. I love you. I know this is hard on you, but we can get through it together.~~ Skitty, Skitty Skitty Ski” Mary smiled down at Chii.

“We will do better. Everything will be just… perfect.”

“I did not realize that the Contest world could be so harsh.” Jenny had been listening silently up until that point.

“Nothing in life is easy, especially if you take it for granted. She came from a rich family and her mother was a famous Coordinator. Rumors were that she was more than a little spoiled, so I think she was badly equipped to handle what the real world had to throw at her. But when she moved out of her parents’ home, things really took a turn for the worse. Her self-esteem was already in shambles, but it was then that she started becoming self-destructive. She would do anything to be as beautiful as she could be, whatever skewed view of beauty she had. She started starving herself, starving Chii too, in the hope that if they were just a little prettier things would work out. And Chii followed her blindly. Mary was her best friend, her mother figure. She never questioned what she did, no matter how mad it got. But one night…”

Chii woke up late during the day. Her whole body was in pain after what had happened last night. Mary had come home late, that in itself was not unusual but she smelled funny. Chii winced as she tried to put weight on her right foreleg. Mary had started beating her, smashing a bottle of some kind against her head before she had thrown her against the wall. “It’s all your fault.” That is what she kept repeating as she punched and kicked her. Chii did not know how long she had kept beating her; she must have passed out before she was done.

Chii slowly limped across the kitchen floor, towards Mary’s bedroom. She knew that Mary was right, and that she deserved it. It was her fault that they never had won anything, and that things had turned out as bad as they did. It had to be her own fault; Chii only hoped that she could make it up to her trainer somehow.

She paused when she came up to the door leading to Mary’s bedroom. She was nervous and afraid. Not because of last night’s beating. She knew she deserved far worse. No, she was afraid that Mary would throw her out, that her trainer would have decided that she was fed up with her since could never do anything right.

After thinking about it, Chii decided on what to do. She would go in there and apologize. Apologize for not being good enough for her, and beg her to let her stay. Yes, that was what she was going to do. Mary was her everything, Chii loved her more than anything else. As long as she could stay with her, Mary, she would be happy.

With her plan in mind she used her tail to knock on the door.

“~~Mary? C-can I come in?~~ Ski, Skitty?” But no answer came.

Chii was sure that she was in her room, she could smell her. But there was also another smell coming from the room. It smelled like she might have had an accident. Mary would always stay in late when she came home late during the night. But never this late, Mary always came out to drink, or to talk to her.

“~~Mary?~~ Skitty?” She tried again, but still no answer.

Worried that something could have happened to her trainer; Chii reached up and used her tail to open the door.

The room was a mess. There was broken glass on the floor, the desk Mary usually used was tipped over and so was her chair. There, in the middle of the messy room was her trainer, except she wasn’t standing there like Chii had hoped. At first glance it would seem like she was floating a few feet above the ground.

“~~…No~~ …Skitty” Chii could not believe what she was seeing. There was her trainer, her best friend Mary, hanging from the ceiling fan. Mary’s eyes were staring straight at her, but not at the same time, they weren’t moving anymore. Chii began crying silently as she looked upon the lifeless corpse of her Trainer. A yellow puddle had formed underneath her; it was what she had smelled earlier. Her mouth was open; a small trail of blood ran out of it and down her neck. It looked like she was about to speak, but she would never talk to her again.

Chii’s legs gave out under her as she collapsed. Her trainer was dead, her Mary had left her. She wanted to get up and run over to her where she hung, to make sure that it was all a mistake. That she was still alive after all.

But her legs refused to move.

“~~Why… why would you do something like this?~~ Skitty… Skitty Skitty ski?” She cried. She had never been alone before, not really. She always knew that Mary would come home soon, or where she was. She always had her to rely on. As she laid there and thought about what could have drove her trainer to do this, something Mary had said yesterday, echoed inside her head.

“It’s your fault.”

Had she driven Mary to this? She forced herself to stand up, and began searching the room for anything that could tell her why her trainer had done what she did. She ignored the pain that came as she walked across the broken glass that littered the floor. But no matter how much she looked she found nothing. Not even a note, she had done this and she had not even left a note saying goodbye. It had to be her fault.

As she laid there, a pool of her own tears and blood forming beneath her, a small smile came to her lips. She knew how to make everything alright; she knew how she could fix everything. All it would take was one final act, and she would be with her Mary again…

“… so did she?” Officer Jenny stared down at Ethan’s lap where Chii was sleeping.

“She tried…yes. Luckily she failed.” Ethan scratched Chii’s head, who unconsciously nuzzled back against his paw. “When I found her, she was almost entirely skin and bones. It was a miracle that she was still alive. I remember the feeling when I carried her home back then, she was so frail, and it felt like she would break by the slightest touch.” Ethan only hoped that the shock of being taken from their home and waking up in an unfamiliar place had not been too hard on her. Chii’s greatest fear was being abandoned again; he hoped that this situation had not affected her progress too much.

“That’s quite a lot for such a tiny Skitty to go through… I don’t think there was ever issued a search for her, if it was then it did not go on for long. At least someone found her.” The more she got to know Ethan, the more questions appeared in her mind. But she could let them rest for now; she wasn’t going anywhere after all.

“You ready to get something to eat now?” He certainly was, and he wanted to get up and do something else after telling that story.

Officer Jenny jumped down from the bench. “I think some food could do everyone some good right about now, yeah.” She started walking ahead, only glancing back to see what Ethan was actually following.

“I hope Mignon will let us take some food to go, too. I don’t want to wake her up now, since I’m not sure how much sleep she has gotten since waking up here.” That also brought up another problem they would have to deal with. He was no stranger to sleeping outside, and his new coat made it more tolerable. But he wanted someplace warm for Chii at least.

It did not take long for the three of them to find their way to Mignon’s restaurant. It was rather quiet, only a few other ponies filled the tables that was lined up outside, but they could spot more inside. As soon as they got up to the entrance, a familiar pony came out to greet them.

“Greetings, greetings, I am so glad that you decided to take me up on my offer. Come, let me get a table for you… oh, is that a new one? Let me get a table for three ready for you, this way.” He ushered them in so quickly that Ethan did not have time to say a word.

The inside of the restaurant had a warm and welcoming feel to it. There were wax candles set up at every table, though only the ones with customers at them were lit.

“I have to ask,” Mignon began after they had gotten their table and sat down. “Did Cursed Vision have anything to help you with your…” He seemed to be looking for the right word, and was instead gesturing to his mouth and throat with his hooves.

“Indeed it did, sadly he could only do it for one of us. Mary Care is learning the spell he used, and will hopefully have it ready by tomorrow” Ethan explained. “But it’s a pleasure to finally be able to talk with you properly, Mignon. My name is Ethan, this is Jenny.”

“Officer Jenny!”

“She is pleased to meet you too. And this is Chii. She is sleeping and I don’t want to wake her…” Mignon nodded in understanding.

“Say no more. It’s a pleasure to finally be able to greet you properly. But I’m sure you came here for a reason, so here are your menus. And you just call me when you are ready to order.” He gave them a small wink before he turned around.

“… I like him.”

“You seem to like almost everyone we have met here so far.”

“Well they are likable people… ponies, whatever.” Ethan glanced down at the menu. “So do you have a plan?”

“I always have a plan, but you’re going to have to be more specific… The pasta looks nice.” Jenny waved over to where Mignon was to catch his attention.

“Well, our Pokémon is the first priority. I have Chii but there are still several I need to find. What about you, anyone other than your Growlithe?” She shook her head.

“No… just him. And I think our best bet is to simply stay put for a few days, as much as I hate it. We need to know more, and just blindly searching will do us no good.” They were interrupted as Mignon came back to take their orders.

“So have you decided?”

“Yes, I will have the Butternut-Kale Lasagna, and Jenny wanted the Linguine with Spinach-Herb Pesto, right?” He glanced back at Jenny who nodded in return. “Can you make it two of that last order? I would like to have some food for Chii here when she wakes up.”

“One to go, yes, I think I can do that.” He have them both a short bow. “I will be back with your orders shortly.” He gathered up the menus and trotted back into the kitchen.

“So just stay in the village?” Ethan picked up where they had left off. He agreed with her, just running out into the wilds hoping that they would stumble over their Pokémon would have been a foolish plan at best. It annoyed him slightly that he probably would have done exactly that.

“Yes… we need to know more about this world. We don’t know if they woke up close to us or at the other side of the globe; we are completely in the blind. So we sit tight, and get our bearings first. Then we decide what to do.” She knew her Growlithe would be fine; he was not a pup anymore.

“I have to say though…” Ethan leaned forward and spoke in a hushed tone. “I’m surprised that you haven’t tried to take me down yet.”

“I’m surprised that you have not tried to escape.” She retorted.

“I guess we are stuck with each other for the moment. You don’t want me to leave, and if I did escape it would be easier for you to convince these ponies that I’m a criminal.” They were stuck in a stalemate, one that Ethan did not like his odds. All it would take was one more Officer Jenny or Pokémon Ranger that knew his name.

“Better make the best out of it then.” And she knew it. He had to do something to tip the variables in his favor somehow…

What little light had remained from the sun had been replaced by the moon by the time they left the restaurant, and they said their goodbyes to Mignon. He had let them stay a little longer than the normal closing time so that they would not have to hurry themselves.

They had both decided that they should find someplace they could stay for the night. Jenny had refused to ask Mignon, since he had already been so generous to them. Because they had no money, a hotel was out of the question, so they were headed back to Mary Care, hoping that she would be willing to let three strangers stay for the night.

The lights were on at the clinic. Hoping that she was still there, Ethan knocked on the door.

“I still don’t like this...” If it had been up to Jenny, they would have spent the night outside. She hated asking people for help.

“I know, but I’m not having Chii sleep outside if I can help it.” The door opened to reveal a familiar face.

“Oh… you’re back sooner than I expected. I’m afraid that I haven’t had a chance to look at the spell properly yet.” She was wearing a white cloak that covered most of her body.

“That’s not why we are here… See, I was hoping that you might have a place where we could sleep for the night.”

“Oh…. Um… just one second.” She stepped back inside and closed the door behind her.

“That went well.” Officer Jenny scoffed. Ethan was about to respond, but the door opened again, and Mary stepped out, locking the door behind her.

“S-sorry, I was just closing up for the night. My house is over this way.”

“So you’re willing to let us stay the night?”

“You are new in town; it would be rude for me not to help you out.” She gave them a heartwarming smile.

“That’s really kind of you, thank you.” Back on Earth, Ethan could not think of anyone he knew that would willingly open their home to some strangers they had just met the same day. The ponies in that place were extremely accepting. At least, those they had met so far, perhaps they had just been lucky. He still remembered the first two he had met.

“Well… I also really wanted to ask you some questions about Pokémon. I know that you were going to come by tomorrow, but if you don’t mind, I would love to ask some tonight.” It looked like she was ashamed for having an ulterior motive, even if it was an extremely small one.

“I would be happy to. It’s the least I can do.”

They soon arrived at Mary's house, and were let inside. “So can I get you anything?” Mary asked, as she levitated the spell book over to the kitchen table. Officer Jenny had grabbed a spot on the couch and laid down immediately. It was a little weird to be back at the house where he had technically broken in. Mary did not seem to be holding a grudge about it, though.

“Can you show me the guestroom?” Ethan asked. “I want to put Chii to bed before we get started.”

“I meant to ask about her, who is she?” Mary came out, with three glasses of water. One for each of them it seemed, she put them all down at the table in front of Jenny.

“She is a Pokémon that I'm taking care off. Sadly, it seemed like most of us got separated when we got sent here. Luckily, I found her quickly. I’ll tell you more, but I want to put her to bed first, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, it’s the first room on the right.” She looked back to Jenny and smiled. “Would you like something to drink?”

Ethan could hear Mary offer Jenny something to drink as he walked into the guestroom. It held two beds, each at their own side of the room and a window in-between them. He kneeled down besides one of the beds and pulled the sheet back, gently putting Chii down on the pillow.

“You have slept like a rock. Did you even get any sleep before I found you?” It would not surprise him if Chii had worried too much to be able to sleep at all. He would know when she woke up. “Goodnight Chii.” He scratched her head, before standing back up. What worried him most was what she had called him when he first found her.

Ethan heard some commotion in the living room as he walked back out. “Is everything alrig…pfff,” he had to hold both his paws in front of his mouth to keep him from laughing at the sight that met him. Officer Jenny had a glass of water stuck around her muzzle. Mary Care had the glass in her magic field, and was trying to pull it off. It gave a loud pop and the glass was finally off, leaving a wet officer Jenny sitting there as Mary scrambled up to get a towel.

“One… word.” She glared at him, water still dripping off her fur. “And I will end you.” He had no doubt that he would regret it if he opened his mouth.

“I’m so sorry, I should have realized.” Mary came back in with a towel and a water bowl floating besides her. She put the bowl down and gave the towel to Jenny who took it in her mouth and retreated to the guest room, closing the door behind her.

“Oh dear, I hope she isn’t mad at me.”

“Don’t worry about her. She only has a little wounded pride is all. Now, I believe you had some questions right?” Ethan sat down in a chair, opposite from her.

“Oh, yes. Umm… can you explain what a Pokémon is, if you don’t mind? You said that both of you were Pokémon, but you are so different.”

“We are both Pokémon, yes. But each of us is a different species of Pokémon. You see…”

Chapter 4

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 6

Zoey continued to hold Ethan as he cried. She remembered back to the time after he had saved her. He always looked so fine, like it never bothered him. He had always been strong for them, always been there for them when they needed it. He had done so much for them; it was her turn to be there for him now.

“Are you feeling better?” Zoey asked him when he eventually calmed down.

“Y-yes, a little… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, we all have our moments.” She smiled at him. “But this is still something you need to deal with.” Ethan tried to look away but Zoey used her paw to lift his chin and make him look directly at her. “You need to at least try… If you won’t speak to Officer Jenny about it and try to convince her properly that you did the right thing, then I will.” She needed Ethan to do this.

“…Not giving me a choice here, eh?” He let out a small laugh. “Alright, I will do it. But let me at least have a few hours’ time to get ready, and figure out what to say.” He really did not feel ready then and there, he needed the time.

“I think that’s fair,” Zoey smiled. “Are you going to call Chii back?” She asked. “I know you want to protect her from everything you can, but she really wanted to comfort you too, I think. She is almost too emotional for her own good.” Ethan knew she was right.

“Thank you… I really needed this.” He said before calling out to her. “Chii!” Mere seconds after he had yelled her name a pink fur ball slammed into his chest, and nuzzled herself as close as she could.

“Please don’t be sad.” Chii’s voice was muffled as her face was buried in Ethan’s chest fur. “I don’t like it when you cry.” She was shaking slightly as she spoke. Ethan felt bad as he held her, his episode must have really upset her.

“It’s alright, Chii, everything is okay now. I’m sorry you had to see that.” He waved Zoey in and hugged them both again. “I love you both.” They were his family after all. There was the possibility that his father made it to the new world too, of course, but the two of them never really spoke much anyway. At least not after Ethan became a criminal.

“I love you too.” Chii cheered happily as she had calmed down.

“Me as well.” Zoey added in happily. Though the love she felt for Ethan may have been a little different than what he felt for her. When she thought about it, he had never shown any romantic interest in anyone at all, and if he did, he had never talked to her about it. There was also the fact that he used to be a human. He was a Pokémon now but… Ethan had never seemed to disapprove of that sort of thing.

As she thought about it, she realized how little about Ethan she actually knew. He almost never talked about himself. She needed to figure out her feelings first and how to express them. This was the wrong time to do so anyhow.

Zoey glanced down at Chii. And she needed to make sure that she did not ruin everything. Chii had a knack for picking up on others feelings and Zoey was sure that she already knew about her crush on Ethan. Or maybe she could get Chii to help her out.

“What are we going to do now?” Chii chipped in, while they were hugging.

“Hmm… I don’t know.” Ethan said as he leaned back from the hug, letting Zoey and Chii go. “Do you have any suggestions Zoey?” He asked her.

“Well… you said you wanted to get more used to your body and learn some moves right? Why don’t we focus on that? It never hurts to be prepared after all.” she smiled sweetly at him.

“Yeah, that should give us something to do until Officer Jenny and Mary Care come back. I like it.” Ethan replied.’

“… I retract my earlier statement. I really don’t like this idea.” Ethan and Zoey stood facing each other a small distance apart. Zoey’s idea of training was pretty much real battle.

“Don’t be afraid, you should be much more durable now than when you were a human. Besides, learning with your body is the best and fastest way. Watch what I’m doing, and feel it when I hit you with it, then do it yourself. It was the same way my mother taught me.” Ethan wanted to say how much that explained about her, but he was afraid if he did then she would hit him. Scratch that, she would hit him anyway, but maybe if he kept his mouth shut then she would not hit him as hard.

“Can’t we just… I don’t know. Can’t I just watch how you do the moves and then try to do the same under your guidance?” He smiled hopefully.

“Well we could… but this is a much better method. Now, don’t try to dodge, see how I am doing the move and feel it with your body.” Zoey took a deep breath and dropped down onto all four of her legs.

“But I like dodging; I really like the sound of that.”

“No, now brace yourself. Quick Attack,” Zoey gave him a seconds warning before she began running at him. She suddenly began running much faster than normal; her body was almost giving off a slight glow. Ethan barely had time to blink before a purple and white blur slammed into his abdomen, throwing him to the ground from the impact.

“I thought you said that you would go easy on me.” Ethan complained as he held his stomach.

“I did go easy on you. Now you try.” She ordered Ethan as he stood back up, and dusted himself off. “Use the energy within yourselves and force your body to go past its own limitations. This should let you move much faster that you normally should. Now try!” Ethan understood the idea behind it, but understanding and doing is two different things.

Ethan began running at Zoey, faster and faster. He thought that he was moving pretty quickly, but it was not even close to the speed she had when she was using a Quick Attack. He braced himself for the impact, but Zoey easily hopped out of his path. As he was passing she gave him a hard smack just below his tail. She could enjoy herself during this training too after all.

“Oww, why did you hit me again?” Ethan complained as he rubbed the area in question.

“Because that was pitiful, did you not hear me? Use your energy to force yourself past your own limitations. Psyche yourself up if you need to, now again!” Zoey charged at Ethan with a Quick Attack once more. Ethan knew that she was coming; he tried to throw himself out of harm’s way, but it was futile. Zoey changed direction at the last moment and slammed into Ethan’s stomach once more.

“Y-you are…evil.” Ethan groaned out as he forced himself up.

“You were the one that wanted to do this, stop complaining. Now, do try it once more.” She commanded him.

By her orders, Ethan ran at her once more. He pumped his legs, forcing himself to go as fast as he could. But that was not good enough; she had said he needed go to past that point. He just had no idea on how to achieve that. Just like last time, Zoey avoided his attack at the last moment and slapped him under his tail as he passed her.

This continued for an hour, Zoey was enjoying herself immensely while Ethan was simply getting sore in certain places. He was lying on the ground after taking the last attack when he heard Chii speak up.

“Jenny, Mary!” He looked up to see that Chii was hopping happily around the two.

“We heard that something was going on in the park… I must say this is slightly amusing.” Officer Jenny grinned as she looked at the downed Ethan.

“Please help me. They are being cruel, even Chii won’t help me.” Ethan jokingly complained.

“… He sucks.” Chii’s words came down like a hammer upon Ethan. Why did she have to be so brutally honest?

“I… Um, what are you doing?” Mary asked as she trotted over to Ethan and helped him up.

“We were training a little. He wanted to see if he could use some moves, but I think we are done for now.” Zoey sighed out as she sent a glare at Officer Jenny. Ethan had ordered her not to harm her, but that did not mean that she had to like it.

“We were just training a little,” Ethan translated for Mary, since Zoey did not have the spell on her.

“It looked a little… rough.” Mary said as she looked Ethan over for injuries. But other than some small bruising and some dirt marks on his fur he was completely fine. Zoey had been going easy on him after all.

“No, no I’m fine.” Ethan reassured her. “We Pokémon are rather hardy creatures.” He said with a small laugh, he was hurting but there was no need to show it. “So, how did the relocating go? Any troubles on your trip?” He asked the two.

“Well… not really.” Mary Care started.

“Some ponies we passed got really nervous. I know they are new to Pokémon, but Lotads are some of the least threatening or scary Pokémon there is!” Officer Jenny sighed. She could not understand for her life how any person or pony with any amount of self-respect would be afraid of a Lotad. “So, you found another of your Pokémon?” She asked as she sized up Zoey.

“Ah, yes. This is Zoey… Do you think you could cast the translation spell on her Mary?” Ethan asked.

“Oh… I would love to, but I don’t think I have enough magic yet. I’m not that powerful a unicorn, I’m sorry…” Mary said as she hung her head. She was only a veterinarian after all, her specialty was in precision not power.

“No, no it’s no worry.” Ethan glanced over at Zoey who were having a staring contest with Officer Jenny. Neither of them was willing to back off from the contest of wills they were having. “She… why don’t you come say hello to Mary Care, Zoey!” Ethan pulled Zoey away from Jenny and over to Mary. “She helped us out when we got here; she even opened her home to us when we needed a place to stay.”

“… Thank you so much for helping them!” Zoey wrapped her arms around Mary and gave her a hug as she thanked her, much to Mary’s surprise.

“She can be a little… physical. She says thank you.” Ethan translated for her with a smile, as Zoey let go of Mary.

“It’s fine, she seems really nice.” Mary replied. “I really should get back to my clinic though… I’m already late enough as it is.” She really had a lot of paperwork backed up.

“Oh, I’m sorry for taking up your time then,” Ethan apologized, he was trying not to laugh as Chii seemed to have decided that Officer Jenny’s tails would be her new toys and was batting them around. Officer Jenny was doing a valiant attempt at dodging her but to no use; Chii had her right where she wanted.

“No… no, it’s alright. It was actually really interesting, Jenny told me even more about your world while we were walking.”

“I hate to ask more of you… but do you think maybe we could borrow your shower?” Ethan asked embarrassingly. “I got all this dirt in my fur while we were training and…” he let out a sigh.

“Sure!” Mary said with a smile. “I need to head to my clinic now, so just let yourselves in.” She handed a flabbergasted Ethan the key to her house.

“You… you are giving me the key to your house?” He asked surprised.

“Yes, I trust you after all. You seem like good ponies, Pokémon I mean.” She said with a smile as she corrected herself. “Just come over with the key after you are done. You can answer some more of my questions too when you come by, if you don’t mind.” She turned around. “You are all welcome to stop by too, of course.” She said to the others. “I’ll see you later.” she waved them all goodbye as she walked away from the park.

“She seems really kind hearted.” Zoey chipped in as they watched her leave.

“Maybe a little too kind...” Officer Jenny muttered, but not low enough that they did not hear it.

“And what is that supposed to mean!” Zoey said as she turned to Jenny and took a step towards her.

“I meant exactly what it sounded like. Or maybe you don’t know your trainer as well as you think you do.” Jenny spat back as she matched Zoeys advance.

“Oh you little…” Zoey was just about to unsheathe her claws, but Ethan stepped in between them.

“I thought I told you to behave, Zoey!” Ethan scolded her. “And I thought we had an agreement, or at least an understanding.” He went over and kneeled down to look into Officer Jennys eyes. “I behave… you behave.” Officer Jenny met his glance and held it for a few seconds, before looking away. She was a little ashamed at herself for not being able to keep her feelings under control, not that she would ever let Ethan know that, of course. She could not show any sign of weakness at all to them. “So are we good?” He asked as he stood back up and locked in between the two of them.

“…Yes.” Officer Jenny answered simply.

“Yes, I’m sorry.” Zoey answered. She knew that Ethan had said to her not to do anything to Officer Jenny. And since Ethan would attempt to set things right, it would certainly not help if she did things like this. But that did not mean that she could simply stand by and do nothing as someone insulted Ethan.

“Yeah, you should not fight…” Chii said as she hopped up on Zoey’s shoulder. “Officer Jenny is nice, you just need to get to know her.” she smiled and nuzzled against Zoey’s cheek.

“I’ll take your word for it.” Zoey nuzzled her back, looking over at Officer Jenny who had already begun walking out of the park.

“She just needs a friend.” Chii said as she hopped down and ran over to cheer up Officer Jenny as well.

“… Chii is insightful, you know.” Ethan said as Zoey looked after Chii and Jenny. “And quite possibly right about Jenny. She is still alone.” Ethan told her, remembering what Chii had told him when they were looking for Zoey. “It’s her job to hate me. She needs someone to be kind to her, give her some slack. At least until I have a chance to talk to her about… everything. Can you do that for me?” Zoey wanted to be angry with Ethan. He should hate that woman; she wanted to take him away. She wanted to take him away from her, from Chii, from family. But he only stood there with a big smile on his face. He was troubled because of the situation, because of what may happen because of Officer Jenny. But he still had no ill feelings towards her at all.

“…Okay,” she said with a smile matching his. It was silly of her to think that he would hate someone in the first place. “I still have to protect you though,” she said with a pout as the two of them began walking after Chii and Jenny.

“I thought that was my job.” Ethan said with a laugh. “… I’m happy I can always count on you.”

“Always,” Zoey answered happily as they walked to catch up to Officer Jenny and Chii.

The village was getting busier as they walked through it, a lot of ponies were out in the streets, and Ethan could see several pegasi in the sky, pushing clouds around. They caught up with Jenny and Chii in front of Mary’s house. Chii was sitting on Jenny’s back and both of them were looking much happier than when they left. Whatever Chii had done of said to her, it must have worked.

Neither of them said a word as they entered the house. Ethan did not want to ruin Jenny’s good mood by commenting on it or saying something by accident that would tick her off.

“You want to take a shower too, Chii?” Ethan asked after they had entered.

“Nah I’m good!” She smiled. She really looked fine, both her and Jenny’s fur were in perfect condition. It seemed like it was only Ethan and Zoey that needed it.

“Well you take care of Jenny here then.” Ethan told her. Chii smiled and nodded in confirmation. “I think it was upstairs… you coming Zoey?” he asked as he climbed the stairs, Zoey following close after.

The two of them entered the bathroom and closed the door behind them. They weren’t going to shower together, but Ethan needed to do a check up on her since she had been in a battle.

“Alright, take off your sweater.” He told her.

Zoey gripped the edges of her purple sweater and lifted it off to reveal what was underneath. Most of the fur around her chest area was gone, replaced by scar tissue. This was the reason Zoey wore her sweater; she was beyond embarrassed about her looks. Ethan and Vernus were two of the few that had seen her without her sweater on, at least willingly.

“You are sure that you are not feeling any discomfort after the battle you had with the Whiscash?” he asked her, as he traced his paw down some of the skin that was slightly discolored from the rest. It had lost its normal color and had taken a more grey hue instead. As far as he could see, it looked like it used to.

“No, I’m fine.” She reassured him. “If I weren’t then I would not have agreed to our little training session.” She had a point.

“I know, I just have to make sure. I’m sorry,” He told her as he stood back up. There had been no further damage and everything looked good, relatively speaking. “I care about you, so I have to make sure you are alright.” He smiled as he picked up her sweater.

“T-thanks,” Zoey replied as she fidgeted with her paws.

“I think I saw some sewing equipment downstairs, you take a shower and I’ll repair your sweater in the meantime. Enjoy yourself!” He gave her a big smile as he left and bathroom and walked back downstairs where Chii was playing with Officer Jenny’s tails. She was raising them and waving them around as Chii chased them, both of them unaware that Ethan was watching them.

“Having fun?” Ethan asked with a small grin, catching Officer Jenny by surprise, making her turn to him with an embarrassed look on her face.

“Yeah, we have been playing!” Chii said happily as she finally caught one of Jenny’s tails.

“She is a nice girl… reminds me about my Growlithe when he was but a pup,” Officer Jenny said as she looked back to Chii with a small smile on her face.

“Good to see that you are getting along,” Ethan smiled as he picked up the sewing kit that laid on the shelf where he had seen it earlier that morning.

“So, what are you up to?” Jenny asked him with a raised eyebrow as she watched him.

“I’m repairing Zoey’s sweater. It got a little banged up so I need to patch the holes.” Ethan answered as he got out the needle and thread he needed.

“… You can sew?” Jenny asked him surprised.

“…Yes I can sew. I will have you know, that I made this sweater in the first place.” Ethan huffed as he got to work. He tried to ignore the look he was getting from Officer Jenny though. “What?” he asked her.

“Nothing….”

Ignoring her Ethan continued. “Ow…ow… damn it.” He muttered under his breath as he kept stinging himself on the needle.

“I thought you said you know how to do that?” Jenny asked him, a smug grin visible on her face.

“I do… it’s just that these paws are a little different from my hands…” He still had fingers, so they were similar in some sense, but they were still different enough that he had some minor trouble.

“You know… if this keeps up, that sweater is going to be more red than purple,” Jenny teased him as she watched.

“I know what I’m doing!” He just had to get used to making the finer, smaller movements with his new fingers.

“… Why would a Zangoose wear a sweater anyway?” Jenny commented.

“We used to wear clothes. Why can’t she if she wants to?” Ethan replied. He was beginning to get the hang of it and was making good progress.

“Hmm I guess.” Ethan really was a bad liar. Officer Jenny could easily tell when he was hiding something; it was her job to tell when criminals were lying after all.

“…And done!” Ethan grinned when he finally finished patching up all the tears. He glanced over to Officer Jenny; she was certainly being friendlier towards him than at the beginning. Or maybe less hostile or neutral would be more correct. He still needed to figure out how to explain what he had done to her. Or rather how was he going to convince her that he had done the right things when he was not even completely sure on that himself?

Ethan got up and headed towards the stairs. He needed to bring the finished sweater up to Zoey, and maybe he could think better with some warm water pouring down over his head.

“Zoey! I finished your sweater,” Ethan called out to her as he knocked on the door. He could no longer hear the water running so he assumed that she was finished.

“Oh, thank you.” He could hear her answer from the inside as the door was unlocked and she opened it. She had a towel wrapped around her midsection and small amount of steam was rising from her fur; which was really unruly from her drying herself.

“Looks like you need this too,” He let out a small laugh as he handed her his hairbrush.

“Well I’d like to see you keep your fur in perfect condition right after you are done,” she said with a pout as she grabbed the two items and went downstairs.

Ethan sighed happily as he stepped into the room, locking the door behind himself. He almost shuddered in delight when he turned on the warm water from the shower, he had missed the feeling. His old secret base did have a poor excuse for a shower, but not any hot water. His long ears became heavy as the fur on them absorbed some of the water. Ethan let himself slide down the wall of the shower into a sitting position. He finally had some time alone to think.

Zoey was right; even though he deserved to go to jail, he could not just abandon her or Chii. Zoey could manage on her own, but Chii… He still had a job to do, a responsibility to her. He entertained the thought of convincing Jenny to go see Arceus with him, to let him decide his fate. But he was not sure he could do that, he was afraid. A murderer like him would most likely be smitten immediately; he was still convinced that Arceus must have made some kind of mistake bringing him to this world. If only since he still had to take care of Chii and Zoey.

He closed his eyes as the water continued to run down across his face. His first instinct was to run; it was what he had always done. It would be so easy to do, but he could not. He had to stop being so selfish, he lived for them. And it was time to face his problems.

But it was easier said than done. He was not a brave person, never been. He always had someone else he could rely on. Vernus had always been at his side, ever since the beginning. And then there was Brawly…

Ethan wondered if his childhood friend had made it to this world too. He had to have; Brawly was a good person after all, a bit stubborn at times, but a good person.

Ethan’s train of thought was interrupted by a loud knock on the bathroom door.

“Ethan? Are you okay? You have been in there really long!” He heard Zoey shout out to him. He had completely lost track of time it seemed.

“Yes, I’m fine!” he shouted back. “Just finishing up now!”

He turned off the water and exited the shower, steam filling the room and water dripping off his fur. When he grabbed a towel and started drying himself off, he found out that Zoey had been right. It was impossible to get his fur to look good right after having taken a shower. He had trouble just drying himself, the water just seemed so incredibly insistent on remaining in his fur. Admitting his defeat he dried himself as best as he could and wrapped the towel around himself.

When he got down, he saw that Chii had left Jenny and decided to spend time with Zoey instead. She was watching with jealousy as Zoey brushed her fur, the longing look in Chii’s eyes was a dead giveaway at what she wanted.

“Well look who brushed up nicely.” Ethan said, alerting the others to his presence as he walked over to the two.

“Thanks,” Zoey smiled as she continued.

“She won’t brush me next…” Chii complained with a small pout.

“Your fur is already fine, you don’t need it.” Zoey retorted. Chii knew that she did not need it, but that did not mean that she had to like it.

Ethan leaned close to Zoey. “Can you take Chii into another room? I’m going to talk to Jenny,” he whispered to her. There was no need for him to wait any longer; he was as ready as he was ever going to be.

Zoey did not say anything; she just looked at Ethan and nodded. “Come along Chii,” she said as she picked up her little companion and walked out of the room, despite Chii’s complains.

“You are up to something!” It was not a question, but rather a statement. Officer Jenny was watching Ethan carefully as he walked over and sat down in a chair opposite from her.

“I am, yeah.” He confirmed. He braced himself as he looked her in her eyes. “I need to talk to you.”

“… What about?” Officer Jenny was intrigued. She had thought that she had figured out what sort of person Ethan was. But he was not someone that would confront her alone like he was now.

“Its about Tarjei Elsioth!” The look in Officer Jenny’s face slowly changed from intrigued to anger.

“And what exactly do you hope to accomplish by talking about him!” he spat at him. He had already tried something like this when they first met in this world, she shot him down then and she would shoot him down now.

“…I don’t know.” Ethan sighed out. “I hope that if I tell you everything as it happened your view of me might change, that you might make different choices. Not everything is black and white, you know.”

“… Alright, I will listen.” She said, much to Ethan’s relief. “On one condition,” she got up and walked over to the door leading out of the room. “If you are going to confess, then I will not be the only one listening… no, Mary Care. You will tell both her and me what you have to say. That way, I get something out of this little stunt of your’s as well. If your goal was to convince me, then you should have no trouble convincing her too, right?” Jenny spoke with a grin. “She is at her clinic now, right? I’ll be waiting.” And with that she walked out, leaving a speechless Ethan alone in the room. He could hear her leave the house and close the door behind her. That was not how it was supposed to go at all.

How was he supposed to tell Mary Care that he was a killer? She had been so kind to all of them. Maybe running away was still an option. All he would have to do was…

Ethan stood up and ran out of the house after her. He could see Officer Jenny slowly walking towards Mary’s clinic in the distance. If things did not go his way then Officer Jenny would win. All she needed was one more person or in this case Pony, that knew his story. He knew what he had to do.

With a new plan in mind Ethan ran after Jenny. It may go badly for him, but he had a good plan for what he was going to do. Officer Jenny was a good person, she believed in justice above all else. Hopefully he could use that…

Chapter 8

“Kiss him!” Chii exclaimed as she was jumping around Zoey. The two of them were waiting in Mary’s kitchen after Ethan had sent them out to have the talk with Officer Jenny.

“It’s not that simple!” Zoey retorted as she threw her arms in the air. Chii had apparently picked up on her affection for Ethan and was now incredibly insistent that she should confess her love to Ethan.

“But it is! You just go up to him, say that you like him and then you kiss him, it’s perfect.” And in Chii's mind it was, she was still young and did not understand why Zoey had to make it so complicated. She loved Ethan, and Ethan cared for her; she did not see what the big problem was. That and she really wanted to see the two of them together, as the idea of the two of them kissing was so cute that it made her squee in joy.

“I… you are hopeless,” Zoey sighed out defeated. “I… I do love him, yes. But he is my trainer… and a former human!” She told Chii, to her that explained things. It was not unheard of that a human and a Pokémon could have a romantic relationship, but it was still rare and not everyone accepted those kind of things. The fact that she did not know what view Ethan had on that, made her even more nervous. He had never talked about that kind of things, and even if he was a Pokémon now, he still had the mind of a human. She needed to figure out his thoughts on those kind of things before she could do anything else.

“…I’ll tell him for you!” Chii cheered with a big grin and ran towards the room where Ethan and Jenny was, much to Zoey's terror.

“No Chii, get back here this instant!” Zoey yelled as she set after the little Chii. It would ruin everything if she just blurted it out like she was planning to do. Though a small part of her wanted Chii to tell him, while at the same time hoping that Ethan felt the same about her. It would have made everything so much simpler. But she could not risk it. “I swear…” Her words died as Chii had stopped in the room where Ethan was supposed to be in, only that it was now completely empty.

“Is he gone?” Chii asked as she turned around to look up at Zoey with her adorable eyes. Neither of them had heard that Ethan or Jenny had left. They had been too occupied with their argument.

“I think so… he just needed to take care of some business, I'm sure.” Zoey reassured Chii with a smile. The little Skitty was still extremely dependent on the two of them. “Why don’t we go outside while we wait for him?” she asked.

“Okay! I hope he is okay… he was sad earlier, and he looked a little nervous.” Chii said, to Zoey's surprise. She knew that what Chii said was true of course, but she thought that Ethan had done a good job hiding his nervous feelings from Chii. He never wanted to worry her, but Chii was an extremely observant girl, even if she did not always show it.

“That’s the spirit… And if you want, you can help me, plan my confession for Ethan?” Zoey said in an attempt to cheer Chii up. Maybe the little, furry ball of joy could help her after all.

“Yes!” Chii yelled in joy. But then she remembered something. “Did he not already say that he loved you?” She questioned with a tilt of her head, she remembered that Ethan had said that earlier the same day.

“Yes he did,” Zoey said as she picked up her friend and walked outside. “But there is a difference between love… and love.” She said, much to Chii's confusion.

“Oh… but since he really cares about you, I’m sure it will turn out alright.” She smiled and nuzzled Zoey. “He would never do anything to hurt you.” Zoey knew that she was right, Ethan would never do anything to hurt her. Not on purpose anyway. “What do you think about Ethan being a Lopunny?” Chii caught Zoey slightly off guard with the sudden question.

“I…” He cheeks turned a slight red color as she blushed. She had a crush on Ethan even before he was turned into a Lopunny, but she had to admit, that he was really something to look at with his new appearance. “I think he looks good.” She said as she looked away.

Chii just smiled innocently from her answer. The streets around them was teeming with ponies. A lot of them were out taking care of the shopping for that day, and the weather patrol was finishing up their work. They had been having some slight troubles caused by some Swablus who had been confused with clouds, but the matter had been handled well, and was taken care of quickly. Zoey overheard some ponies talking about exactly that as Chii and her were walking past them. It was not a strange mishap, but what was interesting to hear, that the the Swablus was able to walk and rest on the clouds of this world as well. She had not seen any bird pokemon in the sky since that morning though, she simply guessed that they had been decided to leave the town for the moment, persuaded or otherwise.

“How was Sax though?” Chii asked, she was sitting on Zoey's shoulder and was constantly observing their surroundings. “You said that he wanted to see Lord Arceus, but… does that mean that he did not want to find us?” She asked, her ears dropping slightly along with her cheerful mood.

“No, of course not, Chii!” Zoey reassured her. Zoey had woken up alongside Sax and had traveled with him for the first day. He had been the one to send her in the direction of the town, saying that she would find Ethan if she traveled that way. She had no idea how he knew, but she was thankful to him for that, and she respected his wishes of wanting to see Lord Arceus. Zoey did not think that one needed a reason to see a god, but she could not help but wonder what exactly Sax had planned. He promised to meet up with them at a later date anyhow. “He just needed to as Lord Arceus about something important, I’m sure that we will see him again soon enough.” She said with a smile.

“What about Vernus though…?” The small cat pokemon asked. “I miss uncle Vernus.” Zoey agreed with her, she missed everyone else too. Vernus always been there, just like Ethan had. He was Ethan’s oldest friend after all. That was also why she thought that Chii had taken to calling him “uncle”. Vernus never made a big deal out of it, but it obviously meant a lot to Chii. Zoey knew that Ethan wanted Chii to get well enough to be adopted by a good family, or by a good trainer, but she did not want her little ball of joy to leave. As far as Zoey considered, Chii was already a part of the family.

“We will find everyone, you know that Ethan will make it happen, he always comes through for us.” Zoey reassured Chii again and patted her back softly, since her mood had dropped. Chii had been slightly prone to sudden mood changes, and Zoey knew the signs well enough to pick up on it, Ethan had teached her thoroughly on the matter after all. “Everything will be alright.”

Chii did not say anything, she just buried her little face into Zoey’s fur, as she struggled to keep her tears back. Zoey continued to stroke her back, trying to soothe her little friend. “P-please don’t leave me again,” Chii choked out as she held tightly onto Zoey. “Please…” Her whole body was shivering.

“No one is going to leave you, Chii… I promise.” Zoey spoke softly as she held Chii tight, she really had to convince Ethan to let her stay for good. She did not care if he thought it would be for the best if she found a new family, he was wrong.

Zoey continued walking as she comforted her small friend. She was a little surprised that more Pokémon had not found their way into the town by now. There were the occasional bird Pokémon, and a few bug Pokémon that had taken residence in the park. Perhaps they were just being a little more cautious than she had been; she could not blame them. Zoey was brought out of her thought as a pegasus came down from the sky and landed a small distance from her. He did not look familiar to her, but he smiled as soon as he laid eyes on them and trotted towards the two of them.

“Hello there,” The Pegasus said with a cheery smile, catching Chii's attention. “I thought you looked familiar, I think I saw you at Mary's house this morning. I’m sorry I did not introduce myself then, name’s Zephyr.” He gave them a nod.

“I… I remember you.” Chii said, she had wiped her tears and managed to calm down again.

“Well I sure hope so, I would be offended if you had forgotten about poor me in such a short time.” Zephyr brought his hoof to his forehead and faked a swoon, making both Zoey and Chii giggle.

“He seems okay!” Zoey commented as she whispered to Chii. “It’s nice to meet you as well.” She told Zephyr, she had not gotten the translation spell yet though, so what Zephyr heard was “Zang, zang Zangoose!”

“She said that it’s nice to meet you!” Chii cheered as she translated for her friend.

“Oh, haven’t gotten a translation spell yet eh? Well I was supposed to have lunch… I don’t suppose the two of you want to join me?” He asked the two of them.

“Well… I don’t know. I think we should find out where Ethan has disappeared off to first…” Zoey began, both Ethan and Jenny had disappeared after all. Considering what they were discussing she just hoped that nothing bad had happened.

“We would love to!” Chii cheered to Zoey's surprise and annoyance.

“I really don’t know if now is the best time…” She halted as she saw how Chii was looking at her. She could not for the life of her fathom how Ethan managed to say no to a face that cute.

“It doesn't sound like your friend agrees with you…” Zephyr commented. He could not understand her words, but Zoey's facial expression and tone of voice spoke for itself.

“Fine…” Zoey gave in with a sigh. She rarely managed to tell Chii no, and Ethan had said that she should give the locals a chance anyway, maybe it would be a good chance to do so.

“She changed her mind!” Chii said as she turned back to Zephyr. She was wearing a smile because of her minor victory.

“Well I’m glad that you decided to do so! Come along, I know just the place.” Zephyr smiled as he took the lead, Zoey and Chii following just behind him.

“We are so talking about this later,” Zoey whispered to Chii, who only gave an innocent grin in response.

“Okaay!” She responded in a singsong voice.

Zephyr led the two of them into a park that they had already made themselves familiar with. There were quite a few ponies out and either playing or simply relaxing on the benches. There was a gentle breeze blowing through the trees, shaking their leaves and creating some calming background noise. Zephyr stopped and sat down under a large willow tree, its branches and leaves mostly blocked out the sun, only allowing a few streaks of light to pass through.

“It’s beautifull!” Chii cheered as she started jumping around the tree happily.

“I’m glad you think so,” Zephyr smiled. “Its a nice and quiet spot, I usually take my breaks here.” He sat back with his head leaning against the tree. “I meant to talk to some of you earlier… I have just been so busy.” Zephyr let out a sigh.”You Pokémon are the biggest news that’s happened around here in a while after all.” He used his wing to bring a small box up from inside his saddlebags, opening it up he revealed that it was filled with grapes and other kinds of fruits. “You want some?” He offered it to Zoey who shook her head, she was still full from earlier. Chii on the other hand, accepted his offer, taking a single grape before sitting down eating it happily.

He seemed nice enough, at least he was polite to them. And she was happy since it seemed that Chii had gotten a taste for some of the local food. A single grape was not much, but she was eating voluntary, that alone was a good sign.

“So what do you do?” Chii asked curiously as she had finished her grape. .

“I'm a part of the weather team here,” Zephyr used a hoof to point to the sky above them. “Im one of the ones you see pushing clouds around.”

“So you are the one that makes the weather pretty?”

“Indeed I am,” Zephyr answered with a laugh.

“Did you have to scare the Swablus away though?” Chii asked him as she nudged his leg, she had not seen any of the bird Pokémon in the sky for a while after all.

“Swablus?” Zephyr asked as he scratched his head, he was not familiar with the names of the Pokémon after all.

Zoey nodded and used one of her claws to draw him an outline of what a Swablu looked like. Once she was done, Zephyr nodded in confirmation.

“Those cloud birds, yeah… They were resting on the clouds that we needed to move and sort of… got in the way for our work.” He smiled sheepishly as he saw the glare Chii was sending him. “Hey, we did not do anything to them… we just had two of our weather team lead them away until we could finish our work. Personally I did not mind them, but their wings looked exactly like the clouds so it made for some… misunderstandings.” He winced as he thought back to when he had bucked one of them by accident, mistaking it for a cloud. The poor thing was angry with him, but it not look hurt. “They should have been back by now though…” Zephyr mused, the two pegasi they had sent to keep the Swablus away had been gone for quite a while by that point. But he just assumed that they had gotten lost or were taking their sweet time.

“Oh…” Chii sighed sadly, she really liked playing with Swablus. Ethan had been taking care of a few of them in the past and they were always a lot of fun to her.

“Chii, ask him if he has seen Ethan anywhere,” Chii did as Zoey asked and translated for her. Zoey thought that since Zephyr was flying around that there was a chance that me might have spotted their trainer.

“Ethan… oh you mean that bunny right? Yeah I think I spotted her walking with the red fox towards Mary’s clinic.” Chii furrowed her brows as she huffed at Zephyr.

“Ethan is a boy… not a girl,” she was supposed to be slightly mad and annoyed at him, but she only managed to come off as cute.

“Are you sure?” Zephyr asked as he thought back. “He looked so feminine though…” Chii huffed again and hit him with her tail. “Okay, okay I’m sorry,” Zephyr said jokingly with a large grin.

Zoey had picked up Chii before she could continue with her adorable assault. She had to agree that Ethan could act pretty feminine at times. But he had seen Ethan, that was good news. Zoey stood up, still holding Chii in her arms and smiled at Zephyr. “Thank you,” she told him. “We are going to go find Ethan now,” She told Chii who nodded in response.

“Bye, Zephyr!” Chii waved back as Zoey began walking away, from the surprised Pegasus.

“Leaving already… well I’ll talk to the two of you later,” he used his wing to wave back as they left him behind. It had turned out well, but Zoey could not help but wonder why Chii had wanted to spend time with that pegasus in the first place. In the end, she decided that she did not care, Chii`s mood had improved and that was the important thing.

The two of them made their way out of the park and back through the town towards Mary`s clinic. Ethan had promised to talk to Officer Jenny so Zoey wondered what had happened. Ethan was a man of his word, after all, and he would not leave the two of them without a good reason…

“There, I can see it!” Chii brought Zoey out of her thoughts as she was pointing to the clinic. Just as Chii said it, the door opened and Officer Jenny walked out. She was alone, and she was looking a little tense, more so than usual at least.

“Why don't you run in and, say, meet up with Ethan?” Zoey suggested. “I just have to talk to Jenny about a thing or two.” Chii nodded happily before she jumped down and ran towards the entrance, only giving Officer Jenny a brief “hello” as she passed. Zoey wanted to have a personal talk with Jenny, despite what Ethan had told her. “Hey!” She shouted as she walked towards Jenny, who turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah?” She was slightly on guard because of Zoeys tone of voice, that and the fact that she was still unsure about what to do after hearing Ethans story did not help.

“What were you doing in there?” Zoey asked as she continued her advance.

“...” Officer Jenny bit her lip as she thought about what she should say. It could possible be a problem with how aggressive Zoey was being, but she was no liar. She had always faced the truth head on. “I think you already know why I was there… Ethan told us his story and tried to convince me.” She put emphasis on “tried” since she was still unsure about what to do. Ethan was still a criminal in the end, no matter his reason.

“And?” Zoey asked while she narrowed her eyes. She did not like the tone Officer Jenny was using.

“And I still remain unconvinced,” Jenny huffed. She knew that saying it would most likely bring her trouble, Zoey practically oozed of aggression towards her. But she would deal with the truth.

Zoey’s eyes flared with anger and she had to restrain herself from unsheathing her claws. She had promised Ethan not to do anything to her, she kept silently repeating to herself. But since she refused to see reason, she had to do something.

She grabbed Jenny by the neck ignoring her protests and quickly brought her with into the bushes and trees behind Mary’s clinic. The small Vulpix being easy to carry for a larger Zangoose such as her, no matter how much she tried to struggle.

“What are you doing!? Let me go!” Jenny continued to protest as she felt the leaves and twigs from the nearby bushes pull her fur when they passed too close to them. She felt herself charge up like the did when she first met Ethan, she felt her inner fire burn and was about to unleash an Ember on Zoey. But Zoey saw it coming and stopped her by slamming her into a tree, making the fire die in her throat.

“You and I are going to have a little girl on girl talk!” Zoey growled, leaning in close as she held Jenny against the tree. “Ethan is a kind soul… he told me not to do anything to you no matter what happened, no matter what you would do to him. But I can't just stand by and let someone like you send the one that saved my life to jail!” Zoey yelled at Jenny with conflicted feelings. She was going against Ethan’s wishes, but sometimes he could be too kind for his own good.

“He is a murderer…” Jenny managed to spit out, it felt like she was going to be crushed and no matter how much she tried to struggle it mattered little. “Besides… how am I supposed to trust his word? He is a criminal, it would not be too far fetched for him to make it up to try to convince me,” Jenny said as Zoey relaxed her grip slightly, allowing her to breathe more easily. She was honestly a little frightened. She knew how some Pokémon could act when their trainer were threatened.

“Make it up…” Zoey was shaking in anger from Jenny’s statement. She had been there, she had lived that story. She dropped Jenny to the ground, she knew that she was not thinking clearly at that point, but she was just so angry. “That was my life that you are accusing him of lying about!” She roared at Jenny, her claws fully extended. She was so close, one quick swipe and their problems would be over.

But she halted when she looked into Officer Jenny's eyes. If she was scared then she was hiding it well behind her mask of stone. But she recognized those eyes, she had seen them so many times before in that ring. She was better than that, she was not that Zangoose anymore. Instead she sheathed her claws and reached down to the bottom of her sweater. She hesitated for a moment, it was a part of her past that she would rather forget.

“Does this look like a lie?” She asked her voice calm again, as she pulled the sweater off revealing the scars and discolored skin underneath.

Officer Jenny had to resist gaping once she saw what had been hiding underneath Zoey’s sweater. She had seen a lot of things in her days as a cop… but that was some of the worst scarring she had seen. On several places it seemed like the skin was overlapping and the color itself… a civilian might have been sick from the sight alone.

“I…” Jenny had no words. Not only the scarring, but also the look on Zoey’s face. She was trembling slightly as she stood there, it was obvious that she was more than a little uncomfortable. “Put your sweater back on,” She finally said as she looked away.

“Ethan was telling the truth! He saved my life. He did not mean to kill that guy, but he deserved to die! He was going to kill me, and he had already killed others… the world was a better place without him.” Zoey told her, and from what Jenny could see she had a hard time denying that what Zoey said was true. She opened her mouth and was about to speak as a something cut her off.

“H-help….” Both of them turned their head towards the voice, it was high pitched and sounded weak. But more importantly it came from the other side of the tree near them. Jenny quickly ran to the other side of the tree to investigate while Zoey put her sweater back on.

There on the ground behind the tree, Jenny discovered a Swablu. It looked a little beat up, but more importantly, its normal white cloud like wings were missing, shaven off by the look of it. Zoey gasped as she too came around to see what had made the noise.

“...” The little Swablu tried to speak again, as Jenny and Zoey rushed over to it, but it had used up all its strength and collapsed instead.

“Poor little thing... we should get her to Ethan,” Zoey said.

“...Right,” Jenny knew that she was right. Having investigated Ethan, she knew his background and his education made him the one best qualified to deal with something like this. “You pick him up,” from the marks on the ground, it seemed like the little thing had dragged itself to where it was.

“Right,” Zoey gently brought the injured Swablu into her grasp. “Just so you know, we are not done talking!” She huffed as she sent Jenny a look.

“I know… but we have something else that takes priority now!” Jenny retorted, she was pretty sure that she had her answer at that point anyhow.

With the injured Swablu in Zoey’s arms, she and Jenny made haste back to Mary's clinic.

Chapter 9

The clinic had been quiet when Jenny and Zoey came in with the injured Swablu, but that quickly changed when Ethan took control of the situation.

“I need some bandages!” Mary ran around the clinic to get Ethan what he needed; she was the veterinarian but Ethan obviously had more experience with Pokémon. She happily observed and took the chance to learn all that she could though.

“Where did you say that you found her?” Ethan asked, as he bandaged the side of the Swablu. He had applied some ointment that Mary had to lessen the bruising before bandaging. He would give a lot for a couple of Potions but he would have to make due with what they had.

“Just around the back,” Jenny answered. She knew that Ethan had some medical training, but it was strange for her to experience how he took control of the situation once they came in. Even she did not hesitate when he asked her to do something. “It seemed like she had crawled quite the distance based on her wounds.” What she said was true, the bruising and scraping was worse on the underside.

“...How is she?” Chii asked with a sad voice. She had been watching quietly with Zoey since they came in. She had always liked to play with Swablus and it saddened her greatly to see it hurt. “Is she going to be okay?” Chii asked as she looked up to Zoey with teary eyes.

“Of course she is going to be alright, Ethan is taking care of her.” Zoey reassured Chii with a kind smile. She knew that the Swablu was in good hands, as she had seen Ethan handle all kinds of Pokémon with all sorts of injuries. “Right?” She asked as she looked back up to Ethan–he had been quiet other than when he had asked them to bring him something.

“I believe she is going to be fine, yes,” He told them. “The worst part is her wings… They are going to need some time to regrow…” It was not something another Pokémon would do either, no, the cutting marks on her wings showed some shabby work. If they were in the old world, this was something he would pin on humans… but they weren't, they were in Equestria now. There were still former humans around, of course, but Arceus had said that he had only taken those worthy and good… which left the ponies. It was a possibility that he did not want to consider but it was the one that made the most sense, and he was pretty sure that Jenny would agree with him.

“They are able to regrow the tuft on its wings?” Mary asked curiously. A lot of birds were capable of regrowing some parts of their feathers, but usually not their primaries.

“Oh yeah, it may take a while depending on its condition but it will be fine in the end,” Ethan told her. “Is that not normal here?”

“Well… not for every creature. Some maybe, but not all… How about limbs, would they grow back too?” Mary inquired.

“On some Pokémon maybe… but most would not, not without outside medical help of course,” he was going to continue but was interrupted as Chii jumped up onto him and climbed up to her perch on top of his head.

“She is waking up!” She cheered happily, seeing as the Swablu had begun moving slightly.

Everyone and everypony in the room kept their eyes locked on the Swablu as she stirred. A pained whimper came as she tried to move, so instead she slowly opened her eyes to see the gathering of Pokémon and Mary in the room.

“Hello there, little one,” Ethan was the first to speak up, he had moved over to the bench where she was laying and had knelt down to be on her height. “How are you feeling?” He asked, seeing the Swablu eye everyone carefully.

“It… it hurts,” she said with a quiet voice. Her wings kept twitching as she tried to move them. “W-who are you?” She asked as she looked up to Ethan.

“I’m Ethan, this is Zoey, Mary, Officer Jenny, and Chii.” Ethan introduced them all while pointing a hand at the Pokémon or pony in question. “You are in a safe place, so don’t worry.”

“Yeah, we are going to help you,” Chii said as she jumped down to the Swablu’s side. She made her squeak in surprise by the sudden move, but visibly calmed down as Chii carefully nuzzled against her.

“What happened to you?” Officer Jenny asked as she stepped forward, she had also noticed the looks the Swablu kept sending Mary Care.

“I…” She shivered for a moment. “I'm not entirely sure. I was knocked out… and when I woke up… my wings were like this,” She sniffed and tears appeared in her eyes. Her sadness only made Chii nuzzle her again in an attempt to comfort her. “There were some weird Ponytas there when I woke up…”

“Ponies,” Jenny muttered under her breath.

“I heard them talking about how much money they were going to get by selling us…” Tears were dripping down onto the towel she was laying on. “There were other Pokémon there too… Chained up or in cages. Why would they do something like that?” She cried. She was openly sobbing at that point.

“It’s alright… you're safe now,” Ethan told her has he gently put a hand on her back. He and Chii stayed close to her as they let her get her feelings out.

“What did she say?” Mary asked Jenny, She had been watching the whole time but seeing as she only heard one part of the conversation she was a bit left out.

“It seems that some ponies did it to her,” Jenny said with a sigh, making Mary gasp in return. Jenny wanted to ask how she managed to escape or more importantly, where she escaped from. But she held herself back for now, pushing the poor little thing in the state that she was in would not help anyone. “Luckily she managed to escape… but she said that there were more like her.”

“T-that’s horrible,” Mare Care exclaimed as she looked over to the Swablu. “That some ponies would do something that horrible…” she had seen a lot of cases of animal abuse, working as a veterinarian. But to think that some ponies could do something like that to another intelligent being was a completely different matter. She wanted to believe in the good that existed in Ponies… but she knew that not everypony was like that.

“There will always be pe-ponies that will do anything for self benefit,” Jenny said to her. “Scum like them needs to be locked away.” She could feel the passion of her profession return back to her. She lived for catching and apprehending criminals, now she would hopefully have the opportunity to do that once more.

“I agree,” Ethan chipped in. He had left the Swablu’s side, letting her get a moment to herself. “Both of us want to see these ponies caught…” He held out a paw towards Officer Jenny. “So, truce for now?”

Jenny looked at the outstretched paw and back up to Ethan. She already had her answer, but this could be a good situation for her to see Ethan in action and get to know him better, he did not need to know anything at that moment. “Truce!” She agreed as she lifted her paw to meet his and shook on it.

“Good, I’m glad we see eye to eye about this.” Ethan said with a broad smile. “Now we only need to ask her about where she was taken…” Ethan glanced over to the Swablu again. “Do you want to question her?” He asked Jenny. She was the one that had found her after all, so maybe the Swablu would open up a little easier to her.

“...Very well,” Jenny nodded and slowly walked over to the patient in question. She was usually brash and maybe a little threatening, but that did not mean that she had to be. She had experience in talking with witnesses after all, and a lot of times that required her to be a little more sensitive. “Hello there, little one,” she said kindly as she sat down next to the Swablu. “Are you feeling a little better?”

“Mmhh,” The Swably answered with a nod.

“That’s good, now, do you think you can tell us about how you escaped?” Jenny asked. If they were going to attempt to catch those ponies and free the other Pokémon too, then they would need all the information they could get.

“I… o-okay,” She nodded. “I woke up like this as I said. There were a lot of other Pokémon in the room with me too, all of them in cages or chained up… I was lying in a cage, I don't think the two weird Ponytas had seen me yet or knew that I was awake. They were too preoccupied with what they were doing…” She stopped for a moment, seemingly holding back more tears.

“And what were they doing?” Jenny asked in a calm tone.

“They… they were clipping the wings of a Taillow… I could hear how he screamed in pain, begging them to stop, but they simply ignored him,” she was shaking again. “There was a Seedot in the cage beside me… he said that he would get me out, that I should run to get help,” her tears started running down her small cheeks. “He started glowing very brightly and… he used Explosion.” She took a pause to gather herself, Jenny wiping her tears away for her. “He was close so it hurt a lot… but it also got the cage open. The whole room was filled with dust from the blast. I knew that I should have stayed and tried to help more of them, but I was so scared so I tried to run, but my legs hurt too much so I dragged myself out of there.” Chii had hopped up again and nuzzled herself close to the Swablu, wrapping her tail around her.

“It’s alright…” Jenny told her. “You did the best thing you could have done, you sought out help.” She offered her a comforting smile. “We will save the rest of them.”

“T-thank you.” the Swablu cried.

“Did you have to travel far before you found us?” She had to ask. It had to be some distance away, if they did not hear the explosion.

“Y-yes…” She nodded. “I don't know how far… I just wanted to get away, I'm sorry.” she hung her little head.

“Do you think you could explain to us how to get there?” Jenny knew that it was a longshot at best, but she had to ask.

“N-no, I just wanted to get away, so I did not pay much attention… I'm so sorry.” she apologized again.

“No, it’s alright… we will save the others, don't you worry,” Jenny gave her one last kind smile before turning walking back over to where Ethan, Mary and Zoey stood.

“So we are in the blind?” Ethan asked her, having overheard the conversation.

“...Yes, it appear so,” Officer Jenny answered. “Still… if she dragged herself most of the way, then I should be able to track it easily enough back to where she came from.”

“B-but, should we not report this to the police?” Mary asked.

“Yes, you should,” Jenny answered. “And give them all the information, but in the meantime, me and Ethan will go after them. At this point, every second counts.” There could be other injured Pokémon after all, from the Explosion or otherwise. Or the Ponies could have decided that they should run or relocate because of the incident. No, they had to get there as fast as possible.

“What about me?” Zoey chipped in as she stepped up to the group. “I should go with you to help too!” Ethan shook his head.

“No, you should stay here. You need to watch over Chii and the Swablu.” Ethan told her. Zoey could not do any serious battling because of her past anyway, she had gone too long without proper treatment so a lot of permanent damage remained. She would be fine if she took it easy; she was lucky to get out of the battle she had with the Whiscash without an incident.

Zoey wanted to protest, but she knew that he was right.

“J-just be careful,” she told them.

“I have Officer Jenny here to watch over me, so I will be fine.” Ethan said with a grin, making Jenny snort.

“We will be fine, now let’s go!” She made her way out to door with Ethan and Mary in follow. “The tracks are just behind the trees here,” Jenny said as she gestured to the treeline. “Make the cops follow the trail and hopefully they will meet up with us.” She told Mary Care.

“Right!” She nodded and ran off into the town to get more help.

“Are you sure that you will be able to track them down?” Ethan asked as the two of them made their way through the brush to where they had found the Swablu.

“I found you, did I not?” Officer Jenny retorted. “Compared to that, this should be a cakewalk with such an easy trail to follow.”

“I'll take your word for it,” Ethan answered as he followed after Jenny. He had never been much of a tracker himself, no, Vernus was the one that did that for him. “…So what is the plan once we get there?” He had to ask, he had a good idea of what he wanted to do, but he knew that Officer Jenny liked being in control so it would be better to ask her.

“We can't rush into things, that much is a given. Especially with how little firepower we currently have,” as far as she knew, Ethan knew no moved and she could only use Ember. “Best case scenario, we get the drop on them and are able to take them out before they know what hit them. They may also be damaged from the Explosion depending on how close they were…” Ethan agreed with her, it was a sound plan. He had always relied more on stealth and surprise attacks than pure strength when he and Vernus worked in the past. Why give your opponent a chance to fight back at all?

He looked intently at Jenny as they made their way through the forest. She had not mentioned anything about earlier. When she first left the clinic she had seemed slightly hostile, and angry. But that feeling was gone now, something had changed.

Ethans mind went back to when he first arrived in Equestria, to the two first ponies he had come across. He remembered one of them mentioning that he could be worth something because of his exotic look…

Most of the travel went in silence, neither Jenny or Ethan too eager to speak up. They were obviously uncomfortable with each other. But they still had a mission to do, and they would do just that.

After some time, Jenny slowed down and Ethan did the same, following her lead. She had heard something up ahead of them, that and she could spot something in the distance through cover of the trees.

“Something up ahead,” she whispered to Ethan.

“Yeah… I can hear some voices,” he told her. “Two by the sound of it.” His large ears were not just for show after all, even though they were extremely fabulous.

“Let’s try to sneak up and get a closer look then,” Officer Jenny responded. She took the lead again, moving slowly to avoid making any unnecessary sound that would alert them to their presence. They moved slowly around to the side of where Ethan heard the sound coming from instead of advancing straight on. The reason Jenny had for doing this was because there were more trees and better cover for them there.

“Ah told you, stop picking on it!” They could hear someone say, the voiced were a lot clearer now that they had closed in on them. There were two ponies that sat in front of what looked like some kind of run down house, though it was missing part of its wall thanks to the Explosion. Ethan recognized the pegasus from one of the first ones he had met. But the unicorn was not familiar to him nor Officer Jenny.

“But it still hurts… We better get a lot of bits from those stupid creatures,” the pegasus was poking on a bandage that covered his leg. “That fucker… to think that such a small thing could blow up like that!” It seemed like at least one of them had gotten injured in the Explosion the Seedot made.

“That only makes it more valuable,” the unicorn said with a disgusting grin. “Luckily it is in no condition to pull a stunt like that again.” He let out a laugh that made Ethan want to knock him senseless. It infuriated him to no end that he was actually taking pleasure in seeing those Pokémon hurt.

“I guess…” The pegasus let out a sigh and stood up, wincing once he put weight on his bandaged leg. “Are you sure that I don't need to see a doctor about this? It really hurts!”

“It’s just a flesh wound, you will be fine. Besides, we don't need to draw any kind of unnecessary attention to ourselves. You might be able to explain away how you got that injury there, but I don’t want to take that risk.” The unicorn huffed as he trotted away from his comrade and back into the house.

Jenny acted before Ethan had a chance to protest, or even stop her. She rushed out from their hiding spot and towards the injured pegasus who were looking towards the house, and therefore away from Jenny.

She put her weight into it and tackled the pegasus down. Unfortunately, it seemed like the had forgotten how small and light a Vulpix really is so it really did not have much effect on him, she only managed to trip him because she took him by surprise. She felt her inner fire grow stronger as it did when she used her fire moves, but the pegasus reacted before she had a chance to use Ember on him.

“What the?” He yelled as he reared back and kicked her off effortlessly with his hind legs. Jenny had lots of experience with taking down criminals, but never with such a light body, her surprise attack had failed. “Hey, SHADY! We got visitors!” The pegasus yelled out as he got back up and was about to advance on Jenny who were laying on the ground. But the first thing he saw when he got back up was a furry leg that was moving in high speeds towards his face.

Ethan had jumped out after Jenny after he saw her getting kicked off. He had hesitated to follow her immediately because of the initial surprise by her attack and since he had honestly thought that she could manage it. He knew he had acted too late, the pegasus had already called out to his comrade, but that would not stop him from taking him out.

Ethan knew that one of the main features of a Lopunny was its long and powerful legs. So Ethan used these powerful legs of his and he leapt towards the pegasus, using the momentum from his jump to deliver a bone shattering kick straight into his jaw. Ethan winced slightly as the pegasus was sent sliding away on the grass unconscious from his attack, at least that meant that they had one less problem to deal with for the moment.

“Are you alright?” Ethan asked as he went over and helped Officer Jenny back up.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” she answered. The kick had not been as strong due to the position he had been in when he executed it, so it had only pushed her off instead of leaving any damage. She was more than a little embarrassed that she had to get help, from Ethan nonetheless. She was not some kind of damsel in need of rescuing, so she just huffed and turned away from him. “We should be fine if his friend did not-”

“What the hell is going on out there?” Jenny and Ethan heard a voice yell from inside the house before the door slammed back open to reveal the unicorn from before.

“-Hear us…” Jenny lowered her head and cursed silently about their bad luck, their situation just turned really bad.

Ethan tensed up as he looked at the unicorn. Mary had explained unicorn magic slightly, but he was still not sure on what its limits were. From what he had seen, it could somewhat be compared to a Psychic type.

The unicorn named Shady looked from Ethan and Jenny, over to his comrade who laid knocked out a few meters away from them. Ethan and Jenny kept still as they watched him, his magic was bad enough, but worse was what he had behind him. If the house was still full of captured and possibly injured pokemon then he had a lot of potential hostages.

“You bastards…” his horn lit up and a few rocks from around him got lit up with the same aura as hit horn and raised to the air. He was shaking with rage as he glared daggers at Ethan and Jenny. “It was supposed to be easy money!” He roared at them. “The first batch, offered us next to no trouble. I’ll teach you to mess with us!” And with that the rocks shot out towards Ethan and Jenny at high speeds.

“Watch out!” Ethan grabbed Jenny and pulled her to the side just as a few rocks slammed into the ground where she had been standing. However, he still had the stones that was heading straight towards him, and with his decision to help Jenny he had next to no time to dodge and was forced to take the hit instead.

A cry of pain could be heard for quite a distance as the rocks slammed into Ethan’s side, throwing him to the ground as he dropped Jenny. He had expected it to hurt a bit, but that was far worse that what he had thought. He groaned in pain as he held his side and struggled to get back up. What was worse, the unicorn was getting ready for another attack.

“You fool! I could have dodged that,” he heard Jenny complain as he had managed to pull himself up into a sitting position. Perhaps it had been foolish of him after all, she was a trained police officer, it would not surprise him if she had superior reflexes to him. But that was exactly it, he had acted on reflex when he had pulled her away from the attack. Vernus was right, he could be a fool at times.

“My bad,” Ethan offered her a pained smile. “But if you have time to complain, do something about him!” The look of anger Shady had worn earlier was now replaced by one of delight as he watched Ethan struggle in pain.

“I already know that,” Jenny huffed as she turned back to Shady who now had another batch of rocks at the ready. Jenny was furious with herself, not only once, but twice now she had been saved by Ethan. She wanted to think that she could have managed to dodge the attack Ethan had saved her from, but she knew otherwise. In her old body, it would have been no trouble at all avoiding it, but she did not have enough training to move as efficiently in her new body. Her pride would not allow her to let the opportunity Ethan gave her go to waste.

She drew strength from her inner fire as she did when she used her fire moves. She remembered the feeling of the fire burning stronger when she used her Ember, but this time it was different. Instead of a strong fire, it felt like a wild furious blaze, she was angry and her emotions was fueling her fire. Jenny grinned to herself as she felt the fire tickle the insides of her mouth, begging to be set free on her opponent, and she would do just that. Opening her mouth she unleashed a magnificent Flamethrower towards Shady.

Officer Jenny was however not entirely prepared for the power behind the attack and flinched, making the Flamethrower to slightly off course. So instead of hitting Shady like she had planned, the attack hit the ground besides him, only gracing his leg instead as she also could hear from his painful scream. However, before Jenny had time to gather herself from the powerful attack, a handful of stones slammed into her side, sending her spiraling across the ground from the impact.

“To Tartarus with you damned creatures…” Jenny heard Shady curse, looking up at him from where she laid she noticed the burns on his left foreleg. A lot of the fur was burned straight off, and the skin underneath had seen better days. She got up a lot quicker than Ethan, she had not gotten hit that badly and was ready to fight more. However it would seem that she would not need to.

The look on Shadys face slowly shifted from a pained anger to fear as he looked at her. No, he looked past her.

“Looks like Mary came through for us,” Ethan let out a pained laugh as he looked at the approaching ponies, the backup had arrived.

Jenny on the other paw was concerned as she saw Shady hurry back into the house. Ponies can do strange and desperate things when forced into a corner, and he had a house full of hostages...

Chapter 10

“So that’s the situation,” Jenny had just finished filling in the pony in charge about what had happened since the two of them had shown up. She felt rather ashamed, likely she had made things worse by attacking the pegasus and allowing this situation to develop like it did.

It turned out that the pegasus that Ethan had kicked unconscious now had a broken jaw, but was in otherwise fine condition. They had gathered with Jenny and Ethan near the treeline, only placing a few pegasi around to make sure that Shady did not make a run for it.

The pony in charge was a unicorn named Protocol with a dark blue coat and mane, with a police badge for a cutie mark. He used his hoof and pinched his nose as he forcefully exhaled.

“At least you took out one of them… are you sure that there are more Pokémon inside?” He asked.

“I’m afraid so,” Ethan answered him. “It’s faint, but I can hear some of them inside.” He had heard one of them try to call out earlier but it had been silenced by what Ethan assumed was Shady kicking its cage by the sound of it.

“Damn…” He shook his head. “Well, you did what you could, we'll take it from here,” he told the two of them. He was about to walk away from them but was stopped by Officer Jenny.

“I can still be of help,” Jenny protested. “I am a police officer. I know I acted irrationally, but I can still be of help.” She stared at Protocol who in turn stared right back at her. Ethan felt slightly nervous as he looked in between the two of them and their staring match. He still wanted to help too, but he was still hurt, so there was a limit to what he could do.

Protocol was the first one to look away.

“Fine… but you will follow my orders,” he gave in, to Jenny’s satisfaction. “You said his name was Shady right?”

“Yes, it’s what I heard the pegasus call him at least,” Ethan told him.

“Hmm… I know that pegasus from the local weather team… but there is no Shady living in our town.” Ethan watched some of the pegasi fly around the house. They kept their distance at all times, but looked for anything useful. The hole in the wall from before had been blocked off, it seemed as though Shady had pushed some tables and the like to create a makeshift barricade.

It would be next to impossible for him to escape anyway. From what Ethan had seen, pegasi were the quickest pony race, at least when they were in the air. And on top of that, Jenny had managed to injure his leg with her Flamethrower. Shady was not going anywhere.

Protocol walked away from Jenny and Ethan towards the house, stopping once he heard a voice from inside.

“Don't come any closer!” It was Shady’s voice. He sounded pretty frantic, and just after he had spoken, the door opened to reveal the the very same unicorn. “Any closer and I start slitting throats…” In his magical grip, he held an injured Taillow who looked scared out of its mind and a knife held pressed against its throat.

“Give yourself up, Shady!” Protocol shouted out to him. “Come willingly and you might get a lighter sentence.”

“I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.” Ethan could hear the small Taillow quietly chant a phrase to itself. From what he could see, it had got its wings clipped, the blood around them still fresh. It could very well be the Taillow that the Swablu had told them about.

“Not a chance, I have the power here!” Shady yelled back and pressed the blade tighter against the Taillows neck, cutting some of its feathers. “Let me go free or these creatures start dropping!”

“Please, I don't want to die!” The Taillow in his grasp shrieked as it began to struggle, only for it to be held tighter in Shadys magical grasp, its whole body now aking from the pressure.

“Keep still, you little shit,” Shady growled before he turned back to Protocol. “If you ponies are not gone in the next thirty minutes, they die!” And with that he backed into the house, the last look the group got was the Taillow’s teary face begging them for help before the door was slammed closed.

“What did it say?” Protocoll asked as he trotted back to Ethan and Jenny.

“... He, it was a he.” Ethan started off. “He was…” Ethan halted, his voice stuck. He had been in a lot of terrible situations with a lot of terrible people but nothing like the situation they were currently in.

“He was saying that he did not want to die!” Jenny told him with a determined look on her face. “We got to save him and all the other Pokémon that are inside!”

“And we will!” Protocol confirmed with a nod. “We just need to handle this situation carefully… do you have any experience in hostage situations?” He asked Officer Jenny, who solemnly shook her head in response.

“No, I don't, I only know the textbook responses from what we were taught at the academy.”

“I see… then I don't know how much help you will be,” Protocoll told her. “If I need your help with anything then I will ask so, but for now there is nothing you can do.” Jenny hated to admit it, but she knew that he was right. She watched Protocol walk away to discuss the what they should do with his other men, time was scarce after all.

“I feel so useless…” Jenny flopped down and sighed sadly. She had messed up so much lately that she was not sure if she deserved to be called an officer anymore. She had failed to rescue a bunch of captured Pokémon and even made the situation worse… Hell, she was even going to let a murderer off the hook, because she actually believed that what he did was the right thing. Her whole world was coming crashing down around her fast, and she did not know what to do about it.

“Hey, don't beat yourself up!” Ethan told her as he gave her a small pat on her back. “You did what you thought was right, no one can blame you for that.” He had seen her type a lot of times, so he liked to think that he understood how she felt. The type that it was never just good enough to try or do your best, they needed to succeed.

“I just...I had a good life.” She started off. “I was doing well in my job too, you were the only one I could not catch.” She let out a small laugh and shook her head. “I was in due for a promotion… hell, I had gone on a few dates and even thought that maybe I had found love.” She hit the ground in front of her with her paws as she struggled to keep her emotions under check. “And now I'm pouring my heart out to the very same criminal I was meant to catch…”

Jenny turned to him, her eyes slightly redder than normal but she had managed to keep some of her pride.

“This has been hard on a lot of people… it’s not exactly a normal situation,” Ethan told her. It was obvious that she was close to having a breakdown, just like he had earlier. Luckily for him, he had his friends there to help him through it. Jenny on the other paw… “No one blames you for anything that has happened.” As he said this Jenny turned to him with a furious look on her face.

“But someone does! I blame myself!” She told him in a stern voice. “I have been nothing but a constant failure ever since we were brought to this world…” She looked down to the ground for a moment before she looked back up with a tired look on her face. “You know what… you win.” It took Ethan a few moments to understand what she meant.

“Do you mean?”

“That I agree with you? I guess I do. I will stop my endeavor of trying to get you sent to jail. You are safe from me from now on. You are free to go wherever you like now.” Ethan could not help but to feel a little sorry for Jenny as she sat there. She looked completely and utterly defeated.

Ethan held back on the victory cries for now and thought about how he could cheer Jenny up instead. He had much more experience in dealing with Pokémon rather than people so he was not completely sure how he should proceed. He thought about what Chii would do if she were in his situation, what would she tell him to do?

“Give her a hug!”

That… did sound like something she would tell him to do. Now that he thought about it, Chii solved most of her problems in that manner. Perhaps he could give it a try. He moved a little closer to Officer Jenny and he was just about to give her a big hug Chii style when she interrupted him.

“Hug me and we will find out how well those fluffy ears of yours burn!” She growled at him, making him sit back down.

“Sorry… it seemed like a good idea,” he gave her a sheepish smile. “But why do you think that I’m going anywhere?” he asked her, noticing the confusion that appeared in her eyes.

“Because… I thought you stuck around so that I wouldn't tell everyone about you, and try to get you thrown in jail.” She was right, that was the initial reason.

“Well I have grown to like this town, besides, where else would I go?” He asked her. “Chii and Zoey seem to like it here too. From my point of view, I have no reason to go anywhere else; I’m afraid that you are not going to get rid of me that easily!” There was also the fact that Chii had really warmed up to Jenny, and with both of them in need of a friend...

“I…” Jenny huffed and looked away, but Ethan was sure that he saw a small smile on her face before she hid it. She would never admit it, but with her Growlithe still missing, she needed friends. It would take a lot of work, but maybe he could get her to open up a little more.

Ethan did not say anything, less to ruin the mood. The two of them just sat there and watched as Protocol and his ponies hurried about. It would have been a pretty nice moment… if one looked away from the hostage situation that was.

“So… something is happening” Ethan was about to speak up when the door to the house opened up and Shady could be seen standing there.

“I… I give myself up…” Shady said with his head hung low. Protocol gathered up his ponies and walked towards the defeated unicorn.

“Smart choice… Check the house for any injured!” Protocol called out and a few pegasi immediately flew inside the house.

Jenny had been watching the entire situation unfold alongside Ethan but something just did not sit right with her. It just seemed like everything went too easy. Shady had given them an ultimatum, but he had not even used to half of the time he had given them.

“Something is wrong…” she muttered, but it was still loud enough so that Ethan heard her.

“What do you mean?” He asked her. He had already gotten up, and was going to go over to help with the injured Pokémon. His side still hurt a bit, but it was not as bad as it was initially.

“Call it a gut feeling…” then she saw it. Protocol was just about to put some hoofcuffs on Shady when she noticed the same sadistic smile on his face that he had when he hurt Ethan and her. She was about to yell out, to warn the others but it was already too late.

Shadys horn lit up for a second and in that very instant, the house burst into flames.

The roaring flames bursted out of the windows, and started licking up the sides of the house. Everypony was stunned for a second of two, but in that small time the house had transformed into a roaring inferno.

Jenny was the first one to regain control of herself, and immediately noticed that Shady was missing. Protocol was stunned just like everyone else, his eyes glued to the fire. She looked around and saw something slip into the forest behind everyone.

“Shady!” She yelled and was about to set off after him, but she was stopped dead in her tracks as Ethan grabbed a hold of her tails.

“Let them handle him, we need you here. You are a Fire type, if you had forgotten, we need you to help get them out of that fire.” Everyone had gotten over their initial daze and Protocol had begun shouting orders out to his ponies.

The pegasi took to the skies, gathering clouds to create some rain to contain and hopefully beat the fire. If any of them had noticed that Shady had escaped, then they had not acted on it, as there were more pressing matters.

One of the pegasi that went inside the house had already made it out with a few Pokémon in his grasp, smoke still rising from his fur. Jenny understood what Ethan meant and ran towards the house with Ethan in close follow.

“What is she doing?” Protocol roared as Jenny sped past him, and through the broken doorway into the inferno behind it.

“S-she is helping,” Ethan told him as he came to a stop next to him. “She is a Fire type, fire is not that harmful to her.” If Protocol had any trouble believing Ethan then he did not show it, he only nodded. Ethan also noticed that his horn had been glowing brightly the entire time since the fire had started. “What are you doing?” He had to ask.

“Making sure that the house does not collapse,” he told Ethan. “From what you told me, there was an explosion in there earlier as well, for all we know Shady could have rigged the house to collapse if we made our way in there to rescue them.” Ethan had to hand it to him, that had not crossed his mind at all. “My ponies are already trying to create a hole in the wall to make some easier access to the inside.” Normally, such a thing would only make the integrity of the building worse, but with Protocol’s magic, it was a sound move.

“Right… I’ll do what I can to help the injured,” Ethan told him. He was not sure how much help he would be, but it was the best he could do. He wanted to run in after Jenny to help save those inside, but there was no way he could run straight into a fire like she had did.

“Do what you can, we need all the help we can get right now!” Ethan nodded and ran closer towards the house. The heat was bad enough from a distance, but once he got closer it felt like a pushing force, threatening anyone that came closer.

The hole that had been made earlier from the Explosion had been cleared of debris, giving everyone and everypony a better view of the inside and easier access to it. Some of the Earth ponies had crossed the heat and made their way inside to help locate any injured.

“Ethan!” he recognized Jenny's voice and saw her jump out through the hole, with a familiar Taillow carried in her tails, and a Shroomish on her back. She looked slightly burned in a few places, but otherwise alright.

“Are there many more in there?” He asked her, once she had put the Pokémon down.

“Unfortunately yes…” she answered him. “A lot of them are trapped under debris, the ponies are helping move it, but we can only move so fast,” he nodded as she turned around and ran back into the burning house.

Without further ado, Ethan got his mind back on track. There was only one way he could help them right now, and he would do that to the best of his ability.

“Gather any injured over here!” He yelled out, getting a few nods from the unicorns and other ponies.

With the ones that Jenny had brought out, a total of four Pokémon had made it out and he immediately started going over them and doing what he could to treat what injured they had. He had gotten some supplies from one of the unicorns; it was not too much but it would have to do until they could get everyone some better help.

“What I wouldn’t give to know Heal Pulse right now…” Ethan muttered to himself as he set a broken wing that the Taillow had. It was the one that got its wings clipped earlier, but aside from that and its broken wing it did not have any serious injuries from what Ethan could see. It had also fallen unconscious shortly after Jenny had brought it out, the pain too much for the poor thing to take.

The Shroomish on the other paw, was not so lucky. It had severe burns over most of its body, and had been screaming in pain the entire time. The fact that it was a Grass type was not helping.

There was some ointment with the supplies he had gotten from the unicorn. It was helping with the burns, but with how the Shroomish was screaming and squirming, it did not seem to help any with the pain.

“I’m sorry, little guy, but I don't have any way to lessen the pain…” it broke Ethan’s heart to have to leave the Shroomish in such pains, but it was not in a life threatening condition and he still had other Pokémon to deal with.

Ethan continued to help the injured as more continued to come. Jenny and several other ponies were bringing them out to him, the ponies had started to go into the building as well when the pegasi had gotten the rainclouds together. Not only did it allow them to combat the fire, they could also drench the ponies in water to help them when they went into the fiery building.

“Ethan, get over here now!” Ethan heard Jenny's voice yell out to him, she had just exited the building with yet another Pokémon on her back.

“Just a second, I'm almost done here…” Ethan had made a splint for the wing of a pegasus that was brought out of the building along with the other injured. It seemed like a beam had fallen over him and broke his right wing like a twig.

“If he is not dying then it can wait, I need you here right now!” She yelled out to him again, and this time Ethan noticed the despair in her voice and immediately turned to her.

In front of Jenny was a Oddish, though Ethan had a hard time telling that from how it looked. Its normal green leaves was completely gone, burned to a crisp and the rest of its body was not doing too good either.

“What happened?” Ethan hurried over to her and kneeled down to examine the Oddish. It was even worse that it had seemed from a distance. He had seen worse… but this world did not have the same level of medical technology.

“H-he was trapped under some burning debris… I think he was screaming for help, but the fire made so much noise, I could not hear it until I was practically standing on top of him…” Jenny was sounding desperate and Ethan knew why. It looked really bad, and she probably blamed herself for not finding him earlier.

“I… I don't have the equipment to deal with this level of burns…” Ethan was starting to panic slightly at that point as well. If the burns were not bad enough, it had plenty of bad cuts all over its body, the only reason it had not bled to death was that the fire had cauterized the wounds.

“There must be something you can do!” Jenny yelled at him, in the background the fire was dying out. The Pegasi finally having managed to put the rainclouds they had gathered to good use.

“...” Ethan froze for a moment as he thought about what to do. “Protocol!” He shouted out to the pony, who made his way over to Ethan and Jenny, his horn still glowing and some strain was now visible on his face. “Do you have a pegasus to spare?” Ethan asked him. “I need to get this Oddish some real medical attention immediately…”

“Certainly, we seem to have the situation under control now.” He said before he waved down one of the nearby pegasi.

“Sir?”

“Get this Pokémon to the Doctor’s office in town immediately.” The pegasus nodded and after having the Oddish gently lowered down on his back, took off to the air towards the town.

“Jenny, you run to Mary and tell her to head to the Doctor’s office too. We will have more patients incomming, we will need the help,” Ethan told her. He hoped that they were properly equipped to handle this many patients.

“Right away,” she answered immediately without objecting, she knew that he was right. More than one pony would be needed with the amount of injured they had coming.

With that in mind, Officer Jenny turned and ran after the pegasus towards the town going as fast as her small body could carry her. And in just a few moments, she was out of sight.

“So how are the other injured looking?” Protocol asked Ethan as they stood there. No more flames could be seen from the house now, it had been completely doused just a few places where smoke still rose to the sky above.

“It could have certainly been worse…” Ethan looked over to where the injured Pokémon and pegasi laid. He had done all he could with the equipment he had gotten. “But it’s not too good either… Some of them are unconscious and I can't make too much of an assessment with the ponies. I simply don't know enough about their physique. The broken wings and bones were easy to splint… but they still need proper medical care.” The one Ethan was most worried about was the Taillow. It still had not woken up, and there was something about its wings and how they were clipped that worried him. Normally one would just cut the main feathers to prevent flying, but it seemed that Shady had instead damaged the wings and nerves themselves.

“I see… I must thank you for both of your assistance,” Protocol gave him a nod of respect. “It certainly helped to make all of this go smoother… just a shame that Shady managed to escape!” He let out a long sigh and shook his head. “We will try to track him down, of course, but dealing with this comes first.”

“Speaking of this… are there any more Pokémon trapped inside?” Ethan inquired.

“Hmm… it seemed like your friend made it out with the last one, but we are going over everything a few more times to make sure that no Pokémon has been missed.” All of his ponies had been accounted for.

“Right… we should get started with getting all of the inured back to town to receive some proper help. I may have some medical training, but it’s not as good as a proper doctor or Nurse Joy.” Being educated as a Pokémon caretaker, Ethan had worked alongside many Nurse Joys in the past. Helping out in a Pokémon Center was usually a part of the education.

“I’m sorry, a Nurse what?” Protocol asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked down at Ethan.

“Ah, sorry, they are so common back at Earth that it’s unusual to meet someone that doesn't know about them,” Ethan smiled sheepishly. “They are basically all part of a large family that specializes in medical care…” He was going to say that they all basically look identical too, but he guessed that it would be too far fetched for somepony who had never met them to believe.

“That sounds nice…” Now that the fire had been cleared from the house and most of the smoke had been cleared out, Ethan could see how much damage had been done to the building itself. From what he could see from where he sat, the insides were a mess with debris and the like, that and most of the support beams were laying among the rubble. It should by no means still be standing, if it was not for Protocol’s magic.

“How about you? You seemed pretty used to us, at least more than the villagers that just glare from afar.” Ethan sighed out. Most of the ponies were friendly, but there were still some that were a little cautious.

“I guess I was, huh?” Protocol let out a short laugh. “Well, I know the translation spell myself and I met one of those former humans a little while ago. I think she called herself a Pokémon Ranger or something like that.” Ethan felt himself stiffen for a moment as he mentioned the word “ranger”. Officer Jenny had already said that she was on his side now, but he still felt a little nervous.

“T-that’s good then,” Ethan put on his most convincing smile. “It’s a weird situation for all of us… so it;s good that we are helping each other getting used to our new reality.”

One of the pegasi shouted that the building was clear after they had done one last sweep of it. Knowing that everything should be in the clear, Protocol released his spell.

“That looked tiresome,” Ethan commented. He could clearly see the sweat on Protocol’s neck and forehead, and his mane looked positively drenched.

“It was…” A low creak could be heard from the house. It started slowly growing in volume before a sharp crack could be heard and the entire building collapsed. “But it seems like it was necessary.”

Ethan had his curiosity peaked by the unicorn. Not only by his magic, but by his personality as well. He was in law enforcement, just as Officer Jenny. But she was like a raging fire, that acted on her emotions and instinct. And Protocol seemed more like a block of ice in comparison. Cold, calculating, everything by the book. The type of personality that was the most difficult to predict in Ethan’s experience.

It was an assessment he did not really need to make. His days of hiding from every officer of the law was over after all. He did it more out of habit than anything else.

The pegasi and other ponies were already creating makeshift stretchers to carry all of the injured back to the village, and were making good progress with it too.

“Time to head back then,” Ethan said as he stood up, his side was still hurting, but it was not as bad so he could ignore it for now.

“Indeed it is,” Protocol glanced over Ethan. “Do you need any help?” He asked, having noticed the slight limp Ethan had.

“I should be fine… but I wouldn't mind asking you a thing or two about your magic. That was pretty impressive back then, after all.” Ethan wanted to know more about the unicorn’s magic, it fascinated him. It seemed so similar to their Psychic types but he wondered where its limits were.

“...” Protocol looked over to where the rest of his ponies had finished up gathering the injured, and the Pegasi were already flying them out and back to the village. “We can talk as we make our way back.” He answered. “I would like to go after Shady myself… but it would be foolish to follow him on my own.” He shook his head. “No, we will resume that after all the injured are back safely.”

“I can understand that…” Ethan agreed. He really wanted Shady to be caught and brought to justice for what he did, but being foolish would not help anyone. That was what he and Jenny did that got the whole mess started in the first place, after all.

With the rest of the Ponies having already left or were in the middle of leaving, Ethan and Protocol followed.

When the two of them arrived at the edge of the town, Ethan could spot Jenny. She was talking to what looked like a Manectric. Both of them looked up once Ethan and Protocol came into view and walked over to them.

“Hello there,” Ethan greeted Jenny and the Manectric.

“It's good to see you again, Protocol, and hello to you too,” The Manectric greeted him back. “My name is Olivia.” She said with a gentle smile.

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Ethan…” Jenny cut him off before he could get any further.

“He is the one I told you about,” Jenny said quite suddenly, to Ethan’s surprise.

“Oh, you are the one that helped out the Lotads and with the situation in the forest, thank you so much.” Olivia thanked him with a bow of her head. “I would have joined the operation myself, but I was out when it happened so I did not have a chance to do so.”

“We should head back to the office, it was nice to meet you, Ethan, and you too, Officer Jenny.” Protocol started walking away. Olivia flashed Ethan and Jenny an apologetic look before she followed after him.

“Well talk more later, it was nice to meet some other former humans.” She waved to the two, who in turn waved back to them. Once Protocol and Olivia was out of hearing range Jenny turned to Ethan with a scowl on her face.

“You seriously need to be more careful,” she spat at him.

“W-what did I do?” Ethan asked, he was surprised at the sudden change in Jenny’s mood. That and he had no idea of what she was talking about.

“That was a Pokémon Ranger,” Jenny told Ethan who in turn felt his blood go cold for a moment. “And you were just about to give her your name.” She sat down and let out a long sigh.

“I…” Realization reached Ethan. Jenny had just saved him.

“Ethan is a common enough name from Earth, but you need to stop using your last name altogether. Who have you told it too?” She inquired of him.

“Um… I think I mentioned it to Mary Care, but I don't think I said it to anypony else.” He tried to remember if he had mentioned it to anyone or anypony else, but he couldn't remember anyone.

“That’s good, from now on, stop using it completely,” Jenny told him.

“I will… thank you for saving me back there then.”

“... Just keeping my part of the promise,” Jenny mumbled as she looked away. Ethan could not help but feel relieved. Jenny had already told him that she had given up her chase on him, but getting concrete proof like he just did was something else.

“I thought you would be at the doctor’s office with Mary and the other injured?” Ethan asked her. She had seemed really frantic when she came out of the burning house with the Oddish and when she ran back to the village to warn Mary.

“I was…” She took a pause and stared up at the sky for a couple of seconds before she took a deep breath and looked back down at Ethan. “The Oddish did not survive… when I came back he was already dead…” As a police officer, she had experienced death before but it never got any easier.

“Oh…” Ethan’s look matched her own, he wanted to tell her that he was sorry, but he did not think that Jenny would appreciate the sympathy.

“... I know I already said that I agreed with what you did and that I don't think you deserve jail anymore. I am a woman of my word and I will honor it, but I have one condition.” Jenny told Ethan.

“A condition?” He could see a fire burning in her eyes as she stared at him.

“Yes, I want us to continue to do what you did back on Earth,” Jenny told him, she was practically burning with motivation. “Rescuing and helping those that need it. Even if there are no more “bad” humans, it is obvious that not all ponies are good at heart.” The most recent events had proved that.

“B-but wouldn't you rather join the police of this world instead?”

“Perhaps… but no,” she shook her head. “I have the feeling that you would do this anyway, and this way I get to keep an eye on you to ensure that you do things properly,” he could spot the faintest of smiles on her face as she spoke. “So do you agree,” she held out her paw towards him. “Partners?”

Ethan was shocked as he looked down at Jenny. He had expected many things from her, but that had not been one of them. She really was much more hot headed than he had originally thought.

“Partners,” he shook her paw in agreement.

“Good… now you should head over and see if you can help out with those injured Pokémon.” Jenny told him as she walked past him.

“What are you going to do then?” Ethan turned after her, she was walking back the way he and Protocol had came.

“Shady mentioned a first batch… I think he meant that they had already sold off a bunch of Pokémon.” Ethan did remember that he mentioned something like that. “I’ll head back to the house to see if there are any clues to be found. You go do what you can do… meanwhile I'll do what I do best,” and with that, Jenny disappeared back into the forest.

Chapter 11

Ethan sat outside the doctor’s office and was simply having a moment of relaxation. He watched Zoey and Chii run around in the streets before him, playing and having fun. He was grateful towards Zoey for keeping Chii occupied while they had dealt with the injured Pokémon, and the one that had died.

It had been several hours since they had made it back. Almost all of which Ethan had spent occupied inside treating the wounded and teaching Mary and the others about Pokémon physiology. The only break Ethan had before they were over was when Zephyr brought him, Zoey, and Chii some dinner so that they would not go hungry.

“Enjoying yourself?” Ethan turned his head to see that Mary Care had exited the building and had decided to join him where he sat.

“I guess I am.” Ethan mused. He really was enjoying himself. It brought him a sense of inner peace to see his family be able to run around in public without fear of anything. Maybe he had shielded them a little too much when they were living in hiding after all.

“Thanks for your help in there. I don’t think it would have gone nearly as smoothly if you hadn't.” Mary thanked him as she sat next to him and looked over to where Zoey and Chii were playing too.

“... I should be saying the same to you,” Ethan smiled at her. “You picked up on things so quickly that you put the other doctors to shame.” His smile widened as he watched Mary blush and turn away. Maybe it was a little mean of him, but it was so easy to tease Mary and she really was exceptional in her skill.

“I… thank you,” Mary mumbled quietly while fidgeting with her hooves. “But we still have a problem though…” She spoke up.

Ethan looked away from Zoey and Chii who were currently wrestling with Zephyr, and over to Mary instead.

“We need to find a place for them to stay… The doctor said that it’s fine for them to stay here at least for tonight. The ones that need more attention could of course stay longer until they are well enough, but they still need a place to get well. And my clinic is not big enough…” Ethan knew what she meant. The doctor’s office was not equipped to host that many creatures on a long term basis.

“I know, I may have a solution for that problem… hopefully.” Ethan spoke the last part quietly to himself. He hoped that the mayor would come through for him. A house or building where not only he and his family could live but where he could continue to help Pokémon like he had used to back on Earth.

“Oh, that’s great then!” Mary cheered. “What is it if you don't mind me asking?”

“I asked the mayor for a building, and since we are helping with all Pokémon related problems that might occur he seemed to agree with me that giving us a place to live would be a decent deal,” Ethan told her. It was not a lie, as the mayor had seemed to agree with him, even if he did not really give him that much of a chance to disagree.

“Oh, that’s great then! Hmm…” Mary glanced up at the sky and seemed to think about something for a moment. “There is this warehouse at the edge of the town… it was used to store timber before but it has been years since it has been in use. Maybe that is the one he will grant you? I mean… it might need some work and renovation but…” Ethan stopped Mary before she trailed off.

“Anything would be fine. As long as it’s big enough then we can make pretty much anything work.” He was not a stranger to renovating: he and Vernus had build their former secret base by themselves after all. “And that also means that you don't need to host Zoey or Chii anymore either. I appreciate everything you have done for us.” Ethan thanked her. Mary Care had been nothing but kind and had done everything in her power to help them.

“It’s nothing, any good pony would have done the same if they were in my situation,” Mary said with her usual heartwarming smile.

Ethan did not know if he agreed with her on that, but he wouldn't argue with her on it. A pony as kind as her, in his mind, she was one in a million. Or something along those lines.

“What do you think about that Taillow though?” Ethan asked her. It’s injuries had been more complicated than Ethan had originally thought.

“It’s difficult to say…” Mary let out a sad sigh. “If its wings are anything close to most birds here, then I'm not sure if it will be able to fly again.” It had been exactly that Ethan had been worried about. “I'm afraid we will have to wait for it to wake up before we know anything else.”

“I thought as much…” he knew that she was most likely right, it had been the same thing he had realised when they discovered how serious its wounds actually were. He had just hoped that he was wrong, but it seemed that Mary came to the same conclusion.

A silence grew between them as neither Ethan nor Mary was sure about what to say. The part about the Taillow had pretty much killed the mood. Instead, the two of them just enjoyed the silence as they continued to watch Zoey, Chii, and Zephyr play in the area in front of them.

Ethan had to force back a laugh when Zoey made her way over to him and Mary. Chii was riding on top of her head, and she was carrying a tied up Zephyr in her arms. He was not sure where they had gotten the rope from, but the look on Zephyr’s face made him forget about that.

“He lost!” Chii exclaimed happily as she looked down at the bound Zephyr in Zoey`s grasp.

“...” Zephyr did not really say anything, he only looked away. Ethan could not help but wonder what kind of games they had played that would end up with Zephyr in the state that he was currently in.

“Well, maybe it’s time you let Zephyr go?” Ethan suggested. He had gotten a pleading look from said pegasus. “He may have some things that he needs to do after all.”

“Aww… fine.” Chii gave in, she wanted to play more with the pegasus, but she always listened to Ethan.

Zoey unsheathed one of her claws, making Zephyr flinch slightly, and cut all the ropes binding him with one quick swipe.

“T-thanks,” Zephyr said, he was still slightly nervous from how quickly Zoey had used her claw in so close proximity to him. But not a single hair on his body had been harmed so it was all good. “Well, it’s been fun, girls, but I need to fly. I'll play with you more later if you want, okay?” Zephyr took to the air and hovered in place above them all.

“Sure, it will be great!” Chii cheered with a big smile on her face. She used her tail to wave Zephyr off as he took off into the sky, soon disappearing behind some of the nearby clouds.

“I’m curious…” Mary Care started. “What were you playing that ended up with him being tied up like that?” She inquired, and Ethan had to agree. It was a fair question to have.

“We were originally playing cops and robbers,” Zoey explained. “However, when we caught Zephyr, Chii decided that since we did not have a jail to put him in, tying him up would be the next best thing.” Ethan translated for Mary as all eyes went to Chii, who were just sitting on top of Zoey, smiling innocently, only a yawn escaping past her lips.

She jumped down from her perch and decided to curl up and nestle herself close to Ethan in his lap.

“Are you a little tired?” Ethan asked as he used one paw to stroke Chii`s fur. Chii did not reply, but he was sure that he could see a small nod coming from her.

“Well, it has been a pretty hectic day,” Zoey admitted. “Much more than she is used to, after all.” Zoey decided to sit down next to Ethan and Mary.

“That it has…” Ethan smiled and he heard Mary let out a small “d’aww” as they could both hear that Chii had fallen asleep. Only her quiet breathing could be heard from the little cat Pokémon.

“She is so cute,” Mary commented as she looked at Chii`s sleeping form. She wanted to reach out to pet her, but held back because she did not want to disturb her sleep.

“That she is,” Ethan agreed.

“... I had something I wanted to discuss with you,” Mary said to Ethan. “But first,” She turned to Zoey and channeled her magic, casting the translation spell on her. “There, now there shouldn't be any need for you to hold back if you want to say anything,” Mary smiled.

“T-that felt weird…” Zoey commented as she shook her head. “But thanks, it will be nice to not have to rely on others translating for me all the time.”

“So what did you want to talk to me about?”

“... It’s about Officer Jenny. I just wanted to ask if everything worked out.” Mary asked, she had noticed that Ethan had looked a little more at ease when he got back from the forest.

“Yeah, did she finally agree to see reason?” Zoey chipped in. “I ran into her when she came out of your clinic earlier and we had a little girl-on-girl talk.” Ethan raised an eyebrow and looked at Zoey as she said this.

“And what did you talk about?” Ethan inquired.

“Umm… you know, stuff…” Zoey said as she looked away refusing to meet Ethan's eyes.

“Zoey…” Ethan let out a sigh. Zoey had always been pretty protective of him. “Did you threaten her?”

Zoey tried to keep calm, but it was pretty obvious by the pained look on her face that Ethan had guessed right.

“You did…Zoey…” Ethan loved Zoey like he did all of his family, but she still were not rid of all of her aggressive tendencies. She was a kind Pokémon, she was just a little too used to solving most of her problems with violence.

“B-but she wanted to take you away,” Zoey turned back around and looked Ethan directly in the eyes. “I.. I had to do something.” Ethan just smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I know that you meant well, but Jenny was just doing her job.” Ethan told her. “When she gets back, I want you to apologize to her, alright?” Zoey squirmed slightly where she stood before she gave in.

“Fine… I'm sorry, I just couldn't stand by and do nothing when she wanted to take you away.”

“Come here, you,” Ethan said as he spread his arms open and invited Zoey into a hug, which she gladly accepted. “Besides, me and Jenny came to an agreement. Everything is fine.” Ethan felt Zoey hug him even tighter after he had mentioned that part.

“That’s great!” Mary smiled as she watched Zoey and Ethan. She thought that it would have been a shame if such a family would have gotten separated.

As Zoey and Ethan hugged, they began to feel something in between them. It was like something was crawling, forcing its way up. And when a small pink head revealed itself between them, it was no mystery who it was.

“Are you mad that we did not include you in the hug?” An amused Ethan asked Chii as she nuzzled the both of them.

“Mmm-yes,” She spoke softly in a yaw, still a little sleepy.

“Are we forgiven?” Zoey asked from the other side.

“...Yes” Chii said happily as she enjoyed the hug from the both of them.

They stayed like that for a while, simply enjoying the moment. Mary watched them with a smile, seeing how close they were she could not help but feel a slight touch of jealousy. Maybe she wanted a family like that too.

Zoey noticed how Mary was looking at them and got an idea.

“Do you want to join?” Zoey asked Mary who blinked before she shook her head.

“Oh no, I dont want to intrude-” She started but was cut off by Zoey.

“Oh, it’s more than alright!” Zoey grinned as she reached out and brought Mary too into the big hug. She had initially denied the invite, but she had to agree that it felt really nice.

But eventually all good things has to come to an end, and so did this. Chii jumped back to her perch on top of Zoey`s head as Ethan and Mary sat back down.

“I also had something I wanted to ask of you,” Ethan told Mary as he turned to her. “I told you about what I did before right? With rescuing Pokémon and taking care of them.” Mary nodded as she remembered what he was talking about.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well… Officer Jenny suggested that we start that up again. And I wanted to ask you if we could count on you for help. If we get some injured Pokémon that requires more than I can do alone. Your medical skills are top notch and we would really appreciate it.” While Ethan had some medical training, his speciality was something else. That and Mary had already shown that she was a quick learner with how fast she had picked up on Pokémon physiology.

“I….if there is something I can do, then of course I will help. Anything for my new friends,” Mary gave him a big smile. “That and it’s not like I could just sit by and do nothing if some Pokémon was hurt and needed help.” She was still a little wary of Ethan because of his past, but she knew that he was a good Pokémon at heart.

“Yay, Ethan is going to be helping Pokémon!” Chii cheered.

“That’s right, I am. But before we get to that, there is something that I need to take care of first.” Ethan stood up as he spoke.

“The mayor, right?” Zoey asked.

“Indeed, I’ll head over there right now and see if we can't sort things out. I’ll try not to take too long, so I’ll be back as quickly as I can.” Ethan reached out and ruffled the fur on Chii`s head, making her purr slightly at his touch.

“See you soon!” Mary, Zoey and Chii waved Ethan off as he walked down into the town and towards the mayor’s office.

“... You guys are lucky to be so close,” Mary commented as she looked over to Chii and Zoey who were still looking after Ethan.

“Yeah…” Zoey sighed wistfully as she looked at Ethan disappear behind some of the buildings in the distance. They were a closely knitted family, but she could not help but wish that they were closer.

“Yeah, Ethan and Zoey are great,” Chii smiled happily. She had jumped down while Zoey was stuck in her own thoughts, and was now standing next to Mary. “I miss Uncle Vernus, though…”

“Who is Vernus, if you don't mind me asking?” Mary looked between Chii and Zoey. She had heard the name come up when Ethan told her and Officer Jenny about his past. But she really did not know anything about him other than his name.

“Vernus is my uncle!” Chii exclaimed.

“Well… only in name,” Zoey clarified what she meant. “He is in our family, but none of us are related by blood.”

“He is still my uncle though…” Chii muttered as she looked down, however she cheered up slightly when Mary used her hoof to scratch the fur on her head.

“That he is, he is one of Ethan`s oldest friends.” Zoey explained. “He is a Leafeon… though, that does not really mean much to you does it?” Mary giggled slightly and shook her head.

“No, I’m afraid not. But from how you talk about him, and what I heard from Ethan, he sounds like a really nice guy.”

The three of them were interrupted by the door behind Mary opening up to reveal another unicorn standing behind it.

“Mary, I’m afraid I need a little more help. Do you mind coming back inside?” It was the doctor who had helped Mary and Ethan treat the injured Pokémon and ponies that had been hurt in the forest incident.

“I’ll be right there,” she turned back around to face Chii and Zoey. “I'm afraid that I need to go. Will you be alright on your own?”

“Yeah, we will be fine,” Zoey told her as Chii jumped back up into her arms. “You just go do what you need to do.”

“Bye, Mary!” Chii waved her goodbye using her tail.

Mary waved back at the two of them before she turned and entered the building.

“... How long do you think it will be until Uncle Vernus finds us?” Chii asked as she looked up to Zoey.

“I'm afraid that I don't know, Chii…” Zoey sighed out sadly. She did not want to make Chii anymore sad, but she did not want to give her false hope either.

“Oh…” Chii went silent for a little while as Zoey started walking away from the doctors office and towards the rest of the town. “Do you think he will be okay though?” Zoey gave a small laugh before she spoke.

“It’s Vernus we are talking about, of course he will be fine.” She reassured Chii.

“Are you sure?” Chii asked again.

“Yes, I am sure. Vernus has been with Ethan since the beginning, and he has always protected him. He is more than qualified to take care of himself. He was also there when Ethan saved me, did I ever tell you about that?” Zoey asked Chii who shook her head in return.

“No… how was he?”

“Heh, he was great...” Zoey remembered back to that very night. “Ethan had saved me and carried me outside to where Vernus was waiting with the rest of the Pokémon they had saved. Vernus had completely taken control of the situation and had convinced all of those Pokémon that they were going to a good and safe place, and that they did not need to be afraid of Ethan because he was a human.” Zoey paused for a moment as she remembered things more clearly.

“Why would they be afraid of humans?” Chii asked curiously. Zoey had never told Chii the full story after all.

“...They were being treated badly by some bad humans for a long time, so they were just scared.” Zoey told Chii and used one paw to stroke her fur. “But Vernus had managed to calm them all down… and when Ethan arrived with me, Vernus healed the poison within me.” She remember how relieved she had felt. She had been badly poisoned for several weeks straight at that point. The human that were making her fight, not wanting to cure her because she fought better because of the poison. He only used an antidote at the last possible moment, letting her rest a little before she was poisoned once again.

“...” Chii looked up to Zoey in awe. She had known that Ethan and Vernus used to help Pokémon, but it was something else for her to hear it from Zoey. “So did Vernus save your life then?”

“I guess he kind of did.” She had been so hurt at the time, she remembered Ethan saying that she would not have survived the trip back home if it had not been for Vernus. The two of them had also switched on carrying her all the way back. Most of the trip was a blur, because of the condition she was in at the time. But she remembered how she woke up in their base. Vernus was sleeping at her side and Ethan still had not gotten any sleep by the time she awoke.

“So, how long have you known Ethan and Uncle Vernus?” Chii asked, she had only been with Ethan for a few months, but she knew that Zoey had been there much longer.

“How long…? I think it has been close to three years now,” It had been the best three years of her life if she was honest with herself. She remembered how sad she had been after she had mostly healed and thought that Ethan was going to make her leave. He always found new families or trainers for the Pokémon that he had helped. But she never wanted to leave.

Zoey had been crying again. She had holed herself up inside the secret base. Curled up in the corner with a blanket around herself to hide all of her scars. Most of her wounds had healed and she knew what was going to happen next. Ethan was going to find her a nice new family and send her away.

But she never wanted to leave. She had never been happier than she had been in the months that she had been living there. She did not want that to go away. She did not want to leave the persons that had saved her life.

“Why…” She was crying so heavily that she had not noticed that Vernus had made his way up to her and nudged her side.

“Zoey… what's wrong?” The Leafeon asked with a sad look on his face. It hurt him to see Zoey in the state that she was in.

“I… oh, I’m sorry, I did not want any of you to see me like this,” Zoey sniffed and tried to wipe her tears only for new one to take their place. “I-it’s nothing.” It was an obvious lie.

“Something is obviously wrong…” Vernus said as he laid down next to her. “Now tell me what it is… do the scars hurt again?” The first few nights during when she got her treatment had been absolutely excruciating. Her whole world had been one of pain, and she had spent more than one night screaming in pain. But Ethan or Vernus had always been there for her. Whenever she had not managed to get any sleep because of her scars, they had always stayed up with her to do absolutely anything they could for her. Even if that was just to sit with her to keep her company all night long.

“N-no, they are fine,” she sniffed. “They haven't acted up at all in a while…” She began crying heavier as she remembered back to the day before. Ethan had left with the Mightyena that came from very same place that she had been saved from. It had seemed so happy to finally get a new trainer that would take good care of it. And when Ethan returned, he had returned alone.

“Please tell me what's wrong…” Vernus insisted as he nuzzled Zoey.

“I… I don't want to leave…” her voice was low, but it was just loud enough for Vernus to hear what she had actually said.

“Is that what this is about?” He asked as he sat back up and looked into Zoey's eyes.

“Y-yes…” Zoey stifled a hiccup as she wiped her tears again.

“Oh Zoey…I'll be right back.” Vernus gave her a small smile before he stood up and walked away from her. When he returned he had a small package in his mouth. It looked like it had been crudely wrapped in gift paper.

“W-what is it?” Zoey asked as Vernus handed the gift to her. She had managed to calm down slightly but she was still very upset.

“Why don't you open it and find out?” Vernus sat down in front of her and watched as Zoey carefully began to unwrap the present he had brought her. He watched intently as she used her claws with impressive precision.

As the wrapping paper fell to the ground, a smile began growing on Zoey`s face. She held up the present infront of her, unsure about what to say.

“I…” She stared at the purple sweater she was holding in her arms. The arms were long and wide, and the length matched hers. It looked perfectly tailored for her.

“Ethan made it,” Vernus clipped in as she stared in awe at her present. “He thought you should have something like this since you don't like anyone seeing your scars…” Zoey was more than grateful. To her the sweater seemed perfect. “And I had something else to tell you as well…” Vernus said before Zoey could thank him for the present.

“W-what is it?” She asked, she had stopped crying but her eyes were still a little misty from before.

“Ethan and I noticed how much you liked it around here… that and I just found you crying here about how you did not want to leave, so… Ethan asked me to ask if you wanted to stay for good. To make this little place your home,” Vernus was going to continue but he was cut off as Zoey pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you…” she kept repeating it, and her tears had begun flowing again. Only this time she was crying from happiness. She had not been happier in her entire life.

Vernus only smiled and hugged her back.

“You miss him too, don't you?” Chii asked. They had reached the mayor’s office and had decided to wait outside for when Ethan was done.

“I do, yeah…” Zoey sighed. Vernus was one of her best friends after all.

“You only figure out how much you miss someone when they are gone,” Zoey blinked and looked down at Chii. She never used to speak like that, even if she was right.

“Yeah…” Zoey stared out into the air, and failed to notice the small grin that crept up onto Chii`s face.

“That’s why you should use this opportunity to tell Ethan that you love him!” Chii had seen an opportunity and she did not hesitate to go for it.

“Yeah… wait no!” Zoey looked down to Chii who had the biggest grin on her little face. “You tricked me!”

“You still said yes!” She cheered.

“I can't just blurt out a confession to him just like that, Chii! Don’t get me wrong, I want to tell Ethan, but-” Zoey was cut off by a familiar voice coming from behind her.

“Tell me what?” Ethan asked. Zoey and Chii had been so caught up in the moment that they had not heard the door behind them open.

“N-n-nothing,” Zoey immediately sputtered out and brought a paw over Chii`s mouth to stop her from blurting it out.

“Zoey… you know that you can talk to me about anything, we are family.” Ethan smiled and walked towards Zoey who was backpedaling and desperately thinking of a way out of the current situation.

“L-look, there is someone surfing down the waterfall with a Gyarados chasing after them!” Zoey pointed over Ethan's shoulder towards the waterfall.

“Really…?” Ethan scoffed. “If you don’t want to talk to me about it, then that’s fine. But at least give me a proper excuse. It’s like you were not even trying with that one.” Chii finally struggled free from Zoey`s grasp.

“No, she is right, look!” She said as she pointed to the same place that Zoey had been.

And she was indeed right. It was too far away to see who it was, but there was definitely someone surfing down the waterfall… or falling with a piece of wood. It was too far away for Ethan to see properly. But the Gyarados was easily visible, being as big a Pokémon as it is.

Ethan really had no words for what he was seeing. Only a single word managed to escape past his lips as he stared at the sight before him.

“...Huh.”

Chapter 12 Author's Note

Hiya, everyone, this is Moldy, Arctic's proofreader! I've never really said anything yet, but if you see any errors or inconsistencies, feel free to toss tomatoes at me. I'd say to throw fire, but I burn pretty easily…

Anyway, enjoy the chapter! I know I did… ;)

Chapter 12

Ethan was running down towards the waterfall with Zoey and Chii closely following. He was not really sure what to think about the situation at hand, but a Gyarados and someone else coming down the waterfall was something that needed to be checked out.

“So what do you think has happened?” Zoey asked as they ran besides Ethan.

“I… I really don't know,” Ethan answered. “And it did not look like the Gyarados was chasing whoever it was either, it looked more like it was falling.” A Gyarados has a distinct way of swimming, and that had not been it. Ethan could not think of anyone what would be crazy enough to surf down a waterfall either… Well, maybe one person.

“Do you think that they are okay?” Chii chimed in.

“I… the Gyarados should be, at least.” They were powerful Pokémon and a fall like that should be nothing to it. Ethan was more curious about the other being, since it was too far away for them to see what it was clearly.

“How did it go with the mayor then?” Zoey asked, they were still some distance away from the waterfall and she was curious to know how things went.

“Oh, that… went surprisingly well,” Ethan told her. “He had heard that me and Jenny had helped with the situation in the forest and was more than happy to give us a place to stay. It’s the same building that Mary Care told me about, so it will need a little work. But we can make it work.” Ethan was just happy that they had a place to call home.

Zoey smiled as she saw how happy Ethan was. He always seemed happy, but she had been with him long enough that she knew how he really felt. Having a home really did mean a lot to him.

It was then that Zoey decided that she would tell Ethan that she loved him, after they had investigated the situation at the waterfall. Chii had been right, if she continued to put if off, she would only end up regretting it in the end.

As the road led them down to their destination and the trees started to thin out, two figures could be seen at the water’s edge.

The first one was the Gyarados, being as large as it was, it was easy to spot. It was lying near the edge of the water, with its head resting upon the bank. In front of it, however, stood a Mienshao with a long piece of wood leaning up against it. The long whip like fur on its arms had been wrapped up around each arm, so it looked like a couple of bracers.

Ethan did not want to admit it, but the way it stood and the piece of wood it had apparently used as a surfboard down the waterfall could only make him think of one person that would be crazy enough to try something like that, or have the skill to pull it off.

“Hello there.” Ethan decided to be on the safe side and called out to the two of them as he approached, Chii and Zoey following close after.

“Huh?” The Mienshao turned around to look at the ones that had greeted him. “Well, hello there, Zoey. Who’s your friends?” And with that Ethan knew exactly who that person was.
He walked forward until he was face to face with the surfer who still had a relaxed stance and look on his face.

“Really? No greeting for your old buddy, you insane bastard?” Ethan grinned as the Mienshao`s eyes widened in realization.

“Ethan?” He asked and grinned once Ethan nodded in return. “Well, look at what the waves dragged ashore.” He reached out and grabbed Ethan in a bonecrushing hug.

“Who is that?” Chii asked Zoey as they watched Ethan squirm in the merciless hug he was getting. The Mienshao was not much bigger than him, but easily lifted Ethan into the air.

“That, is Brawly,” Zoey smiled at the sight at their reunion. “He is a friend of Ethan… a really good friend,” She giggled as she watched Ethan begin to struggle for air. It seemed like Brawly had kept his strength.

Brawly finally let Ethan go, and gave him a hard slap on the back as he dropped him back down.

“Ugh… it’s nice to see you again, too.” Ethan said with a pained expression. Brawly had been strong before, but to Ethan it felt like he was even stronger now. He was sure that he had heard something crack when he was hugged like that.

“And you too, my old friend!” Brawly exclaimed happily. He looked over to Zoey who waved back at him, and Chii who looked at him with caution. “And who is the little cutie?” He asked Ethan.

“Zoey, Chii, come over here,” Ethan waved the two of them over. Zoey did not need another invitation and walked over to them, though Chii was still a little unsure about Brawly.

“This is Chii, she was rescued not too long ago,” Ethan told Brawly who nodded in return. Zoey did not need any introduction. Brawly visited Ethan regularly and was well acquainted with most of their family. “And Chii, this is Brawly. He is an old friend of mine,” Ethan told Chii when she and Zoey had made their way over to them. “Do you think you can say hello for me?”

Chii stared at Brawly as she tried to make up her mind about how to feel about the newcomer. On one paw, he was Ethan’s friend and she did trust Ethan. It was just something about his brash nature that made Chii a little cautious. It reminded her of her Mary.

“H-hello…” Chii said meekly as she looked down, refusing to meet Brawly`s eyes.

“Well it’s nice to meet ya,” Brawly smiled nonetheless, ignoring Chiis caution towards him. “And you as well Zoey, it’s been awhile!” He wanted to go over and give Zoey a hug as well, but he held back for the moment. He knew very well what Pokémon Ethan dealt with so he did not want to intrude on Chiis personal space if she did not want him to.

“It’s nice to see you again, too, Brawly!” Zoey happily greeted him. “How have you been? You know, considering…” Zoey looked over him as she searched for the right word. Luckily for her, he understood what she meant and just let out a short laugh.

“Well it was certainly strange, I’ll give you that. But you just have to go with the flow.” Zoey could not help but giggle slightly as Brawly did a small, wave-like motion with his arms. He was just as laid-back in his attitude as she remembered.

“I don’t mean to put a damper on our little reunion…” Ethan started as he looked at the Gyarados that was still resting its head on the bank behind Brawly. “But who is that… because she really does not look okay,” Ethan could see several burn marks on her scales, electrical burn marks if he was not mistaken. It would be easier for him to see when he got closer.

“Ah… I’m glad you are here, dude. I think this girl here may need your help.” Brawly turned around and walked towards the Gyarados, letting his improvised surfboard fall to the ground. “I found her a little up the stream… she kept slipping in and out of it. I tried to stop her, but the stream wanted to guide me and her to you, it seemed.”

Ethan was slightly impressed as he got a closer look at the Gyarados. It was strong, that much was obvious, and he could see the muscles positively rippling underneath its scales. More so than usual for a normal Gyarados, at least. But even with all its muscles, it was much slimmer than a normal Gyarados.

But with the multiple electrical burns Ethan could spot, it was no surprise that it had gone down. Electricity was its weakest element after all.

“What happened to her?” Zoey asked as she gazed upon the huge Pokémon.

“‘Fraid I don't know, Zoey,” Brawly spoke as he scratched his head. “I had just gotten my bearings and my board when I came across her… couldn't make too much sense of what she spoke of most of the time either… sorry, dude.”

“Well, I think she will be fine,” Ethan spoke up. He had gone over most of the damage that he could see, though a large part of her body was still underwater. “None of the damage seem to go deep, so I believe that she should make a full recovery…” he looked back to the Gyarados. “Though I would still like to go back and get a few supplies for some of her wounds, just in case.”

“Oh yeah, I thought I saw a town from on top of the waterfall,” Brawly mused as he looked back up to the thundering waterfall.

“Yeah, it’s a nice little town,” Ethan told him. “Have you met any of the locals yet?” He asked Brawly.

“Yeah, on my first day here. They seem cool, though maybe a little strange. They never answered my question either…” Ethan looked at his friend for a moment as he thought about what he had just said.

“And did you have a translation spell cast on you since they can't understand us?” He asked, feeling the urge to facepaw or hit his friend when realisation lit up on Brawly`s face.

“Ohhh… that explains a lot… Well I think we managed to get along just fine nonetheless.” Somehow that did not surprise Ethan. Brawly was a very likable guy that mostly got along with everyone, apparently even when they could not understand him.

“That’s just like you.” But even if he knew, he could not help but comment on it.

“Do you think she will be fine until we come back, though?” Chii asked Ethan as she looked over to the Gyarados.

Ethan had to admit that Chii had a point. His mind had been elsewhere since he had been reunited with his old friend.

“Tell you what, why don't you three go back to town, and ask Mary for some supplies to treat electrical burns and I’ll wait here in case she wakes up. Does that sound good with you, Chii?” Ethan proposed. That way, he would be able to handle the situation if the Gyarados happened to wake up while they were gone.

“You sure you are going to be okay?” Zoey asked him as she glanced over to the resting Gyarados. It may have been weakened since it was hurt, but a Gyarados was still a fearsome opponent if it chose to attack.

“I’ll be fine, you just worry about getting the supplies,” Ethan told them.

“Come on, girls,” Brawly said as he patted Zoey on the back and started leading them back towards the town. “If he says he’s got it, then it will be fine. Dude knows what he is talking ‘bout.”

“But…” Chii looked back to Ethan as they walked away from him. She wanted to protest, but she had conflicted feelings. Ethan had told them to get the supplied and that was what they would do. It did not take long until all three of them were out of Ethan’s sight.

“Of all the people to show up…” Ethan could not help but grin slightly. He also had another small thought behind sending all three of them to get the supplies while he stayed back. It would allow Brawly to get a small look at the town, and hopefully Chii would warm up to him. He was such a likable guy so he could not understand why she was so wary of him.

“Oh well, I’m sure it will work out…” He mused to himself as he sat down and looked at his new patient. “I wonder what you went through…”

“You know, just glaring at him won't change anything,” Zoey whispered to Chii who had not stopped staring at Brawly. He had kept his distance as they walked out of respect for Chii.

“...” Chii did not say anything, she just continued to glare at him. She was mad at the fact that his arrival had stopped Zoey from confessing her love to Ethan. It had all been going perfectly too.

Zoey just let out a long sigh and shot Brawly an apologetic glance.

“I’m sorry for her behavior, she is not normally like this,” Brawly just shook his head with his normal smile.

“It’s alright, I’m sure she has her reasons… so this is the town you have been staying in, huh?” They had entered the town and was making good progress towards the Mary`s clinic.

“Yeah, it’s a nice little town, and the ponies in it are great… well most of them at least,” She thought back to all of the injured Pokemon that had been brought in.

“Sounds like something has happened.” Zoey smiled, Brawly had always been a great listener. Not that Ethan was not, he was just… Ethan.

“Yeah… It started with this injured Swablu…” Zoey got started and told Brawly about everything that had happened, including the fact the an Officer Jenny had helped them out.

“Sounds like you have had a rough ride so far,” Brawly commented as he waved at the nearby ponies that they passed. “An Officer Jenny though? That could create some rough waves…” He knew of what Ethan did and his past after all.

“Yeah… and it kind of did,” Zoey let out a sigh but did not comment on it any further since Chii was still there with them. “But it all worked out in the end.” She gave Brawly a reassuring look, which he nodded to, having gotten the meaning behind it. If there had been any trouble Ethan would have most likely told him beforehand.

“We are here!” Chii cheered when the clinic was in sight. She jumped down from Zoey and ran towards the building to greet Mary Care.

“She really likes the pony who works there; she had been kind to us,” Zoey explained to Brawly as he looked after the speeding Chii.

“She seems like a nice little girl… do you mind if I ask why Ethan has her? It had been some time since we last talked so I had not gotten wind of the fact that he had gotten any more patients.” Brawly asked Zoey. He had been so busy with his job as a Gym Leader the past few months that he had not had a chance to visit Ethan.

“She… has had a rough past,” Zoey was really not comfortable speaking of it, since it was Chiis past and not her own. But she did trust Brawly. “Do you know the name Mary Costatilla?” Brawlys eyes lit up in understanding.

“Yeah… her mother was widely known after all.” He stopped for a moment as he watched Chii run in through the door.

“Then just know that she is very fragile. She will warm up to you, she just most likely needs a little more time.” Brawly nodded in understanding as the two of them followed after Chii to get those supplies.

Zoey grew increasingly more nervous as they walked back through the forest towards the waterfall. She had promised herself that she would finally tell Ethan about how she felt. She had to do it, it would just continue to eat at her if she did not.

She was going to tell his how she felt. But what if something went wrong… what if he did not love her back. What if-

Zoey was brought out from her thoughts as Brawly put a paw on her shoulder.

“Are you alright? You seemed a little out of it,” Zoey blushed and shook her head. She had to get her act together. Everything would be fine, she had to tell herself that.

“Y-yes, I’m fine. I’m just thinking about something,” Chii grinned knowingly from on top of Zoey`s head. She knew exactly what she was talking about. Her plan was playing out just the way she imagined it… well mostly, it was the end result that was important.

Brawly did not inquire anymore as they were closing in on their destination. The trees were already beginning to become scarce and the sound of water was becoming cleared with every step that they took .

“Hey there!” The group could hear Ethan call out to them. He was sitting on a small stone next to the Gyarados and was waving at them.

“Ethan!” Chii yelled as she jumped down and ran over to him, jumping into his lap as she nuzzled against him.

“Hello to you too, Chii,” an amused Ethan said as Chii was purring loudly. “Did everything go well, did she have the supplies that we need?” Brawly nodded and brought out the small sack he had been carrying.

“She said that you wanted this, I trust that you know how to use it.” Ethan nodded as he took the sack and was about to open it to inspect its content when Zoey stepped up to him. She was fidgeting with her claws and was looking as nervous as she could possibly be.

“C-can I talk to you about something?” Zoey managed to stammer out, she was visibly shaking as she stood before Ethan. “Alone,” she added before Ethan could speak up.

Ethan glanced over at Brawly who just shrugged in response, and Chii who had jumped down from Zoey and was nodding and smiling at him.

“Of course, Zoey.” Ethan stood up and put his paw on her shoulder. He noticed how she calmed down at his touch before she nodded and they walked a small distance away from the others.

He could not help but wonder what was eating at Zoey. She was usually so confident and straightforward in her actions. He hoped that there wasn't anything wrong.

“So what did you want to talk to me about?” Ethan asked when they stopped. He could still see Chii and Brawly in the distance, but they should be to far away to listen in.

“I…” Zoey took a few deep breaths as she steeled herself. “I… I love you.”

Zoey felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders as she said this, she felt relieved beyond anything else. Especially as she looked at Ethan and saw him smiling back at her.

“Well, I love you too. I love all of you guys, you are my family.” Zoey felt her eye twitch. How could he be that dense!? She wanted to hit him, but held herself back. She had come that far, she would see things through.

“No, I love you… I like you… romantically.” She could see the moment that Ethan realised exactly what she meant as his eyes opened, and his mouth, while open, did not speak for a few moments.

“Oh… OHHH…. ohhhh,” that last “oh” could have very well have been a Bisharp stabbing her through the chest. Especially when she took into account the look on Ethan's face. He was looking around as if looking for a way out, and he was looking really nervous… he did not love her back, she knew it.

“Y-you dont love me back, d-do you?” Zoey stammered out, she was beginning to cry, her eyes already misty. “I-is it because you used to b-be a human?” Zoey sniffed. She had kept telling herself that everything would be okay, so it felt so much harder for her now that things did not go the way that she had hoped.

“No, of course not,” Ethan said as he put a hand on her shoulder. “I never cared about that…”

“Then why!” Zoey yelled at him, her tears were flowing freely now. “A-am I just too ugly for you or what?” Ethan did not like the direction that Zoey were heading in, that and her voice had kept increasing since she had started crying. “I-its the scars isn't it?” Zoey sobbed out as she hit his paw away from her shoulder.

“What? No of course not,” Ethan retorted. “it’s ju-”

“It’s just WHAT!?” Zoey roared at him, but visibly calmed down as she felt a paw on her shoulder… that did not belong to Ethan.

“You never told her, did you?” Brawly sighed out. He stood just behind Zoey with a sad Chii sitting next to him, her ears flat against her head.

“I-it’s not something that I tell everyone… besides, I never saw the need to tell it. It never came up.” Ethan grabbed the fur on his head and let out a deep sigh.

“T-tell me what?” Zoey asked. She looked in between Ethan and Brawly, obviously confused about what was going on. Ethan opened his mouth to explain everything to her, but Brawly beat him too it.

“He’s gay.” The look Ethan sent Brawly would have been enough to kill lesser men. He always had a tendency for just blurting things out.

“I…” Zoey was at a loss for words. Did she truly know Ethan at all? She had been with him for several years and she had not known about such an important piece of his life. She was not sure what to think.

“I’m sorry I never told you, Zoey.” Ethan knelt down in front of her to be able to look her in the eyes since she was staring at the ground.

“W-why… why did you not tell me? I thought we were family,” Zoey asked, her tears heavier than before. Ethan basically knew everything about her, but now that she thought about it, she knew next to nothing about him.

“I…” Ethan looked at Brawly, who just shook his head. His friend was right, this was his mess and he had to deal with it. “I’m sorry Zoey… I just never thought about telling any of you... Hell, Brawly only know because he was there when I told my father.”

It tore him up to see Zoey in the state that she was now in.

“I’m sorry that I can't give you what you are looking for…” He truly did love Zoey, but it was the same love that he felt for Vernus, Chii, or any of his close friends and family. “Can you forgive me for not telling you sooner?” Ethan held out his paw towards her.

Zoey looked at his paw, and back up towards his face. She knew that Ethan never meant to hurt her. He had always done everything he could to make sure that each and every one of them had it as good as possible. But that did still not change the feeling of betrayal that she felt in her chest.

“Y-you can't change who you are…” Zoey managed to crack the smallest of smiles as she reached out and grabbed Ethan’s paw, letting herself being pulled into a hug. “I… I just wish that you had told me… us sooner. We are your family you know, you should trust us...” she wiped her tears on Ethan’s fur.

“I know… I’m stupid and I can't explain how sorry I am that it had to come to this…” Ethan held her tight and stroked Zoey`s back as she slowly managed to calm down. “Are you going to be okay?” As he asked this, Zoey leaned away and stood back up again.

“I… yeah,” she nodded as she wiped her eyes once more. “I just… think I need some time to think if that’s okay with you,” she flashed him a smile before she turned around and started walking away. She still felt really betrayed, there was no changing that, so she needed a little time away from Ethan to properly think things through.

“Brawly, do you mind going with her?” His friend paused before nodding slowly.

“If that is what you want… What about you?” Brawly looked at Ethan. He knew that his friend cared about his family above everything else so that situation must have been hard on him too.

“I’ll be fine,” Ethan grinned at him. “I would just feel safer if someone looked after her right now. She is your friend, too, and I think she could use someone to talk to right about now. Someone that is not me. ” Brawly nodded and walked after Zoey, leaving Ethan and Chii sitting on the banks.

His little companion had been quiet during most of what had happened, but now she had to get her feelings out. And so she jumped up to Ethan and hit him in the face with her tail, making him fall flat on his back in surprise.

“Oww… what was that for?!” Ethan complained as he sat back up. Chii may be small, but she could really pack a punch when she wanted to.

“It’s because you had to go and make Zoey sad!” Chii exclaimed as she glared at him with as much ferocity as such a small pink furball could manage. “Why could you just not say that you loved her back!?”

“Chii… it’s not that simple,” Ethan looked down at her as she glared back at him. He was sure that she had been there when everything had been told and explained so what was she… “Chii, do you know what it means when someone is gay?” Ethan asked her.

“Yes, of course I do!” Ethan looked at her with an eyebrow raised. Their little staring contest only lasted a few seconds before Chii gave in and looked down to the ground. “No…” Ethan let out a deep sigh, it made a little more sense to him now.

“I’m sorry that I made Zoey sad, Chii, but I can't change who I am. You see, normally…” and so Ethan began what might have been his biggest challenge yet.

Chapter 13

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 14

“R-really? You guys did all of this?” Jenny and Ethan had reached the old warehouse that was currently being renovated and Ethan was speechless at the sight of things once they arrived. Not because of how it looked, because it was still far from finished, but because of how many were actually helping.

“We wanted to surprise you.” Mary was standing beside him and Jenny as they watched the rest of the ponies continue to work. “It was Zoey`s idea, actually.”

“Oh… so where is she?” Ethan asked. He had looked around but he could not see any other Pokémon, only ponies.

“She did not want to face you just yet… I'm sorry.” Mary apologized once she saw the downtrodden look on Ethan's face.

“No no, it’s alright,” Ethan flashed her a ghost of a smile. It hurt that she did not want to face him yet, but he had made that mess, so he would have to deal with whatever came of it. “This is great! I don't know how to thank you guys enough!”

“It’s nothing… but if you want to thank someone, it’s Zephyr and his weather team that have done most of the work,” Mary said as she pointed to the pegasus in question. “Just don't mention what happened in the forest just yet around him… it’s a sore subject since it was somepony from his squad…” Ethan nodded in understanding. It must have been tough for Zephyr to go through that, and Mary knew him better than he did, so he would respect her wishes.

“Well… I better get started then, it looks like there is still quite a lot of work to do!”

A loud crack filled the air as a large pine tree fell and shook the very ground that it impacted with. But it was not alone, as several of its brethren had also been felled and laid on the same ground as it now did. A lot of the other trees in the area also had claw marks on them, the very same claw marks that could be found near the base of the trees that had been slain.

Zoey stood panting from the exhaustion after her latest victim had given in.

She tensed up once more and swung her arm at another nearby tree, her claws tearing into the bark and wood below before making a small explosion of splinters and bark as her claws did what they did best, tore their targets apart.

Zoey usually did not act like this. She had left her more aggressive past behind her, but even she needed some kind of release from time to time. And she had really just felt like hitting something repeatedly.

She had left just a little while after Mary had sent Jenny to go get Ethan. She wanted to face him and tell him that everything was okay, but that was not how she really felt. She had too much frustration inside of her, and she needed a way to vent that.

She almost fell down to the ground with her back against the tree as she was panting from exhaustion. She felt a small sting of pain in her chest, as she sat there. She knew what it was because of how many times she had felt it before. It was her own body telling her that she was close to overexerting herself, her scars really did not like it when she went all out.

“You are better than this, Zoey…” she said to herself as she stood up from her little rest. She looked around to inspect her handiwork. If anyone would walk through that area, they would probably think that some sort of massacre had taken place by how it looked.

She had lost track of how far down into the forest she had traveled during her little rampage, and but she had noticed that the deep rumble of the waterfall had grown louder since she had started.

She had readied her claws and was about to take yet another swipe at a nearby tree when a loud voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Hey! I know that you are out there, I could hear you! Come out!” A powerful voice roared through the forest.

“What the…” Zoey looked around her, but she could not see anyone in sight. It was difficult for her to judge how far away the owner of the voice was because of the waterfall. But she knew that it had come from said waterfall’s direction, so she began walking towards it. She had been curious as to who had called her out after all.

It took a small while to get through all the foliage between her and her destination. Taking the trail would have been much easier, but she had abandoned that trail a while ago, and was not completely sure where it was.

As she came out of the forest, she saw the same Gyarados that had been there the day before, only that now it was awake, and was looking straight at her.

“Were you the one that were making all that noise?” Scylla growled at her. She was still resting her head on the banks and from what Zoey could see, she had gotten some medical attention. From Ethan, most likely.

“What if I was?” Zoey sneered back. She was not in too good a mood and she did not like the tone she was getting.

“Well I was trying to get some rest, until you came through and made it impossible with all that noise. If you don't keep quiet I'll-” Scylla raised her head and tensed her muscles just for another spike of pain so shoot through her, making her flop back down. “I-I could still take you…” She growled.

Zoey on the other hand, felt almost all of her aggressiveness melt away as she saw how hurt she actually was.

“I’m sure you could,” she joked with a small smile. “Does it hurt?” Zoey asked as she walked towards her.

“No…” Scylla lied, but her facial expression betrayed her words and showed the pain that she was actually in.

“... I’m sorry if I disturbed you,” Zoey apologized as she sat down in front of the large Pokémon. She had helped taking care of other injured Pokémon for so long with Ethan that she just felt an instinct to help her in any way that she could. “I’m Zoey.”

“...Scylla,” she answered under her breath.

“I’m sorry for disrupting your rest… I was just so angry and needed a way to release it all.” Zoey admitted as the two of them looked at each other.

“I… guess I can understand that.” Scylla said as she let out a sigh, she had calmed down a little. Though something about Zoey reminded her of something, or rather she knew that it should have, she just could not remember exactly what.

“What about you?” Zoey inquired. “It must be a little boring, if you can't move all that much.”

“Tell me about it.” Scylla said with a roll of her eyes. “I hate this so much! But… there is not much I can do about it. Urg, I hate feeling so useless.”

“Hey… you are not useless. You just have to get well, and accept the help that you get while you do so.” Zoey told her with a small smile.

“I know but… I should be better than this. I should have been able to withstand the attack… I am stronger than this!” She yelled out the last part before she slumped back down again. “At least I’m supposed to be… I am strong… I know it.”

“I’m sure you are, you look the part at least.” Zoey told her, in a hope of lifting her mood slightly. ”But being strong, also means being able to accept help and know when to take it easy…” She could not help but smirk when she noticed the grimace Scylla was making. She knew that Zoey was correct, she had known the entire time, she just did not want to seem weak.

“Zoey…” It finally clicked it Scylla’s mind. Why Zoey had seemed so familiar, and Ethan. “That means that, that Lopunny was Ethan Summers, right?” At the mention of his name, Zoey stood up immediately. It was more a reflex than a intentional action, but she unsheathed her claws nonetheless.

“H-how do you know his name?” Zoey asked. Ethan had mentioned Jenny’s idea about keeping his last name a secret since it would lessen the risk.

“...Calm down, before I make you,” Scylla growled at her before she let out a small sigh. “Besides, I'm not going to do anything to him… he helped me, I owe him after all.” Zoey retracted her claws and calmed down at Scylla`s words. She was not sure if she could have taken her in a fight anyway, even with how injured she was. Zoey was no stranger to fighting, and was therefore better than most at judging someone's strength. And Scylla simply oozed of it.

“I… but how do you know his name?” She asked again, more calm and collected this time.

“He is a wanted man… I never hunted him myself, but I saw his wanted poster more than one time,” Scylla told Zoey. “I have no reason to try anything. I am seperated from my team… and as I said, he helped me. I owe him, and I always keep my word!” Besides, she had formed her own opinion of Ethan after having met and spent some time with him. She knew what crimes he was charged with, but he seemed like a good person.

Her words made Zoey more than a little curious.

“What did you do back on Earth, if you don't mind me asking?” Zoey inquired. She could see Scylla consider and think about her answer for a moment before she gave it to her.

“I… don't suppose it would hurt. I was… am part of a mercenary group called Checkmate.”

Zoey blinked as the name echoed inside her mind. She had heard that name before, when she was stuck fighting before Ethan rescued her. The very human that Ethan had saved her from, had mentioned that name more than a few times… She could not remember much other than the name though, a lot of her memories from that time were fuzzy.

She held back on telling Scylla that though, she saw no reason to do so at the moment.

“So what did you do?” Zoey asked.

“We did what we were hired to do… mostly,” she remembered more than a few times where they had gone against the wishes of their contractor. They did a lot of unethical things, but they had a code, too. “I was a part of one of the group’s inside our organization called Queen, reserved for the strongest and mightiest.” Scylla said while wearing a big grin.

“And you said that you had wanted posters of Ethan?” Zoey inquired.

“Yes… among many others. I probably would not have realized that it was him, had it not been for you. You are rather unique in your appearance, after all.” Zoey looked away and nodded slightly, she was rather hard to miss after all. Not that many Zangoose are using purple sweaters, and she was even more easily recognisable without it.

“Do you think you can keep Ethan’s past a secret?” Zoey asked of her. “We just managed to avoid a rather unpleasant situation, and I would rather not have to deal with something like that again…” Scylla kept her gaze for a moment or two before nodding.

“You have my word…” Scylla promised her.

“Thank you… that means a lot to me,” Zoey smiled as she relaxed even more. “Urg… have you had any problems with love?” Scylla blinked at the sudden question.

“W-what do you mean?”

“You see… I sort of had this crush on Ethan for the longest time and…” Zoey began pouring her heart out to Scylla. She had talked with Brawly, but maybe having a more neutral party would help her get another or a better view on things.

Back at the warehouse, Ethan and the others were making good progress with getting the building ready for the Pokémon to move in. Jenny had also been spending a lot of time helping out in any way that she could. She wanted to get to reading and analyzing the journal that she had found, but it could wait for a little while. Besides, the sooner they were done, the sooner she could get started on her work.

“Hey, Ethan!” Jenny had walked over to him. “I’ve been wondering this for a while but… who is that?” She asked as she pointed off to the Mienshao that had just finished carrying some supplies. She had noticed his early on, and she had been curious about who it actually was.

“Hm? Oh, that’s Brawly.” Ethan could not help but smirk at the bewildered look on Jenny’s face as she blinked before looking over at Brawly once more.

“Like the Gym Leader Brawly?” Jenny asked as she kept her gaze on him.

“The one and only.”

“...Why is he helping out here then?” Jenny asked, she could not help but feel a little confused. What they were doing was a good thing, and they needed all the help they could get. But in her experience most people had their own agenda and did usually not do things unless there was something in it for them.

“He is an old friend. Besides, did you ever wonder how I got all those Pokémon I rescued out to their new families and trainers?” Realization lit up in Jenny's eyes.

“He was your accomplice? Brawly the Gym Leader?”

“You sound like it’s so hard to believe,” Ethan laughed. “Yeah, he helped me out with that part. He would investigate and do background checks to make sure that they were good people before he got the Pokémon out to them. It was much easier for him to do so, since I was a wanted man after all.”

Jenny saw his point, and she had theorised in the past that he had an accomplice that helped him from the outside, but she had never found any real proof on it. It made a lot of sense now that she thought about it. Most Gym Leaders were very influential in a lot of social circles.

“Anyone else I should know about that was in on that little operation of yours?” Jenny inquired after she had thought about it for a moment.

“No, just me and him. You know, initially he wanted to take a more active role in what we did… But I talked him out of it. He could be of more help with what he did… besides, he was a Gym Leader with a promising future… I couldn't let him ruin that.” Jenny looked up at Ethan as he spoke. That really did sound like something he would do.

“So is he going to be helping around here after we get everything up and running then?” Ethan hummed to myself for a second or two before answering Jenny’s question.

“I don’t know… I hope so, but that’s up to him!” Ethan said with a smile that Jenny saw through. Nervousness, that is what she saw in Ethan at that moment.

“If you say so…” She decided not to press on the matter. She was good at reading people, but she also knew when to keep quiet.

“Want to me call him over so you can introduce yourselves?” Jenny shook her head.

“No… we will have time for that later, now the important thing is to finish this place.” Ethan just smiled and nodded at her answer before the two of them got back to work.

It took a few more hours of hard work before the building was in a presentable condition. It was just one floor so everything was out in the open but everyone and everypony that helped agreed that it turned out alright. They did not have any proper beds, but they had several mattresses along with a bunch of blankets, set up into a makeshift sleeping area where it should be enough space for everyone.

They had also built some kitchen counters that would allow for some proper cooking and storing of their supplies. The building did not have any plumbing or magical electrical work done, but they had already made plans to change that during the next few days. Mary Care and the local doctor had also donated some medical equipment that Ethan would need for taking care of the Pokémon that would be staying there until they got better.

Ethan was going to go pick up the injured Pokémon that were staying at the doctor
s office. But before that, he had to go get Zoey… at the very least, he needed to talk to her once more. He had given her some time, and he knew that nothing good would come from pushing her, but he needed to talk to her to see if they were still okay. He left Chii with Jenny and Brawly to hold the fort until he came back.

He was a little worried about how he was going to find her at first, but her trail was easy to spot and follow. With all the claw marks on the trees that led further into the forest, one would almost think that she had wanted someone to be able to follow her.

It was not long before Ethan emerged from the forest and out into the very same area where Scylla was resting. Only that this time she was not alone, Zoey was there too and from the looks of it they were having a rather good time laughing together.

“Y-you have to be joking. He really did that?” Scylla managed to say in between her small giggle fits.

“Yeah, you should have seen the look on his face!” Zoey laughed alongside with her. Ethan smiled as he watched how well the two of them got along, though he could not help but be a little curious as to wonder what they had been talking about.

“Oh… seems like someone is here for you.” Scylla said to Zoey as she noticed that Ethan had shown up. She was a little miffed with him after hearing Zoey`s story about what had happened.

“Oh… H-hello there.” Zoey`s meekly greeting made Ethan wince slightly before he walked over to the two of them.

“Hello there, Zoey… I thought I should check up on you since we haven't talked since last night…” Ethan ignored the look he was getting from Scylla as he spoke to Zoey. “Especially after I saw what you did in the forest… Are you okay?”

“... Yeah,” Zoey spoke softly. “Well… I think I am now at least. Don’t get me wrong… I want to be mad at you for not telling me sooner… but I just can't stay mad at you.” Zoey said before she almost lunged forward and pulled Ethan unto a hug. “Just… dont say anything, just let me enjoy the moment.” Zoey told Ethan as she held him close. It took Ethan a moment to get over his initial shock, but he gladly accepted and hugged Zoey back.

Scylla could not help but feel a little uncomfortable as she looked at the two of them. She still thought that Zoey should have roughed him up a little bit… but seeing the two of them as close as they were made her miss Weiss and the others even more.

“So are you ready to head back now?” Ethan asked Zoey after a small while. “We are ready to bring the Pokémon over to the warehouse… I guess I should be getting used to calling it home… but we could really use your help.”

“I thought I told you not to ruin the moment,” Zoey huffed as she hit Ethan lightly on the shoulder. “... But yeah, I’m ready to head back.” She told him. In truth she had wanted to talk to Ethan for quite some time after what had happened, but her own stubbornness had stopped her from seeking him out. She loved him… nothing could change that. But maybe it would not be as bad to learn to love him as just family.

“I probably won't have time to come visit you until tomorrow morning,” Ethan told Scylla. “Will you be alright until then?”

“Of course I will!” She huffed at him. “I don’t need your help… though I do appreciate it.” She mumbled the last part so quietly that even not Ethan’s ears managed to pick it up.

“Sure you don't,” Ethan said with an amused smirk. “I’ll arrange for some food to be sent down to you as soon as I can.”

“Bye, Scylla! It was nice talking to you.” Zoey smiled as she waved goodbye to her new friend.

“You too Zoey… you take care now!” Scylla yelled back as Ethan and Zoey had already begun walking away from her.

“The two of you, seem to have really hit it off!” Ethan commented as they entered the forest, using the proper path this time around.

“I think we did… though she has a tendency of yelling at times,” Zoey said with a bit of a wince. “She is also really strong… and it seems important to her that people know that.” Ethan looked at her for a moment, thinking back to when he had talked with Scylla.

“Yeah, I remember that. Do you think I should talk to her about it?” Ethan asked.

“It’s nothing bad about it… but it might not be a bad thing if you offer your services,” Zoey suggested. “She reminds me about some of your earlier patients…”

“I’ll do just that then.” Ethan told her. “You know… I was surprised that you and Vernus never became a thing. I guess I now know why.” Zoey looked at Ethan with a surprised look.

“M-me with Vernus?” Ethan just nodded with his usual smile. “I… I never thought about him like that.”

Ethan smiled as he watched Zoey think about what he had just told her. He was still hoping that the two of them got together, but for that to even be a chance, they had to find Vernus too.

“Here you go, little ones, for now, this is your new home.” Ethan, Zoey, Mary and Brawly had gotten the injured Pokemon from the doctor’s office and the Swablu that had been staying at Mary`s Clinic and brought them to the warehouse.

They had gotten a little help from Zephyr and his pegasi to transport all of them over since the number came to a total of fifteen Pokémon that was now going to be living there for a while.

Most of them had been more than a little skeptical around the new ponies, which was more than understandable. Their first impression with ponies had been as bad as it could get, after all. But Ethan managed to calm them down enough that they could transfer them without any problems.

“S-so we can stay here?” The Tailow with the clipped wings spoke up after they had all arrived. “For how long?”

“As long as you need to, little guy! That goes for all of you. Think of this as a temporary home until you get well. But if you really want to stay after that, then that’s up to you.” Ethan told them with a smile on his face.

It took a while to get all the Pokémon settled in their new home. Some of them were still nervous because of what had happened, and some just wanted to leave immediately, even with their injuries. But after a bit of convincing from Ethan, they too agreed that it would be best for them to stay until they were in better shape.

Ethan and Zoey were the two main ones that took care of the Pokémon. Mary would come by when she had time and help out, but she had her own job and could not be there all the time either. Brawly did help out here and there, but that was mostly with the physical labor and cooking, he had little to no medical training after all. Jenny spent most of her time alone with her head buried in the journal that she had found. And Chii… was mostly just herself.

There were still things that needed to be sorted out. But they finally had a home of their own, and most of their family was back together again. Ethan could not help but smile at the thought of that. It was the first time that he really thought of Equestria as his new home.

Author's Note

Thanks to V-Oblivion for letting me use his character Scylla. If you havent read his story go check it out^^
A New World - A New Game

Chapter 15

Chii was having the time of her life. She was out playing in the park with both Ethan and Zoey, as she had not gotten too much time with the two of them after all the Pokémon had moved in with them. She understood that they needed a lot of care and attention with how injured they were. So of course she was overjoyed that Ethan and Zoey finally had some time to spend with her. She was part of their family after all, and she always wanted to spend time with them.

“Are you having fun, Chii?” Ethan asked her with his normal, kind smile.

“Of course!” Chii exclaimed happily. They had been playing tag and different games all that afternoon. “I love you guys.” Chii purred as she nuzzled closer to Ethan who petted her back.

“We love you too!” Ethan said as he picked Chii up and held her close.

Chii was not sure how long she spent just relaxing in Ethan’s arms. She was a little tired from playing that much, after all.

“Hey, Chii?” Ethan and Zoey asked after a little while.

“Yeah?” She looked up at the two of them. There was something about how they looked at her that was a bit off, but she paid it no mind.

“We have a surprise for you!” Zoey exclaimed with a huge smile.

“Really!? I love surprises!” Chii had hopped down and was bouncing around happily. “What is it?”

“We have finally found someone that wants to adopt you!” Chii almost tripped as those words left Ethan's mouth.

“W-what?” Chii asked as she looked up at Ethan and Zoey who both seemed to be larger and darker than normal. She hoped that she had misheard what he had said.

“You are getting adopted!” Ethan repeated with a large smile on his face as if it was the greatest news possible. “You are finally eating on your own and you have gotten so much better since we took you in, so of course it’s time for you to get a new family!”

Chii was having a hard time to accept what Ethan was telling her. No, they were her family. She belonged with them. With Ethan, Uncle Vernus, and Zoey.

She opened her mouth to protest but no words came out, she could not make any sound at all.

“She will come to pick you up real soon, so we will just leave you here!” Zoey spoke up with a smile that matched Ethan’s. “It was nice knowing you, Chii!” And with that both of them turned around and started to walk away from her.

“N-no… come back.” Chii had found her voice again and managed to force out a few words. “C-come back! DON’T LEAVE ME HERE!” Chii yelled with all her might as she started running after them.

But no matter how fast she ran, she could not get any closer. It was like she was rooted to the ground as Ethan and Zoey slowly, so very slowly disappeared into the distance.

“P-please…” Chii cried, as she stopped running, only the silhouettes of her family could now be seen in the horizon. “P-please don't leave me…” she whimpered they finally disappeared completely from sight.

She was not sure how long she just sat there, looking after them, hoping that they would return. Maybe it was all just some kind of joke. Some… cruel… horrible joke.

“Y-you said that you would never leave me…” Chii sniffed as she tried to wipe her eyes. She could not believe that Zoey had lied to her. But maybe none of them had never loved her in the first place.

“Hello there, Chii. I am here to take you home.” She heard a voice from behind her and turned around immediately. But almost reared back in shock as she saw Mary standing there. Her Mary, her old Mary. Maybe Arceus had resurrected her after all.

“M-Mary…” Chii did not know why, but she was shaking. Why was she shaking, she should be happy that her old trainer was back. “W-what are you doing here?” She stammered out. She looked up to her own trainer whose expression changed the moment their eyes met.

“I thought I told you to never speak back to me!” Mary roared at Chii as she brought her arm down and hit Chii, sending her spiraling to the side.

“I… I'm sorry, I did not meant to...” Chii croaked out keeping her gaze at towards the ground as Mary walked over to her and kneeled down besides her.

“Good! Because we know what happens to little Pokémon that don't know how to be obedient, don't we?” Mary said with a sharp tone as she picked Chii up by the scruff of her neck.

“Y-yes… I'll be a good girl. I promise.” Chii said as she kept looking down at the ground, forcing herself to keep her tears back.

“Good! Ethan told me that you were all better so that I could finally take you home! You should be happy that he allowed you to stay with him as long as he did.”

“I… I did not think that he would abandon me…” Chii said, her tears having finally broke free. But as soon as those words left her mouth, Mary threw Chii down onto the ground with all of her might.

“Of course he abandoned you!” Mary said with a smile on her face, like if what she did was completely normal. “A worthless little Skitty like you… everyone would abandon you at the first chance they got. You should be happy that I'm taking you home, that I'm allowing you to stay with me!”

“I... I’m not worthless… He told me so...” Mary reared back and kicked Chii.

“Of course you are worthless!” Mary roared as her as she kicked again. “You are a useless, little waste of air!” Chii tried her best to shield herself, but she could only do so much with her tiny body.

After a small while, she looked up at her trainer who had stopped and taken a few steps back instead. Now she was just looking down at her with an angry expression on her face. Slowly but surely, Mary’s skin began to discolor. Rope marks appeared around her neck and a small trickle of blood ran down her mouth.

“No…” Chii could only watch in horror as her trainer transformed. She did no longer look like the lively Mary that she knew, instead she looked like she had done on… that night.

“After all… you were the one that drove me to this!” Mary let out a sickening laugh as Chii broke down in tears.

“No… no, no, no, no.” Chii kept chanting to herself as she cried her former trainer seemingly growing larger and larger as she towered over her.

“”YOU DID THI-”

“ENOUGH!” A sudden roar stopped Mary in her tracks. A large figure came flying down from above, landing in the space between Chii and Mary. “BEGONE!” And with a powerful swipe of her wing, Mary disappeared into smoke. Leaving only Chii and Luna.

Luna turned around to Chii who, if she had noticed Luna, was not showing it as she just kept crying and chanting to herself.

“‘It is safe, little one, the cruel one is gone.” Luna said as she looked down at Chii who now dared remove the paws that were shielding her eyes to look at her. Chii`s pupils shrank to pinpricks as she stared at Luna. She looked around the area but could not see anyone else there.

“W-w-who are you… Where is Mary?” Chii spoke incredibly softly, scared to raise her voice.

“She will trouble you no more this night, young one, you are safe! I am Luna, the Princess of the night.” Luna took a step closer towards Chii who immediately began backpedaling to get away from her. Luna paused as she looked down at Chii, only seeing fear and uncertainty in her eyes.

“N-no… she wouldn't… she left me again,” Chii cried. “S-she was right, I am completely useless. A waste of space… useless… useless.” Chii`s tears fell to the ground as she kept repeating that word to herself.

“N-no, of course you are not useless! You are safe little one, calm down.” Luna took another step towards Chii, her wings raised slightly as she wanted to embrace and comfort Chii who obviously were suffering from great turmoil. But she halted as a loud crack echoed through and the very ground itself shook.

“T-they abandoned me… they all abandoned me… W-why can't I be good enough for t-them. “W-why do I have to be so worthless.” Chii kept crying, ignorant to the cracks that were appearing in the skies and the ground that kept shaking.

“Calm down, little one, you are safe! Everything is alright.” Luna walked forward and knelt down besides Chii who were crying even heavier than before. But as one of her feathers graced Chii, she let out a loud scream and scurried away.

“S-stay away!” Chii stammered out. It pained Luna greatly to see such a young soul suffering so much. And the state of the dream was only growing worse by the second as she looked around. The entire sky was filled with cracks.

“Nopony will abandon you.” Luna spoke softly as she kept looking around at what was happening.

“No… they all will, and they all should. It’s what someone as worthless as me deserves!” Chii screamed at Luna. And as if resonating with her scream, one last crack filled the air, much louder than any of the ones before.

Before Luna could say or do anything else, everything shattered…

“W-what happened?” Ethan asked as he suddenly sat up in a daze as he and almost everyone else had just been suddenly awoken.

A loud scream had just filled the air in the warehouse, waking most of its inhabitants before the doors were slammed open and something ran outside.

“It was Chii!” Ethan looked over to the couch where Officer Jenny was laying. She had heavy rings under her eyes and the journal she had been investigating was laying in front of her. Those past few days she had been immersing herself into her work as much as possible, usually working late into the night. It had been more that one time Ethan or Brawly had to convince her to take a break.

“W-what?” Ethan asked, still a little groggy from his rude awakening.

“It was Chii! She suddenly started tossing and turning in her sleep, before she screamed loudly and ran out of here! We need to go find her!” Ethan finally registered what Jenny had said and stood up immediately.

“No, you stay here…” Ethan glanced around the sleeping area. Most of the Pokémon had been awoken and looked at both him and Jenny in confusion. Zoey had also been awoken but she was just like Ethan and had not managed to completely gather her surroundings. Brawly on the other hand… Somehow it did not surprise Ethan that he had managed to sleep through it. “This is not the first time she has went through something like this… it will probably be better if you stay here.”

Jenny looked at Ethan but did not argue with him. She really wanted to just run out that door after Chii, but Ethan had known her longer and was probably right.

“Fine… I'll hold the fort here. Just go!” And with that, Ethan ran out the door after Chii.

As he came out, the cold, night air made him shiver slightly. It was a beautiful night, with the moon high in the sky and not a cloud in sight. It was such a shame that he could not enjoy it to its fullest. No, he had a Chii to find.

“Chii!” Ethan called out as he ran after her. She was a small distance ahead of him and he knew how fast she could really be even with that small frame of hers. But Ethan thanked his ears as he could still hear her running and followed that sound deeper into the forest.

“Chii! I just want to help you!” He shouted after her as he continued. This was not the first time that something like that had happened. She was often plagued by nightmares after he first got her. It had taken some time, but the nightmares eventually became more scarce before they stopped completely, until now, it seemed.

After following her for a small while, he knew that he was closing in. She had finally stopped. He could hear some soft sounds coming from a small rock nearby, where he could see Chii laying ontop of it, crying softly as she covered her face with her paws and tail.

A sight like that helped remind Ethan about how vulnerable Chii still was. It was true that she had made remarkable progress, but she was still young, and what had happened to her was not too long ago, so it would still be fresh in her mind.

Ethan quietly walked over to her and sat down on the large rock next to her. She let out a surprised sound as Ethan put his paw gently on her back and she looked up to him with tears still fresh in her eyes.

“E-Ethan…?” Chii immediately lunged at Ethan, burying her face into the fur around his neck.

“It’s okay Chii… Everything is going to be okay.” Ethan spoke softly as he held her and gently stroked her back.

“S-she was there…” Chii sniffed as Ethan held her, her whole body was shaking. “M-Mary was there.” Of course, Ethan knew which Mary Chii was talking about. She had not mentioned her old trainer almost at all after they had arrived in Equestria.

“It was only a dream, Chii,” Ethan told her as she held onto him with all her strength. “She is not here… she can't hurt you anymore.” Chii leaned back slightly to look at Ethan. Her face was a mess. It was obvious that she had tried to wipe away her tears, only for new ones to take their place immediately.

“W-why was I *sniff* not good enough for her…” Ethan felt a pang in his heart as Chii uttered those words. “M-maybe if I was better she wouldn't have… *sniff* maybe she wouldn't have left me. Why couldn't I be good enough?” Ethan hugged Chii even tighter.

“Never say that again, Chii… It was never your fault. Nothing that happened was your fault.” Ethan told her. “Shh… just let it all out.” Ethan said softly as Chii sobbed uncontrollably.

“P...please don't leave me.” Her voice was incredibly quiet, barely even a whisper.

“I’m not going to leave you, Chii!” Ethan said, but was suddenly caught off guard as Chii pushed herself away from him. Landing in front of Ethan and looking up at him instead.

“I… I don't want a new family or trainer. I… I want to stay with you guys,” Chii sniffed. She was obviously putting in a lot of effort to keep herself together. “I… I promise to be a good girl… just please don't make me leave!” This time it was Ethan who reached out and picked Chii up, bringing her into his embrace.

“No one will ever make you leave, Chii.” Ethan said as he held her. He had originally planned to try to find someone that wanted to adopt Chii. He had thought it would be best for her that way. But after Zoey had talked to him and this current incident, he finally thought differently.

The two of them stayed there under the moon’s calming light for more than an hour, until Chii cried herself back to sleep.

“So she saw Princess Luna?” Mary had come over to the warehouse a little later that morning and Ethan had told her a little about what had happened. All of the inhabitants were now fully awake; Chii had slept a little longer than most of the others, but that was to be expected since what had happened probably took a lot out of her.

“Apparently… you sound surprised!” Chii had mentioned a pony Princess in her dream, something that Ethan found a little odd. But when he mentioned it to Mary, things started to make a little more sense.

“Well…. she is the Princess of the Night! And it’s said that she can help with a pony’s nightmare, but I did not think that she could go into the dreams of Pokémon as well.” Mary said amazed. Not only that they had apparently learned something new about the princess, but that she had appeared in Chii`s dream in the first place.

“Well… she might have meant good, but I don't hope that she shows up again,” Ethan sighed out. “Chii told me a little more about what had happened and the nightmare itself… she… did not take too well to the Princess’s presence.” Chii had positively been terrified. She usually acted all happy and easy going, but she was really easily frightened.

“Oh... “ Mary looked over to where she could see Zoey and Chii was sitting. Chii had secluded herself from most of the other Pokémon after she had awoken, only accepting Zoey and Ethan's presence. She was currently sitting next to Zoey with her ears flat against her head and an uncertain look upon her face. “How is she?” Mary asked as she turned back to Ethan.

“...” Mary was even more concerned when she saw the uneasy look on Ethan's face and the pause he took before answering her question. “Not good… She is putting up a brave face… or at least trying, but this… it hit her deep.” Ethan answered as he had a concerned look on his face, he kept looking over to Chii and Zoey as he and Mary were talking. “She is not the normal, happy Chii that you know right now. She has shut herself completely off from almost everyone else. And even worse, she is refusing to eat anything…”

“That… really does not sound like her… is there anything I can do to help?” Mary inquired. She may have only known Chii and the others for a few days, but they had grown a little close and she was happy to call them friends. She had helped out as much as she could over the last two days, ever since Ethan and the others had moved into their new home. And while Ethan appreciated her help immensely, he did not think that there was much that she could do for Chii at that time.

“... I don’t think so… time, that is what she needs most of all right now.” Ethan said with a tired sigh. He had not gotten any sleep since the incident earlier that night. “Time and proof that she is safe here.” Mary looked at him and help her gaze for a few seconds before nodding.

“Very well… I will leave you too it then…” Mary took one last sad look back at Chii who kept refusing to look in anyone’s direction. “I hope she gets better soon…”

“Me too.” Ethan agreed as he let Mary out before going back to Zoey and Chii. Jenny had gone out a little earlier that morning for some reason she would not say, and Brawly was doing his normal morning workout.

“Hello there,” Ethan greeted the two of them as he sat down on the other side of Chii who were still just staring into the empty air.

“She hasn't said anything yet…” Zoey said sadly. “And I think some of the others are getting a little worried too.” Chii had made friends with nearly all the other Pokémon that were staying there the days before. So when the usually high spirited and hyper Chii that they knew suddenly changed, of course they would worry a little.

“Would you mind taking care of them?” Ethan asked her. “I was thinking that I would take Chii to the park… besides, someone needs to make sure that Taillow does not try to do anything stupid again.” Ethan nodded in the direction at some crates, where the Taillow could be seen trying his best to climb them. He had been jumping off almost every high spot he could find and tried to fly again. It had gone so far that Ethan had to restrain his wings. True, it was a chance that he could make a full recovery, but it was far to early for him to try any flying.

“Oh dear, not again!” Zoey said in distress as she hurried over to where the Taillow was getting ready to jump once more. It did not seem that the fact that his wings had been tied to his body had discouraged him in the slightest. He had guts, Ethan had to give him that.

“So you ready for a trip to the park?” Ethan asked Chii who only let out a small huff as a response. “I think that I will take that as a yes.” He stood up before picking Chii up too, carrying her in his arms. She did not protest in the slightest, if it had not been for the rise of her chest as she breathed, she would have almost resembled a corpse. Before leaving the building, Ethan took a small detour to the kitchen section to pick up a small basket of grapes. Chii had really taken a liking to them, so he hoped that he could get her to eat, if only a little.

The town was teeming with life that early in the morning, ponies of all age and sizes were out and about, getting a good start on the new day. A lot of the ponies that Ethan passed, greeted them and he greeted them back. He would have liked to stop to maybe have a chat or two with some of them, but he did not think that Chii would appreciate that with how she was, so instead they headed straight for the park instead.

“You really should eat something Chii…” Ethan had sat down at one of the parks many benches. He picked one of the ones that was a little away from the center of the park so that they would get some peace if some ponies or Pokémon came there too. “You even said that you liked these grapes so much!” Ethan put the basket of grapes down next to himself before taking a few of them and holding them out in front of Chii.

“... I’m not hungry…” Chii said weakly. It was not the answer that Ethan had wanted, but at least she had spoken.

“I can hear your stomach rumbling.” Ethan told her, making her look away in protest. “You did not even eat that much yesterday… you did not have any more nightmares after you went back to sleep did you?”

“N-no…” Chii shook her head. “I just…” Chii looked back up to Ethan from where she was sitting. “I loved Mary so much… when I had that dream… why?” Her voice was beginning to crack as she spoke. “She said that she loved me but… people aren't supposed to hit people they care about. They are not supposed to hurt them again and again…” Ethan could already tell where she was going and gently brought her up into his arms.

“You don’t need to think about her anymore, Chii… she is gone.” Ethan told her as she curled her tail around herself and held it tightly. It seemed that Chii gotten to the point where she understood what Mary had been doing to her. “We are here for you… I am here for you. You are safe here.”

“...” She did not say anything, but she did nuzzle herself a little closer to Ethan as they sat there like that.

After a while Ethan noticed another figure in the park, one that was coming their way. As it got closer, Ethan could see that it was Brawly. He assumed that he was done with his workout.

“Hey!” He called out to the two of them as he got closer.

“Hey there,” Ethan called back as Chii turned to glare at Brawly as he got closer. Ethan blinked, surprised as he was sure that he heard Chii growl at Brawly. Though if he noticed it, he did not show it, instead just sitting down on the other side of the bench from them, giving them a small amount of space.

“Grapes huh? Don’t mind if I do!” Brawly was about to reach out to the basket when Chii snapped at him.

“No! Those are mine!” She growled at him, but again Brawly ignored her, instead taking one of the grapes and throwing it into his mouth.

“They are good,” Brawly said, ignoring Chii as he picked up another .

“I said that those are mine!” Chii said again, with more force this time as she jumped down in between Brawly and the grape basket. Ethan could not help but just stare dumbfounded at the scene before him. At least he did, until Brawly looked up to him and have him a wink and a sly look.

“There are a bunch of grapes, you can't eat them all can you?” Brawly teased as he took another grape from behind Chii.

“Oh yeah? Just watch me!” Chii yelled as she took the small basket in her mouth and jumped down to the ground with it. Getting it a small distance away from the grape thief before she started vigorously eating, only stopping to send death glares in Brawly`s direction.

“... You did that on purpose, didn't you?” Ethan asked, a little amused at how quickly Chii`s mood had changed when Brawly had egged her on.

“Zoey said that she wasn't eating. And when I found the two of you here, it was not difficult putting two and two together, seeing that the grapes looked like they hadn't been touched.” Ethan had to give it to him, using Chii`s dislike for him, to his advantage…

“You sneaky bastard, you!” Ethan laughed and shook his head. “... Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

After a small while, Ethan noticed that Chii was not looking too good, as she kept desperately trying to eat every single grape there was. She had stopped glaring at Brawly, and her eating had slowed down considerably.

“I think that’s enough, Chii!” Ethan said as went over and picked Chii up. She protested slightly, but gave in after a very crude burp for such a small figure. Ethan even had to wipe away some grape juice from around her mouth, as she had been very vigorous in her eating.

“No… they are mine… he can't… get… any…” And with that, she fell asleep in Ethan’s arms, having brought a small food coma upon herself.

“Had a rough night, I hear.” Brawly said as he picked up what was left of the grapes.

“Yeah… she has gone through much for such a small thing. But she is a strong girl!” Ethan said as he stood up.

“You have had worse cases… I think you can manage!” Brawly grinned and slapped Ethan's back lightly as the two of them started to head back to their home. “Besides, now you have me here to help you and keep you in check!”

“Me?! You are the one that needs to be kept in check. Or have you forgotten who it was that tried to surf down a waterfall?” Ethan countered.

“Tried? I never tried, I rocked that stream perfectly. Had everything under control!”

“And Scylla who was falling down just after you?”

“... Almost under control.” The two of them shared a look before laughing.

“It’s good to have you back!” Ethan said as he looked over to Brawly with a small smile on his face.

“It’s good to be back.” Brawly answered before a comfortable silence settled between the two of them. Nothing more needed to be said at the moment. They had known each other for most of their life, and when Ethan had gotten wanted by the law and had to go into hiding, it felt as if a piece of himself had gone missing with how little he and Brawly could meet up. Now that he was back and Ethan did not have to worry about anything like that anymore… that piece had returned.

Jenny was doing her best to stay focused inside the warehouse. Normally, that would not be a problem, but after what had happened with Chii, worry had spread quickly through most of the Pokémon that were living there. She was liked by almost everyone, after all, so it was not that unusual that they wanted to help.

Jenny felt the same way. It was strange to see that little furball in such a mood… but she had her own job to do, and she trusted that she was in capable hands with Ethan.

Currently, she was doing her best to unravel some of the secrets that the journal that Shady left behind might contain. What was even more annoying was that it appeared that he had written everything in some sort of code… and as much as she hated to admit it, she had not made too much progress. The words themselves were normal, but the sentences they formed made absolutely no sense at all. If she did not know any better she would say that it was the ramblings of an insane person.

She was so concentrated at her work that she did not notice that Zoey came up to her before she slumped down on the seat next to her, making Jenny jump in surprise.

“Oh… sorry, I did not mean to scare you.” Zoey apologised as she rubbed the back of her head and smiled sheepishly.

“N-no, it is alright…” Jenny looked over to Zoey who were actually looking rather ragged. “Taking a breather?” Zoey nodded and let out a long sigh.

“A desperately needed one,” Zoey confirmed. “I hope Ethan or Mary comes back soon… there are just too many of them for me to take care of everything by myself!” Jenny felt a little sympathy for Zoey, as she had been bombarded with questions among other things ever since Ethan and Chii had left.

“If you need some help just-” Zoey held up a paw to cut her off.

“No… what you are doing is important… it’s just… back home we had Vernus and Sax too to help take care of things… it’s just a little overwhelming when it’s just me, but I will manage.” Jenny looked at Zoey before she nodded. She was not sure how much help she would have even been. Change bandages, keeping them entertained, giving some of them medicine. It was best left to those that knew what they were doing.

“Well if you say so… but it's not like I'm getting anywhere with this darned book anyway.” Jenny huffed and buried her face into the journal.

“Well maybe you just need a fresh view on things… wait, what are you doing!? Get down from there!” Jenny looked up to see that Zoey had ran over to one of the walls where the Taillow were already making good progress climbing it.

“Maybe she is right, perhaps I just… need…” Jenny looked down at the journal as something seemed a little strange. She had pressed her face down against the pages just then and now, some of the words and letters looked like they were fading… at least they did for a few seconds before everything went back to normal again.

Seeing if she could produce the same reaction Jenny did the same once more and pressed her face against the pages for a few seconds before leaning back to see that nearly nothing had changed. A few of the letters had faded slightly, but not nearly as much as it had been before.

“...Maybe,” Jenny muttered to herself as an idea formed inside her mind. It had been an idea that she had actually discarded a long time ago, because it was so outdated. But since it was a new world, maybe it was worth a shot after all.

Concentrating on her inner flame, Jenny breathed out a small orb of fire that hovered just in front of her face. It had taken a lot of practice for her to be able to make those small flame wisps, but she had managed it in the end.

As the flame hovered over the book, things finally began to change. Letters and whole words began to fade away, until they were completely gone, leaving behind what Jenny had been looking for the entire time. With all of the useless writing gone, it was easy for her to see dates, and locations that Shady had written down. Her work had paid off, and now she just had to follow up on the leads that the book provided her.

“Gotcha!” She grinned to herself before she stood up and walked over to the door and was about to open it, when it opened for her, revealing Ethan, Chii and Brawly on the other side.

“Oh, hello.” Ethan greeted her as both of them blocked the path for one another. Knowing her personality, Ethan stepped off to the side, allowing Jenny to exit the building.

“... Is she okay?” Jenny asked, noticing that Chii was sleeping in his arms.

“Oh? Yeah she is better, she even got some food in her, thanks to Brawly.” Jenny smiled at that, she had grown to like Chii over the time they had known each other. “So, where are you headed?” Ethan asked of her.

“... Out of town.” She answered him. “I finally cracked the code in the journal, so I got a few leads to follow up on now.” She told him.

“Should I come with you?” Ethan asked, he was about to continue speaking but Jenny cut him off before he could.

“No… I’m not going to be as foolish as I was back in the forest. This is only a search for information. If I do find something… then I’ll come back and take you up on that offer.” Ethan looked over at Brawly who only shrugged his shoulders in return.

“Well, if you are sure, then I am confident that you will handle it!” He gave her small smile. “Now if you'll excuse me, I should put Chii here to bed.” Ethan said before going past her and into the building.

“Are you sure that you don't want any help?” Brawly commented as stopped in front of her, looking down at her small form.

“... Yes I am,” Jenny told him. “This is just a reconnaissance mission, so it will probably be better is I do this alone.” Brawly kept his gaze on her for a few seconds before giving in.

“Well, okay then,” he sighed. “Ethan trusts ya on this, so I guess I will too.” And with that, Brawly too entered the building behind Jenny, leaving her alone out there as she looked back at the door.

“I have screwed up so much… but now it is time for me to do my job!” She said with confidence as she set out on her journey. She had a goal, and enough motivation that nothing was going to stop her from reaching it.

Chapter 16

“There really is not much I can do if you don’t tell me anything you know.” Ethan was sitting at the banks at the bottom of the waterfall with Scylla laying coiled up on the ground in front of him. She had gotten better to the point where she could move about without too much problems.

“... This is not easy to do!” Scylla exclaimed. “I… just give me a little time... this is not easy to do…” Scylla said as she lowered her voice and looked down at the ground. Ethan had suspected that Scylla had some ghosts in her past for a while now. How she reacted to certain things, and her fascination about strength. Being strong was a good thing to work towards, but there was a point where it turned into something unhealthy, and the mentality Scylla had about it certainly was just that.

So Ethan had offered his help or rather expertise to Scylla should she need it. At first she had seemed reluctant just as Ethan would have suspected. If his assessment of her was correct she would see opening up about herself as somewhat of a weakness on her part. But after word about what had happened to Chii the other night had reached her and she had a small talk with Zoey about it… she changed her mind, much to Ethan’s surprise.

“Take all the time that you need… would you rather that I ask you some questions maybe?” Ethan offered as he watched Scylla squirm in place as she struggled to find the words. He did not think that this was a situation that Scylla was familiar or even comfortable with.

“...Maybe.” It was painfully obvious how uncomfortable Scylla was with the idea about talking about her past. Ethan had half a mind to talk to Zoey later to see if she had pushed her into it. But he would not overlook this chance that he got nonetheless.

“Well… Zoey mentioned that you were in a mercenary group called Checkmate.” Ethan purposely let out the fact that he knew that Scylla knew him because of a bounty. This session was supposed to be about her. “How was that? I mean… there must have been a reason for you to have joined, right?”

“Of course I was there for a reason!” Scylla immediately snapped at Ethan. He had grown used to these small bursts of anger she had over the past few days, even grown to expect them at times. “I fit in there! I was useful… I had a purpose.” Her voice had gradually weakened as she talked.

Ethan nodded to himself as he took mental notes of the words she had used and how she had used them.

“Why don’t you talk a little about your group? Leave details out if you want to, I'm sure that there are things that you don't want outsiders to know about.” Ethan told her as he continued to lead her on. He had wanted to continue to push her when she had mentioned how she was useful and had a purpose. It did not take a psychologist to see that there was some history behind that. But he figured that it would be better to take things slower with her.

“We were great!” Scylla started with a grin on her face. “But more importantly, we were strong! There were no job that we could not complete. We… not all the jobs we did was what you would consider good, but I did not care. As long as I could be of use to that person then everything was good.” There was that word again. That and Ethan noticed that she used the word person instead of Pokémon.

“Your leader I take it?” Ethan inquired. He remembered how Scylla had mentioned how he was a weak human when they had first met. She valued strength, that much he had figured out.

“Yes, not just a human but a fine leader. A strong leader!” Ethan winced as she went off shouting again. He really had to address that issue with her later. At least about holding oneself back when there were people or ponies in close proximity.

“So do you want to tell me a little about how you were before you evolved?” Ethan could see that Scylla froze for a moment before she looked away from him. It was common knowledge that Magikarps were not the most liked Pokémon. A lot of people would go so far as to say that they were absolutely useless, only good for their meat. That and with how weak a Magikarp was in the first place… it was no wonder that it was a sore subject for Scylla.

“I think we are done for now!” Scylla growled in a low tone as she uncoiled herself and began moving towards the water only for Ethan to jump in front of her, blocking her off.

“Wait we were making such good progress… I’m sorry for bringing up a touchy subject.” Ethan said as he held out his arms in a feeble attempt to stop her. He knew very well that she could just push on through him without even making an effort.

“I dont want to talk about it!” Scylla growled.

“And that is fine… I won't bring it up for now.” Ethan told her as he relaxed a bit and moved onto some more serious matters. “But you really do need to work on that anger of yours. You almost scared that pony to death when he came down with some food for you!” Ethan said as he raised his voice slightly.

“It was not that bad…” Scylla said as she looked away again.

“You screamed at him with full force!” Ethan remembered having to reassure that and multiple other ponies that Scylla was not a danger to any of them or the town.

“I was getting annoyed because he was too scared about how I looked to bring the food close enough!”

“That is still no excuse!” Ethan took a few deep breaths as he calmed himself down again. “See? just like that. But you have to understand. You look really scary to a lot of ponies and other Pokémon too. Just being riled up because of some little thing and screaming at them will only make things worse for you. I would like to teach you a few exercises to help control your anger issues.”

“I DO NOT HAVE ANGER ISSUES!” Scylla roared at him with such a force that Ethan had to use his arms to shield his face. He could even feel himself being pushed back slightly from the force of the yell. When Ethan lowered his arms he crossed them over his chest and looked at Scylla who were looking really guilty and was refusing to meet Ethan’s glance.

“We have some work to do yeah… See, here is what you should do…”

Zoey sat outside the warehouse. She was enjoying the feeling of the sunshine and the wind as it ruffled her fur there she sat. Brawly had helped her with all the Pokémon so that she did not have that much to deal with alone while Ethan had gone down to the lake to have a small session with Scylla.

“I should apologise.” Brawly said as he sat there besides her. He and Chii had gone out with her to get some fresh air. “I really did not know that he hadn't told any of you guys… He should have told you guys sooner. I should have made him tell you.”

“You couldn't have known… besides. It’s Ethan we are talking about here. He usually doesn't tell anyone anything if you don't push him to do it, or unless he got a good reason.” Zoey said as she shook her head.

“He means well… he is just… himself.” Zoey and Brawly shared a short laugh while Chii just huffed. “Still mad at me?” Brawly asked as he looked down at Chii.

“Yes.... everything was going perfectly according to plan until you showed up.” She said with as much effort she could put into her voice. She had been much less energetic than she usually was. Now she was just… tired.

“So that’s why you have been mad with me, eh?”

“Chii! You can't blame Brawly for that…” Zoey said. But from the looks of it, Chii ignored her; she just got up and walked inside the warehouse, leaving Brawly and Zoey alone out there.

“Just let her be,” Brawly told her. “I suppose some of the blame is mine to take anyway.” Zoey blinked and looked over at Brawly who were sitting back with one leg crossed over the other.

“What do you mean?” She asked, a little confused as to what he meant with that statement.

“It’s only a suspicion at this point… but I'm not as blind when it comes to these things as you or Ethan. I swear, the two of you are like two socially awkward butterflies!” Brawly let out a small laugh as he shook his head.

Zoey did not say anything, she just looked on Brawly and waited for him to continue. She was curious as to where he was going with his statement.

“The way you looked at him, I mean, your intentions were pretty obvious.” At that Zoey blushed slightly and narrowed her eyes.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“I’m sorry, I meant no offence!” Brawly smiled as he held up his paws in defence. “But my point was that I have dealt with a lot of stuff like this before. And I'm pretty sure that Ethan has been looking at me the same way that you looked at him for a while now!”

Zoey blinked and opened her mouth to speak, only for her to close it immediately. She opened and closed it several times with a dumbfounded expression on her face as she really was not sure what to say, do or think in that situation. In the end she settled on a single word.

“W-what?” Zoey stuttered out.

“You heard me.” Brawly said as he looked up at the sky.

“B-but… are you sure?” Zoey asked.

“Not completely, but I have had my suspicions for a while now.” Brawly answered as the door opened and the two of them could see Chii who were dragging a small box. She dragged it out to the grass in front of where Zoey and Brawly were sitting and proceeded to jump into the box. It was small but it fit her really well, only her head was sticking up as she was glaring at Brawly from within her box.

“It’s her box… I'm not sure why, but it makes her feel safe, so don’t question it.” Zoey said as she could see the question that had been growing on Brawly`s face from the moment Chii had dragged said box outside.

“She’s a sweet little thing, ain't she?” Brawly smiled as he watched Chii rummage as she tried to find a comfortable position.

“That she is… but back to what we were talking about. How do you feel about it?” Zoey asked. Chii had not heard the beginning of the conversation so it would not make too much sense to her. She did not want to hide it from Chii per se. But Chii was not the best at keeping secrets either.

“Not really sure,” Brawly answered honestly as he kept sending Chii funny faces, much to her anger. “We are friends, have been for most of our lives… But I'm not going to give it too much thought. Either he makes up his mind and confronts me ‘bout it, or he won't. I’ll make up my mind if and when that time comes. It’s as easy as that.” Brawly said with such a laid back attitude that Zoey just gawked at him. She really did not understand how anyone could think like that. But Brawly had always been the type to just take life easy and deal with things as they arose.

“What are you talking about?” Chii inquired from within her box. Zoey was about to make up a small lie, since she did not want to tell Chii just yet. But her fault came in that she paused for a few moments to think up that insignificant lie, and in those few moments Brawly spoke up instead.

“Whether Ethan likes me or not.” Brawly just blurted out.

Zoey just gaped at him, she had known Brawly for a while, for several years in fact. But his blunt and honest nature never stopped to surprise her. She wondered if he ever thought about the consequences of his actions of his words, or if he just did not care.

“W-w-what? N-no, I refuse to let that happen!” Chii yelled out as she jumped out of her little box and stood in front of Brawly with fury burning in her eyes. “I will not let you have our Ethan!”

Jenny walked calmly through the street with an air of confidence around her. The ponies around her constantly glanced in her direction and she had heard more than a couple of them whispering about her as she made her way through the town. Thankfully none of them did more than that. She had not seen many other Pokémon wander the streets as either, so she was more than a little out of place there as she made her way down the streets. There had been one incident with a foal that had wanted to play with her tails… but the foal’s mother had quickly gotten him, almost dragging the foal away from her like she was going to hurt it or something. She had apologised to the mother, but had not gotten any response in return. The mother had just gotten her foal and hightailed it out of there.

It had not taken that long for her to get to Hollow Shades. The train ride was relatively short, but still slow when she thought about how fast the transportation had used to be back on earth.

Jenny was searching for one particular place. The journal had mentioned a name and a meeting place. She had no hope for finding the pony in question that quickly, she would even consider herself lucky if he lived in that town. But she hoped to find some other ponies that either had seen the one she was looking for or knew who he was.

What she was looking for was a bar, the book did not mention a name but rather a description of the building.

“A darkened establishment with an inviting feel to it…” Jenny read it out loud to herself before groaning. “You were certainly cryptic enough Shady. It will feel so satisfying when I finally get to take you down.” Jenny tucked the journal back into her tails as she continued looking around. She was not sure what he meant with a darkened establishment. The whole town seemed a little darker than she was used to. But that was mostly because of the forest that literally surrounded the town.

If the forest back at Neighagra falls was light and playful, then this forest was gloomy and much denser too.

Figuring that she would get somewhere quicker if she asked for some directions, she walked up to a nearby earth pony that was tending to a small food stall.

“Excuse me, sir!” The pony blinked as it looked down at Jenny before it shook its head.

“Oh… what do you want?” The stallion answered, slightly unsure in his tone as he spoke towards her.

“I’m looking for a bar, are there many in town?” Jenny asked.

“Why do you want to know?” Jenny narrowed her eyes at the stallion. She had to deal with one wise guy on a daily basis, she did not need another one. She really wanted to chew the stallion out, but keeping a low profile also meant that you should not make a scene so she held herself back… for now.

“Why don’t you just tell me where they are and I'll be out of your hair?” She huffed.

“Hmm…” The stallion looked around for a moment before answering. “Ain't it a little early to start drinking?” Jenny just increased her glare and the stallion apparently understood her message as he swallowed and continued. She was no stranger to intimidating criminals to get what she wanted, a lone pony proved no challenge. “Right… one of them is down the street there, then you take a right and you'll see it. The other one is back at the other end of the town.” The stallion said while pointing to the locations as he talked.

“Thank you.” Jenny said before turning and walking away from the stallion that had given her directions. She was a little miffed that she had apparently walked past the first bar, but she was close to the other one so she would check out that one first.

It did not take long for her to get to where she could see the building in question. She had thought that the description of it was a little weird at first, but now that she saw it with her own eyes she noticed how well it fit.

The building itself was covered by the shadow of the forest behind it, while it at the same time, was bright with colors and lighting. All in all, it was looking very cozy and rustic for a bar.

“Guess I got it right the first time around.” Jenny smiled to herself as she walked up to the bar and entered. The inside was almost completely empty, only living soul she could see inside there was a unicorn that was standing on the other side of the bar counter, looking at her with a perplexed gaze.

“Um… we normally don't get customers this early… And certainly not of your kind.” The unicorn said as it kept looking at jenny. He had a few glasses in his magical grasp and was currently putting them on the counter behind him in an orderly stack.

“Yeah, well I'm not here for any drinks. I need some information.” Jenny said, in her experience being subtle had its uses, but this was not one of those times. Bartenders usually had a knack for picking up on small things, and she doubted that she could have managed to trick him into giving her information anyhow. Better to just be blunt and upfront about it.

“Well color me surprised, yer a talker. But ye want to do business, eh? Well, like all other things here, that costs.” Jenny figured that he would say something like that, and brought forth a small pouch she had hidden in her tails and fished out a couple of coins, dumping them on the counter.

“I’m looking for a unicorn… blond hair, gray coat-”

“-And a paper for a cutie mark, right?” Jenny narrowed her eyes at the unicorn but nodded. She really did not like being interrupted. “Well, what do ya want to know about him for?”

“That’s, as you would say, is none of your business.” Jenny told him before she pushed the coins over to him.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Less I know the better, eh? Well, fellow that you are looking for has a house here in town. Fellow’s name is Rigid Paper. He’s a famous writer, love novels and whatnot, I’m not into that myself. Travels a lot from what I know, but he’s in town right now.” Jenny blinked, she had hoped to find out some small amount of information about him at best, but she had hit jackpot.

“I see… and what about this pony?” Jenny asked as she slid over a sketch of Shady to the unicorn. “The two of them may have been talking…” The bartender scratched his head as he looked at the sketch.

“Well I don't know… my memory gets awfully fuzzy…” Jenny sighed and tok out a few more coins, dumping them on the counter. “Ah, now I remember! Yeah I saw the two of them together. It was a couple of days ago… little fuzzy on exactly how long ago, but I remember seeing the two of them in the corner talking. It’s easy to spot guys like that, they try so hard to avoid drawing attention to themselves that it works against them.”

“So you know what they were talking about?” Jenny pressed, but the bartender shook his head.

“Afraid not. You are awfully curious though if you don't mind me saying. Why are you interested in all of this?” He turned the question back on Jenny, something that she really did not appreciate.

“I'm… a reporter.” She said, though it came out a little forced.

“A reporter huh?” The bartender took a moment to look her over. “You certainly dont look the type… With your temper I would rather…” He quickly shut up as a ball of fire floated out of Jenny's mouth and hovered in between his eyes. He was giving her the info she needed, but that stallion was really getting on her nerves.

“As I said, I'm a reporter.” She growled at him.

“Right, right. For the bits you payed me, you can be the mayor of Canterlot for all I care.” He quickly regained his posture. “But if you are looking for him, then you shouldn't stay here for too much longer. I think I heard something about him heading out of town later this day.” Jenny silently cursed to herself.

“Here, a little extra for your good info and discretion.” Jenny said putting a few more bits on the counter. She had probably overpaid the stallion, but better to do that than to risk him ratting her out.

“Thank ya kindly!” The unicorn said before he gathered up the bits and went back to his work. “Good luck with that interview of yours and whatnot!” He waved Jenny off who just left without another word.

She had planned to get more information about the target before going back and informing the police. She could just go to the police in Hollow Shades… but she did not know them or if she should trust them. If that pony was a famous writer, then it would probably be even harder proving his guilt. But as things were, she just did not have the time to travel back to Neighagra Falls and back. Waiting was always an option… if he had a house there in town then he should return eventually… right?

But that would mean that there would be a lot of time left where something could happen to the Pokémon that he had bought. No, she had to act then and there. She had promised that she would not do anything rash or reckless, but she really did not have an option. At least she did not think that she did.

Jenny decided that dealing with the matter herself would be the best option. She had screwed up before, but she had learned her lesson from that and would not make the same mistakes this time around. So with that in mind she set off towards his house, hoping to find him there. She really did not want to scour the town for him, neither did she have the time to do so.

It was about halfway there that Jenny spotted the pony that she was looking for. It appeared that he was just out, buying some groceries and supplies from what Jenny could see. The problem then was how she would deal with him. She couldn't just go up to him and accuse him in broad daylight, and she couldn't do much else with that many other ponies nearby either. She was the outsider there, if they would believe anyone or in that case anypony, then it was him.

Without much other choice Jenny decided to keep her distance and follow Rigid Paper. Hopefully an opportunity would arise before he would leave the town. If he got on the train then there was pretty much nothing she could do.

She followed him for a while, always paying great attention to her surroundings to make sure that she did not seem out of place or got too close. After a while Jenny saw her chance and hurried after the stallion as she had seen him disappear into one of the alleys nearby. She thanked Arceus for her luck. She had no idea why he would travel down that path, as she was sure that it was a dead end but she was not about to question her little luck streak.

As she rounded the corner she could see that Rigid Paper had lit up his horn and was using some kind of magic on the wall next to him. Jenny knew next to nothing about magic, other than what she had encountered first hand during their fight with Shady. But she remembered Mary telling them that it required concentration and in most cases time. Time that she would not give him.

Jenny lunged forward with much more speed than she thought that she was capable off. She had just heard a small creak from the wall that he was using magic on, and she swore that she could see it move slightly, as if there was some kind of hidden passageway behind it. But she did not give him any more time to perform his magic as she collided with him, slamming him into the wall that was the end of the alleyway.

“W-what the-” Rigid Paper started. But Jenny had learned her lesson during her previous fight. She was much smaller and easier to overpower, so she would have to press any and all advantages that she might have. So she let her inner fire burn freely, flames lighting the insides of her mouth and escaping between her teach, burning the fur on Rigid Paper`s chin as she leaned in close.

“If another word comes out of your mouth then I will burn you!” She growled in a low voice as she tried to look as threatening as possible. She did not have any bad cop nearby, but she figured a bad cop would have to do.

“As if!” He tried to use magic as his horn lit up once more. But unlike the battle with Shady, this time Jenny was ready for him.

She let her flames loose, using an Ember that connected directly with his horn effectively cutting off any concentration that he might have had as pain seared through his body.

“Y-you… stupid bitch!” Rigid Paper groaned as he staggered around a bit, clutching his horn. “D-do you have any idea about what you h-have done?” He fell to the ground as he kept clutching his head and moaning in pain.

Jenny was just about to start questioning him when the strangest thing happened. His form started flickering for a few moments, before something happened that made Jenny jump back in surprise.

His whole body was suddenly covered in green flames, and just as sudden as they had come they vanished. Leaving behind something that Jenny had never seen before nor had any idea what she was going to make heads or tails of. Instead of a unicorn, a black bug type creature laid before her.

Author's Note

My editor MoldyShishkabob had a lovely little addition to how he thought the part about Brawly, Zoey and Chii in this chapter should have ended, and he did not object to me putting it in here as his Editor notes. This is how that went, enjoy^^

She says as her body explodes into a giant, hulking cyborg monster. Chii screamed to the heavens as her metallic body erupted with a powerful, golden aura.

Brawly and Zoey gaped as they stood there, frozen in awe and fear. The metal Chii then exploded with power, knocking over the two with a tremendous shockwave.

When the dust cleared, Brawly noticed that the giant cyborg Skitty had grown long locks of golden hair. She then opened her massive maw and energy started to gather, before it was suddenly unleashed.

And then Equestria exploded.

The end.

Chapter 17

Officer Jenny stood baffled as the pony that laid in front of her had done a complete transformation. It still resembled a pony in its general form, but that’s where the similarities stopped. Its legs had several holes in them, as if a Rhydon had gone to town on them. Its whole body was covered in a black exoskeleton, the closest resemblance Jenny could link it too was some other bug types that she had seen. It had a horn, just like a unicorn but it had bug-like wings as well. It had no mane or hair, only what looked to be a fin that went down the scruff of its neck.

All in all, Jenny had absolutely no clue on what she was dealing with. The first thing that sprung to mind was a Ditto, but if what the bartender had said was right then this… creature was a famous author. Which had to mean that he had been there longer than the six days it had been since Pokémon were brought to that world.

Jenny glanced behind herself to see if any other pony had noticed what had went down in that alleyway or heard anything, but the stacks of trash provided a near perfect blockade, preventing anyone from the outside to view in without going around them and into the alleyway itself.

Jenny`s head snapped back to the creature as it groaned in pain and began to stir. It had stopped moving after its transformation. The ember that hit it in the horn may have had something to do with that, but it had come to and was waking up now nonetheless.

“Stop!” Jenny sneered as she stepped forward and pressed one of her paws against its throat. “Explain yourselves! What are you!” She demanded as she put more weight on her paw. She had to use most of her weight due to her small stature.

The bug creature under her began to laugh slightly in a pained voice.

“Y-you really don't know anything, do you?” He laughed before Jenny shut him up. She smacked his horn, making him yelp in pain as it was still sore from being burned.

“I know that you bought some Pokémon from a unicorn named Shady, that was abused or worse! What did you do with them?” She growled.

“Y-you are here about that?” He said as he was gritting his teeth, trying to ignore the splitting headache he was having from having his horn abused. “Yeah, I bought those little pets from him. They have been very useful so far, they just needed a little… persuasion!” Jenny could feel her rage grow as he showed her a sickening grin. She had heard that wording before and knew very well what it meant. She could feel her flames building up in her chest, it would be so satisfying to burn him to a crisp.

“What did you do with them? And more importantly, where are you keeping them?” She sneered as she hit his horn again. She really was not one to normally use violence like this, but she could not show him any sign of weakness at all.

“W-wouldn't you like to know?” He muttered as small amounts of tears had begun forming in his large, pupilless eyes from the amount of pain he was in. But he kept defying her, much to her aggravation.

“Yes… I would like to know.” She used the same trick she had used earlier, and made a small ball of fire and kept slowly moving it towards his face. “And you will tell me!” She smiled at him.

“Y-you wouldn't!” He was right. Normally Jenny would not resort to such measures. But it was an unique situation that she was in, and if the police of that town were as xenophobic as the rest of the ponies she had met, then she would likely get no help there. She had forgiven Ethan because she had understood that he really was a good person… and that sometimes… things like that was necessary.

With that in mind, she pressed the floating flame ball against the chitin between his eyes and held it there for a few moments as she kept him quiet by wrapping a few of her tails around his mouth.

“I’m sorry. What was that?” Jenny asked again as she took the flame ball back but kept her tails in place as he kept squirming around in pain and she could hear his muffled screams. “I believe that you had something that you wanted to tell me?” She asked once he had calmed down enough so that she could remove her tails once more.

“Y-you crazy bitch!” Rigid Paper spat as tears were now clearly running down his cheeks from his large, blue eyes. It had been apparent that he had been trying to hold it back earlier, but the pain from having the flame held against his horn for that long was simply too much for him to handle. “I… I have them at my house here in town!” Jenny smiled as he finally gave her what she was looking for.

“See, was that so hard?” Jenny asked with a smug look on her face. She had managed to get another confession. She had initially felt a little bad about the means that she had to use to get them, but the had pushed those thought out of the way.

“I… will fucking end you!” Rigid growled at her as he had regained some of his strenght. “Y-you think this changes anything?” He laughed. “You have saved two pathetic creatures that would have been better off dead, and for what? A guaranteed death sentence!” He glared at her with a sickening smile on his face.

“There won't be much that you can do once you are put behind bars!” Jenny countered as Rigid Paper`s grin only widened.

“You think that the police or the guard actually scares me?” He laughed as he stared up at Jenny from where he laid. “Bits can buy anything! And I would be a fool if I did not already have a few members of the force on my payroll!” He showed her a grin that made her want to knock his teeth in. “There is nothing that you can do to me that I can’t undo!”

Jenny thought to herself, considering the options that she currently had. On the one paw, punching him really, really hard would feel extremely satisfying. She would even go so far as to say that her life would be missing some crucial pieces to it if she did not punch him. The sound as her paw connected with his cheek, sending him reeling back in pain from the blow. Maybe it would even knock him unconscious.

On the other paw. She could not punch him really, really hard in the face and turn him over to the cops instead. But if what he said was really true, then that would ultimately change nothing. Of course, he could be lying… but she had seen his type before. They liked to flaunt their power in other’s faces, and as much as she hated to admit it, they rarely lied. Mostly because they had no reason to do so. He was obviously not a pony… but she could not say that she knew enough about Equestria to say if that meant anything. The fact that she had already roughed him up pretty badly would probably be enough for them to arrest her. Especially with how little the ponies of that town liked Pokémon.

After having considered all the options, Jenny came to the conclusion that punching him in the face would be a far more satisfying short term solution. And with that in mind, Jenny reared back and punched Rigid Paper as hard as she could. She may not be a Fighting-type, but Arceus damned. She could deliver some hard punches if she wanted too. Or maybe it would be considered a kick since she really did not have any arms anymore… she really wasn't sure.

Jenny winced as she made a little more noise than she had wanted to. Rigid Paper had flown back, straight into a couple of trash cans. Luckily he had been knocked unconsiouss by the blow. Jenny hurried over to his form and began searching him for his key. He had told her that he kept the Pokémon in his house, so that was where she was going. She would get those Pokémon then get out of town as fast as possible.

She found the keys that she was looking for in his saddlebacks and went on her way. Leaving behind a battered, bruised, and unconscious creature in the alleyway. She really had to ask Mary Care what that thing was when she got back.

Finding the home of Rigid Paper was not that bad. Most of the houses had mail boxes with names on them. Jenny had to admit that the house itself was rather modest for a famous and possibly rich author. It looked mostly like almost every other house in the town, but, as she had learned a long time ago, appearances can be deceiving.

She had lingered a bit longer than she would have normally liked, but she wanted to make sure that no other pony saw her enter that house. They might get suspicious since it belonged to a member of their town and report it.

Finally, after a small while, the last pony in sight rounded the corner, leaving Jenny completely alone to complete her work. She felt a bad taste in her mouth as she realized that what she was doing was basically breaking and entering, but she did not have the luxury to worry about such things. Besides, she had a couple of Pokémon to rescue.

To her relief, the key worked and she let herself in, quickly shutting the door behind herself as to not be noticed by any bypassers.

Just like the outside, the inside of the house seemed completely normal to Jenny as she walked in and looked around. But he had admitted to the fact that he was keeping those Pokémon there.

“Hello!? Anybody here?” She shouted as she slowly made her way from the hallway into what seemed to be the kitchen. She could not hear anything, but as she looked around she noticed that something felt a little off. She went over to the fridge and when it opened it her suspicion was confirmed. It was completely empty. She had not seen any food at all in the kitchen.

“Weird…” She commented as she continued into the living room. “I’m here to help you! If you can hear me, please shout out!” Jenny yelled and this time she could hear something.

It was way too faint for her to understand what was being said… but she had definitely heard a voice. A voice that came from underneath her.

“A basement… they must be in the basement.” She said to herself a she quickly began searching for an entrance to said basement. It did not take long for her to find the door that she was looking for, unfortunately the door was locked and none of the key`s that she had fit.

“I dont have time for this… Ember!” She unleashed her ember upon the lock, effectively burning through it in seconds. Jenny threw open the door and hurried down as quickly as she could. At the bottom of the stairs, she saw what she was looking for. The cellar itself was just a large rectangular room that also had a drain located in the middle of the floor. Over in one of the corners were the two Pokémon that Jenny had been looking for, and their eyes lit up with joy the moment they saw her.

The first one was a male Nidoran that had an iron collar attached to its neck. But that was not all, the tip of its horn was missing, it seemed like it had been sawed off. In its place was a small tube that was going from its hown to a bottle that was filled partially with a purple liquid a small distance away. From what Jenny could see, Rigid Paper had been “milking” the Nidoran for its poison. He had probably been the one to respond to Jenny`s calls because the other one was barely conscious

It was a Pachirisu, though that was not easy to determine at first glance. Most of its fur was missing, having been shaved off, Jenny had to assume. Both of them looked rather weak, but the Pachirisu was battered and bruised to the point where most of its skin was discolored from the blows or from whatever had happened to it.

“Hang on, I'll get you out right away!” Jenny said as she hurried over to the two of them.

“W-wait.” The Nidoran stopped her before she could get too close. “T-the chain… it hurts us if we try to remove it. She…” He looked over to the Pachirisu. “Wouldn't stop trying… Only the key works. Thats how he did it!”

“Well lets hope that I have the correct key then!” Jenny said, thankful that there had been more than one kay on the keychain that she had grabbed from Rigid Paper. The chains themselves were probably magical or something like that.

She fished out the keys from within her tails as she slowly walked over to the Nidoran who sat down and leaned to the side, to give her better access to the lock around his neck.

“Come on… please…” Jenny kept muttering to herself as she tried the keys in hope that one of them would work. The first three had already failed, but there was one left. She guided it into the lock and slowly turned it around, it had already made it further than any of the others and…

*Click*

The chain fell to the ground and the Nidoran wasted not a single second with grabbing the tube that was going into his horn and yanking it out with a grunt of pain. A thin line of poison dripped out of his horn and down along the side of his face before it stopped.

“T-thank you.” He said as he wobbled over to the Pachirisu. “You see. I told you that someone would come for us.” He said as he gently lifted up the Pachirisu`s head.

Jenny wasted no time in unlocking the others collar aswell so that they both were free.

“Can you move?” Jenny asked as she watched the Pachirisu struggle to get to its feet. “I have a place we can go to, but we need to get to the train station first.” Jenny explained.

“We… we will manage.” The Pachirisu said as it leaned against the Nidoran. Judging by the sound of the voice, Jenny would guess that it was a female. “I…” She tried to take a step forward, only for her legs to fail her, sending her falling down on the floor.

“I’m fine… but I don’t think you are well enough to move yet.” The Nidoran said as he helped the Pachirisu up once more. “I-is that guy going to come back?” The two of them asked Jenny, and she knew well who they were talking about.

“No, I took care of him. But I don't know for how long!” She went over to them and picked the injured Pachirisu up and placed her on top of her back. “I'll just have to carry you. Are you okay up there?” Jenny asked as she craned her head to look at her passenger.

“I’m okay.... I’m sorry.” The Pachirisu hung her head as she sniffed. “I hope you roughed him up good! That bastard took all of my fur.”

“I sure did, don't you worry!” Jenny smiled at how energetic she was. The injuries did not look too good, but she suspected that most of them were superficial. They would get better soon. “Come on now, let’s get out of here!” Jenny let the Nidoran make his way up the stair before carefully making her way after him. She walked over to the closest window and looked outside. She could spot a few ponies in the streets outside but not too many.

“How is it?” The Nidoran asked as he looked up to her. A small, dried up ball of poison had formed where the tip of his horn used to be.

“It looks good. We should be able to get out without anyone noticing anything suspect… just… act normally once we are outside. I want to get out of this town as quick as possible… I don't like it.” Jenny told the two of them. The Nidoran nodding in confirmation but the Pachirisu did not say anything, she was too work out and was doing her best not to doze off on Jenny`s back.

“How long did he keep the two of you in there?” Jenny asked as they waited for the right opportunity. Just as when she had entered, she did not want any pony seeing them leaving Rigid Paper`s house.

“W-we have been there for four days.” The Nidoran started. “There were more than one at the start… I… I think his friend was called Shady.” Jenny could feel her inner rage burning from just the mention of his name.

The Nidoran told her about how Shady had sold them to Rigid Paper who in turn had done some experiments to figure out how he could make money off the two Pokémon. In the end, he had settled on milking the Nidoran for poison and shaving off and selling the Pachirisu`s fur, as he could not figure out a good way to harness its electricity.

“Here is our chance!” Jenny said as she quickly opened the door, letting the Nidoran out too before closing it behind her. She tossed the keys off into a bush before they made their way down onto the street. It was much the same as when she had entered the town. She got distasteful looks and some even looked downright hateful or disgusted, but nothing more than that, they all kept their distance.

“Almost there.” They could see the train station in the distance. If Jenny had timed it correctly they would not have to wait long for the next train they needed to take them back to Neighagra falls, in fact it should be arriving mere minutes after they got there.

“T-that is him!” Jenny turned her head around as she had heard the Nidoran’s scared voice and saw Rigid Paper in the distance. He had taken his Pony form once more.

“Keep your head down and hurry.” Jenny said as she turned his head away from them and pulled him along with her towards the train station. “He is heading in the wrong direction.” It seemed like they had been just on time. Just a minute or two later and they would have ran straight into him. Though Jenny was confident that she could take him down, doing so on an open street with witnessed would just mean too much to deal with. She was surprised that Rigid had managed to wake up so quickly after her blow, but she knew next to nothing about what he actually was. Maybe his species was just naturally hardy or something like that.

The three of them wasted no time in buying the tickets they needed before they sat down to wait on the train.

“W-what's that?” The Pachirisu asked as it noticed that something white was sticking out of Jenny`s tails.

“Oh… its just something for later.” Jenny had snatched a letter from Rigid Papers mailbox. Normally she would never do such a thing, but the letter had the same insignia as Shadys notebook had on a lot of its pages, so she thought that it would be worth looking into.

The three of them looked up at the sound of the train that was approaching. Jenny was just happy that she was going home. She never wanted to return to that particular town if she had any say in it.

The dark forest was silent. Only the occasional breeze that rustled the leaves or the occasional chirp from either a bird or a flying Pokémon could be heard. A small gap in the canopy allowed for a few beams of sun to find their way down to the forest floor. It was there that a Taillow was perched on a low hanging branch, enjoying the sunlight.

Things had been hectic for the little guy. He had been separated from his mate when they were brought to that new world. He understood why Arceus has done it… or at least he liked to think that he did, the speech had helped clarify a couple of things.

He had spent the first few days building himself a nice little home in the dark forest that he had woken up in. It did not seem like that many Pokémon traveled that deep into the forest, and the locals usually kept to themselves, so it was a nice spot for him. Now he just had to find his mate and things would be good again. He swore that he would not stop for anything until he-

The small Taillow fell to the ground as a slashing sound could be heard throughout the small clearing. He had not heard a sound, neither felt a thing as his spine had been severed cleanly. A brown paw poked it a few times, confirming that it was in fact dead.

“Yup… he’s gone.” The Leafeon leaned down and picked the dead Taillow up in its mouth before walking away from the scene, only a few small specks of blood remained, but that would soon be covered up too. Like nothing at all had ever happened there.

The Leafeon continued through the forest with its prey, ignoring all the other Pokémon it either heard or sensed nearby. He had not found anything that would be a threat to him in that forest anyway, so he had nothing to fear.

It did not take long for him to reach his destination. It was another small clearing, this one with a tiny stream running through it. Though there was almost no sunlight at all that, the trees were too thick for any proper sun to reach the ground.

He got started on picking off all the feathers before he heard a familiar rustling on the bushes nearby and turned towards the sound.

“Urgh… there is almost nothing to hunt in this forest!” The Growlithe complained as he came out into the clearing, a small Ralts being carried in his jaws. He went over to the Leafeon and threw his prey down onto the ground. “Almost no meat on these things… at least you got a Taillow.” He looked over and noticed how the Leafeon was looking at the Ralts.

“Y-you want to trade?” The Leafeon offered, as he swallowed the drool that had collected in its mouth. “Its been so long since I have had a Psychic-type.”

“Be my guest!” The Growlithe said as the Leafeon wasted no time in grabbing the small Ralts and pushing the Taillow over to his friend. “I thought Leafeons weren't supposed to fight!” The Growlithe commented as his friend had happily started eating, while he let out a small Ember, effectively cleaning off most of the feathers from the Taillow. “Or eat meat for that matter.”

“Just because I don't need to, doesn't mean that I don't enjoy the taste!” The Leafeon said as he almost let out a small moan. It had been too long; he had almost forgotten the taste. “And I remember having beaten you more than a few times!” He commented as he flashed the Growlithe a grin.

“You know what I meant!” The Growlithe snapped back.

“It’s up to the individual, I guess… I have met a few that are complete pacifists, but I always liked a bit more action myself… besides,” he glanced upwards. “There’s not enough sun here for me to rely on photosynthesis alone.” The two of them wasted no time in finishing their meal and burying the bones that remained. “So are you sure that you smelled her scent from this direction? I mean… they aren't humans anymore, so…” The Leafeon asked.

“I’m sure!” The Growlithe answered confidently. “It’s faint… and a little different… but it’s no doubt that it’s my Jenny!” He said with a huge grin.

“...And no scent on Ethan?” The Growlithe looked back to his friend and shook his head. It was strange that they had been fighting just before they woke up in Equestria. But when they did, they really had nothing against one another. In fact, they got along rather well.

“Sorry, Vernus. Nothing so far…”

“No… no, it’s alright. Let’s just hurry and see if that is really your Jenny!” He said as the two of them set off towards the nearby town where Growlithe had picked up the scent. The town of Hollow Shades.

Chapter 18

Mary Care sighed as she slumped down behind her desk, where stacks of paperwork were reaching critical proportions. She really needed to get a secretary. She had a hard enough time, taking care of all of it before, but after the Pokémon had appeared… what she wouldn't give for just one normal day.

Just the day before, the mayor’s wife, miss Buttercup, had come by her clinic with her pet dog. The dog itself had just a minor scratch on its leg, but Buttercup had been in hysteria and Mary was not sure if she should believe her story, or even is she should ask Ethan about it. Apparently, the dog had been rummaging in some trash cans outside their house when… the trash itself had attacked her dog and skurried off….

Ethan had told her about all the Pokémon types and that they came in all shapes and sizes… but she thought that it would be a little too far fetched to think that a pile of trash could be a Pokémon. Though it was also possible that miss Buttercup has just thought that she was seeing things. There had certainly been enough of that those last few days

But it hadn't just been a few days, had it? She couldn't believe that it had been seven days in total since a whole new species had simply popped out of thin air. Seven days… so much had happened during those days that she had a hard time believing it herself. But she had gotten a bunch of new friends. Good friends too, if she was a good judge of character.

Mary was so caught up in her own thoughts that she failed to notice that the door opened up and a pony stepped in.

“Hello? Mary Care?” At the mention of her name, Mary sat up immediately.

“Oh… Hello, Flora. What can I do for you?” Mary greeted the earth pony foal that now stood in her office.

“I wanted to check up on Mr Bubbles.” Mary mentally slapped herself from forgetting that she was supposed to pick up that pet that day.

“Yeah she is fine, in fact you can take her home right now if you want to.” Mary smiled as she hopped down from her chair and walked out from her office towards the area where they kept animals when they stayed overnight. Mr Bubbles had been one of the few normal cases she had had in the past few days. Just a stray cat that someone had found and wanted to adopt. Mary was the town veterinarian; she could not understand why ponies still came to her and expected her to be able to solve most of their Pokémon-related problems.

She forwarded those problems to Ethan and Zoey if it was anything important or something like that, of course… but most of the cases it was just ponies that was freaking out over nothing.

“Oh really? Thank you so much, miss Mary!” The foal lunged forward and caught Mary off-guard with the sudden hug.

“You are welcome, Flora. Just be sure to give her a good home and come to me should anything happen!” Mary smiled as she patted the foal’s head.

“Okay, thank you so much, Mary!” The foal exclaimed with a huge smile before she picked up the cat cage in her mouth and trotted out of the clinic. It warmed Mary’s heart to see such a scene and the fact that the stray cat now had gotten a new home.

But before she could enjoy the feeling for too long, the doors opened and another problem presented itself. A problem that she had been dealing with for most of the days since the Pokémon had arrived.

“Good day, what can I help you with?” Mary said with a smile as she was still unaware of the question that the mare would ask of her.

“Hello Mary, you see I was looking for a new pet!” An innocent question in itself, one that she got quite frequently. She was the pony that most ponies in town went to when they wanted to get a pet after all.

“I should be able to help with that.” Mary answered with a kind smile. “What exactly were you looking for? A cat? Dog? Or maybe something else?”

“Oh no, I was hoping for something a little more exotic.” That was when the warning bells started going off within Marys head. “I was wondering if you had some Pokémon that would make for a lovely pet? I just adore how some of them look!” And there it was. That was the one question that Mary was getting sick and tired off above all else. It seemed that a lot of ponies had a really hard time understanding that Pokémon were intelligent creatures, just like them. And not just mindless critters that could be owned. Truly… it took all of Marys patience and even then some to remain calm and civil when talking to those ponies.

“It… does not work like that, miss.” Mary started. “They are sentient just like you and me. They are not pets.”

“Oh… but what about that bunny friend of yours? Can't I speak to him about it? I heard that he arranged for some families around here to get a Pokémon of their own.” And once more Mary could feel the stupidity of that mare leaking into her own head. She tried to be as patient and kind as possible with those ponies but even she had an end to that patience. It seemed like some ponies just ignored her words when she tried to explain things.

“You are… partially correct.” She said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose with her hoof. “He helped Pokémon that had taken a liking to the ponies and wanted a new family so to speak.” Mary explained to her. “You can talk with him if you like and I’ll even take you. But a Pokémon needs to like you and decide for its own whenever or not it wants to live with you. They are our equals, not pets.”

“Oh, I see… but surely something can be arranged? I saw one of those lovely bird Pokémon and I just must have one! And I’ll pay whatever it takes.” At that moment. If one would look really closely, one could possibly see Mary Care`s last bit of patience snapping. Her left eye started to switch slightly.

“Why wont you just LISTEN to what I’m telling you?! You can't buy them? They are not pets and they are to be treated with as much respect as one would a fellow pony! There was a huge public speech where their GOD told us about all of this, or did that too just pass through your empty head like all of my words? You seriously need to change your attitude towards Pokémon, because as you are now, I can't see any one of them wanting to have anything to do with you!” Mary stood there panting slightly from her sudden outburst. And the mare she was speaking too just stood there gaping at her for a moment before she shook her head and huffed angrily.

“Why I never… don’t expect me to set hoof in this clinic of your’s ever again, miss Care! Good day!” And with that she left, slamming the door behind her on the way out, leaving Mary behind to let herself fall down to the floor and cover her face with her hooves as she realized everything that she had said.

“Oh Celestia, why?” She groaned. She had meant every single word of course, but she could have caused so many better ways of saying them. She was not afraid of her reputation that much… that mare was known for being a little unpleasant and high strung so her words would not carry that much weight in the town. But her own ego had taken quite the blow. She never blew on somepony like that… never.

“I guess I'm a little more stressed out then I thought.” Mary mused to herself as she got back up again and wiped off her coat. “Then again… who wouldn't be after such a week… I think I'll close early today. I… I need some me time.” It was not too late in the day, but she did not have any other appointments… at least she did not think so. She had forgotten the last one in any case so she thought she should double check. Just to be sure.

“No… no more appointments for today.” She smiled as she checked off the calendar. She grabbed her saddle bags before she left the clinic, locking the door behind her before she set off in a light trot towards her house. She would just go by for a short trip to leave her saddle bags there before she would take some much needed time to herself. She contemplated if she should go visit Ethan and the others, but she pushed those plans to a little later that day. As much as she liked spending time with them, what she needed most was just some quiet time with nopony else around.

It took a small while for her to get to her home, it was midday so the town was at its busiest and a lot of ponies stopped her along the way. Either just to say hello or to have a small chat with her. And Mary thought that it would have been too rude of her to ignore them or push them away so she was really happy when she finally got home and put her saddlebags away.

“Just a little more, Mary.” She sighed out as she left her home and walked into the forest behind her house, leaving the town behind. She liked the forest and all the small sounds that came with it. Not the same chatter or noise that came along with other ponies, but just the nice natural sounds of nature. But as much as she enjoyed simply walking in the forest, she did have a destination in mind. Years back, before she had even gotten her cutie mark, she had found what she considered to be the most perfect and beautiful little spot.

“Finally.” Mary sighed out as she could see the trees starting to thin out; she was getting closer. It was a small hill, free of any trees, allowing for a perfect view of both the town below and the waterfall in the distance. The quiet, but constant rumble that it provided made for the perfect background noise as she laid down near the edge and closed her eyes. At that moment, Mary did not have another care in the world, for that moment, everything was… perfect.

Sadly, good things usually come to an end, and that moment ended a lot sooner than Mary would have liked as a loud crash sounded in the forest just by her. Mary stood up in a flash, spooked by the sudden and loud sound.

“W-who is there?” She called out as she looked around. She was not sure what she had heard but she did know that she had not heard anything like it before, and that along with the volume of it was enough to scare her.

“Sorry, I did not think anyone else was around here.” A familiar voice spoke as a figure walked out from between the trees. Mary relaxed and let out the breath she had been holding at the sight of who it was. “Sorry if I surprised ya, Mary.”

“No… no, it’s alright, Brawly.” Mary answered as she slumped back down. “So what are you doing up here? Just like you said, I was not expecting to see anypony else up here.” Brawly slowly walked up to her and sat down next to her as the both of them looked out over the village.

“Well, it’s a nice spot ya got.” Brawly commented as he took in the view. “I was just doing some training, got to keep in shape, ya know! That and I want to master this new body of mine.”

“I guess I can understand that. So that loud noise that was you?” Mary asked.

“Yeah, I was getting used to these little things.” Brawly said as he held forth the whip like fur that he had on both of his arms. “Move the, just right and fast enough and you get…” Brawly reared back his arm and launched it out towards a nearby tree branch, creating a loud snapping sound as the branch fell to the ground. “Something like that. I’m starting to get the hang of it, but I still got a ways to go.” Brawly told her before he wrapped the fur around his arms again. He did not like the day it just hung there when he was not actively using it. “What about you? This is quite the ways away from town.”

“I just needed a small break.” Mary smiled. “Ponies seemed to have named me the go-to gal for any Pokémon-related questions because of all the time I have been spending with Ethan and you guys. I wouldn't mind it, it’s just…”

“A little too much for you to deal with alone?” Mary looked up as Brawly had taken the words right out of her mouth.

“Y-yeah… how did you know?” Mary asked as both of them closed their eyes from an extra strong gust of wind.

“Because I felt much the same when I started as a Gym Leader.” Mary had heard both him and Ethan use that word before, but neither of them had actually explained to her what it meant.

“And what exactly is a Gym Leader, if you don't mind me asking?” Mary inquired.

“Hmm… we are… Ethan explained Pokémon Trainers to you, right?” Mary nodded. “Then I suppose it would not be wrong to look at us as stepping stones. Our job is to judge if the trainers have what it takes, in both strength, spirit, and character at times. Other people would most likely explain it differently, but that how I have always seen it.” Brawly smiled. “But when I started out, it was a bit overwhelming at times… everyone expected that I was supposed to know everything.”

“I see… so how did you deal with it?”

“I got help! Just as you should. Friend of mine named Bruno who showed me the ropes. Dealing with stuff on your own might seem like a good idea, but just send those ponies to us. Ethan will be more than happy to help you, especially since you have helped him that much.” Mary had to agree that Brawly had a point. She had been sending some of the ponies to Ethan when it was about Pokémon or going to ask him, herself. But a lot of the times, she had tried to solve things herself first.

“Thanks…” Mary smiled as she looked up at the sky, the sun currently hidden behind a couple of clouds.

“Anytime, we all need some advice from time to time.” A silence settled in between the two of them as Mary thought about what he had said and Brawly simply closed his eyes, almost nodding off in the fine weather. Both of them ignored the sound of a yell that could just be heard since they knew what it was about. It had been the same routine the last couple of days. At the bottom of the waterfall, Scylla had just had another fit of anger while on one of her sessions with Ethan. It had been more than one time he had returned with his fur and ears full of twigs. Since Scylla`s shout were loud enough and carried enough force to throw him into the nearby forest.

“...There was something that I wanted to ask you.” Brawly opened his eyes and looked towards her.

“Hmm?”

“You must have had Pokémon as well since you were a Gym Leader, right?” Mary let the question hang in the air for a moment before she continued. “Do you miss any of them? I mean… I haven't seen any other of them and… I’m sorry!” Mary apologized as she realized that she may have brung up a sore topic. To Ethan, the Pokémon were like his family and she assumed that it was a similar case for Brawly. But she was surprised when he just waved it off.

“It’s alright, no need to make a fuss about it.” Brawly smiled with his usual lazy smile. “But yeah, you are right… I do miss ‘em… most of ‘em. I woke up alongside a member of my team.”

“Oh? What happened then?” Mary asked since Brawly had basically shown up alone, only with Scylla.

“We decided to go each our ways… at least for the time being.” Brawly told her as he looked out across the horizon. “Hariyama is the Pokémon that has been with me the longest… he is practically my brother. But after what happened… I am no longer a Gym Leader. He enjoyed the constant stream of challenges that we got there. So with me not being a Gym Leader any longer, we decided that it was probably for the best, since he wanted to continue to strengthen himself and seek new challenges… that and now that I'm a Pokémon too, he wanted to fight me when I had grown strong enough. So he decided to give me a little time to get ready before that challenge happens. Dont get me wrong, I miss him too, but I know that we will meet again eventually. That goes for most of my Pokémon. None of them are weaklings, they will be alright on their own no matter what happens or where they ended up.”

Mary smiled as she listened to Brawly. It was obvious that he cared about his Pokémon, and she thought that it was refreshing to listen to. He not only cared for them, but he trusted them a great deal too.

“Well, I hope to meet them someday then.” Mary smiled.

“Oh, and there was something that Jenny wanted to speak to you about.” Brawly said, remembering what Jenny had explained after she got back the day before.

“Oh, she is back then? How did everything go?” Mary asked. Ethan had filled her in on the details after Jenny had left.

“She got the Pokémon that had been bought and held captive back.” Mary could not help but give a small victory cheer.

“That is great! But do you know what she wanted to talk to me about? And for that matter… I thought that she was just supposed to gather some information and come back to get help afterwards.”

“Complications came up, the important thing is that she succeeded… and I’m not really sure, something about a weird black pony.” Brawly told her. It was not incorrect, but he had not been paying too much attention last night when Jenny had spoken about what had happened to her. He had other things on his mind.

“Hmm… well I think I'm ready to head back down again. I feel much better… thanks.” She thanked Brawly with a nod, which he happily returned.

“It’s what friends are for.” Brawly had not known her for that long, but any friend of Ethan was a friend of his.

It did not take long for Mary and Brawly to walk back down again. Brawly told her about what had happened last night and how Ethan had chewed Jenny out for acting on her own again. He had understood why she had done it, after she had explained what had transpired, but the two of them still butted heads on the subject for a while until they came to the agreement that Jenny would not go alone the next time.

“And I say that you are not well enough for that yet.” Mary and Brawly looked at eachother. They were outside the warehouse and by the sound of it, Ethan was arguing with someone on the inside.

“Taillow! Tail, Taillow!” Mary blinked as she heard what she supposed was the Taillow what they had operated on yell back in a loud voice. She could not understand what he was saying as the spell had not been cast on him yet.

“Um… should we wait?” Mary asked as she hesitated to approach the door, she did not want to interrupt anything after all.

“Nah, should be fine.” Brawly answered as he went forth and walked inside, Mary following closely after.

“Tone down on that… you are scaring some of the other bug Pokémon… Look, I know what you are getting at, but I'm not letting you hunt in the town park!” Mary could see Ethan and the Taillow arguing in the middle of the room.

“What’s going on?” Mary asked after she had closed the door behind her. Ethan and the Taillow looked in her direction, the latter who simply huffed and waddled away from Ethan.

“Oh hello there, Mary, and you too, Brawly.” Ethan greeted them as he noticed that she and Brawly had entered. “It’s nothing major. He just wants to be able to hunt again. It’s strange for a wild Pokémon to be living like this when it’s used to something different.” Ethan said as he walked over to the two of them. Ethan had already told Mary about the fact that Pokemon ate other Pokémon. Being a veterinarian, she understood that some creatures needs to eat others, albit she saw it as a bit strange with how intelligent most of the Pokémon seemed.

“Oh… Brawly said that Jenny wanted to speak to me?” Mary asked, letting the subject drop.

“Yeah, that’s right. We went over to your clinic a little earlier, but it was closed.” Mary rubbed the back of her head.

“Yeah… I closed up early, I just needed a small break. So is Jenny here?”

“She is just over with Zoey there.” Mary looked over to where Zoey was sitting and squinted as she tried to spot Jenny. She could see… something orange behind her, but it had been almost impossible to see. “Come on, let’s go talk to her.”

“Yeah, I’ll grab a shower while you do that.” Brawly said as he started walking away from the two of them.

“Okay, see you later Brawly.” Mary waved him off. When she turned back she noticed Ethan who was looking after Brawly with a weird look in his face.

“Um.. Ethan?” She waved a hoof in front of his eyes, which seemed to snap him out of it. Though she could have swore that she saw the fur around his cheeks redden a little…

“Hmm? Oh I’m sorry, here let’s go.” Ethan said a little hurried as he started walking towards Zoey and Jenny. Mary thought about what that could have been about for a moment before she shrugged and followed after.

“Hello, Jenny.” Mary smiled as she saw the familiar fox head pop out from behind where Zoey was sitting.

“Ah, good evening, Mary.” Jenny said as she walked around to the side of the couch and sat down properly.

“So I heard that yesterdays rescue went well.”

“For the most part it did..” Jenny started as she told Mary about everything that had happened the day before. She left out most of the parts about how rough she had been with Rigid Paper and other things, and instead focused on the important parts. “... And then he transformed into this… black bug like pony… do you know what that was?”

“A-a-a changeling? Y-you met a changeling, really?” Mary blinked surprised. She had heard about them of course. Everypony had heard about them after the incident in Canterlot.

“I… guess, he did not say anything about what he was but he did change appearance, sort of like a Ditto. Why, are they not that common?” Zoey had been listening in on the conversation but was now much more interested.

“Wait really? He could change what he looked like?” She asked getting a nod from Jenny. “That sounds weird…”

“N-no they are not that common… at least not from what we know. Did you report him or get him arrested?” Jenny smiled sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head.

“No… I… from what he told me, it sounded like he had several members of the police on his payroll… I did not want to risk getting arrested in his stead.” Jenny said, remembering that she had gone a bit over the line when it came to the force she used to take him down. “Should I report him to the local police here?”

“Yes, you should. They might not be able to take care of anything themselves, but they can contact Canterlot to get a proper investigation underway. Especially since he was doing illegal things, harming those Pokémon like that.” Mary told them.

“So what exactly is a Changeling?” Zoey inquired. “You seemed pretty surprised after all.” Mary took a few moments to remember what she knew about them. Knowledge about them had become more common after the attack on Canterlot.

“They are shape-changing, bug-like ponies. They can use magic, much like a unicorn can and they can fly as well with their insect-like wings. But what is most dangerous about them is that they feed on emotions.” Both Zoey and Jenny blinked at that. They had expected something else or more gruesome, but nothing like that.

“Their emotions?” Jenny asked, slightly confused.

“Thats right, as love for example. They can put their victims in a hypnotic-like state and positively drain them dry, sapping their strength… possibly killing the victim if it goes on for too long.” A small pause settled over the group as Jenny and Zoey thought about what Mary had told them. “B-but don't get me wrong… not all of them are bad ponies. I actually know one that functions normally in pony society without harming anyone… but they have a horrible reputation as a whole.” Ethan who had stayed quiet for the entire conversation spoke up.

“That actually sounds really interesting. I would love to meet one of them sometime.” At that Mary began to panic slightly as she realized the mistake she had made.

“I.. N-no, I… The one that I know wants to remain anonymous. In fact, I really should not have mentioned anything at all…” Mary stammered. “I promised him that I would not tell anypony.” She let out a surprised shriek as she felt a paw on her shoulder.

“Hey, don’t worry. If it’s important to you then we won't tell anyone… or anypony.” Ethan smiled as he reassured her.

“R-really?” Mary sniffed, getting nods from everyone.

“That’s right.” Jenny added.

“Yeah, we will keep it a secret.” Zoey chipped in as she patted Mary on the back too.

“T-thanks, guys.” She smiled in relief. “So… did you find anything else in Hollow Shades? Any signs of Shady?” Mary inquired after she had gotten a moment to gather herself again.

“Not that much… only thing I have is a seemingly meaningless letter with this strange symbol on it.” Jenny said as she fished the Letter out from in between her tails. The symbol itself was a large feather with a unicorn horn going through it. It was a simple design and Mary had seen many that looked similar. But there was something about that one that tickled her memory.

“I have seen that before…” She muttered almost unconsciously. She knew that symbol, she was sure that she did. But there was like a black shroud was covering that same symbol, blocking out the memory of it.

“What? Where?” Jenny said immediately as she leaned forward. Everyone present practically held their breaths as they waited for Mary`s answer.

“I… I can't remember… I’m so sorry, I should not have said anything in the first place.” Mary said as she hung her head.

“Don't worry about it.” Ethan reassured her. “We still got that journal now that you managed to work out how to read it. We will catch these guys. But if you do remember something about it-”

“I’ll be sure to tell you, of course.” Mary smiled.

“Great! I was just about to start cooking, would you like to stay for dinner?” Ethan asked of her as he stood up and stretched.

“I would love that.” Mary answered happily. She did not want to be a bother, but she felt like it would be alright. Apart from Zephyr and Mignon, she felt like she could really be herself around her newly found friends and their weird and amazing family. To her, Arceus had made the right choice with moving them to their world.

Chapter 19 Author's Note

Editors Notes
MoldyShishkabob: "All experiences of characters in this chapter could not be examined and verified as accurate by the editor. Please proceed with very little caution and do not laugh at the editor's lack of life experience."

Author: Acually got a comment out of him this time around^^ But in all seriousness, this guy^ is great, and without him this story probably woudent exist. But thats all from me, I hope that you will enjoy this next chapter. :twilightsmile:

Chapter 19

Zoey was not exactly what you would call a morning Pokémon. She had finished the important morning tasks like making breakfast for everyone, and making sure that they were healing properly, changing or removing bandages on the ones that needed it. She and Ethan changed between each other who did those morning tasks, so they had some time to themselves. So after having finished all of those tasks, it was understandable that Zoey was more than a little irritated when Ethan had still not gotten out of the shower. Even Jenny had gotten up by that point and was standing in a line behind Zoey.

“Come on, Ethan, it has been over two hours already!” Zoey shouted as she knocked on the door. They had gotten a small shower and a bathroom constructed the day after their home had been built. “And I can't find Chii anywhere.”

“Dont worry, she is in here with me. And we are just about done!” She could hear Ethan shout back. She knew that after Chii had her little episode they had all made more of an effort to include her in things that they did. She had gotten a little better over the past two days but she still had her sudden mood changes… But taking a shower together? Zoey could not help but find that a little weird.

“Has he really been in there for two hours?” Jenny asked as she yawned loudly besides Zoey. She had just woken up.

“Yes…” Zoey sighed. “He usually spent a lot of time getting ready in the mornings, but this is getting over the top even for him.” Zoey had been living with him for years after all, so she knew how he could be. But he had gotten even worse after he had become a Lopunny. But as he always told her, the result spoke for itself. And as the door opened up and hot steam from the water rolled out she had a hard time arguing with that logic as she struggled to suppress her blush.

Ethans fur was positively shining when he walked out of the bathroom. It was still slightly damp but that just added to its gloss as it clung tightly to his body. He had wrapped a towel around his ears and another one around his waist. He did not need the last one since his fur covered him up, but it was more of a habit that anything else.

“Sorry for taking so long.” He smiled as he walked past Zoey to let her enter. Something else hopped out of the steam after Ethan and it took Zoey a moment to realize that it was Chii. Her fur was so fluffed up she looked more like a pink ball that shuffled along the ground than anything else.

“Hey, wait up. You said that you were going to brush me too!” Chii yelled after Ethan as Zoey had to stifle a laugh at her appearance.

“Well, hop on.” Ethan said as he kneeled down, allowing Chii to jump up as she settled into the towel on his head that covered his ears.

“Thanks.” She purred happily as she snuggled deeper into the towel.

“So you enjoyed it?” Ethan asked as the two of them continued over to one of the couches that was unoccupied. During the dinner they had last night Mary had discovered that Ethan’s brush was actually hers and that he had taken it from her. Ethan had apologized profusely, saying that he had not been able to help himself and that he had completely forgotten about the whole thing. Thankfully Mary had taken it in good spirit and let him keep it. She did however yell at him for a bit before dropping the subject.

“Yeah!” Chii exclaimed happily. She really enjoyed the warmth of the shower, almost as much as she enjoyed the brushing that came after.

“That’s great then.” Ethan grinned as he reached up and scratched her head. Since her accident, Ethan had focused on making her feel involved as much as possible. Chii`s greatest fear was being abandoned, so what she needed most was safety. That, and since it has been decided that Chii would be staying with them permanently, it was important to make her feel like a part of the family.

Ethan sat down on the couch and lifted the overly fluffy Chii down and put her onto his lap before he brought the brush down carefully, using long strokes along her back. The brushing making Chii positively shiver in delight as she enjoyed herself to the fullest.

“So how are you feeling today?” Ethan asked as he continued his work, working through all the knots and tangles in Chii`s fur, making it as smooth as possible.

“...” Chii took a moment as she knew what he meant. She had broken down into tears last night as well, having to sleep close to Ethan and Zoey to even manage to sleep at all. “I'm feeling better.” She said honestly, continuing to purr in a low tone as Ethan kept brushing her. “I did not even have any nightmares!” She cheered.

“That’s great.” Ethan grinned as he used his hand to roll Chii over so he could brush her stomach as well. “Mind if I ask you something?” Ethan asked, making Chii look up to him.

“What?” She asked as her eyes locked onto the brush. The way it moved back and forth over her stomach… she just couldn't help herself as she began to bat after it with her paws.

“Why do you seem to…” Hate was too strong a word for him to use. “Dislike Brawly so much?” Ethan asked, making Chii stop playing with the brush as she instead rolled back over to her stomach.

“He ruined everything…” Chii grumbled as she looked away from Ethan.

“What exactly did he ruin?” Ethan asked as he put the brush down besides himself.

“...” Chii mumbled something too low for Ethan to hear. She looked up at him when he did not reply and saw the look that he was giving her. “He… it’s his fault that you and Zoey did not end up together.” She said again, this time louder. “That… and he reminds me of my old Mary…” Ethan let out a small sigh. It made a little more sense now.

“Chii, that was not his fault. It’s just who I am. I love Zoey with all of my heart just like I love you and all of my family. But I just don't like girls in that way.” Ethan could hear Chii mutter a quiet “I know” as he told her that. “The only thing I can recommend is that you spend more time with him… I know that may not be easy if he reminds you of her, but I think that you will eventually see him in a new light. He is not going anywhere, you know.” After hearing that Chii stood up and turned to face Ethan.

“Y-you're just saying that because you have a crush on him. But I won't let him take you away from us!” A silence came over the two of them. Chii's ears went flat against her head and she looked away as she realized that she had said something that she was not supposed to have said.

“How do you know something like that?” Ethan asked as Chii was doing her absolute best at trying to make herself as small as possible.

Chii's thoughts raced as to how she was going to handle that situation. She could not tell him that Brawly had been the one to tell her and Zoey that he suspected that Ethan was interested in him. No… that would only make it more likely that Ethan would confront Brawly about it. Nothing good would come from that course of action. She knew that she was not supposed to lie… but she could absolutely not allow Brawly to take Ethan.

“Zoey said it.” Chii said in a low voice. “S-she had seen the way that you were looking at Brawly and…” The lie would fall apart immediately if Ethan actually asked or talked to Zoey about it. So Chii improvised. “P-please don't say anything to her about it… it was supposed to be a secret since she was not completely sure!” Chii smiled nervously as she hoped that Ethan would accept her lie. All of her future plans to get rid of Brawly would fail if Ethan called her bluff. She felt as if a huge weight was lifted off her tiny shoulders as Ethan smiled and reached down to rub her head.

“Don’t worry, I won't say anything.” Ethan reassured Chii. “And you don't have to worry. Brawly will never take me away, so to speak. You are my family, and nothing will ever change that.” Ethan lifted Chii up and nuzzled her gently, a gesture that she gladly accepted and returned. He was not sure how Zoey had noticed it, but if he had been that obvious about his feelings, maybe it was time to do something about them.

“You promise?”

“I promise!” Ethan hugged Chii tightly before he put her down on his lap again. “Now, let’s get you finished.” He said as he picked up the brush again. He still had himself to do after Chii and he knew how long that would take. Even if he enjoyed every minute of it.

Brawly reached out and knocked on the door in front of him. He was currently standing inside of what was the town’s schoolhouse. He had not had any particular business there in the first place, but Ethan had asked a favor of him and he was glad to accept.

“Oh… excuse me, we are currently having a class, is this important?” A pony, which he assumed was the teacher asked of him after the door had opened.

“I would like to have a word with you, but it can wait if you were in the middle of something. Sorry for interrupting.” Brawly apologised.

“Very well then. Break is in fifteen minutes so if you could wait until then, I would appreciate it.” She said before she went back into the classroom and closed the door behind her. Brawly smiled as he could hear some of the commotion that the foals were currently putting up. It seemed that some of them had noticed him and were more than a little curious about what a Pokémon like himself was doing at their school.

The time passed rather quickly and before he knew it, the door flew open and a sea of little foals stormed out and flocked around him, swarming him with questions.

“Are you one of those Pokémanz?”

“What are you doing here?”

“What are these things?” One of the foals had asked as it pulled on the whip like fur on one of Brawly`s arms.

“Hey! Let the poor stallion be.” The teacher shouted at the group of foals from where she stood in the doorway. Listening to their teacher the foals dispersed, some of them looking back to Brawly who just had an amused smile on his face. “I’m so sorry, most of them have not had any personal experience or close meetings with that many Pokémon.” She apologized.

“It’s no worry, they were just curious, just like any k… foal should be.” Brawly smiled as he corrected himself. “That is also part of what I wanted to talk to you about. Shall we go inside?” He asked, gesturing to the classroom.

“Of course, please come on in.” The mare said as she went back inside, letting Brawly follow after her. The door closing itself behind the two. “So mister…”

“Brawly.”

“Mister Brawly, what did you want to talk to me about?” She asked as she sat down behind her desk, Brawly standing in front of it. Brawly was going to ask of her name, but he had already noticed a small name place that was standing on the desk. Goldenlocks it read, fitting with the blond mane that she had.

“A nice bunch of foals that you have there.” Brawly started as he looked out the window to the side where he could see the group of foals that had assaulted him with questions, now playing and having fun together.

“That they are.” Goldenlocks agreed with a smile and a nod of her head.

“Well… I came to give you a proposition… and to ask you of help at the same time.” Brawly started. He had thought out some of what he would say on the way over there, but as much else that he did, he just improvised a lot of it too. “They don't know that much about Pokémon, do they?” He asked as the teacher let out a heavy sigh.

“No… they are so interested in them too… you are the biggest thing to happen in their lifetime, probably; after all, anypony would be dying of curiosity. But none of us teachers know nearly anything on the subject. So we can't give them any of the answers that they seek.” Goldenlocks said with sadness evident in her voice.

“Well, I want to give you guys and your foals and opportunity to learn.” Brawly said, getting straight to the point as he now had the teacher’s full attention.

“P-please go on.” She said.

“Ya probably heard about the incident in the forest, right?” Brawly inquired.

“O-of course. To think that a pony would do something so horrible… They are alright, right? The Pokémon that were rescued I mean.”

“They are making a good recovery, for the most part.” Brawly reassured her. “But they did not have the best first encounter with ponies, that’s where I hoped that we could help each other. The foals would get to meet and learn about Pokémon in a controlled environment, and it would also help those Pokémon learn to trust Ponies again, to learn for themselves that not all of you are bad.” Brawly said laying forth both his and Ethan`s idea. “That and I think that the foals would love it.”

Ethans idea had originally just been to bring ponies over to their home to slowly introduce the Pokémon to different kinds of them to help show them that they did not need to fear them. Not all of them needed it, but some of them were afraid of even Mary who had been spending a lot of time around them. Brawly had then suggested that they instead used kids, or foals as they were called in Equestria. They would not be as imposing as any adult ponies, after all.

Goldenlocks sat there for a couple of moments as she thought about the idea that Brawly had laid forth.

“I have to talk with the principal about it first, of course, but… I think it sounds like a brilliant idea.” She beamed. “It would help us a lot, and if we can assist with helping those poor Pokémon after what happened to them, then its a win, win situation for the both of us.”

“Yeah, that was exactly what I was thinking.”

“Would it be possible for me to come and see the place before we bring the foals there?” Goldenlocks asked.

“Yeah, no problem. Just come by when it fits you. You know the old warehouse outside of town, right?” She nodded in confirmation. “That’s the place.”

“Well, I'm afraid I will be busy today… but I'll come by tomorrow to see the place for myself. Thank you so much.” She thanked Brawly with a small bow before both of them stood up.

“Great, I'll see ya then.” Brawly smiled and gave her a small wave of his paw as he exited the classroom, feeling content that everything had gone smoothly. And that he had something to do as well. Not that he disliked helping around the warehouse, but there was just so much that he could do there. With Zoey and Ethan taking care of most of the Pokémon’s needs, he had more free time on his paws than he knew what to do with. Even with his training, which took up several hours of each day, he still grew a little restless from time to time.

“One more stop to make.” He also had to stop by the mayor’s office with another idea that he and Ethan had came up with, one a little bigger and more ambiguous as a whole. And if it worked out, then it would give him something to do full time.

He had left the schoolhouse and was about to make his way towards his goal when a small ball rolled up to his legs. Looking up he saw the same group of foals running towards him before he picked up the ball and threw it over to them.

“Thanks mister!” One of the foals beamed as it had caught the ball with its front legs.

“Do you want to play?” Another one of them asked, and as soon as the question had been asked, the whole group looked at him with puppy-dog eyes, pleading him to say yes.

He had always liked kids. Back on Earth, he had been helping a lot of them to train their Pokémon, as well as teaching those of them that wanted it to surf.

“Well, why not. Come on ya small rascals, let’s play!” Brawly grinned as he went along with the foals who cheered for him. The mayor could wait a little while.

Brawly did not return home until much later that evening. He had spent much time playing with the foals, before he had gone to the mayor’s office and even met up with some of the foals afterwards in the park to continue. They were so similar to human kids with their seemingly endless curiosity. But eventually, he had to call it a day and say goodbye to the foals, promising that he would play with them another day.

As he entered the warehouse, he could see that a lot of the smaller Pokémon were already asleep, and that Zoey was sitting alongside Jenny on the couch, seemingly discussing something.

“-and they are initiating a proper investigation based on… Hello, Brawly.” Jenny greeted him as he got closer.

“Evening to the both of ya. Seen Ethan around? Got a few things to tell him.” Brawly asked.

“Well, Mary and Zephyr wanted to have a party to celebrate since it has been over a week since Pokémon arrived in Equestria. Sort of to welcome us properly. I volunteered to stay behind to watch everyone…” She looked over to Jenny who continued.

“And I don't really drink so I passed.”

“Ethan went over there a few hours ago. He told too-” Brawly help up a hand to stop Zoey as he realized what had happened.

“So you let Ethan… go to a party unsupervised?” He asked getting a nod from Zoey. “Ethan… who has absolutely no idea about his own limits when it comes to alcohol. And has a tendency to go overboard when drunk.” Realization lit up in Zoey`s eyes.

“Wait what?” She said as Jenny had already begun laughing.

“No… of course he wouldn't tell you that either.” Brawly grumbled as he shook his head. “No… that stupid little…” Brawly took a deep breath and held it for several seconds before releasing it. “I'll go and make sure that he doesn't make a fool of himself…” Brawly concluded, dragging a paw down his face before turning and walking out of their home.

“Oh… I’m looking forward to hearing about all that in the morning.” Jenny said as she wiped a tear from her eye from how hard she had been laughing.

“So you are not going with him?” Zoey asked.

“Nah… as I said, I don't drink. Besides, I think Ethan will be more than capable of making a fool of himself without me there.” Jenny said as she had manage to quell her laughter. “Now as I was saying… It seems that the changeling has managed to disappear completely…”

The party was already in full swing by the time that Brawly arrived. Loud music could be heard from well away and by the amount of light the house was emitting, it was not hard to locate where it was being held.

“Don’t do this to me, Ethan.” Brawly muttered under his breath, remembering the last time he and Ethan were at a party together. Ethan was his friend, more than that even. And he would do anything for him. But… the dude could not for the life of him, hold his alcohol. Neither did he know his limits. And that was a combination that was destined to fail.

Opening the door, Brawly was greeted by the sight of a magnitude of dancing ponies and even a few Pokémon had joined in. Brawly had only been in town a few days, but he recognized a few faces, namely Zephyr who walked over to him with a jug with what Brawly assumed to be some sort of alcohol, balanced on his wing.

“Hey Brawly! About time you showed up. You want a drink?” Zephyr held out his wing to Brawly, offering the drink he had been carrying.

“Woooo! Let’s get this party started!” Brawly looked over where he could see a very familiar Lopunny that was holding a half-full whiskey bottle, and was currently drinking directly from the bottle. The ponies around him chanting “Chug! Chug!” as it seemed like Ethan was spilling more of the whiskey than he actually managed to drink.

“Ya know, what the hell. I have the feeling that I might need it.” Brawly said as he accepted the mug. “Thanks, man!” He said as he took a swig and walked further into the hearth of the party. “Arceus knows that I'm going to need it to steer this rocky wave!”

The party continued strong for several hours. Mary Care seemed to disappear off with Zephyr sometime during those hours and the two of them were not seen again. But as the party was coming to an end, Brawly found himself behind the house, holding Ethan`s ears as he was puking his guts out. As Brawly recalled that was exactly how it had gone the last time too… except for the ears, that was.

“You done, buddy?” Brawly asked as Ethan had been quiet for a few moments.

“Y-yeah… I think I’m good n-” Ethan doubled over once more as another wave of nausea hit him, causing him to paint the grass with the food he had eaten earlier. “O-hokay… I'm good now. Let’ss go back to the partay!” Ethan wiped his mouth and set off towards his goal. Only for his head to snap back, causing him to fall flat on his ass, as Brawly held him back by the ears.

“Yeah, how ‘bout ‘no’. We are heading back home!” Brawly said as he helped Ethan back up. It had gotten to the point where Ethan could not even walk straight without leaning on something. That something being Brawly.

“Noooo… I wants to go back!” Ethan muttered but he did not resist as the two of them started the slow walk back to the warehouse they had turned into their home. “Hey Baawly?”

“Yeah?” Brawly looked down at his friend who as they had walked seemed to have began to slow down even more as he swayed from side to side.

“Wh...whay aren’t you as drunk?”

“Because unlike some silly Lopunny, I know my limits.” Brawly replied.

“Oh… that shounds like a shilly Lopunny.” Brawly could not help but laugh at that statement.

“Yeah, a silly Lopunny, that’s for sure.”

“I… I need to sit down.” Ethan said suddenly as he swayed off to the side, dragging Brawly with him as he headed straight for the nearest bench.

“Ya need to puke again?” Brawly asked as Ethan somehow managed to get down into a sitting position.

“Nah… maybe… I don't think sho.” Brawly just shook his head as he took his seat next to Ethan and leaned back. The sky was cloud free, allowing for a magnificent sight. The sky was filled with stars and wonders. “Hey, Brawly… You know that I love you right?”

“Of course I do, and I love you too buddy.” Brawly replied, as he made a fist and lightly hit Ethan's shoulder.

“No...no, not like that. Can I tell you somethi… no I need to tell you shomething!” Ethan said as he turned to Brawly. He was not slurring as bad as he was earlier, and it was obvious that he was putting in a lot of effort.

“You don’t need to tell me anything, man.” Brawly smiled as he reached over and ruffled the hair between Ethans ears.

“No… no, I need to!” Ethan said as he slapped the hand away and made a feeble attempt to fix his fur again. “I need to… you are great man!”

“Yeah, you have said so before.” Brawly said with an amused smile. “So what was it that you were going to tell me?” He was a little curious, there was no telling what would come out of that mouth when he was that drunk.

Ethan pushed away from the bench and wobbled for a few steps until he stood in front of Brawly, his face deep in concentration as it took everything he had to just not fall on his ass. It was incredible how slippery a dirt road could be.

“I… I need to say shomething! Wanted to say it for a long, long time…but I have been… I have been scared.” Ethan was looking down at the ground as he kept fidgeting nervously with his ears.

“Scared of what, dude? I thought we talked about everything!”

“No, ish… different.”

“How is it different?” Brawly asked as he stood up from his seat. “Who was it that needed some support when he was coming out to his parents? Or who was it that supported a crazy kid’s dreams of becoming a Gym Leader and a surfing god!?” At that part, Ethan burst out in laughter while Brawly just stood there with his trademark smile. “You did not even look this nervous when you told me about the person that you accidentally killed to save Zoey... You can tell me anything, buddy! What’s bothering you?” Ethan took a few moments and a couple of deep breaths as he gathered himself as best he could.

“I… I’m in love with you...I hash loved you for a long time.” Ethan had stumbled closer to Brawly and was now holding a paw on his shoulder to steady himself. “You… you are just too great for your own good, you know that!” Ethan said as he was nervously looking down at the ground.

“You sure that it’s not just the alcohol talking?” Brawly asked as he put his paw on the one Ethan held on his shoulder to steady himself.

“No...no...no.” Ethan repeated while he shook his head. “I has been in love with you for several years… Always been jealush on all those fan girls of yours.”

“So you did you not say anything sooner, man?” Brawly asked. “I mean… we could have talked about this at the very least. You're my best friend, mate, and… and you just fell asleep didn't you?” As Brawly had spoke, Ethan had begun to lean more on Brawly and actually fell asleep against him, his head resting on Brawly's shoulder. “Come on Ethan, wake up! This is important!” Brawly raised his voice as he shook Ethan in an attempt to wake him up. But nothing seemed to work as Ethan continued to sleep soundly with a weird smile on his face.

“I’m going to have to carry you, aren't I? Again, I mean…” Brawly sighed as he lifted Ethan up, carrying him with one arm under his back and one arm under his legs. He had been caught off guard by Ethan’s sudden confession, and he was not completely sure what to think about the whole thing or what to feel. He looked down at Ethan, who kept smiling as he laid in his arms and Brawly could not help but crack a small smile of his own.

“If you remember any of this in the morning, then we are going to have to have a long talk about it…” Brawly said mostly to himself as he carried Ethan back home.

The sun was shining in through the windows as life was starting up in the warehouse. Pokémon of all sizes were waking up, ready to start the new day. But not everyone was so eager for the new day to start.

“Uurgh… someone please turn off that light.” Ethan groaned as he covered his face with his large ears. To him, that particular morning could have been delayed for another few hours. But sadly, he had no such powers. He tried his hardest to go back to sleep, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not shut out the sound of the others. It was the first time he had cursed his improved hearing.

In another part of the warehouse, a little over to the side, Zoey was sitting on the couch alongside with Brawly, both who were watching Ethan as he was struggling to accept the fact that morning had indeed come, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“I think I was already asleep when the two of you got home… how late was it?” Zoey asked as Ethan had actually wrapped his ears around his head several times. She found it quite amusing to watch.

“I don’t know the exact time… but it was pretty late.” Brawly saw with a glass of water in his hand. He had been drinking too at the party, so a dry mouth was to be expected, but he did not have anything close to the headache that Ethan was experiencing. “Dude had to be carried home. I still can't believe that you let him go to that party without telling me first!” Brawly thought about what had happened last night and could not help but laugh slightly. It had been fun.

“He is an adult… I thought he knew what he was doing… that and I did not completely believe in all those storied Vernus told us about Ethan and alcohol… did something else happen?” Zoey asked as she noticed the way Brawly had been looking at Ethan. It was somehow different from how he had always looked at him… It was the first time that she could remember that she had seen what looked like a nervous look on Brawly's face.

“...You could say that.” Brawly said as he let out a long sigh. “You remember what I told you about my suspicions about him?”

“About how he might be interested in you? Of course I do.” Zoey answered.

“Well, turns out I was right.” Brawly started off, as he told Zoey about everything that had happened that night. He was not one to normally talk about such things, but his mind was in array about the subject. He was honestly not sure about how to feel or what to do, and the fact that Ethan had said everything when he was that drunk did not exactly help. When he was done, Zoey just sat there with a surprised expression on her face. She opened her mouth, only to close it immediately. She repeated this process a few times before she finally spoke.

“What?” Zoey said in disbelief. She remembered the talk that she had with Brawly a few days ago, but that was just it, she had thought that it had been just a suspicion and nothing more. But the longer she thought about it, the more sense it made to her. “S-so do you think that he…?” Zoey let the question hang in the air as Brawly hummed to himself.

“Only one way to find out.” He said as he walked over to Ethan who were holding him head and groaning in pain. “Hey, Ethan?” Brawly kneeled down besides him and nudged him to get his attention.

“Hmm?” Ethan managed to groan out as he removed his paws and looked up at Brawly.

“How much do you remember from last night?” Zoey held her breath as Brawly got straight to the point. He looked into Ethan's eyes as he waited for the answer.

“Bits… and pieces… heh, I really messed up didn't I?” Ethan laughed before he winced, the laugh making his head hurt even more. “H-how did I get back home?” And that answered the question. Brawly was still not completely sure on how to feel. His friend had poured his feelings to him. Ethan had showed him his heart at its most vulnerable… albeit drunk, but he had still done it. He needed more time to sort out things in his own mind, that much he knew. So for the moment, he would leave Ethan in the dark about what had happened.

“Don't worry about that, man. I took care of you… like I always do.” Brawly smiled as he stood back up. “Just stay still, I'll get you some water.” Brawly said before he went off, leaving behind Zoey, who was in shock about how he had handled the situation, Ethan, who was still groaning in pain and hoping that he had not embarrassed himself too much at the party, and Chii, who had been listening in and was silently cheering to herself, because Ethan had not remembered anything. She still had time to set things straight.

Chapter 20

“That went really well!” Zoey said with a big, cheerful smile on her face. The teacher that Brawly had spoken with the day before had just finished her visit to their home. She had already spoken with and gotten permission from the principal before coming there, so that had just been a formality before they could go through with their plan.

“Yeah, I was surprised that they wanted to start as soon as tomorrow but I certainly won't complain. The sooner the better.” Ethan said as he looked over to the group of Pokémon that they had living there. Except for a few individuals, most of them still had the fright of ponies in that they had been placed there by Shady and his helper. He had tried to introduce them to ponies other than Mary Care, but without much success. Foals on the other paw, should be much better for them and it would be fun and educational for the foals as well.

“The children are coming here!?” Chii asked loudly as she jumped from her spot on the couch to rest on top of Ethan's head. She had overheard some of the conversation Ethan had with the teacher earlier.

“They sure are. And they are called foals here.” Ethan smiled as he corrected Chii. “You like kids, right?” He asked as he felt Chii finally settle down as she found a comfortable spot in between his ears.

“Yeah!” Chii cheered happily. “Mary used to take me to school all the time when she was younger. We had a lot of fun back then…” It only took a few moments before Chii's smile faded away, and she started shaking slightly.

“Hey, it’s alright, Chii. Dont think about it.” Ethan said as he lifted Chii down so that he could hug her. “Are you going to have lots of fun with the foals tomorrow?” Ethan asked as he put her down onto his lap and scratched her head.

“Y-yeah!” Chii smiled as she leaned into his paw.

“So what do you want to do today?”

“Spend time with you?” Chii looked up to him with a hopeful look on her face. She had been spending a lot of time with both him and Zoey the last few days. She was part of their family now, it was only natural that she wanted to spend time with them.

“Sure, but that means that you are going to have to tolerate Brawly a little as well.” Ethan told her as Chii pouted slightly.

“Can’t we just ditch him? Please?” Chii begged. She knew that Ethan had been tricking her into spending more and more time around Brawly lately and she did not like it one bit. But if they were both in one place then she could initiate her grand plan… if she had a grand plan that was. She hadn't really gotten that far just yet.

“Afraid not.” Ethan laughed as he lifted her up and put her down on top of his head where she quickly settled down. “He is training his new Pokémon body, trying to see if he can learn some new moves and I thought that I should do the same thing.” He told Chii before standing up, walking towards the exit.

“Can't you do that tomorrow?” Chii asked as they left their home and began walking towards the park where Brawly would be waiting for them.

“Afraid not. I have another session with Scylla then… and the foals are coming by too. Sorry, Chii. With all the Pokémon we are taking care of, I don't really have that much free time.” He was the one that mainly had to take care of the Pokémon. Zoey helped a ton, but he was the one that had to plan out their treatment and make sure that everything was alright. “That and I have to talk to Brawly about something else too.”

“But… but…” Chii slumped down on his head as she tried was slightly disappointed at how things had turned out. She wanted Ethan for herself that day. “Can I help teach you some moves too?” Chii asked, her tail dangling down in front of Ethan, who did his best to ignore how it swished back and forth. If she couldn't have him to herself, then she wanted to involve herself as much as possible.

“Sure you can, it will be fun.” Ethan told her, making Chii smile as they continued on their way to the park.

When they got there Brawly could clearly be seen, moving about as he was practicing. They were at the edge of the park, near the border to the forest so not to disturb any other ponies that wanted to spend time there and just relax.

“Hey there, man!” Ethan shouted out to grab Brawly`s attention.

“Hey! Took you long enough.” Brawly greeted his friend as he looked over to the two of them. “And hello to to you too, Chii.” Brawly waved at her but only got a cold glare in return.

“Come on now, Chii. Be nice.” Ethan told her as he reached up and lifted her from her little perch. “Remember what I said. You are part of the family now, but in a way, so is he. He is a great friend of mine, Zoey and Vernus.” Ethan told Chii as he put her down on the ground.

“...Okay.” Chii said with a pout before she looked over to Brawly who were still smiling at her. She hated to admit it, but he had been nothing but kind to her so far. That still did not change the fact that he had to go, though. She just had to figure out how. “Hi.”

“See, was that so hard?” Ethan smiled, unaware of what Chii was planning. “So what did you have in mind for this?” Ethan turned his attention back to Brawly.

“Well, Jenny told me that you used a Jump Kick to knock out a pegasus when the two of you were going after Shady. Why don't you show me that?”

“Okay… um, how do you want me to do this?” Ethan asked as he saw Brawly getting into a stance of sorts.

“Just try to hit me with a Jump Kick.” Brawly gestured for Ethan to come at him. “Besides, I doubt that you could really hurt me anyway.” He laughed with a cocky smile.

“Ooh, is that a challenge?” Ethan asked as he bent his knees slightly and got ready.

Like a coiled spring, Ethan shot forth towards Brawly. His legs carrying him across the ground. With a powerful leap, Ethan soared straight towards his friend with one of his legs reared back, ready to deliver a kick, similar to the one he had done in the forest. But for that was where the similarities ended. Just before it looked like he was going to hit Brawly, Ethan noticed the smile on his friends face before he simply leaned to the side. Effectively dodging Ethan and letting him pass straight by him and into the tree behind him instead.

“Urgh…” Ethan groaned as he slid down to the ground where he took a few moments to collect himself. “You knew that would happen, didn't you?” Ethan looked up to see his friend and his trademark grin. “Of course you did… So how was it?” Ethan asked as he stood back up.

“Well…” Brawly looked over to Chii who were looking at Ethan and was laughing slightly. “Do you want to tell him?” He asked Chii who looked up to Brawly with a surprised look on her face. She had not expected him to speak to her just then.

“You were terrible!” She said, making Ethan groan at how straightforward she was about it.

“She is right you know. You got those big powerful legs of yours, but you aren't using them properly. Dodging something like that is child’s play.” Brawly told Ethan who just nodded as he was getting ready once more. “Try again, but don't overcommit so much this time.” Ethan grumbled but did as he was told.

They continued for some time, and eventually Ethan begun to get the hang of it. Or at least he was betting better, he was still far from being what one would consider good. Chii had also climbed back on top of Ethan's head during the training and was giving him hints and the like. Ethan had to give it to his friend. He had known that Brawly was strong, but to think that he was that good at dodging? It felt like he was trying to hit water.

“You got to do the unexpected.” Brawly said as he slid by another of Ethan’s Jump Kicks. He had just let Ethan do his thing for a while, but after some time he had begun hitting back. Brawly unleashed a fast Double Hit, his whip-like fur snapping out, landing three lightning fast hits on Ethan's face who recoiled back from the blow.

“I'm trying, but you are just dodging everything anyway!” Ethan complained as he held his nose. It had just stung slightly as Brawly had not put any real power into his hits.

“Come on, you can get him this time.” Chii said to Ethan from on top of her perch.

“If you say so.” Ethan said as he committed himself to another attack. Only that this time, Chii decided that she would give Ethan a helping paw so to speak.

Her fur sparked slightly as she readied her attack. She had never managed to learn Thunderbolt. Mary had tried to hard to make her learn it, since she thought that it would look good in their contests, but no matter how hard she tried she never managed to do it. Every time she tried it came out as another attack, that she in time had gotten rather good with.

“Thunder Wave!” Chii yelled as sparks of electricity shot off from her body, zooming towards Brawly who was completely caught off guard by the attack. His whole body lit up for a moment or two as the lightning hit him, making him stay still just long enough for Ethan to connect with his Jump Kick.

Brawly`s body positively skidded across the grass after Ethans attack, sending him straight into the forest they had been practicing by.

“W-Chii!” Ethan lifted down Chii who were really happy with herself and wore a grin to show it. “What was that?”

“You were doing so bad. I thought that you could use a little help.” Chii smiled innocently.

“N-no… I’m alright!” Ethan and Chii could hear Brawly groan from within the forest.

“Yeah, he is alright, it’s fine.” Chii smiled as Brawly stood back up and brushed some leaves and twigs off himself.

“I have to say, I did not expect that one. Nice shot.” Brawly praised Chii after he had made his way back over to them.

“Yeah! I could take you anytime.” Chii puffed out her chest to look bigger or more intimidating, but only succeeded in looking even more adorable. Ethan could only smile and shake his head at their antics.

“I bet you could.” Brawly laughed. “How about we take a small break?” The three of them went over to one of the larger trees and sat down under its cool shadow.

“You really are getting better, dude, that last one really had some power behind it.” Ethan winced slightly as Brawly rubbed his jaw. He had been getting a little frustrated since he had been missing all the time and had been putting more and more power into his kicks as a result. He did not actually think that he would hit Brawly with any of them.

“Yeah? Well, it wouldn't have hit you anyway if there weren’t for a certain someone.” Ethan poked Chii who had been laying on the grass with her eyes closed. “Do you know who I’m talking about?”

“Nu uh!” Chii said as she nuzzled closer to Ethan with a yawn. She was not the one that had been exerting herself, but she still couldn't help but feel a little tired.

“She packs a mean punch.” Brawly commented as the two of them looked down at Chii`s resting form, her chest slowly rising and lowering as she breathed. “I still can't move properly.”

“Well unlike us, she is a ‘real’ Pokémon after all, it's to be expected. But you're not so bad yourself.” Ethan commented, Brawly`s hits had been incredibly fast, after all. “So how did things go with the mayor?” Ethan asked.

“It went as we expected. He approved of the idea, but you need to go over there to fill out a few forms. You are really happy about this, huh?” It had not been difficult for Brawly to notice how Ethan felt about it, especially not with how much he was smiling right then.

“Of course! I mean… this was my dream when I applied for school to become a Pokémon psychologist, after all.” Ethan thought back as he looked down at Chii. “Things did not turn out exactly as I had planned, but I wouldn't have it any other way… Still, to finally get the chance…” It had been his dream for so many years when he was younger, and Brawly had been the one to remind Ethan about his former dream when they came to Equestria.

Unfortunately, the two of them did not have too long to just sit there and relax before they heard someone call for them and two familiar figures approaching.

“Ethan!” Mary called out with Jenny running besides her. She looked really excited about something as she came to a stop just in front of Ethan and the others. “I… I remember where I saw that same symbol that was on the letter that Jenny brought back!” Mary said, slightly out of breath from having galloped all the way there. “W-we were going to go there right now, do you want to come with?”

“Well, yeah!” Ethan cheered. He had been curious about the letter since it had shown nothing that made any sort of sense. “Brawly, do you mind taking Chii back to Zoey?” Ethan asked as he carefully picked Chii up.

“Sure, mate.” Brawly stood up and carefully took Chii from Ethan. But the movement was enough to wake her from her sleep.

“Ethan?” A tired voice came from Brawly`s arms. Chii let out a slow yawn before she opened her eyes to see that Ethan alongside Jenny and Mary was walking away from her. “Where are you going?”

“Sorry, Chii. Something came up.” He said as having stopped as he looked back at Chii.

“B-but… I thought that you were going to spend some time with me?” She asked in a quiet voice. She had really hoped to get some alone time with Ethan after they were done with Brawly.

“I know… and I’m sorry Chii. Tell you what, when I come home the two of us will spend the entire evening together, just the two of us.” Ethan felt really bad that he had to leave so suddenly, and the look he was getting from Chii certainly was not helping.

“P-promise?” Chii sniffed, wiping her nose with her tiny paws.

“I promise. You can even decide what the two of us will be doing.” Ethan said before he turned around to catch up with Jenny and Mary who had gone on ahead, leaving Chii and Brawly behind.

“You ready to go back home?” Brawly asked Chii, who, if she had any qualms about being held by him, did not show it.

“Yeah…”

Ethan reached out to knock on Cursed Vision’s home after the three of them had walked there.

“So this is where you remember seeing that symbol?” Jenny asked Mary as they stood there, waiting for the old unicorn to come open the door.

“It… many years ago.” Mary started. “It was just after Cursed Vision had moved in actually. He was new in the town and I wanted to introduce myself. I remember several letters and papers with that very symbol on it… I wonder what it means.” Mary pondered as a creak could be heard from the door in front of them.

“Well, looks like we will be finding that out.” Ethan commented as the door opened up fully, revealing the small Litwick that they had met the first time they were there.

“Hello… Are you here to see master?” He asked with his adorable voice.

“Yes, we really need to speak to your… master.” Ethan could not figure out why it insisted on calling him “master”. But it seemed to please the little guy, and there was no harm in doing so.

“Come on in then. Master is reading in the library.” The Litwick said, letting Ethan and the others step into the house.

“He has a library?” Jenny whispered to them in surprise. The house was big, that much was true. Ethan only shrugged at Jenny`s question as the Litwick closed the door behind them and hurried ahead to take the lead.

“Master!” The Litwick cried out as they entered the room that he has called the library. To call it a library would be a bit too much, but it was in itself a room that was devoted to books and scripts by the looks of it. And near the middle of the room sat the old unicorn that they had met when they first arrived at Neighagra Falls.

“Hmm?” Cursed Vision looked up from the book he was reading. “Oh, it’s you again? What do you want? Did the spell wear off already?” He asked, perhaps in a little harsher tone than he intended.

“Well… yes, but thats days ago. Mary here learned the spell remember?” Ethan told the old pony as they all stepped into the room.

“Really? I must be really getting old then. A spell like that would have held for weeks in my youth!” He hollered with a laugh before he doubled over with a bad cough. The Litwick hurried over to his master who just pushed him away instead as he gathered himself. “I-I’m fine…” He said before directing his attention back to Ethan and the others. “Now… what can I do for you?” He asked, slightly hoarse from the coughing fit.

“We are here about this.” Mary was the one to go forth and place the envelope of the letter on the table in front of Cursed Vision so that the symbol could be easily seen. “I remembered seeing this at your place before… we were hoping that you could tell us more about it.” Cursed Vision`s expression darkened the moment he laid his eyes on the symbol and Ethan could hear him curse himself in a low voice before he spoke up.

“Go get some drinks for our guests!” Cursed told the Litwick, who wasted no time and hurried out of the room to complete his master’s request. The moment he had left the room, Cursed Vision`s horn lit up and the door slammed shut, locking behind the Litwick. “Sorry… this is not for his ears.” Cursed said as he sunk back into his chair.

“So I take it that you know what this is then?” Jenny asked as she pointed to the symbol.

“Yes… yes, I know indeed. That… is the symbol of The Weavers.” Ethan, Mary and Jenny just blinked, no one having heard that name before. “How did you come across this!?” Cursed Vision positively demanded as he leaned forward.

“I found it at a house where the owner had purchased some Pokémon a-” Jenny was immediately cut off as Cursed started speaking again.

“You are wrong. If a letter like this was sent out then it would not have been to a buyer… let me see the letter.” Jenny looked over to Ethan who nodded in return. The letter was useless to them as it was anyway, so they had very little to lose.

“Here, it’s just gibberish that I can't make heads or tails of anyway.” Jenny said as she handed him the letter. Not even the warmth trick that had worked on Shady`s journal had any effect.

“Thats because it is enchanted. It will only be readable for the pony that it was intended for.” Cursed put the letter down in the table and used his hoofs to tear off a small piece of the corner. “And use magic on it-” His horn lit up and the small torn off piece started hovering in the air. But after just a few seconds it disintegrated, the ashes of the small piece falling down onto the table. “-and that happens.”

“Okay, you need to explain a couple of things now!” Jenny almost sneered as she leaned forward. “You know way too much about this. How?” She demanded of him while Ethan and Mary kept quiet.

“I… I used to be a member of that organisation. In fact,” Cursed Vision pointed down to the letter. “I was the one that made that very spell… I was honestly a little surprised when you showed it to me. I would have thought that they had changed the spell by now.” He said with a lowered head.

“So… what is this organisation, then?” Ethan was the first to ask. “We were just following the clues of what we thought was a simple poacher.”

“Shady…” Jenny muttered with distaste.

“The Weavers is basically an hidden organisation that specialises in obtaining rare or protected animals and magical creatures…if there is money to be made of it, then they provide it. It would be wrong to call them simple poachers with how organized and efficient they are.” Cursed Vision said, surprising all of them since they had thought that they were dealing with just a lone poacher, not a whole organisation.

“B-but Pokémon aren't animals… they are intelligent creatures just like you and I. Wouldn't they care about that?” Mary asked as she sat on the edge of her seat.

“Normally I would say that they wouldn't sink so low… but it appears that much has changed after I left, if that is the case.” Cursed let out a long sigh.

“What about this letter? Can you translate it? Since you were the one that made the spell, I mean.” Ethan inquired as he pushed the letter towards him.

“It would be foal’s play.” His horn lit up for a split second as a fizzle sound could be heard coming from the letter as Cursed Vision disabled the self destruct part of the spell. His horn lit up again for a few moments allowing Ethan and the others to see as the letters transformed and changed places to reweal its real meaning. “Huh… interesting.” Cursed Vision muttered as he lifted up the letter and took a closer look on it. “Where did you say you found this letter again?”

“I retrieved it at a place where I rescued some Pokémon that was being held captured and taken advantage off.” Jenny told him. “Only that it was not a pony, but a changeling.” That seemed to surprise the old pony, from the look on his face.

“Changeling… they are expanding their ranks then, it seems… it was only ponies and griffins when I was a part of it.” He muttered to himself before he spoke up. “But it seems like your changeling was a researcher for The Weavers. He was tasked with finding out how they could make money off those Pokémon. If they could be harvested over time or if they were better off just sold.” Jenny nodded as what he said made sense with what she had seen. They had been “milking” that Nidoran for poison, after all.

“T-that’s horrible.” Mary spoke up.

“But if you were a part of that organisation. Then you could help us tracking them down right?” Ethan asked, but as soon as those words had left his mouth, Cursed Vision started to laugh again.

“Are you a fool, boy? It seems that your friend has already understood.” Ethan looked to Jenny who were frowning and looking down. “You think that they would allow me to just leave if I knew something? Everypony is kept in the dark… that way, is somepony if caught-” He stopped as he started coughing again, but Jenny continued where he had left off.

“They keep their losses to a minimum… right? That is why that Changeling was in that town by itself like that.” She said with distaste as she begun to understand how they operated.

“Indeed, missy.” Cursed Vision said as he had managed to get his cough back under control again. “Bases are changed, and operatives are being kept all over Equestria only knowing what they need to know. Only the higher ups have knowledge about the bases or hideouts that they use…” A look of remorse came over his face. “I’m sorry that I don't know any more. I ain't no saint. I did a lot of bad things in my days… But if there is anything I can help with…”

“You said that everyone knows as little as possible… but would the one that supplied these Pokémon to Rigid Paper know of at least any of the possible temporary bases?” Ethan asked him. “Or rather, his partner or companion?” Ethan could see Cursed Vision`s face scrounge up as he thought deeply about that for a moment.

“His helper… he would know of at least one temporary base, I think.” Cursed Vision reached up and scratched his head. “I’m not really sure… it’s a possibility though.”

“Then that is our best chance to get Shady and uncover this organisation!” Ethan positively cheered. They had been thrown a curveball, but things were still going in their direction.

“But I thought that he was not able to talk anymore because Ethan…” Mary hesitated a little, shuddering as she imagined what had happened to that pony. “Shattered his jaw.”

“It’s been a few days since then… we need to at least stop by to see if he is getting better.” Jenny agreed with Ethan. She had assisted the local police and shared Shady`s journal with them to assist with retrieving the Pokémon that had been sold off. But if the lead they had just gotten would pan out, then it would be so much bigger.

“I’m glad that I was able to be of some help…” Cursed Vision sighed with content and shook his head before he looked back up to the group. “I hope that you will be able to fulfill your goals.” His horn lit back up again, opening the door where a frantic Litwick was standing, rushing inside the moment the doors opened.

“Thank you for your help. We will come back if there is anything more that you can help with.” Ethan said as he and the others stood up, Jenny tucking the letter back into her tails.

“Master, what happened? I did as you said before-” The Litwick was hopping around Cursed Visions hooves. Cursed Vision couldn't help but laugh as he looked down at the small Pokemon.

“Nothing is wrong, we just needed to have a little privacy. Will you see our guests out?” The Litwick seemed torn for a moment as he looked to Ethan`s group and back to Cursed Vision before he gave in.

“Of course, master.” He said, hurrying ahead so that he could take the lead as Ethan and the others left the room.

“Thank you for your visit.” The Litwick said with a small bow after they had exited the building.

“It was a pleasure, little guy.” Ethan smiled and waved back to him as the door closed.

“W-wait.” Mary spoke up. “S-shouldn't we do something? He admitted to having been a part of that organisation right? Shouldn't we…. shouldn't we report him or something?” She asked Ethan and Jenny who looked at each other before looking back to Mary.

“Well… it would be the right thing to do, you are correct there. But look at how old he is! If he is sent to jail, then that will surely be the place he dies… he is not a threat to anyone anymore either, so I don't see any harm in letting him go.” Ethan told Mary. That and, if Cursed Vision was sent to prison, then that might complicate things if they should need his help in the future.

“Mary is right, in normal circumstances we should report him. But... he may be useful to us in the future. In short, we need him.” Unknowingly, Jenny agreed with Ethans train of thought. Being a former police officer, she was no stranger to informants and the like. But that did not mean that she had to like it. If it had been a couple of days earlier… she would not have hesitated with reporting him.

Mary, on the other hoof, was still really torn about what to do. She knew that her friends had some good points and that it would help them and their cause in the long run. But she had never done something like that before. She wanted to hurry over to the police office and report him straight away. But that would also mean that she would be betraying her friends… and that was not something that she could do.

“I… but… okay then.” Mary sighed as she found her answer.

“Hey, don't feel bad.” Ethan said as he put a hand on her back. “It’s for the better in the long run.

Mary did not say anything else, she just faked a smile as looked up at him and nodded.

“Very well then. To the hospital!”

Chapter 21

Chii slumped down in her own little corner of the warehouse. With the number of Pokémon that were living there, finding a place for yourself was not an easy task. But Chii had found a small, elevated position located in one of the corners and had claimed it for herself. It was just a blanket that she had dragged on top of a few boxes that had been stacked there. But it was her place and she enjoyed it, plus it had a good view so she could see most of what was happening around their home.

Sadly, she was not in the best of moods as she laid there. She had ran up to her spot almost immediately after Brawly had taken her home. She still couldn't believe that she had allowed him to carry her all the way. But anger was not the thing that was on her mind, not the main thing, anyway. Rather, she was disappointed that Ethan had ran off to do something else.

She knew that he had a lot of responsibilities and things that he needed to do… but today was the day that he was supposed to be spending with her. That had been what he had told her, anyway. But Ethan had promised her that he would spend the evening with her and her alone after he came back. So it was not all bad. Ethan always kept his promises to her, after all.

Chii looked across her home from her little perch. She spotted a group of the Pokémon that were living there. The group was not as big as it once was, a lot of them having left because they were healthy enough and wanted to leave. Some others had gotten a new family in the town. They had gotten a home of their own just like she had, so she was happy for them because of that. Everyone deserves a home. The group of Pokémon were currently playing, chasing each other around and having fun. She felt a small urge to go down there and join them in their fun. But no, ultimately, she did not feel like it. At least not yet.

Luckily, the Swablu that Ethan and Jenny had saved was still living there with them. Chii spotted her, lying on a small nest that she had made for herself on one of the kitchen counters. She had not grown all of her wings back yet, but in a way, Chii did not want her to leave. She really liked her, she was one of her friends. It was a weird feeling. She wanted her to get better soon… but that would also mean that she would leave. Thinking about that hurt her brain… perhaps she could talk to Ethan about it when he came back. Yes, that was what she would do.

She thought about jumping down to her, but it looked like she was sleeping. Ethan had specifically told her not to disturb her when she was sleeping because she was still recovering and needed her rest. So instead she continued to survey her home.

“Brawly…” Chii had spotted her arch nemesis as he was talking with Zoey. She had decided the day that she had met Brawly that he was her arch nemesis. She was not sure of he was aware of that, but that mattered little to her, he had left her no choice.

He was currently talking to Zoey, they were some distance away but she could still hear bits and pieces about their conversation. It sounded like they were talking about Ethan again. Zoey was asking about the fact that Ethan liked Brawly and that he should talk to Ethan about it.

Chii huffed as she tuned the two of them out. She still thought that Zoey belonged with Ethan. Everything had been so perfect, up until that point where Brawly had shown up. He was the one that ruined everything. Ethan had tried to explain to her that if it was anyone’s fault, then it was his own for not telling Zoey that he was gay earlier. But Chii knew better. She knew that he was only telling her that so that she would not be mad at Brawly. But she had seen through Ethan's clever plan. She did not know what Brawly's plan was, but she would not let any of it happen.

“Hey, Chii!” She looked down at the mention of her name and saw that her arch nemesis was looking up at her. He had been the one that tried to speak to her. But she wouldn't have any of that. No matter what he had to say, she would ignore it. She would remain strong. “It’s been awhile since you ate, do you want any grapes?”

…

But perhaps she could make a small exception this one time… No! She had to remain strong. She knew that this was was one of his tricks, her arch nemesis was tricky in that way. Using those grapes to tempt her. But he did not know that she had an unshakable iron will! She would remain vigilant, nothing would move her from her post or trick her into talking with him. Not even those sweet, delicious, goodly grapes....

“Y-yes.” She cursed herself for her moment of weakness. Her arch nemesis was indeed a crafty one. Weaponizing her own grapes against her, to think that someone could fall so low.

She watched carefully as Brawly walked towards her, the basket of grapes in his hand. What did he have in plan for her? What was his goal?

“Here you go.” She kept her eyes on him as Brawly reached up to her spot and placed the small basket in front of her. They looked even more delicious when they were that close. It was then that she had realised her mistake. She had taken her eyes off him, while he was that close to her… and the grapes! Her gaze snapped back to him to witness in horror as Brawly tossed a single grape up in the air. She watched it linger in the air for a moment in all its gloriousness before it fell back down into Brawly's open mouth.

She watched as he slowly walked away like nothing had happened, he even had the audacity to smile and wave back at her after performing such a heinous act. The grapes were hers, and he knew that. He must have given her them just to make her watch as he took one of them for his own. He had still given her a lot of grapes, but that was not the point. That grape that he ate was also hers, it was the principle of the thing. And she would get her revenge.

Later of course… right now she had her delicious grapes. She could see Brawly smiling out of the corner of her eye as she bit into the first one. She should deny the grapes because of what he had done… but she simply couldn't. Their juicy goodness was too much. She would eat them… but she sure wouldn't like it.

An incredibly manly burp echoed through the warehouse. It had come from the small basket that had just a couple of minutes ago, been filled with grapes, but now it was filled with something else instead. A few small cream colored legs along with a pink and fluffy tail could be seen sticking out.

“You gave her the whole basket?” Chii could hear Zoey's voice coming from below. But her tummy was too full for her to move to look over the edge. The fur around her mouth was sticky with grape juice. She stifled another small burp. Perhaps it had been a bit much… but it was just so delicious that she did not care.

“I did not think that she would finish the whole thing.” She heard Brawly say back. He had underestimated her and that had been his downfall, he thought that he could outwit her? She felt a sense of victory as she laid there… or it could possibly be more gas from the grapes, she wasn't really sure.

“Well, she doesn't sound too good. You know that she can't help herself at times…” And another burp confirmed that it was indeed more gas. But the sense of victory still remained though. She then saw two familiar red paws that reached up to her perch and into the basket to lift her down.

She did not really want to go down, she had been very comfortable with not moving at all after that grape binge. But she did not resist as Zoey lifted her up and down to where she and Brawly was standing.

“Aww, you have grape juice all over you.” Zoey complained as she looked down at her. A small smile gracing her face as she watched Chii fail to stifle a yawn. “Well, at least you ate something willingly… did you enjoy it?”

“Yeah! It was delicious.” Chii purred happily from where she laid in Zoey's arms. Perhaps she could forgive Brawly this one time.

“Would you get me a wet cloth to clean her fur?” Chii heard Zoey ask Brawly as she blinked slowly. Her eyes was getting a little heavy. She did not need any wet cloths, she could perfectly clean her self. She opened her mouth to tell Zoey just that, but all that came out was another long yawn.

“You look a little tired.” She hear Zoey tell her.

“No, I don’t want to sleep.” She muttered. She wasn't tired, no. She had already had a nap earlier that day. It had been cut short, but still. Her eyelids was getting heavier and heavier each time she blinked. That and she was so comfortable there in Zoey's fluffy arms. She nuzzled even tighter to Zoey, enjoying the warmth that she gave off when she was that close. Maybe she would just close her eyes a little....

“Has she been asleep for long?” Chii stirred in her sleep as she heard a familiar voice. She considered moving or opening her eyes, but she felt a warm and incredibly soft blanket around her. She was too comfortable to wake up just yet and instead, just nuzzled herself deeper into the blanket so that it covered all of her entirely.

“Yeah, she overate and got a bit sleepy as a result.” Chii tried to shut out the voices, but the hard fact was that she now was awake. She did not want to be awake. She hadn't wanted to go to sleep in the first place either, but now she did not want to be awake. The blanket she was covered in was just so soft…

“Heh, that’s my girl.” She heard the same voice laugh again. It was hard to hear whose voice it was through the blanket, but it sounded familiar.

“So how did it go?” Chii yawned softly as she heard what was said.

“Well it did not go exactly as planned. We… learned some things about what we are up against. It seemed that-” Chii zoned out as she listened to the two that were talking. She was pretty sure that one of them was Zoey, but the other one. She tuned back in as they were still talking. “And the nurse told us that it would be at least one or two more days before he could speak again.”

“Really? That is a lot to take in. But at least you will be able to get your answers then, hopefully.” It couldn't be Brawly. No he had another way of talking. And Jenny did not sound that much like a guy… that only left Ethan.

Chii nodded happily, having solved that small mystery from inside her cozy blanket. It seemed that Ethan was back home.

“Yeah, I hope so too.” Realization then just struck her. Ethan was back and she had missed it because she was sleeping. This was supposed to be her Ethan time!

“ETHAN!” The blanket positively flew off Chii as her voice filled the entire warehouse. All eyes immediately snapping to her as she wore the biggest smile that her little face could possibly handle. She ran off the couch that she had been sleeping on and jumped towards Ethan, sailing through the air and straight into his arms as he was ready for her. “You’re back!”

“Indeed I am.” Ethan smiled back as he rubbed the fur on her head. She purred as she really liked it when he did that. “And I also hear that you enjoyed yourself?”

“Yeah!” Chii cheered happily. “So what did you have planned since you were spending the evening with me, and me alone?” She asked as she looked up to him with two hopeful eyes.

“Oh, so the two of you have something planned then?” Zoey asked with a smirk as she watched Chii and Ethan.

“Yeah, I kind of did promise that. Hope you don't mind watching the place.”

“Oh no, you two have fun. Besides, I got Brawly and Jenny to keep me company.” Zoey smiled and waved Ethan and Chii off as they walked out of their home.

“So where are we going?” Chii asked as she climbed out of Ethans arms and up onto his head. She really liked that spot. His ears were fluffy beyond belief and it was high up so she had a nice view of her surroundings, it was perfect.

“Nowhere special. Is there anything that you want to do?” Chii hummed to herself as she thought. There was a lot of things that she wanted to do.

A grin slowly grew on her face as she had her first idea. “There is something I want to do.”

“Okay, then we will do that first.” Ethan told her. “What is it?”

“This, your it!” Chii slapped Ethan's face with her tail, making him recoil slightly in shock from the sudden move. That however gave Chii more than enough time to leap off his head and get a running start. “Catch me if you can~” She sang as she ran down the street, dodging ponies along the way.

She had been a little curious about what Ethan had been doing all day after he had sent her back home with Brawly. But that could wait, now she was just having too much fun.

She laughed loudly as she heard Ethan yell after her. She took a glance behind to see that he was catching up to her, jumping over ponies and obstacles as they came. She had to admit it. She was fast, but he was faster. That meant that she had to do other things to win. Or rather to keep him away long enough for her to be satisfied.

So using her small frame to her advantage, Chii began to run under stalls and through holes in fences to keep Ethan at a distance. She cheered more than once when she heard him complain or crash into something behind her. Her plan was working. Or at least it was for a while, until a shadow passed over her and Ethan landed abruptly in front of her.

“Got you now!” He lunged forward, but she was already a step ahead of him. She gracefully jumped straight towards him, dodging his paws as he tried to grab her, and launched herself off his head and continued to run.

The two of them continued this little game for a good while, and Ethan had to stop and apologize to passing ponies more than once after he either ran into them or scared them. But eventually the two of them ended up in the park and it seemed that Ethan had her cornered.

Chii looked around her for a way to escape. Behind her was where the park ended and the forest started and she did not want to take their chase out there, that and Ethan had her blocked off in front.

“Nowhere left to run now.” Ethan laughed with a smile on her face. He had enjoyed their little chase too.

As Ethan ran forwards towards her, Chii couldn't help but grin as her plan had worked.

“Blizzard!” She opened her mouth and unleashed an icy Blizzard attack on the ground in between her and Ethan.

“W-what the?” Ethan began to spin out of control on the newly formed ice. He couldn't steer away or even stop as he sped towards Chii who easily jumped out of the way, laughing to herself as Ethan positively flew past her and into one of the trees.

Chii skipped over to Ethan who was lying on his back with his legs up in the air and leaning against the tree. She laughed as she heard him groan.

“So did I win?” Chii asked as she jumped up onto him and looked down on his face which was covered in leaves and twigs.

“I thought I was the one that was supposed to catch you?” Ethan asked with a smirk as he wiped the debris away from his face.

“Oh, that’s right.” Chii said as her ears fell flat against her head and she flopped down on his chest herself. “I dont want to play anymore though.” She said as she looked down at him. She was tired from all the running around.

“Isn't using Blizzard cheating when playing tag though?” Ethan sat up and leaned against the tree, Chii resting on his lap.

“Everything is allowed in love and tag.” Chii cheered as Ethan ruffled the fur on her head.

“You are a crafty one.” Ethan smiled as he shared a laugh with her. “So what do you want to do now?” Chii thought about the question for couple of moments, before she found her answer.

“I just want to lay here.” She sighed with content as she rested her little head against Ethan. “Or can I have some ice cream?” She asked hopefully.

“You want ice cream?” Ethan asked as he looked down at her. “I thought you just ate so many grapes that you fell asleep. You really got room for more?” Chii laughed and batted at Ethan’s paw as he poked her stomach. She may have eaten that many grapes, but she still had some room for ice cream.

“Yeah… but ice cream is so good.” There was always room for ice cream. Perhaps if she was lucky they might have grape flavored ice cream. Her mouth watered from the thought alone.

“Well, perhaps later. For now I think we could take a small break.” Ethan said as Chii looked up to him. She was perfectly fine with that answer. She was a little tired from all the running around and Ethan looked slightly winded as well.

“Okay.” Chii said as she draped one of Ethans long fluffy ears over herself. She purred happily as she covered herself almost completely, only her head sticking out with a content look on her face.

“You comfortable?” An amused Ethan asked as he looked down at Chii, who was using one of his ears as a combined pillow and blanket.

“Yeah.” Chii purred. But there was something that had been on her mind for a while that she wanted to ask Ethan about. “Where did you go earlier?” She asked as she tilted her head upwards to look at Ethan.

“When I went with Mary and Jenny, you mean?” Chii nodded at Ethan's question. “We just had a few things that we needed to take care of.” Ethan told her. He had never told her the whole truth about what they were doing, but she still knew a fair amount. She had listened in on some of their conversations from time to time. She was a curious Skitty after all.

“So you are going to catch those bad guys, right?” Chii asked. Since it had been something important and Jenny had gone with them too, she thought that it had something to do with that.

Ethan looked down on her with a slightly surprised look, but that soon softened as he scratched her behind her ears.

“Yeah, we are going to take care of those bad guys. Very soon, too, if everything goes according to plan.”

“That’s great.” She purred at his touch. She wanted justice for what had happened to her Swablu friend.

“That and I had to make a quick visit to the mayor to sign some papers.” Chii reared her head again to look up at Ethan.

“What kind of papers?” She inquired.

“Just some minor things. You'll see soon enough, trust me.” Chii was content with that answer. Ethan always told the truth to her and she could wait. Sometimes he held back when talking, but he would never lie to her, never.

“Okay.” She answered simply. “Could you tell me a story?” She asked with a yawn.

“What kind of story?” Ethan asked as he continued petting Chii.

“About Uncle Vernus?” Chii asked hopefully. “He is the first Pokémon that you got right? The one that have been with you the longest?” She wanted to know more about her new family since she was now a part of it.

She noticed that Ethan had gone quiet and she could see a strange look on his face as she asked that question. It was a look that she did not recognize. It looked like a painful look, but not quite at the same time. But as soon as it had come, it disappeared as Ethan put on a kind smile.

“He is indeed the one that has been with me the longest. We have had a lot of adventures together, me and him. But he is not my first Pokémon.” That surprised Chii a little. She had always assumed that Uncle Vernus had been with Ethan since the beginning.

“W-who was then?” She asked as another long yawn forced itself past her lips.

“That’s a story for another time.” Ethan told her as he stroked her fur. “Why don't I tell you about some of my earlier adventures with Vernus instead?” Chii wanted to know more about the first Pokémon that Ethan had, but she was getting tired and that could wait for another time.

“Okay…” She said as she nuzzled even closer to him, burying her head into his soft fur.

“Let me tell you about the first time Vernus met Brawly then. Boy was that a meeting that will be remembered. It all seemed like a normal day…” And that was all that Chii heard as she slowly fell asleep.

Chapter 22

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 23

It was early morning in Neighagra Falls Sanctuary. The sun’s rays were warming up the homes and the ponies within them as they were getting ready for the day ahead of them. Out in the streets, on the other hand, it was mostly quiet. Only the occasional bird chirp in the distance or the low rumble of the waterfall could be heard as most ponies were still waking up. It was there that Ethan and Jenny were making their way through the streets with a singular goal in their minds.

Jenny had been the first one to go out at what she considered to be an ungodly hour. No human, Pokémon, or pony was meant to be up that early. Even with the coffee surging through her systems, it could only help so much. But the fact was that she could not sleep; she had not gotten any sleep at all, so she figured that she would head out and see if they had gotten the newspaper for the day. Of course, the store who sold said newspaper would not be open, but the papers were usually just dropped outside by the mailpony or whoever else that delivered them. And to her luck, a stack of newspapers were sitting just outside the door to the store that sold them.

Fishing out a small pouch from within her tails, Jenny dropped a few bits on the stack of papers as she took her own and turned to walk back to the warehouse. But before she could make any distance or even open up her paper, she heard a voice calling her. It was the same nurse that they had talked with two days before. She was panting slightly as she came to a stop in front of her, it seemed like she had ran the entire way. And much to Jenny’s relief, she was carrying good news.

So now, she and Ethan were making their way to the hospital to speak to the pegasus that had been working with Shady.

“So what are we going to do once we get there?” Ethan asked as they could see the hospital in the distance.

“We are going to interrogate him, of course.” Jenny responded. It had been the answer that Ethan had been expecting but still…

“I knew that, I meant did you have some sort of plan or tactic in mind?” He had a few ideas himself, but Jenny was the veteran on the subject.

“A few… first we will just talk to him to see if he is willing to tell us anything or if he is going to be stupid about this.” What made things even worse was that they did not know how much time they had either. It could already be too late for all they knew, so it was key that they got the information that they hoped he had as soon as possible.

Understanding the meaning behind Jenny's words, Ethan silently agreed with a nod. He could see that Jenny was uneasy about this, by the look on her face and he understood why. She had told him, and him alone about what she had done to get the information out of Rigid Paper when she had cornered him. She had told him about how horrible she had felt about that in the days that had followed. She had always worked to achieve the better way, but with the limited about of time they had, she was scared that she would have to sink down to that level once more.

Entering the hospital, Ethan and Jenny walked up to the mare that sat behind the counter with a sleepy look on her face.

“Good morning, we are here to see the pegasus that came in here with a broken jaw a few days ago. We were informed that he is able to speak again now.” Ethan spoke, catching the attention of the mare, who looked flustered for a moment before she gathered herself.

“Oh yes, then you would be Ethan and Jenny right?” The mare asked, getting a nod from both Ethan and Jenny. “Great! If you will follow me, I'll take you to him.” She said before she got up and walked off into a hallway to the side, Ethan and Jenny following shortly after.

After a few minutes of walking, they came to the end of a long corridor that had doors leading down, the mare stopping in front of the last one.

“He is in here, I'm afraid that Captain Protocol nor any other members of the police have arrived yet, but they should be here soon.” With that, she quickly left the same way that the three of them came while failing to stifle a large yawn.

“So…” Ethan looked down at Jenny who was intently staring at the door. “Should we wait for the others?” Ethan asked.

Jenny hummed silently to herself as she thought about what to do. Protocol, as his name suggested, would probably do things by the book. She was sure that he understood the importance of speed in their current situation, but she was not sure whenever or not he would be willing to take that extra step to get what they needed. They had been given an opportunity and she would not waste it.

“No, let’s just start and see if we get anywhere before they arrive.” Jenny answered as she walked forward and pushed the door open.

The inside of the room was rather bland, as usual for a hospital room. There was only a single bed in the middle of the room, with a nightstand next to it. Laying in the bed was the pony that they were there to see. He had been staring at them from the moment they had walked inside, and Ethan had cringed slightly when he first laid eyes upon him.

He was cuffed to the bed, that much they could see. It pretty much made escaping impossible as he would have to drag the entire hospital bed with him, which would have been a feat on its own if he had been healthy, impossible in his current state. It was apparent that he had just had surgery done on his jaw, by the lack of fur around that area of his face and by the bandages and contraption that his lower jaw was held in. Most likely to help it heal correctly.

“What do you want?” The pegasus positively sneered at Ethan and Jenny. His voice was raspy and hoarse but that was to be expected from somepony that had not spoken for several days.

“We are here to ask you some questions.” Jenny asked as she walked over to the edge of the bed. Ethan chose to stay quiet as it seemed that the pegasus had directed his aggressiveness towards him as he spoke. In fairness, he had broken his jaw so he understood why he was not exactly pleased to see him again.

“I thought that was what they were getting the cops for.” He spat as he was looking down at Jenny. “And I sure as hell ain't saying anything before they get here.” Jenny let out a low growl at that response and Ethan was sure that he could feel the temperature in the room rise slightly.

“Oh, I’ll make you talk you-” Everyone was caught off-guard as a knock came from the door and a Chansey came in, carrying a small tray with what looked like breakfast on it.

“Good morning mist- oh,” she paused as she noticed that there were more individuals in the room than she had suspected. “Hello to you too.” She quickly came over her surprise and greeted both Ethan and Jenny with a big smile as she made her way past them and put the tray with food down on the nightstand besides the bed. “I was not aware that you were going to have guests today.” She spoke with a big smile to the pegasus, whose face had softened slightly after she had walked in.

“They are not guests.” The pegasus grumbled as he watched the chansey put his food down.

“If you say so.” The Chansey responded with a sing like voice before she turned to Ethan and Jenny instead. “Is there anything I can do for the two of you?” She asked with the same kind smile she had worn when she had spoke with the pegasus.

“N-no, we are fine.” Jenny answered, Ethan on the other hand had spend almost every second since the Chansey walked in, looking at the pegasus, studying his facial expressions and taking note of the change of tone in his voice.

“No, I believe that we have everything that we need, thank you for asking though.” Ethan smiled kindly as a small idea was forming inside his mind. “I was not aware that they had a Chansey here. Are you enjoying yourself here?” Ethan inquired. He was rather happy to see a Chansey at the hospital. Pokémon had slowly but surely gotten gotten more and more common around the town, but there was still a ways to go. So seeing a Chansey working in the hospital without him having had to help with it really lifted his spirits.

“Oh, absolutely.” She beamed. “I was training to be able to work in a Pokémon Center before, so it feels good to be able to help people, or ponies and Pokémon once more.” She looked back to the pegasus that had started poking at his food. “Everyone needs help and someone to be there for them, even if they are not such a good person to begin with, so I am happy that you are here to visit him.” Hearing this the pegasus turned to glare at the Chansey who only giggled at the show of aggression. “I need to get going to some other patients, but it was a pleasure talking with you.” As she walked out, Ethan felt his whole body shiver as what felt like a paw slide past his bottom. When he looked after the Chansey he could see her wearing a small grin, and just before she closed the door she winked at him.

He honestly was not sure how he felt about that.

But back to the matters at hand. He had gotten an idea, from the Chansey's visit. Ethan tapped Jenny's back to grab her attention and motioned to the door when she was looking at him. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity but did not say anything as Ethan walked to the door and motioned for her to follow.

“We will be right back.” Ethan excused them as the pegasus was currently engrossed with his meal.

Jenny followed Ethan outside, into the hallway and waited until he had closed the door to voice her concerns.

“What the hell, Ethan?” She snapped in a hushed voice. “We don't exactly have a lot of time on our hands before Protocol and the rest of the cops show up. They might get lucky and get him to talk, their way, but I don’t want to risk that.” This was the one and only lead they currently had on Shady and she did not want to miss it.

“I know… but I think I can get him to talk.” Ethan said to Jenny's surprise. “I have a plan, just… do you think you could give me some time alone in there with him? I think that I can get through to him.” He asked. It was usually easier to get individuals to open up, the less people that were around.

Jenny looked up to Ethan as a small battle took place in her own mind. On one side, she wanted to take care of the interrogation herself. She was used to it, having done it and seen it done several times before. But on the other side, she wanted to let Ethan do it. If he was the one that tried to make the pegasus talk, that would mean that she would not have to cross that line again. She was scared that she would have to do the same things to him that she did to Rigid Paper. She knew that what she had done was wrong, that she had gone too far. But in her mind, the ends had justified her means, and the fact that she could justify something like that scared her like nothing else. It went against everything that she had been taught and everything that she had stood for. No, she could not allow herself to slip even further down that line.

She hated herself for what she was going to do, but she could not allow herself to sink any further down… to stoop to that level again.

“I… it’s fine. I would ask what your plan was, but you do what you got to do.” Jenny said, trying to ignore the foul taste she felt in her mouth. She was disgusted with herself. “How long do you think that you need?” She asked as Ethan put his paw on the door handle once again.

“I don’t know, it may be a little while, but see if you can't persuade Protocol to let me handle this, at least for as long as you can. I'm only going to be talking to him, so there is nothing for him or you to worry about… Wish me luck.” And with that, Ethan opened the door and entered once more. Leaving a conflicted Jenny standing outside in the empty hallway.

Inside, the pegasus had seemingly finished his breakfast and had been glaring at Ethan from the moment that he stepped back in.

“You’re back.” Ethan was not sure if those two words could have had any more malice to them. “What are you going to do? Break something else this time around?” Okay, he had a good reason to be displeased with him, he did break his jaw after all.

“I just want to talk a little.” Ethan said in a calm voice as he kept his distance from the bed. He would have sat down if possible, but there were not any chairs in the room. “You haven't told any of us your name yet.”

“And I don't plan on it.” The pegasus snapped almost immediately. The aggression that had been there before the Chansey had visited was back with full force. Which was something that Ethan was happy about, it meant that he had probably been right in his assessment.

“Okay then, my name is Ethan in any case.” He waited a moment to see if he would get a reaction out of the pegasus from that, but when he stayed quiet, Ethan continued. “You know, you are in this pretty deep. It would help you a lot if you simply talked.” At this the pegasus simply started chuckling softly to himself.

“What is there to talk about? Me and Shady was just running a simple small poaching business.” An obvious lie, though if Ethan had not known about the organisation that they were working for, then he may have been a little more inclined to have believed said lie. Though perhaps there were a few strands of truth to what he had said.

“A couple of simple poachers huh? I wonder, why would someone such as you go into poaching? The easy money perhaps?” Ethan decided to hold off on the information about The Weavers for a bit longer. If he was too straightforward and aggressive about this, then the pegasus was more likely to wall back onto the defensive. And if that happened, then Ethan was not likely to get any information out of him at all.

The pegasus did not answer Ethan's question right away. But as Ethan held his kind smile, their eyes met and the pegasus gave in, if only a little bit.

“S-something like that I guess.” It was only a few words, but it was something that Ethan could grab a hold of and use. He did not necessarily like putting on his mask of deception, but the pegasus in front of him was not a leader, but a follower. And he was not too smart, that Ethan had already noticed, with how little he cared for hiding his own emotions.

“Yes, easy money with little risk. I mean, you don't harm anyone when all you do is capture some animals and deliver them to whoever you are told.” Ethan could feel himself getting a bad taste in his mouth as those words left his tongue, but it was a necessity. “Nothing to feel guilty over, right?” That was the first blow, and he could already see its effects.

The pegasus squirmed slightly in his bed, as if he was uncomfortable. Ethan could see his eyes shifting, mostly looking either down at the floor or at the wall in front of his bed, he had been unable to look Ethan in his eyes ever since they had begun to talk. But it seemed that the first blow was not going to be enough, as the pegasus was staying quiet. He would have to take a slightly more aggressive route.

“She seemed kind, that Chansey.” At those words, the pegasus looked up at Ethan once again, his ears perked and turned towards him. “I take it that she is the one that has been helping you, and taking care of you while you have been staying here. Is she also just a dumb animal to you?” Ethan had to hold himself back from grinning as he could see the eyes of the pegasus widening before he looked away.

“N-no… it’s not like that.” His voice was quiet, the persona he had been holding up earlier was shattered. Ethan's ears twitched as he could hear several pairs of hooves in the hallways. It seemed that the police was arriving.

“Then what was it?!” Ethan raised his voice, almost yelling as he slammed his paw down onto the nightstand. This was the part where everything would either go according to plan, or sink horribly. “You have seen for yourself that we are not just some kind of dumb animals, we are just as intelligent, as compassionate, as kind as any pony you would meet. Did you just not care? Was that it? Did none of that matter, as long as you got paid in the end?” Ethan could already see that the pegasus was breaking. He was not looking anywhere but straight down, refusing to meet or even look at Ethan. His whole body was even shaking. Ethan had won.

“N-no, it’s… n-no pony was supposed to get hurt. I didn't, I didn't know…” Ethan had to contain almost all of his anger as he heard what the pegasus spoke lastly with a much lower voice. “I… I did not want to know.”

“Well, things did not work out like you had planned, did they?” Ethan said as he now could hear Jenny and Protocol talk outside in the hallway. “Someone did get hurt… someone died.” At that the pegasus looked directly up at Ethan, tears streaming from his eyes, before he started muttering, repeating the word “no,” over and over to himself. “We already know about The Weavers. Why don't you tell me where we can find your partner. Where we can find Shady so that we can stop all of this.”

It probably would not matter even if Protocol and the other police came into the room at that point. Ethan had already managed to break through the barriers that the pegasus had managed to surround himself with. He had dealt with criminals, real criminals for many years, and what he saw in that pegasus was not a criminal. All he had ever wanted was some easy, money. He had never been prepared to really hurt anyone, or anypony. He was not capable of it. Maybe Shady or somepony else had convinced him that the Pokémon really were nothing more than dumb animals, perhaps he was too scared to ask any questions. Ethan was not exactly sure, but it did not matter. What mattered now, was whether or not he knew where they could find Shady.

“It… it may be too late already.” The pegasus started, just as the door opened and Ethan could hear a set of hooved slowly enter the room. “T-there was a base, an old abandoned mine that was north of the waterfall. We were supposed to bring the creatures that we had caught up there. T-that’s all I know, I swear!” He cried out.

“Well,” Ethan started as he turned around to face Protocol with a satisfied smile on his face. “It seems that we have our location.”

Jenny was walking alongside Brawly towards a location at the edge of the village where they all were supposed to meet up. After everything had been sorted out at the hospital, they had decided to go to the location that the pegasus had described as quickly as possible. The police needed a small amount of time to get ready for such an operation, as they had no idea what was waiting for them, so they took all necessary precautions.

Ethan had sent Jenny to pick up Brawly; he was a good fighter, so they thought that it would be good to have him with them. And as Ethan had put it, if they had gone without him, they would never have heard the end of it. Ethan himself had gone to give word to Mary Care, she would be useful in case there were some injured Pokémon at the scene. He had also mentioned something about someone else that he would bring along, but he had taken off before Jenny could ask any more so she was left to wonder.

Jenny had not even had any time to ask Ethan what he had done in that room with the pegasus before he took off. She had been more than a little curious and slightly put off when she and Protocol entered the room to see the pegasus reduced to a crying wreck of his former self. She was not sure if she should feel impressed or scared concerning Ethan. Whatever he had done had given them the results they were looking for anyway, so it was not that important anyway.

“You are unusually quiet today.” She commented as Brawly had not said a word the entire time since they had left their home. Not that he normally said that much, but he seemed a bit different to her, she just could not put her paw on what. She had just filled him in on what had happened as he did not need any more persuasion to come along. The only thing they had to deal with was having to convince Zoey that she had to stay behind. With the look that she had on her face when they left, let’s just say that Jenny did not want to be in Ethan’s place when they returned.

“You haven't exactly been chatting up a storm yourself.” Brawly commented with his trademark smile. “Something on your mind?” Jenny had half a mind to ask him the same thing, but decided to drop it.

“No, I guess not.” And with that the silence continued. Not that she had anything against that.

Protocol and the rest of the police had shown up to the meeting place shortly after Jenny and Brawly had gotten there. Now they were just waiting for Mary, Ethan, and whoever was the last one he was bringing.

They had waited for a few minutes, and Protocol was getting a bit impatient and was about to ask Jenny what was taking Ethan so long, when some screams could be heard from the direction of the village. Protocol and the rest of his police ponies got ready and was about to charge to see what was happening when something came into view in the distance.

It was much larger than any of them and was approaching with an alarming speed.

“It seems like Ethan brought some extra firepower along.” Brawly grinned as Scylla same to a slithering stop in front of the group. She had been cooped up for so long and was itching to finally get out and do something. And behind her, was Ethan who had been running besides her the entire way.

“You couldn't have gone around the town like I asked you too?” Ethan asked. More than a few ponies had gone into a slight state of panic when the large Gyarados had come slithering through town at high speeds. Ethan had tried to stop her, but she was so enthusiastic about the possibility of a fight that she just wanted to get going as quickly as possible.

“They will get over it.” She huffed, much to Ethan’s annoyance. But she had agreed to help, so he wouldn't comment any further on it.

“Are we all present now then?” Protocol asked. There was quite a distance they would have to travel to get to their destination so he wanted to get going as soon as possible.

“Just about.” Ethan told him with a smile as Scylla was looking over everypony that was present, assessing them.. Most of them felt a shiver as her gaze traveled over them. “Mary was making her way just after us, but it seemed like we may have outran her. If someone hadn't been in such a hurry.” He sent a small glare at Scylla who just huffed and ignored the comment.

But it did not take long for another figure to appear in the distance as Mary Care came running as fast as her legs could carry her, strapped with two saddle bags brimming with medical supplies. She was gasping for breath as she came to a stop, having galloped as fast as she could in a futile attempt to keep up with Scylla and Ethan.

“I… I am here.” She panted as she had to steady herself on something as to not collapse where she stood when she was catching her breath. She had just not noticed what she was supporting herself on. And when she looked up what she was was something huge and blue who was staring down on her with a curious look. “Oh, I… I am so sorry, I did not mean to-” was all that she got to say before Scylla started slithering along the ground, taking lead.

“Then we are all here. Let's waste no more time.” Protocol announced as he and his men quickly followed after Scylla.

“Are you alright?” Ethan asked Mary as Jenny had also gone on ahead after the rest of the group. They were not traveling at full speed, but they were rather keeping a good pace.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.” Mary replied as she and Ethan also got started. They were, to Mary's relief, not going as quickly as when she had tried to catch up to Ethan and Scylla earlier.

“That’s good then. Thank you for agreeing to come along with us.” Ethan smiled down at her as the two of them were still a small distance behind the rest of the group. “I really appreciate it.”

“Hey, it’s what friends are for, right?” Mary smiled right back. “Besides, it’s not like I could just sit back home and do nothing.”

“Heh, I guess you are right.” Ethan agreed as they kept going at a steady pace. Scylla thankfully having calmed down, if only slightly and lowered her speed accordingly. Ethan did not think that her enthusiasm was a bad thing, but it would perhaps be for the best that Protocol was leading their little operation as he actually knew where they were heading. “Come on, let’s catch up to them.” Ethan smiled as he sped up slightly.

“Hey, wait for me!” Mary shouted after him as she kept trotting after them. She cursed silently to herself as her saddlebags were not exactly light. She had wanted to come prepared in the case that they may need any of it, but maybe she had overdone it slightly.

And as she trotted to catch up with the rest of the group, a small pink tail slipped out of one of her saddlebags as they were bouncing around slightly, only hanging out for a few moments before slipping back into the bag, going unnoticed by anyone.

Chapter 24

“I don’t care, you are going to explain to me exactly what you did.” Protocol told Ethan with a stern voice as the group continued to travel towards their destination. They had just been traveling for a small while beforel Protocol had asked Ethan about what he had done in that room with the pegasus. He did not appreciate the fact that Ethan and Jenny had just gone ahead and done their own thing. No matter whether or not they got the information out of him, they were in Equestria and there were certain rules that they had to follow. Letting him and his men do their work was one of those things.

“I told you, I did nothing but talk to him.” Ethan said once more. He could understand why Protocol was angry with him. Law enforcement existed for a reason after all. It was him and Jenny that was at a fault there. But even so, Ethan did not think that what they did was wrong, they had gotten the information after all, and he would not hesitate if he would have to do something similar again. “I thought that I could manage to convince him that what he worked for was wrong, that I could manage to turn his own mind and beliefs against him. And I’m sorry, but I'm not sure that I could have done that with all of you present.” But even if he said that, he knew that his excuse would not be good enough for Protocol. He was a pony that, as Ethan had learnt, always did things by the book.

“That still does not change that what you did was wrong!” Protocol raised his voice again. “How do I even know that you are telling the truth? You could have done anything to him, to make him talk!” Before either of them could say anything else, Jenny came up to the two of them.

“It’s not his fault.” Jenny said, much to Ethan's surprise. “I… I was the one that wanted to go ahead without waiting for you.” Jenny spoke with a lowered head, as she was ashamed and disgusted with herself. She had originally stayed with Ethan because she had taken it upon herself to keep him on the right tracks. But now she had strayed off her own path, and she knew it. Therefore she had sworn to herself that she would better herself once again. To regain what she had lost. “I was afraid that what would happen if we did not get the information out of him.” Protocol's face softened slightly as Jenny spoke.

“And pray tell, what did you think that you would be able to do to get him to talk that we would not?” That was indeed the thing that she was ashamed of, and scared of what would have actually happened if Ethan had not stepped in. “What were you planning on doing?” Protocol pressed her. He was, just as Ethan, very good at reading individuals, especially telling when they had something to hide.

“I…” But seeing as Jenny had stepped in to assist Ethan as he was being reprimanded, it was his time to help her.

“She just thought that she could make the suspect talk before you showed up since we did not know how much time we had on our hands. She used to be an officer of the law so she knows much about interrogation methods, perhaps even some that you don't have here in Equestria. I just saw something in the suspect that I could exploit so I decided to take advantage of that, if anyone is to blame here then it is me.” This time it was Jenny who were surprised. But even despite their effort to cover for each other, it mattered little to Protocol.

“What is done is done, we can't change that.” He huffed as he looked in between Jenny and Ethan. “But that does not change that around here, we do things by the book. I am allowing you to join us on this case because you have been useful so far. But if you keep up with things like what you did back there, then that will change quickly. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-yes sir!” Jenny answered quickly. She had no doubt that if Protocol knew of everything that they had done behind his back then he would have been outright furious with them. But as things were, they benefitted from each other and Jenny wanted to keep things that way. Ethan may have shown her that there were certain plus sides to working outside the law on occasions, but there were benefits to working within it too.

“I’m sorry, we will keep you in the loop from now on.” Ethan answered. He was no stranger to working outside the law, but he had to agree with Jenny that the information and help they could get by cooperating with the officials were certainly helpful. That being said, he would not hesitate even for a second to ignore the law to do what needed to be done like he had done back on Earth if things came to that.

“You better. And don't think that we are done talking about this either. But for now, we have something else to deal with.” Protocol told the two of them, and Ethan had no doubt that he would chew them out the moment they finished and came back.

“Yeah, speaking of that, do we have a plan of sorts?” Jenny asked. “We have no idea what we are running into here.”

“No, we don't have a plan, yet. But one of our pegasi was scouting the area ahead. She will survey the area and report back. When she returns, hopefully with info about what we are running into, then we will form a proper plan.” Jenny couldn't really argue with that logic. Though she felt a bit embarrassed that she had not noticed that one of the pegasi that had been traveling with them at the start had gone missing; she was growing sloppy. “If possible, I would have liked to have sent word to the princesses and possibly asked for a few royal guards to assist us with this, but as it stands, we are short on time. I have planned to have one of my men travel to Canterlot to inform the princesses about everything we know after this is all over.”

Ethan had listened to what Protocol had told Jenny before he slowed down a bit, letting Jenny and Protocol get a bit further ahead of him.

“So did you hear that?” Ethan asked as he had fallen a bit further behind to where Scylla and Mary were. He had wanted to talk to Brawly too, but he had been keeping to himself mostly, off to the side, and Ethan was still not sure if he was avoiding him or not.

“Hear what?” Scylla looked down at him. She and Mary had been keeping up the rear end of the traveling group for a while now. Scylla had calmed down long enough to realize that she had no idea where she had actually been going after she had been leading for a while and had slowed down enough for Protocol and his men to overtake the lead. After that, she had slowly but surely slowed down until she got to the back of the group together with Mary. Her size made it to that it was a slight inconvenience if she traveled too close to anypony else, that is why she had chosen to do what she did.

“Y-yeah? What is going on up there?” Mary asked. Ethan had been a bit worried at the start that she would not be able to keep up with all of them. But after she had convinced one of the police ponies to carry one of her saddlebags, that proved to not be a problem.

“They have sent one of the pegasi ahead of us to see what we are getting ourselves into.” Ethan noticed that, as he said that, Scylla's grin deepened. “You do know, that there is a chance that there will be nothing waiting for us there right? That we are indeed too late.” Ethan felt like he had to state that to Scylla, especially with how eager she had been ever since he had told her about what had been happening and asked for her help.

“Of course I know, I'm not stupid.” Scylla sneered at him, making Mary squeak in surprise. “But the possibility is still there. The possibility that I will get to fight! To feel my foes crumble underneath me… It is a feeling that I miss so.” There it was again. Ethan understood Scylla's need to be strong. But it went beyond that. She wanted, or rather, needed to be superior in strength and her opponents needed to know that. Not only her opponents, it was like the constantly felt a need to show and boast her strength. Not only that, but her need ran so deep within her. It made Ethan wonder what she had to go through for it to turn out that way.

“D-do you really love to fight that much?” Mary said in a low voice, making Scylla crane her neck to look at her as she walked besides her.

Ethan could understand Mary's scepticism perfectly. Even as a former human, he did not understand that need for power at all times, but perhaps that was partly because he was not a trainer himself. But even if Scylla's fascination with strength had gone a bit too far, Pokémon evolve through fighting and growing stronger. It is a fundamental part of themselves, and it is probably something that is completely alien to Mary as a pony.

“Of course I do!” Scylla exclaimed, the force of her voice making both Mary and Ethan stagger slightly. They really needed to work on her volume control. “What is there not to love? The feeling of- ” Ethan walked a bit away from Scylla and Mary as Scylla continued to preach about her love for battle to Mary.

Ethan looked off to the side where he could spot his friend Brawly, who was walking alone and had been doing so for the most part of their travel. It worried him slightly, it was not usual for him to be acting in that manner. He had always known Brawly to put on a smile and to be reassuring no matter the circumstances, even if it was just an act to make everyone around him feel better. But lately, he had been keeping more and more to himself, and it was the first time in a while that Ethan could notice that something was possibly bothering his friend. That something heavy looked to be on his mind.

With those thoughts in mind, Ethan made his way over to where Brawly was walking.

“Hey there.” Ethan smiled as Brawly's head almost snapped to him. He really had been walking there, deep within his own thoughts. “Something on your mind?” Ethan asked. He saw no reason to beat around the bush with it.

“What? Oh, no, it’s nothing.” Brawly gave Ethan his normal carefree smile as he shook his head. “ Just thinking a little about something.”

“Oh yeah? What about?” Ethan asked as the two of them walked mostly by themselves, Ethan could still hear Scylla and Mary discuss over with the rest of the group though. He had been doing a lot of thinking himself recently too.

“Oh you know, just stuff.” And that was Brawly's usual answer whenever it was something that he did not want to talk about. He was usually a pretty open guy, but Ethan had learned to not trust that answer from all the years that they had known each other.

“So you don't want to talk about it, eh?” It was kind of ironic. He had been walking around, hiding something from his friend for so, so long. And now he was the one that was asking about what someone else was hiding. Ethan looked over to Brawly who were still wearing his trademark smile, he kept looking ahead as they walked, not even looking at Ethan when he made his comment.

“It’s not like that, mate.” Brawly said as his smile faltered. It was only for a split second, but it was enough that Ethan noticed it. “I just…It’s nothing special, man. Just some stupid stuff that I need to figure out. I just need a little time to think, sorry, dude.” And with that, Brawly pushed on ahead, leaving Ethan behind with a slightly hurt look on his face.

It was clear to Ethan that Brawly wanted to be left alone, at least for now. That was a totally new feeling to Ethan. No matter what either of them were going through, he had never experienced that Brawly was pushing him away like that. But what made Ethan the most worried, was the possibility that Brawly had figured out how he felt about him. If Zoey had managed to notice it, then maybe he had too. It made Ethan's stomach twist as he were worried that he was the one that may have been pushing his friend away.

Ethan let out a long sigh, maybe he was just overthinking things, putting problems where there actually were none. He had been feeling more and more nervous after his talk with Zoey, after all.

But before Ethan could think any more on the subject, he noticed a very distinct sound. Flapping of wings, and it was coming from in front of the group, heading straight towards them, fast.

Ethan couldn't help but smile as he spotted the source of the sound, descending through some of the foliage above them and landing in front of Protocol and Jenny, who stopped. It had seemed that their scout had returned.

The whole group slowly, but surely came to a stop as everyone and everypony gathered around Protocol and Jenny. Scylla slithered around the group, so she could more easily come up to the front and hopefully listen in on what were going on. She was just as, if not more curious than anyone else.

As Ethan too, made his way up to the front, he caught the end of the conversation it seemed, and Protocol was not looking particularly happy.

“What’s going on?” Ethan asked, as he tried his best to ignore the huge blue head that was hanging above them and listening in too. He was just a little curious about how Scylla was simply just listening and hadn't voiced herself just yet. Then again, since she had been part of that mercenary group, perhaps she was used to situations like they were currently in. Being briefed on what was ahead of them and what not. It was just a thought that Ethan considered for a moment before moving his focus back on Protocol.

“We have finally found the mine, and it seems to be some activity going on there.” At those words, Scylla grinned wide and Ethan was sure that he could also hear a low chuckle coming from her. “It seems to be at least a few ponies on the outside, going in and out of the mine with a single unicorn ordering them around. But we can't know how many more are inside. What makes things worse, is that there were some Pokémon outside too.”

“You mean held captive?” Jenny asked, but Protocol shook his head with a grim look on his face.

“No… it seemed like they were walking around freely, and even seemed friendly with the ponies that could be seen. I dont know why they would be helping those scums, but this is going to be a little tougher than we first thought.” It was something that may have thrown Protocol off-guard, but it made sense to Ethan.

“What do you want me to tell the rest, sir?” The pegasus who had scouted ahead asked Protocol, who seemed to be thinking things over. He was slowly chewing on his lower lip as he went over the possible plans in his head.

“Tell them exactly what you told me. And inform them that we will still be going for plan one. Everyone already has their positions, they know what to do.” With that the pegasus nodded before quickly walking to inform the rest of the police ponies.

“What exactly is the plan then?” Ethan asked as Protocol shifted his attention back to them.

“The plan is basic, but it should work. We are basically going to surround them, making sure that they have no escape route. At least not from where we can see it. We are going to try to strike as quickly as possible to take any visible subjects down in case they have some other escape route within the mine. Sadly that is not something that we know. But on the note of those Pokémon, so you have any idea why they would be helping those criminals?” While they had been talking, Brawly had too made his way over to where they were standing.

“It’s not that uncommon. I’m sure they have their own reasons.” He chipped in, much to Protocol's confusion. Ethan decided to explain a little further what Brawly actually meant.

“There were many criminal organizations back on Earth as well, and there were Pokémon that were working willingly for them too.” Realization began to dawn on Protocol as Jenny continued.

“He is right. Sadly, there is just too many possibilities for us to know why they might be helping them. There is also the possibility that some of them might be forced to do so. There is simply no way of knowing without meeting and talking with them.”

“Heh, it matters little, I will happily crush every single one of them.” Scylla said in a low tone, before chuckling to herself.

“About that.” Protocol looked over all of the Pokémon that were currently present. “What can you do? I want to rely on you, as I really think that we are going to need your help to make this go as smoothly as possible. But we need to make some sort of plan regarding the lot of you aswell.” The group traded glances between each other. But everyone's surprise, Scylla was the one who spoke up first.

“Let me storm in first.” She told the lot of them. “I could grab the attention of most of them, and even take most of them out.” Her smile started to grow wider as she spoke. “I will lay waste to them.”

“As risky as it sounds, I think she has a point Protocol,” Ethan spoke up. “She is probably the strongest here. If she took on the brunt of their force, it would make things easier for the rest of us. Are you sure about this though?” He asked as he looked up to Scylla. “You would be putting yourself in harm's way.”

“They are the ones that should be afraid when I come for them.” Ethan had to admit, he should have seen that reply coming.

“Very well… I'll be counting on you them.” Protocol spoke up once more. “But if possible, could you block the entrance to the mine? In the perfect situation we would want to strike so fast and hard that they would not have any time to alert anypony else, or flee, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Sure.”

“And what about the rest of you? I know to an extent about the two of you.” He looked at Ethan and Jenny. “But I have not met you before.”

“Name’s Brawly… And I don't know, where ever you think I would fit in best. I know how to take care of myself.” Again Ethan decided to speak up.

“He is probably the strongest here apart from Scylla.” Ethan knew that Brawly was not one to boast, so he would be the one to do it for him.

“If I may,” Jenny cut in. “I believe that placing him with a group of your unicorns would be the best course of action.” Jenny had overseen some of Brawly's training sessions herself and knew at least to some extent, what he could do. “That way, they could provide him with ranged support. I don’t mean to question the ability of your ponies, but if the enemy has Pokémon on their side, being cautious is probably for the best.” Jenny said as she looked at Brawly who seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding.

“I can get behind that.”

“Very well, I will trust your judgement on this one.” Jenny had been assisting Protocol and their police force on several occasions so she had created some trust there. “This is how things will go down-”

In the end, Brawly and Jenny were each put with their own small group of ponies that they would assist once the attack commenced. Ethan on the other paw, was put together with Scylla on his own suggestion. He was not too much of a fighter and he knew it, so he would only provide minimal support if it was needed, and fall back to help Mary if any injuries occurred. No, Ethan had gone off along with Scylla because he had a few words he needed to say to her, things that he wanted to say in private. As far as he knew, no one else besides maybe Zoey really know that much about Scylla's anger issues. And Ethan wanted to keep it that way.

“Let's head closer, we are too far away.” Scylla complained to Ethan. The two of them were standing in the middle of the forest, waiting for the time to start. They would give every group time to get to their position and Scylla and his charge would then serve as a signal for everypony else.

“We are close enough as it is. You are not exactly silent when you move, you know. Any closer and you might just blow our cover before we start.”

“Bah, you are being too careful.” Scylla huffed at him, but did not push the subject any further.

“Now I'm not sure if I need to say this but, don't kill anyone.” Ethan was really not sure how the group that Scylla used to be with did things, but if they were mercenaries he guessed that they were not strangers to getting their hands… or fins in this case, dirty.

“I know, I know.” Scylla repeated in a low mock voice.

“I’m serious.” Ethan snapped at her in a low voice. “That is not how things are done around here.”

“Why do you care?” She asked to Ethan's surprise. “From what I hear, you are no stranger to getting your paws bloody either.” It was no surprise to Ethan that Scylla knew about his past, since she had admitted that they had a bounty on him after all. And even though he was pretty sure that she did not mean that much with the comment, he had to calm himself.

“Never mind… “ Ethan sighed as he leaned up against a nearby tree. They had refined the plan slightly after having talked a little more with Protocol. Scylla was indeed going to rush in head first to grab everyone's attention, with Ethan following shortly after.

If the info from the pegasus was correct, there were a number of Pokémon outside the entrance to the mine along with the ponies. The pegasus had tried his best to describe all the Pokémon that were present, but with his limited knowledge they were not completely sure on what they would be walking into. All they knew for sure was that there was at least five Pokémon present that were seemingly working with them. In short, they had more firepower.

So in turn Scylla was supposed to do her best to keep most of the attention on her, or help anyone out should they need it. They would in turn take care of as many of the ponies as quickly as they could and help out Scylla afterwards. Her job was basically to stall, though Ethan had no doubt that she would be trying to take every opponent down herself.

“Are you sure that you are okay with this plan?” Ethan asked. “You are probably going to receive a lot of punishment.” Ethan knew that she was a tough girl and she definitely knew how to take care of herself. But she was his patient, so he couldn't really help but care. And no matter how strong of good at fighting she was, taking on multiple Pokémon at once was not something that you did without coming out without taking some hits yourself.

“Of course I am. I’m not only okay with it, I’m looking forward to it.” Ethan let out an amused sigh, he really had not been expecting any other answer. “Have we waited long enough?”

Ethan did not respond immediately. In truth, they had waited long enough. All the others should be at their positions and ready for the attack. He had hoped that Scylla would calm down slightly before they began, but it seemed to be just the opposite. The closer they got, the more excited she became. She did not show it like she did before, her boasting and loud voice had been reduced ever since they had split up. But he could see how tense she really was, her muscles coiling under her skin, ready to lash out in a split second. And from the look on her face, she was loving every second of it. No, there was not any reason to wait any longer.

“Yeah let’s-” Ethan felt a rush of air at his side and his ears was pulled forward from the current as Scylla positively rocketed out from where she had been laying, leaving Ethan behind. “-go.” Cursing himself for letting himself get distracted, Ethan set off after Scylla as quickly as he could.

Ethan ran after Scylla as quickly as he could. Hopping over every obstacle in his way as he forced himself to go as fast as possible. But even with how fast he was, Scylla was faster and he had no hope in catching up to her. Luckily, she was easy to follow. And it was not long before Ethan could hear the distinct sound of something heavy slamming into something else, along with a roar that definitely belonged to their friendly Gyarados. He guessed that Scylla had already arrived.

The trees around him started to thin out soon enough as he ran and it did not take long before Ethan could see the entrance to the mine and all that was happening around it. Ethan guessed that he could only have been a minute behind Scylla at the moment he arrived, but a lot can happen in one minute.

What first stood out to Ethan was Scylla herself and the battle that she was currently immersed in. She had positioned herself in front of the mine entrance, effectively blocking anypony from entering or exiting that way. And she was currently surrounded by three Pokémon. An Arbok who danced around her, taking quick and cheap hits on her whenever it could. A Granbull who already looked like it was down for the count. Ethan could hear it groaning as it kept trying to get back up from the ditch it was currently buried in. And lastly, a Tangrowth who surprisingly kept trading blows with Scylla. Refusing to back down.

But what was worse was what all the ponies around was doing. There were not too many of them. The pegasi kept their distance from the battle in front of them, yelling and cheering on their own Pokémon from the sounds of it, he was even sure that he could hear a few of them betting between themselves. He could not spot any earth ponies, but he saw several unicorns who had their horns aimed straight at Scylla and was sending various attacks her way.

Scylla was a tough lady, and she was holding her own extremely well, possibly even winning from what Ethan could see at the moment when he arrived. But she needed some help, that much was obvious.

So without hesitating, Ethan continued his sprint up to the closest unicorn who were sending some sort of magical attacks towards Scylla.

He could hear one of the ponies yell something and the unicorn he was speeding towards reacted to it. He raised his head and looked to his right, where Ethan was just a few moments away from him. He could see the overconfidence on his face quickly turn into uncertainty in that split second before when their eyes met. But as quickly as it had come, it disappeared again as the unicorn lowered its head against him and he could only guess that he was about to receive the same treatment that Scylla had been getting.

“Oh no you don’t. Quick Attack!” Ethan shouted out, his body going into overdrive. In the blink of an eye, before the unicorn before him could unleash whatever spell he had planned, Ethan slammed into him shoulder first.

Now Ethan had been training to use his Quick Attack every now and then after his initial session with Zoey. And it had not been until recently that he had begun to get the hang of it. But even if he had the basics behind the attack down, he still had a lot to learn.

Ethan grunted in pain as the unicorn was thrown to the ground, Ethan having hit him straight on in the head. He held the shoulder that he had hit the unicorn with, it seemed that had hit him at a really awkward angle. He could see the unicorn was struggling to get back up, but before he had a chance to do so, reinforcements came.

Protocol's ponies coming out from all sides, if the unicorn that Ethan had attacked had been focusing on Ethan initially, he definitely had other things to worry about now.

Ethan looked around briefly in the chaos looking to see if there was anything that needed his immediate attention. When Protocol and his ponies along with Jenny and Brawly had arrived it had basically developed into every pony for himself. They might have more Pokémon, but they had the upper hand in the number of ponies.

“This is Protocol of the Neighagra Falls Sanctuary police force! We have you surrounded. Surrender now, and I promise you that we will treat you accordingly!” He heard Protocol's loud voice call out. But sadly it did not seem to have the effect that they wanted. If things had not been chaotic enough before, they certainly were now.

He noticed that Jenny along with her group was seemingly engaging a Loudred, or rather he had heard it first. It was impossible to ignore the shouts of an Loudred. It was getting support from a few pegasi who were hovering around it. He had seen a few of them try to escape when the chaos started, but with Protocol's pegasi already in the air, waiting for them should they try to escape that way, they had decided to fight instead of fleeing. A lot of the pegasi that had come along with Protocol were volunteers instead of full time police members. But with how small of a town they lived in, such a thing was not unusual.

But with the Loudred, that still only made four of the five Pokémon that their pegasus scout had sighted.

“Ethan! Watch out!” Ethan heard Brawly call out to him. He tore his eyes away from Jenny and her small group towards the voice. Only to discover that something large and grey was currently filling his vision.

“Brick Break!” That was the last thing that Ethan saw and heard before he felt an intense pain in his side, and he was sent flying.

Things were kind of a haze for Ethan after that. The entire world blurred out for a few moments before slowly coming back into focus. He had apparently been knocked down, he knew that much initially as he tried to get back up only to double over in pain as his side positively throbbed in pain.

“The others get a worthy opponent and all I get is you?” Ethan looked up towards the voice to see the same grey thing he has seen earlier, a Machoke, and it was walking towards him. “At least entertain me for a bit longer.” It said, cracking its knuckles threateningly.

Ethan forced himself up, still clutching his side from the previous blow. He had never really given it that much thought how much an effective attack would hurt. But now that he had been on the receiving end of one, he also really understood how easy Brawly had been going on his when they had been training.

“S-stay away,” he heard the words leave his mouth even if he had not meant to say them. Fear had been instilled in his mind from that one blow, and he found himself slowly backing away from the Machoke. Everything else that was going on around him at that point was irrelevant, he just needed to get away. He was no fighter, he had been made overconfident ever since he had gotten the body of a Pokémon. Most of the fights he had ever been in had consisted of sneak attacks and careful planning.

“Really?” The Machoke scoffed at him. “I guess this will end faster than I thought.” and with that, it started to charge at him.

He knew that he would not be able to run away, he could not even stand properly. No, to hell with being scared. If he was going down then he was at the very least going to put up a fight.

“Karate Chop!” Ethan's eyes widened as he threw himself to the side, just barely dodging the fighting move.

Ethan skurried away as best as he could, creating a few feet between him and the Machoke. Perhaps putting up a fight would be the wrong thing to say, rather, prolonging the inevitable.

“Stand and fight me!” The Machoke yelled as it crossed the distance between the two of them in a flash. “Low Sweep!” It lashed out with a low kick aimed at Ethan's legs.

“No, I don't think I will do that.” Only for Ethan to jump over the attack effectively dodging it. But dodging in this way, meant that Ethan had no possible way to get out of the way for the follow up attack.

“Seismic Toss!” Ethan could feel two extremely powerful arms wrap around him before the Machoke spun around and threw Ethan hard down into the ground.

He wanted to scream from the pain he felt, but his lungs had no more air to give, all of it having been knocked out from his impact with the ground. It had not hurt as badly as the Brick Break, but by Arceus, he felt it.

Ethan knew that he needed to get up, the Machoke would not just let him lay there and rest for long. He had the feeling that it had been going easy, having been playing with him, why else would it have allowed him to get away those few times.

“That was disappointing, now to-” out of the corner of his eye, Ethan saw a flash of white and red and the Machoke was cut off, its voice replaced by a scream of pain instead.

Above Ethan stood a very familiar Zangoose. She was standing in a crouched, protective manner in front of him, fresh blood dripping from her claws, and the fur on her neck raised in a show of aggressiveness.

“No one hurts my family!”

Chapter 25 Author's Note

After writing this chapter, I found out that I am not too good at fighting scenes...
But I hope that you will be able to enjoy this chapter nontheless. It was fun to write, despite my difficulties with it.

Enjoy^^ :twilightsmile:

Chapter 25

Brawly's mind was in disarray. He had never been the type of person to think things through too thoroughly, always preferred to act on the spot instead. Things were more entertaining that way, and things usually worked out for the best in the end anyway.

But this was not something that he could take so lightly. He had thought that he would be able to in the start, to just let things happen and act accordingly. But the more he had thought about what his friend had told him and about the possible outcomes, the more he realized that he needed to be a little more careful.

His sexuality was not one of the problems that plagues his mind. Gender had never really been an issue to him, he never understood why it should be. He had several fan girls back on Earth, but he had more than a few cute fan boys too.

But he had never actually been in an actual relationship before. And on top of that, he was not sure how he felt about Ethan. Ethan was his friend, his best friend even. There was just so many things that could go wrong.

Thankfully Brawly was brought out of his thoughts by a loud sound.

The roar that echoed through the forest was impossible to miss, even though it was some distance away from their position, the very force behind it shook the leaves on every tree and bush around them. Scylla was in her position, it seemed that he would not have any more time to think about his problems.

Brawly looked to his side, watching his pony companions, all of their ears perked from the roar they had just heard, and without another second of sesitation they all set off. No pony had said anything, or given any order to charge, they just did it. Brawly had been the one to falter for a moment as all of the ponies sprung into action before he set off too, quickly catching up with them.

The plan was simple, really, take out any hostile ponies and take the rest into custody. But with the Pokémon that had been spotted around the mine, there was almost guaranteed that there would be some fighting. That was the main reason that Brawly had been put with the group of ponies that was running around him. His group consisted of two unicorns and a single earth pony. He would engage any nearby Pokémon or at the very least do his best to keep them off any of the police ponies while they did their job, and they in turn would assist Brawly should he need it.

“Okay, everypony get ready!” He heard the earth pony besides his say as they were closing in on the location. The area in front of them opened up, revealing the area in front of them. The mine entrance itself was set at the bottom of a small hill, though it did little to prevent any fliers to escape that way, it did prevent any unicorns or earth ponies as it was too steep to climb. And in front of the mine entrance was their resident Gyarados, Scylla, herself.

Before Brawly had a chance to take more of the area in, a loud voice filled the air.

“This is Protocol of the Neighagra Falls Sanctuary police force! We have you surrounded. Surrender now, and I promise you that we will treat you accordingly!” Looking off to his side, Brawly saw Protocol, whose horn had been growing brightly as he spoke. It seemed that their groups had arrived at nearly the same time, just like they had planned.

The whole area fell quiet, if only for a moment after Protocol had made his announcement. Brawly could feel the tension as some of the ponies looked between each other. But things does not always go as you want, and as soon as the silence had come, it shattered as some of the ponies they were supposed to catch made a beeline for the forest, only to be taken down the moment they got within the range of some of Protocol's ponies. But not all of them gave in to panic so easily. Some of them wanted to put up a fight instead.

“I got another one!” Brawly called out as he was kneeling down over a rather big and burly earth pony. His knee was held to the pony's neck so that he neither would nor could move. It did not take long before a unicorn hurried over to Brawly with a pair of hoof-cuffs at the ready.

“Thank you,” Brawly thanked him as he let the unicorn take the earth pony.

“I'll take him from here.” He got as a reply as the unicorn escorted the earth pony away to where they were gathering and keeping the ponies they were capturing.

Brawly had to admit. He was impressed with Protocol's ponies. They had seemed like an alright bunch at the start, but now that he saw them in action, how efficient and well all of them worked together… it honestly made him miss his own team a little.

But they were in a battle, it was not the time to be thinking of such things. Neither did he have the luxury of zoning out as he heard a voice speak up.

“Hey, catch!” He looked to his side to see a Machoke who was holding a pegasus, one of their own, in one of his arms. And just as Brawly looked to him, the Machoke grinned and reared his arm back before throwing the pegasus straight at him.

Brawly nearly did not have any time to react before the pegasus slammed into him. He had only brought up his arms to catch her on a reflex.

“Hey, are you alright?” He asked, but it was clear that she was really not alright. One of her wings was bend at a funny angle and a thin line of blood could be seen running down from her mouth. The Machoke really had done a number on her.

“I… I'll manage.” She croaked out as she stirred. “P-put me down, I can manage to get out myself.” Brawly had half a mind to ignore what she had just said and make sure that she got out good, but he was needed there and with how she was struggling in his grasp he knew that she was in good enough shape to walk at least.

“Okay, you get out of here.” Brawly told her as he put her down, her legs wobbling slightly before she corrected herself. “Hey! We got an injured over here.” He yelled out, hoping that somepony else would come and help her get to safety.

But it seemed that the Machoke had decided to not just stand around and wait for Brawly to finish what he had been doing. Looking off to the side, Brawly could see the same Machoke, currently making leeway straight for his friend.

“Ethan! Watch out!” He yelled, but it was too late. The Machoke reared its arm back and hit Ethan with a powerful Brick Break. The blow sending his friend flying. Brawly could feel a mixture of anger and despair as he watched his friend bounce off the ground before he came to a stop. He had to help Ethan, he was not like him and Jenny. He was not a fighter, this was exactly why they had told him not go alone, but as usual he did not listen.

“Hold out, I'm coming for you man!” Brawly set off towards Ethan and the Machoke who was currently taking its time, walking towards his downed friend. Brawly heard some yells from behind him, coming from the ponies in his group. He knew that he was not supposed to leave them, but he could not care less. However, before he could even make it that far, he felt something and jumped back on reflex.

His feeling seemed to have been right as the very same Granbull that he had seen fighting Scylla earlier came to a skidding stop right in front of him. Its jaws clamping down with a Bite on the spot that he had been just been standing.

“Oh, you are not going anywhere, pretty boy!” It growled at him, and judging by its voice, he guessed that it was a female. She had definitely been roughed up by Scylla, judging from the various wounds that she had across her body.

“I don’t have time for this, move!” Brawly moved quickly, ignoring the Granbull while trying to run around her. He had to get to Ethan as soon as possible. He could see his friend scrambling to get away with fear evident on his face.

But once more, he was stopped, this time as he felt something clamp down on his arm, pain shooting through it. The Granbull had bitten down, hard, and was holding him back as he tried to continue to move.

“As I told you.” She growled through her teeth as she continued to hold Brawly in place. With a sudden display of strength, she twisted her body and Brawly could feel his body being lifted up from the ground as the Granbull spun around and threw Brawly back, away from Ethan. “You are not getting away, pretty boy! You are stuck with me.” She smiled as she licked her lips.

“Why are you even doing this?” Brawly exclaimed. “You know what they are doing to other Pokémon, right?” If there was any change in the Granbull's expression, then he did not see it.

“Oh you try to change the subject.” She huffed as she dropped down onto all fours and slowly started to advance on Brawly who stood his ground. “Come on now, let’s play.” And with that she leaped at him with another Bite attack, her powerful jaws open and at the ready.

Only this time, Brawly was ready for her and slipped out of the way. She was as easy to read as any of the majestic waves he used to conquer.

Dodging the attack left her open for a moment as she landed, and Brawly did not hesitate to follow up with an attack of his own. His paws becoming a blur as he unleashed a barrage of Double Hits, all of which hit their mark.

Brawly hoped that his hit had created enough time for him to get away from his current opponent and over to Ethan, whom he had just seen been thrown into the ground, and was just lying there unmoving.

“I'm coming for you, buddy!” Brawly yelled, only for him to hear a laughter as the Granbull quickly moved to intercept him once more.

“I'm beginning to think that you don’t like me.” She mocked him, as she kept moving in synch with Brawly, not letting him pass her. If she had been affected by his earlier hits, then she did not show it. She was a fairy type after all; she had the type advantage.

Her smile faltered though, as she was caught off guard as Brawly was the one who started to laugh slightly.

“It looks like I won't have to worry anymore.” He smiled as a familiar voice filled the air, a voice filled with such ferocity that that it made the Granbull slightly unnerved.

“No one hurts my family!” Zoey roared. Brawly had to admit, he would not want to be in that Machoke's shoes right then. He was still worried about Ethan, but not nearly as much as he had been just a moment ago. With Zoey there, he knew that Ethan would be safe.

“Worried about your friend?” Brawly teased as both of them had heard the Machoke's cry of pain. And he could see uncertainty on her face.

“N-no, of course not! He can take care of himself.” She said, but despite that, she couldn't help herself and looked behind her to see what was going on. But taking your eyes away from your opponent in a Pokémon match was something that you simply did not do.

Brawly had devoted a lot of time to mastering his new body after they had showed up in Equestria. But where was one particular move that had just come natural to him.

“Bulk Up!” The Granbull snapped her head back to Brawly, only to be met with another flurry of double hits, these ones hitting a good deal harder than the ones before, making her recoil and stagger back from the blow.

“Come on then.” Brawly started, his muscles having tensed up from his earlier move. For the first time since the battle had started, he was focused on the battle itself and not on Ethan. “Let’s play!”

Zoey had initially been really mad because Ethan had asked her to stay behind. He had not said this to her in person, rather he had used Jenny to convey this message. She had understood why he wanted to to stay behind. He was worried about her, and considering her past, that was not too surprising to her.

But that did not mean that she had agreed with his choice to leave her behind. No, she was her own Pokémon and she was not just going to stay behind when he would go out there like that, at least since he did not have Vernus with him. Now, it was not that she did not trust Jenny or Brawly, but neither of them were original Pokémon. So with that in mind, she had decided to follow after the group.

It had not been that difficult. They had been more preoccupied with what was ahead of them to take notice or even consider the fact that something, or some Zangoose would be following after them.

She had been expecting a lot of things when she reached the area around the mine where all the commotion was going on, and at first she had seemed a bit hesitant. She had been told to stay back home after all, and she guessed that Ethan would be mad at her or rather disappointed. He never really got truly angry, she could tell.

But that was when she had seen it. Ethan on the ground with a Machoke standing above him, and that is when she had simply lost it. She cared little for the restraint that Ethan had been teaching her over the past few years. Her instinct from her earlier fighting days flooding back into her system.

The next few seconds were kind of a blur for her. Before she knew it, she was standing hunched over Ethan with fresh blood dripping down her claws.

“No one hurts my family!” She roared with more ferocity than she was aware that she had. Only one thing was on her mind. That Machoke had hurt Ethan. It had hurt someone she cared about. It was going to regret ever being born.

“Z-Zoey?” She heard Ethan's voice as she stood over him in a protective manner. While she usually walked on two legs, when she fought she always dropped down on all fours.

“Protective of your mate, eh?” Both of them heard the Machoke as he had recovered again. “Like it will matter, just like he was, you are at a type disadvant-” that was all the Machoke was allowed to say before Zoey launched herself at him.

She covered the ground between them in a flash, her paws at the ready and a look of pure rage on her face. Both of her claws then started glowing brightly as she unleashed a devastating Crush Claw with both of her paws. The claws tearing into the Machoke who had not tried to dodge at all.

The pain was evident on his face, but the moment after the attack both of his powerful arms shot out and grabbed Zoey's front paws, holding her in place as she struggled to get free.

“This is more like it!” The Machoke laughed as he was holding her in place, it seemed like he was actually enjoying it. “This is more like a proper battle!” Zoey felt herself being lifted off the ground as the Machoke did the same to her like it did to Ethan before.

Zoey was slammed into the ground from the Seismic Throw, the ground cracking underneath her from the impact.

Zoey was furious, and the anger was fueling her strength. But this was not the fighting style that she was used to. Ethan had made her promise to never use that on herself again, but as she got back up, feeling the pain from the fighting move coursing through her body, she found it really hard to resist.

Switching into a Quick Attack the moment she got back up, Zoey rushed straight into the Machoke again, ramming into it.

The blow itself was not as powerful though, and the Machoke wasted not a single second with retaliating, its fist already bearing down towards its target.

Zoey then did something that she had picked up in the underground fighting ring. A trick she had used when fighting multiple opponents. She used Quick Attack, forcing her body to move much faster than normal, she retreated. Using the Quick Attack to move outside the Machoke's range in the blink of an eye, whose attack simply hit air.

As effective as it was, Zoey did not particularly like using Quick Attack in that manner. The move normally took a small running start, and to use it with full speed straight from the start took a serious toll, and she could feel her body aching already. But, it was still better than getting hit with another fighting move.

The fight very quickly turned into a blur after that. Zoey kept zooming in and out of the Machoke's range, either hitting it with just a normal Quick Attack or Crush Claw before retreating again, using the same method as earlier. She had only been grazed a few times, but against a fighting type, one good hit was all that it could possibly take to bring her down.

Infuriated by Zoey's hit and run tactic, the Machoke had started swinging wildly and randomly each time Zoey had entered its range. The ground around them became more and more bloody as the fight went on, Zoey drawing blood every time she entered the Machoke's range. But even so, none of Zoey's hits had enough power behind them to put the fight to an end, and the Machoke not being able to land a proper hit at all. Despite all of this, though Zoey found herself having fun. Her opponent had hurt her Ethan, no this was not a fight anymore, it was a slaughter and she was enjoying herself immensely for every grunt or look of pain on the Machoke as she struck him.

“Zoey!” She could hear Ethan call out to her in the background, and because of that call she hesitated. It was only for a moment, but in a battle, one moment can cost you a lot and the Machoke did not let that opportunity go to waste. It screamed as it lashed out with a brutal Brick Break. Zoey could feel the bones in her body protesting as she was sent sliding backwards, her claws digging into the ground to help stop.

“That hurt…” She sneered in a low tone as she looked back up, only to blink in surprise as the Machoke was not where it had previously been. Quickly scanning the area she found her opponent… retreating. Blood was dripping from the numerous wounds that she had inflicted on it and she could see it looking back at her with a look of fear on its face before it continued scrambling away.

“Zoey! Stop, it’s-” She heard Ethan’s voice once more, but she ignored it. Her opponent was getting away, the fight was not over yet. How dare he turn his back on her when the fight was not finished?

“Oh no you don't.” Zoey ignored the pain she was feeling from the previous blow and sat off after the Machoke. “Pursuit!” And in a flash she was on the Machoke's back, her claws digging deeply into her opponent. She had to give him credit for his tenacity as he tried to take another step, only to topple over and fall face first onto the ground. No opponent was getting away from her.

She pulled her claws out from his back as she stood up on her back legs. She could still hear a few groans coming from the Machoke underneath her, it seemed like she would have to finish the job. She raised her paw and positioned it directly above her opponent's neck. One quick strike, and the job would be complete.

“NO!” Zoey heard light childlike voice call out just before a yellow flash filled her vision, and something struck her.

She almost fell back as her body spasmed, it did not hurt too much, but it was not difficult for her to recognize the feeling of a Thunder Wave.

After a few seconds she regained control of her body and turned around with anger in her eyes, ready to engage her next opponent, the one that had stopped her from finishing the Machoke.

Only for that anger to dissipate completely as she saw who it was. Just a little distance in front of where Ethan sat, was an extremely upset looking Chii. Her fur was still sparkling slightly with electricity from the attack and tears could clearly be seen running down her cheeks, wetting her fur.

“Y-you stop right now!” Chii yelled, her voice cracking slightly. It was obvious that she was scared, but she stood her ground nonetheless. Not only did she do that, she ran up to Zoey and grabbed hold of her leg fur with her mouth and tried to pull her away from the Machoke. “P-please stop.” She spoke through gritted teeth.

“It’s over, Zoey. No reason to go any further.” Zoey looked up from Chii to see Ethan looking at her with a disappointed expression. “You understand?” He had not gotten up, she was not sure if he was able to just yet. But the tone he spoke in was firm and commanding.

“... Y-yes.” Zoey spoke as she stepped off the Machoke’s back. She retracted her bloody claws before she leaned down to pick up Chii who was still pulling on her leg. “Thank you for snapping me out of that.” Now that the battle high had wore off, she felt just how much of a burden that had put on her body. Every movement was painful.

“I had to, you stupid meanie!” Chii huffed as she crawled out of Zoey's arms and up to her shoulder.

“Yeah, good job, Chii.” Ethan complimented her from where he sat. “Although neither of you are supposed to be here.” Both Chii and Zoey suddenly looked ashamed. Chii for having snuck along and Zoey for what she had just done. “But I am glad that you are. And Zoey-” Ethan forced himself to stand. “We will talk more about this later, understood?” Zoey nodded as she refused to meet Ethan's look. It had been years since he had used that tone with her, but she knew that she deserved it. She had gone overboard… again.

“Yes…” She spoke in a quiet voice.

“Good… now it looks like Brawly could use some help.” Brawly's group had seemed to have taken care of all the nearby ponies around them but they were still struggling with the Granbull. Brawly who was locked in combat with it while getting some support from the ponies around him.

“Awww, do we have to help him?” Chii complained.

“Well… why don't you take this as a chance to show him how much better than him you are?” Ethan suggested with a small smile as he saw a new fire light in Chii's eyes.

Zoey looked at Ethan and received a nod before she dropped to all fours and started charging towards Brawly.

“Chaarge!” Chii yelled from the top of her lungs. It was a somber mood, but she managed to lift it slightly with her newfound spirit.

Back at the Machoke, Ethan fell back to the ground into a sitting position once again. He was not doing any more fighting that was for sure.

“What the-” A loud roar along with a crash could be heard from the mine entrance, and Ethan just barely had enough time to see Scylla disappearing into the forest to the side.

“Arceus dammit." Ethan cursed to himself. But it seemed that Protocol's ponies had most of the situation under control at that point, so maybe Scylla was not needed anymore. At least so he hoped.

Scylla sped through the forest. Her long, thin, snake like body propelling her across the ground with incredible speeds. It was finally time for her to get some action.

Ethan had asked her to join him and the others on the mission, using the favor that she owed him. And while she was glad to repay the debt that she owed him, she would have been happy to come along anyway. She was too tired of doing nothing all day. Sure, her wounds had healed some time ago, and he had found some small things to alleviate her boredom. She had become rather good friends with Zoey for instance. But even so, it was just not the same.

She was used to a lot more action when she was with Checkmate. She was a part of Queen, she was one of the strongest, one of the best. They would do anything and everything, and when they were not on any missions she could spar and have fun with some of the other members. Sure some of them were a pain, and really annoying… but they were her comrades.

But that was all in the past. She was on her own now, or at least she had thought that she was initially. That Ethan person was annoying, but she knew that he meant well. And she really liked Zoey, she could tell that she was strong and she could respect that.

Those had been some of the thoughts that had roamed around in Scylla's head, before the assault began. However, these thoughts had been pushed back into her mind the moment that she had begun her charge. She had her mission, and although she had a few annoying restrictions she would complete said mission, she always did. That was something that she prided herself on.

She bursted out from the trees into the small clearing in front of the mine entrance. Grinning to herself as nearby ponies threw themselves out of her way, there were quite a lot of them, but that mattered little to her. She came to a sliding stop as she almost slammed into the entrance to the mine. The dust from her sudden entrance quickly settled, all the eyes were on her, just like she wanted. The ponies were already yelling to each other and a few of the Pokémon that had been there were gathering around her as Scylla took a deep breath, and unleashed an earth-shaking roar. A nearby pegasus who was hovering in the air nearby her was thrown back from the force alone.

Now she just had to hold out until the others could get there. But that did not mean that she could not have some fun of her own in the meantime.

“Stay still, you little shit!” Scylla roared as she slammed a brutal Aqua Tail down onto the ground where the Arbok had just been standing.

“Oh, I think not. Why don’t you come over here and make me?” The Arbok teased her as it kept its distance. It infuriated Scylla to no end. She had taken care of the Granbull easily enough, a single Hydro Pump, taking it out of commission. At least, she had not seen any more of it after that. But that Arbok was fighting her in such a cowardly way. It had managed to poison her early on and after that it had just kept on stalling and teasing her. It alone would not have been so bad, no she could take care of it no problem if just-

“Vine Whip!” The monotone voice of the Tangrowth could be heard as a number of slender vines shot out from its body and hit Scylla, making her roar in frustration. Every time she would try to attack the Arbok the Tangrowth would hit her and the Arbok would do the same when she engaged the Tangrowth.

Now, unlike the Arbok she had dished out several good hits on the Tangrowth they had been trading hits for a while, she had even bitten off its arms and part of its side, but the thing just refused to go down no matter what she did. If she could just get a better position on them both, she was way too much of a target where she stood. And although it had lessened since Ethan and all the other ponies had shown up, she was still hit with magical attacks from the enemy unicorns from time to time, even the flying pegasi dared to throw rocks at her. Their attacks was weak, so they did not hurt her, but they were so distracting so she could never engage either one of her opponents properly. Needless to say it infuriated her to no end, and her rage had been growing ever since the battle had started.

“I am Scylla! A bunch of vines like you is nothing to me!” She yelled as she lunged forward with a Crunch and sunk her teeth into the Tangrowth. But as usual the thing did not move. It had planted its roots deep early in the battle and held its position no matter what she did. Tearing her head back, she pulled a mouthful of vines along with her, which she spat out. They tasted horrible, but she could already see more vines growing back to replace the ones that she had torn out.

“Is that it? That was rather pathetic. I am beginning to think that you are just all talk with nothing to show for it. You are just a fish on land, go back to where you belong!” Scylla could feel her rage burning inside of her as the Arbok continued teasing her. She did not care anymore, she was going to destroy that Arbok no matter what.

“You. Are. Dead.” Scylla spoke in a low tone as she tensed the muscles in her long body. “Outrage!” She stormed at the Tangrowth, since the Arbok was hiding behind its comrade, that just meant that she had to go through it first.

As she collided with the Tangrowth, she felt a little resistance, just like she had done all the times that she had attacked earlier, it had rooted itself to the ground after all. But she was Scylla, and there was no way that something like a Tangrowth would stop her.

“Uh-oh…” The Arbok started to slowly fall back as snapping sounds could be heard. The roots that had held the Tangrowth in place being broken by force as Scylla continued to trash against her opponent. The Tangrowth was putting up a fight, it was doing its best, wrapping its wines around Scylla in an attempt to hold her off…

But it was in vain. With a final burst of strength and a roar that shook through the battlefield, Scylla tore the Tangrowth up from the ground and continued to push forward after the Arbok. It quickly fled into the forest, but there were no places that it could hide from her now. With victory in mind, she pushed after the Arbok, using the Tangrowth that she was pushing in front of her as a battering ram to crush the trees before her.

“What the?” Jenny had just taken down a pegasus and was currently holding her down while a pony from Protocol's group was restraining her. However she and everypony else looked up as a roar shook the air just to see Scylla who were quickly disappearing into the forest to the side, leaving the mine entrance completely open. They had already taken care of the Loudred and apprehended most of the ponies, but there were still a few who were putting up a fight.

However, the moment that Scylla roared and abandoned her post, Jenny noticed something. It was a small group of just three ponies, who had just taken down one of Protocol's ponies. And the moment that Scylla had disappeared, they made a leeway straight for the mine entrance. They were trying to escape.

But what Jenny was most focused on, was one particular unicorn of that group. It was a unicorn that she had seen before and one that she had hoped that she would have the opportunity to take down for a long time.

“Shady!” She had dreamed of the moment that she would meet him again. She had failed to take him down once, she would not fail again. “They are escaping!” Jenny yelled as she looked around. However, it seemed that almost everypony else had their hooves full. Protocol and his group was currently engaging a small group of pegasi who simply refused to go down, Brawly and his group along with… Zoey? They were fighting with a Granbull. And her most of her own group was doing their best to restrain the Loudred who had just woken up again and was doing his best to be to make as much trouble as possible. .

But she was not going to let that scum of a unicorn get away again. Not if she could do anything to help it.

“You, come with me! We are going to pursue them.”Jenny told the earth pony who had just finished helping her restrain the enemy pegasus.

“What? Just the two of us? No we have to-” She protested but Jenny quickly cut her off.

“They are getting away, just shut up and follow me!” Jenny knew that she had no right in ordering one of Protocol's ponies around, but they simply could not afford to let them escape. She could not afford to let Shady escape again.

So without wasting another second, Jenny set off after them, sprinting towards the mine as fast as her small legs would carry her. However, in her haste, she had failed to notice that the earth pony was not following after her.

“Stop, you bastards!” Jenny called out just Shady and his little group reached the mine. Jenny could see that Shady had turned his head towards her as she called out, and she felt infuriated as she noticed the big grin on his face before he and the two others disappeared into the mine.

“Shady!” She was not letting him get away. She had failed once and she was not going to do so again. So Jenny did not hesitate for a moment as she followed after them, descending into the darkness of the mine.

Chapter 26

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 27 Author's Note

My longest chapter yet. This was a pain to write, i'm not used to chapters of this length. Its exhausting, I don't know how other authors handle it.

Also, thanks to V-Oblivion for helping with this chapter.

Editors notes:
MoldyShishkabob: Give him a hand, everybody! A fantastic future of fun-fulfilling folly will find our featherbrained friend!
Though, I suppose he wouldn't be a fan of featherbrained fellows, if you follow my feeling.

…Why am I using so many "f"s anyway?

Chapter 27

Eventually, Ethan and the others decided to return back home. There had been some protest, Ethan wanted to stay behind to help with the search for Jenny, but after some persuasion from Protocol, he realized that there was little that he could actually do to help. They suspected that magic was somehow involved with their disappearance and he knew next to nothing about magic. Protocol stayed behind personally along with a few of his ponies to investigate the laboratory that they found. Hopefully, they would find some clues about what happened to Jenny.

So it was with a heavy heart that Ethan let the others drag him back home. It really felt like a hollow victory. They had gotten most of the ponies, but Ethan had heard the name that Jenny had shouted as she ran into the mine thanks to his improved hearing.

Shady.

He of all ponies got away, and Jenny was missing too. Chances were good that they had somehow captured Jenny. And that thought made Ethan sick to his stomach. But he had to keep his spirits up. Because he was not the only one who was greatly saddened by what had happened. All of them had grown to become rather good friends with Jenny, despite the rocky start that they had. Chii was positively devastated, but she refused to take comfort from Ethan.

The moment they had gotten back home, she had ran off to her own little corner and hidden herself behind her little blanket fort. She was still angry and upset with both Ethan and Brawly. That was not how it was supposed to go; she had sworn to never let Brawly take her Ethan, but now it had happened anyway. So Zoey was the only one who had been allowed over in her corner to talk to her.

“...Is she going to be okay?” She asked sadly. Chii had grown rather close to Jenny over the time they had known each other. The fact that she did not know about Jenny and Ethan's past had most likely helped out a bit.

“Jenny is a tough lady. She is going to be alright.” Zoey reassured Chii. But saying that left Zoey with a bad taste in her mouth. They had no idea if Jenny was going to be alright. She was tough, that was true. But there had been three other ponies, one of which had nearly beaten both Jenny and Ethan in combat before. She hated having to lie to Chii like that, but she did not want her to worry.

“R-really?” Chii asked as she sniffed. She had been holding her tears back ever since she had overheard some of the others talking about what could have happened to Jenny. To her, Jenny was sort of part of the family, that was how she felt.

“Yeah, believe in her. It will be fine.” Zoey smiled. “Have you talked to Ethan about this?” She asked, trying to coax her out from her hiding place. She knew that she was under the small mass of blankets that she had dragged over there. She could not see her, but she was easy to pinpoint thanks to her voice. “He is worried about you too, you know. You did not talk to him at all on the way back here.” Ethan had initially been worried that Chii would take what happened between him and Brawly quite badly, and he had been right there. He had tried to talk to her the entire trip back, but she had refused to speak to him at all. It was an issue that they certainly did not need on top of Jenny's disappearance. But it was something that they had to deal with nonetheless.

“...” Chii poked her head out from her blanket fort. She surveyed the room for a moment before her eyes fell upon Ethan and Brawly. They were standing off by themselves, near one of the corners in the warehouse.

It was too far away for Chii to be able to hear what they were talking about but she could see them just fine. Ethan was leaning against Brawly who had his arm over Ethan's shoulders.

“No!” She exclaimed as she pulled her head back in, not wanting to see the two of them like that anymore. She felt furious… betrayed… saddened. That was not how things were supposed to go. That was not it at all. “I don't want to talk to him… I never want to talk to him again.” She said, her voice lowered as she nestled herself as deep as she could into her blankets.

“Never is an awful long time, you know.” Zoey commented. She knew that Chii was hurt and angry right now, but she was sure that it would pass. The only question was how long it would take.

“I can wait…” She heard Chii say in a low voice.

All the other Pokémon that lived there had gotten their food so there was really nothing else that she needed to do. So she would simply stay there with Chii. To try to coax her out from her hiding place and perhaps lighten her spirit. She would not talk to Ethan, so Zoey had to try.

“Hey, don't look so sad.” Brawly said as he put his arm around Ethan. His mood had been dropping gradually ever since they had learned about Jenny's disappearance. And while Brawly had tried his best to keep Ethan's spirits high, it had not worked that well. “Protocol is good at his job. They will surely find Jenny.” He reassured Ethan who turned his head to look at him.

“I know… and it's not that. Well, maybe a little.” Ethan let out a deep sigh as they stood there. “I just feel like I should be doing something. And then there is us,” Ethan leaned a little more against Brawly. “After what happened, I should be happy, overjoyed. But then all of this happened and-”

“No!” Ethan and Brawly turned their heads towards where Zoey stood and they had just heard Chii yell before she disappeared back into her blankets.

“She is really not taking this well, is she?” Brawly asked and Ethan shook his head sadly.

“No… no she is not. Not only did she take Jenny's disappearance badly. But after she found out what happened between us, she refuses to even talk to me.” Ethan told Brawly, his mood sinking even further. “It might be selfish. But after what happened between us… I… I just wanted to be able to focus on us for the moment.” He looked up to Brawly who gave him a small smile in return. “But then all of this happens and I just…” Ethan leaned into Brawly once again. It was just so much that had happened recently. Too much. And Ethan was not sure how to deal with it all. “I don't know what to do…”

“Hey.” Brawly said as he made Ethan look up at him. “None of that. I agree with you. The timing could have been better. But, what happened, happened. You just need… We, just need to deal with all of this first. There will be more than enough time for just the two of us afterwards… alright?” Brawly said as he gave Ethan a reassuring smile.

“You know just what to say, don't you?” Ethan teased as he poked Brawly in the chest. “But yes… you are right.” Ethan said, standing up straight as he had gotten his spirit back. They had been just the kind of words that he had needed to hear.

“So… what are we going to do?” Brawly asked as he looked over at Zoey who were still desperately trying to get Chii to come out from her hiding place.

“... As much as I want to make things right with her right away. I think Chii needs a little time for herself. It won't do any good if I try to talk to her now.” Ethan did not like it, he wanted to go and talk to Chii, to help her right away. But she was also mad at him and would not talk to him. So, since he was part of the problem, he decided to deal with another issue in the meantime. “Let’s go down to the waterfall.” Ethan said as he walked out the backdoor, Brawly following shortly after. “I think that I need to have a talk with Scylla.” He just hoped that she would be there.

“What about?” Brawly asked as he walked besides Ethan. None of them had seen much of Scylla on their way home. She taken off in quite the hurry shortly after she had heard the news about Jenny. And if Ethan was right, Chii was not the one that was taking her disappearance the hardest.

“Call it a hunch… but I think she blames herself for Jenny's disappearance.” That was certainly how things had seemed to Ethan. She had stormed off shortly after learning of those news and she had been the one who had been tasked with guarding the mine entrance during the mission.

“You think so?” Brawly hummed as he looked up in thought. “Well, I guess that explains her running off like that… You think she is down at the waterfall then?”

“I certainly hope so.” It was the only place that Ethan could think of where she could have gone.

The rest of the trip down to the waterfall went in relative silence. But it was a nice and comfortable silence, so Ethan did not mind. As Brawly had said, they would take care of everything together and have some time just to themselves afterwards. So Ethan really looked forwards to that.

As they came down to the banks, they could hear some yelling going on and it was not hard to recognize that voice. It seemed that Scylla was there after all. But it did not sound like she was alone. Scylla raising her voice and yelling was not an unusual thing, but she was not the type of Pokémon that would talk to herself.

However, Ethan was surprised to see exactly who was talking to Scylla.

“I do not need your help!” Scylla yelled at Mary who did not budge an inch despite the force behind Scylla's voice.

“You should have somepony take a look at you after a battle like that.” Mary insisted, and Ethan had to admit he was slightly amused by the scene before him. Mary had been very nervous around Scylla earlier, but it seemed that most of her nervousness had simply disappeared now.

But Ethan knew how stubborn Scylla could be and that she would absolutely not accept any kind of help if she did not need it.

“Hey there you two!” Brawly was the first to speak up. Mary let out a surprised and rather cute sound, having been caught off-guard.

“Hello, you two.” Mary smiled after she had taken a moment to calm herself over the initial surprise. “ Oh, and congratulations!” She positively beamed as she pranced over to Ethan and Brawly. “Zoey told me about what happened. The two of you make for such a cute couple.” Ethan could feel the blood rush to his cheeks as he blushed slightly while Brawly just kept his trademark smile. It seemed that Zoey had gotten a bit excited with the news and had decided to share it.

“Y-yeah…” Ethan smiled shyly as Mary clapped her hooves together in an excited manner. She seemed really happy for the two of them. And that happiness spread to both Ethan and Brawly.

But they had gone down there for a reason and Ethan was reminded of that as he heard Scylla huff rather loudly as she looked down on the three of them.

“Great, even more of you show up… ” She said her head resting on the bank while the rest of her body was submerged in the water. “What do you want?” Scylla murmured as she watched Mary jump around like a little filly.

“Oh yeah… Um, I wanted to talk to you about something Scylla.” Ethan said as he walked away from Brawly and Mary. “About Jenny.” That, however, got a reaction out of Scylla. Her eyes widened, and she sunk even more into the water, making herself smaller. Ethan could see her look over to Brawly and Mary for a few moments before she spoke up.

“...I don't want to talk about it.” She said in a low voice. It was unusual for Ethan to see Scylla act like that.

“I get that… but I think we need to talk about it.” Ethan said as he sat down in front of her. She kept refusing to meet his gaze as she kept staring over at Brawly and Mary instead. Ethan understood what she wanted, but he was not the only one and Brawly spoke up before he had a chance.

“Mary.” Brawly waved a paw in front of her face to get her attention which stopped her excited prancing. “Why don't we head back? I think Zoey could use your help with something.” He understood that Scylla was not likely to talk as long as the two of them were still there. And since she was Ethan's patient, it would perhaps be better if they left this to him.

“Wait, really?” Mary looked between Brawly and Ethan a few times before giving in. “Aww, okay…” She said, a little downtrodden. But she followed after Brawly nonetheless.

Ethan mouthed a silent “Thank you” to Brawly who returned with a nod and a knowing smile as he led Mary away from the water and back towards the village.

“You absolutely must tell me everything that happened between the two of you, though!” Was the last thing Ethan overheard Mary say in an excited voice as they disappeared into the forest. Though he felt a bit bad with leaving Brawly with Mary like that. With how excited she had been, she was likely to pester him for every teeny bit of information just like Zoey had earlier. But he was sure that he would survive.

“There, now it is just the two of us.” Ethan said as he directed his attention back at Scylla who had seemingly managed to relaxed a bit. “Now… we are going to talk about what happened back there at the mine.” Ethan took the offensive as he already had a plan forming in his mind.

“What is there to talk about?” Scylla said as she looked at Ethan. “I know that what happened is my fault.” That surprised Ethan. He had suspected that he would have to work a bit more to get that admittance out of her. Perhaps this would be easier than he had initially thought.

“... You are right. What happened back there could have been avoided.” Ethan did not particularly like to take advantage of what had happened, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass. If he could finally get Scylla to realize that she really had a anger issue. “Now, let’s start with this: why did you lose control?”

“...” Scylla was conflicted as she squirmed under Ethan's gaze. She hated to admit that she needed help. No matter how injured she was, she would act like it was nothing. But this was different. She had jeopardized the mission and Jenny had possibly been taken. All because of her. “It was that Arbok.” She finally spoke. “He just kept riling me up. Taunting me, making fun of me as he dodged and stayed out of reach!” She growled in irritation as she thought back to it. “I knew that I could take him if I could go after him. I just… lost it.” Scylla deflated completely as she stared down at the ground.

“I still find it strange for you to lose your cool so easily.” Ethan commented, he knew that he was being harsh with her right now, but it would be for her best in the end. “I mean, you were in Checkmate. How could you still be in a mercenary group like that if you lose your cool just like that?” Ethan really hoped that his gut feeling from earlier was wrong. “Wouldn't it potentially jeopardize one of your missions if you went on a sudden rampage like you did back then?” He had to be wrong, he had.

“...No it would not.” Scylla said in a low voice as she continued to look down at the ground.

“It’s not the first time something like this has happened… Is it?” Ethan asked as his gut feelings came true. Scylla had not seemed sorry for going off on a rampage like she did, she had initially just felt sorry for the fact that she had deviated from the mission. Only after Jenny's disappearance, did she realize and recognize the problem in her behavior. The mission came first.

He had wondered earlier why it had been so incredibly hard to get through to her. Gyaradoses were already known for their rage, but Scylla's behaviour went one step beyond that even. And now it finally made sense why.

“No… it’s not.”

“It happened on multiple occasions, I take it. It happened while you were in that Checkmate guild.”

“...Yes.”

Ethan had to take a deep breath to calm himself as he sat there. He owed it to Scylla to stay calm and collected. It would be easier to help her that way. He had to hear everything before he made any more assumptions.

“Tell me everything. Start from the beginning.”

Brawly and Mary Care had made their way back to the warehouse after that. He had not actually had anything specific in mind when he had said that they needed her help. Mostly it was just because he understood that Ethan needed to be alone with Scylla. But they did indeed have something that she could hopefully help with.

Chii.

He really liked that little fluffball. Despite how much of an effort she made to dislike him. He could not blame her. No, he understood her perfectly. To her, he had been someone that had just abruptly shown up in her life and then he had turned it upside down. He was an unknown to her. So it was understandable that she did not particularly like him. But after what had happened between him and Ethan… well everything had gotten so much worse after that. He loved Ethan, he really did. But if Chii had just strongly disliked him before, then she probably really hated him now. At least, that was how it seemed.

Speaking of the relationship between him and Ethan that they were still working out. Mary had seemingly turned into a different kind of mare as they walked back to the warehouse. It was not just that she wanted him to tell her about everything that had happened. It seemed like she needed to know about everything.

However he had just taken it with a smile and a laugh. There had not been much for him to tell her. He and Ethan were still working things out. And he was looking forward to when the two of them would get some alone time together, because there there were still things that he was unsure about. He loved Ethan, he had realised that. But he was still new to something like that. So, there were things that they needed to work out.

But that was something that they would deal with later, so he had pushed it into the back of his mind like he usually did. They had other things to worry about.

After they had gotten back to the warehouse, Mary had gotten to helping Zoey in hope that they could get through to Chii. And while they did that, Brawly got started on making lunch for all the other inhabitants that they had. There were quite a few Pokémon that were living with them. Some of them were still recovering from various injuries, and some had just wanted to stay until they found someplace where they belonged.

“Is it done yet?” The Pansear next to him complained as it looked over his shoulder. When word had come out that lunch was being cooked, the Pokémon had flocked to him. Though he had received more than a bit of complaints when they had discovered who was making them food.

“Any minute now. Are you done with the carrots?” He asked the Pansear. He was no Ethan in the kitchen, but thankfully he was not as bad as Vernus was either. He was not sure if anyone was as bad as Vernus. But seeing as he was not the best of cooks, he had involved as many Pokémon as he could to help him and the kitchen was positively teeming with life as everymon helped with whatever they could.

“Yeah!” The Pansear beamed at him with a huge grin.

“Good stuff.” Food always tasted better when everyone had helped with making it.

It was not long after that before everymon had gotten a plate of food and was happily eating away. Well, almost all of them.

“How are things going?” Brawly asked Zoey and Mary as he carried two plates of food over to them. They had been going at it, but from the look on their faces, they had not made any more progress.

“Oh, hey Brawly.” Zoey gave him a tired smile. It looked like she was at the end of her ropes. “She… hasn't said anything more. She even stopped talking to me.” Zoey could have forced Chii out of her little hiding place, but that was an option that she did not want to rely on.

“It is sad to see her like this…” Mary let out a small sigh as she shook her head. She had not been able to help with much either. Chii had decided to shut herself completely out from the sound of things.

“Why don't the two of you take a break?” Brawly suggested. “Got some lunch here for ya as well.”

“...Perhaps you are right.” Zoey nodded as she stood up. “What’s on the menu today?”

“Fried vegetables. Nothing fancy, I'm afraid.” Brawly handed her one of the plates that he had been carrying and Mary accepted the other.

“No, it seems good. Thank you.” Both Mary and Zoey thanked him. “Are you going to join us?”

“Nah, I’m not really hungry.” Brawly shook his food. “Figured I might as well, watch over little miss grumpy here while you two take a break.” Zoey and Mary traded unsure glances before looking back to Brawly.

“Y-you really think that is the best choice?” Mary asked gently.

“She really does not like you, you know.” Zoey said, opting for the more direct approach. “Perhaps she just needs some time. And that we should just leave her alone.” In all honesty, she really did not know what to do. Ethan was the one that always dealt with situations like that. But since he was part of the problem, that was not really an option.

“I think that’s an understatement.” Brawly said with a small laugh. “We'll be fine. Take your well-deserved break.” He reassured Zoey and Mary who still did not look completely convinced as they walked away. Leaving Brawly there alone with Chii who was still buried deep within her hiding place.

Not that it was much of a hiding place. Chii had only taken a few blankets and thrown them into a pile before burying herself under them. But it still had the desired effect. She could not be seen from the outside unless she allowed it. But even buried deep within those blankets, Brawly was sure that she knew he was there. And that proved to be correct as it did not take too long for Chii to speak up.

“Go away…” Brawly had been sitting with his back against the wall when he had heard Chii's quiet voice. There was usually always a certain amount of hated in her voice each time she had spoken to him, but now that hatred was seemingly gone. Now she just sounded tired.

“I'll go away when you decide to drop that little foul mood of yours.” Egging her on was perhaps not the best way to handle the situation, but it had worked for him before. He knew that if Chii was mad at him then she would actually speak to him, hopefully. And then perhaps he could make her listen to what he had to say.

“It's your fault…” Her voice was louder, but it was still fairly quiet compared to how she normally was. “just go away.”

“And how exactly is this my fault?”

“It… it just is, okay?!” Chii shouted, making all the heads in the warehouse turn towards them. Brawly just smiled and waved over to them to show them that everything was okay before turning back to Chii. “None of this would have happened if you had never shown up.”

“What would not have happened?” Brawly asked. He knew that she had never really liked him, and that she was really against him and Ethan becoming a couple. But he wondered what else she put on him.

It took a little while before Chii spoke up again. And Brawly could hear small sobs coming from inside the blankets. She was really taking this hard.

“I-if you had not shown up. Then Zoey would be happy.” Chii sniffed and took a small pause before she continued. “She puts on a smile and pretends to be happy. And she is most of the time. But sometimes, when she looks at you and Ethan. She has to fake it. And that is your fault. It is your fault for taking Ethan.” Now that surprised Brawly. He knew that she blamed him for the fact that Zoey got rejected. But neither him nor Ethan had noticed that it was still affecting Zoey, not that it was too strange; it was not too long ago since it happened. But that Chii had noticed it, despite Zoey's efforts to hide it.

Perhaps they had all been too distracted to see that Zoey was still hurting.

“You aren't really being fair to Ethan, you know.” Brawly told Chii as he sat there besides her hiding place.

“...What?” He smiled to himself. It was understandable that Chii did not understand where he was getting at.

“Don't you want Ethan to be happy? Do you not think that he deserves that?” He really did not mind if Chii continued to dislike him. He wanted to make friends with her, he really did, but it was more important to fix the bond between Chii and Ethan first. He had no doubts that everything would work out in the end anyway. He really did not think that Chii could manage to stay mad at Ethan for too long. But perhaps he could help speed things along.

“O-of course I do!” Chii protested. “It's… it's just that.. B-but I…” Chii stammered. She was honestly at a loss for words. Of course she wanted Ethan to be happy. She just had not really thought about it in that way before.

“Then what is the problem?” Brawly asked. He had seen some movement through the blankets as Chii stirred.

“...” He had expected something like this. Chii was smart and very insightful when it came to a person's feelings. But, she was still a child at heart. A child that had gone through a lot, but a child nonetheless. “D-do you… Does being with you make him happy then?” Chii asked as she revealed herself, her head poking out of the blankets as she looked up at Brawly. The wet fur around her eyes, signs that she had been crying.

“I think it does.” Brawly answered. “And he makes me happy in return.”

“Oh…” Chii hung her head.

“Is that so bad?”

“Yes! No… I don't know.” Chii flopped down, her ears laying low against her head. “I don't know…” She repeated. She was confused on the subject, that much was obvious.

“Hey! Don’t beat yourself up over it.” Brawly said to her. If it were Ethan or Zoey, he had no doubt that they would pick her up and try to comfort her. But with how little she liked him, she was likely to bite his paw if he reached out, so he let that be. “Ethan still loves you. He loves all of your family. And that is not going to change, no matter what.” Chii nodded silently. “So don’t be so hard on Ethan. You don’t have to like me; I don’t expect you to straight away. But Ethan really cares about you, so at least talk to him when he comes back later. Okay?”

“O-okay…” Chii nodded once more before a more serious look appeared in her eyes. “B-but don't you ever hurt or make Ethan sad. If you do, then you will regret it.” Chii sneered at him. Though Brawly could not help but smile at her little threat. It only proved how much she cared for Ethan too.

“Don't worry, I'll play nice.” Brawly answered. “You want me to send Zoey back over here?” Brawly asked Chii who had turned away from him as she tried to look tough.

“...Yes.” She answered quietly.

Brawly smiled as he turned away from Chii. In the end, it had just been her own stubbornness that had kept her angry at Ethan. And with that out of the way, things would hopefully return to normal pretty soon. He still hoped that she would grow to like him eventually. But at least she tolerated him now, so that was something.

Ethan would still have to talk to her himself after he got back home though, whenever that was. He was sure that Chii would put up a small show to pretend that she was still mad at him. It seemed like something that she would do, and the thought of that made Brawly laugh.

He wondered how Ethan was doing down at the waterfall with Scylla. Hopefully he was making good progress too.

Ethan was indeed making progress with Scylla. They had talked about Scylla's past and how she became a part of Checkmate. It seemed that their leader, Weiss had taken Scylla in when she was still a Magikarp. She had not become a real member until after she had evolved, which made sense. There was not too much a Magikarp could do.

Scylla had not wanted to go too much into her past before she evolved, only giving Ethan the short notes. It had been after she evolved that her life had started to pick up. She had undergone a radical personality change, which was normal for a lot of Pokémon when they evolved. It was also after her evolution that she had started to rapidly climb within the ranks of Checkmate.

As for Checkmate itself, Ethan had very mixed feelings about it with how Scylla described it. They had basically been Scylla's family. They had been through good and bad together.

They also valued strength above all else. Not that strange considering that they were a mercenary group. And getting stronger is a good goal for Pokémon. Originally, there is nothing wrong with that. But that depends on the ways you use to reach that goal.

A Gyarados is known for its temper. It is quite the common knowledge, actually. It was here that Ethan believed that he had found what he believed to be the beginning of Scylla's problem.

Weiss had been the one who had taken her in, and was in turn a man who Scylla looked up to, whom she respected and in turn almost followed blindly. From what Scylla had told Ethan, Weiss had seen potential in Scylla's anger. She was stronger when she let go of her senses and simply let her rage run loose. So that had been exactly what they had encouraged her to do. So the fact that Ethan was not pleased with Weiss at that moment would be an understatement. But what surprised him the most was the fact that Scylla knew.

“So you mean that you were aware of this?” Ethan asked.

“Yes, I already told you so.” Scylla huffed. She had stayed remarkably calm for most of the time, only having a few outbreaks every now and again. It was easy to see how hard she was trying. She visibly struggled to get the words out at times. “It was different back then…”

“What do you mean?” Ethan said, urging Scylla to continue. The way that she had talked and behaved since they had started talking reminded Ethan a lot of a few similar cases he had dealt with. Of course it had been different since he rarely had been able to talk so directly with his patients.

“At first, something like that would only happen if… if Weiss or someone else told me too.” Scylla admitted. “Maybe a battle was going badly, or we just needed to finish things quickly. So I would go into a rage and do what I did best… wreck havoc to my enemies.” She grinned to herself for a moment before the solemn look returned.

“You did it willingly.” Ethan held a paw to his face and let out a long breath.

“At first, yes. I had control… to a certain degree and I did not see the harm in it.”

“But you do now?” Ethan asked her. This was one of the most crucial points.

“I… I think so.” Scylla slowly confessed. “I don't know…” She hung her head. “Weiss always told me that it was a good thing. How effective I became when I let my anger take over.” It had not been exactly what Ethan had hoped for but it was a start. It was something that he could work with.

“So what changed?”

“... This is stupid, I should never have agreed to this in the first place.” Scylla said before she started to slowly slide into the water.

“What? No, we were making such good progress, Scylla!” Ethan quickly ushered as he stood up. He needed her to continue, if she went into denial he was not sure if he would ever get another chance like the one they currently had. It had been so hard to get through to her, he would not just let that go. He needed to help her. “Remember, all of this stays between the two of us. You are my patient, and such you have patient confidentiality. Whatever you say is safe with me, I promise.” Ethan held still as he watched Scylla mull over his words. A mixture of different emotions showed on her face. She was way out of her comfort zone. She had grown up believing that strength was everything, and here she was, admitting that she may have a problem, willingly showing weakness. It went against everything that she stood for. There was no wonder that she was unsure, that she was afraid.

“You promise?” She asked in a low voice as she had halted her retreat into the water. And Ethan let out a breath of relief.

“I promise.”

“You better!” She growled as she slithered back up onto the banks. “Because if you tell a soul, I will end you!” She was putting on a show to hide her weakness, he had seen it before many a time. Ethan was not sure if her threat was true or not. But it did not matter. He would not say anything, she was his patient after all. He had talked about her before, but never had he gone into details.

“That is fine with me.” Ethan answered and kept his smile as Scylla growled at him, waiting for her to calm down. “So how about we continue. What changed?” He asked as he sat back down and waited for Scylla to continue.

“At first, nothing changed… But it became harder and harder to hold myself back over time. Doc did not like it, she said that it had gone too far. She talked to Weiss, and they tried to help me. To get my anger back under control. But I did not want that. I refused their help. Back then I thought that it was a good thing that my rage was growing stronger, because I was growing stronger with it.” Scylla looked off into the distance with a small smile. “I was useful…” Ethan was still not pleased with Weiss, but perhaps he understood him a bit better now. If whatever they had tried had not worked, then perhaps Weiss thought that the best thing to do, would be to help her guide her anger since they could not help her control it. Perhaps they should have tried harder, he could not say, but in the end, he worked with the cards that he had been dealt. And that was something that Ethan could understand.

“So you had no idea that it was a bad thing? You weren't worried about the fact that you could not control it?” Ethan asked her, and Scylla shook her head.

“No… maybe, but I did not care, and no matter what, when the mission was over, my rage always ended.” Ethan hummed to himself as he thought. It seemed that Scylla was not aware of the fact that those words had brought her out of her rage. It was just a subconscious response on her part. If the mission or job is finished, then there would be no reason for her to stay angry. The mission always came first. “But…”

“But?”

“There was this one time…” Scylla started. “I don't know what happened, but… I know that something went wrong.” She had grown even more uncomfortable as she had started to speak about that incident. No, unsure was the wrong word, it was more like she was… ashamed. “I was fighting an Exploud. Of course I was stronger, but it was an annoying fight. I remember my ears hurt from all its constant yelling. I know that I beat it. That much was obvious. But when I came to my senses… I was being held down against the ground by my teammates. Shredder was shouting at me, though I could not hear what she was saying. All of them looked like they had been through some very tough battles themselves…”

And now Ethan understood why she looked so ashamed when she had started talking about that incident. It was obvious what had happened, and he was sure that Scylla had known too, at least to some degree.

“Weiss told me not to worry. He told me that nothing was wrong…” Scylla tensed up in anger. “But I am not stupid! Something was wrong, of course I knew that!” She roared, the water behind her rippling from the force of her voice. “But he told me not to worry about it… so I didn't.” And just like that, Scylla's anger dissipated.

“And what did you do after that?” Ethan asked. He did not think that it was strange that she ignored that little event. The person she trusted the most had told her not to worry about it so that was what she had done.

“I did what I always did. I pursued strength. I had to become stronger, I needed to.” And just like that they were back to her intense need for strength.

“So… how do you feel?” Ethan inquired. “After sharing all of that. Do you feel any different?”

“I feel weak…” Scylla admitted after she had mulled over the question for a bit. “And strange. Is that normal?”

“Whatever you are feeling is up to you. But you are not weak for admitting this. You are strong. Though it is a different strength than you are used to.” It did not look like Scylla believed him, but she did not protest either. “I will help you get through this. To overcome this rage of yours if that is what you want.”

Scylla had admitted that she had made a mistake, but she had never actually asked for his help directly. He figured that she was way too prideful for that. That was why he had chosen his words in such a manner.

Scylla did not answer him. At least not straight away. But he did see her nod weakly as she averted her eyes from him.

“I don't mind the rage… I like my anger.” She finally said. “But I want to control it. Not let it control me anymore.”

“Don't worry.” Ethan reassured her with a gentle smile. “I will help you reach that goal.” It was their first step. It was Scylla's first step towards bettering herself. Towards recovery. “We have gone over much. But there is one more question that I would like to ask, if you don't mind?” Ethan asked.

“...What is it?”

“Why did you desire strength so strongly? To that degree, I mean. From what you told me, you were willing to do anything as long as it meant that you would grow stronger. Why?” It had been something that had made Ethan curious from the moment he had gotten to know Scylla. It was an important part of her past.

“You would not understand.” Scylla grumbled as she looked up at Ethan. “You could never understand.”

“What would I not understand? Please, explain it to me.” Ethan urged her. He wanted to understand her. He wanted to help her. And perhaps, understanding her would make it easier for him to help her. At least that was what he hoped.

“Being helpless and weak. Do you know what that's like!?” She roared at him. “Being something that everymon preyed upon. Begging that you were one of those few that had luck on your side and survived until you evolved? No… of course you would not.” She spat at him. “I was weak… I was beyond weak, I was trash. So I worked hard to get stronger. Every day, I worked hard. Trained until I could barely move. I think that is why Weiss picked me up. He saw potential in me, he saw my strong will. And so I promised myself that I would never be weak again. Never.” Scylla was breathing heavily once she had finished. The muscles along her long body, bulging as she tensed them. “You could never know what that is like… now leave. I want to be alone.” And with that, she turned and dived into the water before Ethan could say another word.

It seemed that their session was over for that day.

“So how did things go with Scylla?” It was not until much later that evening that Brawly and Ethan had a chance to just sit down and talk. Both of them had been busy with their own.

“It went really well, actually. We made some good progress.” Ethan answered. Choosing not to mention the bad note they had ended the session on. “Thank you for talking to Chii. I don't know how, but it seems that you really got through to her.” He smiled.

After he had gotten back home, Brawly had already left and so Zoey had told him about how he had talked with Chii. When he went to try to talk with her himself she made it difficult for him at first, she played tough and hard to get. But she caved quickly and soon Ethan found himself with a small Skitty nuzzling in his arms, nuzzling against him.

“She was just being stubborn, man.” Brawly shook his head. The two of them were sitting on a small hill overlooking the village. The moon was shining its light down on them as they were enjoying the silence around them. They had gone out there because they wanted to be alone for a while. “Did you talk to her about Jenny?”

“Yeah.” Ethan nodded. “She really took that hard… we all did. I hope she is okay.”

“Let's just let the police do their job, alright? I’m sure that something will come up, dude.” Brawly told Ethan as he put a paw on his shoulder, which Ethan gladly leaned into. “Besides, she is a tough lady. You of all should know that.” Brawly laughed.

“Don’t remind me.” Ethan groaned. Remembering all the time that particular Jenny had been after him. She had been persistent, he had to give her that, at least. “But yeah, she knows how to take care of herself.”

And so silence came once again. Both Ethan and Brawly knew that they needed to talk about their relationship, but for the moment, they just enjoyed the silence and the company of one another. Ethan was resting his head against Brawly's shoulder who was in turn holding an arm around Ethan.

“Soo…” Ethan awkwardly started as Brawly looked down at him.

“So what?”

“So are we going to talk about… you know.” Ethan gestured between himself and Brawly. “About this, about us.” It had been the reason they had gone out. So that they could have some privacy while they worked things out. They hadn't really had that much time to themselves after everything that had happened at the mine.

“Sure, man. Where do you want to start?”

“I… I'm not really sure” Ethan sighed. “I guess I'm still in shock over the fact that you said yes. That you were willing to give this a chance. Thank you.” Ethan leaned up and nuzzled against Brawly. The action was foreign to him, but felt right in his new body.

“You can believe it. Cause I'm not planning on going anywhere.” Brawly reassured Ethan.

“I know, I know. And I couldn't be happier for it.” He thought back to that very moment when Brawly had silenced him by going in for the kiss and had to suppress a happy giggle because of it. “But where do we stand now then?” Ethan asked. “I mean, what should we do now?”

“You ask me like you think I got the answers.” Brawly laughed and shook his head. “Besides, don't you have more experience with relationships than I do?” Now that almost made Ethan do a double take.

“W-what?” Ethan blinked as he sat up and looked straight at Brawly. “I have more experience? What about you and all of your…um…”

“Fans?” Brawly asked, making Ethan blush and nod silently. “Sure, I have some experience of my own. But in relationships? Nah, man. Never let things get that far.”

“R-really? But I thought… I… never mind.”

“What about you and that… what was his name.” Brawly mumbled as he reached up and scratched his chin. “Oh yeah, Mark!” Now if Ethan had not been embarrassed before he surely was now.

“T-that was nothing, I....” His voice grew gradually more quiet until he was just mumbling to himself, making Brawly lean in just to try to hear what he was talking about.

“Im sorry, what was that?”

“...” Ethan repeated, just raising his voice slightly.

“One more time.” Brawly said and this time Ethan leaned in and whispered something. There was no one around, but he was just too embarrassed to say it out loud. “So you were dating him, hoping that I would get jealous?” Ethan nodded weakly as his face was bright red in embarrassment. He felt like he could just sink into the ground and disappear. “Well, I guess that explains why you were always acting kind of funny around that time.” Brawly let out a loud and healthy laugh.

“Come on! It’s not funny!” Ethan shouted as he turned back to Brawly who were apparently having the time of his life.

“It kind of is, dude.” Brawly grinned while Ethan were glaring at him.

“Fuck you!” Ethan huffed in irritation. But Brawly's grin only seemed to widen.

“Nah, man. That comes later.” And just like that, Ethan's face was as red as the stripes on Zoey's body.

“You are unbelievable!” Ethan complained, throwing his arms into the air.

“Oh, come on now.” Brawly reached out Ethan, putting his paw under Ethan's chin and making him head so that he looked towards him. “You know you love it.” He grinned before he leaned in and gave Ethan a short kiss. “Still mad?” An amused Brawly asked as he leaned away, seeing the content look on Ethan's face.

“...No.” Ethan sighed happily. It was impossible to stay mad at Brawly in any case. Especially when he did things like that.

“You are a silly Lopunny, but you are my silly Lopunny.” Brawly teased.

“Heh, I guess I am.” Ethan just shook his head and laughed. He did not know why he had expected Brawly to be any different after what had happened. No, he was still the same goofball that he had always known and loved. And he would not have it any other way. “What now?” Ethan asked. “You said that you were willing to give this a chance. So what now?”

“Why do we need to do something right now? Why don't we just let things happen naturally? There is no need to rush anything or take things too slow. We just do what we feel like and what seems appropriate.” Ethan just listened quietly as Brawly talked with wisdom in his words. “You know, as I like to say. Just go with the flow.” And just like that, the wisdom was gone.

“Just go with the flow, eh?” Ethan looked up into Brawly's eyes, seeing the love and passion in his eyes. “I think I can live with that.” Ethan agreed. “I love you.” Those words came much easier now than they had before. And just saying them filled Ethan with an extraordinary joyful and warm feeling.

“Love you too, dude.”

“...You know, saying ‘dude’ right there, really does not fit.” Ethan complained with a deadpan look. He knew that Brawly was honest with his words, but he always had a knack for getting under his skin. Even if he did not mean to do so on purpose.

“Oh don't ruin the mood. C'mere you silly Lopunny, you.” Brawl just smiled before he pulled Ethan up and the two of them locked lips.

Unlike the quick one that Brawly had surprised Ethan with before, this one was filled with passion from both sides. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as they simply focused on one another. Brawly holding Ethan in his strong arms, the world around them a blur.

Ethan could feel his heart beating faster than ever before. A soft tingle spread throughout his body, it positively felt as if he was melting in Brawly's grasp. The long mustache that Brawly had gotten when he was turned into a Mienshao tickled a bit, but he ignored that feeling. He would not let something like that ruin their moment.

Ethan had no idea how long they stayed like that. The wind who softly blew past them, the moonlight that shone down upon them. It was simply perfect.

So engrossed with each other was the two, that neither of them heard or sensed that they were no longer along until a voice spoke up.

“Oh, wow um… Don't mind me. I really did not mean to intrude.” Ethan opened his eyes as he heard the new voice and reluctantly pulled away from Brawly who were now looking towards the newcomer. “By all means, just continue. I was just passing through." Ethan looked up towards where the voice had come from. However, there had been something familiar to that voice, and the moment he laid his eyes on its owner, he knew exactly who it belonged too.

“V-Vernus?” A shocked and surprised Ethan stuttered. He was kind of in a embarrassing position after all. He was laying with his back against the ground, now propping himself up with his elbows so that he could easier turn his head. Brawly was leaned over him, just inches from his face as both of them were now staring at the familiar Leafeon who looked like a Deerling that had been caught in the headlights.

“How do you know my name? Wait… that voice… Ethan!?” Vernus had overcome his initial shock and was looking between Ethan and Brawly with a sceptical look. “Really?”

“W-what?” Ethan asked. Their positioning has become more than a little embarrassing so Brawly had moved off and had sat down next to Ethan who were getting up himself.

“I mean, really?” Vernus repeated as he pointed towards Brawly. “Was your resolve that weak? What happened to the Ethan who was wholeheartedly in love with his best friend. Did those feelings not mean anything to you?” Ethan wanted to speak up, but Vernus was just talking too fast for him to get a word in. “No, just a week and a half and you have already found yourself somemon else. I mean, really Ethan. I expected better from you.” Vernus huffed with an annoyed look on his face. While Brawly just sat there with the biggest grin on his face.

“Sup, Vernus.” Brawly gave the Leafeon a short wave with his paw and Vernus returned the gesture.

“Yo, Brawly.” Vernus responded without missing a beat, still looking at Ethan. “So many years man. So much pain and grief, is that really so easy to overcome? Are you tha-” And then, in the middle of his little rant, Vernus stopped.

He stared blankly straight ahead as his mind worked to process this new information. Slowly he looked between Brawly and Ethan once more, both who had amused smiles on their faces.

“I… is he?” Vernus pointed to Brawly.

“Yeah, it is me, dude.” Brawly grinned.

“And you are Ethan?” He moved his paw so it pointed back at Ethan who just nodded.

“In the flesh.”

Vernus slowly sat down, brought his paw up to his chin and closed his eyes. It looked like he was doing some deep thinking. He sat like that for a few seconds, and Ethan was just about to ask if he was okay when his eyes opened.

“I have several questions.”

Chapter 28

“Uncle Vernus!” Chii positively rocketed towards the Leafeon. After Ethan and Brawly had met Vernus and the Growlithe that was traveling with him last night, they had taken them back to their home. By the time that they arrived, it was fairly late and everyone was already asleep, so the reunion had to be postponed until the morning. So when Chii had woken up and saw the Leafeon that she had missed oh-so-much, she launched herself at his sleeping form with a Quick Attack. Needless to say, it was a rude and sudden awakening for Vernus.

The commotion and noise that followed was more than enough to wake up the rest of the inhabitants in the building, or at least most of them. And all heads turned to see a Leafeon who was gasping for air and Chii who was happily nuzzling against him.

“You're back! You're back! You're back!” Chii repeated ecstatically. Vernus had been the one she had grown the closest to quickest after she had started living with Ethan. So she was so happy; she was beaming since he was finally back.

“Y-yeah, I'm finally back.” Vernus said with a wheeze. Chii had not pulled any punch, no, she had rammed into his stomach with full force; she may be small, but she was by no means a pushover. “So, how is my little girl doing?” Vernus smiled, using his paw to rub the fur on top of Chii's head.

“Great!” Chii exclaimed. “Now almost all of us are back together again.” Sax was the only part of their family that was still missing. But according to Zoey, he knew where they were and had chosen to travel on his own for a while. “Zoey! Come look!” Chii yelled to the Zoey who was still in the process of waking up. She had heard the commotion too, but she had just put it as Chii's usual antics and had tried to ignore it.

“What is it Chii?” Zoey yawned and stretched as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes. She looked over to where Chii was. Around her some of the other Pokémon that lived there had also gathered around something, but she could not see exactly what from where she sat.

“It’s Vernus!” Chii yelled once more. “He is back!” And this time, Zoey heard her clearly and quickly got up. Once she got closer, she saw the Leafeon in question who was currently being bombarded with questions from Chii and the Pokémon that were surrounding him. Not that he minded answering them.

“Heh, hello there, Zoey. It's been a while.” Vernus looked up at Zoey and blushed slightly as he remembered his last talk with Ethan before they got sent to Equus. Zoey just stood there for a moment, staring at her friend before a smile slowly started growing on her face.

“It has not been that long. But it is good to see you again.” Zoey smiled kindly before she walked over to where Vernus laid. “And you are still as popular as ever.” She joked, nodding at all the other Pokémon who were still gathered around him.

“They are curious, can’t blame them.” Vernus smiled. “Sorry everymon, but could you give us some space? I’m not going anywhere, so I’ll be sure to get to know each and every one of you later. But for now, I want to catch up with my family.” Many of the Pokémon voiced their disappointment, but complied with his request in the end. It was only natural that they were curious about the new Leafeon who knew not only Chii, but Zoey, Ethan, and Brawly as well.

“Yeah, we can all play later!” Chii voiced her enthusiasm from where she stood.

“You are sticking around as well?” Vernus teased Chii, poking her softly with his tail, making her laugh.

“Yeah, about that. Chii is now a permanent addition to our little group.” Zoey informed Vernus.

“Oh, really? So you are part of our family now as well?” Vernus asked as he lifted Chii up, placing her on his back.

“Yeah!” Chii cheered.

“That’s great!” Vernus matched her enthusiasm with a cheer of his own, making Zoey laugh. Vernus always had that effect. Others always were quick to take a liking to him because of his high and infectious spirit.

“It really is nice to see you again.” Zoey repeated. “Does Ethan know that you are here?” She asked curiously.

“Yeah, I met him and Brawly last night actually.” Vernus looked over to where Brawly and Ethan were still sleeping. They did not have any sort of walls in their home, except for the bathroom, so privacy was practically nonexistent. But it seemed that Ethan had snuck closer to Brawly sometime during the night and had ended up with his head resting against Brawly's chest, using it as a pillow. Brawly on the other hand, had gotten a face full of fluff as Ethan's ears covered his face. It was a really amusing and cute sight to behold. “That was certainly a surprise. It seems that I have missed a lot in my absence.” Vernus laughed and shook his head.

“Yeah…” Zoey sighed out. She was happy for Ethan, she truly was, but that still did not quell her heartache.

“... You did not know, did you?” Vernus asked. He had his suspicions, but he had never asked Zoey about it.

“No, no I did not. He told me but…” Zoey sighed as she thought back to that night.

“Ethan made Zoey sad.” Chii chipped in. “Stupid Brawly.” She huffed, still having mixed feelings about the whole thing after Brawly and Ethan had talked to her about it the day before.

“What? What happened?” A concerned Vernus asked.

And so, Zoey told Vernus about everything that had happened that night. About her finally working up the courage to admit her feelings to Ethan, and about her being rejected just before she found out about Ethan's sexuality. Even worse, he had not been the one to tell her himself either. That was part of what had hurt the most. She had remained strong for a while, but now the dam that she had build, finally broke.

She had talked to Ethan a little about it before, but never like she did then. She could never truly admit how hard it had struck her to Ethan, she could not let herself put a damper on his happiness like that. When she was talking with Vernus then and there, she let all her emotions flow freely and it was not long before both Vernus and Chii were hugging Zoey, comforting her.

“I’m sorry that I couldn't come before.” Vernus told her as Zoey sniffed, having her arms wrapped around Vernus. She kept glancing over to where Ethan and Brawly were lying, making sure that they had not woken up. She did not want either of them to see her like that.

“I… I just can't understand him at times. He is so smart, so good at reading people and Pokémon, figuring out what goes on inside their heads. But…” She took a deep breath to try to calm herself a little before she continued. “But at other times. It is like he is completely oblivious to everything around him.”

“Please don't cry…” Chii cooed softly as she continued to nuzzle Zoey. It hurt her to see her family like that.

“He does not mean anything bad with it.” Vernus told her. “But he can be like that at times. He does not consider the consequences, and he can easily become blind to the things around him.” Vernus was the one among them that had known Ethan the longest. He knew that his friend was good at what he did, brilliant even. But he had a tendency to overlook simple things, especially among the people and Pokémon that he cared about. “I am sorry, I wanted to tell you about him sooner. But I did not think that it was my place to tell.” Zoey nodded softly.

“Are you okay?” Chii asked carefully as she looked up to Zoey. “I can hit Ethan or Brawly in the face again if you want!” That however, made Zoey burst out in a short laugh.

“N-no, I don't think that will be necessary, Chii.” Zoey giggled. “But yeah, I am going to be alright. Thank you, both of you. I needed that.” She pulled both Chii and Vernus into an extra tight hug.

“It’s what family is for, is it not?” Vernus just smiled and Chii agreed.

“Yeah!”

“I love you guys.” Zoey had to hold back her tears once more. She was not usually that emotional, but it really felt good for her to let everything go. The three of them had gathered quite an audience during the time they had talked. The Pokémon that lived there watching from a distance. Many of them had grown rather close to Zoey during the time they had lived there, and so they were worried about her too. But at the same time, they had respected the fact that Zoey wanted to spend some time with her old friends to catch up.

“Looks like there are some more that are worried about you.” Vernus pointed out after a little while, looking off to the small gathering of Pokémon who were looking at them. “Why don’t you go just relax for a moment, and in the meantime I'll fix some breakfast for everyone.” Zoey had liked the idea at the start, but had grimaced the moment Vernus had suggested that he would make food.

“Um… are you sure that is a good idea?” Zoey asked. She knew that he only wanted to help, but…

“Oh, come on. It will be fine!” Vernus reassured her. “Chii will even help me out. So it will be alright.” Chii nodded eagerly.

“Oh, fine. How can I say no to the two of you.” Zoey shook her head in defeat. “But-” She was about to say something more, but was cut off as Vernus and Chii had started pushing her over to the others.

“No buts. You just sit back while we take care of everything.” Vernus told her, and she had to agree. Not taking care of everything that morning sounded good.

So Vernus and Chii left Zoey there as she got slowly surrounded. They had breakfast to take care off.

“So, you ready to do some cooking?” Vernus asked Chii who was riding on top of his head, holding onto the leaf that was growing there.

“Yeah!” She cheered again. “What are we making?” She asked once they arrived at the kitchen, Vernus looking over what they had to work with.

“Whatever we feel like!” Vernus grinned before the two of them got to work.

A… unique smell filled the air as Ethan slowly woke up. He slowly opened his eyes and yawned. It had seemed that he had slept in later than he used to, or at least that's what he thought. He did not feel nearly as tired as he used to in the mornings. In fact, he could not think of the last time he had felt that good.

One of the first things that he noticed was that something was wrapped over his shoulder and that his pillow was breathing. He had gone to sleep next to Brawly, he knew that much, but he never remembered having snuggled that close to him during the night. Not that he minded.

Ethan reached up and pulled one of his giant ears away so that it was no longer covering Brawly's face. Seeing the sleeping face of his friend… no, his boyfriend, made Ethan smile. He still had to get used to calling Brawly that though. It still seemed so surreal to him.

He heard some commotion behind him, but he ignored that long with the strange smell as he just continued to lay there. His head resting on Brawly's chest. In truth, if they could continue to lay like that, then he never wanted to get up. But it was not long before Brawly too awoke. He took his arm off Ethan and reached up to rub the sleep out of his eyes before he looked down at the Lopunny who was using him as a pillow.

“Morning.” Brawly greeted Ethan who smiled right back at him. “Sleep well?”

“Most certainly did. This is something I could get used to.” Ethan positively purred.

“I have to admit, you do make for a rather comfy blanket, man.” It also seemed that Brawly had noticed the strange smell that was filling the air. “Dude… what is that?”

“Breakfast is ready!” Vernus called out, making a shiver go through Ethan's body. Memories of horrors so gruesome that they should never be mentioned, flashed through his mind. Someone had let Vernus into the kitchen, Arceus help them all.

“Dude, what’s wrong?” Brawly asked, he had noticed the look on Ethan's face and wondered what it was about.

“You really don't remember?” Ethan answered after he had shook his head and rid himself of those memories. “Last time you ate his cooking you were sick for three days.” Realization lit up on Brawly's face as he remembered that incident.

“He has to have gotten better. That was years ago!” However, before Ethan could say anything against that, they were interrupted.

“Good morning, love birds~” Vernus positively sang as he skipped over to the area where Ethan and Brawly was, two plates of food on his back while Chii rode on his head. “Ready for some food?” The two lovers both felt a sense of dread as the Leafeon now stood before them. They had no place to run anymore.

“Um… no offence, Vernus. But you don't have the best history with your kitchen creations.” Vernus tipped his head at Ethan's words seemingly thinking to himself before nodding.

“That… might be true. But it is different this time.” He insisted. “And I did not do it alone this time either.”

“Yeah, I helped!” Chii exclaimed in a loud voice.

Hearing those words made some of Ethan's unease melt away. He was unsure if Chii knew how to cook, he had never seen her make anything before. But it was impossible for anyone to be worse than Vernus. He had a special gift for making… he was not even sure if those things could be called food at times. Organic weapons was more like it.

But he had not heard any sounds of anyone throwing up yet either. Nor any cries of anguish or the like. And it seemed that all the other Pokémon had already gotten their food. Perhaps it would not be so bad this time.

“Sure, I'm ready for some food.” Vernus and Chii both beamed at that. It was obvious that they had put a lot of effort into whatever it was they had made. Both of them had stains of different kinds all over their fur. They mad made a mess, but it could have been worse.

“Superb!” Vernus craned his head back and lifted the plates off his back, handing one to both Ethan and Brawly. “There you have it. An orange and melted cheese sandwich.” And there Ethan felt some of that uncertainty begin to creep back into him. “Enjoy!”

As Vernus walked away, it was nearly impossible to miss the grin Chii had on her face as she looked back at Brawly. She was even rubbing her paws together as she laughed. Yeah, she was definitely plotting something.

“I think there is a chance that Chii might have done something with your food.” Ethan shook his head. “She is still mad at you. But at least she had agreed to make an effort.”

“She just needs time man. Besides, it can't be all that bad. Most of her tricks and pranks so far has been harmless. I say, we dig in!” Brawly said before taking hold of his plate and leaning back against the wall.

“I guess, since he did not make it alone. But don't say that I did not warn you.” Ethan took his own plate before sitting down next to Brawly. He looked down at the sandwich that Vernus and Chii had made. It looked… strange at first glance. Not bad in any kind of way, just… strange. But as he looked around the room, the others appeared to be enjoying their morning meal. So he brought the sandwich up to his mouth and closed his eyes, steeling himself for what was to come before he bit into it.

It was… decent. Calling it good would be wrong, orange and melted cheese does not mix that well. But other than the strange texture that it had, Ethan could not find any other faults with it. It was not burnt, nor did he feel anything crawling inside the sandwich or a sudden urge to vomit. It seemed that Chii had indeed managed to get Vernus's cooking down to a level where it could actually be considered to be food.

During the time when the two of them sat there and ate their breakfast, Chii had been staring intently the entire time. It was too obvious that she had done something. But Brawly had almost finished his meal and had not had any reaction yet, so that made Ethan curious.

“So, did you notice anything strange?” Ethan asked after he had finished his own meal.

“Depends on what you mean with strange. But I don't think that yours was as spicy as mine. I can still feel my mouth burning. Thankfully I like spicy food.” Brawly flashed him a grin, if he was in any sort of uncomfort, he was hiding it well. Though Ethan could feel the spiciness from the smell on his breath. “That was delicious.” He said, deliberately raising his voice so that Chii would overhear it. And just after those words had left his mouth Chii cried out in frustration. Ethan could faintly overhear her muttering something about “her next plan” as she went over to her little corner to sulk and plan out her next move.

“Mischievous little thing.” Ethan laughed while shaking his head. “The Skitty I took in a while back would never have dared to pull something like that… It's good to see how far she has come.” It filled him with joy that Chii had recovered as well as she had. She still had some demons to deal with. But she could not be compared to the Skitty he had found back then. Now she looked happy, joyful. She was enjoying life once more.

“Well, you are good at what you do.” Ethan blushed as Brawly complimented him.

“...Thanks.” Ethan smiled. He had always been happy about his work and what he did. It was moments like these that made him proud beyond anything else. Not of himself, but that the Pokémon that he had been helping had the strength to pull through. “I think I'm going to grab a shower.” He mentioned as he stood up and stretched, the bones in his back cracking nicely. “Want to join me?” He asked with a mischievous look in his eye.

“As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll go for a run instead.” Brawly stood up and stretched as well. “Our bathroom is not that big, and you usually spend a good two hours in there.”

“Hey, this takes work you know!” Ethan motioned to his whole body as he protested. “Especially these two.” He stroked his ears. He had learnt to love them, but they took an insane amount of work to get just perfect. “I’m not like you, I can't just do this-” he reached out and ruffled Brawly's hair, watching with annoyance as it laid back down into a perfect position. “And have it turn out perfect like that…” Ethan huffed. It irked him slightly how Brawly never seems to put any significant effort into his fur, but despite that he always looked good.

“It’s just the way it is dude, besides, I can pull off a rough look like this, you can't.” As much as that irked Ethan he knew that he was right. It was just the way it was. “But don't worry, your effort definitely shows.” Brawly booped Ethan on the nose as he said it, making him blush slightly. “I may be handsome, but you are definitely the cuter of us. So get your ass in there and do your thing.” Brawly said, giving Ethan a playful slap below his tail, which made him yelp in surprise. “See ya later!” He called back as he disappeared out the door before Ethan could retaliate for his playful little slap. Though he had no doubt that he was going to do that later anyway.

“See ya later indeed.” Ethan just chuckled as he slowly walked towards the bathroom, passing Zoey who were playing with a few of the Pokémon they had living there, and Vernus who was apparently talking and catching up with Chii. “Hey there, you two. Vernus, have you brought some food for our guest yet?” Ethan asked, motioning to the backdoor with a nod.

“No, not yet.” Vernus admitted, he had been so caught up with catching up with his family that it had slipped his mind.

“What? What guest?” Chii asked, looking between Ethan and Vernus. She had not heard anything about a guest.

“Jenny's Growlithe.” Ethan answered before picking up Chii. “Now come on, you. You really need a shower.” However, Chii was not as inclined to join Ethan this time as she had been the last time.

“No! I want to meet the Growlithe!” She protested, struggling in Ethan's arms.

“You are filthy, you are not meeting anyone like this.” He had felt the stickiness on her after he had picked her up. Stains from orange juice being splattered on her along with other things filled her fur. She and Vernus had really made a mess. “Don’t worry, you will be meeting him afterwards. Now, let’s get you cleaned up!”

Vernus had done as Ethan had suggested after he and Chii had disappeared into the bathroom. Bringing a plate with a sandwich out to the Growlithe. They had plenty after all, he and Chii had gotten a little enthusiastic and had as a result made a bit too many.

The Growlithe was already awake when Vernus came out to him, and he finished his meal quickly.

“So, have you calmed down enough to come inside now?” Vernus asked as he sat down beside his former traveling companion.

“I think so… I apologize for last night. It was unbecoming of me.” Growlithe apologized. They had invited him in last night to sleep with the rest of them, but he had declined, opting for sleeping outside instead.

“Come on then, let me introduce you to the rest!” Vernus beamed before the two of them walked back inside.

“Her scent… it's all over the place.” He commented as he followed after Vernus. To think that they had come all that way, and he had been too late…

“Hey Zoey, got someone for you to meet!” If Vernus heard the previous comment, then he had chosen to ignore it instead. “This guy is the reason that I was able to find you guys.” Vernus practically showed the Growlithe ahead of him.

“Pleased to meet you.” The Growlithe nodded at Zoey who were looking intently at the newcomer.

“Um… hello… Why was he sleeping outside?” Vernus had expected that question, and he also knew that Zoey had quite the temper so he was not quite sure how to answer her…

“Well… you see…” He had really hoped that Ethan would have been the one to explain last night events to her.

“I suggested it.” The Growlithe said as he sat down in front of Zoey. “I thought that I would need some time to calm down after I attacked Ethan.” And there it was.

“You did what?!” Vernus immediately hopped in front of the Growlithe as anger was present in Zoey's eyes. He knew just how protective she could be, it was something that he admired in her.

“Zoey!” Vernus stared Zoey down. She always held back a little extra whenever Ethan was around, it was not something that she did consciously but it meant that she got emotional easier when he was not around to see her. “It’s alright, chill. Nothing happened. It was just a misunderstanding and we took care of it.” Vernus reassured Zoey.

“I lost my mind for a few moments after… after I found out about Jenny.” The Growlithe admitted. He and Jenny had been hunting Ethan for so long, so when he had finally thought that he had found her again, but instead heard from the person they had been hunting for so long that she was missing. Well, his mind immediately went to the assumption that Ethan had been the one that had done something to her. “Vernus here and Brawly both stopped me, but I apologize.” Zoey's features softened slightly after having heard that and Vernus visibly relaxed.

“So, you are Jenny's Growlithe?” The fire Pokémon nodded at Zoey's question.

“I was her partner, yeah.”

“Then you were also the one that tried to arrest Ethan, correct?” Vernus groaned as the conversation veered off-course with Zoey's help. “Why should we trust you to leave him alone!?” This time, it was Vernus who cut in.

“Because I trust him.” Vernus told Zoey with a straight face. “I have been traveling with him since we woke up in this world. Turns out that he is a pretty alright dude!”

Zoey was still a little unsure about the newcomer. They had already gone through a lot of problems with Jenny before things straightened out. Before everything settled down, she did not want them to have any of those problems again. The main reason she was so vary around him, was because he was Jenny's partner, he probably also knew about Ethan's past.

“Do you promise to not try to arrest Ethan?” She asked, she had to be sure, even if Vernus trusted him.

“Yes, I do.” The Growlithe nodded. “But to think that Jenny would settle down here with the same person she had been trying to catch for so long… I wonder what happened.”

“Did they not tell you anything last night?” Zoey asked.

“Well… it was already pretty late when we met up last night and Ethan and Brawly had been… preoccupied.” Vernus covered his mouth and coughed as he remembered that scene when he had first come across the two of them. “So we just got the short version.”

“Better sit down then, because there is quite a lot to tell…” And so Zoey began to fill both of them in on the events involving Jenny. She told them about the difficulties they had when trying to convince Jenny and the events that led up to her finally accepting Ethan and joining their little group. There was certain things that she left out of her little story though. She did not suspect that the Growlithe would have been particularly happy to find out that she had threatened Jenny on multiple occasions. Yeah, perhaps it would be for the better if she kept that to herself.

“Hard to think that those two managed to see eye-to-eye.” The Growlithe commented. He knew how strongly Jenny felt about justice, so he wondered exactly what it had been that had convinced her to see Ethan in a different light. He wanted to hear her reasons from her, but that was not going to happen for a while it seemed.

“I don't know, Ethan has a way with people.” Vernus retorted. Having been with Ethan as long as he had, he had seen on multiple occasions how convincing Ethan could be.

“I have what now?” The three of them were interrupted as Ethan came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and a fluffy Chii at his feet.

“Nothing, we were just taking about Jenny.” Vernus told him.

“Are you Jenny's partner?” Chii asked as she ran over to the Growlithe.

“Indeed I am.”

“Oh… sorry about what happened to her.” Chii hung her head, but that frowned disappeared quickly, replaced with a smile instead. “She talked about you a lot! I think she missed you. But don't worry, she is a tough lady. She will be fine.” Chii's words had an immediate effect and her smile quickly spear to the Growlithe who had been in a somber mood ever since last night.

“She really is. So who are you?”

“I'm Chii!” She cheered, happy that she finally got to meet the new guest that the others had been talking about. “So are you going to stay here now?” The Growlithe looked down at the little Skitty before glancing up to Ethan.

“He is welcome to stay if he wants to.” Ethan cut in. “Our home is open to everyone Pokémon that needs a place to stay. You are no different.” All of them agreed, and it was not difficult for the Growlithe to see why Jenny had stayed or why she had liked it there.

“Thank you… truly. All of you.” He smiled gratefully. He had just met them the night before and made a bad first impression on top of that, but they still made him feel so welcome.

“We can talk more later. For now, I think the little lady wants some more of your time.” Ethan just grinned at the sight of Chii who was hopping around the Growlithe excitedly. She could be quite the shy little Skitty if you came on too strong. But if she was the one who initiated the contact, then things usually went much more smoothly.

“Yeah! I need you to tell me more about Jenny. Come on!” She bit down on his tail and made a futile effort to drag him away, it was quite an amusing sight to watch.

Reluctantly, the Growlithe allowed Chii to drag him away so that she could bombard him with questions. She had been one of the ones that had grown the closest to Jenny, so it was only normal that she wanted to know more about her. And who would know more about her than her partner?

“So, Vernus.” The Leafeon in question looked up Ethan. “Have you kept to the rule?” Ethan questioned.

“Of course!” Vernus lied with a straight face. He was one of the few that was able to lie to Ethan without him seeing through it. Ethan was good at reading individuals, using the tone of their voice and micro-expressions which only appeared for a few fractions of a second to tell if they were hiding something or not. However, Vernus had learnt to control these small tells over his time with him.

It was one of the only rules Ethan had for the Pokémon that lived under his care or stayed under his roof. They were not to hunt within a ten kilometer radius of any town, city or settlement. It was a fair rule, a town was supposed to be a safe place after all. And Vernus kept by that rule for most of the time. But on their travels, finding food had not always been too easy for him or the Growlithe. He knew that he could survive on photosynthesis alone, but he had lived as a hunter his whole life and, quite frankly, he did not want that to change. He enjoyed it too much. And in his defence, it was not like they knew that Hollow Shades was so close at that time...

Ethan kept his glance on Vernus for another second or two before nodding. “Good,” he smiled. He was aware of the fact that he could not read Vernus. He had been the one that had teached him about those kind of things after all. But he trusted Vernus just as he trusted the rest of his family. “So, want to tell us about your travels?” He asked as he sat down besides Vernus and Zoey. “You must have seen quite a lot.”

And he certainly had.

Time passed rather quickly as Vernus told them about the things he and Growlithe had experienced during their travels. Where his travel partners nose had taken them and what sort of trouble that it had gotten them into.

Brawly returned sometime during their talks and joined them, listening intently while Chii kept bombarding the Growlithe with questions and playing with him and some of the other Pokémon in the background.

Brawly in particular took interest as Vernus mentioned a day when they had come across a particular Breloom. They had only seen it in passing as they had been running from something at the time. Vernus had no idea what it had been they had been running from, he had never seen any Pokémon like that before so perhaps it had been a local creature. He only knew that it was big, grey and kept yelling something about wanting to “Pwet the pwetty plant cat.”

He had however noticed that the Breloom had been standing in the middle of a pond, punching nearby leaves as they fell down from the surrounding trees. And that it had been missing a portion of the mushroom cap on its head. Something that had looked familiar to the Leafeon.

While it was not enough to be one hundred percent sure, it did sound like his Breloom, which was more than enough to put a smile on Brawly's face. He knew that his team was tough and more than capable of taking care of themselves. But it was something else in knowing. Perhaps he would take the trip later to see if he could meet up with his teammate.

But as much as they enjoyed themselves there, Ethan had something else he had to do that day, and the Growlithe also had something he wanted to ask of Ethan.

“You said that the local police were investigating that happened to Jenny?” Ethan turned around and looked down to the fire Pokémon. He had been getting ready to head out himself when the Growlithe had spoken to him.

“Yeah, I want to help, but it seems like there is magic involved and… well I know nothing about that, so I would not be that useful to them.” Ethan admitted. The best that he could do was just to let the police do their job and be there in case anything did come up. He was still the go-to Lopunny for most of the Pokémon related troubles in the town.

“In that case, can you take me there and convince them to let me help?” The Growlithe asked. He had needed the little rest but he just could not continue to sit there and do nothing while his partner was missing, not if he could do anything about it. “I have to do something.” He insisted.

“Well, I was going to head over there anyway…” Ethan rubbed the back of his head as he thought about it. If any of them would be able to help the investigation at its current point, it would be the Growlithe. He had worked with Jenny as a police Pokémon, so he had the training, all that he had to do was convince Protocol. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Thank you.” He got a nod and a grateful smile in return.

Ethan said his goodbyes before the two of them headed out, walking along the path that led into town.

“Been with her for long?” Ethan inquired, deciding that he might as well make some small talk to get to know the Growlithe a little better. “Jenny I mean.” He had heard a lot from Jenny, but it never hurt to hear things from a different angle.

“A while… I was her first partner, so I have been together with her ever since she was just a student at the police academy.” He told Ethan. “I have stood by her side ever since.” A bond created over time and through hardships. It was no wonder that he wanted, needed to do something to help find her. Jenny was Ethan's friend now too, and he wanted to make sure that she was safe. But if it had been one of his family that had been missing he would have probably done anything to get them back too.

“So, it’s just you? No other Pokémon?” While it was not unusual for a Jenny to have more than a single Pokémon, a lot of them seemed to prefer to just stick with a single partner.

The Growlithe shook his head. “No, just me. She thought that we were doing pretty well for ourselves so we did not need anymon else. You were the only case that we did not fulfill.”

“Yeah, about that… I would appreciate it if you did not mention who I am to anyone else. Things could turn badly if someone who knew of my past recognized me… funny enough, that was Jenny's idea.” He remembered when Jenny had covered for him.

“I see no reason to go against her wishes. Besides, if you got sent here that must mean that you are a good person.” It relieved Ethan that the Growlithe took everything so well, it certainly made his life a lot easier. “Right?”

“I guess it does.” Ethan answered with a smile. The two of them continued to walk in silence for a little while until Ethan remembered another thing that Jenny had mentioned. A subject that she had avoided every time he had brought it up after that. “So, are the two of you just partners or…” He let the question sort of hang in the air, it was a very touchy subject so he would not push too hard if the Growlithe decided not to talk about it.

“Just partners yeah. Besides, she already had a boyfriend.” Ethan got his answer, he had never been able to tell what Jenny's stance on human-Pokémon relationships were. It could have gone either way really with how strongly she viewed justice. But a single word of the Growlithe's answer stood out to him.

“Had?” He inquired. It may just have been a slip of his tongue, but it could also have meant something else.

“...” The Growlithe looked up at Ethan, he had already told him that much so perhaps it would not hurt if he told him the rest too. “I dont think that he was sent to this world.” He reluctantly told Ethan.

“What? Why not?”

“He… He was not what you would call a good man. And a part of me really hopes that he was left back on Earth.” The Growlithe spoke with spite in his words. “He was not good for Jenny. But despite that, he made her happy. And I think that she hoped that she could change him for the better… But he never did.” It had certainly not been the answer that Ethan had expected, but it did explain a few things to him.

The two of them continued the rest of the way in silence after that. The subject had put a damper on their conversation and Ethan did not feel like it would be appropriate to push any more on the subject.

It was not long before they reached the police station, but as they neared the doors flew open and an Earth pony who Ethan did not recognize was carried out. He was carried between two pegasi who did not waste a single second as they took to the air.

“What was that?” The Growlithe spoke up first, looking up to Ethan for answers.

“I have no idea… He did not look well though.” Ethan commented. The Earth pony had looked positively horrid. Something had obviously happened inside, hopefully they would get more answers there. Ethan for one was curious about what had happened to him, especially since some of the purple spots that he had seen on the his fur had looked familiar to him.

It did not take long for the two of them to find Protocol, who looked like he had seen better days. His mane was ragged, his eyes bloodshot and Ethan could practically smell the ungodly amount of coffee that he must have ingested from his breath.

“Took you long enough. Figured you would show up yesterday.” Protocol huffed before he went back to what he had been doing when Ethan and the Growlithe had walked into his office.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I had some business to take care of.” Ethan apologized. He really had intended to come by the day before, but with his long session with Scylla and Brawly… the day simply just disappeared so quickly. “So… any new leads?” And by the look that Protocol gave him, he could guess the answer.

“No, we are still figuring out what kind of spell that was at works there. And if that was not bad enough, the objects that we found in that laboratory has given us more than enough troubles.” Protocol let out a long and tired sigh.

“Objects?”

“Like this one.” Protocol showed a small box over to Ethan, that, when he opened it, contained a small purple orb. “Somepony so foolishly touched it without wearing any sort of protection. He collapsed shortly after, writhing in pain.”

“It’s a toxic orb.” It was an item that Ethan was very familiar with, it looked just like the one that Zoey used to have. The one that had done so much damage to her. “Do you mind if I keep this? It would not do you any good, and it needs to be handled with extreme care. Breaking one could have… unfortunate effects.” He had only heard about stories of someone so foolish to break a toxic orb. But those stories never ended well.

“Be my guest. After what that thing did to one of my ponies, I don't want it anywhere in my station.” The police pony huffed and looked away as Ethan took the small box. “So, what are you doing here?”

“I came for two reasons actually. Firstly, how are things with the Granbull?” At that question, Protocol rubbed the side of his head.

“She is not telling us anything new. She just keeps saying the same thing over and over again, I'm almost inclined to believe her. But that does not change the fact that what she did was wrong!” It had been a better response than what Ethan had hoped for. If Protocol was beginning to believe her, then maybe he could convince the police pony.

“Right… the other reason I came was because of this fellow.” Ethan ushered the Growlithe forward. “He had not had a translation spell cast on him yet, but he is Jenny's partner. And he wanted to help with the investigation.” Ethan glanced down at the Growlithe. “He needs to help find her.”

Protocol stared at the Growlithe who stared right back. Both of them evaluating the other, neither breaking the stare until Protocol was the one who faltered as he blinked and nodded.

“I will not regret this, will I?” He asked, turning his head back towards Ethan.

“His sense of smell if second to none. He came here because he tracked Jenny, if anyone can help you out in this, I believe that it is him.” The Growlithe nodded eagerly.

“...Nothing is decided yet.” Protocol told the fire Pokémon. “I will talk to you myself later when we can understand each other before I make any decisions. Is that clear?”

“Y-yes sir!” The Growlithe answered, though it sounded a lot differently for Protocol. But the answer and the emotion behind it seemed to please him.

“Good, I am sure that the two of you will get along nicely.” Ethan smiled. “Now, regarding the Granbull. I believe that I can be of assistance.” His smile turning into a small grin. He already had something in mind for her.

Chapter 30

“Something about this does not seem right.” Ethan complained again. It had been two days since he had been down at the police station and talked with Protocol. With his help, they had decided on giving the Granbull some community service, rather than a harsh sentence based on what she was saying. That went very smoothly, but it had been what Protocol had told him when they met the day afterwards that was still bugging him. He had not given it too much thought at first, but the more and more he thought about it, what Protocol had told him just did not make any sense.

“What is it that does not seem right?” Brawly asked, stumping Ethan slightly. He had only mumbled it to himself as he was thinking and had not meant to say it out loud. The two of them were sitting outside their home, just enjoying the sun.

“Something Protocol told me…” Ethan admitted, he had no reason to hide it. “You know that Protocol sent word to the princesses to ask for help with the matter of, The Weavers, right?”

“Yeah, I think you mentioned something about that, why?” Brawly leaned back, one of his legs crossed over the other.

“Well, he got word back.”

“That was quick.” Ethan nodded, agreeing with Brawly's comment. “So, what’s happening?”

“Apparently… they have confidence that we can handle this.” He said we, but it was more directed at the Neighagra Falls police force. They were just there to provide some support if needed. “And that just does not seem right to me! Something like this seems too important for them to not send any kind of help at all, no matter how competent Protocol and his police ponies are…” There was more though. According to Protocol, they were to report their findings to the princess if something else came up, and that they would receive assistance if the case worsened. That was all well and good, but still…

“That does sound a little strange. But maybe that is just how they do things here in Equestria?” It was a possibility that Ethan had entertained, but it still seemed wrong to him. “I mean, there are a lot of things that are similar to Earth. But it's still a completely different place. Maybe something like this is normal here. I don't know, have you talked with Mary about this?” Mary had been the go-to pony for anything regarding Equestria. If there was something they did not know or needed to ask about, they usually went to her.

“No… not yet.” He had not wanted to bother her about it so soon.

“Well, there you have it. It won't hurt to ask, right?” Ethan nodded, he had a good point. “Besides, maybe they simply have too much on their hands.”

“Hooves.” Ethan corrected him with a small grin.

“You know what I meant.” Brawly rolled his eyes, though he couldn't hide his own smile. They had started correcting each other about the proper terms on almost every opportunity they got. Sort of as a playful game to annoy the other, and both of them enjoyed it. “But yeah, they must have a ton of shit to do with everything that has happened recently. Perhaps they simply don't have the ponies to spare?”

That was also another possibility. The more Ethan thought about it, the more it seemed at least plausible. When you added up the whole appearance of a new species, they could not be the only ones who had problems. And on top of that, there was that whole world gathering that he had read about in the paper; no, the fact that they just did not have enough ponies really did make sense. Perhaps he had just been overthinking things again.

“Yeah, wreck your brain on that.” Brawly shook his head and patted Ethan on the head, who barely noticed, he was that deep in thought. “I think I'll head out, need to move a bit.” Brawly stood up and stretched, arching his back as he reached for the heavens. That however, got Ethan's attention.

“Huh, um, what?” Brawly could not help but laugh slightly as Ethan shook his head and looked up to him with a confused expression. For as long as he could remember, Ethan became like that at times if he focused too much on something. But the way he looked up to him with that confused expression, his eyes searching for answers and his mouth slightly open, he just looked extra cute like that.

“I said I'm heading out, cutie.” He said, making Ethan blush furiously. That was another thing he had discovered recently, Ethan was not good at taking compliments, at least not when they were from him. Oh, how he loved to tease his boyfriend. “See ya later.” He had turned around and was just about to leave when a pair of furry arms wrapped around him from the back and squeezed him slightly. “You gonna let me go?”

“In a second.” Ethan hummed as he continued to hug him for a bit. Feeling his face just resting against Brawly's strong back. “Okay, now I'm done.” He said, reluctantly letting go just leaving up and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before he did so.

“Oh, no you don't!” Brawly quickly countered, and Ethan let out a surprised sound as he was easily picked up. He knew that Brawly was strong, and he was even a little smaller than the average Lopunny. But it still never ceased to amaze him how easy he made it look. It was like he did not weigh anything at all to him, like he was just lifting a couple of grapes. “You just gonna tease me like that before I head off? Oh, no I don’t think so.”

Alone time for the two of them was practically impossible within their home with how many Pokémon that lived there, and their lack of walls and proper rooms. But they had their moments. And this was one of those moments. Goldenlocks, the teacher, had asked if they wanted to do a visit, to bring the Pokémon to them and spend some time with the foals. It was up to each individual whether or not they wanted to go, but they all had. So Ethan and Brawly was left with one of the few times they actually had their home all to themselves.

“I'd say it’s about an hour or so before Zoey and the others come back, right?” Brawly grinned, as Ethan nodded with a smile of his own, a faint blush already appearing on his cheeks. “Well, for that one hour, you are mine.” Brawly said as he carried the flushed Ethan inside, locking the doors behind them.

One hour and a quick shower later and Brawly was heading down towards the town with an extra little spring in his step. Zoey and the others had just gotten home as he had finished his shower, and he had hurried out of their home just as he had heard Chii ask why it smelled weird. Yeah, he would let Ethan deal with that.

The lack of privacy for the two of them was strange, but they found ways around the issue so he did not mind that much, or at least he pretended not to. Ethan really did not seem to mind. But then again, he had lived without privacy for so many years, sharing his home with everymon that needed it. But it would be nice if the two of them had a room to their own. Maybe he could ask Vernus to see if he could work something out: he had been the one that had built most of Ethan's previous secret bases.

Waking up with Ethan using him as a pillow was nice, he really thought that. But he always had to keep in mind that they were never alone. Ethan did not seem to mind, as he often expressed his affection openly. He was, for the lack of a better word… clingy. That was something he was not used to.

He did love Ethan, he really did. It had taken a little while for him to properly sort out his own feelings, but he knew that he deeply cared about him. He was just not completely sure how to handle the whole… relationship thing. It was so strange for him, to be in a situation like that where his action actually had consequences to them.

Back on Earth, he had basically only had one night stands and casual flings. He liked that freedom, it was just the sort of person he was. He always just did what he wanted, what he felt like, to a certain extent of course. He had to maintain a certain amount of his image since he was a Gym Leader after all. But that was it, he always did what he wanted, and now he wanted to be in this relationship with Ethan. He did not want to screw that up.

“You are thinking too much about this man…” Brawly told himself as he let out a sigh. “Don't create a problem where there are none.” Over thinking things was Ethan's deal, not his.

The road that led into town was fairly quiet. The sun shone down upon the road and the constant rumble of the waterfall could be heard in the background.

He stopped just outside of town and looked up to the enormous waterfall that could be seen in the distance. He missed the sea, oh how much he missed the sea. It was an itch that he had not been able to scratch in a while.

True, he had surfed down the waterfall on multiple occasions, and while it made for a few moments of thrilling fun, it was just not the same. He longed for that feeling, the majestic waves underneath him and his board. That raw, primal force that the sea provided, and the feeling as he conquered that force. It was a feeling that he could never truly explain to anyone.

He had thought about taking a trip to one of the places in Equestria that was near the sea, a vacation in other words. And he still had plans to do just that eventually. He could just not leave when he felt like it. No, with Jenny missing and him and Ethan having finally figured things out. No. He would go, he would see the sea again. But when, that he was not sure of.

Leaving those thoughts behind for another time, he continued into town. He had planned on just going for a jog, but figured that he would make a quick trip through the town to see what was going on. He had gotten to know quite the number of both ponies and Pokémon in the time he had been living there, and made it a habit to check in on a number of them, if only to say hello or to make some small talk.

“Morning, dude!” He raised and waved his paw as he came up to Mignon's restaurant. It was still fairly early in the day, so the restaurant was almost completely empty and Mignon was out for a break when he came on by.

“Bit early for, morning, ain’t it?” The earth pony chef answered with a grin.

“Guess it is. So, how's business?”

“Can’t complain, got a few visitors from Manehattan yesterday and they are still in town so.” Mignon was one of the ponies that Brawly had gotten to know a little better. “So, you here to pick up your next shipment?” They bought all their food directly from Mignon since he managed to give them a slightly better price than any of the other stores in town. Something which they were really thankful for. They had a lot of mouths to feed, so every bit that they spared helped out a little.

“Nah, just stopping by. Got some errands later today, so I’ll pick it up then if that's alright with you, man.”

“Sure, I'm not going anywhere so just come when ya want.” Brawly nodded as he leaned back against the wall next to Mignon. He was a pretty laid back kind of pony; the only time his temper flared up was when he was in the kitchen. He had a passion for what he did and Brawly could respect that.

The two of them spent a few minutes just chatting, talking about some of the news that they had read about in the papers–there was more than enough of that going around those days. However, Brawly noticed a rather large crowd that suddenly appeared and was heading down past the street where he and Mignon was.

“Something going on?” Brawly asked Mignon as they watched the crowd of ponies continued past them.

“Not that I know of.” Mignon scratched his head as they watched. “Hey, Zephyr!” Mignon called out to the familiar pegasus who he had spotted within the group and waved him over.

Zephyr looked over to where the two of them were standing and, with a flap of his wings, he took off and flew over, landing just in front of them. “Hey there, what’s up?”

“There something happening?” Mignon gestured to the the ponies behind them who was now dispersing, going back to whatever it was they needed to do.

“Oh, you mean that you missed it?” Zephyr's excitement only made Brawly and Mignon more curious. “You should have seen it. There was this, huge Pokémon. It used what looked like a pillar for a cane, I mean, how sick is that?” He was really excited, Zephyr was what you would call a bit of a scatterbrain. He started just rambling about what the Pokémon looked like, and it was not too difficult for Brawly to realize that it was a Conkeldurr that had their pegasus friend so exited. But he had gotten off point so, Mignon waved a hoof in front of Zephyr's face to regain his attention.

“Hey, focus! What happened? A single Pokémon showing up, would not cause all that.”

“Oh, no totally not.” Zephyr shook his head. “No, he was spouting all kinds of weird stuff. Though he did have a very convincing voice, so he had that going for him. I mean, you guys had some weird laws back where you came from man. I feel sorry for you.” Brawly just got more and more confused as Zephyr continued to talk.

“What are you talking about, dude? What kind of laws?” And more importantly, why were they talking about them to a bunch of ponies.

“Something about interspecies relationships and how wrong it was. You should have seen him, he was very into it. And quite convincing too, I mean, if he hadn't been sprouting total nonsense, I might have listened closer to what he had to say.” And then it dawned for Brawly what kind of laws Zephyr had meant. Poképhilia.

He knew quite a bit about politics, it was required of him as a Gym Leader, whether he liked it or not. And the whole deal about Poképhilia was just such a pain. To him, it was just something that could have been solved so easily, but instead it had grown into such a major problem when it really did not need to be. It was an outdated law; he, like so many others, thought just that. But even so, he had avoided the subject whenever it came up, as it would just have been too much trouble to deal with the aftermath if he did anything regarding the matter. It was so much simpler to just say out of the whole thing.

“Did he say what his name was?” If he had come to the town and started to talk, or rather preach about such a subject then he should probably meet the person to see what they wanted.

“Yeah!” All of them, sort of just stood there was they waited for Zephyr to continue, but he did not. He just looked at Brawly with his trademark smile, like nothing was wrong.

“Okay, then what was his name?” Brawly asked Zephyr against, phrasing his words differently.

“Oh, I don't know. I wasn't really listening.” Now, Brawly was a guy with a fair amount of patience. But even so, he did feel a slightly urge to slap Zephyr right then and there.

“Zephyr!” But having Mignon shout at him was the next best thing.

“I’m sorry, was moving some clouds and really only caught the ending of it. But I was serious about how convincing he sounded, I think some of the ponies there actually bought into what he was selling.” Zephyr told them and Brawly was about to speak up again when Zephyr cut back in. “Oh, and I think he said something along the lines that he was a professor of some kind.”

“A professor…” Brawly mused to himself. He pondered what professor had found his way into their little town, but he did not think that finding him would be that much of a problem. A Conkeldurr would stand out in pretty much every kind of crowd. “Well, did you at least see where he was heading?” And apparently he did know that, by how fast he started nodding.

“Yeah, he is heading back to your place. Overheard him talking to some ponies after it was over and apparently he was looking for you. So, I cut in and told him where he could find you.” Brawly just stood there for a few moments, absorbing what Zephyr had just said.

“So, you sent him back to my place?” Brawly asked.

“Mmh.” Zephyr nodded in confirmation.

“To find me?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, why didn't you mention this earlier, Zephyr!” Mignon cut in again. “If Brawly is here, then you sent that professor down there for nothing!” Realization lit up on Zephyr's face.

“Ooh, that… yeah, it kind of slipped my mind. But hey, now you know, so you can just go meet him, no harm no foul. But I need to fly, see ya later.” And before either of them had a chance to say anything else, Zephyr took to the air, leaving them standing there.

“I swear… sometimes, it’s like he had nothing between his ears at all.” Mignon sighed while shaking his head.

“He is right though, he couldn't have known that I’d be here, and that also means that I know where I will find that professor.” Brawly took a few steps away from the wall, before turning to face Mignon. “Thanks for the chat.”

“Always a pleasure.” Mignon nodded accordingly. “Now, go see what that guy wanted.”

“ Will do. Later, dude.” And with their goodbyes said, Brawly turned and started to head back home in a slightly hurried pace. He did not know how much of a head start that professor had on him. He knew a few Pokémon professors back on Earth and it would be nice to meet some of them again. Though, a few of them were a bit… strange, but fun to talk to nonetheless.

With that in mind, he continued on his way back home, to meet up with this professor and see if he were indeed one of those that he knew personally.

It did not take that long before Brawly caught up with the Pokémon in question. The hulking form of the Conkeldurr was easy to spot as it walked in a slow pace, using its stone pillar as a cane.

“Yo!” Brawly called out to him, getting his attention as the large form of the Conkeldurr turned around to look at him.

“Can I help you?” The Conkeldurr asked as it set its eyes upon Brawly.

“Heard that you were looking for me.” He said as he walked up to the guy. “Brawly.” He stopped in front of the Conkeldurr and held out his paw after he introduced himself.

“Ah, yes, I was looking for you.” He accepted the handshake, grabbing Brawly's paw with one his his huge hands while his concrete cane rested in the other.

“And, who are you, dude?” Brawly asked as they shook.

“Right, I am Professor Hastings.” Of course Brawly know who he was, but he was not one of the professors whom he knew personally. He only knew Hastings by his reputation. It was hard to not know who the former leader of the Pokémon Rangers was. But apart from that, he did not actually know too much about the guy.

“So, what brings you to our little town, Professor?” Brawly asked Hastings, who was stroking his beard.

“I was looking for some potential help, and found you. I have something important I need to talk to you about.” Well, he was straight to the point at least, Brawly could respect that.

“Why don't we head back to my home then, we can sit down and talk there.” Brawly offered. They were not that far away from their home anyway.

“Very well.” Hastings huffed, following after Brawly as he led him back to the warehouse.

Brawly had no idea what exactly Hastings had wanted to talk to him about that was so important, he just hoped that it had nothing to do with the subject Zephyr had overheard him talking about earlier.

The two of them had sat down in their own little part of the warehouse so that they could talk… unfortunately, things deteriorated quite quickly after that.

“It’s an absolute crime against the very nature itself!” Much to Brawly's annoyance, it had indeed turned out to be about Poképhilia. A subject that he quickly found out that Hastings took extremely serious, a tad bit too serious for his liking. “And that problem did not stop on Earth… no, those criminals are still here and has to be dealt with accordingly!”

Brawly let out a mental sigh. He had kept up his political mask as best as he could, but he found it harder and harder to pretend to be neutral as Hastings went on.

“I get that you think that, man.” Brawly leaned forward in the chair that he was using, he could see Ethan and some of the others glancing at them from the other end of the warehouse, sending him annoyed looks. Hastings was not exactly being quiet, no, he was sure that everyone there had heard what they were talking about and they were not exactly pleased about their, guest. “I just don't see what you expect me to do about it.”

“What I need is help with apprehending these criminals. You were a Gym Leader, so you have some amount of authority. I had hoped to make the Princesses see reason, but it seems that she has taken their side. We will use force if we have to.” So, he was already on the princesses’ bad side, just another reason why Brawly did not want to get involved in that whole matter.

“Dude, you are in way over your head.” Brawly urged. “You don't even have the law on your side anymore. Why continue to fight a losing battle?” He wondered if perhaps that has not been the right thing to say as he could easily see that he was just riling Hastings up more and more.

“Because it is the right thing to do! We can't just ignore the laws of Earth, they were criminals back there and they still need to be punished!” Hastings gripped his cane tightly as he spoke. “And those Pokémon… those poor Pokémon, I only hope that it is not too late to save them from whatever delusions that those criminals have instilled in their minds. Some of them actually do seem to think that they do… love their trainer.” He seemed to pause slightly before he spoke of love, and the very word seemed to disgust him. “Humans are only supposed to be with humans, that is just the way it is. The fact that we have changed bodies changes nothing! We are still human in our minds and we need to uphold those laws!”

Brawly was slightly baffled. He was sure that Hastings actually believed the things that he was spouting, in fact, he seemed completely convinced of the fact that he was doing the right thing. There was no reasoning with someone like him, Brawly had already realized that, and he felt sorry for whoever was on the receiving end of Hastings’s passion. For he was sure that, in the end, he would stop at nothing.

“So…” Hastings, shifted in his seat and leaned forward and stared at him with a large amount of determination in his eyes. “Are you going to help?” And just like that, it seemed that Brawly would not have any more time to dance around the issue.

“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of making a possible enemy of this country.” Brawly decided on his answer, he had been thinking of how decline Hastings for a while, hopefully in such a way that would create the least amount of trouble for him. But that had not been the answer that Hastings had wanted, and that was very obvious by the look on his face.

“Another one who lack the conviction to do what needs to be done.” Hastings grumbled in a low voice. “So, what do you intend to do then? Do you not see that this in something that we need to fight for? That we need to-” That was as far as he came before Brawly cut him off.

“I already heard what you had to say, and my answer remains the same.” He looked around, his glance going to Ethan and the others. “Besides, I already have things that I need to take care of here. No, you will not find any help here.” Brawly said as he stood up. “I think it is time for you to leave.” He said, his voice quite firm.

“So you are taking their side? Have you forgot what you used to be already, what it means to be human?” Hastings was not giving up that easily though, and continued as he too stood up.

“No, I remember quite perfectly what it means to be human.” Brawly countered. “And I did not say that I was taking their side either. You do whatever you want, but I do not want any part in it.” He hoped that their discussion was coming to an end soon, he was already growing tired of wearing his political mask and pretending.

“This is not something that you can avoid taking sides in, Brawly.” Hastings practically spat at him. “You are either with us, or against us!” And with that, He turned away from Brawly and began to walk to the door.

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, old man!” Brawly turned around and saw that Chii had crawled out from under the chair he had been using and was now sticking her tongue out towards the Professor.

Hearing her voice, Hastings took one last look behind himself and just huffed in annoyance before he left their home, not looking back as the door closed behind him.

“Nice one.” Brawly commented on Chii's remark. He should have probably told her something along the lines of not being rude to guests or something like that… but nah. He totally agreed with her.

“Thanks, he was a meanie.” Chii huffed as she climbed up on one of the nearby chairs. “Why did you let him in?”

“Well, I did not know that he was a meanie before I let him in. And sometimes you have to deal with people, even if you don't like them that much.” Chii seemed content with that answer as she nodded accordingly.

“You handled that pretty well.” Brawly felt a paw on his shoulder and looked over it to see that Ethan had made his way over to them. “Though I think that he overstayed his welcome a little bit, I got sick of listening to him.”

“That dude seemed pretty caught up in his own world, yeah.” It was quite sad to think about, really. “Say, if you had the opportunity, would you have given a try to change him, or rather his view on things?” Brawly asked, looking up Ethan who seemed to mull on the question for a bit.

“No… I don't think I would.” He shook his head. “ But then again, I am a Pokémon psychologist. Humans are not my forte, even if they are just former ones.”

But his visit had given Brawly a lot to think about. Not only the things that he had said, but the fact that people like him had also been moved to Equus.

“Something on your mind?” Brawly looked up, seeing Ethan's eyes looking into his own.

“... No, not really.” Reassured his boyfriend with a smile. There had been quite a lot on his mind over the day and that visit certainly did not help with that. But he would not worry any of them with that. No, they certainly had enough to deal with, with their own little weird family. He was happy. And in the end, that was the only thing that mattered.

Chapter 31

It was early in the afternoon. Most ponies were already up and about, doing their daily chores or being hard at work with different things. Back in the warehouse, Ethan was gathering up all of the other Pokémon that were living there to have a talk of sorts with them. He had been too restless lately and felt like he had to do something; something that he had initially delayed because of Jenny's disappearance. But he thought that he could at least get started, as it was something that would take a lot of work, possibly over a long period of time, but he had to start somewhere.

“Hello, everyone.” Ethan greeted the magnitude of Pokémon that were sitting in front of him. Their numbers had dwindled a bit over the last few days, another few had healed enough to leave and decided to do so, and a lucky Pansear had even found himself a family to live with. “First off, I wanted to ask all of you how you are liking it here so far.”

“It’s nice!”

“Yeah, thank you for letting us stay.”

“It’s okay… until I find a place I belong.”

“I just want my wings to finish healing so I can leave.”

The responses were a bit mixed, something that was expected, but the majority of them liked it there, something that brought a little extra to Ethan's smile. But a lot of them, even if they liked it there, were only living there temporarily in hope that they would find another place. Whenever it was to just leave into the wild when they were healed or to find a family of their own, they all had their own goals. And Ethan hoped that he could help some of them with those goals.

“You are probably wondering why I gathered you all up like this.” He said, getting a few nods and vocal confirmations as they were watching him. They were all gathered up in one end of the warehouse. Brawly was watching from a distance as he relaxed on a couch in the other end of the warehouse, while Chii, Zoey, and Vernus were all out. “Well, I have a proposition for all of you.” Ethan began. “It’s entirely optional, but I hope that some of you will agree to it.” Ethan could already see that some of them were getting a bit put off, while others were drawn in by his words. “What I want to do, and what I am proposing to you, is a program of sorts. Some of you, at least the ones that used to live with humans are aware that humans quite often has Pokémon to help them with various tasks, right?”

“L-like a Machoke working as a mover?” The Pachirisu that Jenny had rescued asked.

“Yes, exactly like that.” Ethan smiled as some of them were catching on.

“My trainer and I used to help out at schools when we traveled around.” An Abra named Lady spoke up. She was one of the ones that used to have a trainer before ending up on Equus, and had decided to stay with Ethan and the others, at least for the time being as she hope that her trainer would end up finding her there.

“That’s right, Lady. I remember you mentioning that. Did you have fun with that?” The Abra in question smiled and nodded happily.

“Indeed we did. We could get some extra money that way and I really liked helping the children with math and other things!” She positively beamed.

“That is great then. But what I have in mind is a little different from that.” Ethan admitted, getting some curious looks. “Of course, there are no more humans, so ponies will be the ones in focus. Those of you that agree to volunteer for this will still be helping ponies, but maybe not in the ways that you are used to… Have any of you heard of the term, service Pokémon?” He had warmed them up enough and decided to just cut straight to the chase. Some of the Pokémon started talking in between themselves again, a few apparently having heard the term before, but not all.

“This is pointless!” The Taillow suddenly spoke up. “I'm just going to leave when I'm healed anyway, so there is no point in me listening to this.” And with that he started hopping away from their little group since his wings were still restrained for his own good. It had been more than Ethan had expected of him in the first place, he had been surprised he had agreed to listen to anything at all. But, it was their choice what they wanted to do, so he did not hold anything against the Taillow.

Ethan waited a little bit longer since the Taillow's outburst had shaken up the group a little, but when no one else left, he decided to continue.

“So… service Pokémon, anyone?” He asked again since they had been cut off before.

“Um… you mean like… the partner an Officer Jenny has?” A rather shy Minccino spoke up. “Like that Growlithe?”

“Um… sort of I guess, those can be seen as service Pokémon, but that was not what I had in mind.” The Minccino looked a little down from Ethan's response. “But, it was a good guess. Anymon else?” The same Abra from before, Lady, seemed deep in thought before her arm shot up.

“Oh, oh, oh!” She kept waving at Ethan who just smiled at her eagerness.

“Yes, Lady?”

“My trainer’s mom was very sick and had to stay at a hospital almost all the time.” Lady started. She looked a bit sad as she thought back to it, but she pressed through and continued. “She couldn't use her legs and was in a wheelchair most of the time. But she had a Liepard who helped her with everything she needed. It pushed her wheelchair when she needed to get around. Helped her with her medicine, and just spent a lot of time with her so that she would have somemon to talk to.” Lady smiled a little to herself as she told the little tale. “He was a really kind Liepard… Is that what you are talking about?” She looked up to Ethan who had been touched by her little story and was wearing a gentle smile of his own.

“That is indeed what I am talking about!” Ethan confirmed, and Lady made a quiet little “yay,” since she had gotten it right. “The program I have in mind is hopefully going to be able to help a lot of ponies in different situations, and is going to train Pokémon who volunteer for it.” Now some uncertainty was beginning to spread throughout the little crowd. “One example is helping the elderly, just like Lady suggested. A pony with some kind of mental condition who needs someone to be there to take care of him or her most of the time… and then we have the kinds of problems that are not so easy to spot. A pony with deep depression might just need someone… or somemon to be there for them, someone that is able to talk to them and keep them calm.” But along with the uncertainty, a few eager looks were mixed in with the bunch as well. “Perhaps a certain pegasus who has been in an accident and lost most of her sight who just needs a friend and someone to be there for her when things are tough. Perhaps even encourage her to try flying again.” Ethan said while looking at the Natu who immediately brightened up. “A lot of you have very special abilities, gifts that can help everyone around you in some way or another. But it is up to each and every one of you how you decide to use those gifts. This is a pretty big decision, I realize that, and no one will hold it against you if you decline; you can still keep living here just like nothing has happened. And if you change your mind later, then that is up to you. So… are any of you interested?”

Of course he had a lot more he wanted to say, there was much more to the program after all. But he figured that it was enough for a start to see who would be interested and volunteer for it and who would not.

It took a few minutes, some of the Pokémon had to talk among each other to figure out exactly what they wanted, and the majority of them declined and went back to what they were doing before instead. Some just outright declining and some saying that they needed more time to think about it, something that Ethan respected. In the end, he was left with five who were still sitting there.

It was no surprise to him that Lady was still there. She really enjoyed helping others and had a knack for it too.

The Natu was not a surprise either, Ethan knew exactly what she wanted to do, or rather who she wanted to help.

The third was the Minccino from before, she had not said that much but she looked a little more at ease now that there were not that many Pokémon surrounding her anymore.

Lastly there was a Monferno who Ethan really did not know that much about, she had just shown up on their door one day and asked if she could stay there. She helped out with different things and always tried to make herself useful it seemed, but she rarely spoke. And a Minun who had been captured by The Weavers along with her brother. Unfortunately, her brother had not been rescued with her; he was still missing.

“So the five of you want to help others, huh?” Looking over them, Ethan received nods from all of them. “That’s really great, and very kind of each and every one of you.” It really filled his soul with joy. “Thanks, you guys!”

“S-so, what now?” The Minccino spoke up. She kept grabbing her tail in a rather adorable manner, trying to hide behind it as she spoke.

“Now… now we just talk a little.” Ethan said as he sat down and crossed his legs. “I already know all of you pretty well.” With the exception of the Monferno since she almost never spoke or wanted to speak. He had tried to get through to her, but she seemed content with just doing her own little thing, well, until now that was. “But I want to get to know you even more.” He looked at said Monferno who kept her glance and nodded reluctantly.

“What sort of ponies will we be helping?” The Minun, asked as she looked up to Ethan.

“All kinds of ponies… who knows, there may even be a few non ponies.” He held his paws up and shrugged in a rather silly manner, making the Minun giggle. “There may be a little time until we get to start properly though. There are still a few things that I need to take care of, but in the meantime, I will be spending a lot of time with you all, getting to know you, and teaching you a thing or two possibly.” If they were to work with ponies that were suffering from depression or other things then they needed to know how to act in certain situations or how to deal with a few crucial things.

Hearing this put a small damper on the Natu though, and she looked down sadly, something that Ethan noticed. He knew that the Natu had been visiting the pegasus filly a few times, and had grown rather close to her, so it was not a surprise that she wanted to help her as much as she could.

“But, maybe not all of you will have to wait that long.” Ethan said as he reached out and gently rubbed the top of the Natu's head. “After all, we already have somepony in mind for you, don't we?” Happy with hearing those exact news, brought an adorable smile to the little gal.

“Really?” She asked, looking up to Ethan with hopeful eyes.

“Really! We can't keep little Stormy waiting, now can we?” The little Natu shook her head, or rather her entire body. “There is a few things we need to go over though, but don't worry, we will get you started as soon as possible.” The main goal was to get Stormy out of her shell, and while the Natu had helped her a lot already just by visiting her, they still had a long way to go. Who knew, maybe they could even encourage her to try flying again.

“I will do my best!” The little pokémon chirped loudly, well, as loud as a small Natu could be anyway.

“I am sure that you will.” Ethan encouraged her. “Though when you start properly, you may have to live at her place. The same goes for the rest of you.” He shifted his attention back to the whole group. “Depending on who you are helping, you may have to stay there full time, and you will also need to have the translation spell cast on you. I know that some of you are not used to that, but it is for the best. Are all of you okay with that?”

“Yeah, I can't communicate telepathically with others yet, so that is fine with me.” Lady said, and apparently the others agreed with her, all of them voicing their agreement.

“That’s great, you guys! Now, since we are going to be working a lot together, let’s get to know each other a little better… Why don't we start with you Lady? Why do you want to help others?” Helping others was always a noble thing to do, but everyone usually had their own reasons for doing so. And Ethan figured that it would be a nice beginning subject to learn more about them, who they were, and what kinds of personality they had. All of which would be important factors in deciding that kind of cases they would be best fit for when they started. What sort of ponies they would be best suited to help.

Darkness.

Her surrounding were pitch black. She was unsure how long she had been there, they moved her quite often, and it was just as unpleasant every time. At least in the darkness, nothing would hurt her.

She knew the confines of her cage really well, it had been her home ever since she had been captured. With shaky legs, she stood up and walked forward. Three steps forward, bars. Two to the side, more bars. Five steps backwards and another set of bars, and the lock to her little cage. At the very least, it was big enough for her to stand at her full height without hitting her head… it was more than some others got. For she was not alone in the room that she found herself in, no, there was multiple cages stored there in the darkness.

How foolish she had been to go in alone… why had she thought that she could take them on her own. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time… but as she rounded that last corner that led into that laboratory, they had been waiting for her.

They took her by surprise, effortlessly overwhelming her; she never stood a chance. She would have liked to say that she put up a challenge, made it tough for them… but no. It was all over in a few seconds. Two of the ponies ganged up on her, holding her down, while Shady levitated a rock over her head. And with one well placed strike, she had passed out.

Useless.

Creating light would have been fairly simple for her, it was not like they had put a muzzle on her. But she remembered the last time she had used her flame, no, she no longer even dared to create the smallest light in fear that they would notice it. That somepony would come in at the wrong time and see.

She had tried to escape, taken the first opportunity she got to attempt to do so. She had waited until she had been left alone, and then she had unleashed her strongest flame upon the iron bars that held her. But it changed nothing. Her flame had not been strong enough to melt the bars, no matter how much she tried, it was futile. But her flames had accomplished one thing, they had left a mark on said bars, a mark that her captors had noticed the next time they checked up on her.

She tried to remain strong, but tears welled up in her eyes and a familiar pain returned as she thought back to it. She had tried to escape, of course they had to punish her. They did well to remind her that what they did was her fault and her fault alone for what she had tried to do.

They had not even used any kind of anesthesia. No, she was to feel every second of it, it had been excruciating. She had only had it for a little over a week… but still. They took one of her tails, and there had been nothing she could do to stop them… she had been helpless, watching as they held up her own body part in front of her after the deed had been done. Taunting her.

Pathetic.

She could no longer hold it back any longer. Tears rolled down her cheeks, dripping onto the metal floor below her. She had tried to stay strong, she really had tried. But she was not strong, they had showed how weak she actually was, over and over again.

“Fiwe fox no cry.” A soft rumble came from besides her cage, it seemed that she had woken up one of the other captives that was being held wherever she was. It was a native creature, and it had a gentle soul. It was in just a bad situation as any of the ones that was held captured there, but it… he, always cared for them before himself. “Pwease don't bhe sad…” She heard the familiar noise of skin rubbing against the metal bars as, Jim, as she had grown to know the kind creature, stretched his chains to their limit, just so he could hold his hand just outside her cage. It was one of the few moments of comfort that she found there. She sniffed and wiped her eyes before she walked over to the side of her cage and leaned her head against the bars, nuzzling gently against the fingers of the giant hand that was held there.

“I… I'm sorry, Jim.” She spoke, even though she knew that he could no longer understand her. The translation spell had already wore off. But neither of them really seemed to care. Jim would listen to what she had to say anyway. “I just don't know what to do anymore. I can't do anything right.” And as much as she hated to admit it, she was scared. “I’m a failure.” She uttered, her voice barely a wiser.

Trash.

“Ish going to be okaay. Jim pomise.” But even though he could no longer understand her, he seemingly always knew that to say.

But their moment of comfort came to an abrupt end as a creaking sound could be heard. Jenny's head darted in the direction of the door. She seemingly held her breath as she stared intensely in its direction. But as the door slowly opened, allowing rays of light into the once darkened room, Jenny's breathing began to quicken, and she was not the only one who was reacting this way. All around her, a mix of whimpers and growls could be heard. Even Jim retracted his hand as he watched the door, his fists clenching.

“Well, well, well.” A voice came as a shadow could be seen appearing in the door opening. It was a voice that Jenny knew, a voice that she knew all too well. In a fit of panic, she scurried back in her cage, pressing herself into the corner as much as she could, making herself as small as possible. “How are you today, my pretties?”

Terrified.

Shady was a pony that she had learned to fear over the time she had been there. And every time those doors opened, and he walked in. She hoped to Arceus that he would not go over to her cage, that he would leave her alone.

Having been in the dark for so long, the light hurt her eyes, and such she could not see Shady clearly. But she did see that he was in fact walking off to the side, away from her cage. And that made her relax slightly.

She looked down at herself, and could see how badly she actually looked at that point. Her fur was matted and dirty, it almost seemed like it was losing its once magnificent color. She had a few wounds across her body too. Wounds that she had gotten from trying to put up a fight, not that it mattered in the end anyway. And down at the bottom of her back, her five tails. Five… it had once been six.

Where her missing tail once had been, there was now only a patch of missing fur, and a few stitches in her skin. They had been rather thorough with making sure that it was done properly.

As Shady had told her, “damaged property would be no good.” That was all that she was anymore, property. Not a person, not a individual, not, just another object who was going to make them money.

“Some good news today.” She heard him say as he walked out of her field of vision. “For you especially, Plusle.” They had also learnt the names of most of the Pokémon that they had captive.

“What? No, please stay away from me!” Jenny could hear what she assumed to be the Plusle protesting, begging to be left alone. But it mattered little. None of the Pokémon left there had any kind of translation spells on them, and even if they did, she knew that Shady would not care.

“Oh, calm down you little electric mouse!” A sharp metallic clang followed as Shady had kicked the metal cage, hard. “Got a buyer for you… and they even wanted you in one piece, ain’t this your lucky day.”

Jenny could see Shady come back into her view once again, his horn lit up this time as he was levitating a small cage with the Plusle inside of it besides him. The little thing looked positively terrified, and just like Jenny, it had retreated into one of the corners and was just holding itself while shivering like a leaf.

“Bad ponay! Leave mousie alone!” Jim roared loudly as he went after Shady. Or at least he tried to. His chains clattered loudly as they reached their limit, but that did not stop him from trying. He stretched his arms after Shady in a futile attempt, the shackles around his wrists digging into his skin.

Shady just scoffed as he watched the large form of the Cave Troll struggle against his bonds. Not that it mattered of course, the chains were not something that a creature like that could break, even if he was at his full strength.

“Oh calm down you big brute.” Shady just ignored Jim's efforts. “It will be your turn soon enough. I’m sure somepony will find a Cave Troll useful for something.” And with that, he turned his back to them and started to trot out. The Plusle looking back at Jim with desperation in his eyes.

Futile.

“P-please… Help me..” He begged, reaching out with his little paw. Struggling against the bars of his own cage, desperate. His teary eyes being the last they saw as the doors closed once again. Leaving them in the darkness once more.

“Mousie! Mousie!” Jim kept shouting while struggling with his chains. He was hurting himself, but he did not seem to care. His compassion over his fellow captives was greater than his sense of self care.

“He is gone, Jim…” Jenny told him, though she was having mixed feelings herself. “He is gone.” She felt sorry for the Plusle, especially since they did not know what was going to happen to him. But, the fact that Shady had taken him over her, meant that she was safe. At least for now. She knew that she should feel horrible because she prioritised herself over any of the others, she knew that she would have felt horrible just a little while ago. She just did not care anymore.

Hopeless.

“Mousie…” The room shook slightly as Jenny heard Jim fall back into a sitting position. Even he did not have that much fighting spirit left in him, it seemed.

She laid down in her little cage, the remaining of her tails curling up around her as she closed her eyes. Time had no real meaning in that location, they had no clue if it was day or night, no way to tell the time. So, one just sort of slept when it was possible, if you could get any sleep at all, that was.

Jenny was not sure how long she had just been laying there, motionless in the darkness before she could feel the sweet embrace of sleep start to overtake her. Before it was shattered, as the creaking sound returned and a few rays of light lit up the room. The door was opening again, there was no rest to be had.

“You did not think that I had forgotten about you, my little fox? Did you?” Her whole body started shivering. He was coming for her.

“No, no, oh Arceus please no!” She could only watch in fear as Shady slowly approached her cage. Though… something was different about him, he was wearing something around his neck. It looked like… “M-my, tail?” Like some kind of disgusting trophy, around her captors neck was her severed tail. Being work like a scarf.

“As you can see, my little pretty.” Shady had reached her cage, and kneeled down to look at her. “This makes for a rather gorgeous fashion accessory, don't you think?” He slowly ran a hoof down the fur on the tail.

Jenny felt furious, her blood was boiling. She wanted to attack, to burn the flesh of his face.

Fear.

B-but she couldn't. She did not dare to go against him. If she did anything then… then she would be punished again. S-she couldn't be punished again, she just couldn't.

“Turns out that you have some extremely high quality fur.” Shady commented as he put his hoof back down and stared straight at Jenny who was still covering in the corner. “Not only is it so fine, but it is really resilient as well. Top notch, if I may say so.”

“P-please, just leave me alone.” Jenny whispered, her eyes looking down at the floor, not daring to meet his glare.

“And you see, we already have somepony that wants to buy this lovely little tail of yours… but the thing is. She wants more.” Jenny looked up and watched in terror as Shady's horn lit up and her cage was surrounded in its glow. “And really, who am I to deny such a request when we have such an ample supply of them.”

Despair.

Jenny could only cry in fear as the magic from Shady spread to her mouth, holding it shut, just in case she would try to fight back. She would do anything to not go through that again, anything. She slammed herself against the bars, she wanted out, she needed out. But Shady only laughed at her efforts.

“Now, come on, my pretty.” Shady levitated her cage up and started lightly trotting towards the door. “It’s time to make some bits!”

Chapter 32

“I have to say, thank you again for helping me with this. I really appreciate it.” Mary Care thanked Zoey and Vernus who were both currently in her clinic. They had been spending some time in the park together, just relaxing before they stumbled into Mary.

Zoey introduced them, since Vernus had never met Mary Care, or vice versa.

They had invited Mary to join them, but she had tons of work to do, so she had reluctantly declined.

“It’s no problem, we are happy to help!” Zoey replied from her seat. Seeing how distressed Mary had looked, Zoey had volunteered for both her and Vernus to help her with her work. And that was why all three of them were going through the small mountain of paperwork that Mary had let pile up over time.

“Well, one of us are at least.” Vernus grumbled, but was quickly silenced by a glare from Zoey. “N-nothing!”

“No, I mean really… I could have never managed to get all of this done by myself.” It truly was a wonder how one pony could let something get so backed up.

“You really need an assistant. If it is usually this much, I mean.” Zoey said. She knew that Mary had a bad habit of putting things off, but still. What looked like a year of paperwork, was only for the last week or so.

“It… has been a little but more, ever since Pokémon showed up, yeah… perhaps, I really do need an assistant.” Mary let out a long sigh as she signed and stamped yet another paper and moved it to the finished pile. “So, what were the two of you actually doing in the park?” Vernus looked up, and he was just about to answer that question, but Zoey beat him too it.

“Oh, we were just relaxing a bit. Vernus thought it would be good for us to get out for a bit. Ethan and Brawly are watching over the warehouse… besides, they have been so caught up with each other lately, I'm not even sure if they will notice that we are gone.” Both Zoey and Mary started giggling and laughing at that while Vernus just looked between the two with a confused look. Wondering if he had missed something.

“Oh, those two are just so cute together.” Mary clapped her front hooves together. “It's always great to see love when it's in the air.” Zoey kept her smile on, even though she let out a small sigh.

“Yeah… But anyway.” She continued. “We were just relaxing in the park, catching up a bit. In fact, we were just going to go out for lunch before we ran into you.”

“Oh, oh I’m so sorry, I did not mean to-” Mary began to apologize but was cut off by Zoey.

“No, please don't apologize. It’s okay, it was just lunch, no big deal.” Zoey smiled, but Mary had noticed the downtrodden look that Vernus had on his face when Zoey had said that. She looked between Zoey and Vernus a few times before it clicked for her.

“Y-yeah, it’s fine.” He said as he looked up to Mary and gave her a sad smile, Mary mouthing a silent “I’m sorry,” to Vernus who only nodded in return. His plans to take Zoey out on a date would have to wait.

After several hours of hard work, and just a bit of goofing around on Vernus's part, the three of them finally managed to finish all of the backed up paperwork that Mary had let pile up.

“Again, thank you so much you two.” Mary beamed as she levitated the last folder into its place. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“Well, I am certainly more than happy to have helped. After all that you have done for us, it’s the least I could do… I don't know about him though.” Zoey looked over to the chair where Vernus was sprawled out. He was laying on his back with his front and back legs stretched out and a blank look in his eyes.

“So… much… paperwork…” Vernus groaned, his left eye twitching. “So… many… words.” It had not exactly been fun, but Vernus was not even trying a bit to hide his boredom. She had even caught him, trying to put himself to sleep with a Grass Whistle during the middle of it. But she had quickly slapped him out of that notion and put him back to work.

Mary had just taken it in good spirit and laughed at the Leafeon's antics though. And as much as Zoey hated to admit it, that goofball had managed to raise their spirits considerably, making the boring work that much bearable.

“Don’t worry, it’s all over now.” Mary comforted Vernus while laughing slightly at his antics. “But I have to do something for you, after all that help.” Mary lifted one of her hooves to her chin and seemed to be caught deep in thought before her face lit up. “Would the two of you like a cup of tea? Or perhaps some coffee?” She asked. “I know it's not much, but it's the least I could do for you.” And it truly was a tempting offer. But they had already been gone for several hours and Zoey figured that they should probably be getting home soon and-

“We would love to.” Her head snapped to Vernus who had answered for them and was now sitting properly on his chair with a smug little smile on his face.

“Oh, splendid!” Mary cheered, clapping her front hooves together in an excited manner. “So, what would you like?” Zoey was about to respectfully decline, it was not too long until she had to make dinner for everyone back home and…

“Some tea sounds lovely.” Vernus smiled. And the more she thought about it, it did sound like a pleasant idea. Ethan would manage on his own.

“Y-yeah, some coffee for me though.” She really was quite mentally exhausted after all that work now that she thought about it. A small break and some coffee sounded heavenly.

“Great, I'll be right back!” And with that, Mary trotted out. Leaving Zoey and Vernus alone in her office.

“Something is bothering you.” It was not a question, it was a statement. Zoey looked over to Vernus who kept his eyes on her. “I have known you long enough to tell when something is. That and ever since we arrived here you have been fidgeting, hesitating. Not acting like you at all. You even looked afraid a few times. You never look like that.” Vernus hopped down from his seat and slowly walked over to her. “I am your friend, family even.” He sat down in front of her. “If something is bothering you, please tell me. I can help, I want to help.” Vernus reached out and put his paw on top of hers.

Zoey really wanted to tell him, she truly did. But she was afraid, Ethan was the only one who knew about the thing that was currently bothering her. And she had done everything that she could for it to have stayed that way. But recently, things had changed. And no longer could she ignore it. That was why she had wanted to go back home again straight after they had finished helping Mary, because she was afraid. There was something that she wanted to ask Mary of, but she was afraid of the answer. She was afraid that the outcome would be the same as it had been before. But she had to go through with it, she could ignore it no longer. But she could just not tell Vernus, she just couldn't. Not yet at least.

“I-I’m sorry, but I can’t.” Zoey said as she kept staring down at the ground. “It’s just a little thing that I have to talk to Mary about… in private.” She pulled her paw away and held it close to her chest. “You know, girl stuff.” She put on a fake smile and tried to seem cheerful. But Vernus saw straight through it. Most people would, it was a poor performance.

But, he did not dig any further about the subject. If Zoey did not want him to know, he would not pry. And if she wanted privacy, he would leave her alone.

“Okay.” Vernus reluctantly gave in. “I’ll wait for you outside. Just… you don't have to carry such burdens on your own.” He said, giving her one last glance before walking out the door.

All deal with problems in their own way. Some seeks the help of others, taking strength in their bonds to deal with whatever comes their way. Some just ignore the problems, letting them build up until they are too big to deal with, at least when you are alone.

Having known Zoey for as long as he had, Vernus knew that Zoey was the type that wanted to deal with her own problems alone. Or at least she would try, and she would keep up the facade that everything was okay, up until the breaking point. She was never one to ask for help with such things. So, if she needed to ask Mary for help, then this was already something that had bothered her for a long time. Something that she could not deal with on her own.

But he did not take any offence or hurt in the fact that she would ask Mary for help instead of him, or the rest of their family. Perhaps she thought that she was protecting them, shielding them from her problems. But in the end, by doing so, she was only hurting herself.

But he would still be there for her, that was what a family was for, was it not? To be there for each other. No matter the circumstances, family always took care of their own. Always.

“Huh, where is Vernus?” Mary asked as she came back into her office. Having missed Vernus as he made his way outside. She was levitating a small tray with three cups on it besides her.

“Oh, he just had something that he needed to take care off.” Zoey lied with a fairly straight face. She really was not the best liar. But, if Mary saw through it, then she said nothing about it.

“Oh… Well, I’m going to need to thank him again the next time I see him. My office hasn’t felt this organized in weeks.” She put the tray down on her desk, revealing a small cup of sugar and a small pitcher on it. “Would you like any sugar or milk in your coffee?” Mary offered Zoey with a smile.

“Just a little milk, thanks.” Zoey smiled, watching as Mary did exactly that before handing the cup over to Zoey, taking one of the two cups of tea for herself.

“It’s a shame that he had to leave in such a hurry though… I wanted to get to know him a bit better.” Mary said as she lifted her cup up to her lips and took a sip, only to quickly put it back down. “Oh, hot! Hot!” She waved her hoof in front of her tongue in a desperate manner.

“A-are you alright?” Zoey asked, desperately trying not to giggle at the comedic sight.

“Yeah…” Mary deflated a bit as she pulled her tongue back into her mouth. “Just a bit hot… But yeah. I was also interested in his anatomy. If those were actual plants or just camouflage and a lot of other things.” She let out a sigh. Zoey remembered the first few days after they had met Mary and all of the questions they had been bombarded with.

“I’m sure that he wouldn't mind letting you ask him later.” Mary was a veterinarian, but it seemed that her enthusiasm for animals had carried over to Pokémon. Zoey could already vision the look on Vernus's face when Mary would ask him for samples. Vernus… really, really did not like needles. He had a bad history with them.

“I'll be looking forward to that then.” Mary said gleefully, but perhaps with a bit more enthusiasm than was normal. Yeah, she was definitely going to have to warn Vernus.

Zoey brought up the cup to her mouth and took a small sip. She could feel the hot coffee sting as it slid down her throat. Perhaps still a bit too hot, but it was nothing she could not handle. That and it was refreshing, filled her body with a certain warmth.

But she was still afraid. She could feel herself growing more and more nervous as she thought about asking Mary about what she had been thinking about. “Just do it. Get it over with.” She kept repeating inside her head, psyching herself up to it. She had to do it… there was no backing out, she had to know.

“Um, Mary?” Zoey asked, and the pony in question looked up from her cup of tea. “D-do you mind if I ask you something?”

“But of course.” Mary responded with a kind smile, as if she could sense Zoey's nervousness. “I am your friend. You can ask me anything.” Hearing those words put Zoey at ease, if only a little.

Friend.

That was right. Mary was their friend… she was her friend.

“Well, magic is pretty normal here in Equestria.” Zoey started, getting a nod from Mary who was waiting patiently to see where she was going with it. “Do you also use magic in your medicine, or medical professions?” It had certainly not been the question that Mary had suspected. And so, she hummed softly as she thought about it for a few seconds.

“Well, technology has come a long way… but we do indeed mix science and magic within the field of medicine. At least to a certain degree. Why do you ask?” This was why Zoey had decided to ask Mary in the first place. She was a veterinarian so she had some knowledge about Equestrias medical advancements.

“I… umm…” Zoey fiddled nervously with her paws as she looked down at the ground. After a few deep, calming breaths, she forced herself to look up at Mary once again. “Do you think that there are some things that you can do here in Equestria, that was not possible back in our world. Something that maybe can be fixed with your magic that was impossible with the technology and science we had on Earth?” With every word that left her mouth, Zoey grew more and more nervous once again and her voice was becoming quieter as a result.

Mary looked upon her friend with concern. The curiosity from before was slowly disappearing and being replaced with it, instead. “Maybe?” Mary slowly said as she thought about it. “I mean… Magic is wonderful, and capable of such wonders. But, from what I heard from Ethan. We are way behind compared to the technology that you had. Why, what’s wrong?” Her curiosity was completely gone at that point, only the concern for her friend remained as she saw how Zoey was visibly shaking in her seat.

“C-could magic possibly…” Zoey's breath became bore and more ragged and her eyes watery as she continued to speak. Her secret was finally coming out. “Could it fix, somemon that, was infertile?”

Mary sat there in shock for a second or two, processing what her friend had just said.

“Oh, Zoey…” Mary hopped down from her chair and quickly made her way over to Zoey who was quivering at that point. A few tears had already managed to sneak past her floodgates and dripped down her cheeks.

“W-would anyone in Equestria be able to help her?” Zoey slowly forced herself to look up from the floor to meet Mary's eyes. “To help… me?” Her voice skipped a step as she had to force out her words. The dams had broke and her tears were flowing freely now. But Mary did not waste a single second and positively lunged forward and wrapped her legs around Zoey, hugging her tightly.

“Honey… I'm so, so sorry.” Mary said softly, stroking her friends back as Zoey buried her face into her shoulder. “Just let it all out.” She cooed as she kept stroking her back. “Just let it out.”

It was the most vulnerable Mary had ever seen Zoey. The usually strong and tough Zangoose was now reduced to a crying wreck, weeping into her shoulder. But she understood her pain, and she would be here for her, for as long as she needed. To be infertile… to never even have the option of having some foals of your own… it was a thought that had crossed her mind a few times, but she could not imagine how Zoey felt. To have such a thing affect her, Mary felt like she could cry on behalf of her friend as she held her. And a few tears rolled down her own cheeks too.

But Zoey had asked if something like that could be fixed in Equestria, and Mary racked her brain thinking of something… anything.

The body was… a fickle thing. There was so many things that could go wrong with it, and some of the inner organs were so incredibly fragile. So impossibly hard to fix once broken. Helping somepony that was born infertile was… not unheard of. Rare, incredibly rare… but it had happened.

But that was often caused by some sort of birth defect. If the damage had come from something else…

The more she thought about it, the less she liked the chances that Zoey had and she found herself hugging her a little tighter. Zoey was not even a pony… no matter how she thought about it, it definitely did not look good.

“H-how did it happen?” Mary was not sure how long they had just stayed there, with her embracing Zoey, whose tears had stopped a while ago.

“You remember when Ethan told you about how he found… rescued me, right?” Zoey sat back up, letting Mary do the same as they separated from the hug.

“Of course.” Mary nodded as she listened intently to Zoey.

“Well, I guess a bit of physiology explanation is needed first.” Zoey said as she started to prepare herself for what was to come. “I am a Zangoose. And we are normally immune to poison. But, there are a few of us that instead of being immune, when we get badly poisoned, we draw strength from that poison.” Zoey could see the sceptical look Mary had when she mentioned just that.

“But… wouldn't that mean that you-”

“We are still getting hurt from it, yes.” Zoey nodded, it was a pain that she knew well, too well. “That was the case with me. My fighting style involved getting badly poisoned, and rushing my opponents, overwhelming them with pure force.” Ethan had thrown her toxic orb away after she had been rescued. And she was grateful for it, there was too many bad memories in that thing. “But such a thing is not that rare, it's a known tactic actually… only that after the fight, usually you get a Pecha berry… or an antidote that takes care of the poison, and that's that.”

“It still sounds horrible!” Mary insisted, and to someone who was not used to something like that, Zoey could see why she reacted that way. “Hurting yourself on purpose… why would anyone do something like that?”

“To win.” It was a really simple logic. But many were willing to go through a lot to achieve victory. And then, there was those that took things too far. “But my…” She could not call that man a trainer. “Captor felt differently about that whole thing. I often went days without getting cured of my poison… sometimes even weeks.” Her chest tightened as she thought about it. “He would make sure that I did not die. And when he finally did give me an antidote, he would make sure to poison me as quickly as possible afterwards. It was an incentive for me to keep fighting. If I won, then I would get a potion, maybe even a antidote if I was lucky. Personally, I think he just liked to see me suffer.” She could not explain the joy that she had felt when that horrible person had been killed. “But as you can imagine… long term exposure to such a strong poison is not a good thing.” She ran her paw down across her sweater. “You have probably already guessed, but I'm not wearing this thing just as a fashion statement.” Mary already knew that she was not completely okay, that she was never at her full strength. But she had never told her why.

“I… I think I knew. But I did not want to be rude.” Mary admitted as she was fidgeting slightly with her hooves, her ears laying flat down against her head. She had wanted to inquire about it before, but it had not been within her place to ask.

“The poison it…” Zoey paused as her emotions flared back up within her, it was almost overwhelming. She wanted to cry again, but she felt empty, like she had no more tears to give. She felt so vulnerable, so weak as she sat there. That was why she had sent Vernus away, she did not want him to see her like that. “It wrecked havoc with my body. At first I lost patches of my fur… then some of my skin started to loose its color.” Zoey clutched the bottom of her sweater in her paws. “At the time Ethan found me, it had damaged even my internal organs.”

She had considered showing Mary how she looked without her sweater, but she did not have it in herself to do that. Not yet anyway.

“He tried everything to get me back to my original health. Even went to doctors and surgeons who tried to have him arrested on the spot. But there was little that could be done. The poison was allowed to do too much damage over too long a period of time. Not even the Pokémon Centers with their magnificent medical technology could do anything. The damages were simply too old. But through all their scans and things, they did find out… you know. That I could never have any babies, and that there was nothing they could do for me.” Not even their marvel of medical technology and wonders could do much for damages that were so old that most of it had already healed wrongly and become scar tissue.

“I’m sorry, Zoey.” Mary sobbed. Zoey had not noticed before, but she had started to cry too sometime during her story. Her eyes were red and her cheeks wet from the tears. “Nopony should have to go through something like that… ever.” She sniffed, carefully wiping her eyes with her hoof.

Zoey went over to Mary and sat down next to her before she continued talking.

“It was hardest in the beginning. I refused to accept the news, I even went so far to lash out at the nurse Joy who told me then.” That had not been one of her proudest moments. But she had just been so angry, that something like that had been taken away from her and she did not even have the possibility of getting revenge from the person that did it to her. “I wouldn't even accept any help from Ethan, Vernus, or anyone.” She had originally been mad at Ethan for having killed her captor, for having robbed her of that revenge. But with time, she had been able to see more clearly and that anger had melted away too. “In time, things got easier. You already know this, but in time, I started to develop feelings for Ethan. Why would I care about my infertility when he was the one I was in love with. If we got together then… well, he could never have given me babies anyway.”

She had still wanted some little ones of her own, even back then. But that had been her way of dealing with it. Her way of accepting it.

“B-but after… after I got turned down. I started thinking about my future.” Zoey wrapped one of her arms around Mary and squeezed slightly. “If… if there was any chance that I could be fixed, that I could start my own family.” And even though she felt like she had cried herself dry earlier, there was still a few tears that found their way out. “I just want my own egg.” Zoey sobbed softly. “Not right away. B-but someday.” She did not even try to hold it back anymore, there was no use. “D-do you think that there is any chance for that?”

“I…” Mary could not meet Zoey's eyes. Her friend had come to her, baring her soul to her, hoping that she would have an answer, a solution. How could she just tell her that there was simply nothing that could be done for her. That they simply did not have good enough medical knowledge in Equestria to even attempt something like that.

She knew that she should always tell the truth, that it was the right thing to do. But she just could not crush her friends hope right then and there, especially not after she had noticed the look that Zoey was giving her. Pleading her to say that there was a chance, even if it was a slim one.

“I… I'm not sure.” Mary spoke slowly, and she could feel a tightening within her chest and a bad taste in her mouth as she spoke. “I'll ask around and see if there is something that can be done. But I'll be honest with you Zoey. I… I don't think there is.” She could not bring herself to lie, it simply was not in her nature. All that she could manage was half a lie. And with the appearance of the Pokémon, maybe they would be making some major breakthrough within medicine… eventually. “I wouldn't get your hopes up… I’m sorry, Zoey. I'm truly sorry.”

“No… no, it’s alright.” Zoey tried to regain her composure, but she was failing. “I just hoped, that there would be a small… tiny… chance.” And with that Zoey broke down once again, her whole body shook as she doubled over, hiding her face within her paws as she continued to cry heavily.

She knew what the answer would probably be before she had even asked. But to have had the last hopes of her dream crushed like that… she just could not handle it. She was no longer the strong and tough Zangoose that she was known for. She was simply a girl, a sad girl who could do nothing but cry as her friend tried to comfort her.

Zoey had no idea how long she stayed like that. But eventually the tears stopped. She truly had nothing more to give. She just felt tired, so very tired.

“Are you going to be okay?” She could hear her friend, Mary ask her. And as she looked up, she noticed that she was still at her side. She had stuck with her the entire time.

“No…” Zoey said as she shook her head. “Not yet at least.” Nomon would be okay so soon after something like that. “But, thank you for listening anyway.” She forced herself up, and could feel her body protesting as she did so. It was time to head out. But she did not want to head home, not yet. The others would notice easily that she had been crying and that something was wrong, no.

Perhaps she would just wander a bit throughout town. Yeah, she liked the sound of that.

“It’s what friends are for.” Mary gave a small smile as she followed after Zoey and led her to the door. “If you ever want… need to talk again, about anything, I’m here for you.”

“I know, thank you.” Zoey kneeled down and gently embraced Mary one more time. Giving her one last hug before she was heading out. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.” It was a strange feeling for Zoey, since most of her other friends was members of their family. But she really liked the thought that she had somepony else that she could talk to, somepony else that she could trust.

“So… what are you going to tell the others?” Mary asked. And that was the money question, wasn't it? Zoey could not explain how tempting it felt to simply tell the others nothing, to just hide this secret like she had done all along.

“The truth? I think I’m going to tell them the truth.” Zoey admitted. She could not lie to the rest of her family. She knew that she had originally come to Mary to avoid the rest of them, but after having learned that her problem could not be fixed anyway, she saw no reason to hide it anymore. “But, perhaps not right away.” She needed time, time to think and gather herself.

“Okay, that seems like a good plan.”

Zoey nodded and rose back up, opening the door that led back outside. “Again, thank you Mary.” She smiled, and it was a big and genuine smile. She felt good, well, better at least. “See you later.”

“Have a nice day!” Mary waved after her as Zoey left through the door and closed it behind her.

As she walked out, she noticed a familiar face on a nearby rock.

Vernus was laying down with his feet tucked under himself, his eyes closed and a relaxed look on his face as he basked in the sunlight.

“You waited the entire time?” Zoey asked but did not get an answer in return as she walked towards him. And as she got closer, she could have sworn that the air seemed even cleaner around him. It sort of had a nicer smell to it.

She knew exactly what he was doing, and while she enjoyed the sun as much as the next mon, she knew that it was something else for him and a lot of other grass types. In a way, she envied him that feeling, since she would never truly know what it was like for them.

“Hey, time to wake up.” She gently shook him to get his attention. She knew that he was not sleeping, but Vernus could get really out of it when he was like that, so it was not too far off.

“Hmm? Oh, hello there.” Vernus greeted her as he finally opened his eyes. “How did things go in there?” He stood up and stretched his whole body in a similar manner to how a cat would.

“It went… alright. You really did not have to wait for me, you know.” She had been worrying him, that much was obvious. He had already known that something was wrong before she sent him out, and she had just brushed him off. She felt really bad about that now.

“Hey, something was bothering my favorite girl. I couldn't just go home after that, even if you did not want to tell me what it was about. So, are you alright now?” Vernus asked as he hopped down from his little stone and stood in front of her.

“I… no, no I’m not alright.” Zoey admitted. She really did not want to worry Vernus any more than she already had. But she did not think that she could avoid it. He always cared to much, so he would worry no matter what she did.

“Oh… anything I can do to help?” A hopeful Vernus asked, his enthusiasm making Zoey smile, despite everything that had happened. She had been a fool to push him away, he deserved to know, they all did. And she swore that she would make it up to them.

“Actually… I think it is.” Zoey said as she finally got an idea about what she wanted to do.

“Great! What is it?”

“How do you feel about going for a drink... or five?” She really was not the biggest drinker, in fact she rarely drank at all. But right at that moment, she could definitely go for dulling her senses and mind a few notches.

“Um…” Uncertainty immediately lit up on Vernus's face, and she knew why. “If that is what you really want. Though you know that I'm probably not going to drink with you, right?” And that was the reason. He really did not drink, well, not anymore at least.

“Of course I know that, you silly little Leafeon.” Zoey laughed. “But, I may need a friend to make sure that I don't go overboard. If that is alright with you, that is.” The truth was that she just did not want to be alone. Originally she had planned to be alone for the rest of the evening. But now, she really looked forward to spending some time with Vernus.

“I think I can do that. “

“Sounds good. Let’s go then.” Zoey said as she took the lead.

It did not take long for the two of them to arrive at one of the few bars in town. It was fairly quiet, still too early for most ponies to go out and enjoy the nightlife, but still late enough that they were open.

The familiar smell of alcohol filled their noses as they entered. The lighting was dim, but not so dark that you could not see where you were going, just enough so that it would create a nice mood.

They noticed another pony in the other end of the bar. He was sitting alone, nursing a bottle of his own. Even from the entrance it was easy to notice just how drunk he was, and both Zoey and Vernus silently decided to leave him alone.

Other than him, the only other pony in the establishment was the bartender who stood by the counter, and was currently cutting up a few fruits. He was a pegasus with a bright green mane and a dark coat to match. He was currently wielding the knife in his mouth, but put it down as he noticed the new customer that had entered.

“Hey there.” The barpony greeted them as they approached. It was not a pony that Vernus recognized, but Zoey was sure that she had seen him with Mignon a few times before. “You two got that translation spell on?” He asked as he glanced over both of them.

“We sure do!” Vernus grinned, making the barpony let out a small relieved sigh.

“Good, that makes this a lot easier. Got nothing against your kind, but I prefer to be able to talk to my customers.” Normally Zoey would have felt a little irked at that comment, but this time, she would let it slide. “So, what can I get ya?” The barpony turned around and let them see the large assortment of alcohol that were lining the shelf behind him.

“Just some juice for me, thanks.” Vernus ordered, getting a nod from the pegasus.

“And for the lady?” Zoey blinked at that. Not that many of the ponies she had met so far had recognized her gender, at least not before she had spoken to them.

“Something strong.” Zoey said, not really that picky with what she ordered.

“Oh, tough day?” The barpony asked as he reached under the counter and got a pair of glasses.

“... You could say that.”

It had been years since Zoey last drank, but she was really enjoying herself. It had taken a few glasses for her to get really started, she was really tolerant when it came to alcohol. But after the third of fourth, her mood had finally began to loosen up.

The bar had also filled up quite nicely as the hours went past. A lot of ponies had come to unwind after a long day of hard work, or just to relax with some friends and generally have a good time. There was also a few other Pokémon scattered around the establishment. For example, the Granbull who was currently working as a bouncer. She did community service work during the daylight hours and volunteered at various places late at night. It was not a perfect solution, but it was better than to just put her in jail.

Zoey and Vernus had eventually moved away from the bar counter and found a table to their own. It was a little off to the side, so they got some amount of privacy, well, as much privacy as it was possible to get in a crowded bar at the very least.

“You should have seen it. The Machoke was creeping up on him and then, BAM! He did not even see what hit him.” Vernus was impressed. Zoey had remained very collected compared to the amount of alcohol that she had consumed. She only got happier and more talkative the drunker she got. “He never stood a chance. Underestimated me because I am a normal type. Pff, he was lucky that I did not kill him.” Although, some of her inner limiters had been removed as the night had gone on.

“Sounds like you guys had quite the hectic battle.” Vernus laughed. He had been told about what had happened at that battle before. But that did not stop Zoey from telling it again.

“Heh, yeah… shame about what happened to Jenny though.” Zoey murmured as she looked down into her glass. “She turned out to be quite nice after I threatened to end her and she came over to our side.” That was also why Vernus had found them their own table, to make it so that Zoey would not freak out anypony more with what she said. They had already had one awkward situation at the bar. Luckily, he had managed to explain it away to her just spouting nonsense since she was drunk.

“Hey, at least you did not go through with it, so that’s good.” Vernus already knew how violent Zoey could be at times, so he really was not that surprised.

“Yeah… but I wanted to though.” Zoey whispered in a low voice.

“Hey, enough with such depressing talk, alright?” It had mostly been like that the whole night. Zoey had been in a somber mood for most of the evening and Vernus did his best to try to cheer her up. Though she still had not said anything about what she and Mary had talked about. “In the end, it turned out just fine anyway, so dont worry about it.” Zoey barely reacted with with a faint nod as she continued to stare down into her glass.

“It's empty…” She mumbled.

“Yeah, and I think we are going to let it stay empty this time.” Vernus suggested as he reached out and pulled the glass away from her. It was strange enough for him to see Zoey drink, but for her to drink that much…

“Come oooon.” Zoey wined as she gave a halfassed attempt to grab the glass. “Give it to me, Twigs.”

“You really don't want to drink this much.” Vernus told her, ignoring the terrible nickname. “I don’t know what you and Mary talked about, but you wanted me to make sure that you did not go overboard and that's exactly what I'm doing.” Vernus perfectly understood the want to dull the senses after something bad had happened, more than most probably, but he also knew that Zoey would regret in in the morning if he let her continue.

“You used to be more fun.” Zoey complained as she gave up on the glass.

“Hey, I am plenty of fun.” Vernus huffed. “Tell you what, you can have one more drink,” he could already see the hope in Zoey's eyes. “If you can beat me in a little game.” He grinned.

“Oh, you are on!” Zoey immediately agreed. She was brimming with confidence from the alcohol, so in her mind, there was no way that he would beat her in anything.

“Alright. Let’s see then… aha.” Vernus reached out and picked up a cherry that had been used as a topping for one of Zoey's drinks. “Let’s make it an easy one.” He said as he tossed the cherry up in the air and caught in again with his paw. “I'll hide this under one of my paws, and you try to guess the correct one. Win, and you get your drink. Sounds fair?” It was a game of chance, so of course it would sound fair to her. Normally it would be a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right. Or it would have been, if Vernus would have had any intention of playing fair in the first place.

“Heh, that’s easy.” Zoey leaned forward to get a little closer. “So, are you going to make me close my eyes or something then?” She asked, but Vernus's grin only widened.

“Nah, where would the fun in that be? Just keep your eyes on the cherry as I switch it about.” And with those words, he started.

He tossed the cherry up into the air, noticing how intensely Zoey was watching it. It bounced as it fell back onto the table, and Vernus quickly snatched it up again with his left paw before tossing it right back to his other paw again.

He went on like this for a few seconds, just making sure that Zoey was intensly watching the cherry as he juggled it around. And as he did, he slowly moved his tail up to Zoey and gently ran it across her legs before quickly pulling it back.

“Hey, what the-?” And just like that, she looked away from the cherry. Instead she ducked down to see what touched her legs instead. When she did not see anything she leaned back up to see that Vernus had placed both of his paws down onto the table and the cherry was nowhere in sight.

“So, ready to take your guess?” Vernus smiled as Zoey looked between his paws.

It was a poor trick, a very poor one. Had it not been for the fact that Zoey was drunk, it would have never had a chance to work.

“Umm…” Zoey continued to look between the two paws, trying really hard to notice any kind of difference. “T-that one!” She reached forward to grab his left paw, and lifted it up to reveal… nothing.

“Shame, you guessed wrong.” Vernus grinned as Zoey looked disappointed by her loss.

“Then it's under here.” She reached out and lifted up his right paw too, only to see that there was nothing under there either. “Hey, its not here either!” She complained as she glared at Vernus.

“That’s right, because.” Vernus started as he leaned towards Zoey. “It was on my nose the whole time.” And indeed it was, on the tip of his muzzle was the small round cherry from before.

“You cheated.” Zoey grumbled, annoyed that she had lost in such a way. Still, she couldn't take her eyes off that small piece of fruit. “Cherry…”

“Maybe but you still… lost…” Vernus's words came to a halt as he felt something wet on his nose and his vision was filled with red and white fur, along with two familiar eyes.

Zoey had positively lunged forward and had taken the cherry into her mouth, unintentionally kissing Vernus's nose in the process.

She stayed like that for a few seconds longer, slowly chewing and savoring her price while her lips touched the tip of his nose.

“Mmh, cherry!” A satisfied Zoey exclaimed once she finally leaned back, not noticing the empty look and huge blush that Vernus was currently sporting.

“A-anyway,” Vernus started as he looked away and tried his best to hide his flushed face. He was desperately trying to come up with something to say, but his brain was still booting back up from what had just happened.

“What?!” a loud voice rang through the establishment, causing several heads to turn towards the origin on the sound and Vernus who thanked Arceus for the distraction.

The voice had originated from a table where Zephyr sat, and by his side was a very upset looking Manectric.

“I… I need to report this.” The female Manectric quickly excused herself and hurried out, leaving Zephyr behind while the rest of the ponies at the bar went back to their own business.

“She looked familiar.” Zoey commented as she looked out the door after the Manectric. She was sure that she had seen her before, but just could not remember where.

“Well, whoever she was, it looks like she just ran out on Zephyr.” Vernus said, thankful that his blush had managed to calm down enough during that little scene. “Doesn't seem like he is getting lucky tonight.” He couldn't help but laugh a little. Zephyr was their friend and a very alright guy. But he was not the smoothest of ponies when it came to the ladies.

“Hey, Zephyr.” Zoey yelled out as she waved at the pegasus in question. “Come over here!” She waved him over, though Vernus winced a little from how loud she was being. They had already gotten a warning earlier that evening, and it would be incredibly embarrassing if they ended up getting thrown out.

“Hey, didn't see that you guys were here too.” Zephyr was not slow with making his way over to their table.

“Yeah, we have been here all night.” Vernus commented. He noticed that the pegasus was already a little tipsy, but apparently not as drunk as Zoey, yet at least. “But more importantly, what was that with your lady friend.” Vernus asked with a small grin. “Something go wrong?”

“Well, I guess you could say that… though I'm not exactly sure what happened.” Zephyr said as he took a seat between Vernus and Zoey.

“Well she left in a hurry, that's for sure.” Zoey looked over to the door, she still could not place that Manectric. “But don't worry, you can still drink with us!”

“What did you even say to her to make her run out like that?” Vernus could not help it, he was a little curious.

“That's the thing, I can't think of anything I said.” Zephyr slumped down against the table. “Was just telling her some funny stories. Last one was about Ethan actually, at the party a little while back.” At this both Vernus and Zoey perked up.

“Oh, please continue.” Vernus grinned, he knew from experience just how Ethan could be when he got drunk, and he could always use a little more information to tease his friend with.

“Well, it did not take long for Ethan to get drunk… I mean really drunk, like, he was gone.” Zephyr shook his head as he explained it. “I was talking with him but suddenly he just started sprouting this gibberish. He asked me if I could keep a secret, then he told me that his name was that secret.” Vernus was already getting bad vibes at that point, but he let Zephyr continue. “I mean… what? I dont even think he knew that he was talking about at that point. His name was the secret, who comes up with stuff like that.” The pegasus just laughed to himself as he continued to shake his head. “Crazy. Ethan Summers, what's so secret about a name like that?”

“So, um… was that the story that you told that Manectric?” Zoey asked, warning bells was going off inside her head. She remembered exactly who that Manectric was, things were bad, really bad.

“Yeah, no idea why she would run out because of something like that though.”

“No, you probably don't.” Zoey said as she got up. They needed to catch up to that Manectric and fast. Why could drunk Ethan just not keep his mouth shut.

Without saying another word Zoey started heading for the door.

“Um, I think I need to go after her.” Vernus quickly said as he got up too. “She has already had a fair amount to drink and I need to make sure that she gets home safely. Was fun talking to you, Zephyr.”

“Yeah… see ya later, I guess.” And with that hurried goodbye, Vernus sat off after Zoey, leaving a slightly confused Zephyr behind.

He ran past the Granbull bouncer and out into the night outside. The wind was blowing, sending a slightly chill through his body, something that he quickly shook off as he caught up with Zoey.

“Hey, wait up.” Vernus breathed out as he came up to Zoey's side.

“I can’t wait, we need to stop that Manectric, now!” Zoey exclaimed, putting in a little extra speed in her steps.

“O-okay, I know that this is probably bad.” Vernus said, he had already been filled in on most things so he knew that Ethan had already decided to stop using his last name… apart from this apparent screw up that was. “But what is the chance that she actually know who he is? I mean… the world is a large place, right?” Zoey halted, her front paws digging into the ground as she came to a stumbling stop. She could manage to hold her balance while running despite how drunk she was, but she still had a few issues.

“No, this is really, really bad!” Zoey steeled herself as she felt her stomach protest from the sudden spurt of movement. But she managed to ignore the nausea that she was feeling. “I know that Manectric. That was Olivia, a Ranger.” Hearing that, Vernus cursed loudly.

“Fuck… and from the reaction she had, I think it's safe to say that she knew who Ethan was.” They had already dodged a bullet when it came to Jenny. Vernus had heard how Ethan had dealt with her, but he was unsure if the same approach would work here. Or if they could even take that chance. “Do you think she is heading to the police station?”

“She said that she needed to report it… so yes.” Zoey growled as they started moving again. “That and I'm pretty sure that she actually lives at that station anyway.” She knew that Olivia had helped out the police there with several small things and were currently helping with the Jenny case.

“Well we have to catch up to her in any case.” Vernus ran besides Zoey. luckily, there were very little ponies out at that time of night. “B-but what are we going to do?”

“We have to stop her!” Zoey repeated and Vernus was not so sure what she actually meant by that.

“Let me take care of her.” Vernus said as he took the lead. Zoey was too drunk, and he did not know if she could hold back when she was in such a state. No, he would handle things.

After a little while, the two of them noticed a figure in the distance. And as they got closer they saw that it was indeed the same Manectric from the bar. She was walking in a hurried pace through the empty streets.

“Just let me knock her out.” Zoey growled and was about to step forth, but Vernus cut her off.

“No.” He hushed her in a quiet voice. “What if someone else hears the commotion? What if she dodges and runs… no. Just let me take care of this messed up situation.” Vernus said with a sigh. Why did something like this have to happen?

He thought about exactly what he was going to do, and he liked none of the options. But… it was not like they had a choice. They could not allow her to out their Ethan.

As far as Vernus could tell, there were no one else in the area around them. Or at least none that he could hear or smell. He would have to chance it. “Cover your ears.” He told Zoey before turning back around towards Olivia.

Breaking out into a spring, Vernus quickly got within the range that he would need, and Olivia had not noticed him yet, it seemed.

“Time to sleep.” Vernus said as he lifted up a small leaf up to his mouth and a beautiful whistle sound filled the air. That, however, got Olivia's attention and she quickly turned around to see Vernus standing there as he continued his Grass Whistle attack.

“W-what are… you… doi-” But even though she noticed him, she did not get very far. Only after a few steps, she collapsed against the ground, sleeping soundly. She had tried to resist, but in the end, she had failed.

Vernus let the leaf fall to the ground as he let out a long breath of relief. It had gone much more smoothly than he had hoped, and he thanked Arceus for that.

Zoey quickly joined him as they walked over to the sleeping body of the Ranger. They stood over her and traded glances between each other.

“So… what now?” Zoey asked as she gently poked Olivia. Sure enough, she was in a heavy sleep.

“Now…” They really had not thought that far ahead. Everything had just been improvisation because of how quickly things had happened. Vernus still had no idea of what they were going to do to fix this whole situation. But at least he knew that they had to do next. “Now we move her.”

Chapter 33

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 34 Author's Note

Editor's Note:

MoldyShishkabob: I'm not sure if it's because Arctic told me or I actually noticed it, but do you all notice something different about some of the scenes in this chapter?
Anyway, have fun reading! I know this chapter was a fun one for me.

Author: Yeah, I have begun reading some different kinds of novels (The Dresden Files), and I may have picked up a little inspiration here and there. But in any case, I hope that you enjoy the chapter^^ And any and all feedback is as always, appreciated

Chapter 34

It had been over a full day in Neighagra Falls since the Pokémon Ranger had gone missing, but, the town was still calm and life went on like usual.

It had started as a small rumor, but in a small town like that, it won't take long for just a single rumor to spread thoroughly. And thus, everypony now thought that Olivia had gone out of town for an unknown reason. There had been some talk about why she would leave in the middle of the investigation that she was helping the local police with… but other than that, no pony questioned it any further.

And the source of this extremely convenient rumor? The local herbalist and expert liar, Vernus himself.

While Zoey had said that Olivia occasionally went out of town, and maybe none of the towns ponies would question her sudden disappearance anyway. He thought that it would be better if they covered their tracks and made sure.

But despite how good of a liar he was, he did not enjoy it one bit. Especially not when he had to lie and hide this from the rest of his family. Worse than that, Chii had apparently noticed that something was wrong and asked why her “Uncle Vernus” looked so sad.

He had been sloppy.

But luckily, Chii had accepted it when he had said that he had just been feeling a little sick and that it would pass soon. She was so insightful and so innocent at the same time, a horrible combination in some circumstances. And with how much that Vernus cared for her, he could not let her know what he or Zoey was doing. To let her be corrupted by their current actions.

A necessary evil… that was what they called something like that.

Vernus hated that particular line. He had always just thought that it was something that horrible individuals told themselves to justify their actions. Though… in light of the recent events, he could understand it a little more clearly.

They had already kidnapped someone, and he was going to make drugs so that they could wipe her recent memory… He had swore that he would never touch or even think about making those substances again.

Desperate times calls for desperate measures… or at least so he told himself. He would do anything to keep his family safe and protect them… but he did not have to like what they had to do. It bothered Zoey too. She was hiding it well, but he had known her for such a long time that he could see through her facade. She was so fragile, and he had to make sure that nothing severe happened to her, or anymon that she cared deeply about. Because if it did… he was not sure that she could take it.

“Only a few more hours.” He told himself, that was all the time that he would need to complete that narcotic drug of his. It was a concoction of his own creation. The ingredients were all fairly common and harmless in their own right, but when combined and prepared in the right way, they could make something truly horrible.

Memory loss was just one of the side effects when an overdose was taken. Needless to say, that was not the only negative effect that it had on the user.

Heaven's Glow, that was the name that that particular drug had gotten. It had a psychedelic effect on the user, making them feel like they were in heaven, hence the name. But it was also horribly addictive, and the withdraw symptoms were… they were bad. It had taken years for himself to fully recover. Granted, Olivia would not be exposed to it for as long a time as he had been, so the after effects would not be nearly as bad as they had been to him, but still...

“Arceus forgive us.” Vernus quietly muttered to himself as he looked up to the sky.

But unknown to Vernus, not everypony was fully convinced of the rumor concerning Olivia that was going around town. One pony, was having doubts about the whole situation, and said pony was currently at Mary Care's house, talking to her about it.

“I get what you are saying.” Mary said as she poured both her and her visitor a cup of tea. She was nothing if not a good host. “But she had done this before, correct? She has been looking for her partner, it's understandable that she wants to find him again, right?” Her horn lit up as she levitated the cup of tea to to herself and gently blew on the hot liquid.

They were sitting in Mary's living room on opposite ends of the table that was laid out in front of them. The smell of the herbal tea creating a refreshing aroma throughout the room.

“That may be so.” Protocol used his magic to lift of his own tea and took a small sip of it, despite how hot it was. “But we are in the middle of an important investigation… and she does not strike me as the kind of pony- I mean, the kind of Pokémon that would do something like that.” Protocol and Mary were old friends, which was why he had gone to her to talk about the current situation. “I am usually not wrong about somepony’s type of personality, no… I don't believe that she would just leave when we were in the middle of this case. Especially not after Jenny got captured. It just does not seem like something that she would do.” He looked deeply into his cup of tea as he spoke, like he was hoping that there would be some sort of answer within it if he looked deep enough.

“She had not been here that long, you know.” Mary said with a sweet smile. “Maybe you were just wrong about her? I mean… some of them are so close that they are like a family. Maybe that is why she wants to find her partner so strongly?” It was definitely an option, one that Protocol had considered for a little while.

“Am I usually wrong about things like this?” Protocol asked and as much as Mary wanted to believe that the rumor was true… she had known Protocol for such a long time and knew him so well that she knew that he was probably right. “No… she felt too strongly about this case to just leave, of that, I am sure.” If there was somepony that would know something like that, it was Protocol, Mary was sure about that.

“So… what then?” She asked, as she levitated her cup of tea back down and set it on the table. It was still a little too hot for her liking.

“Of that, I am not sure.” Protocol shook his head. He had given the matter some thought, but without anything to go on, there was not much that he could do. “There is also too much else going on for me to put any resources into looking for her. Especially since we have no idea about what have happened. No, for the moment we will just have to wait.” That was the correct thing to do, at least that was what he had convinced himself. He had a feeling that something was wrong, a hunch if you wanted. But he could not act on a hunch alone. And until he found some concrete evidence, that was the course of action that he would follow.

“I hope that you are right in that… But speaking of the case, Ethan came to me with some peculiar news about that. and I hoped that you could shed some more light on it.” Mary leaned forward in her seat as she spoke.

“What about?”

“About the fact that you requested assistance from Canterlot. Is it right that the Princesses felt that you could handle this situation on your own?” Ethan had found it really strange that they did not receive any kind of assistance in the matter, and Mary had in turn done her best to put his fears to rest and reassured him that everything was alright. She did this, even if she had not been completely convinced herself.

“That is correct.” Protocol nodded. “There was of course more to it than that, but that was the gist of it.” But even with those words, Mary was not completely convinced.

“...” Mary just looked at Protocol, staring into his eyes as if she hoped that she could spot something, anything in there that would reassure her. “I hope that you know what you are doing.” Mary let out a soft sigh as she shook her head.

“Have you ever known me to do something that I was not sure of?” It was the sort of answer that she had expected from him.

“More times than I could count.” She countered with the tiniest of smiles gracing her face.

“Do not worry yourself about things that does not concern you.” That, however got an internal reaction out of Mary. That string of words… they, they hurt her.

“You are my friend, so this does concern me!” Mary raised her voice to hide the hurt that was seeping into her words. Protocol was one of her oldest friends, but sometimes, he could just act like a real ass. Even if he did not mean it. “… I hope that you are doing the right thing.” Mary said, her voice reverting back to its normal volume.

The two friends looked into each other's eyes, staring into the soul of the other. To any others it would seem like nothing. But to them, they were having an intense silent battle of wills. Protocol who was sure that he was in the right. And Mary, who knew that what he was currently doing was wrong, but desperately wanted to understand her old friend.

And so, after a few seconds, that felt like a small eternity, Mary averted her eyes.

“I trust you, Protocol… and I will keep your secret safe. But if things get any worse from here on, then promise me that you will swallow your pride and do what needs to be done… can you do that for me?”

Once again, Mary and Protocol found themselves looking at each other, but this time, Mary was much more determined. A small fire currently burned within her chest, she would not step down this time.

It was a little later during that day when Ethan found himself down at the waterfall along with Scylla, as they were having another one of their sessions.

Ethan had been working very closely with her ever since they had the breakthrough after Jenny had been kidnapped. Scylla had shown some of the worst anger issues that he had ever seen in any Pokémon, though he had heard about some pretty bad cases regarding some dragon types.

Still, he was more than qualified to help her get through her problems and that was exactly what he was going to do.

Over the first few sessions after the breakthrough, they had mostly just talked and discussed Scylla's past and her involvement within Checkmate. Ethan felt that it was important that Scylla felt that her situation was not her fault, rather a result of her biology and environment combining in an unfortunate way. That and they worked on several exercises that were targeted to help Scylla calm herself down if she ever felt like she was starting to lose control again.

And while Scylla was having some trouble, it was clear that she was really, really trying. She had a goal in mind, and she was working hard to achieve that goal. Though they still had a few… incidents from time to time, and Ethan had found himself being thrown backwards from the force behind Scylla's voice, and even into the water a time or two.

But unlike the other situations where this had happened before, Ethan could now see that Scylla had started regretted losing control, even if it was only for a second or two. And she actually apologized, that was a clear sign that she was taking those sessions seriously and that she was changing for the better.

He had given it a little thought before, but Ethan also thought that the calm nature of the town had a positive influence on Scylla. She was no longer called out on missions all the time like she was when she was still in Checkmate. No, she was just spending most of her days swimming up or downstream, doing whatever it was that she did when she was not relaxing near the bottom of the waterfall.

It was just a small influence, but in the long run, Ethan was sure that it would provide extremely helpful to Scylla's anger management issues.

But today, Ethan had decided to try a small exercise to see how far Scylla had gotten. To see how much self control she had, or rather, how much it would take for that self control to snap. In other words, he would be purposely antagonizing her.

Now… if there had been any other Pokémon psychologists there, they would most likely all have strongly discouraged Ethan's current choice. Saying that there were better ways, safer ways. Or that he was a fool to even try to calm the natural rage of a Gyarados. And he would have to agree, there were definitely safer ways, but not necessarily better.

Different, yes.

But better? That he was not so sure about.

He had grown to know Scylla rather well over the time that she had been his patient, and he was positive that Scylla would benefit more from such a paws-on exercise.

But, he was not the one that was riling Scylla up and trying to make her lose her cool. No, it would be much easier to observe Scylla if he was not running around for his life. So, he had gotten help from a friend of his who had a special knack for getting under other ponies skin, and at the same time, was extremely agile so he could dodge any of Scylla's potential attacks against him if it should come to that.

He had asked Zephyr for help, and the pegasus had agreed almost instantaneously. He was more than happy to help, even if the task involved trying to piss off a huge Pokémon that could level a small town with relative ease.

And so, it was such that Ethan found himself sitting on a rather comfortable stone near the water while Zephyr kept zipping around in the air with Scylla shouting profanities after him.

“Get down here, you annoying little shit. I will tear off your wings and feast upon them!” To anypony that would be passing by it would seem pretty bad, but in all honestly, it was not. Scylla was annoyed at him, most certainly. But she was still in control, that and she had even restrained herself from attacking him… mostly, that was. She had fried a few Hydro Pumps in his general vicinity to scare him.

“No, I’m good up here, thank you very much.” Zephyr said as he poked his head out from the little cloud that he was zipping around on. “Besides, the last time I even came near you, you tried to bite me.” Okay, so they still had some ways to go… but just like the Hydro Pumps, the bite had just been to scare the pegasus. At least Ethan was sure that it had been. He knew that Scylla would have been easily able to catch Zephyr had she really been trying.

In the beginning, Scylla had remained fairly calm, having been able to ignore Zephyr or at least to block him out.

But then Zephyr had gotten the same small cloud that he was currently residing on. And to the surprise of both Ethan and Scylla, he had begun to send small and rather weak bolts of lightning down from the cloud, hitting Scylla with each and every one of them.

Needless to say, Scylla had not taken this development calmly.

“Oh just you wait…” Ethan noticed the change of tone in Scylla's voice and was wondering exactly what it was that she was planning.

“Don’t do anything stupid now.” He spoke up, warning her. But Scylla just looked at him with a small grin instead.

“Oh, nothing like that… even as much as I want to… no, I just thought that this little flier could need a little…” Scylla lowered her powerful tail into the water and Ethan watched as she tensed the muscles in it. “bath.”

And with an impressive show of strength, Scylla threw her tail up towards Zephyr. With how deep her tail had been submerged and how she had positioned her fin, she moved a huge amount of water along with her tail and practically tossed it high up into the air, straight towards Zephyr whose eyes widened as he understood what was happening.

“Oh shit…” But even though he understood it, did not mean that he was fast enough to dodge.

The wave of water washed over Zephyr, dissipating his cloud as it did and taking him with it as it rushed back down into the lake below. Creating a small splash as he landed.

“Was that really necessary?” Ethan turned to Scylla who had an extremely smug, satisfied smile on her face.

“Very.” She huffed and both of them turned to look at the spot where Zephyr had landed, the water around it was still rippling and a small amount of bubbles was surfacing. “I was hard to keep cool at times there when he was going at it.” Scylla admitted.

“But in the end, you preservered. You were angry, but you were still in control. Is that not a good feeling?” A few seconds had passed and Zephyr had still not resurfaced. Ethan had made sure to ask the pegasus if he could swim beforehand just to be sure, and he had gotten a confident “yes” in return.

“It really is. It is a feeling that I want to keep.” Hearing that made Ethan smile a little more. She still was the same Pokémon that he had met over a week ago… but she had changed to much at the same time. “And it seems that he did not drown after all.” Scylla commented as a shadow could be seen nearing the surface at the place where Zephyr had landed.

The pegasus broke the water surface and immediately gasped for air. His wings and hooves thrashing about for a moment or two before he calmed down. His mane was hanging down, clinging to his body because of the water, and covering his eyes in the process. After using one of his hooves to move it out of the way, he slowly and rather clumsily began to swim towards the shore where Ethan and Scylla were waiting for him.

“Hate… you… so much… right now?” Zephyr spoke in short bursts as his face was quite often splashed with water from his clumsy swimming style. He could swim, he had not lied about that. But he was most certainly not a master at it.

“Oh, don't be a baby about it.” Scylla just scoffed, and Ethan had to stifle a laugh as Zephyr propped himself up with his forehooves and climbed ashore. All of his fur and mane stuck to his body and made him look quite comical. “You totally deserved that after pelting me with electricity.”

“That was kinda fun, yeah.” Zephyr grinned as his mood did a complete turnabout. “Still… I am going to need to do some serious preening after that rough landing.” He was holding out one of his wings and was inspecting it, gently pushing some of his feathers to get a better look underneath them.

“Thank you a lot for your help, though.” Ethan thanked him. There was certainly a lot of other ways that he could have gone about to get the same kind of result. But in the end, he thought that it had worked out pretty well. “You up for something similar another time?”

“And risk getting shot out of the sky another time by this crazy lady right here?” Zephyr looked up to the two of them, water still dripping from his wet mane. “Yeah, why not. I mean, it was kind of fun.” And just like that, Zephyr's mood had completely turned around once again. Ethan was sure that he just did that to mess with the two of them. It certainly seemed like something that Zephyr would do. “Not the getting soaked part, though… that sucked.”

“Well, I am really appreciating your help, Zephyr. If we are doing something like this again, then I'll ask you.” It was certainly something that Ethan thought helped Scylla, at least it made it easier to spot her progress. But he did not think that it was something that they would too too often.

Zephyr did not linger too long after that. He said that he had something that he needed to take care off before he made his goodbye and left, leaving a small wet trail after him as the water continued to drip off his tail.

“You managed yourself quite well back there.” Ethan turned to Scylla once Zephyr was out of sight. She had restrained herself quite well, all things considered. And when she had decided that it was finally enough, she had done so in a calm and collected manner… well, mostly anyway.

“And I still want to tear his wings off.” Scylla just growled in a low tone. The whole ordeal had put her in a bad mood. But that was understandable.

“But you didn’t, and that’s what's important.” Not that he thought that Scylla would actually harm Zephyr. She just liked to keep up that tough facade; it was who she wanted other ponies and Pokémon to see her. But despite her efforts to make everyone think that she was just some though Gyarados, Ethan had gotten to see a different side of her over the time that they had known each other.

But even if she did her best to hide it, Ethan could see that glint in her eye that showed him that she was indeed happy with how their session had gone.

“So, now that we are done with that. Is there something that you want to talk about?” Ethan asked as he sat down besides Scylla's large form. She had done really well, but he still wanted to hear it from her if that was possible.

“Not really…” Scylla trailed off, which was quite unusual for her. She was the type of Mon, that would either straight up decline or accept. This was certainly not like her, and Ethan found himself growing a bit curious as he sat there. She looked away and up to the waterfall after she spoke, and let her gaze remain there. “I need to go soon, anyway.”

That was… interesting. Ethan had expected a lot of answers from her. But that had not been one of them. And such, Ethan found himself wanting to know more. He could and probably should have respected Scylla's privacy. But he just had an urge at times, an unseen will that pushed him forward. He wanted - no, needed to know what was currently going on inside of her mind.

Because while it was not strange in itself that Scylla simply wanted to leave, to be done with their session, what was strange was the way that she said it, how she worded it, and the body language that she expressed while doing so. It was not like her, not one bit.

“Got plans?” Ethan asked with a cocky smirk on his face. He was certainly moving into risky waters now. Poking his nose where it did not belong.

“None of your business!” Scylla snapped, her teeth bared as she glared down at Ethan, who kept perfectly still with a calm look upon his face.

Though he still felt that tinge of fear within himself, he knew that Scylla would not attack or harm him, not without a reason, at least. But he still knew how much power that body of hers held, and there was sort of a respect in that fear for her.

But more importantly, she had snapped at him. She had not done that in a while, no, they had worked past the point where she would snap at him for no apparent reason. That probably meant that what he was asking her about was personal. Most likely something that Scylla had not wanted to share, if her initial reaction was anything to judge her by.

“No need to be like that.” Ethan spoke in a calm and level voice, the same voice that he had used in their earlier sessions. He had figured out that it had a sort of, calming effect on whoever was listening. “I am here to help you, remember?” Scylla held her initial angry expression for a few seconds, before it slowly melted away.

“S...sorry.” Her voice was low, much lower that what would seem normal for a Gyarados of her size. She never felt comfortable when apologizing; that, Ethan had already figured out. “I-it's nothing.” It was obviously something.

“You don't snap like that anymore, not for nothing, at least.” It must have been something that she felt very strongly about. “You don’t have to say what it was about. But if you want to, then I am willing to listen. Maybe I can even help.”

Help.

Another word that Scylla still had some problems with. Strength was her personality and embedded deeply within her very core. So to admit that she needed help, was something that she still found difficult. To her, it was like admitting your own weakness. Ethan still needed to get her to realize that such a thing was not the case.

But she had gotten better, and she was currently squirming under Ethan's gaze as she thought over his words. Her body language clearly said that she wanted to share her secret, but her mindset was working against her. In the end though, that mindset lost.

“Promise not to tell anymon?” Scylla finally asked. And Ethan nodded in return. “Well… it is something that I have been doing for a while. What I have been doing every time I went upstream. Do you know of the lake above the waterfall?” And in fact, Ethan did know, Mary had told him about it.

“Yes, I take it that is where you have been going?” And this time, it was Scylla's turn to nod. A gesture that looked a little alien on her, mostly because she really had no neck.

“I told you about my past, the one I had before… before I evolved.” It was the part of her past that she really wanted to forget. But as much as she wished for that part of her past to never have happened. It was part of what had formed and molded her into the Gyarados that she was to that day.

Ethan nodded as Scylla continued.

“Well, I found something above the waterfall, in that lake.” A certain glint could be seen in her eye, a passion was burning behind them as she spoke. “A lot of other Magikarp had been gathering there, trying to hide in the waters from any potential predators. The waters around there was calm enough so that they would not be swept downstream. But it was not deep enough to protect them from all threats. I… I had to do something.” Her voice was getting louder once more, but there was a different kind of rage behind it now. “I know what it is like for them, to be that weak, to hope, beg that you can survive until you evolve. So, that lake is now under my protection.” Scylla rose up as she said that last part.

She was a different kind of mon in that exact moment. Not some rage-filled Gyarados, not some mercenary of Checkmate. But instead, a protective matriarch, a role model who would do anything in her power to make sure that the ones under her protection remained safe. It was a look that fit her.

“That is a very noble thing to do.” Ethan positively beamed as he looked up to Scylla. “But why keep it a secret?” Of course he had a few thoughts about why, but he wanted to hear it from her.

“I did not want anymon else to find out. A lake full of Magikarp would be considered an easy meal for so many. They would die before they even got close,” A low, guttural sound escaped from her throat as she growled. A sound that easily raised the hairs on Ethan's neck, sending a short chill down his spine. She was deadly serious. “But I did not want to take that chance. The fewer that know, the better.”

It was a sound argument, one that Ethan could agree with. Scylla kept glancing over at the waterfall during their conversation, she was eager to get going. He had indeed held her for long enough.

“I will keep it a secret then.” Ethan slowly nodded. He respected what Scylla was doing and wanted to support her, even if only slightly in his own way. Perhaps he could do more later. “You just get going. They are waiting for you, are they not?” Scylla held her gaze on Ethan for a moment, her eyes meeting his. It was a silent agreement between the two of them. Ethan knew that even despite everything that he had done to help her, Scylla would not hesitate to hurt him should he break his promise to keep her secret. And in return, he hoped that Scylla would sense his sincerity.

A nod. That was all the answer that Scylla gave before she slipped back into the water, her powerful form rippling below the surface before she leaped up to conquer the waterfall, forcing herself up against its constant pressure. Climbing a waterfall is no easy feat, especially not one that big or powerful, but Scylla made it look easy, like it hardly took any effort at all on her part.

In just a few seconds, Scylla had climbed the humongous waterfall and slipped over the edge, only for her head to pop back over the edge, looking down at Ethan once more. And just like before, Scylla gave him a single nod of respect before she turned and continued upstream.

It had been an unusual session, but even so, Ethan thought that they had made significant progress that day. And he found himself smiling as he continued to look up towards the top of the waterfall. He felt like he had gotten to know Scylla a little bit more. It was a good day.

Ethan was not sure how long he simply sat there and thought about everything that had happened. With how quick they were making progress, he would have to do things a bit different in some of their future sessions.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he did not notice that he was no longer alone until someone spoke up right next to him.

“Ethan, there you are.” Ethan's whole body suddenly tensed up for a moment from the surprise, but just as quickly as it had come, it faded away. He recognized the voice after all, and turned to see Jenny's Growlithe.

“Ah, yes. Sorry, I was lost in thought.” Ethan excused himself, taking one last look at the top of the waterfall before shaking his head with a small smile. “So, what can I do for you?” He asked the Growlithe. It had been a few days since the last time they had seen each other, before the Growlithe was sent out on his mission. In fact, if he was back then that could mean...

“I came to find you as soon as we got back to town.” The Growlithe said, he seemed to almost be shaking with excitement. “Glider went to report to Protocol, but I wanted to fill you in as well. We got a fresh lead.”

Those five words made a shiver go through Ethan's body, all the way from his toe up and out to the very tip of his fluffy ears. It had been what they had been waiting for.

“I'll fill you in on the details later, but we may have gotten the location of another one of their bases. And somepony had spotted a unicorn frequenting that area. And the description fits Shady to the letter.” Sharing his excitement, Ethan stood up with a huge smile on his face. This was the lead that they needed, they were finally catching up on those poaching bastards. “Maybe we will even find Jenny there.”

Ethan had been wrong, it was not a good day, no. “Let's head up to the station then. We got no time to lose.” It was a great one.

Chapter 35

He ran, faster than he had ever done so before. He ran like his life was on the line. Rocks tumbling around after his hooves had dug them up in his frantic escape. Blackstaff, that was his name, and he was a unicorn, like the majority of the other ponies that worked there. They still had some pegasi and earth ponies, but there was simply more diversity in what a unicorn could do with its magic.

It was because of this exact thing, that he had always felt himself above other earth ponies and pegasi. That they were simply not as good or useful as unicorns were. He did not have any silly thoughts, like that unicorns should have more or better rights or anything like that. No, all ponies should be treated equal, he was a firm believer of that. He just believed that he, along with all other unicorns had been dealt better cards at their birth. Pegasi and earth ponies had their uses, there was no doubt about that. Unicorns were simply the best race, the most fortunate one. He had always believed that.

Had.

Recently things had changed. Alicorns had always been above them and everypony else, that much was obvious. They were the princesses, but there were so few of them at the same time. No. It was the appearance of the Pokémon that had made him doubt his way of thinking. For the longest time, they were an unknown, an anomaly. But hearing and seeing some of the things that those creatures could do…?

He was scared. Or at least he had been, in the beginning.

He had been part of The Weavers for a good while, and when they got word that they would start to target those Pokémon too, it had been like a dream come true. He finally got to take revenge on that race that had made him feel inferior.

As time passed after that, the feeling of superiority that usually surrounded him had began to return. They were able to capture those creatures, to beat them. They were better.

He was better.

But, good things usually doesn't come to last. And neither did that.

He had been wrong; he had been so very wrong.

They were not better, or stronger than those creatures. They had just been lucky, and targeted the weak ones. The ones that had been easy to catch. He understood that now.

Having been quite skilled in magic, Blackstaff was fairly certain in his own combat potential. His magic had always triumphed, always secured him victory in everything.

It was because of this that he understood how strong their opponents actually were. Because of his understanding of his own strength, that he knew just how hopelessly outmatched that they had been once the fighting had started.

The police ponies had stormed their base, taken them by surprise. But they had plans for such things, they would have probably even managed to take them down. If it has just been ponies, that is.

They only had a few of those creatures, but that was all that they needed.

They were quick, and they hit them fast. Faster than any pony that he had ever seen before, it just was not normal. He almost refused to believe what he saw.

He had tried to fight back, to use his magic to assist as one of his companions had been taken down. He had thrown a large stone boulder at the attacker, he would hit his companion too, but that was a sacrifice worth making if he could manage to take just one of them down.

As the rock descended on his foe and ally, he said a silent prayer for his teammate. It was unfortunate that he would have to squish him as well, but it was for the greater good of the organization. And just as it looked like the boulder was about to hit, it exploded.

Tiny rock shards shot out, and it was just by reflex that he covered his eyes to protect them from the oncoming hail as the rocks pelted his body. When he finally looked up, he saw that the enemy was standing there, not another scratch on its body. His attack had done absolutely nothing, and even worse. It just stood there with its fist raised into the air as it now looked in his direction. It had shattered that boulder with its fist, with that tiny arm.

It was in that moment that Blackstaff let fear take hold of him as he turned tail and ran, leaving his companions behind. “Screw them,” he thought as he ran. “Screw them and screw The Weavers.” He never signed up for anything like that. All he wanted was to make some extra easy bits, not to fight for his life against impossible creatures like that.

His hooves thundered against the ground, sweat poured down his face and neck and a panic-induced expression was frozen on his face.

He had to get away; he could not let those creatures get to him too. A sort of primal fear had been awakened in him and that was what drove him forward. The fear of the unknown.

It took a great deal of will on his part, but eventually, he managed to muster up the courage to look behind himself as he continued to run. It had only been a few seconds, maybe even less than that. But to him, it had felt like hours, days even. And as he craned his neck to look behind himself, there he saw it. And time seemed to slow down even more for Blackstaff.

The creature was in mid leap, the long fur from its arms was waving in the air behind it, and strangely enough it had the calmest sort of expression on its face. Blackstaff would have expected a lot of things, anger for that they had done to its brethren. Perhaps joy for the fact that it would get to take revenge, a feeling that he truly understood. But no, a calm and calculated expression was all that he got as his opponent slowly soared through the air towards him.

It was at that point that he knew that he would not be able to get away. That he had never had even a chance of escaping in the first place.

From the moment that their eyes met, he knew that every action that he could possibly take would have been utterly and entirely pointless. He was beaten, there was only a matter of time before that creature would reach him and finish him off, like it had done with the rest of the ponies that it had encountered.

Time slowed down to a crawl for Blackstaff as he watched the creature slowly move through the air towards him. He did not want to go out like that, to be defeated by something that he once thought to be underneath him, something lesser than what he was. But even as his mind screamed at his body to react, to do anything at all, nothing happened. His muscles refused to listen to him, even his trusted magic was out of reach. It was like his body had recognized its defeat and was just currently waiting for the inevitable.

There is a sort of primal fear that is present once you face something that is so much stronger than you that you can't even measure the difference. And that was exactly what was happening to him.

His last thoughts were not about self-preservation, but rather about how maybe he should have helped his allies, he knew that they were criminals, that what they did was seen as wrong by most ponies. But they were still his companions, and maybe, just maybe, that he should have treated them differently.

Then a furry, white fist connected with the front of his face, and everything went black.

“Alright, I think that’s the last one.” Brawly called out as he stood over an unconscious unicorn. The assault had gone more smoothly than they had anticipated. There were much fewer guards stationed at this base compared to the last one, and there had not been any Pokémon helping them out either. And so, Protocol's police ponies had managed to take them by surprise and take out the majority of them immediately, with Brawly and Vernus picking off any of the stragglers. “Dudes never stood a chance. You can't stop a wave this big once it gets going.” Feeling the sense of victory, Brawly could not help but smile. And he was not alone, the feeling of a victory what had surpassed any and all expectations, had raised everyone's spirits to their highest.

“Smooth, man, you made that look easy.” Vernus commented as he came up besides Brawly, a limp pegasus laying across his back, several small cuts across her body from where Vernus's Razor Leaf attack had hit her. “Though why did he just stop and let you hit him?” He had seen the last part of what had happened, just before Brawly had taken the unicorn out, and could not help but find it a little strange.

“I have no idea, dude.” Brawly just shrugged and leaned down to pick up the unconscious unicorn. “Maybe he just tripped or something.” In all honesty, Brawly had not given the unicorn that he now had slung over his shoulder much thought at all.

“Yeah, probably.” Vernus just shrugged. It was not that important anyway. “Let's head back and put these two with the rest.” They had gathered all the captured ponies outside the base where a number of Protocol's police ponies were watching them, making sure that they could not escape.

With a nod of agreement from Brawly the two of them started to head back. But as they were heading out, further inside the base, something else was going on.

Brawly and Vernus had been tasked with catching and taking care of any stragglers, and while they did that, Ethan, along with Jenny's Growlithe, Protocol, and a few of his ponies were heading in the opposite direction. Further into the base. They had encountered a few ponies along the way, but those had just been researchers and the like who had surrendered almost immediately without a fight, all the guards and the like had been positioned near the entrance it seemed like.

“It’s hard to believe that ponies would do these kinds of things.” One of the police ponies that walked with Ethan and Protocol commented. “What would compel them to fall this low?”

“Bits.” Protocol scoffed as he kicked an empty cage with his hooves. “Or a feeling of power, abusing those who are weaker than you. Whatever the reason, they are trash and it's our job to clean things up.” With those words, a collective “Yes, sir.” came from the ponies that walked with them. Protocol was good at inspiring his ponies, that there was no doubt about.

“But we have not seen any sign of Shady yet.” Ethan sighed out. He, along with everyone else, had hoped that they would finally catch that piece of shit.

“He is smart, as much as I hate to admit it.” Protocol grumbled. “After our last encounter, he has realized that we can find them now, and he is being more careful as a result. It would be foolish of him to stay too long in one place.” Having been in the profession for as long as he had, Protocol had learned how dirtbags like Shady thought, how they acted. He could get inside their heads.

“But we did not come here for him in any case.” Ethan shook his head. Shady would have been a nice addition if they had caught him, but they were there for Jenny in the first place.

The group slowed down slightly as they came out into a big room, and a metallic odor filled the air. Cages was stacked neatly over in one of the corners. Cages of all shapes and sizes, Ethan shuddered as he knew exactly what they had been used for.

But as Ethan's gaze moved across the room, he felt his stomach turn as it came across one table in particular.

Spots of blood covered the ground around the table, and leather straps was fastened to it, their purpose all too obvious. Next to the table stood a metal trolley, scalpels, bone saws, syringes and all kinds of medical equipment was neatly organized on it.

As Ethan stood there looking at that table, all that he could think about was what if Jenny had been strapped to that very table. That those scalpels and other objects had been used on her. But he pushed those thoughts as far back into his mind as he possibly could. He could not afford to think about such things, not at that moment. No, they still were not done there.

“Sir!” One of the ponies called out as he stood over by another set of doors. But unlike all the others they had seen up until that point, those were different. They were quite solid, that was apparent just from the first glance. They were much sturdier than any of the others, and they also had a thick wooden beam laying across the two of them, holding them in place should somepony try to open them from the inside. Yes, they were designed for holding something locked within, that much was apparent.

As Ethan and Protocol got closer to that door, the number of blood drops that could be seen on the floor increased. That was where they had kept the Pokémon that they had captured, Ethan was absolutely sure of it. And as they got even closer, his acute ears picked up faint sounds coming from the other side. Low moans of pain, heavy breathing, crying, it all mixed together into a ballad of sorrow.

“Let us see what they were hiding then.” Protocol stated, and with that, his horn lit up with the familiar aura that accompanied his magic. The same magic aura immediately appeared on the wooden beam, and Protocol swiftly lifted it up and out of the way.

The doors let out a slow creaking sound as they were opened, revealing little but darkness inside. Had it not been for the sounds of distress that Ethan was still hearing, he would have thought that it was empty at first glance. But with a single flash of Protocol's horn, that thought was dispelled as the room was illuminated, revealing a multitude of cages, but unlike the ones in the previous room, these ones were occupied.

“By Celestia… look how many of them there are.” One of the police ponies commented as they walked into the room. They had saved quite the number of Pokémon during the raid on the last base, but as they entered the room, it was easy to see that there was at least twice the number of captured Pokémon there, if not possibly more. And not only Pokémon, all kinds of magical creatures native to Equestria could also be seen stuffed into their own cages among the others.

“Alright, everypony spread out. I want every creature in this room freed as soon as possible.” Protocol spoke, and his voice carried significantly more volume and force than usual, as he wanted to make sure that all the poor Pokémon would hear him. “Anypony who needs medical attention is to be brought outside to receive the help that they need.” His words seemed to have reached some of the Pokémon who now looked up to the approaching group with a glimpse of hope in their tired eyes. Hope, which many of them had previously given up on.

But as the first of the cages got opened, and they saw that none of the ponies meant them any harm, Joy began to spread throughout the room. Their torment had finally come to an end.

Ethan assisted Protocol and the police ponies in setting all the captives free and making sure that they were alright, but as time passed, and the number of remaining Pokemon dwindled, he began to feel a dread growing inside of him. Because Jenny was still nowhere to be found.

“Fwuffeh bunneh!” A rumbly voice suddenly spoke up and spooked Ethan. He turned on his heel as the voice had come from behind him, but immediately regretted that decision. A shadow loomed over Ethan and suddenly, he felt really, really small.

A large gray hand descended on Ethan who had no chance at all to escape before it's large fingers wrapped around him and lifted him up.

“W-what are you doing, let me go!” His response was based on pure reflex. Had been taken by surprise and grabbed on top of that, by someone that he did not know who… or even what was when he looked at it.

The creature in front of him did not remind him of any Pokémon that he could think of. The closest resemblance that it had was to that of a Conkeldurr, but only slightly so and it was also significantly bigger.

It had rough grey skin all across its body, the kind of skin that could protect it from most kinds of weather. There was two large green patches on both of its shoulders, and from what Ethan could see as he was lifted up to the creature's face, it almost looked like moss of some kind. Though he was unsure if it was just something that the creature had put on himself, or if it was something that was actually growing there.

It also had a loincloth of sorts; it was the only piece of clothing that it was wearing actually. Around its wrists there sat two heavy, solid metal cuffs, which were in turn chained to the wall behind them. These cuffs scratched against the creature's skin as it lifted Ethan up to its fact, though if it bothered it, it did not let it show.

Ethan recoiled slightly from the breath once he had reached face level. Its face was rather sunken in, which also gave it a rather big underbite as well. And a single rough and sharp looking tooth could be seen sticking up on the left side of its jaw. Ethan held its breath as the creature stared down on him… with its rather small eyes. Now that Ethan had gotten a better look at it, it really did not look that frightening at all, if you looked away from its size that was. And in his surprise and panic he had failed to notice how gently the creature was holding him, with hands that huge, it could have easily have crushed him. But instead, it held him gently.

“Um… Hello?” Ethan meant to say, but it came out more like a silent little squeak instead. He could go against humongous aggressive Pokémon and be totally fine and calm, because he knew how to act against them, how to read them. But here he was faced with something completely unknown, and while he was sure that the thing did not mean him any harm with how it held him, he was still a little scared.

“Fwuffeh bunneh, f-friends?” The creature concentrated really hard as it said the last word, but in return, it came out much clearer than the rest. The creature slowly opened the hands that held Ethan, and held them underneath him instead, allowing him to stand there. It looked upon him with kind and gentle eyes, and Ethan began to feel much more at ease.

“Y-yes. We came here to help you. We are friends.” He motioned down to all of the ponies below who were freeing the Pokémon and assisting the ones who needed it. Though some of said ponies had stopped with that they were doing and were not looking up at Ethan and the giant creature. “Hey, what is this thing!” Ethan shouted down at Protocol who were looking up at them with an amused expression.

“That, is a Cave Troll.” Protocol informed Ethan. “Not to worry, they are usually rather gentle creatures, as long as you don't do anything to anger them at least. And it appears to have taken a liking to you.”

“Yeah yeah, can you give me the keys?” They had found the keys to all the cages and the chains in the room before and had been using hose to free everyone.

Protocol levitated the bundle of keys up to Ethan who grabbed them and turned to the Cave Troll once again. “I am going to take off your chains now, big guy.” Ethan said, gesturing to his own wrists to make sure that he was understood.

“Pwetteh bunneh fweeing Jim?” Well, at least now he had a name to go by, Ethan thought to himself as he walked over to the first of the two cuffs.

“Yes, I am freeing you. And my name is Ethan, by the way.” He smiled as he worked the key within the lock, and with a click, the first cuff opened and fell down to the ground with a loud clatter.

Though Ethan had not been prepared for what was underneath. The rough skin that Jim had, was completely gone around the area where the cuff had been. He had thought it impossible for something like those cuffs to get through Jim's tough skin. For it to have gotten that bad… the only other possibility that Ethan could think of, was that Jim must have struggled against his bonds, and not just a little either. But if his damaged wrists bothered Jim, he did not show it, instead his smile only grew as the first cuff fell down to the ground, and he immediately held up the other hand to Ethan, who unlocked that as well.

“Yeah, we are going to need to do something about that.” Ethan commented as the second cuff fell to the ground, revealing the second bloody wrist that Jim sported.

“Fwee, finally fwee!” Jim shouted from the top of his lungs, making everybody nearby cringe from the volume, and some dust even fell down from the roof afterwards. Ethan in particular felt like his head was spinning, his hearing was better than most, and he suffered because of it. “Oh… Bunneh hurt? Jim is sorry.” Ethan shook his head as the ringing in his ears got down to manageable levels again.

“N-no, it is okay, Jim. I’m fine.” Jim slowly lowered his hand, allowing Ethan to jump back to the ground. Jim was much smarter than his broken speech would initially indicate, that much Ethan had realized. But as he looked up to Jim, an idea sparked in his mind. “Jim, do you think that you could help us?” Ethan asked, and hearing those words, the Cave Troll began to nod enthusiastically.

“Yes, Jim help!”

“Good, good.” Ethan smiled. Because not all of the magical creatures were friendly, some of them were quite hostile in fact, something that a few of the ponies had found out as they got close to a few of the cages. So they could not just let them out, but they could not leave them either, that was not an option. “Do you think that you could help us to carry some of the cages outside?” Protocol and some of the other unicorns could most likely manage to levitate them, but Jim looked more than strong enough to handle such a task. And it would help to speed things along too.

It did not take long before all of the captives had been freed, and the more dangerous of the magical creatures had been carried outside, courtesy of the friendly Cave Troll, Jim.

A lot of the Pokémon that were able to and in good enough health had left immediately, having had enough of that place. But there was still quite a few of them that needed medical attention, among other things.

They had even recovered a substantial amount of information. Much more than what had been salvaged from the previous base. Names, locations, buyers, sellers, they had so much more to go on. Most of it was encrypted or written in some sort of code, and it had been different from what they had previously encountered, but still. Protocol was sure that they would be able to crack it. And with the help of Cursed Vision, Ethan had to agree.

They were closing in on them, at last.

But even with all of their recent success, Ethan could not help but feel a wave of sorrow and helplessness wash over him. He could not partake in the joy of victory, for it was a hollow one.

“I was so sure that she would be here.” Ethan sighed out. “I was so sure…” The Growlithe was still inside the base, searching for any clues. He had found her scent there, so they already knew that she had been there at some point. But there was not too much else that he could do at the moment. There had been a Gloom who had been shaking profusely and spraying its poison everywhere when they first came in, and the Growlithe had been unfortunate enough to be standing too close as they tried to help it. As a result, his sense of smell was currently ruined.

Ethan looked up as he felt a paw on his shoulder and looked up to see Brawly who was standing besides him, a reassuring smile upon his face as they looked into each other’s eyes. “Jenny is a tough girl. She can take care of herself.”

“Yeah… you are right.” Ethan leaned into his boyfriend who wrapped his arms around him. Jenny could be stubborn, annoying, and she had tried to put him in jail several times in the past. But she was his friend, and he could not help but worry about her. Not to speak about the Growlithe… Ethan was sure that he was going through hell since they had gotten so close.

“Jenny?” Both Ethan and Brawly looked up to see Jim who was walking over to them, the ground around him gently shaking with each step that he took. His arms had been bandaged after they had a salve applied to them to soothe his damaged skin, though he had already eaten one of the sets of bandages so they had to put on yet another one. “Fiwe fox?” He asked as he looked down at the two of them.

“Wait… you know Jenny?” They had asked several of the other Pokémon that they had freed, and while some had seen a Vulpix at some point, none of them knew what had happened to her, or when she had disappeared. They had all been concerned with what was going to happen to them, and Ethan could not blame them.

“Fiwe fox was nice.” Jim nodded and slumped down besides the two, Ethan actually lifting of the ground from the impact Jim had as he sat down. “They hurt Fiwa fox, hurt bawdly.” The sadness in the Cave Troll's voice was easy to notice.

“Do you know what happened to her then?” Brawly spoke up, and Jim paused as he looked out into the forest.

“They took away.” Jim shook his head slowly. “Jim try to help her, but no could move, chains too stong.” Ethan separated himself from Brawly and walked over to Jim and put his paw on the Cave Troll's huge hand.

“You tried to help her…” He had seen how all of the Pokémon had looked at Jim, he was their protector, their safety. He at least he had tried to be as best as he could.

“Not know what happen to fox… but angry pony come back after. His face all black and smokey. There was lot of shouting.” Jim looked down to Ethan again, a small glimmer of hope in his eyes. “Fiwe fox escape?”

His words had certainly brought some hope to both Ethan and Brawly. But there was still too much that they did not know. It was possible that she tried to escape, and failed. They just did not know.

“I really hope so Jim… I hope so.”

If she had failed to escape, it was likely that she had been punished for her attempt, and depending of how much of a fight she put up… no, Ethan did really not want to think about what could have happened to her. There was still hope, and that was the important part.

“We should go help gather things up, man. There are still quite a lot that needs to be done before we can leave.” Ethan felt a familiar arm drape over his shoulders, and looked to the side to see the comforting smile of his lover.

“Yeah… you are right.” Ethan smiled, just standing around there thinking thoughts like that would accomplish nothing. “Thank you.” Ethan smiled and gave Brawly a small kiss, it was a short one, just lasting a second or two, but it showed his love and gratitude towards his friend and lover. They could hear Jim making some sort of sound in the background, but ignored it.

Afterwards they separated and started walking back towards the others. Ethan was still sort of leaning on Brawly as they went, but halted when one of his ears twitched slightly. He stopped and looked back into the forest that was behind them. Ethan ears twitched again, making him look closer at the area, trying to pick out anything at all.

“What's wrong?” Brawly inquired as he had stopped with Ethan, and noticed how intently that he was looking back.

“I was sure that I heard something.” A Lopunny's hearing was better than most, by a significant margin at that. But Ethan was still getting used to his improved senses, and while he had been sure that he had heard something, he was not sure of what.

“It’s probably just one of the Mon that we freed who decided to linger around, nothing to worry about.” But even though he said that, Ethan held his gaze there for a little longer. “And it looks like you need to get some more bandages, Jim is eating one of them again.” That however, brought Ethan out of his concentration.

“Oh come on, Jim, not again!” Ethan complained as he ran over to the cave troll who was currently slurping up one of the bandages like it was spaghetti, while Brawly stayed behind and simply laughed at the sight. And they allowed themselves to feel a little better, for even a hollow victory was a step in the right direction. And another step towards finding Jenny.

Chapter 36

It was later that very same day that Ethan and the others got back to Neighagra Falls. Protocol and his police ponies went back to their station, taking the captured criminals with them, while the injured Pokémon were taken to the hospital for treatment.

But not all of them were in such a condition that they needed medical attention, and with no other places to go, the warehouse that had been transformed into a home and shelter found itself getting a few new inhabitants that day. It was getting a little crowded, but as long as they had room to accommodate it, they would accept everymon who needed somewhere to stay.

And if the day came where they had no more space, then they would simply expand, and make room. At least that was the plan, but it would be a while untill they would need to do something like that. For the moment, everything was fine just the way that it was.

Ethan had initially wanted to join Protocol and possibly help to interrogate the criminal ponies that was captured, to see if any of them knew any valuable information about their organization, The Weavers. Oh, how Ethan had grown to hate that name.

But Protocol had been a police pony for a long time, and he knew how to do his job, so Ethan decided to leave him to it. He did not want to say that he trusted Protocol, because he still thought that he was lying about the letter that he presumably got back from Princess Celestia. Ethan could usually spot a liar when he saw one, and while he had not seen any of the telltale signs of it on Protocol, he still refused to believe him.

But even if he had lied about that letter, Ethan could not think of a reason as to why he would have done so. He was a pony like any other, and he had actively helped in apprehending the poachers that they had been pursuing, and Ethan could easily see the sincerity in his face when it came to justice like that.

No. There was something that he was missing, some part of the puzzle that, if he had it, would make sense of everything. He just had no idea what that piece was. So, he would let Protocol do his work, while he tended to other business.

They had spent a lot of time to get the new Pokémon that were going to live at the warehouse familiarized and acquainted with everyone. Most of them were still quite shy and scared from the recent experience. But everymon that already lived there was quite understanding and gentle with them since a lot of them had gone through something similar themselves.

Afterwards, Ethan went to check up on one of their patients, or rather, the pegasus filly who was almost blind because of an accident. Stormy, that was her name.

A Natu that had grown rather close to her had been the one that had been assigned to her as her service Pokémon. Her job, to be there for her, to be her friend and somemon that she could rely on, even when things were tough for her, especially when things were tough for her. But to do that, she had to know how to deal with certain things. It had been the hardest in the beginning. Dealing with someone, or somepony in this case, who is going through heavy depression, is difficult. You need to know how to act in certain situations, how to read the small, subtle signs of their body language. And most importantly, to never give up on them.

Ethan remembered one of the first nights when the Natu had woken him up in the middle of the night, begging him for help, because she simply did not know what to do. Stormy had been worse off than they had initially thought. She wanted to help, she truly did, but she needed to know how. Individuals with severe depression do not always follow the rules of logic. And Ethan had gone through and taught the Natu everything that she would need to know to help that little pegasus filly.

Now though, since several days had passed, Ethan had decided to pay them a visit to see how they were currently doing. He had not gotten any more surprise visits from the Natu so he had assumed that things were going well, but he wanted to see for himself. It might have been a bit early to hope to see improvements in little Stormy, depression can sit hard, and sometimes take months, if not years to break out of. But it varies in each case, and one could always hope.

As Ethan approached the house that Stormy and her family were living in, a sound that any individual would recognize, slowly started to fill his ears. A sound so innocent and beautiful that it could warm the soul of even the most cold hearted individual, a sound that Ethan had heard too little of recently: a child’s laughter.

Hearing the laughter, Ethan hurried up slightly, a little extra spring in his step. And as he rounded the last corner, he saw a beautiful scene unfold before him.

On the ground, just in front of the house that Stormy and her family lived in, a mare was sitting. Tears was streaming down her face, and one of her front hooves was lifted up to her mouth. But not to hide a frown. It was Stormy's mother, and her tears was those of pure joy and happiness. Because in the air in front of her, was her daughter, Stormy, and she was actually flying.

Her small wings slowly and evenly flapped, keeping her floating just a few meters above the ground. He face was that of pure bliss and a constant stream of laughter flowed out of her mouth. She was a little unsteady, as it had been so long since she had even dared to use her wings, but the Natu was there, encouraging and reassuring her every step of the way.

“I am doing it, I am doing it!” Stormy's cheery voice came out between her laughter. Though her enthusiasm made her sway slightly in the air.

“Steady, steady.” The Naru informed her. She was hovering right next to her, making sure that everything went perfect.

“D-do you see mom? I am flying again!” She was looking in her general direction. She had heard her mother, but she was not sure exactly where she was. “I am finally flying again!”

“I… I know, sweetie.” Her mother choked out, her tears still rolling down her cheeks, but the smile upon her face and the glint in her eyes, showed true happiness. She had not seen her daughter so full of joy in such a long time, and she was overwhelmed with emotion as a result. “I-it’s great.” Her voice cracked as she spoke.

“Mom?” Stormy looked down, hearing the voice of her mother's crying growing louder. “What’s wrong?”

“N.. it’s nothing, sweetie.” She forced out with a smile. “I… I just…” But that was all that she could manage to force out, and her voice was stolen away by her sobs once more.

“Mommy!” Stormy cried out, and as a result of her distress her wings started to flap irregularly and she veered off to the right. Or she would have if the Natu had not been there to catch her.

“Woah there, should we go back down to the ground again?” The Natu asked, getting a series of desperate nods in return as Stormy kept looking around, hearing her mother cry. “Okay then, just gently begin to slow the beat of your wings.” Stormy did as her friend told her to, and slowly but surely she started to descend. “Your mother is just happy, but you should still go comfort her.” Stormy was a little too young to understand the concept of why somepony would cry if they were happy. So the moment that her hooves touched the ground she ran over in the direction that her mother's crying was coming from and positively rammed into her headfirst.

“Mom!” Stormy threw her hooves around her mother who accepted the embrace and held her daughter close, gently nuzzling her. “I-it is okay, I am here. Please don’t be sad.” Stormy pleaded, she was on the verge of crying herself.

Ethan had kept his distance this whole time, not wanting to ruin or interrupt such a loving family moment, and apparently the Natu thought the same thing as it slowly flew over to where Ethan was standing, while Stormy and her mother, busy comforting each other.

“She had come a long way in such a small amount of time.” Ethan commented as the Natu landed on his shoulder. “Assigning you to her was the right thing to do, it seems like.”

“T-thank you.” The Natu chirped softly. Just like Stormy, he had a rather shy personality, but perhaps that was also why she had so quickly managed to bond with the pegasus filly. “She had it in herself, she just was not sure of it.”

“True, so true.” Ethan agreed, “So have you asked them yet?” He inquired as they looked upon Stormy and her mother. They were calming down, both of them it seemed.

“N-no… not yet.” The Natu chirped quietly. “I just… I don't know if I should yet.” They had talked with the mother before the Natu had started to live there, to help Stormy and had gotten her agreement of course. But the Natu wanted their arrangement to be permanent, she wanted to stay there with Stormy, even after she was done with her task. “I don't know if it would be rude to ask…”

“That is entirely up to you.” Ethan said as he patted the Natu gently on its head, a small grin growing on his face. “Though...”

“Nossie!?” Stormy cried out, her head darting around, a gesture mostly meaningless because of her nearly non existent sight. It appeared that now that she and her mother had finally calmed down, she had noticed that the presence of her service Pokémon, the Natu, was gone.

“Nossie?” Ethan asked as he looked over to his shoulder where the Natu was nervously looking down, covering part of its face behind its wing.

“S-she named me yesterday.” The Natu, or rather, Nossie admitted. And Ethan was sure that he could spot the faintest of blushes under her eyes. “I… never had a name before, so I accepted.” Hearing that only widened Ethan's smile and he glanced over to Stormy and her mother, who was currently pointing towards them and telling her daughter where her Nossie had gone.

“From what it sounds like to me, you don't have anything to worry about. You already seems a part of that family to me.” It was easy for anyone to see the close bond that had formed between Nossie and Stormy, even though they had not known eachother for that long, they had spent most of their time together.

“R-really?” Nossie looked hopefully over to Ethan.

“Nossie!?” Stormy cried out again, a little more desperate this time, even despite her mother's reassuring words. During the last few days, Nossie had spent practically all of his time with Stormy, and she had become rather dependent on him. And she missed his familiar weight on her back where Nossie usually resided.

“Really! But you should go, it sounds like she is missing you.” Ethan ushered Nossie on, who did not hesitate and took to the air. “Remember to report back to me if anything should happen.” Ethan called out after her.

“I will, thank you.” Nossie said, as she turned around and gave Ethan a small bow midair. An incredibly impressive gesture now that Ethan thought about it, especially since a Natu does not have that big wings to begin with.

He watched in silence as Nossie flew over to Stormy and softly landed on her back. The pegasus filly immediately started giggling and hopping around in a small circle. And as they talked, Ethan was sure that he could hear Nossie telling Stormy how proud that she was of her.

The mother watched the pair with happiness in her heart, but she had also noticed Ethan and took a glance over to him. She smiled gently and waved one of her hooves, gesturing to him that he should come over and join them. But Ethan softly shook his head, instead just opting for a wave of his own paw. He did not want to disturb or intrude any more on that precious family moment. And it seemed that the mother understood that, as she just nodded before turning back to her daughter and her little Natu companion.

Such a simple thing as a friend, or a companion greatly helped in such cases when individuals struggled with depression. And it always brought a certain warmth to Ethan's heart whenever he saw such a scene. He had always kind of suspected that the Natu… Nossie would want to stay with that little filly, and that was just fine. She had found a place that she belonged.

One of the medical companies that Ethan had worked with when he was on his last year of his psychology studies only looked at the big numbers, the percentages and the like. They cared so little for the individual cases. Maybe the impressions that he had gotten there was part of what had influenced him to go the direction that he had. He was concerned with the individuals, with the little guy. He cared little for the bigger picture, it was simply not his way.

But since he was done with that little visit, Ethan turned around and was about to go back into the town… only to meet something big, blue and currently very angry that was standing in his way.

“Um, hello Scylla.” Ethan started as he backed up a few steps. He had no idea how Scylla had managed to sneak up on him. Had be been that concentrated on his own thoughts? Or perhaps Scylla was just that good, even for her size. But whatever the case was, Scylla was glaring down on Ethan, and she was looking really pissed.

“Why did you not say anything?” Scylla demanded, the force behind her voice enough proof for Ethan to determine that she was meaning business. A few nearby ponies looked upon the ongoing scene, but they quickly went on with their daily chores. They all knew better than to stay if Scylla was angry.

“I don't know what you are talking about.” Ethan urged the furious water Pokémon, he honestly had no idea what she was going on about. He could not think of anything that had happened lately that would upset Scylla in a way like this.

Unless….

“Don't give me that. I know that you raided another poacher base.” Scylla growled and Ethan could only shake his head sadly as the puzzle pieces fell into their respective places. “Why was I not informed?!” Ethan was not sure how she had heard about it so quickly, but that was not important anyway.

“Deep breaths, Scylla. Deep breaths.” Ethan kept a calm tone, as it was easy to notice how agitated his friend and patient was. While it was true that she still had a few episodes and outbursts every now and again, he had not thought that she would get so worked up over something like that. “Calm down and I will talk to you.” But none of that mattered, it was another opportunity to further their lessons and to get further insight into the being that was, Scylla.

Scylla wanted to scream at him from the top of her lungs, and the anger of her inner struggle showed clearly on her face. He was the one who had been in the wrong, and he still dared to tell her what to do? She was the raging Queen of Checkmate, she ought to destroy that little Lopunny where he stood.

Those were the first thoughts that streamed through her mind after she had heard Ethan's request. But she was a changed individual, she was better than that now. And so, Scylla closed her eyes and slowly began to draw her breath. The area around her lungs expanded as they were filled to the brim with air. And once they were completely full, Scylla held her breath for a second before gently exhaling through her mouth, letting all of those destructive thoughts flow out with the air as it left her body. She repeated this process a few more times, before she was calm and collected once more.

It was more to that exercise than just the breathing. You had to believe in the fact that it was working, you had to want it to work, and put your trust in it accordingly. This was why it was so effective for Scylla. Because that despite all of their differences, and the fact that she hated Ethan's guts at times. She trusted him, and his methods. He had helped her when she had needed it the most, and he had always proved that he had her best interests in mind. He was the one that had told her that such a breathing exercise would work for her, and she believed him.

“There, that was not so bad, now as it?” Scylla looked down at Ethan, a small grin apparent on his face. She would be lying if she said that such a grin did not irk her slightly, but she would rise above such feelings for the moment.

“I suppose not.” Scylla agreed. “So will you talk to me about what happened now then?” In truth, she was a little hurt. Ethan had helped her so much, and while she had initially repaid her debt when she helped them out the first time, she still felt like she owed him so much. And fighting was what she was good at. She had wanted him to ask her for help, to get a chance to show how much she had improved with her anger control in the midst of a grand battle. But that chance had been stolen away from her, that was why she had been so furious when she had found out.

“That is what I said.” Ethan nodded. “But not here in the middle of the street, let us sit down at the very least.” He gestured over to a nearby unoccupied bench and walked over to it.

While Ethan sat down, Scylla just sort of coiled herself around the bench, cutting it off for anypony else that might have wanted to use it too. Not that she would have been able to sit down on the bench without destroying it in any case.

“So, you are angry about the fact that we… I did not ask you to join us on the raid then?” Ethan asked Scylla. Her head was on the same level as his, a small gesture of respect, Scylla usually looked down upon everyone unless she made a conscious effort not too.

“Angry is taking it lightly.” Scylla huffed, her body shifting a little bit more until she found a position that was comfortable. “I feel betrayed.” The usual blunt honesty that Scylla exercised was something that Ethan loved about her. Not that many people, ponies or Pokémon could speak their mind without any sort of filter at all. At least not without severe training on the subject. It made Scylla refreshing to deal with, but also somewhat troublesome at the same time.

Ethan sighed and ran one of his paws through the carefully groomed fur on top of his head. He would have to be careful with how he chose his words. Scylla was calm, yes. But just like she had said, he had betrayed her trust. No matter his intentions, that was not something that you could just shrug off.

“I did what I thought was for the best.” Ethan could see the anger slowly growing within Scylla after he had uttered those words. It had not been what she had wanted to hear, far from it. But it was the truth, and he continued before Scylla had a chance to cut in. “It would probably have been easier with you there, I won't deny that. But you have made so much progress lately… you even have found a place where you belong, where you have a purpose. You can deny it if you want, but this calm environment is having a positive influence on you. And it was because of this that I did not want to throw that all progress away. Sending you out into battle again so soon… it would only have influenced you badly. That is why I did not want you with us on that raid. That is why I did not tell you.” He could see mixed emotions within Scylla after he was done explaining himself. But in the end, anger was what prevailed.

“How dare you…” Scylla growled in a low tone. She was angry… no, furious with him. Her well trained body shook as the muscles underneath her skin tensed up. “HOW DARE YOU!?” Scylla roared, and Ethan found himself getting pressed down in his seat from the force. If it had not been for the fact that Scylla was coiled around the bench, well, he was positive that it would have been thrown back. And he along with it. “Do not make my own decisions for me.” Scylla sneered as she settled down into her normal voice once again.

“Even so, I stand by my decision.” Ethan kept his ground, despite Scylla's show of force. Though his ears had been thrown back from the force of Scylla's voice, and the delicate fluffy fur on them, messed up. “Besides, you had to guard that lake of yours, you even said so yourself. Would you just have left them to themselves after proclaiming how important it was to you that they remained safe?”

“Do not bring them into this.” But despite her words, she averted her gaze.

“You do not seem like the kind of Pokémon that would do anything half-hearted. I know how important those Magikarps are to you, I could feel your conviction earlier.” Ethan rose up and moved to that Scylla was forced to meet his eyes with her own. “This is not your battle. And while I appreciate your help the first time, you…” Something clicked inside Ethan's mind. “Is that what this is about?” Ethan asked slowly. “You do not still feel indebted to me, do you?” And from the look on her face, he knew that he had hit the nail on the head.

“I…” Scylla was not usually a Pokémon that had trouble with speaking her mind, but this time, she paused. “It is not that simple.” She rested her head against the ground and Ethan sat down next to her.

“Then explain it to me.” He quietly waited for her to continue after that, letting her take all the time that she would need, as he had already sensed the inner turmoil she was having.

And after a few minutes of silence, Scylla seemed to have found her words as she continued. “You have done so much for me, I am not even sure that my teammates would recognize the new me, the better me... And it is not just you either.” Scylla uncoiled her long serpentine body so that she was no longer trapping Ethan. “Zoey, Mary Care… you have all done so much for me. How can I not feel like I have to give something back?” Scylla paused again, and her eyes softened, though only slightly. “And then there is Jenny…”

“That is not your fault.” Ethan had remained silent until then, but decided to cut in. “None of us could have predicted that something like that would happen. She is a cop, an officer of the law. She knew the risks.”

“That does not make me feel any less guilty.” Scylla breathed in deeply and let out a long sigh, calming herself down again, though only slightly. She was too worked up and emotionally confused for the breathing exercise to work completely. “I was the one that was responsible for what happened to her. You claim that I am wrong, but I know it to be true.” She had a point, and Ethan knew that. Besides, he would have little to no chance of changing her view on that matter.

“Still… you do not owe me anything.” Ethan gently placed one of his paws on her. “I am helping you, yes. But that is what friends does. They help each other.” Syllas eyes widened as she stared straight at Ethan, confusion and surprise both raging through her mind.

“I…” Scylla was not a Mon that was often at a loss for words, but this was one of those rare times. “I…”

“I said that I only wanted what was best for you… though I will admit that I may have been in the wrong here.” Ethan bowed his head. “You still do not owe any of us anything, but I can see now that I should have let you help more since Jenny's disappearance haunts you so.” He had been blind; Jenny's disappearance had hurt them all, but he had only seen it as an opportunity regarding Scylla and her anger issues. And doing so, he had failed to take her feelings into consideration. He felt ashamed of himself to have let something like that slip past him. “I'm sorry.”

Ethan's past as a Pokémon psychologist was something that he prided himself in, it was who he was, and always had been. So naturally he had confidence in what he did. So when he had made such a glaring mistake regarding his patient, it struck him deep, and reminded him of his own faults. He only ever had his patient’s best health in mind, but in pursuit of that, he had failed to see the bigger picture. Needless to say, in that moment, Ethan felt ashamed of himself.

Scylla visibly squirmed as she looked down at Ethan who was still bowing his head. She was a battle expert. She knew a thousand different ways to kill and maim. She would take on any sort of opponent, anywhere, anytime. But when she was faced with an apologizing Lopunny. She could not help but feel a little out of her comfort zone. People, or Pokémon, usually did not apologize to her. And neither did her previous teammates, they never really had any reason too.

“Um… don't worry about it.” Scylla blew out a small breath of air at Ethan, forcing him to stand up to keep his balance. “Just promise to keep me in the loop from now on… alright?” They both wanted the same thing in the end, though for different purposes.

“I guess that's only fair.” Ethan smiled as he straightened back up. “How much were you told about what happened earlier today?” He has no idea who told Scylla about the earlier attack on the poacher base, or how much they had told her about what happened.

“Not much, I know that things went smoothly, but that is about it.” Ethan nodded, she had not gotten the in depth version, but when he considered everything that had been said, she deserved to know.

And such, he told her about everything that had happened on their mission, including as much detail as he could recall. He told her about how unprotected the base had seemed, at least compared to the previous one. About how the lab they had discovered had looked. About Jim the Cave Troll, though he kept the embarrassing part where Jim had caught him by surprise and grabbed him out of the tale. And lastly, he told her about how Jenny had disappeared from that base. By escape, or if she had been moved through, that they did not know. He also kept his own suspicion about Protocol a secret from Scylla. He had no concrete proof yet, so telling her would do no good either way.

Some time had passed before Ethan was done telling Scylla about everything that had happened. Surprisingly, she had kept quiet the entire time, but when they finished she had a satisfied grin upon her face.

“Serves those Weaver bastards right.” Scylla chuckled grimly for a few seconds, before a more serious look replaced the previous one. “But you are right, it should have been more security for a base of such a size.”

“Maybe we just got lucky.” Ethan shrugged. Coincidences happened, though if it seemed too good to be true, then it usually was.

“Maybe so… I do not know.” Scylla shook her head. “I only know what you told me. But it would not hurt to be a little on guard for anything out of the ordinary.” One of the possibilities, even as much as Ethan did not want to think about it, was that somepony from within had warned The Weavers that they were coming. His first thoughts went to Protocol. But even though he still did not trust that police pony, he had to agree that Protocol had done too much that would harm the organization too. No, he refused to believe that it was Protocol, it was what hit gut told him. But that meant that there was another secret that Protocol was hiding, if Ethan trusted his gut feeling. A feeling that had proven to be correct on multiple situations.

“I’ll let you know if anything pops up.” Ethan reassured Scylla once more. “But don’t you have somewhere that you should be by now? You have spent more than a little time with me here after all.” Realization lit up in Scylla's eyes, and she grumbled under her breath.

“You are right. I have wasted enough time.” She was about to start slithering away, but instead turned to Ethan one last time. “Be careful. If you do have a spy in your midsts… choose who you trust very carefully.” And with those parting words, Scylla left Ethan there with a growing doubt in his mind as she slithered away with surprising speeds for someone of her size.

A spy in their midsts… the very thought sent a chill down Ethan's spine. They had found and arrested several guards and minor scientists. But nopony that would give them any kind of useful information. If there was a spy, then they should have found nothing at all. Unless, it was deliberately made so the ones that had been captured were scapegoats so that they would not get too suspicious.

But continuing to think about such a subject would do him no good with what little information that they did have. Worrying about it would only possibly make things worse. No, there was no more he could do at the moment. So, Ethan did the same thing Scylla did, and started walking home. Deciding to tell Brawly about his thoughts once he returned. Hopefully, he could put his fears to rest....

It was time.

Those three words had never before carried such weight for Vernus. He was slowly climbing up the tree where the temporary base had been made… or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a prison, for that was the function that it currently served.

He had done plenty of terrible things in his day, most before he had gotten taken in by Ethan who helped him become clean. But he had never done something like this before. Sure, he had made and sold drugs, and he had most likely ruined a lot of lives that way. But he had never forced his drugs upon anyone, they were always purchased out of free will, or as much free will as a junkie could have.

He carried a bag with him as he continued the climb up to where Olivia was held, a bag that contained everything that he would need to do the dirty deed. All the ingredients had been properly harvested, handled, prepared, and combined into what was going to most likely destroy the Pokémon Ranger for years to come.

How he wished that things had turned out differently. But what was done, was done; all they could do was to deal with the cards that they had been dealt.

It seemed like hours had passed from when he had started the climb, then he emerged within the room that held their captive, Olivia. She was curled up in one of the corners of the room, vines came down from the walls and down to the Manectric, keeping her tired up and fastened to the wall, limiting her range of movement severely.

Her coat had lost some of its shine since they had captured her, the roof and walls were too thick for the sun to shine through, so she had been stuck in a constant darkness, except for the times when he or Zoey had gone to feed her.

But it was only the two of them now. Zoey had stayed home, or rather, Vernus had asked her to. She had protested at first, but he had managed to convince her eventually. He did not want her to be there when he had to do it. He did not want her to see him do something so cruel… to make her go through seeing something like that.

He put the bag down in the middle of the room before he went over to one of the walls, and parted the thick vines and branches that made up for it slightly, allowing some amount of sunlight to slip in and illuminate the room.

Sensing the light, Olivia stirred and let out a low moan of discomfort as her left strained against her bindings in a useless effort to stretch them out.

Vernus watched her as she slowly opened her eyes and raised her head so she looked straight at him.

“Back so soon?” She teased, though her voice did not have the same amount of will that it did in the beginning. “What are you here for this time?” She struggled as she forced herself up into a sitting position, her binds making it more than a little awkward, but she managed it after a few seconds of struggling against them.

“... I am here to talk.” Vernus sat down in front of her and forced himself to look into her eyes.

“Talk.” Vernus had never thought that a single word could be spoken with such disgust, but she had managed it. “If this whole mess could have been resolved through words, then it would have already.” She held up her own little facade, trying to seem proud and tough. But more than anything she looked tired, so very, very tired. “But it's not like I am going anywhere so…”

“I ask of you, beg of you… please reconsider.” Vernus looked away, though only for a split second, the thought of the bag that laid behind him and its contents pressing against his head. “You don't have to do this. We could let you go, we could put all of this behind us. Nothing more would happen to you if you agreed to just leave Neighagra Falls and keep your mouth shut.”

“And would you believe me if I said that I would?” Olivia countered, the fire that she usually had within her lighting up once again, he could hear it in her voice, see it in her eyes.

“I might…” Vernus sighed. Though he was not so sure if he believed in his own words anymore.

“Well, my integrity is one of the few things that I have left, and I don't intend to let it go.” The ranger sneered with a surprising amount of feriosity for one in her situation. “All of you deserve to be put behind bars, your master, Ethan Summers, especially.” She practically spat when she spoke Ethan's last name.

“I keep telling you that things are not what they seemed.” Vernus sighed, he had been through this before, but she would never listen. It was like her mind her been set in solid stone. “What we did… what he did was for the good. We rescued Pokémon that were being abused or harmed. They needed help and they had not received it from the police or from the rangers. Someone had to do something.” It was like a little dance that the two of them had. Every time Vernus visited her, he would try to change her mind, but every time her replies were basically the same.

“Say that I believe you.” Olivia mused. “Why did you not report these crimes? Surely the authorities would be better equipped to handle them than you.” Vernus did not know what had initiated the change in her, why she was willing to listen now of all times, but he would not take such a gift for granted.

“We did, and a lot of the times the matter was solved without us needing to do anything. But sometimes things did not work out like that. No concrete proof, or not enough evidence came up for you… or maybe the case got handed to some corrupt cops, I don't know.” Vernus shook his head. “In any case, nothing was done… and because of that, we had to do something. The law would not help them, so we would.”

And Olivia believed him, to a certain extent at least. “You actually believe that, don't you.” Confusion lit up on the her captors face for a moment as she continued. “He got you brainwashed to such an extent that you believed that what you were doing were right. He probably sold off those Pokémon the moment that you turned your head. Continued to feed you lies to keep you on his leash.” Anger rose up within Vernus. He could tolerate a lot of things, but whenever someone spoke badly about his family, he got worked up.

“Don't you dare to speak that way about him.” His words came out along with a low, guttural growl. But if Olivia was scared or threatened in the slightest, she did not show it. “He rescued both me and Zoey too.” Vernus finally said. “Rescued me from myself, and Zoey from an underground fighting arena where she would have surely died if it had not been for him. We owe him our lives.”

“Answer me this.” Olivia continued after a few seconds. “Did, or did he not kill somebody.”

“...” Vernus hesitated and looked away from her glare. “It was an accident. He was rescuing Zoey and it happened as an accident.” He looked up once more and he could see the defiant look upon her face.

“Do you have any proof of that? Of any of your claims?” He winced at those words.

“W-we have witnessed… some of the Pokémon who got rescued-” But he was cut off almost immediately.

“Won't do any good. If they spent any amount of time with him, under him, then they are likely to believe anything that he told them. I know of his past, his education. I would not put it past him to be able to mess with the minds of Pokémon to make them believe what he wants.”

“That is not true, Ethan would never do something like that!” Vernus raised his voice, his emotions seeping into his words.

“Your words mean nothing. You could be under his influence and not even know it yourself. No, he is a criminal, that is all there is to it.” She straightened her back slightly. “He needs to serve for his crimes, and nothing that you can say will change my mind.” Hearing those words saddened Vernus beyond belief. He knew that there had been a very little, if not nonexistent chance for him to convince her otherwise to begin with. She was just too stubborn, too set on her own beliefs. He would need concrete evidence to possibly convince her otherwise, evidence that they did not have, or was ever going to get since they were not on Earth anymore.

He had entertained the thought of bringing Ethan there, despite of what he would say to them having kidnapped somemon, even if it was for his own good. But if he did bring Ethan there, and the Ranger still could not be convinced otherwise, then Ethan would just let her go. He would set her free and willingly go to jail. It was just the kind of individual that he was. That was why such a thing was not an option; they had to protect Ethan from that Ranger, and they had to protect him from himself.

“Please reconsider!” Vernus knew that it was pointless at that point, but he had to try. “You can just leave and not look back. Forget all of this.”

“Or what!?” Olivia countered with anger in her voice. “You'll kill me? You would only prove my point.” She was right, he was going to prove her point. But he was not going to kill her.

“I am sorry that it had to come to this.” Vernus turned around and slowly walked back to the bag that laid in the middle of the room. “Though you are wrong, I am not going to kill you.” Though after he was done, she may wished that he had.

Vernus felt her that she kept her eyes on him as he opened the bag and got out what he would need. A few sterilized syringes, a strong rubber band, and next to them a glass container, a shimmering blue liquid within.

Heaven's Glow

That was that he had named that horrible substance, for its beautiful look. And it really did make you feel like you were floating through heaven when you were on it.

“H-hey, what are you doing?” He heard Olivia's voice, she was hesitating, becoming nervous. Not that he could blame her.

He put one of the syringes to the lid that contained the narcotic and stabbed through it with ease. He watched as the blue liquid were slowly drawn out of its contained and into the syringe. It felt all too natural for him to handle that kind of equipment, reminded him of all the times that he had done it before.

When he was done, he drew the needle out and lifted it up into the air with his paws, gently pushing out any air that remained within. “It’s for the best.” He kept telling himself in an almost inaudible voice.

As he turned to Olivia, her eyes widened with fear and she began to struggle violently against her bonds.

“W-what are you doing!?” She screamed. “N-no, get away from me!” But despite all her effort, she remained bound to the wall, only becoming more and more tangled as she struggled.

Vernus could only look down on her with sadness as he held the syringe in his mouth, the little distance between the middle of the room and her, feeling like an eternity.

Her cries for help were going past his ears at that point, he knew that he could not reason with her, nothing that he could ever say would get through to her, this was his only choice. It was what he and Zoey had agreed on.

Tears streamed down her face and profanities, mixed with pleas for help were coming out of her mouth as Vernus stood before her. A single tear fell down his own face and splattered against the floor, quickly being absorbed by the plants that it was made off.

There was a lot of things that he could say, to justify his actions, to make himself feel better. But in the end, only two words came out of his mouth as he took the syringe into his paw and readies himself.

“I'm sorry.”

Zoey was worried.

It was late, really late, the sun had gone down several hours ago. It was already many hours since Vernus was supposed to have returned.

She understood why he had not wanted her to be there as he did it. Too many bad memories lied in that syringe for him, and she had forced him to relive them. She had cursed herself for not thinking of a better option, but it was the only one they had, the only one that they could think of.

But that did not change the fact that something was wrong. She could have accepted it if he had been an hour late, maybe he had just taken his time then. But after two hours had passed, her thoughts had begun to wander. After three hours, she began to grow increasingly worried, and she could simply not take it anymore. She had to go and see if something had happened to him.

And it was so that she found herself hurrying through the darkened forest towards the secret place where they had kept the Ranger hidden. The moon brightening up her path along the way.

Her mind raced with all kind of possibilities as to why he would be so late. What if Olivia had escaped? What if she had escaped and she had hurt Vernus in the process?

If such a thing had happened, then she would tear that Pokémon Ranger apart, despite what she had promised Vernus earlier. No one hurt her family and got away with it.

She continued to think up new possibilities and increasingly worse scenarios as she got closer.

Sweat clinged to her fur when she arrived at the tree that held the secret room and their prisoner. She had sprinted a good part of the way there, her mind needed to know the answer as soon as possible. And she felt her stomach drop as she looked up the tree in front of her.

Nothing looked out of place, there was no signs of a struggle, no broken branches, no nothing. It felt wrong.

Zoey wasted not a single second more as she hurried up the tree. Subtlety was thrown out of the window, her claws dug into the bark of the tree as she pulled herself up with incredible speed. She tore away every branch that was in her path, the only thing that was in her mind was the goal above her.

Zoey tore into the room, breaking some of the branches and vines that made up the floor around the entrance with her ferocious climbing. She was panting heavily as she stood up in the darkened room, and the first thing that she noticed came from one of the corners.

Moonlight shone down through a gap in the wall, and down onto the wreck that was Olivia. Several used needles was laid out besides her, and she kept moaning softly as she laid there, not even acknowledging Zoey's presence. She was not even sure if the Ranger had noticed her at all. Drool kept dripping out of her mouth as she moaned and some incomprehensible words came out of her mouth. Zoey was even sure that she could smell urine; she had stained herself, it seemed like. Her body twitched every now and again, and her eyes were glossed over in a way.

Zoey poked her softly and waved a paw in front of her eyes, but got no reaction at all in return. The Ranger was already too far gone.

It was a sad sight, but a necessary one, Zoey thought, and she felt a bit relieved in a way since the fact that Olivia was there and already drugged meant that she had not escaped or hurt Vernus in the process.

It was then that she heard it.

Coming from the other side of the room was a low laughter, and Zoey spun around the moment that she heard it, dropping into a fighting stance as she stared into the darkness.

“Who's there!” She yelled, but the low laughter just continued, slipping into a series of soft sobs instead. “Come out now, and I won't hurt you!” She tried again, but the voice did not stop. Just slipping in between laughter and crying every few seconds.

Zoey slowly began to approach the voice, light of the moon had messed up her night vision so she took her time, claws at the ready as she slowly approached the voice.

“I mean it, you should not be here. Just come out right now.” But just like before, she got no answer.

Slowly her night vision returned to her, and she could make out the outline of a figure that laid in the darkest corner of the room. It was not a large figure, surely smaller than her.

The details began to clear up as Zoey got closer and her eyes got accustomed to the darkness. She was just a few steps away when the voice shifted from crying to laughing once again. She had missed it at first, but now that she was closer and could hear it more clearly there was no mistake. She knew that voice.

“Vernus?” She asked softly, dropping her fighting stance and taking those last step in a hurry. Only for her to stop, and even recoil slightly once she got a clear sight of what laid in the corner. “No…”

It was Vernus, she had been right about that in the first place. He kept slipping between laughter and crying as he laid there, weakly looking up at Zoey when she got close enough. His eyes had a sort of gloss over them, like a veil of sorts, just like Olivia had.

“Arceus, no…” Tears dripped down her face as she looked upon her friend. For in his shoulder, an empty needle was firmly planted.

Chapter 37

Betrayal.

Just a single word, but it carries such immense weight, that putting it into a word does not do its meaning justice. Entire books can, and have been written about that one word. Wars have been fought in the name of betrayal, and hearts shattered because of it. Everyone gets betrayed sometimes during their life in one way or another, and it often stays with us, like a shadow that always remains in the back of our minds. And it was what Ethan was currently feeling.

Ethan was down for the count, broken and battered, barely holding on. He had no more strength to keep going, and as he laid there a he knew, deep down, that this was the end.

A shadow loomed over Ethan, slowly advancing on him, and his terror grew with every passing second.

He cursed himself for not having seen it before, but then again, how could he? For he had been betrayed by one of his allies, of those that he had trusted the most, his family. He forced himself up as the figure finally came into view, forced himself to look at the one that had stabbed him in the back.

And there she was, slowly coming down towards him, power was in her every step, she knew that she had won, and she let it show. It had been a long battle, but she had taken him by surprise, and had quickly gotten the upper paw in the battle. He had tried to escape, but in the end it had done him no good, only serving to delay the inevitable. He could only watch in horror as Chii stepped into view, a triumphant grin upon her face.

“Ready to finally give up?” She asked with her usual smile, it was like none of it had mattered to her. She had betrayed him with as much ease as one had when breathing. He had let his guard down, and she had ruthlessly taken advantage of it.

“Why?” Ethan forced out, he had to ask. He had to know.

“Why, because it was necessary, of course.” This was no longer the kind and loving Chii that he knew. No, sometime, during their recent events, that Chii had been thrown out of the window and been replaced by the ruthless killing machine that now stood before him. “So, any last words?”

In a final last effort, Ethan forced his body to stand up. He was battered, he was tired, and he was emotionally broken. But he would not lay down and simply take the finishing blow.

“P-please, you don't have to do this.” Ethan pleaded to her. “Think of everything that we have been through.” He looked to Chii, pleading, begging her for another option. And for a moment, he thought that he saw something in her eyes, a glimmer of the old Chii that used to be. But, as soon as it had come, or disappeared and she shook her head.

“No, this is how it has to be.” Chii said, her voice steeled for what was to come. She readied herself for the final strike, the blow that would end it all and…

The die rattled as they rolled on the table.

“All sixes, Chii wipes out Ethan and the remainder of his army.” Ethan could only stare down at the table in horror as a childlike cheer erupted besides him and Chii started hopping up and down.

“I won, I won, I won again!” Chii sang as she bounced up and down, ignorant to all the stares that she was getting.

“...She is a natural at this.” Brawly smiled and shook his head. “And she has the luck on her side.” He put a hand on Ethan's shoulder, who was still just staring at Chii continuing her celebration dance. “You never had a chance, none of us did.”

Ethan and the rest of his family was all gathered back in their home for what appeared to be a few friendly and fun day of board games. The idea had first been suggested when they had discovered the heavy rain that had been scheduled for that day, and while Chii had wanted to play in the rain, the rest of them had decided that a day indoors, spent together would do them all good.

It had been first suggested as a way for all of them to have some harmless fun together, because it had been a while since all of them had sat down and done something like that. Chii had been new to everything, having no experience with any kind of board game. But she was more than happy to join and she wanted to learn.

They had put it on luck when she had taken the first victory; every board game had some amount of luck to it, it was just the nature of it. But it was not long before they had discovered that Chii had to be the reincarnated spirit of some kind of game god. It mattered little what game they chose, or the fact that Chii was completely new to it. They could only watch in horror as the little Skitty tore them apart in a ruthless, clean, and calculated manner. Maybe Victini itself was favoring her.

In the end, the score had been ten victories for Chii, and zero for everyone else. And while it was all just in good fun, the constant losing was getting to some of them.

“Please tell me your secrets!” Ethan begged in a jokingly fashion as Chii jumped around him. “Share your wisdom with us lowly mortals, oh great Chii.” He could have accepted the first nine losses without batting an eye, and while he was glad for Chii, that last one had been his game, the one that he was supposed to have been good at. The one that even Vernus, the self proclaimed game master of their family even had trouble with beating him in. But Chii had done it without even the slightest amount of difficulty.

“Can we play that one with the cars again?” Chii looked up to Ethan with her big pleading eyes. “That one was fun!”

“Sure, why not.” Ethan smiled and reached down to ruffle the fur on top of her head slightly. A gesture that she accepted happily. “I just need to check up on Uncle Vernus first, you can do a quick game with Brawly in the meantime.” He could see a small amount of disappointment and sadness in her eyes as he said that.

“Is he going to be okay?” Chii asked in a low tone. Vernus had been gone for a little while, something that was not unusual for him at all. But what had been unusual was the state that he had been in when Zoey had brought him in the morning after.

“He is a tough one. Something like this won't keep him down.” Ethan reassured Chii who beamed in return.

“Okay, I hope he gets better soon… he said that he was not feeling so well a little while ago. Do you think this has something to do with that?” That made Ethan slightly curious. Vernus was not someone that got sick often, nearly not at all. And he was the type to keep it to himself and tough it out when it did happen. He just wished that he had told the rest of them before it got so bad.

“Maybe, but we will make him better. Don't you worry about that.” Ethan reassured Chii once more before he turned and started walking over to the bed where Vernus was lying. Most of the other inhabitants of the warehouse had vacated into another part of the building to let Vernus have some peace and quiet. Something that he dearly needed. Only Zoey remained at his side, gently talking with him and replacing the warm cloth he had on his forehead every now and again. In fact, they had been inseparable ever since she had brought Vernus back home.

He was tucked in with several blankets covering him, but despite all of that, he was still shivering like he was in the middle of a blizzard. Cold sweat kept pouring down his face, which was why Zoey had to keep replacing and wettening the cloths so often. In truth, Ethan could not remember the last time he had seen his dear friend in such a bad shape.

“How is he?” Ethan asked once he arrived at Zoey's side. He spoke in a soft voice, since Vernus had his eyes shut for the moment. Every moment of sleep that he got would be of great help.

“A little better.” Zoey sighed softly, exhaustion in her voice. “He finally managed to fall asleep, and he even ate a little something before he did.” It was not much, but it was something.

“It hurts to see him like this.” Ethan said, and he knew that Zoey felt the same way. “How do you think it got this bad?” Ethan asked her. “Did he say anything to you?”

But Zoey only shook her head. “You know Vernus. He would not want to worry any of us. He probably just caught some kind of disease from this new world and thought that he could tough it out.”

Zoey ran through the forest, moving as fast as her two legs would allow while she carried an unresponsive Vernus in her arms.

“Please no… please.” She kept repeating to herself as she ran. Tears streaming down her face, some dripping down onto the Leafeon in her arms.

She had panicked after she had found him with that syringe in his shoulder. At first she had simply refused to believe that what she had seen was true, instead hoping, begging that it was some kind of sick, twisted nightmare instead.

But it had been real; she found that out when she had promptly slapped herself. At first, she had simply started hyperventilating, her mind failing her in her hour of need. She knew that she needed to do something, and fast too. But all she could think about was the sight that was before her, and the laugh that kept flowing out of Vernus.

She knew of his past, of course she did. He had told her himself, he had gone into every little detail about the past that he was so ashamed of, and how hard it had been for him to put all of that behind him. It had taken years for him to recover properly. And it was because of this knowledge that Zoey refused to believe that the sight before her was true, even though she knew it was.

What could have driven him to do such a thing… or more importantly, why had she not seen the signs before.

But as much as she wanted to berate herself, she could not afford to waste anymore time. No, instead she had ignored Olivia and picked Vernus up, he barely even reacted at her touch. And as she fled from the secret hideout, she did not look back, not even once.

She had to get back home, that was the only thing present on her mind. She had been with Ethan for years and learned a tremendous amount during that time, but even so, she had no idea what to do in her current situation. She cared for Vernus, more than she could ever explain. He was family, and he was one of her best… he was, her best friend. That was why she had to get him back to Ethan. He would know what to do… he had to know.

Zoey was so focused on her goal that she did not notice it when Vernus stirred slightly, however she did notice it when he spoke up.

“Uurgh…” Vernus groaned, and it caught Zoey completely by surprise, almost making her trip over an exposed tree root as a result. “W-where am I?”

“Vernus,” Zoey all but nearly screamed as she stumbled to a halt. “Are you alright?” She knew that she should be hurrying, that she should… needed to get him home. But seeing that he woke up, that he was alright, at least to some degree was a huge relief to her.

“Why are you carrying me?” Vernus asked, his voice was weak and strained, like someone with a severely dry throat.

“I…” the words came to a halt in Zoey's throat. She was scared, extremely so in fact. Scared of what would become of Vernus, if he truly had succumbed to his dark past once again. And scared about the possibility that he would resent her for finding him like that. “I found you in the hideout. You were laughing and crying, with a needle sticking out of your shoulder.” But even so, she had to tell him.

Shame, that word did not even begin to describe the look that came over Vernus as he looked up at Zoey. He seemed to shrink, his body collapsing in on itself, if only slightly. He looked defeated, disgusted, and empty all at the same time.

“Oh…” And just like that, his memories came flooding back into him.

“Why did you do it?” Zoey asked softly, she wanted to be tough on him, to be angry with him for having done such a thing to himself, but she just couldn't.

“How was Olivia?” Vernus asked, straining himself to look into Zoey's eyes. He wanted nothing more than to look away, to just fade away right then and there, but that was not an option. “Is she still alive?” That question made Zoey blink a couple of times.

“W-what? Why- no, forget about her.” Zoey shook her head, that Ranger was not what was currently important. “Why. Did. You. Do. It?” She asked, a little more force behind her voice this time, she would get her answer.

“Not everymon can handle an overdose like that, tell me if she is-” Vernus suddenly doubled over in a coughing fit, and Zoey had to hold him tightly so that he would not fall down. She even gently rubbed his back as it sounded like he was going to throw his own lungs up. “Tell… tell me if she is okay, and I will tell you why.” Vernus positively collapsed on himself, his body going almost entirely limp after that episode.

Zoey sighed out and shook her head. She had almost forgotten how stubborn he could be at times. “She is alive.” Zoey told him, and she could visibly see that Vernus relaxed at those words. He had never told her that this, their plan had been potentially lethal. “Now your turn.” Zoey said as she struggled to keep her tough face up. “W...why would you do something like that to yourself?” In truth, she wanted nothing more than to collapse with Vernus and cry softly. He was her friend, her family… she had been afraid, terrified of losing him. She could not lose him, she simply could not.

“... It seemed like a good… a tempting idea at the time.” Vernus said. And his words hurt Zoey even more. “I am a horrible Pokémon.” But hearing that, snapped Zoey out of her own hurt, and she hugged Vernus a little tighter.

“Don't say that… please don't say that.” She begged him. She had always cared for Vernus, but it had not been until that moment that she had realized just how much. “You are one of the kindest Pokémon that I know.”

Vernus let out a soft and pained laugh. “Then you haven't met that many or you are a really bad judge of character.” Even in his condition and the situation that they were in, he found some time to make small jokes, and that brought a smile to Zoey's face.

“Maybe so…” He had always been there for her, not it was her responsibility to be there for him. “We need to get you back home though, you are in a bad condition.” She was just about to continue, when Vernus stirred and struggled against her.

“No, no, we can't go back. Not yet.” Panic was evident in his voice and in his eyes. He was scared.

“We have to, I don't know how to make you better… Ethan does.” But Vernus still protested against her.

“I can't let him see me like this again… I… just can't. He has seen me like this before, he would recognize the symptoms… he would know.” He was scared of what Ethan would think of him, of his disappointment. In a way, Zoey could understand that.

“Then what?” She pleaded. “I don't know what else to do?” She had to take him somewhere.

“My garden.” Vernus spoke after a few, painfully long seconds. “He would know these symptoms, so I need to create some false ones.”

“Y-you can do that?”

“... Maybe,” Vernus grimaced as his body started shaking, and he had to bite down hard to keep his teeth from chattering. “I have to.”

Zoey did not like it, she did not like it one bit. He was already in such a bad shape… and he wanted to make it worse. But they had already gone so far, and if Vernus thought that it would be the right thing to do… she would trust him, just like he had trusted her in the past.

“Okay, lead the way…”

Zoey looked down at the shivering Vernus, she leaned down and wiped away some of the remains around his mouth from the last time he had thrown up before turning to Ethan once more.

“I just found him like this.” She spoke softly and with great concentration. Ethan was nothing short of a master at spotting liars, and while she hated… despised the fact that she had to lie to family, she knew that it was necessary. “I wish that he would have said something sooner.”

Ethan nodded, if he had seen through her lie, then he did not show it. Instead he only put a paw on Zoey's shoulder.

“It's good that you were there for him… and he will be alright now, that’s what’s important.” Zoey leaned a little against his touch, feeling the comfort of having someone else to rely on.
“Do you want a break? I would be more than happy to take care of him while you rest.”

And she did; Zoey was tired to the bone. She had been up all night worrying and taking care of Vernus. “No, I'm fine.” But despite all of that, she still had her pride, and she felt like she had to be the one to take care of Vernus. Because in a way, she was part of what had driven him so far. “You just continue playing with Chii, it looked like you were having fun over there.” A small smile grazed her lips. “And it looks like Chii might seriously consider killing Brawly if you leave the two of them alone any longer.”

Ethan looked over to where they had been playing board games, and while it did not seem like anything was going on. He knew that Chii would probably have been more than a little miffed if he left her there for too long.

“Yeah, you are probably right. You just say if you need a break or something though,” Ethan told her, and Zoey nodded accordingly. “For now, I have to go save my boyfriend from a fluffy death.” Zoey could only smile and shake her head slowly as she watched the three of them from a distance.

“W-why don't you join them.” Zoey heard a weak voice from coming from behind her. And had her head snapped around any faster, she would have most likely gotten a serious case of whiplash from it. “Seems like it… would be fun.”

“Someone has to watch over you, and it might as well be me.” Her smile faltered a little as she looked down on her friend. “How are you feeling?”

“Like absolute shit.” Vernus grinned and tried to laugh, but all he got was a few weak coughs, which each sent a jolt of pain through his chest. “You don't have to do this though, I'll be fine on my own.”

“Like hell you will be.” Zoey replaced the hot cloth on his forehead with a fresh one, as the other had been soaked in sweat already. “You never told me that it would be this bad…” Vernus looked up to meet her sad eyes and with a great effort, he moved his paw over and put it on top of hers.

“Had to make it look real.” He smiled weakly. He had to hide the effects and symptoms of the withdrawal, though there was a possibility that he had gone a bit too overboard. He had never even tried something like that before. “D-did you take care of-” Vernus took another glance over at Ethan and the others who were currently engaged in another boardgame, and were too far away to hear them. “Olivia?”

“Yeah…” Zoey nodded, she had reluctantly taken care of Olivia. Not that she had any lost love for the Ranger, but she had been forced to leave Vernus alone for some time during that night so she could move that Pokémon Ranger. “I put her on the trail leading into town, somepony is bound to find her… they most likely already have.” That was several hours ago, after all.

“Good… good.” Vernus sighed out. As much as he did not want to think about that problem any more, they had no other choice. Overdose from that particular drug was a nasty affair… and with how much he had given her, he had to make sure that it would work completely, but with that amount she would have died if she was not taken to a hospital and treated within a day. “Now that is taken care of…” He still remembered the glassy look on her eyes, and how she had struggled when he had put the first needle into her. In his mind, killing her would have been far easier, it would have been a mercy compared to what they did to her.

“W-what if it does not work, though?” Zoey asked in a hushed whisper, she had trusted Vernus all the way and done as he had told her. But she was still so nervous.

“There are two outcomes after she got that much injected into her body.” Vernus looked up at Zoey and saw the uncertainty in her eyes. “Either the plan goes like we planned, and when she wakes up she can't remember.” Exactly how much she would have forgotten though, that would still be a mystery. Vernus knew a lot… a tremendous amount about the different plants and berries that he used and how to change amounts based on what Pokémon would take it. He knew the basics about how a Manectric’s body worked and had given her the absolute maximum that she could have taken. So, he was completely sure that her mind would have been messed up in some way. And in the small… tiny chance that it did not work out that way, that she remembered. Well… he had been sure to make the needle wounds seem natural, as if she would have done it herself. And who would believe a junkie anyway. “The other is that she goes into a coma…” it was a small chance, but it was still there. He had seen it more than a few times. And if that ended up happening… well, they might as well have killed her.

And he knew that he should not be thinking too much into it… that it had been the right thing to do, the only thing to do. But that did not change the fact that he was a horrible Pokémon for having done what he did.

“...Okay.” Zoey was quiet, her voice barely even a whisper and she leaned down against the Leafeon, gently holding a paw over him, a gesture that Vernus did not mind at all.

The two of them stayed like that for a while, Zoey gently resting against Vernus, who kept nodding off and waking up again every few minutes.

She did not say anything at first, because she did not want to ruin the moment, and because she was just so tired herself. But eventually, Zoey spoke up with a careful tone.

“I… listen… about what you said last night…” She was nervous, scared, and she honestly did not know what to think. She had put it off since it had not been important in that moment. Other things had been more pressing. But now that they were both safe and sound back in their home… she could no longer ignore it.

“You don't have to say anything.” Vernus sighed as he stared up into the ceiling. “I was scared, hurt and not in my right mind. I should not have laid that on you like that… I'm sorry.” And he truly was. His condition at the moment had been no excuse for behaving like that. He prided himself in the way he acted… most of the time. And he had put Zoey in a hard spot, in an already difficult situation. It had not been fair on her. “Just pretend that it never happened.”

That however, got on Zoey's nerves. “You think that I can just ignore something like that?!” Her anger seeping into her words, she was frustrated, and had a good reason for being so too. She did not meant to be angry, but she was just so tired. Exhausted in both her body and mind. “I can't do that… I… for Arceus sake, you said that you loved me.... I can't just pretend that it did not happen.” Zoey sunk down in her spot. “And it was pretty obvious how you meant it too… how could anyone ignore that.” It had taken all her effort, and even a little bit more for her to have delayed thinking about it until then. And with everything that had happened those last few days, it was no strange thing that Zoey's emotional walls were coming down.

“Zoey, I…” Vernus tried to speak, but his words died in his throat. Zoey's eyes were red, but she was not crying, though she was on the edge of doing so. What he had done had not been fair to her, it had been anything but that. He could blame it on the drugs, in fact, it would have been pretty easy for him to do so. But no. In his stupor, he had taken advantage of her emotional state and unloaded his feelings on her.

“How long?” Zoey stared down at Vernus as she spoke, though he did not meet her eyes. “How long have you felt that way?” She wanted to know, she had to know. And from the situation they were in, she damned well deserved to know.

“...” It was not exactly the situation Vernus had been picturing in his mind, when he first would confess his feelings for Zoey. But, considering their situation, he could understand her feelings. That being said did not make her anger hurt him any less though. “A few months after I first met you.”

“You…” Some of Zoey's anger melted away. “You mean that all this time?” She left the question hanging as she was desperately trying to sort out her own thoughts and feelings.

Vernus nodded solemnly as he kept inspecting their roof. “Yes.”

“Well why didn't you say anything sooner? I mean… I… maybe…” But even despite all her searching, her mind came up with no answers at all. Nothing that could make their situation any easier.

And Vernus did have a lot of reasons for not having said anything sooner. Not all of them were good reasons, in fact, most of them were rather shitty ones now that he thought back at it. And so he handled the situation the only way he knew how. “Because I am a silly Leafeon?” He said as he turned to Zoey, a goofy smile on his face.

They stared into each other's eyes in that moment, into each other's soul. Vernus could see how hurt Zoey was in that moment, how vulnerable that she had actually been. And Zoey could in turn see how Vernus felt, how sincere that he had actually been with his words the night before. And it was more than Zoey could take at that moment.

She collapsed on the side of the bed, her head buried into the blanket that Vernus was laying under, and her paws in turn covering her head.

“You stupid… stupid Leafeon.” She cried, and her whole body shook. “Stupid… stupid…” She kept quietly repeating that word between her sobs as her emotions were completely overwhelming her.

Vernus could only gently place a paw on her back as she cried. Zoey flinched at his touch at first, but she quickly accepted it, and even unconsciously leaned against him.

“I'm sorry Zoey… I truly am.”

Protocol was what most would consider a calm and controlled pony. One that did things by the book and was all around a pretty boring individual, despite his job. He did what was expected of him, and he did it in a tidy and orderly manner. He rarely let his emotions get the better of him; he could not afford to let them.

So, when the nurses and doctors of Neighagra Falls hospital saw the pure fury that was plastered on Protocol’s face as he walked in. Well, needless to say, it made for quite the scene.

The nearest nurses almost jumped out of their skin as Protocol walked past them, the sheer amount of fury that he expelled sending shivers up anypony that even looked at him. It was also because of this that nopony tried to stop him, they knew why he was there in any case.

Neighagra Falls Sanctuary was a fairly small village, and a closely knit one. So when news arrived, it spread like wildfire.

Protocol walked with a goal in mind, and he knew exactly where he was going. It was a place where he had been many a times before, and a place that he despised like the plague. Not because of what it did, but because of the fact that they needed a place like that in the first place.

He tried to calm himself as he trotted along in a brisk pace, not too fast so to disturb the other patients, but not too slow either. But he could not calm down, not just yet. He had to see it with his own eyes before he could even have a chance to do so. The possibilities was what was plaguing his mind and causing his anger, what he needed was facts. Cold hard facts.

He opened two doors with a small sign that read “Detox” next to them. It was a small section of the hospital. Most cases that involved drugs were moved to Canterlot or Manehattan, as they had better facilities that could deal with it. But they had to have something in case of emergency. Just like the one that had happened.

It was quiet on the other side of those doors. And the smell of the usual chemicals that accompany a hospital filled Protocol’s nose. The smell of medicine and disinfectants. It was a smell that he had learned to hate over the years.

He walked down the small corridor that opened up after the doors. It was not a particularly long corridor, and he could already see the end where a pegasus in a medical vest stood. His mane was sky blue, and his coat just a lighter shading of the same color. He had a stethoscope hanging around his neck, and a medical chart which he was holding with one of his wings. He had been inspecting the chart, until the noise from Protocol's hooves had alerted him to his presence.

“Sir, I-” The doctor started, but Protocol cut him off without a single second's hesitation.

“Where is she?” Protocol all but sneered as he approached, his emotions seeping out into his words, and the doctor actually flinched at them.

“S-sir, only close family is allowed to see her right now.” The doctor said as he tried to stand his ground. He knew who Protocol was, but not that he was a close friend of the patient. If he had, perhaps he would have let him pass without difficulty.

“She does not have any family, or if she does we don't know about it.” He took a deep breath, though he did not actually calm down. He only succeeded in suppressing his anger a tiny bit. “I am her friend… and there is nothing that you could do to stop me from seeing her.” It was not a threat, it was a fact, and the doctor knew it. He could see it in Protocol's eyes.

“I… y-yes, of course, sir.” The doctor gave in. “I assume that you know why she was brought in then?” He asked as he turned and the two of them slowly turned and walked to the last door in the corridor.

“I only know what I was told, give me everything, doc.” He wanted to hear it from the mouth of a medical professional, to make sure that there was no room for error.

“... If you say so.” The doctor shook his head gently. The two of them came to a stop in front of a large door. A good portion of the door was made out of glass, allowing anypony to see through it and into the room on the other side. And what they saw made Protocol freeze for a moment, and so much of his anger simply melted away.

It was a fairly small room on the other side of that door. It had no needless things at all, just a bed and a large IV stand on which there hang several bags of fluid and medicine of all kinds. Small and large tubes ran down from these bags, down the metal pole which they were attached to, up along the bed and into the patient that laid there.

Olivia.

It had been several days since he had last seen that Pokémon Ranger, but she was barely even recognizable as she laid there. Her fur was matted, the once magnificent, almost golden fur she had been so proud of had lost almost all of its shine and color. Her face was partially covered by the sheer amount of tubes that went into her through her mouth and nose, not to mention the other tubes that went into her legs. She did not look like the Pokémon that she had been as she laid there. Protocol barely even recognized her.

“She was found early this morning on the outside of the town.” The doctor started as he lifted up and read off the medical chart that he had been carrying with him. “She was unconscious and… she was found with a needle in her front leg, so she was hurried here as quickly as possible.” He flipped over a page. “Luckily, the Chansey we have here have been part of situations like this before, she knew what to do, and she is stable now but…” The doctor sighed and looked over to Protocol who was still staring in at Olivia. “She had overdosed, if she had not been found when she was…” He shook his head. “We are currently cleaning her system, and she is stable for the moment. But…” He paused as he drew a short breath. “We have no idea what was in her system, what kind of drug that she took for it to have done this to her body.”

That got Protocol's attention. And he felt his anger flare up once more.

“It is unlike anything that we have encountered before. Probably because it was not meant for ponies, but to her… we have no ways of knowing when she will wake up. If she will wake up. And what kinds of side effects this will have on her long term.” Both of them stood there for another moment or two, Protocol still staring in at Olivia, at his friend. “We are required to report to the police about drug abuse like this, but since you are here, I assume that has already been taken care of.”

Drugs.

It was one of the few things that he hated with an intense passion. To think that somepony could just potentially throw their life away on something like that. Not to mention all the others who were close to that pony who would be affected in some ways too. But Olivia? He could not imagine that she would have done something like this. In fact, he refused to believe it. He had seen more than a few junkies in his day, and she was not like any of them.

“C-can I go in?” His voice came out quiet, and he had hesitated to speak those words. He was still feeling angry, furious in fact. But he buried those feelings deep within himself; he had more important things to worry about now.

“Just don't stay too long.” The doctor just shook his head, knowing that it would be useless to argue with him anyway. “I will be out here if you need me.”

Protocol gently opened the door and entered, his steps slow and careful, as if he was afraid that she would wake up if he made too much sound.

“Why?” He stopped at her side and looked over her. “You were not the kind of individual who would do something like this. I would have sensed it if you were…”

Now that he was that much closer, a lot of other details jumped out at him. For starters how tired she looked. And that her fur looked damaged in certain places, but from where she had been found, she might have walked through some heavy brushes to get out onto the road that could have caused it.

“What happened to you?” Protocol asked, thinking out loud as he walked to the other side of the bed. She looked so tired, but peaceful at the same time as she laid there in the bed.

Protocol reached down and ran his hoof along her right front leg, feeling and seeing the needle wounds, just like the doctor had said.

“You did not do this.” He spoke in a low voice, his anger seeping up once again. “I know that you did not. Screw what the doctors say, somepony did this to you.” He had no real proof to go on. Only his gut. But that was more than enough for him. He had thought it weird when she had disappeared in the first place, and this only served to further that suspicion that something was up.

He turned and walked out of her room, his steps loud and heavy against the clean hospital floor.

“And I am going to find the scumbag that did it.”

Chapter 38

It was a mission of the utmost importance, failure was not an option.

The target was… elusive. He had already evaded her on several occasions. But this time would be different. This time she was not alone. Her assistant was a master of stealth, and he would make sure that things went according to plan.

Time lost its meaning as she laid in waiting, motionless. Hours, days, maybe even minutes passed as they waited for the target. They had gotten information that he would be coming by soon… at least that was what her assistant had told her.

Her ears perked up as the sound of footsteps could be heard just down from where they were laying in wait. Her whole body tensed up in anticipation and she had to force herself to remain calm, lest she would spook the target.

He was cunning and elusive, he would notice even the smallest sign. A worthy opponent indeed.

She looked over to her side to see her assistant laying next to her, his body at the ready and his ears perked forward, picking up any and all sounds. Just like her.

The footsteps were getting closer, and she readied herself. They would only get one chance, and the element of surprise would be the key to their victory.

Her body was like a spring, all of her muscles completely coiled up, ready to unleash their power at a moment's notice.

She almost flinched at the soft touch of a paw on her back, and she looked over to her assistant once more, who gave her a silent nod. The time was upon them.

And as the sound of a twig breaking reached them, they both sprang out from their hiding spot with the ferocity of a raging Gyarados.

They burst out from their leafy camouflage, and their target, a tall and lean Mienshao who was carrying two large paper bags started to turn to them in surprise. But he barely had time to move his head and blink before they were upon him.

“Supris-”

“Hyper voice!” She cried out, effectively cutting Vernus off as a shockwave of sound rippled through the air and slammed into Brawly, picking him up and throwing him through the air. He flew through the air, his body twisting and turning unintentionally.

“Yay!” Chii cheered happily as Brawly crashed into a nearby bush. The paper bags that was filled with food came down just after him and crashed in the same spot. Her opponent had been beaten for now.

She looked over to Vernus who stared at Brawly in disbelief, his mouth hanging slightly open. He looked over to her and back to Brawly a few times before he let out a loud sigh.

“I thought you said we were going to surprise him.” Vernus sighed and shook his head.

“We did.” Chii cheered once more. “Did you not see how surprised he looked when he flew through the air?” Beaten by her irrefutable logic, Vernus turned and walked over to where Brawly laid.

His legs were sticking out from the top of the bush, though they were not moving. He had a confused look on his face, still a little dizzy from the surprise attack, as well as some white and yellow stains in his fur. Apparently most of the eggs had cracked in the landing.

Chii watched in silence as Vernus extended a paw to help Brawly back up. Perhaps she should have told her assistant more about the plan beforehand. But it was too late for that now, so it did not matter.

“Sorry about that.” She heard Vernus speak as he dragged Brawly… her arch nemesis, back up. “I should have realized that she would try something.” Then again, if even her own allies did not know of her plan, then how could the enemy?

“No worries, she got me good this time.” Brawly just laughed and wiped a good portion of the splatter off himself. “Shame about the eggs though…”

Chii sat there, smiling and feeling the afterglow of her victory. It had become something of a routine at that point. Her attacks, or rather pranks on Brawly that was. And even though she still called him her arch nemesis, things had changed.

She had noticed how much happier Ethan had gotten after the two of them had become a couple. And so, she found it really, really hard to continue hating and despising him like she had. But she would not let him know that, she would not let him have the satisfaction of knowing that he had won.

Not yet…

It was bad enough that she had to share her Ethan with him. She could agree to share him with Zoey… and Vernus… and Mary… And maybe even Scylla. She quite liked Scylla actually. But not with Brawly.

Chii dismissed those thoughts for the moment and tuned back into the conversation, that was still going on.

“-any more?” Vernus asked, and Chii could not help but wonder what she had missed.

“Fraid not, it was the last. Got to make due with that we have for now.” And for some reason, Vernus seemed… saddened by that answer. He glanced over at her with the same look on his face, and Vernus really looked tired now that Chii thought about it.

Granted, he was still sick. They had to avoid and trick Zoey just to get him out of bed, something that he had asked her for help about, and in turn had agreed to help ambush Brawly for her assistance.

It must have been a really something really bad for him to have gotten that sick though, Chii thought as she stared at Vernus. He still had bags under his eyes, he got tired quickly, much quicker than normal. And he still had some very bad coughing fits from time to time… she hoped that he would get better soon. She did not want anyone in her family to feel bad.

Family.

That word still sent ripples of joy through her whenever she thought about it. She was part of a real family this time.

“Vernus!” A shiver vent up her back as a very familiar and angry voice cried out.

“Uh oh…”

Zoey had become somewhat protective over Vernus over those last few days. And it was not the first time that Chii had seen her carry him back home.

She was perched on her usual little elevated corner. High enough so that she had view of the entire warehouse.

Vernus was back in his bed, his face a little paler than before, and Chii could not help but feel a little bad about asking him to help her. She knew that he was not well enough yet. Zoey was still taking care of him.

Now that she thought about it, Zoey and Vernus seemed to have become a lot closer lately.

She could see that Zoey was yelling at him, as she usually did when he snuck out, or tried to. But just like those other times, her anger quickly passed, and a concerned and… somewhat happy look crossed her face instead.

Which she could not help but think was a little weird. Why would she be happy since Uncle Vernus was sick. Well, maybe happy was not the correct word for it, Chii thought as she continued to look down on them. In fact, she looked a lot like she used to back when she looked at Ethan and…

“Oh….oh….ooooh.” Realization dawned on her and Chii quickly slapped her two small paws in front of her mouth to keep her from screaming out in joy and celebration.

Zoey was in love with Vernus?

…

Then why did she also look so uncertain at the same time? If Zoey was not completely sure about her feelings then that could be a problem… she would have to think of some way that she could help them along later. Her mind was positively teeming with potential plans and ideas for making sure that the two of them ended up together.

But another thing alco crossed her mind in that moment. Did that mean that she could forgive Brawly for taking Ethan away and hurting her in the first place?

She could understand that Brawly made Ethan happy, and in a… weird sort of way, she could see him as a part of their family. It was not like she could make him leave anyway. She had tried. Oh, how she had tried.

But forgive him for making Zoey sad? For making her heartbroken, for all those nights where she had heard her quietly sobbing?

Never

But if Zoey and Vernus became a couple… where would that leave her? She had not thought about that before. Would they make families of their own? She wanted Zoey to be happy and have small babies if she wanted too… but she did not want to be left out either. Not when she had finally found a place where she belonged.

As for Ethan and Brawly…

She was still not completely sure how that thing would work out. If they wanted babies, who would be the mother? Could they choose?

She had a hard time picturing either of them being pregnant.

Yeah, she was going to have to get back to that line of thought later.

But that still left her wondering what would happen to her. Would Zoey and Vernus leave if they wanted to create their own family? She did not want them to leave. And she did not want to have to choose between Ethan and them either if they did leave.

Chii suppressed a sniff as she was just making herself sadder with each passing second. She did not want to think anymore about that, but it was hard to just make those thoughts go away.

So instead, she bundled herself into her little blanket that she always kept with her on her perch. Making sure that none of the others could hear her as she let a few quiet sounds of distress escape.

It was not until some time later during that day that Chii emerged from within her blankets once again, she had fallen asleep it seemed like, but when she looked down, she saw that Zoey was still taking care of Vernus, who was having a little nap of his own.

“She did what?” And it also seemed that Ethan had returned during her sleepy time as she heard his voice from below. Looking down over her ledge, she stared down to what was the kitchen where Ethan and Brawly currently stood.

“She did not mean anything with it man, just let it go.” She tipped her head slightly sideways as she listened in on their conversation, though she had no idea exactly what they were talking about.

Ethan looked a little frustrated for a moment, before he completely deflated and leaned against Brawly.

“I know, I know.” Ethan sighed as Chii frowned, she could jump down there right then and there to separate them. But in the long run, that would accomplish nothing. She would allow the hugging… for now. “Sorry.”

“No worries, it's allowed to get a little worked up at times.” Brawly laughed, and while Chii agreed with him, it was not usually like Ethan to get worked up like that, even if it was only for a moment. She wondered what it had been about. “So, how much do we have left?”

“...” Ethan paused and Chii could see that he closed his eyes and drew a breath before he answered. “Practically nothing… we are going to have to make due with what we have for a while.” Nothing of what? Chii knew that she was just listening in, but it was really tempting for her to jump down and get some answers. Though that means that she would have to admit to eavesdropping in the first place… which she had been told was a rude thing to do.

“Jenny really was the one who took care of these things.” Brawly sighed. “So, we have to make due for a few days… we can do that.” Did this have something to do with what she did earlier? Chii really hoped not.

“Of course we can.” Ethan lightened up a bit. “Stormy's parents wanted… insisted to pay for what we did to help their filly. But I can't accept money for something like that. No one should have to pay for getting their daughter help. Besides, the Natu was the one who did most of the work, not me.” Chii was a little unsure who this, “Stormy” was, but she remembered the Natu. He came around every now and again, though he was not as much fun as the Swablu… she missed her.

“True, but you were the one who started this whole thing.” Chii had to suppress a groan as Brawly pulled Ethan closer and kissed him…. and kept kissing him… if it kept going any longer, she seriously considered putting a stop to it. A tiny spark traveled across her fur. A Thunder Wave would take care of it. She would hit Ethan too, but they already knew from experience that he was not affected by paralysis… in her defence, it was an accident at the time. He surprised her and she acted poorly.

She was just about to unleash her vicious Thunder Wave, when there was a knock on the door. Everyone's heard turned to the noise, and Chii let the electricity that she had built up slowly ground itself. He got lucky this time…

“Just a second!” Ethan cried out towards the door, though he was still being held by Brawly. “Mind letting me go?” Chii heard them say something else and even laugh in the background, but she was already on her way to answer the door.

She jumped up and grabbed the handle, letting her weight and gravity do most of the work as the handle was pushed down and the door slowly slid open.

“Mary!” Chii cheered as the familiar Unicorn stood outside. She quickly let go of the door handle and jumped down in front of their guest and friend.

“Well, hello there.” Mary smiled at Chii, still a little amused by her technique for opening the door.

“Who is it?” Chii could hear Ethan call out from inside, but she chose to promptly ignore him.

“Are you visiting?” She asked with a hopeful smile. Mary was always fun and nice when she came over, and she usually had some exciting stories to share… that and cookies. The cookies definitely helped too.

“Not this time.” Chii felt her ears sag slightly at that answer, no one came just to visit her. “Is Ethan here, there is something important I need to speak to him about.” Why was no one just there to see her…

“Yeah, he is inside getting his face sucked off.” It took a second, but once Mary understood what Chii meant she lifted her hoof to her mouth, trying and failing to contain her laughter.

“Chii!” She heard Ethan yell at her from the inside and her ears went flat against her head from the tone of his voice. Maybe there was a chance… a small chance that he may have heard her comment about him.

“Protect me!” Chii flung herself at Mary just as she heard some footsteps behind her. She collided with Mary's chest, and clung to it, quickly climbing around so she got onto her back and could hide in her mane. “Hide me…” She whispered to Mary once she got close to her ears, and even though that only made her laugh harder, she could feel her nod slightly.

It was just a few moments later when Ethan came through the open door, his face red and flustered, or at least Chii thought so, she could barely see that much through Mary's mane.

“I’m… I’m sorry for Chii.” Ethan rubbed the back of his head as he looked around Mary, most likely looking for her. But she was a master of stealth and... stealthiness.

“Don't be, she means well.” No, she really didn't. But as she was not exactly in a position to argue so, she would let Mary do it for her.

She could see that Ethan looked around a little more before his eyes settled upon Mary, just a few inches below her hiding space. “I just think she is a little jealous.” She was NOT jealous. She just wished that Ethan would spend a little more time with her, rather than Brawly… she was not jealous... “But you said that you wanted to see me?” Chii could feel Mary shift ever so slightly underneath her.

“Yes. Yes I did. You remember Olivia right?”

“The Ranger? Yes, of course. How is she?” Chii remembered them talking about her before. She had never actually met Olivia herself, but she seemed nice. Especially since she was helping them find Jenny. Or she used to help them. She only knew that she was at the hospital now.

“That's why I am here.” There was something else hidden behind Mary's voice, Chii was sure of it. Uncertainty? It was hard for her to tell without getting a good look at her face. “They want you to come down there.”

“I don't know how much help I would be.” Chii could hear Ethan sigh. “She is unconscious, and my medical knowledge is very limited.”

“That's just it, she woke up a little earlier today.” Chii was a little unsure, but she thought she heard a gasp from inside their home. “They want your take on her… mental condition.” Mental, that meant the mind, right? At least that was what Chii thought. Was her mind sick?

“She has woken up? That's great news!” Chii felt the need to cheer herself too, but she had to remain vigilant. She was hiding. “Though…” She could see Ethan falter slightly. “I don't know how much help I would be. I am a Pokémon psychologist. A human's mind is very different, even a former one.”

“But you have to help!” Chii's head popped up out of Mary's mane. And immediately regretted the decision when Ethan's eyes settled upon her.

“So, that's where you were hiding.” Chii could only let out a small surprised sound as Ethan picked her up and lifted her over to him. She quickly climbed out of his hands and climbed up on his shoulder when he released her. “Sorry, she has way too much energy for her own good.” Chii looked back as she finished her climb from the shoulder and up to his head and her usual perch between his ears, to see that Mary was shaking her head and stifling another laugh.

“Don't be, she is no trouble at all.” Mary's eyes settled on Ethan once more, just below where Chii was sitting. “So… will you help?” She asked once more. And Chii could not understand why Ethan was even having second thoughts about this. He helped Pokémon, that was what he did, what he was good at. What did it matter that she used to be a human? She needed help, that would have been all that mattered.

She felt a little poke in her side and looked to see Ethan's paw at her side. “So you really think that I should help?”

“Of course you should!” Chii slammed her paw down… very gently since she was still sitting on his head. So, it was more of a pat than anything else. But it still had the same meaning. “She helped with Jenny's investigation, so we have to help her!” She thought that they should help her nonetheless, but it was the only real argument that she could think of at that moment.

She could hear Ethan sigh and his head move slightly as he looked back to Mary Care who were watching intently.

“Do you think there is anything I can do?” He asked.

“Well, from what you have told me, it seems like you have more experience than any of the others Psychologists or therapists that's nearby. That and I have seen personally how much of a difference you can make… I believe that if there is something that you could do to help, then you would beat yourself up over it if you never tried.”

Chii moved a little forward and looked down at Ethan's face as he and Mary apparently had started a staring competition. She did not understand why Ethan did not immediately jump to help Olivia, like he had with so many other Pokémon… like he had with her.

“Well…” Ethan was the first one to look away and Chii had to keep back a tiny cheer as she noticed the smile on Mary's face. “I do have some experience when it comes to patients with a drug problem. I make no promises, but I will do what I can.” Mary's smile broke out into a full grin at that point.

“Thank you, we should go immediately though. She is not in the best condition so she needs all the rest that she can get.”

“Yeah, we should go right now!” Chii agreed with a cheer of her own. Of course they had to help her, it was the right thing to do.

“Oh um… I don't know if you should… I mean it really is not a place for children.” Chii looked down to Mary who seemed to struggle to find the right words.

“But I want to come! Please!” She leaned out over the front of Ethan's head so she could look him in the eyes. “Please…” She begged.

“Ethan, this really is not-” Chii felt a familiar paw on her back and she kept looked up at Ethan as he put her down on the ground and knelt down infront of her.

“Why do you want to come?” It was a really simple question, and the answer was just as simple. Because she wanted to see him help her. But as she looked at Ethan, she noticed just how serious he looked in that moment, how hard his eyes were and the slight difference that there had been in his voice. Why was he acting like that? Was there something about this that she did not know? Was she that badly hurt? There had to be something since Mary had not wanted her to come along and since Ethan looked so serious.

“Because I want to see you help her.” It had been the first answer that came to her mind, so it was the one that she went with. “You help Pokémon all the time. You helped Zoey and Vernus… you helped me.” Chii halted for a moment as memories of the first days after she had met Ethan flooded into her mind. “I want to see you do that for her.”

Chii sniffed slightly, but kept her eyes on Ethan, who was looking down on her with a somber expression. “You know, I might not be able to help her. There is possible that there is nothing that I can do.” That… really had not been what she had wanted to hear, and she could feel her eyes becoming slightly misty.

“B-but you still have to try!” But she remained vigilant and forced any tears back. She had always seen Ethan as her hero, as someone who could do and accomplish anything. Of course, she knew that this was not true. But it was different when she was confronted with a situation like that. “You have to try…”

The tough girl facade became harder and harder to keep up as Ethan looked down on her. And she was just about to let it drop, when she felt two paws at her side, and she looked up to see a big smile on Ethan's face as he lifted her back up.

“Of course you are right, I'm sorry for being so silly.” She wanted to punch and hug him at the same time in that moment, she settled on the latter though. “And you can come, but you may have to wait outside her room when I am in there.”

“What? Why?” She wanted to see Ethan help her, how was she going to do that if he made her stay outside?

“Because I don't know how bad it is… how bad is it?” Chii turned around to Mary as Ethan looked to her for answers.

“It's not pretty, that's why I wanted you to come as soon as possible.” Mary said with a hint of sadness in her voice. “They have had to keep her sedated ever since she woke up… I hoped that you may be able to talk… to get through to her.” She had to be really, really sick for both Ethan and Mary to get that worried. But she would be there to help and cheer them up.

“Then we have no time to lose.” Chii exclaimed as she jumped up onto Mary and struck a pose, pointing her paw out towards the town. “Let's go!”

“Chii…” She heard Ethan's voice behind her. “Did you ask Mary if you could ride on her?” Oh… right… that.

“Um, no?” She looked back to see that Ethan was giving her a look and kept slightly nodding down to Mary Care. “Do you mind if I sit here?” Chii asked carefully as she sat back down on Mary's back.

“It’s perfectly okay.” Mary laughed at them. Ethan had told her that it was impolite to climb on people without asking their permission first. Even though it never seemed to mind him when she climbed on him.

“Okay, now we can go.”

Chii was bored.

Ethan had gone into the room where Olivia, the Pokémon Ranger was being held almost immediately after they had arrived. He had talked with some doctors first, though Mary had taken her away from them so they could speak in peace. She had no idea why though, was there some secret about Olivia that she was not supposed to know? Whatever the case, Ethan had gone into the room afterwards, leaving her and Mary alone outside. Waiting.

By Arceus, the waiting was killing her.

“Why is he taking so long?” Chii asked Mary who was currently reading a magazine. This was not what she had in mind when she asked to come along. She wanted to see Ethan help her, she wanted to see how he helped her. And maybe she could even help a little too. She knew that Ethan always did what was best, so since he told her to stay outside, she just wished that he had explained why. She may just be a little Skitty, but she had been through a lot. She understood things

“I am sure that he has his reasons.” Mary said as she looked up from her magazine. Chii did not mind Mary, but she was not exactly fun either. She just sat there, reading, and occasionally glancing at the clock. She was nice, but that was it.

“...” Chii looked over at Mary who went back to her reading. “Why did you come?” That made her blink in surprise as she looked up again.

“What?”

“Why did you come?” Chii repeated again. “You are not in there with them. So, why not just leave?” Ethan was there because he wanted to help Olivia. She was there because she was interested in how Ethan would help her… though that had not gone as planned. But that left Mary Care.

“Well, I…” Mary paused and it looked like she was searching for the right words, for an answer. She did not have a particular reason for suddenly asking her a question like that, she was just bored and curious. A dangerous combination at times, or so she had been told on several occasions. “Well, I thought that somepony should stay so you would not have to wait here alone.” That made Chii stop, she had not thought about that. “Though I can't say that is the only reason. Ethan, he… he intrigues me. His way of doing things, his sense of right and wrong. And his efficiency.” Chii did not completely understand all of that, but she got the gist of it.

“So, you are interested in him?” She asked, it pretty much seemed like Mary had the same reasons that she had.

“W-what? N-no, I mean… I am interested in him, but not romantically, not in that way.” That little outburst surprised Chii. She had not meant it like that, thought it was a little fun to see Mary so flustered. And she found herself laughing slightly.

“You mean like how it is between you and Protocol?” It was a really strange thing to see someone pale through their fur, but Mary somehow managed it.

“W-w-what?” She stammered out.

“Yeah, how you are always looking at him when he is not looking, that dreamy stare. That long, slow sigh.” With every word, Mary's face grew redder and redder. “So, is he your boyfriend?”

“No!” Mary cried out, and Chii stumbled slightly back from the surprise scream. “I mean… it is coltfriend, and no, we are not a thing.” Chii shook her head as she got back up on her feet, and jumped up onto the table in front of Mary.

“Why not? It is really, really, REALLY obvious that you like him.” And once again, Mary was doing her best impression of a tomato. “Do you like someone else too?”

“No, no nothing like that.” Mary sighed in defeat, and Chii made no efforts to hide her grin. “It… it's just complicated.” Chii was getting really sick of hearing that excuse.

“What is so complicated? You like him do you not? Then what more is there to it? Just tell him!” It was like the whole scene with Zoey all over again.

“I can't… it… I just can't!” Why did adults always have to make things so hard? “You don't understand. It is more complicated than it seems.” Chii never understood what they meant when they used the word “complicated” in those situations. It just seemed like a poor excuse to her. “You are a cute and insightful little thing.” Mary reached out and gently patted her on the head. “But there are a few things that you still don't understand.”

Annoyed and irritated by her answer Chii just huffed and jumped back down, out of Mary's reach. Perhaps she was right, perhaps not. Why did love had to be so hard. She threw her paws up in the air and let out a little cry out of annoyance.

Would she understand it better once she evolved? Once she was older? Maybe once she found someone to fall in love with. It was not something that she could imagine in that moment, she liked a lot of people, and she loved Ethan and her whole family. But it was not that kind of love, it was the one that made you stupid.

She wanted to give it more thought, but she was snapped out of her line of thought when the sound of a door opening reached her ears. Her head spun around towards the patient room to see that the door was slowly opening, and Ethan's familiar figure could be seen emerging from behind it.

“Ethan!” She called out in joy as she hopped up. And she was going to run over to him to hear how it had gone but… why did he look so, sad. Sad and angry. “Ethan?”

“Fuck!” She flinched and hid behind her own tail as Ethan practically slammed the door shut behind him. She was slightly shaking as she looked out from behind her tail. Ethan was… he was truly angry, Ethan was never angry, not like that. It scared her.

“Ethan!” Chii heard Mary call out, her voice was firm and the hard stomp of a hoof shortly followed. But if Ethan reacted to her voice at all, then Chii could not see any signs of it.

Instead he ignored the both of them and walked over to one of the nearby walls with heavy steps. She could see the intensity and hurt in his eyes, though that was what made her move her tail out of the way. He was angry, but he looked hurt as well, she had to help him.

He leaned against the wall, his eyes closed, and Chii was sure that she could hear him muttering something under his breath. She looked back to Mary who were standing completely still, apparently not knowing what to do either.

“Arceus damn it.” He turned around and slowly slid down the wall, his knees held up against his chest, and his heavy ears, hanging down, covering his face. “Damn it all…”

That was the last straw, and she forgot her earlier fear. Chii ran up to Ethan, who had gone completely silent. She snuck past his ears, and through to where she could look up at him. “Ethan?” She balanced on her back legs while her front ones was leaning against his side.

“...” Slowly he turned to look down at her, his eyes were red, though not to the brink of tears. And he looked… tired. “Sorry, Chii.” His voice was low, but she knew that he meant it. He reached down with his paw to rub the fur on her head like he usually did, and she happily pressed herself against his touch. “I'm sorry that I let you see this.”

“What's wrong?” He slowly and gently stroked her fur before a sigh escaped his lips. She looked up longingly when he removed his paw and instead looked up to the door he had just come out of a few minutes earlier. “Is Olivia okay?” She asked, and she could see some of the hurt from earlier return to his eyes.

“No, she is really not… and I'm not sure if she will be.”

Chapter 39

Peaceful.

That was how she looked when Ethan entered the room and carefully closed the door behind him. The usual sterile smell assaulted his nose, and the soft breathing of Olivia was the only audible sound. She was asleep, though not by choice. Mary Care had told him that she had to be sedated. After she woke up, the doctors and Mary had apparently asked her a few questions, and she had plenty of her own. But it was not long before she had begun to struggle.

Looking around the room, Ethan could spot a few burn marks on the walls, and ceiling. Luckily, no one had been hit by her lightning, so no one had been hurt from Olivia's, most likely unintentional, attack. From what Mary had told him, it seemed more like a panic attack.

He really was not sure what to expect, there could have been a number of reasons for her to have started panicking like that. He had gathered a small pool of information from what Mary and the doctors had asked, but he needed to talk to her himself to get a proper picture of the whole situation.

He sat down on a small chair next to her bed. It was difficult to think that someone as tough as her had succumbed to something like drugs. Of course there could have been any number of reasons that had led to it… though one possibility stood out among the others. Being taken from Earth and put into a new world, a new body. He knew how stressful it had been for him, but he had his friends and family there to help him through it for the most part. It was not too difficult to imagine that Olivia had failed to handle that stress, especially if she had been alone. The drugs would have dulled her mind, possibly made it easier for her to cope with it all.

Ethan looked down on the small vial he held in his paw. They had started to grow all kinds of berries at the hospital. They did not know if they would have any effect on ponies yet, but there was no disputing how helpful they were when a Pokémon was injured or sick in some way. That particular vial was filled with the juices of a pressed Chesto Berry, something that the local Chansey had given him.

He used his other paw to tilt Olivia's head back, and open her mouth slightly before he poured the small vial’s content down her throat. The effect was almost immediate, and Olivia started coughing straight away. Her eyes slowly opened as the coughing died down; the sedative that had been used on her was quite strong, so it would still be in effect to some degree, at least.

Olivia stared up at the ceiling with half opened eyes and her breathing had calmed down after her coughing fit.

“How are you feeling?” It was the kind of question that doctors and psychiatrists almost always asked, and the kind of question that a lot of people hated answering.

“I… I’m f-fine.” Olivia spoke, her speech was slightly broken, and it was easy to hear that her throat was parched. But what was most interesting to Ethan was the fact that she was still staring up at the ceiling, one of the first reactions that people usually have when hearing a new voice is to look towards it. Olivia had consciously decided to not look at him… interesting.

“Are you sure?” Ethan paused for a moment to see if she would object or do anything at all. Instead she only kept staring straight up at the wall. “Because under the circumstances, I don't think anyone would be fine.” No response at all. “You were found passed out, having overdosed on a… drug from our old world.” It was small, but he could see a small shiver go through her whole body. “Heaven's Glow… quite the dangerous narcotic, especially if it were to be introduced into a new world like this.” The same twitch came again, and she had grimaced ever so slightly too, but only for a split second.

There was something that he had said that was bothering her. “Now, I am not the police, so I am not going to go any deeper into that subject.” Even though he really wanted to. Releasing such a narcotic that had been made and intended for Pokémon upon Equus could have potentially been disastrous. “But there had to have been a reason that you went to that drug. Something must have driven you so far, that it seemed like a good option, a way to take the pain away maybe… do you want to talk about that?”

He waited for her to throw insults and angry remarks at him, to break down into sobs as her emotions overwhelmed her, or to even possibly assault her. He had seen them all before, drug addicts were always someone you had to be vary around, especially since there was little way to know how they would react when they were forced to face their actions. But the silence worried him. He had never encountered something like that before with a patient like her. This was why he did not take humans as patients, their minds were so different from his usual patients.

“I am here to help you.” He said, his voice gentle and calm. “But there is nothing I can do for you if you don't talk to me.”

“Why.” It was whispered so low, that even with his improved hearing he had just barely caught it. “Why should I tell you anything? Why should I speak to you at all?” What intrigued him the most was how calm her voice was. “None of it matters anyway.”

“What do you mean?” He asked, curious about her choice of words. Did the old saying, “calm before the storm”, apply to people as well?

“What do you mean?” She repeated quietly, a concerning grin beginning to grow on her face. “What do you mean?” A bubbling laugh started in her throat and flowed out into the room, her huge grin matching the laughter. But it was not the fun kind of laughter that you shared with a friend, no it was something much more unsettling instead. “That should be obvious!”

Her head snapped to the side and Ethan could see the sheer amount of stress she was undergoing by the look in her eyes as she stared into his.

“Because this is all a dream.” She chuckled, and Ethan could even see that her left eye was twitching slightly. “And my own mind is asking itself what it is talking about. This is just too rich.”

“Why do you think that this is a dream?” She believed her own words, that much was easy to understand from the tone in her voice and the look in her eyes.

“And now I am asking myself even more questions. Fine, I will play this game for now.” She laughed again, her paws was holding her chest, as if the laughter would explode out from it if she did not keep it contained. “It is because this is too crazy and surreal to believe.” She took a few deep breaths as she forced herself to calm down, though her grin still remained. “Ponies… Talking ponies, this new body of mine. Of course it can't be real. And I would never do drugs, never, so that only leaves one real option.”

She… she really was believing what she was saying. His mind raced and he remembered one of the moments where Vernus was teaching him about the different kinds of drugs that he had invented and produced… sold, and their potential side effects.

“You… what is the last thing that you remember?” The answer was already pretty obvious, but he had to hear it from her, he had to make sure.

“The last thing… last thing…” Olivia calmed down completely, her face returning to stare up at the ceiling as her grin disappeared. “Paperwork, I was doing my paperwork. We had caught some bastard that enjoyed beating his Pokémon, but we had done a mistake, so I had to make sure that he did not go free on some minor detail. Afterwards I… afterwards… I must have fallen asleep by my desk again. Because that is it.” And with that Ethan's fears were confirmed.

She did not remember any of it. Waking up in a new body, on a new world. Arceus making his announcement. Those last weeks, they were gone. To Olivia, none of that had happened. One of the worse side effects of Heaven's Glow… memory loss.

It was no wonder that she believed that it was all a dream. It had been too much information to take in all at once, too much to believe. It was quite a natural defence mechanism… it allowed her time. Time to properly work through all the information that she had been fed.

If her mind had not done that… well. Her mind would have most likely been left broken. Left her insane. The brain is quite brilliant in that way… but it also meant that he had to be the one to break her out of the little illusion that she was currently living in. He had to be the one to make her believe.

“Is that what you believe?” Ethan asked. “What you truly believe?”

“Of course it is.” Olivia huffed. Of course it was true to her. It was her reality, it was what had to be true. Her mind currently refused to let her believe anything else.

“I see.” There was many ways that he could go about convincing her that it was not a dream. Some of the ways were more delicate than others, some carried less risk for her mental state. But the longer she remained in her delusion, the harder it could become for her to accept reality too. There really was no right choice in the current situation.

Ethan believed in his knowledge. He had treated several, if not hundreds of patients, all suffering from different kinds of problems. And the accumulated experience from all those years had taught him to trust his gut in situations like the one he was currently in. And it was with that in mind, that Ethan reached out… and slapped Olivia.

He had not held back either, and had it not been for her fur, a solid red mark of his paw would have been clearly visible on her skin.

Olivia reeled back from both the shock and the pain. Her paws immediately went up to the spot where she had been struck. There was a moment of disbelief where she barely moved at all, she just nursed that spot and stared blankly out into the air.

“Y-you hit me?” She finally spoke.

“I had to do something.” Ethan leaned back in his seat. He did not like having to resort to such a thing, but it was the most effective. “Does it hurt?”

“Of course it hurts, you asshole, you hit me!” And the slap had another effect as well, it really woke her up. She was still groggy from the sedative, and the aftereffects of the drug had not left her. But the current spurt of anger made her forget and ignore what it seemed like.

“Exactly.” Ethan smiled. One of the reasons why he had slapped her was because of the spurt of adrenaline she would receive, kickstarting her systems and making her more attentive and awake as a result. Making it easier for her to think for herself. The other… “And you can't feel pain in a dream, now can you?” Was to prove to her that it was not a dream. Give her a cold, hard fact that she could not refute.

“I…” All her anger drained away as she stared at Ethan. “B-but.” She looked down at herself, at her own paws. She slowly lifted one of them up to her face as she began to inspect it.

“I know that it is a lot to take in but-”

“NO!” Olivia shrieked from the top of her lungs. “It can't be real. I was working, I…” Her head snapped to Ethan. “M-my partner? Where is my partner?” Her eyes were desperate. “He is not here… No, he would never leave me! This is not real. It can't be. It's just a nightmare, it's just a nightmare, IT'S JUST A NIGHTMARE!” She was screaming louder and louder as she trashed around in her bed. Tears were streaming down her face.

“Olivia! You need to calm down!” Ethan was already up and were holding her down. Sparks of electricity began to jump over her fur, her instability was feeding her electricity.

“No! You are all lying. You are trying to trick me, I know that you are!” She continued screaming, and the sparks were beginning to hurt Ethan as he held her down. This went south, fast. “You can't be telling the truth, you-” Olivia's whole body paused, her expression frozen. She slowly looked over to where Ethan was holding a small syringe. “You can't…” Her head fell down against her pillow and the rest of her body quickly followed suit.

He had hoped that he would not have to sedate her again. But things had just gotten out of control so fast. Escalated beyond what he had imagined, what he had planned.

“I have… a life.” Her voice was growing weaker. “My job, my… partner.” The light was leaving her eyes. The sedative was taking control. “Had… this is...not my… life.” A single tear rolled down her cheek and onto the pillow where it was absorbed by the fabric just as she fell asleep once again.

“Sleep well.” Ethan gently pulled her blanket over her and straightened it. “We will be here when you wake up… you are not alone. You will get through this.” He waited for a few moments as he looked down on her.

It had been hard for everyone when the… event had happened. When they had been ripped out from their lives and was handed new ones just like that. But they had lived through that, seen it with their own eyes. It made it easier to believe… to accept, and to move on.

That privilege had just been revoked from Olivia. It was like she had never gotten it in the first place.

Ethan left the room without saying another word. He had failed her.

Humans were not his thing, and he had known that coming into this situation He had told the others that. But that did not change the fact that he had done absolutely nothing for Olivia. In fact, he may have made things worse. He had been a fool… he should never have come in the first place.

“Fuck!” Ethan slammed the door shut behind him. His emotions were overflowing, and he did not know what to do.

His body felt heavy as he walked over to one of the nearby walls. His steps were slow, and it felt like he was leaving a little bit of himself behind with every step.

He closed his eyes and let his head rest against the wall. “I should never have come here…” He muttered to himself. “But I did, and now she paid for it.” True, what had happened might have happened anyway. But that did not change the horrible dread that Ethan was feeling.

“Arceus damn it.” He turned his back to the wall and slowly slid down. “Damn it all…” His ears were hanging down, covering most of his body and his knees were held up against his chest.

“Ethan?” He looked down to see that Chii had snuck past his ears and were currently looking up at him.

“...” He had lost his temper… he had lost his temper in front of Chii. She was scared, and he could not blame her. He had been a fool. “Sorry, Chii.” He reached down and rubbed the fur on her head, and smiled when she leaned against his touch. “I'm sorry that I let you see this.” He had completely forgotten that she and Mary were even there when he had left Olivia's room.

“What's wrong?” Her voice was full of concern. Hell, he probably looked like a wreck. Olivia was the one who was in a bad spot… not him. But even so, he could not help but feel a certain warmth well up inside his chest. He loved his family with all his heart, they were always there for each other… no matter what. “Is Olivia okay?”

He did not want to answer her. But he knew that he had to. She was concerned for both him, and for Olivia. It was the kind of Pokémon that Chii was. It was a wonder that her big heart could even fit inside that small body of hers. “No, she is really not… and I'm not sure if she will be.”

“What do you mean?” That's right, Mary was there too. She had been the one to ask him for help in the first place.

“I'll tell you late-” He was starting to say, but a small par hit against his chest, stopping him.

“No, you tell us now!” Chii huffed. “I want to hear it too... ”

“It's not a pretty story. There is no happy ending here.” He had wanted to wait to tell Mary so that Chii would not overhear it. But she had seen right through him. She was an insightful little thing… in a way, that made him proud.

“I know…” She looked away for a moment, her ears laying flat against her head. “B-but I want to know anyway… I can take it.” But she was also extremely sensitive. Though she was right… she deserved to know.

“Okay, you win. C'mere you.” Chii let out a small and cute surprised yelp as Ethan grabbed her and stood back up, holding her in his arms as he did. “Olivia is not okay because… because she does not remember coming here in the first place. She does not remember that she left Earth in the first place.” Mary did a sharp intake of breath as she understood what this meant, Chii on the other hand… was a little confused.

“What do you mean?” She asked as she struggled out of Ethan's arms, and climbed up to his head.

“She has memory loss… how?” Mary inquired

“I recognized the drug… I have seen its effects before.” And treated them too. “Memory loss is one of the more serious side effects that it can have… she does not remember coming here, or getting a new body. Needless to say, she did not take it well.”

“Oh… b-but she will get her memory back, right?”

“I don't know, Chii… maybe.” He knew a little on the subject, but not nearly enough to make a proper statement. “I think we will head home now.” He said to Mary who looked up at the two of them. “There is little that I can do for her… she needs some proper care, someone who is trained to deal with cases such as hers. That is not me. If I continued… well, I would probably do more harm than good.” Even more harm than he had already done that was.

“Y-you can't do anything else?”

“No, I'm afraid not.” Ethan shook his head. “I hope that she gets better and receive proper care… but I should not have anything to do with it.” He could see how disappointed Mary was… and he could not blame her. “You take care now… and if there is anything else that we can help with… just ask, okay?”

“Y-yeah… okay.” Mary nodded, her eyes fixated on the floor. “You take care now.”

“Bye, Mary!” Chii yelled and waved goodbye to Mary from her comfy perch. “She looks sad.” She commented to Ethan once they had made some distance between them and Mary.

“She was so sure that we… I would be able to help her with this. She put too much hope into one basket, and it backfired.” A tired sigh escaped past Ethan's lips.

“Oh… is there anything we can do for her?” Another smile graced Ethan's features. Chii always wanted to make everyone around her happy, it was a wonderful trait of hers.

“We can go to check up on her later tonight to see if she is okay.” Ethan suggested. “Would that be okay?”

“Yeah!” Chii cheered happily. “We can bake a cake and surprise her.”

“Yeah, I'm sure that she would love that.”

Ethan and Chii left the hospital after having informed the doctors about how their visit had gone. Ethan had stressed the importance of getting her some proper psychological help. From the sound of it, they would have to bring in a specialist from Canterlot. He just hoped that it would be enough.

He had also stressed the importance of how dangerous it could be if the drug that had ruined Olivia got out in Equestria. He had originally wanted the syringes and any remains of it destroyed… but that would have been meaningless. If Olivia had made it herself, then it was not hard to think that there was others out there that knew how to make it. Besides, the doctors and scientists could use the remnants of the drug to better figure out how to treat Olivia. And future cases too as they had told him.

It was dream thinking… but Ethan hoped that such a thing would not be necessary.

“What are you doing here?” But he did not have much more time to think about that, because just outside the hospital, they encountered another familiar face.

“Hello there, Protocol,” Ethan greeted the police pony, and Chii waved her paw in a small greeting too. “We… we were…”

“We were visiting Olivia!” Chii blurted out. Ethan had been taking too long with his words so she had taken the matter into her own paws.

“And why, exactly would you do that!?” Protocol almost sneered. “What was she to you?”

“Hey!” Chii was looking down at Protocol with a frown on her face. “She was a nice person… of course we would see if she was okay.”

“She is right, you know.” Ethan agreed with Chii. He had been initially taken aback with Protocol's aggressive approach, but Chii's retort had stopped that. “That and Mary Care asked me to check her out to see if I could help her.”

“I… I apologize for my behavior.” Protocol stepped back and shook his head, the angry expression from before suddenly gone, or at least suppressed. “So… how did your visit go? Can you help her?” Ethan had known that Protocol and Olivia was somewhat close, friends he had guessed, he did not know either of them too well personally. But seeing the kind of reaction Protocol had when he confronted them confirmed it.

“No, I tried but… there is little that I can do for her.” Ethan could not meet Protocol's eyes. Especially not since he was her friend. “Do you know what condition that she is in?”

“...No, I did not have an opportunity to come before now. How is she?” It was a strange sight. Ethan was so used to seeing Protocol as an iron pony, rarely even showing any emotions. But at that moment, he looked so fragile.

And so Ethan filled the police pony in on what had happened during their visit. How Olivia had reacted to the news, and how she had gone into panic near the end where he had been forced to sedate her for her own safety once again. It was easy to see the pain on Protocol's face as he listened to Ethan's story. And while it was faint, Ethan also saw that the anger from earlier was bubbling up once again. Protocol tried to hide it, but the signs was there. Too obvious for someone trained to see them to not notice it.

“You said that the drug that did this to her was called Heaven's Glow, correct?” Like his usual self, Protocol did not hesitate, not even after having heard all that. Ethan was sure that he urged to run in and see his friend, but he held himself back because there was more that he needed to know.

“Yeah… the doctors analyzed the remains in the syringe and a Chansey recognized it. There is no doubt about it.” And he had confirmed himself when he had seen the state that Olivia was in.

“I see… and memory loss is a side effect of this drug?”

“In rare cases, yes… only when taken in large doses though. To be honest it is a miracle that she even survived with how much she had in her system.” He had read the reports. It was sad to see someone go to such lengths. He had not wanted to think about it earlier… and he definitely was not going to say anything to Protocol. But there was a chance that she had tried to kill herself.

“And how do you know this?” That… was an unexpected question. Ethan found himself having been thrown slightly off by it. Why would he even ask a question like that? “I don't imagine that it's common knowledge.”

“No, you are right there, it's not.” Ethan found himself slightly stumped by Protocol's question, whenever the reason for it. It was not like he could tell him the truth that the creator of that drug were living under the same roof as him. Or maybe he did not need to lie after all… a little manipulation of the truth would do. “I know about it because one of my earlier patients had been taking the same drug and ended up in the same situation as Olivia.” He did not like to lie if he did not have to, so a part of the truth would do just fine.

“The memory loss?” Ethan nodded as Protocol thought about it for a few moments. “Is there any way to reverse it?”

“I…” That was a difficult question for Ethan to answer. “I can't really give you a definitive answer.”

“What do you mean?” Chii chipped in.

“I’m sure you know about some of the powers that Psychic types have by now, right?” The question was directed at Protocol, who nodded in response.

“Yes, Olivia told be about all that.” He knew, that made it a little easier for him to explain.

“Then I'm sure you know that some of the more powerful ones can directly influence the mind of another. In theory… a powerful and skilled Psychic type could restore memories that have been lost or locked away for some reason.” It was something that they had looked into when Vernus had told him about his own lost memories. “But,” he hated to shoot down Protocol's hope just like that. But things were just not that simple. “It's not something that I would recommend.”

They had looked deeply into that option. Talked with powerful Psychic types and their trainers, with medical professionals, other psychologists who had more experience in the matter… and seen first hand what could go wrong when a Pokémon tampers with the mind of another.

“Had the memory loss been induced by another Psychic type, then I would have recommended the idea in a heartbeat. But this happened naturally. If a Psychic type would go into her mind and forcefully try to restore her memories now… well, it is likely that it would do more harm than good. She is not in a state where she can handle such an invasive intrusion… and I'm not sure if she will be.” The patient that he had seen where it had gone so horribly wrong had been completely braindead. “It is not my choice… and not yours either. But if you are going to suggest this idea to her, then you should know of the risks. She has lost a few weeks, and that has left its mark on her. But with time, she will recover. Maybe not completely, but she will get better. And that's better than losing her forever, right?” He truly hoped that he had managed to dissuade Protocol from that idea. Especially since such an forceful intrusion could cause much more trauma than she currently had.

The mind is a delicate thing, extremely fragile, and tough at the same time. With time, and proper care and assistance. It can recover from almost anything on its own. Ethan had always favored the more traditional methods when it came to treating the mind. Not because he had anything against Psychic types, no, they could be of great help in many cases. But because the risk was not worth the gain. Destroying someone's mind… that was easy. But healing it, that was hard.

Protocol was silent after that lengthy explanation. His brow furrowed and Ethan could see that he was thinking about what he had just been told.

Seeing Protocol like that made Chii jump down. She looked up to the police pony, who did not even seem to notice her as she walked over to him.

“Are you okay?” She asked as she tapped him on the leg.

“It was just a lot to take in and consider.” Protocol sighed and shook his head. “So, yes. I am fine.” That had been the answer that Chii was looking for, and a broad smile appeared on her face as she got it.

“It will be okay. Olivia still has you.” That however, surprised the iron pony that was Protocol and he looked down to the little Skitty with big eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“She may be in a bad place right now, but as long as she has good friends, everything will be okay in the end!” Protocol did not know it, but Chii spoke from experience. It was words, pure from the heart.

“She is right you know.” It was obvious what Chii was talking about, and maybe she had a point as well. “She might have lost her memories, but she is still herself. She will struggle with the aftereffects of the drug for years, and there is no guarantee that her memory will return…” He paused for a spell as he thought back to what he had said earlier. “This might be the only proper advice that I can give for her regarding her treatment.” He had Protocol's full attention now. “Spend time with her. You became her friend once, I am sure that you can do it again. So what if she never regains those memories… help her make new ones. I… I know that it's not much, and probably not what you wanted to hear… but it's the best advice that I can offer in this situation.”

“Yeah!” Chii shouted from the top of her lungs, Ethan's words having put some new energy into her. “You care about her, and she needs you right now. That's the only thing that matters!”

“I think we will go now though, we have delayed your visit enough.” Ethan stated as he picked up Chii again. “I hope that things work out for you.” Ethan smiled and nodded to the police pony who nodded back.

“Thank you for your kind words, little one.” It was faint, but Chii noticed a small smile hiding behind his mask of steel. “And you too caretaker.”

“You are welcome!” She cheered back as she and Ethan started walking away. Neither of them noticed that Protocol kept looking after them for a good while, his eyes glues onto Ethan as they disappeared into the distance.

“Thank you, indeed…”

It was much later that evening, after everymon had gone to sleep and finished their daily activities that Ethan got an opportunity to talk with Vernus… alone.

“What's up?” Vernus asked, and tried to keep a straight face. He was more than a little nervous. Ethan had just dragged him outside so that they could talk in private. He just hoped to Arceus that it was not about the ranger.

“I went to see the ranger that was found a little earlier today.” And already Vernus felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest from beating so hard. “Do you know what happened to her?”

“No, I haven't really been keeping up.” Keep your breath steady and mind calm. Those were the words that the Leafeon kept repeating to himself in his thoughts. “What happened?”

“She had overdosed on a drug from our world, one that you should be familiar with. Heaven's Glow.” Screw staying calm, Vernus wanted to scream. It felt like Ethan was torturing him. “It is one of yours is it not?” Then again, it is a little hard to stay calm when it feels like there is a Snorlax sitting on your shoulders.

“Um… Y-yeah, it's one of the ones that I made.” He could not know, there had to be some other reason for Ethan to suddenly bring that up. He just had to hold out. “What about it?”

“Did you ever pass on or sell the recipe?” And just like that, it felt like several tons of weight lifted off his shoulders. “We think that she made it herself but… I want to know how common knowlege of it would be.”

Vernus let out a mental sigh. Ethan was not suspecting him for anything… that was good. As much as he hated, despised lying to him… it was necessary.

“Yeah, I sold the recipe.” Vernus started. “It was never that popular when I was making and selling… not to mention that the side effects were too severe… so I sold it off.” It felt good for him to finally tell the truth. He was good at lying, a near master at it. But that did not mean that he enjoyed it. “Other than that, I don't know. It was never the most popular of drugs, even after I sold it off. But the recipe could have spread anywhere after that, sorry.”

“Yeah, that's what I feared.” Ethan sighed. He slumped down next to Vernus, looking up at the midnight sky above. “I just hope that no one else ends up getting hurt because of it.”

In hindsight, Vernus really regretted having parted with that recipe. He may have been the one that used it on Olivia this time… but anyone from their world could technically know of it. He should have kept it to himself… kept it secure, like the rest of his creations.

“Yeah…” Vernus nodded as he laid down next to his best friend. If he could still call himself Ethan's friend. They had meant well, but just like always, he was the one who was dealing with their messes. “Let's hope.”

Chapter 40

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 41

Things were going well in Neighagra Falls. With the appearance of another completely new race, business was blooming in the small town. Ponies from far away were coming to see the sights, and a lot of Pokémon were too. It seemed that a majority of them had integrated themselves in record time. There were a few incidents and problems every now and again, but what can you expect when you introduce a completely new species to the mix.

But not everypony were sharing in the happiness that seemed to flow around town those days.

Protocol was an important pony to the community; he was the captain of the local police force, after all. And so ponies looked to him to solve a lot… most of the problems that occurred. They lived in a tourist town, and so they attracted a fair amount of thieves and scoundrels. Though most of them were of the petty sort, just small shoplifting and the like. Nothing serious at all. True, there had been a few major incidents… but those were few and far between. But after the Pokémon had just magically appeared… well, things had not been so steady.

Protocol prided himself in his work. He kept Neighagra Falls clean, or at least he had. Things… had sort of been going downhill lately. He had always known what to do, he knew how to deal with ponies, knew what made them tick. Then another element was added into the mix, and suddenly, Protocol found himself with barely a clue at what he was supposed to do. He had tried to hold everything together, to try to keep things running smoothly… and even with the help that they had gotten, more than a few things had gone wrong...

To most outside ponies, Protocol was a tough pony, and it seemed that nothing ever budged his iron resolve. Though… for the last few days, things had been hard for Protocol, harder than the last few weeks at least.

What had happened to Olivia… he had taken that quite hard. When she had disappeared in the first place, and even harder when she had been found unconscious at the outside of the town.

Everypony deals with grief and problems in their own way… and Protocol, true to himself, had drowned himself in his work. Day and night through, he was burning himself up, determined to find Jenny, and to find whoever harmed Olivia. The evidence was minimal, but he was as convinced as he could be. There was somepony to blame for what had happened to her… and he would find them.

As for his suspects… he only had theories to go on, no concrete evidence. But his gut told him that Ethan, despite all of the assistance he had provided, knew more than he was letting on. When you have been working as a cop for as long as Protocol had, well, you learned to trust your gut. So he would keep his eyes on that Lopunny in the future.

And while he still had a steel resolve, it had wavered slightly when he had gone to visit Olivia after she had woken up… after he had spoken to Ethan outside of that hospital. His friend was still there… she was going to live, and he was ecstatic about that, even if he did not show it. She was there… but she was gone at the same time.

He was honestly not sure where he was supposed to start again. How they were supposed to start anew. New beginnings were… they were tough, he had experience in that department.

Luckily, Mary Care had seen it fit to help him, to help them along their way to a new start. And it was because of this, that they all found themselves in the hospital the next day. He had spoken a little to Olivia the evening before, but not much had happened. No, he had been afraid to say too much. So, Mary had suggested that they instead take Olivia out for a walk, get some fresh air. Spend some proper time with her outside of those creepy hospital walls… her words, not his.

But, it seemed like it could be a good idea. The hospital staff, Olivia's doctor in specific, thought that she was not ready to go out just yet. She was strong enough physically but he still feared that it was too early for her.

Not that it was too hard to persuade him. Not that many ponies are able to stand up to Protocol once he has set his mind on something. Or, it is more like, they just know that resisting will be pointless anyway. That and he had reassured the doctor that he would be there every step of the way to make sure that nothing happened to Olivia… or to make sure that she did not try to do something stupid.

Olivia herself, had actually been rather calm about the whole idea. He had thought that maybe she would protest, or try to avoid going out… but when Mary had suggested the idea in front of her, she had accepted it gladly. Perhaps she was just sick of the hospital, perhaps something else…

Either way, they got her out of the hospital and were finally going to spend some much needed quality time with her.

“Woah...” A small gasp escaped Olivia's lips as they left the hospital. From the hospital one could see the majority of the town, along with the top of the humongous waterfall in the distance, the trees covered up the bottom half of of it. Olivia did have a window in her hospital room, but it was facing the forest, so she had never truly seen this sight before… well, the “new” her hadn't at least.

Mary Care and Protocol stood on each of her sides as she took in the sights. A single tear appeared and rolled down the Pokémon Rangers eye. “So… it really is real.”

“It sure is, sweetie.” Mary laid a comforting hoof on Olivia's shoulder as she struggled to come to a proper realization with it all.

“And you don't have to face it alone.” Protocol stood proudly at her other side. “We will be there with you, every step of the way.” To anypony other than Mary would have looked at Protocol like he had just grown another head when he spoke such words. But Mary had known him longer than most, and she knew very well that, under his steel exterior, that he had a soft side to him. He just did not show it that often.

“T-thank you… I guess.” Olivia spoke softly, still seeming a little unsure about everything. “So, what now?” She asked.

“Well…” Mary Care smirked as she brought a hoof up to her chin. “We were told that we should not count on your memories returning, well, not the majority of them at least.” Her words seemed to sadden Olivia who looked down at the ground. “N-not that there is anything wrong with that.” Mary hurried to fix what she had caused. “It just means that we have to create some new memories for you instead.” Olivia still seemed a little unsure, despite Mary's words, but she now wore a small smile at the very least.

“And you would be willing to do that for me?” The Manectric looked between Mary and Protocol who were both smiling at her, though in their own different way. Protocol just had a small comforting smile, while Mary had a full blown grin. “I don't even know if I have a place to stay… I don't have a home anymore.”

“Nonsense.” Protocol stepped up. “You stayed with me before this whole incident happened, and you can continue to do so for as long as you need.”

His words seemed to strike a chord within Olivia who just stood there, looking silently at Protocol.

“That's what friends do for eachother.” Mary agreed with a small cheer. “Now come along, I was thinking that we could start with a small lunch.”

“Y-yeah.” Oliva agreed with a nod of her own, the smile on her face, growing slowly, but surely.

Her body was still a little weak from what it had gone through, and she faltered in her step more than a few times, but Mary and Protocol was there to catch and support her every step of the way.

The three of them soon found themselves at Mignon's restaurant. He usually did not open his business until a little later during the day, but he too was friends with Mary and Protocol, so he made an exception for them.

“And there we go.” The pony chef happily exclaimed as he finished putting down the plates for everyone.

“Oh, this looks simply heavenly, just as always.” Mary complimented him on his food.

“Glad to hear it. Now, if you need anything else, just holler.” And with a small bow, Mignon soon escaped back into the kitchen to continue preparing for the day he had ahead of him, leaving his guests, alone for the moment.

“Oh, I will never tire of his cooking.” Mary nearly moaned as she took a large bite of the sandwich she had ordered.

“Indeed.” Protocol agreed, while silently munching on his own little salad.

Olivia on the other hand, just sat there, looking at the two ponies who were happily indulging in the food before them. In truth, she was a little hungry, and the food she had gotten looked rather inviting. But she had so many other questions on her mind too.

“We are… were friends, right?” She asked, causing Mary and Protocol to pause and look up at her.

“Of course.” Mary immediately jumped to her response while Protocol nodded.

“Certainly.” He agreed. “You were our friend before all of this, and you still are.”

“Then, who are you?” Olivia asked. “I know your names, but not really what you do, or how we even met and became friends in the first place.”

“Well, I am a veterinarian.” Mary stated proudly as she put a hoof to her chest. “As for how we got to know each other… well, that was through Protocol here.” Both sets of eyes went over to the police pony. “You two were really close, and I was already friends with this old grumpy pony, so I just sort of automatically became acquainted with you because of that.” If Protocol had taken any offence to being called an old grumpy pony, then he did not show it. “You spend most of your time with him, working with him.” Mary told her.

“Working with what?” Olivia inquired.

“Police work.” The old grumpy pony stated. “You told me about your past as a Pokémon Ranger, after that, you sort of just made a place for yourself at the police station. I tried to make you leave, but you simply refused, claiming that you could be of help… and you were.” A ghost of a smile could be seen gracing his features as he spoke. “You were a great help at the station, and we got to know each other through that, not like I had a choice, since you refused to leave. In the beginning, you slept at the station, but I could not let that stand. After that, you stayed with me… And now, here we are.” Protocol let out a long sigh while slowly shaking his head. “And before you ask, no, your partner is not here. You looked for him, but you never found him, not yet at least.”

“I… see.” It was not exactly what Olivia had wanted to hear, at least not that last part. But it was something, and while she still had a lot of questions to ask, somehow, the two ponies in front of her did not seem like strangers to her anymore. There was a bond there, she could feel it. “Thank you for taking me out of the hospital for a small break.” She leaned back in her seat and took a long, deep breath. “It feels nice, and I started to hate that hospital smell.” That caused a small laugh to be shared between the three of them.

“I don't think anyone actually likes those hospital rooms.” Mary laughed. “They are too boring, and as you said. That sterile smell gets to you after a while.”

“But even so, you have to stay there for a little while longer. You are still weak from what you have gone through.” Protocol stated, killing the mood somewhat.

“Yeah, about that…” Olivia seemed a little unsure, both in her voice and her body language. “I… I took Heaven's Glow, right?” It was a subject that all of them had avoided, and had been afraid to touch. But Olivia deserved to get all her questions answered, so Mary and Protocol nodded accordingly. “Yeah, that's what the doctors and that Lopunny told me too.” Protocol remembered that scene after he had encountered Ethan leaving the hospital. Olivia's sleeping form, the electric burns on the walls and roof, and the fresh tears that were staining her fur. There had been a struggle in that room, and he had not been there to support her. And while Ethan had said that he only meant well, and he had not done anything to go against those words either, he just had a gut feeling that there was something wrong about Ethan. Something that made Protocol want to keep his eyes on him.

“I never thought that I would go to such lengths.” Olivia coughed as a weak laugh traveled up her throat. “The evidence is there, so I can't deny that I did so it… I just wish I would remember why.”

“The why does not matter, sweetie.” Mary was quick to jump to her comfort. “What is important, is that you are going to be okay now. You can put that part of your life behind you.” He has nothing more than his gut feeling, but Protocol had not gotten so far by ignoring one of the most important feelings to a cop, by ignoring his instincts.

“That is if it really was you that did it.” That made both Olivia's and Mary's heads shoot up and look straight at him. “Hard to leave something in your past, if somepony else were responsible for it.” And while Olivia was just left there speechless, Mary groaned and face hoofed.

“Not another one of your theories.” Mary shook her head before jabbing one of her hooves straight at him. “The poor girl has been through so much, why can't you just let the past remain in the past?!” Olivia wanted to speak, but things were heating up between Protocol and Mary, causing her to shy back.

“Because I am a cop!” Protocol retorted, both of them were raising their voices. “My job is to drag things out from the shadows of the past, kicking and screaming if necessary.” Luckily, the restaurant was empty and Mignon knew better than to interrupt the veterinarian and police pony when they got into one of their “moods”. “It's not pretty, it's not clean. But it needs to be done. The truth needs and deserves to be found.”

“Hey!” Olivia called out from the top of her lungs, stopping Mary and Protocol in their tracks as they were practically at eachothers throats. “Um… y-you said something about, me not doing it?” It has been hard to catch exactly what had been said, but Olivia was sure that she had heard just that. “You don't think that I was the one who… you think someone else drugged me!?” Now that things had quieted down again, her mind were finally allowed to start back up and process this new information.

“That is exactly what I believe happened.” Protocol said, much to Olivia's joy. She had been absolutely devastated first when she had heard about what she had done to herself, almost killing herself in the process.

“But!” Mary cut in. “Do you have any proof of this?” All heard turned to the police pony who was practically squirming in his seat. Mary knew him too well.

“Not yet.” And just like that, most of the hope that Olivia had gained, rushed straight back out of her. “But there is only a matter of time before I do find something.” But a sliver of that hope still remained. She did not know this person, this pony. But they had been friends–were still, in his eyes. And he believed in her… it was not much, but for the moment, it was enough.

“You can't keep doing this.” Mary Care sighed. “It’s great that you care and all but…” She was fully prepared to unleash another small argument on Protocol, but paused as she glanced over to Olivia, and found her misty-eyed.

“T-thank you.” Olivia prided herself for being a tough girl, she did her job and she did it well. But even she had her limits. “For believing in me.” She tried to hold the tears back, and kept trying to wipe them away with her paws, though they just kept coming. “I don't know if I was the one who took the drugs or not… maybe it does not even matter. Just… thank you for being the first ones, that actually believe in me.” It had been tough, more so than she would ever admit. The doctors, telling her what she had done. The evidence being presented to her, those shrinks asking her why and trying to help her remember. All of them, every single one of them had said that she had been the one who did it, even though she knew that she would normally never touch such a illegal substance. She had seen it ruining too many lives to even consider such a thing. But when so many of them ganged up on her with such ideas… she had started to believe it herself. But now, there was hope again.

Her partner was usually the one who she sought to for comfort when things were bad. A ranger and her partner had a incredibly close relationship after all. She would always be there for him, and he for her. So it was an alien feeling when instead of his usual warmth, she felt a pair of hooves wrap around her instead, and another pair quickly joined them.

“Of course we believe in you sweetie.” Mary said as she hugged Olivia. “We are your friends.”

“Something as simple as a case of memory loss is not enough to get rid of us.” Protocol chimed in. “You may stop believing in yourself, but that's what a friend’s job is. To believe in you, even when you don't.” His words really struck home, and Olivia buried her face under her paws as her tears continued to flow.

“Aww, finally showing some feelings?” Mary poked Protocol who glared back.

“Ruin this moment and I will throw you in jail for disturbing the peace.” But even though she was still crying, Olivia could not stop her smile from growing. She was happy, she truly was.

After the lunch, Mary had suggested that they went home to one of them. And while he had agreed, Protocol had said that he needed to take care of a little something and that he would meet up with them at Mary's house.

That meant that Mary found herself alone with Olivia as they walked through the town. It was the opportunity that she had needed.

“He really cares about you, you know.” Mary started, catching Olivia's attention. “He does not open up to many ponies, nor does he trust that easily.”

“He reminds me of my old captain, in a way.” Olivia thought back to her old days, back on Earth while she was still a ranger in training. “Just a little softer.” That made Mary sputter as she held back her laughter.

“S-softer?” She giggled. “That must have been some captain.”

“He really was.” Olivia smiled and Mary shared in the gesture. “And… I can tell that he really cares, that we used to be,” she paused, as the next word brought out a few painful memories, “friends. But I don't know him. I don't know what to do.” She hung her head, causing Mary to go up to her side and give her a light nudge.

“I can't answer that for you.” Mary answered her. “You could decide to cut us off if you want to… but after what I have seen today. I don't think that you will. I think you feel some of what used to be, even if you can't remember it.”

“Maybe...” She thought back, and realized that Mary might have been right. When they were together, when they shared a laugh. There was this, warmth inside of her that just made her… happy.

“There is something that I need to tell you, to ask of you though.” It had been something Mary had wanted to bring up for a while, but couldn't while Protocol was still there. “It's about Protocol.”

“What about him?”

“It's about the thing that he brought up, about how he thinks, hopes that someone drugged you, instead of the possibility that you did it yourself.” It hurt Mary so much to bring that up again, especially when she remembered how happy Olivia had been that somepony believed in her.

“W-what do you mean?” Olivia asked, already becoming a little unsure about the topic.

“I… don't get me wrong. I want to believe in his theory too… and I chose to.” She smiled at Olivia. “You are both my friends, it would not be right for me to believe in anything else.” At least those words had seemed to calm Olivia down a little bit. “But you have to understand… Protocol does not have that many friends. And he will do anything to protect those few that he has let into his heart.” She should have seen the signs earlier, but she had just managed to put all the puzzle pieces together earlier that day. “Combine that with the fact that he he basically married to his job and, well… He is working himself to death trying to find the pony, person or Pokémon that did this to you.” It all made sense. She had seen how Protocol's health had deteriorated. How he had seemed tired, nearly all the time, and she had caught him sleeping at random and unusual places because his body simply could not take it anymore.

At first she had just put that to him worrying for her, and that it had been his way to cope. But this made much more sense. She knew him too well to consider any other possibility now.

“I… can you please talk to him?” Mary pleaded. She wanted whoever did this injustice to Olivia to be caught, of course. But she could not just silently stand by as Protocol did such a thing to himself.

“...” Olivia just stared at her, her gleaming red eyes boring into Mary. She wanted to be angry. She was the one who had lost her memory, she was the one who had been thrown into a new world, away from everyone she had ever known. And she dared to ask her to tell Protocol to calm down, to not take the search for whoever did this to her so seriously?

But then again, Mary and Protocol had both done so much for her, things they really did not have to do. If that was not proof of their bond, their friendship, then she did not know what would be. “I’ll talk to him.” She said, reluctantly tearing her eyes away from Mary and focusing on the road once more.

“That is all that I ask.” Mary smiled and let out a breath she did not even know she had been holding. “Now come along, I'll show you my house.” She cheered on as she took the lead, prancing down the street with a extra skip in her step, causing ponies and Pokémon alike to turn their heads after her and her lightning-shaped follower.

“-And that's how I met that grumpy old police pony for the first time.” Mary could barely finish before she and Olivia bursted out, into laughter.

They had arrived back at Mary's house, and while they were waiting for the Protocol, Mary had suggested that they tell stories. She opting to tell stories about the one they were waiting for, while Olivia told her a few tales from her job as a Pokémon Ranger.

“That can't have been the same pony that I met today.” Olivia croaked out once her laughter had died down enough so she be understood. “He used to be like that?”

“Like you would not believe.” Mary giggled while sipping on her cup of tea. Vernus had taught her a delightful new tea recipe that included Sitrus and Leppa berries. It was very sweet in its taste, so she quite enjoyed it. And to her enjoyment, it seemed like Olivia did the same.

“I just can't picture him like that… guess that goes to show you that we all can change.”

“Oh, it certainly-” they were interrupted by a sharp knocking, “I guess that is him there, finally showing up. I have told him that he does not have to knock, that he can just come inside when he wants to. But he never does.” She sighed and shook her head before getting up from her chair to go and let their friend in.

It did not take long before she returned with Protocol in tow.

“I apologize. It took a little longer than I had anticipated.” He apologized with a bowed head before taking a seat next on the couch, next to Olivia.

“And what was it that was taking so long?” Mary teased him, even though she knew that now was probably not the best idea. She could see the exhaustion in his eyes. His mane and fur was close to perfect, though with Protocol it always was, so that did not surprise her.

“Something that's none of your business.” He calmly replied while leaning back into the soft fabric, and a few cracks from his joints could be heard. “Damn,” he groaned to himself, “I'm not as young as I used to be.”

“It was about me, wasn't it?” Olivia cut straight to the chase, shocking everypony in the room. Mary had been the one who had suggested it, yes, but she had thought that Olivia would give it a little thought first at the very least. “About the one you think did this to me.”

“...” Protocol was by no means a stupid pony, and he could see the way that Mary Care moved, how she leaned away from him and towards Olivia. Not to mention how her eyes flashed between the two of them. He could put two and two together perfectly fine. “Have you been listening to Mary babble? I can assure you that everything is fine and-” But the police pony was cut off as Olivia jumped down and onto the ground.

“No, you listen to me!” She shouted. “The me that I am now, might have just known you for a few days… but you, both of you say that we were friends back… back before all of this happened. But friends do not lie to each other, and you are most certainly not fine!” She jabbed a paw straight at his chest, forcing him back into the sofa. “I worked as a Pokémon Ranger for many years. And I know very well what it looks like when someone takes one of their cases to seriously, when they work themselves to the bone and more. I can see it in your eyes… they have lost their spark.”

She had seen it before, more than that, she had experienced it for herself before. Had it not been for her partner, dragging her back home and forcing her to stop… well, she was not sure what would have happened.

“I get you, believe me, I do.” She snorted. “No one should want to catch the son of a bitch that did this to me more than me… but you can't let it consume you.” Her voice was quieting down, just as her temper was softening. “It will eat you up from the inside… and what about your other cases? Will you let them suffer?”

“What do you expect me to do!?” Protocol was not one to just sit and take it though, and he jumped down and confronted Olivia, face to face. “Just stop it? This is not an official investigation, it never will be with the amount of evidence that I have. If I don't do something, then who will?” Protocol all but shouted, his emotions was in a complete turmoil, and it was such a strange feeling to him. he used to keep them on such short leashes, but there they were, bouncing all over the place inside of him.

But, that turmoil positively melted away as he felt a pair of paws wrap around him, and fuzzy neck nuzzle his.

“Mary told me how much you ponies like to hug.” Olivia smiled while continuing to gently nuzzle him like Mary had shown her earlier. It was such a strange gesture, but, it felt right too. “I am not asking you to stop, though.” She said, leaning away. “I want this bastard brought to justice… but take a few steps back. You don't have to let this burn you up, you don't have to work on this non stop… and you don't have to do it alone.”

Protocol was stunned, he truly did not know what to say in that moment. And it was only when he felt a weak punch in his shoulder that he snapped out of it.

“She is right, you know,” Mary's voice cut in. “We all want this individual to face justice, so we will do it together.”

She was right–they were right. They were friends after all, and friends stuck together. That's what his years in Neighagra Falls had taught him. What his time in Equestria had taught him.

“As long as you think you can keep up with me.” He spoke, just to receive another punch from Mary, a harder one this time though. “Sorry, sorry.” He laughed for a few moments before his smile disappeared. “I… I was just so angry. That something like this had happened to you, that somepony could have done this to you… I let my emotions get the better of me, and you were right, Olivia. I did lie to you, to the both of you… and for that I am truly sorry.” His head was almost touching the ground as he spoke in a low bow.

“We all make mistakes… it's okay.” Olivia smiled, not just with her mouth, but with her whole body. Her happiness was positively radiating off her. It seemed like everything was going to be fine.

“Yeah, we forgive you, you old coot.” Mary simply could not help herself.

“No more lies from now on, though.” Protocol said as he raised his head back up, his eyes soft, yet determined. “Olivia… I once showed you this before, as a sign of trust and friendship. And I will now do it again… no more secrets or lies.” Olivia just looked in confusion as Protocol began to step back and Mary grabbed her with a hoof and pulled her in. Her grin stretching from ear to ear.

“Oh, this is going to be good… just… try not to scream like you did the last time.”

“What do you mean? Whats going on?” She asked, but to no avail. Her eyes were darting between Mary and Protocol, searching for answers, though, it seemed like she would get her answers soon.

After a few steps back Protocol stopped.

“You were surprised the last time, and that is understandable.” He told her. “Just remember, that I am still me.” And with that, Olivia had to shield her eyes as brilliantly bright green flame consumed Protocol. She wanted to scream out and rush to him, to put the flames out, but Mary had held her tight and firmly in place.

They were flames like she had never seen, more so, she could not feel any heat coming from them. And just as soon as they came, they disappeared.

She had thought she were surprised before, but that was nothing compared to what she felt now.

Gone was the pony she had known to be Protocol. And in his place, now stood a creature that she had no idea what was.

It vaguely resembled a pony, though only in its vaguest forms. Gone were the fur, replaced by a shiny, black carapace. The horn was still there, but two insect-like wings had sprouted from the back. But what was most different was the eyes. They were huge like a pony's eyes, but they held no pupils, just a soft blue color.

“P-protocol?” If she did not know any better, she would have guessed that what was in front of her was some sort of bug type.

“Yes, it’s me.” He spoke, and she could see a pair of fangs in his mouth. “I'm still Protocol… though, I was never a pony. I am what is known as a changeling.”

Chapter 42 Author's Note

Editors notes
Moldyshishkabob: “My eyes did not water in this chapter. No feels were had at all by me, and I definitely did not momentarily suffocate in feels.”

Author: Hey everyone^^

Sorry for the wait that you all had to endure for this chapter, school and other shit grabbed most of my time. But with summer closing in, I should have more time for writing in the future^^

Hope that you all enjoy the chapter^^ :twilightsmile:

Chapter 42

It was a quiet morning for Ethan and his family. They had fed all their guests and gotten most of the more important tasks of the day out of the way early on. Zoey in particular had pushed this, as it seemed like she had something that she wanted to tell everyone. But, the peaceful aura that could be felt in their house was not to last.

There are, perhaps, only a few handful of things in the world that can truly surprise you in such a way that it will remain with you for the rest of your life. Imprint itself in such a way that you truly can never forget it. Things that no amount of planning will ever prepare you for. Vernus's cooking is an example of one of these things; you would always remember the first time you tasted his foul creation. A Skitty waking you up with a Hyper Voice straight into your ear; Brawly at least was sure to remember that for years upon years to come. And then there is the situation where a god speaks directly into your mind when you least expect it. Nothing–absolutely nothing–can truly prepare one for such a moment, and several cries and screams of shock filled their home as just that happened during their peaceful moment.

“To All the inhabitants of Equus.

On the last day of the month, Canterlot, the shining capital of Equestria, will be host to something truly special: The Canterlot Contest Spectacular!

That's right, the very first Pokémon Contest in all of Equus. It will be open to all ages and all species. If you and your Pokémon partner think you have what it takes, then come!”

To say that everyone was stunned, surprised, and some even scared out of their wits would have been a severe understatement. Not to mention the chaos that had erupted out in the center of town when all the ponies had heard the message as well, most of them not even having a clue as to what the message was even about.

“So, a contest, huh?” Unsurprisingly, Brawly was the first to regain his wits and speak up. “Guess that ain't too surprising.”

“Arceus, the god that brought us here just boomed a message into our minds, and you don’t think that’s surprising?” Ethan countered, still reeling from the mind message.

“Nah, I meant the contest.” Brawly clarified as the rest of the inhabitants of their home finally started to calm back down. Though they were talking and arguing amongst each other, a god sending out a message like that can have that reaction. “It's not surprising that some of the activities from our old home start to resurface here. I would not be surprised if we get to see some gyms popping up eventually too.” Some of the arguments were starting to get a little heated up in fact, and the warehouse was getting pretty noisy.

“Oh, you looking to get back into the Gym Leader business?” Vernus, who had gotten a rude awakening, just then chipped in with a small grin on his face.

“Not particularly.” Brawly shrugged. “I’m content here. But it's foolish to think that some people won't try to bring a system like that back.” And he had a good point. People had a tendency of clinging to the things that they were used to, things within their comfort zone. The idea that some people might want to reinstate Pokémon gyms was not that strange of an idea, if someone had not already tried it, that was.

“Makes you wonder what else from our world we will see pop up eventually.” Ethan thought out loud. Not only did they have traditions, but they also had technology and knowledge about a ton of other things that could potentially benefit this new world and its inhabitants.

“Only time will tell.” Zoey smiled as she stood by his side. “Also… hey, what are you doing over there!?” Arguments were fine, but when flames and other attacks started flying, then it was time to put a stop to things.

It took some time, but eventually Ethan, along with Zoey, managed in calming everyone down. Some of them were excited about the news, whether they wanted to join or watch did not really matter. And there were also some that were not too excited about the news and were arguing against them, which only served to heat up the arguments even more.

But, there was one particular little Pokémon that was staying away from all of the discussions. One that some would have thought would jump at such an opportunity.

Chii was having some extremely mixed emotions about the news. She really did not know what to think. So, she just kept silent and out of the way as she tried to sort through her thoughts and find out how she really felt about all of this.

“Wait… have anyone seen Chii?” Ethan asked once they were finally getting everyone back under control. They had told every mon that they could argue and talk amongst each other all they wanted, but told them to please keep their voices under control, and to not launch any attacks inside their home, a rule that Ethan had never thought that he would have to restate. It was not until he could hear his own thoughts again that he noticed that a certain little Skitty was nowhere to be seen.

“I thought she was with you.” Vernus replied as they looked around for the little furball. She was rather easy to spot, after all.

“No she… hey, there you are.” Ethan knelt down as he noticed that the corner of a pink tail sticking out from under the sofa. “Why are you hiding under there?” It was not strange for Chii to go away and hide when she wanted some privacy, but Ethan just had a feeling that something was off. And his suspicions were confirmed when he saw the troubled look upon her small face. “Hey, what's wrong?” He asked Chii, who refused to come out from under her hiding place.

“Nothing.” She huffed, as she usually did when she wanted to avoid a certain subject.

“...” Ethan looked back up at Brawly, who just shrugged his shoulders. “Do you want to go outside?” Ethan asked Chii as he looked back down to her. “We can talk a little just the two of us…. Would you like that?” He could see the little Skitty think it over. Whatever it was that was troubling her, he could understand her not wanting to tell everyone. And when he saw her give him a small nod, he felt a little relieved. “Okay then.” He held out his hand to her and waited patiently for her to leave the comfort of her hiding place.

It took a little while, but eventually, Chii came out and climbed into Ethan's arms, burying her face into his fur.

With the little fluffball in his arms, Ethan stood back up and began to walk towards the door. “I'll find us a quiet little spot, don't you worry.” He told Chii who just kept clinging to him.

“Um, Ethan?” But before he could reach the exit, Zoey intercepted them. She was wearing her usual purple sweater, and was otherwise really well-groomed. However, she had a pensive look on her face. “D-do you have a minute, I wanted to… oh,” she paused as she noticed how Chii was clinging to him. While not unusual, it was the way she was doing it that tipped Zoey off that something was off. “Is everything alright?”

“I don't know.” He did not like choose between his family members, but right now, Chii, and whatever troubled her was first priority. “And can you wait a little while? Chii wanted to talk. so we were just about to head out.”

“Oh, um, do you want me to come with you guys?” She offered, but Chii quickly shook her head against that notion.

“Sorry, not this time.” Ethan apologized, but he knew that Zoey understood. They all had things and problems that they needed to talk about every now and then, and there were things she was only comfortable talking to Ethan about too. She wanted to help, but knew that now was not the time.

“Hey, Chii?” Zoey asked the little cat Pokémon. “While you are out there, can you do me a favor and keep Ethan safe?” She smiled as Chii finally stopped burying her head in Ethan's fur and instead turned to look at her.

She had not been crying, but her eyes were filled with so much sadness. Despite this, however, Zoey's words had reached her, and she managed a small smile while she nodded.

“That's my girl.” Ethan could not help but crack a smile too as he watched Zoey and Chii. Zoey had truly leant to care for their newest family member. She cared for all the Pokémon in their care, of course, but Ethan had noticed that she treated the little Skitty different. And while she denied it, at times she acted just like a mother would to her.

Zoey saw the two of them off as they left the warehouse. And once the door closed behind them, Chii finally broke the silence that she had kept.

“Sorry.” She mumbled in a low voice, if not for his improved hearing, Ethan was not sure if he would have caught it.

“What are you apologizing about?” He replied softly.

“I… I just did not want Zoey to come along with us.” She sniffed and buried her into Ethan's chest fur once again.

“You don't need to apologize about that.” Ethan used his paw to softly stroke her back. Something that he knew soothed Chii. “And I’m sure that she understood. There are certain things we simply don't want to talk to anyone about.”

“S-so you don't think that she is mad at me?” That made Ethan pause. Chii apologizing for something like that was not out of the norm for her. But her thinking that Zoey was mad at her because of it? He was not sure where that had come from, though it reminded him about how she had used to be, right after they had rescued her. She had flinched at nearly every movement they made, and she had been deathly afraid of making any mistakes at all.

“Of course she is not mad at you.” He reassured the little Skitty. “I don't think Zoey could ever truly be mad at you.” Chii did not say anything after that, but Ethan felt her relax a little, if only slightly, as he held her.

“So, where do you want to go?” He asked. He had a few place in mind since she wanted them to be alone, but thought it best to ask.

“...I don't know.” She mumbled. Her voice was muffled because her face was pressed against his chest fur.

“Then I think I have just the place in mind.” Ethan said as they started walking.

They went around their home and further into the forest behind it, following a small path that had been newly created. The grass was pushed down and smaller bushels had been pushed off to the side. The roof of the forest around them was exceptionally thick, only allowing the occasional ray of sun to shine through down to the ground below.

Chii kept quiet for the entire walk, though when they were halfway, she looked up and glanced at their surroundings. She looked up to Ethan who wore his usual comforting smile. He was one of the few people she fully and completely trusted.

That was not to say that she did not trust Zoey, Vernus… or even Brawly to some extent. They were her family now after all. She just trusted Ethan more, he knew parts of her and her past that they did not. He had been the one to save her, so it was inevitable that the bond that had grown between them was stronger than the others.

Eventually the two of them arrived at their destination.

The path had led them to a little opening in the thick forest. Before the two of them was a huge garden: berries, plants, and fruits of all kind sprouted up from the expertly tilled forest floor. Rows upon rows of them stretched out before their eyes, and above, the canopy opened up, allowing sunshine and the occasional shower of rain down to them.

Vernus was the one who had created and tended to the garden. It was where they grew some of their food and the majority of berries and plants they needed to make the medicine they needed. Vernus truly was a master when it came to herbology. There were very few things that he could not make with the plants that he grew, he was able to make potion substitutes, herbal medicine, antidotes, you name it.

Ethan had been to this place several times, but Chii had not. She had known that her uncle Vernus had a garden in the forest, but she had never thought to go there before. So she looked in awe at the sight before her as Ethan leaned down and picked up two fresh Oran Berries.

“You want one?” He held the berry up to Chii who looked at it for just a moment, before grabbing it in her mouth and jumping down to devour it with gusto. “Looks like someone was hungry.” Ethan laughed lightly before he took a bite of his own berry.

Both of them finished fairly quickly, but Ethan gave the little Skitty some extra time to just look around. From how she had seemed, he figured that she was confused enough about whatever was on her mind, and some time to sort it out could do her good.

So, he just sat there as Chii walked around in the garden, disappearing among the plants. The only sign that she was still there was her tail that was sticking up, clearly visible through the plants.

Eventually though, she came back and settled down next to Ethan. She still looked very troubled, so different from the joyful expression that she usually wore. She was being very quiet, so Ethan decided that he would take the lead this time.

“So,” he began, “what do you want to talk about?” In such cases, open questions were the best. It made the patient think and avoided the easy escape of a “yes” or “no” question.

“...” Just like before, Chii stayed quiet, though she shuffled a little closer to Ethan. She felt safer the closer to him she was. “It… it’s the contest.” It was about the earlier announcement.

“What about it?” Ethan had suspected as much. Chii had competed in numerous contests, but there was more to the story than that. They had worked thoroughly to get her to accept and move past those memories, though it had been extremely difficult since it had been the only life she had known when she came to him. It was a dark part of her life.

“I like contests,” Chii managed a small smile. “And when I heard Lord Arceus say that there would be another one… I was happy. I remembered all the times I had competed in a contest, and how fun it could be.” Her eyes was practically glittering, it was clear that this was her passion. Or had been at least. And then her smile vanished. “And…. and then I remembered her.” She shivered. “I liked the contests themselves, and I pushed myself as hard as I could because I knew what would happen after should we lose. She… I know that Mary did so many horrible things to me. I realize that now.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

She had been in denial about that when they had first arrived in Equestria. So, Ethan was proud to see how far she had come, even though admitting it to herself must have hurt.

“The contests themselves were fun. We got to meet so many others, and I got to make new friends. And while we were there, it was one of the few times that my Mary seemed truly happy… and then we got home and her smile disappeared.” Chii shuffled a little closer to Ethan, and he could feel her shaking slightly. “W-why?” She asked as tears started to flow freely from her small eyes. “Why do I still love her? I know that she did so many bad things to me, but I still love her… why? W-why don't I hate her?” At that moment, Ethan could not hold back any longer and he swept Chii up in his arms and hugged her close. Chii continued to weep into Ethan's fur while softly repeating “why” over and over again.

“I can't answer that question for you.” Ethan spoke softly. “But you truly loved her, didn't you?” At that, Chii tried to speak, but her words died in her throat and she just continued crying. “She was your family for so long, your only family. That and I don't think you could truly hate anyone, it's simply not who you are.” That made Chii look up, the fur around her eyes wet from the tears she had tried to wipe away. “You are kind, Chii, like no one I have ever met. Sure, you can hold a grudge, but hate? I don't think you have that in you.”

“Why… why did she do those things to me though?” It almost broke Ethan's heart as he sat there with Chii. She was so small, and still young. But she had been hurt so much, more than most would experience in their entire lives. “I thought she loved me… who does something like that to someone they love!?” Anger was seeping into her voice.

“I don't know Chii… I truly don't know.” Ethan sighed. Chii wanted to understand, it was the confusion of not knowing, not understanding that was causing her so much pain. “People do the strangest things.” It had ended with her dying, so he had nothing more than guesses and theories to go with. But he had to give Chii something. She deserved, and needed closure in some sort of way. “Maybe she was sick in some way. I think she had problems with herself, and unfortunately, she took out her frustration on you.” It had not been the first case of something like this he had seen.

“D-do you think I could have helped her with her problems?” Chii sniffed and looked up to Ethan with teary eyes. She really did care too much for her own good. He only hoped that it would not come back to bite her someday.

“I think you did all that you could.” Ethan reassured her. “She needed some serious help, professional help… but, these things are hard to spot. Just know that none of it was your fault, never was, never will be.” That seemed to be the right thing to say because Chii managed to bring forth a small smile as she nodded.

The two of them enjoyed a moment of silence after that. Chii leaned against Ethan who kept softly stroking her back. It was something she really enjoyed and she let out a low purring sound from within her chest.

She would never forget Mary, and she was not sure if she would ever stop missing her. Despite all that she had done, she simply could not stop loving her for what she had meant to her, for who she used to be in the beginning. But knowing this, and knowing that it was alright to feel that way, it made her feel so relieved. She did not have all the answers, and never would. But that was okay, because she had her new family to support her now.

“Um…Ethan?” She spoke up, and saw that Ethan looked down at her, waiting for her to continue. “D-do you think that I should enter this contest?” It had been in the back of her mind ever since Arceus had announced it to the public.

“Do you want to?” Ethan replied with a question of his own. In truth, it could be very good for Chii to participate in that contest, especially if she was hesitant about it. It would help her triumph over her inner demons, but he could not just go right out and tell her that. He knew how Chii could be. If he told her that she should, then she would. No, she needed to do this for herself, not for him.

“I…” The uncertainty in her face was easy to read. She still associated contests with pain and misery, that was not going to be easy to overcome. “I don't know yet.” It was not a no. Ethan still had hope that she could overcome this obstacle. She was strong after all, much stronger than she gave herself credit for.

“That's okay.” He spoke softly. “You don't have to decide just yet.” That seemed to ease her mind somewhat and she nodded happily once more.

“Ethan?” She asked again. “I think I'm ready to go back to Zoey and the others now.”

“She did have something that she wanted to talk to us about… yeah, okay, let's head back.”

“Do you think Vernus will be mad that we took berries from his garden?” Chii asked innocently as she nabbed yet another fresh Oran Berry.

“I won't say anything if you don't.” Ethan grinned, sending the little Skitty into a laughter that nearly caused her to drop her berry. It was a good laughter, innocent and pure. The kind that people talk about when they say that a good laugh is good for the soul.

And Ethan could not hold himself back for long before he was also infected by it and started laughing himself. It was something that they both had needed, and they laughed for the majority of the walk back home.

However, things were not exactly peaceful once they arrived back at their home. Even from the outside, they could hear raised voices on the borderline of screaming, or rather one voice that was close to that, with another one that was trying to calm the situation down. Vernus and Zoey.

Some of the Pokémon that lived there had retreated out of the house and stood around the entrance, listening in on the current situation that was going down. They were interested in what was happening, but they did not want to get dragged into it.

“Perhaps you should wait here with them…” Ethan suggested to Chii, as he was really kind of flabbergasted. He knew that Zoey was a bit of a hothead, and that she and Vernus could get on each other’s nerves at times. But it had never been like this before; not only was Zoey the one who was yelling, but it also sounded like she was on the brink of crying, if she already wasn't.

However, Chii was not going to comply that easily. “No! I need to help Zoey.” She protested, as she struggled against Ethan's grip. She cared deeply for everyone in their family, and Ethan knew better than to start an argument with her there and then.

“Fine.” He gave in and entered the building.

Vernus and Zoey were not hard to spot once they were inside. Rather, it was impossible to miss them. Zoey was yelling up a storm, and her fury was directed straight at their resident Leafeon. Her face was a mess, and it was clear that she was not on the brink of crying, no, she was crying and had been for a while, from the looks of it.

Vernus on the other hand, was quite calm, only raising his voice so he could be heard over Zoey's volume. From the looks of it… their argument had gotten physical at one point or another as well, as Vernus was spotting a black eye.

Ethan could not make out a lot about exactly what was happening, though Zoey seemed more sad and upset than angry if anything else. And Chii was was still resting in his arms had stopped struggling. He knew that she wanted to help, but she looked unsure about what to do, and he felt the same exact way.

However, they could get any closer, a familiar figure stepped up and pulled them back into the background.

“Brawly?” Ethan looked up at the familiar Mienshao, who, seemed quite calm about the whole situation. “What's going on here?”

“Yeah, why are Zoey and Uncle Vernus fighting?”

But despite the situation, Brawly's face retained that carefree nature of his with his usual smile.

“It's just something that they have to sort out themselves.” He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “It started shortly after you guys left… just watch them, I think their fight is heading to a close soon.” Ethan had more than a few notions to disagree and stop the commotion himself. But he had not been there when it had started: he had not seen what sparked this situation between Zoey and Vernus, and he had not heard the words that had been said between them. Even Chii did not seem sure, as she kept glancing between him, Brawly, and the fighting couple. So, against his better judgement, Ethan decided to trust Brawly on this one.

“B-but… but should we not do something?” Chii finally asked as she stared up at Ethan.

“We are here to intervene if we need to.” He reassured her. “But Brawly may be right… if they can sort this out between themselves, that might be for the best.” Because sometimes, the best thing to do, is to do nothing at all.

As they stood there and watched the commotion continue, Ethan finally listened in to the words that were being thrown between the two Pokémon. Zoey had anger in her voice, that much was obvious, but it was also getting softer and quieting down, slowly but surely. Vernus was getting through to her, all that was left was to see how it would all unfold.

“You don't understand!” Vernus ducked under yet another chair that Zoey threw at him, luckily, this one did not break like some of the others had. “How could you? I…. I…” Zoey's verbal and physical barrage slowed down a bit as she bit back her tears.

“Then make me understand!” Vernus pleaded with her. It was tearing him up to see Zoey like this. Over the past days, weeks even, the two of them had grown closer and closer. It was not official, but it was the closest thing they could be without going out and acknowledging it. They even slept together during the nights. Vernus had thought that everything was fine, at least that was until all hell had broken loose just a little while ago.

They had shared another small moment between them, when one of the smaller residents had walked past them, a Venonat. He had just said that the two of them looked like a cute couple, and Vernus had thanked him before the bug type continued on his merry way. But when he turned back to look at Zoey, she looked like she had taken a physical blow. Her eyes was open wide, and she just kept staring out into the air. It was just a few seconds after this, that Zoey had literally thrown Vernus across the room, yelling at him to stay away from her. How the little Venonat's words had managed to spark something like this, Vernus had no idea. But he was adamant on fixing it.

“I… I just… stay away from me! Leave me alone!” Zoey yelled out in despair. She was afraid, so afraid, though of what? That, Vernus did not know. Zoey had always been prone to anger issues, especially the first few months after they had rescued her. But it had never been like this.

Vernus continued to dodge the barrage of furniture and whatever else Zoey could get her paws on. She was rapidly running out of things to throw in his direction though, and he was getting steadily closer.

“Just talk to me, Zoey.” Vernus pleaded once more as he ducked under a small table that went flying over him before being caught by Lady, their resident Abra, who had caught almost everything with her psychic powers. A few things had slipped past her, though, and smashed against the wall. “You can talk to me about anything, you know that. I'm your friend, Zoey, and I-” Vernus had gotten a little too close too fast. As Zoey reached for something else to throw, she instead clipped Vernus, giving him a small gash on the side of his face.

“Oh my, I… I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry.” Zoey stammered out as she backpedaled away from the bleeding Leafeon, though she did not get far. Only after a few steps, her back hit the wall. Her eyes just kept shifting between Vernus and her bloody claw. “I'm sorry… but please, stay away from me.” She practically collapsed, curling up into a small ball that kept quivering as she cried.

“Zoey…” Vernus kept going, ignoring the small wound as a few droplets of blood trickled down and splashed against the floor. “You know that I can't do that… family sticks together, you know.” He sat down next to her, wrapping his leaf-like tail around her in an embrace. “Besides, how could I turn my back to the Zangoose that I love?”

Hearing those words, only made Zoey cry harder, though she accepted his warm embrace. She had hoped for those words over those past few days, and yet… she really wished that he had not uttered them.

“You w-w-would not say that if you knew.” Zoey stammered out. She was trying to push Vernus away, but was unable to as her strength had seemingly left her.

“If I knew what?” Vernus asked as Zoey kept weakly trying to push him away. “Zoey, please talk to me. You always did before, we used to share everything.” He leaned a little away so they could look at each other. “We were so close after we rescued you. We talked about our past, both the good and the bad. We could spend entire nights staying up, just talking to each other... what has changed now?” With every word he spoke, Zoey's effort to push him away weakened, until she stopped completely.

But Vernus was on the right track. Something had changed, a very vital thing deep within Zoey had changed, and it made what was happening that much worse to deal with.

“It’s different now because I love you!” Zoey cried out with all the force she could muster, which was not a lot in her current condition. She leaned against Vernus, her head resting against his shoulder. “I love you and… and you would not l-love,” she stuttered on the word love, as it carried much more weight there than she had anticipated, “me anymore if you knew what was wrong.” Zoey sniffed, she had no more tears to give, she felt completely and utterly empty.

“That… is not for you to decide.” Vernus spoke, he seemed much more serious now than before. His voice was harder, yet he still retained that soft and caring look on his face. “So Zoey please tell me so that I c-”

“I'm sterile!” She screamed from the top of her lungs, and the entire warehouse went quiet. At that moment, it was like everyone held their breath. The situation was that tense, and no one dared to disturb it, not even by breathing. “I… I c-can, I can never have eggs.” Zoey fell apart. “I love you… but how can you be happy with me?! I can n-never give you a f… a… a family of your own… ever.” Zoey practically deflated as she leaned against Vernus. “I can never give you a child of your own… a little Zangoose, or a small Eevee of ours will never run around you. I can never be what you want me to be. I’m, ” Zoey gripped her chest through her sweater, “...broken.”

Zoey stared down at the ground, not daring to meet his gaze. But she did not resist once she felt a paw under her chin, lifting her gaze up. She met those brown eyes of his, they were not filled with hate, uncertainty, or anything like that. No, instead they shone with care and love, just like they had earlier.

“I won't lie to you, Zoey.” Vernus spoke softly. “I always did want a family of my own.” Zoey wanted to look away, but there was something in those autumn brown eyes that kept her still. “But I have a family, we both do. And I have you, Zoey, I don't need anything more than that.” Time slowed down around them, nothing else was relevant, they even forgot all about the audience that they had. “I don't care about the past, and I'm not one for worrying about the future. All that I know… is that I love you for who you are, and nothing that you say will change that.”

Zoey did not know what to say. She had thought herself empty, that she had no more tears to give. But as she stayed there in his warm embrace, the floodgates opened once more, and her tears flowed freely.

“W-what's the matter?” Vernus said, a little uncertain as he held the weeping Zangoose steady. “I thought you would be happy.”

“I… I am h-happy.” Zoey cried as she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. “I am happy, you… you silly Leafeon you.” She was happy, beyond belief, and it was because of this, that the tears simply would not stop.

Zoey leaned up and locked lips with Vernus. She tightened her embrace, bringing him closer to her and he accepted the action without a seconds hesitation. And in the background, a synchronized “aww” could be heard.

“I love you too, you big oaf.” Zoey smiled before she rested her head against Vernus once more, accepting his warmth.

But they were not alone and it was not long before a song of cheering and applause filled the air, breaking Zoey and Vernus out of their trance.

“I think we have time to run away.” Vernus quipped with a small grin as the rest of their family and a small hoard of Pokémon approached.

“Tempting… but we have to deal with this sooner or later anyway.” Zoey called his bluff, so they just sat there as the wave of congratulations and questions washed over them.

“I can't believe that it took you two so long to do this… I am so happy for you!” Lady the Abra nearly hopped around the newly formed couple with a huge grin on her face.

“I said you two look cute together.” The same Venonat that had initiated the fight in the first place, commented.

“It’s about time… they have danced around each other for a while now.” Brawly said with a shake of his head.

“Oh quiet you, just let them have this moment.” Ethan waved off. He was incredibly happy for the two of them, not only because they had realized their feelings and acted on them, but also because Zoey had finally revealed her biggest secret. It would do her good.

But not every voice carried congratulations, or messages of happiness and joy. Chii had snuck through the crowd and now stood before Vernus and Zoey with a saddened look on her face.

“Zo… you can't have babies?” Chii asked in a quiet voice.

“No… no I can't, Chii.” Zoey shared a look with Vernus before she kneeled down next to the small skitty. “Something inside of me got damaged you see, so it can't make eggs anymore.”

“Well... why can't we just get it fixed then?” Chii asked, a little more curious than saddened at this point.

“It's not that simple, Chii.” Zoey sighed. She had looked for an answer for the longest time. If there was one, then she would have found it. “This can't be fixed.”

“B-but… I… okay.” Chii hung her head before retreating back into the crowd.

“Don't worry, Zoey, she will come around. She just needs some time to process this.” Vernus reassured his mate. He knew how emotional Chii could be. And that she probably felt Zoey's pain as her own.

“Wait!” Chii yelled out as she came running back with an excited grin on her face. “I know how we can fix, Zoey!”

“Chii, you heard what Zoey just said.” Ethan cut in. He knew that Chii meant well, but pulling the issue up time and time again, would not be good for Zoey. Especially not so soon after she had revealed it. “Just let it go.”

“N-no, you got to listen to me!” Chii tried again, with a little more power in her voice. “We can just get Arceus to heal her, right?” And just like that, Chii made everyone freeze in their tracks.

“I… no, we can't… do that?” Zoey slowly started, her brain desperately trying to wrap itself around what Chii had just suggested.

“Why not?” And no one had an answer to that. Chii had just tossed out the suggestion that they ask a god for help like it was a perfectly normal thing. In fact, none of them had ever even considered the possibility. It had never entered their minds that such a thing was possible.

“Zoey?” Vernus poked the Zangoose, who now had a blank look on her face.

“D… do you think that it could work?” She said after a few moments of silence. “Do you think that he could do that?” Was what she said, but she knew that he “could” do it. The question was, would he?

“Why not?” Chii cheered on. “He cares about Pokémon right? That means that he cares about you too!” It was such a simple logic, yet, they could find no faults in it.

“It’s up to you Zoey.” Vernus said as after he kissed her lightly. “If you want to go face Arceus, then I will follow you every step of the way. And if you want to stay here, then I will stay by your side.”

“:..” Zoey just stared at the one she had confessed her love and deepest secret to, just a few minutes ago. “If there is even a small chance, then I have to go.” She said with determination. “We will face Arceus... together!” Zoey held out her paw to Vernus. And Vernus did not hesitate, he flashed her a confident smile before he met her paw with his.

“Together!”

Chapter 43

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 44 Author's Note

Arctic: Hello everyone, at long last, the wait is over :twilightsmile: Seriously though, I never meant for this chapter to take such a long time... and I promise that the next one will not take nearly as much time.
Now, the story is progressing nicely at this point, and the upcomming chapters will reveal a lot of things. Hope that you enjoy it^^

Moldyshishkabob: “Ow, my heart. You (maybe) thought I was dead when there were no editor notes from me, now I really-”

Chapter 44

“I-is that?... it does not even look like her-”

...

“Is Jenny going to be-”

...

“Make some room, give her some space so we can-”

...

“Get her on the bed, we need to check her vitals to determine-”

…

“Ethan, w-why won't she stop screaming?”

...

“Hold her down, I can't sedative her if-”

…

“Someone put out that fire!”

…

“-all we can do for now.”

...

“C-can she hear us? Jenny… if you can, please come back to us soon....”

Ethan almost collapsed on the bed that he was sitting next to. The weariness was pulling at his eyes, but he could not rest, not yet. To say that the last night had been hectic would have been an understatement in every sense of the word.

After they had found Jenny outside of their home, they had rushed her to the hospital. That's when things went a little sideways. Jenny had woken up, and it all seemed fine at first, but the instant she noticed one of the pony doctors, she went into full panic. She was screaming and thrashing. They simply could not get through to her at all. In the end, to protect her and them, they had to sedate her.

“What happened to you?” Ethan spoke as he looked down at Jenny who was sleeping softly in front of him. What had happened to break their Jenny in such a way?

They were not in the hospital anymore. Physically, apart from her missing tails, not much was actually wrong with her. They had been removed and stitched up almost perfectly. She had a number of minor cuts and some old bruises covering her body, but considering her outburst in the hospital, and how she had nearly torched several ponies, Ethan had made the call to relocate her back to their home. They could do little for her tails; it was her mind that Ethan was more worried about. She had been tortured, her tails cut off, her fur shaved, and she was malnourished to top it off. “I'm sorry that we did not find you sooner.”

She was now located in one of the corners of their house, in her own little, private room. Vernus had created it as fast as he could, so that Jenny would have some privacy when she eventually woke up, so the walls and roof were made of branches and vines that were woven together. It was not much, but it offered some privacy from the rest of the inhabitants, just like the room that Ethan and Brawly had. Next to her, her partner, Growlithe, was sleeping peacefully too. He had been watching over Jenny too, but had given in to the weariness a little while ago. Or maybe it was a few hours. He really wasn't sure.

All of the Pokémon that knew her before she disappeared were relieved and happy that she was back. But Ethan did not want Jenny to be overwhelmed when she woke up, and if her episode in the hospital was anything to gauge things by, well, she would need the space and privacy.

A couple of small knocks broke Ethan out of his daze. He straightened up and looked away from Jenny to see Zoey and Brawly standing in the doorway. They stared at him with worried eyes, and he could feel a small tension in the air.

“Ethan, dude…” Brawly was the one who stepped forward, kneeling besides Ethan and Jenny. “We are all worried about Jenny. But it's morning already, you seriously need to get some rest.” That made Ethan pause. It was morning already? He knew that he had been with her for a while but for it to have been that long… “The doctors already said that she was mostly okay, go get some shuteye, we can take over.”

He had not given it too much though before. But now that Brawly had mentioned it, he did feel tired, really tired.

“No, I… I have to be here when she wakes up.” But still he refused.

“Oh for the love of-” Zoey held herself back from unleashing a verbal barrage at Ethan. “She has us and her partner to be there when she wakes up; it will not be a disaster if you take a breather.” Deep down, he knew that she was right, he just refused to acknowledge it. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep that was messing with his judgment, or perhaps it was the fact that he felt responsible in a way for what had happened to Jenny. It did not matter in the end though.

Zoey was pretty average for a Zangoose in term of size. A little bigger perhaps, a little taller, but not much. But over her years she had gained more than a little strength in her small body.

Ethan blinked, a little confused as Zoey picked him up as easily as one would pick up a bag of groceries and stomped out of the room.

“Sleep well, cutie!” Brawly called out after them with his usual smile, only barely holding back a laugh. Well, for a few seconds anyway, then it broke loose and Ethan felt a blush of embarrassment lighting his face up. “I'll come to join ya later!”

The entire warehouse watched as Zoey marched through their home, not stopping or slowing down for anything. Many were more than a little confused, and amused about why Ethan was being manhandled by the usually motherly Zoey.

“Do I get a say in this?” Ethan asked, and by the way she looked at him after that comment, he guessed that, no, no he did not get a say.

The door to his and Brawly's bedroom flew open before Ethan was gently placed the bed. Or maybe he would have been if it had been anyone but Zoey who slammed him down in a manner that would make one question of she knew Seismic Toss, leaving Ethan quite disoriented.

“Now you just stay here and take it easy.” Zoey smiled kindly. Ethan knew that Zoey always did what was best for the ones she cared for, but he had never been at the receiving end of her “tough” love before, not to this degree at least.

“Will you-” and the door slammed shut, leaving Ethan alone, “get me if anything happens.” Resigning to his fate, Ethan sank back into the pillow and stared up at the roof. “I don't even feel that tired. I'll just stay here for a little while to satisfy Zoey.” Not even a minute after that, a cute Lopunny was quietly making his way into the land of dreams.

Ethan was not sure how long he had been asleep, but he knew that it had not been long enough when a certain little thing woke him up by poking him in the face, over and, over and over again.

“Ethan… Ethan, are you awake? Ethan, are you awake? Ethan?” He felt the soft paw poke him in the cheek with every mention of his name. He loved her very dearly, but at moments like that, Ethan was glad that he was a very patient person.

“Urgh… Yes, Chii, what is it?” Ethan forced his eyes open to see the small Skitty in question sitting next to his head.

“C-can I talk to you for a little bit?” Chii asked, and now she had Ethan's full attention.

“Of course you can.” Ethan pulled himself up into a sitting position. He was still really tired, more so than before he had fallen asleep actually, but he always had time for his family.

“I think I want to compete in the contest, the one in Canterlot.” Chii said suddenly.

“Okay,” Ethan nodded, his brain had not fully started yet, but he noticed that she seemed a little unsure about her decision. Her ears were a little splayed back, and she was avoiding meeting his eyes. “You have been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?”

“Mmh.” Chii gave a slight sound of confirmation.

“Are you sure that you are ready for this?” It was not a question he wanted to ask, but one that was necessary seeing how unsure she seemed about her own decision.

“I… I think so.” Chii spoke softly. “I want to compete again. Despite everything that happened before… I always had fun when competing, I would forget about all my worries, and I was good at it.” She sniffed a little, wiping her eyes though no tears came. “I know we never won anything, but I was good at it, I know it, and I want to continue with that.” She looked up, finally meeting Ethan's eyes with a look of resolve. “I want to do it!”

“That's my girl.” Ethan could not help but grin. She had overcome another of her inner problems, he was proud of how far she had come.

He swept Chii up in his arms and laughed with her as she jumped all over him. She was really excited now that the final shreds of doubt had been dismissed from her mind.

“The contest is quite soon though,” Ethan said when they finished their little playtime. Chii having settled next to him again. “So you will have to train quite hard to come up with a performance in such a short time… do you think you can manage that?”

“Yeah!” Chii nodded fiercely, she had her mission and she would excel at it. “It's just… one small thing.”

It did not take Ethan long to figure out what she was hinting at. “You need a partner,” he remembered the announcement, this was a team competition. A team of two to be exact. “Have you thought about who you want to ask?” Ethan inquired.

“Mmh.” Chii nodded again with just a small sound of confirmation. When she kept looking at him without saying anything else he caught on.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised Ethan mentally sighed. “I appreciate it, but I can't be your partner on this Chii, sorry.” The crestfallen look that came over Chii sent a small sting to his heart.

“What?! Why not?!” Chii demanded, but continued before Ethan could say anything else. “Y-you helped me decide on this. You never said it, b-but I know that you wanted me to do this!” Chii's insightful words rang true, she had seen through him. “Why won't you help me with this then?!”

“Calm down, Chii,” Ethan put his paw on top of her head, gently patting it. “You know why I can't. I have too much I need to do here; I would not be able to practice with you, not nearly as much as we would need anyway.” Chii had halfheartedly tried to bat his paw away, but now accepted the gesture. “And with Jenny now… I can't, Chii, I’m sorry. Besides, I don't know a thing about contests, I don't think you would want me on your team.”

“Okay...” Chii plopped down, letting out a big sigh for her little body. “But… why did not Arceus fix Jenny like Mew fixed Zoey?” Chii asked suddenly. “Do you think that he could?”

“I'm sure that he could.” Ethan answered. “But I'm also sure that he had his reasons. He sent us back to her rather than teleporting her to us when we were in the temple, maybe he felt that we could help her better.” In truth, Ethan still did not trust Arceus completely. What he and Mew had done for Zoey had lifted a lot of the fears and doubts he had, but he still felt that it was safe to remain a little skeptical. And in that sense, he was glad that he had left Jenny in their care.

“I guess,” Chii reluctantly agreed. “I’m sure that you would do fine with me in the competition though. I saw you training with Brawly and Zoey, you move very gracefully… most of the time.” She started laughing softly as she remembered all the times he had been knocked down.

“Hey! I am the very personification of grace.” Ethan struck a half-assed pose, that only made Chii laugh harder. “Hey, are you implying that I am not perfect? How dare you?” He tried to keep a serious face, but the facade cracked soon enough and he joined Chii in her laughter.

“N-no, you are very fabulous… everyone keeps saying that anyway.” Chii commented, oblivious to the small blush that appeared on Ethan's face. “What does that mean?” Her little mouth pouted as she thought about it. “Are they talking about the way you and Brawly act in public with all your-”

“And that's enough of that, young lady.” Ethan quickly interrupted Chii before his face became as red as a Scizor's glowing metal skin on a bright summer's day after it had been covered in tamato berry juice….

He had a few really weird classmates while he went to school, and there are certain things that you just can't unsee.

But it was true that Brawly did not really care about keeping his show of affection in private, and perhaps he had gotten a little too used to it and picked up a few bad habits himself if people were talking about them. Oh yeah, he was definitely going to have a talk with Brawly about keeping his hands to himself when they were out among others… for the most part.

Hey, he was allowed some guilty pleasures in their day-to-day lives.

“Anyway, there are a lot of other ones you can ask about the contest, I'm sure that someone here will be more than happy to be your partner.” There had been more than a few Pokémon who had been ecstatic about the contest when it was first announced.

“Yeah… I just want it to be someone I know since we don't have that long to practice. It really helps if you trust your partner.”

“Well, was I the first one you asked?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah, I really wanted to perform with you.” Chii sulked, still a little miffed about the rejection.

“Hey, keep your chin up. If more contests come around then I'll try to be your partner one day.”

“R-really!?” Chii smiled from ear-to-ear.

“Really.” Ethan nodded. “But if you asked me first, then there are others that you know whom you can ask, you know.” This also seemed to breathe new life and hope into Chii, who nodded rapidly.

“There is! Thank you, I'll go ask them right now.” Chii said in a hurry before jumping off the bed and heading straight for the door.

“Hey, just a second,” Ethan called after her, stopping the little Skitty at the last second. “Jenny has not woken up yet, has she?” There was no window in their room so he had no idea how long he had actually been sleeping for.

“Um, not that I know. Zoey and Brawly has been going in and out there for a while, and I think that Growlithe is still asleep too.” Chii answered after thinking about it for a bit. “I wanted to go in, but Zoey said that I couldn't,” she pouted. “She did not want me to wake either of them up… is Jenny going to sleep for long? I want to see and talk to her again, I missed her a lot.”

“Don't you worry, when Jenny wakes up, I am sure that she will be more than happy to see you again.” She had really grown close to the officer in the short time they had known each other. Then again, Chii really had a magnetic personality, so perhaps it was not so strange after all. “Now run along, you have a lot to take care of and not a lot of time to do it.”

“Okay, bye!” Chii smiled happily again before running out the door, letting it close back on its own.

Ethan fell back down with his head resting on the pillow once she was gone. The exhaustion and sleepiness was still very much there, he had just managed to forget about it for the little time Chii had been in there. “I wonder who her partner will end up being.” He mused to himself, while entertaining the thought of several of their friends and family members competing in a contest. Some fitting more to the role than others.

A steady laugh from some of those thoughts could be heard from the room before Ethan fell asleep once again.

Chii was not happy. Things had seemed like they were going so well, for the most part. Ethan had said that he couldn't be her partner on the contest, but he reminded her that she still had a lot of others she could ask.

“Hey, why the long face?”

Needless to say, things did not work out the way she had imagined them too. In her mind, Ethan would have said yes the instant she asked, more than happy to help her on her journey. Why did things never go the way she planned? She wanted this–needed this contest. Why did everyone else have responsibilities and things like that?

“Earth to Chii, are you in-”

“It's not fair!” Chii yelled out in frustration. “It was not supposed to… t-they all said..” Chii's words turned into an incoherent mess as the floodgates opened and she buried her face into the nearest object she could find: Vernus.

“Woah, whatever it is, I'm sure that it's not the end of the world, kiddo.” The Leafeon desperately tried to comfort Chii as her muffled cries continued. He had spotted the little Skitty looking awfully dejected, especially for her. But when he had gone over to see what was bothering her, well, things had happened rather quickly after that.

“Okay, okay just let it all out.” Vernus slowly patted her on the back, not really sure what to do. “Do you want to tell me what's wrong?” But his only answer was more incoherent words, muffled by his fur and mixed in with her cries. Chii was part of the family, and he loved her dearly, but he was really not used to dealing with situations like this. Ethan and Zoey were always the ones who would handle those kinds of things. But he was stuck right in the middle of it now, and running away was not an option. “Did something happen?” He hoped for an answer this time around, something to work with at least.

A small nod was what he received.

“Well, why don't you tell me about it.” Vernus offered. “Ethan always says that talking about your problems is good.” And even though she was a little hesitant, Chii soon explained everything that she had told Ethan to Vernus too.

“And they all said that they couldn't. Zoey had to stay here to help take care of Jenny and all the others. Lady seemed interested, but she has been offered a full time job at the school, so she has to work there. And some of my other friends here are not well enough yet to perform in a contest.” Chii plopped down and rested her head on top of her paws. “I really want to compete in this, but no one I ask has the time to be my partner.”

“That does sound rough,” Vernus agreed. “But it's a little too early to give up don't you think? Besides, you obviously have not asked everyone just yet.”

“I know… but…” Chii looked to be deep in thought for a moment. “But do you think he will say yes if I ask?”

“I'm fairly certain, yes.” Vernus answered with a big grin.

“Yeah! Thank you so much, Uncle Vernus.” Chii beamed. “I'll go ask him right now.” She turned and started walking away.

“W-wait, wait a moment.” Chii stopped and turned around as Vernus called after her. “Me! I was talking about me! You could ask me to be your partner for this contest.” He paused, waiting for an answer as Chii just stood there, looking back at him, before looking back to the door leading outside and back to Vernus once again.

“I think I'll just go find Brawly. Thank you for helping me though, love you!” Chii called back as she skipped towards the door, now leaving a completely speechless Leafeon in her tracks.

“I… but… w-what I.. I could...” Vernus stammered his mind trying to catch up with what had actually happened. He looked up as a red paw settled on his shoulder.

“Sorry to break it to you, love, you are good at what you do.” Zoey told her mate. “But when it comes to finesse and grace, well, you are about as graceful as a Snorlax with two broken legs after it has consumed half a liquor store.”

“... What?”

“I love you, but it's true. Just let her take care of this.” Zoey brought Vernus out of his stupor with a well placed kiss. “I think this will turn out alright.”

Chii hummed a catchy tune to herself as she skipped down the road leading into town. She hoped that she had not hurt Vernus, but what she said was true, he would never fit in a contest. Still though, she stopped more than once and looked back, thinking about going back and reconsidering her decision.

But every time, she swallowed her pride and continued on. She did not hate him anymore, she did not even particularly dislike him. She…

As she came into town, she spotted him talking to one of the shopkeepers with the whip-like fur that grew from his hands wrapped up around his arms like always.

She could just not let him know that. He was an outsider, he did not belong in their family.

But still, he was a friend of sorts, and he loved Ethan very much. And he was her last option, so she gathered her courage… and sat down behind a few barrels, peeking through to wait it out and see what he would do next. This would be harder than she anticipated.

She waited until he was done talking to the pony and continued on. She followed him through the town, waiting on the perfect chance to walk up and ask him.

Ask… would he even say yes? O-of course he would, Brawly, even though she did not like to admit it sometimes, was a really nice guy, so of course he would say yes… right?

Okay, maybe she had not been all that kind to him, there had been a lot of pranks that she had pulled. She had tripped him more than once when he had walked past her, though he always took that with a smile and tried to get back at her. She had woken him up with spilling cold water on him… and Ethan. She had gotten scolded for that one. She did not mean to hit Ethan, he was just sort of there.

She had used Hyper Voice on him to knock him over, and spilled eggs and other things on him in the process. And she had simply just walked up to him and used Thunder Wave on him with no warning whatsoever.

She had not just pulled pranks on him, no, she had been really mean!

“Nooooooo!” Chii covered her face with her paws and groaned out. “I'm an idiot…” Why did her past actions have to come back to bite her in the butt right now? She knew that she probably deserved it though… she had been really mean to him. “Stupid…”

“Who's stupid?” A voice she recognised asked and she looked up to see the chef pony Mignon standing next to her.

“I am the stupid!” Chii cried out in despair and let her face fall back into her paws. “Just leave me alone, I deserve this!”

“Now, that doesn't sound like the Chii I know.” Mignon put down the basket of spices he was carrying and settled down next to the Skitty. “Everyone does some stupid things from time to time, but that doesn't mean that is the end of the world.”

“But it is!” Chii protested. “I did so many stupid things… and now I'm paying for it.”

Mignon stroked his small beard as he looked down at Chii. “So, there is something you want… or you want something from somepony,” at that comment Chii's ears flattened against her head, “Yeah, that seems to be spot on. Now, who is it that you screwed over?”

“...” Chii mumbled.

“Didn't quite catch that.”

“Brawly…” Chii repeated, now loud enough for him to hear.

“Ah.” Mignon nodded. “Well, you have been acting like kind of an ass towards him, that is true,” his statement only making Chii groan louder. “But then again, does it matter?” This caught Chii's attention and she wiped her eyes before looking up at the chef pony.

“W-what do you mean? Of course it matter, I have been horrible to him… I bet he hates me.”

“He does have every right to hate you,” hearing this send another wave of hopelessness over Chii. “But that does not sound like Brawly."

“What do you mean?” Chii looked up to see the chef pony, now smiling down at her.

“What I mean is that you should talk to him. Don't give up before you even tried, that's no way to go about things. You think that he hates you and would never help you… you may be pleasantly surprised.”

Chii was sure that he was wrong, but some of his words hit home: she may be pleasantly surprised. What did she have to lose? She already assumed the worst.

“And if he still hates me?” She asked.

“Then you tried, and did you best, and that's good enough.”

It was true, she had to try everything, or she would beat herself up over it later if she didn't, she just knew it. With that in mind, Chii rose, her eyes furrowed with determination.

“You are right, I'll go to him right now!” Chii declared proudly, sticking her chest out. “Thank you, chef pony.”

“It’s Migno-”

But the rest of his words was lost on Chii who took off down the street, ducking under and bouncing over ponies in her path. She prayed that Brawly had not gone too far, or worse, back home. She wanted him alone for what was about to happen.

She started slowing down once she came upon a bench close to the edge of town, near a small mound. No one sat on the bench, but at the top of the mound, a Mienshao stood, slowly moving his body as he went through different moves in slow motion.

Chii climbed up onto the bench, and as she watched him go through his motions, she understood why he would be a good partner to her. He needed some work, sure, but he was naturally elegant in the way he moved. Little to no wasted movement, there was beauty and coolness aplenty there.

But she would still need to talk to him, to ask him for help, and despite all the courage she had gathered, she could not bring herself to interrupt him. So instead, she just sat down, and watched.

The minutes passed rapidly as she watched him, but eventually, she was noticed. She quickly turned around, it was rude to stare, after all, but after a few moments, Brawly joined her on the bench.

“Hey, Chii,” he greeted her in his usual relaxing voice.

“H-hello.” Chii swallowed, she was nervous. She could not bring herself to speak, so she didn't, she just sat there in silence. Maybe he sensed her nervousness, maybe not. In any case, Brawly did not push her to speak but instead just sat there in silence with her.

She knew exactly what she was scared about, and she had realized it earlier, but now when she sat there with him right next to her, it felt overwhelming. Why was he even there? Surely he hated her, so why had he not left already? Did he just want to see her suffer?

“Are you alright?” Came the eventual question, and no, of course she wasn't alright! When she did not answer, another question came. “Something the matter?”

“Do you hate me?”

“No, no of course not.” Brawly was quick to answer.

“Well, why not!? I have been so mean to you, horrible. I'm a bad Skitty…”

“...” Brawly did not move closer to Chii who was hugging her tail. “Where did this come from?” He asked.

And in her fragile emotional state, Chii spilled it all. “I finally decided that I wanted to compete in the contest, but no one had the time to be my partner. So I wanted to ask you, but I have been so mean to you, thrown things at you, tripped you, attacked you even, ever since I first met you, and you never deserved it. I don't even deserve your help, I wanted to go home, I was afraid to even speak to you, but a nice pony encouraged me to do so… though I don't know why, because it does not matter. I'm horrible and I deserve this.” Her emotions spilled into her words, though she did not cry, she had already cried herself dry that day. “I'm… I'm sorry, for everything.”

“Seems like you have had quite the day.” The Mienshao commented. “But I never hated you, how could I? I came into your life a stranger, taking time from the people you knew and loved. It may even have seemed like I stole one of them away from you. You have every right to hate me, I could never blame you for that.” His words did not surprise Chii, but they still shook her deeply.

“I don't hate you… I did a little in the beginning but that passed quickly. I was just too stubborn to see it. I knew that you never wanted to take Ethan away from me, or that you meant to make Zoey sad… I… I… I just didn't want to share them.”

“You finally had a family again, a real one this time, and when it looked like I was threatening it, you lashed out. True, you may have acted a little rash and could have used your head more-”

“Hey!”

“-but after your past, that was normal. I never minded the hate, or all the tricks and attacks, I just hoped that you would one day come around. You are a part of my life now, and I'm a part of yours, so if you could consider this surfer a part of your family, then that'd be real cool.”

Though she had felt completely dried out, a few happy tears rolled down her cheeks. “It would be hard, but, I think I could manage that.” She smiled.

“A real sacrifice, I’m sure.” Brawly grinned.

“A huge one.” She matched his with a laugh.

“I'm real glad to hear that though, and of course I'd be honored to be your partner in this contest, if are sure that you want someone with no experience and two left feet, that is.”

“I’m sure I'll manage.” She reached out with her paw and shook his. “We will need to train a lot though if we are going to get ready in just a few days.” They really had to make a miracle happen on such a short time, but she was sure they could make it.

“That we will.” Brawly agreed, a few days was nothing compared to the months trainers and their Pokémon usually took to prepare for these events. “Why don't we head back home for now, we can talk about ideas for the performance on our way:”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Brawly stood up and offered a paw to Chii. She took the gesture and hopped onto it, climbing up his arm and settling on his shoulder.

She had already thought about ideas for their performance and what their possibilities were, but right at that moment, another thought filled her mind, one that she simply had to let out. “Thank you.”

“Love you too, squirt!”

Hearing that a small blush appeared on Chii, and she leaned against his head. “Y-yeah… love you too.”

“Awww”

“T-there, you heard it. And don't mention it to anyone cuz I will never say it again...”

Chapter 45

He had laid his head down again after Chii had left, but sleep did not come as easily now as it had before. He was still a little tired, but there was simply too much on his mind for him to completely relax.

“Might as well get something done.” Ethan grunted as he forced himself up. He could hear the noise leaking through the walls from all the Pokémon who lived there. He could hear voices, loud and quiet, and numerous feet as they ran around, doing various things. If he closed his eyes and focused, he could even make out some of the individual conversations they were having, but it would be rude of him to listen in, so he dropped that.

His first thought was to go check back up on Jenny, but Zoey would just throw him out again, likely chain him to the bed too, so that was a no-go. He glanced to the side of his room where a small pile of books and several papers were stacked: the books he had borrowed from Mary and others from the local library.

“It's a little early, but I think they have had enough time to complete their assignment now.” He mused to himself as he picked up one book in particular, Education: the Pony Brain. It would be a little sudden, but he hoped his eager students would rise to the occasion.

He left the room and looked around for one little bird in particular, and it did not take long to spot him. The little Taillow was often quite loud and liked being the center of attention.

“Taillow!” Ethan called out to him.

“Yeah, whaddya want?” The brash bird asked as it stopped in front of him, slowly flapping his wings to keep afloat. It was the same brash bird who had so boldly proclaimed that he would leave as soon as he was able. Whenever someone brought it up though, he brushed it off, saying that they would not make it without him around.

“Could you fly over to the school and see if Lady is free?” None of them disputed his claims of that, better to let him have his pride.

“Erm…. I guess.” Ethan was still baffled over how that particular Taillow managed to perfectly shrug midair without it affecting his flying at all. “What should I tell her?”

“Just that we got a class starting soon. She loves learning, so if she is available she will be here in a split…. Now, let's see if I can't find the rest of them.”

It took a little while to find them all, but before long Ethan was seated outside with a small group of six Pokémon. They had gotten two additional members to their little group since they had started. Only the Natu was missing, but she was living with Stormy now and was assisting her full time.

“I'm glad that you all could find the time to come on such short notice, and- yes, Lady?” Ethan stopped as the Abra held her hand up.

“Um, what are we doing today? The Taillow did not tell me much, and we don't have another class scheduled for another few days.” A few murmurs of agreement went through his students. He had been rather vague with them all.

“That is very true, but, because of some of the recent events, I thought we might have an extra class for those of you who want and have the time to join. So if you have other plans, don't feel bad about leaving.” He waited a few seconds, but none of them got up. “All of you want to stay? That is wonderful.” Ethan grinned. “Now, this is an extra class, so you don't have to worry about not having prepared for it.”

With those words, the Monferno, Hali, visibly relaxed. She had been very quiet in the beginning, but after a few classes, she had opened up a little, and Ethan had found her to be something of a perfectionist.

“But before we start, all of you had an optional assignment: to help somepony or someone in one way or another. Have any of you done that since the last time?” Two hands shot into the air, immediately with three others and a tail following. “All of you? Now that is amazing. Does anyone want to share with the rest what they did?”

“Me, I do!” Lady eagerly stretched her arm higher.

“I expected that, but maybe we should let someone else go first for once?” Lady was very energetic and always the first to speak. That was not a bad thing, but he wanted to promote the others as well.

“Aww, okay.” The Abra sat back with a small pout.

“How about you, Hali, how did you help someone since last time?” He knew that Hali probably would not speak up unless he asked her directly, it was a small effort he had to help her be more comfortable with speaking in front of others.

“Oh, um…” The Monferno looked around. “There was this old pony who was having some trouble with carrying her groceries back to her home. She was walking very slow and almost shaking, but when I offered to help her… she got really angry and slapped me. But after sticking to it, I managed to get her to accept the help. I… have been helping her around the house every now and then ever since. She is too proud to ask for help, but I think she appreciates it.” Her voice was low, but everyone leaned in close to hear her story. “Is that what we were supposed to do?”

“You were supposed to help somepony, what that meant was up to you.” Ethan answered her. “I certainly think you have helped this old pony out quite a bit from the sounds of it. Now, how does helping somepony like this feel?”

“It… feels really good.” Hali smiled. “She does not ask for help, or thank me. But last time, she made some tea and cookies for me when I arrived, I think that was her way to thank me. And she seems happier, more energetic. I like it… and I want to continue.”

“That is very good, Hali, and wonderful to hear.” Ethan smiled, highly satisfied with her little story. “Now, there are plenty of reasons to help others. You may help someone for your own gain, for payment, or because of an obligation. You may help someone in order to help someone else, or even yourself. And I want you to remember, that the reason for helping someone may vary tremendously for each and every one of you, and it may change over time. But know that helping in itself, is right. Now, there is a fine line regarding expecting payment but I will go over that at a later date.” Everyone had their own motivations, and it was important to acknowledge those. Helping for the sake of helping others is, of course, very noble, but it's unrealistic to think that everyone will act like that.

Looking around, Ethan was pleased to see the thoughtful faces of his students after that little explanation. After a few moments though, the small Minccino raised her paw, and Ethan nodded for her to continue.

“Is it okay to not help someone though?” She asked, and Ethan had expected a question of that manner for some time now.

“That is a good question, and there is no right or wrong answer to that. Many will say that you should try to help everyone who you see needs it, but you can't help everyone, no matter how hard you try. And you should not try to help everyone either; you will just burn yourself out and then you won't be able to help anyone. Do you understand what I mean?” Ethan asked, and he got a few nods and a few questioning glances in return. “I’m sure that you will understand more of it later. Now, does anyone else want to share their story?”

“Ooh, me, me next!” Lady urged on, her hand high in the air. “I have helped the foals every single day ever since I started working in the school.” She beamed, her smile as wide as it could be. She had truly found her calling it seemed like.

“I kinda expected that.” Ethan laughed. “Now, how about the rest of you?”

As it turned out, Lady had invited the rest of them to help out in the school as well. Some had taken better to it than others, but they all had given it their all, doing what they could, and putting their heart into it, which was all that Ethan could have hoped for.

“This is very good, everyone, but we will move onto something a little different, though it is very relevant when it comes to helping ponies and Pokémon, and I’m sure that all of you will come into contact with this in one way or another. Today, I will teach you about what's known as depression.” Ethan reached down into his bag and pulled out a small stack of papers that he handed out to all of his students.

“Today, I'll be educating you on Major Depressive Disorder, otherwise known simply as depression. This is a mental disorder that affects a lot of ponies and Pokémon. But because of how broad this subject is, and that it affects us somewhat different than it does ponies, we will focus on ponies for today and handle Pokémon another day. The papers I gave you all are to help you follow this lesson and help you better understand what I'm saying.” Most of his students had now started looking through the papers. “That being said, if there is something you don't understand, don't be afraid to ask. Now, can anyone tell me what some of the most common causes of depression are for ponies?”

The small crowd started mumbling among each other, and Lady was reaching for her paper to see if it had something on the subject.

“No looking in the papers for this one,” Ethan caught here before she got there. “I want you to use your imagination for this. What do you think are some of the common causes? Just give me anything that pops into your head. Don't be afraid to answer.” He encouraged them on. Something like this was to be expected though, since they had gotten no time to prepare on the subject, so they were hesitant and unsure.

“If someone has been through something really bad?” A Petilil by the name Navi spoke up. She was standing on top of her papers. “And they don't know how to deal with it.”

“Very good, trauma such as physical or emotional abuse is a very common cause, or grief from the loss of a loved one or just loss in general can lead to clinical depression.” It was very brave of Navi to share exactly that as she had been part of the second group of Pokémon they had rescued, and she had gone through a major loss herself. “Thank you, Navi.”

“Health conditions?” Lady was the next to speak up. “Like blindness or a permanent injury.”

“That’s right, Lady, conditions that cannot be cured can weigh heavily on the mind. And here its important that support is given to help the pony accept their inability and how to best live with it. Anything else?”

It look a little longer this time, a Minun raised her hand.

“S-stress?” She asked with a questioning tone.

“Yes, stressful events and changes can sometimes trigger a clinical depressive syndrome that is more than just normal sadness.” This was something they were still dealing with, as the drastic change of being thrown into a new world was still affecting a lot of Pokémon. “These are all very good answers, but I also want you to understand that depression, in most cases, don't have a single cause. Instead it's often a mix of things.” Ethan paused and smiled as Hali raised her paw. “Yes?”

“So… it is like a glass that overflows if too much is put into it?” She asked, making Ethan's brow furrow in thought.

“Yes, that analogy can be used. If the pony is the glass and all the different causes is the liquid that's poured into the glass, then if too much is poured in then it will overflow. Or the glass itself might shatter, or break. Very good, Hali.” The Monferno hugged her tail while smiling proudly.

“Why do we have to learn about this?” The Minccino spoke up. “I thought we were supposed to learn how to help ponies. This seems a little over the top.”

“Hey! Don't be rude!” Lady immediately cut in with some of the others not looking too pleased about the question either.

“No, no, it's a good question.” Ethan intervened, and knelt down infront of the Minccino. “This might seem a little too much for some of you, and that's okay. But knowing what is wrong with somepony will make it so that you will be in a better position to recognize the problem and in turn help them. Do you understand?”

“I… I think so.” The Minccino nodded. “This is still a little hard for me to understand, but I'm sorry for interrupting.”

“No need to apologize, it was a good question, and something that I should have explained before beginning, so thank you for bringing it up.” This was a learning experience, not just for his students, but for him as well. “Now, if you are stuck on something, just stop me and we will go through it together.”

Ethan cheered silently as he watched Lady apologised to the Minccino for jumping on his question. He would help and teach them as much as he could, but if they could help each other aswell, then they would reach new heights in record time.

“Now if there are no more questions…” He waited a few moments, and when no one spoke up, and no paws were raised he continued. “I am sure that some of you have a basic idea of what depression is, but I will go over the basics anyway for all of you. So if you look at page two you will see…

“–and that brings us back to Cutie Marks. While they show a pony's true meaning and passion, they can also be a source of turmoil. Most try to focus their job around their Cutie Mark or try to include their passion in some way, but not everyone gets that luxury, and a pony may even in some cases grow to resent it or feel like they ended up with the wrong Cutie Mark altogether. There are several ways to handle a situation like this, but-” everyone flinched as the backdoor slammed open.

“There you are!” A very annoyed looking Zoey stomped towards them. “I looked all over for you.” She stopped and took a few slow breaths before calming herself. “We need you inside right now. Jenny woke up.”

“Oh, that is great–wait, is she panicking like earlier?” Ethan asked, noticing the urgency in Zoey's tone.

“No, no, she is surprisingly calm right now. I think her Growlithe is helping with that. But she does not want to speak to anyone other than you. She practically snapped at anyone who came remotely close to her.”

“I see. Sorry, everyone, but I will have to cut this class short. Now, if you look at the last page, you will find a couple of questions.” Ethan put his hands on Zoey's shoulders and pushed her down into the makeshift seat he had just been using. “Work on those together, and Zoey here will answer any questions you might have and help you along.”

“Wait, I will do what now?”

“She is very experienced with the subject you are working on, so get along well.” Ethan smiled as he began to back away. “And it will be a good experience for you too, Zoey.”

“I did not- urgh, okay what are you working on?” Luckily, it did not take much for Zoey to give in, as a single look at some of the student's pleading eyes was enough.

Vernus was waiting outside Jenny's room when Ethan arrived.

“She is in there, clinging to her partner with all the strength she has. We tried to get some food or water into her but… she just kept repeating your name.” The Leafeon shook his head and looked away. “Nothing we could do.”

“Don't worry, buddy, I got it from here. Run out to Zoey in the back if you want, I'm sure she could use some help now.” Vernus shot Ethan a questioning look, but shrugged and went along with it.

Inside it was just like Vernus had described. In the bed’s corner, as far away from the door as she could get, Jenny was huddled up with her Growlithe glued to her side, a blanket encompassing the both of them. Her head shot in his direction immediately as he entered the room and it seemed like she tried to crawl further back into the corner.

“Hey, Jenny.” He greeted her softly. She was nervous, and scared, but the Growlithe kept gently nuzzling her, encouraging her to look up.

“H-h-hello.” Her voice was different from what he remembered, no longer did it carry her usual authority or the playful edge it always had, as it was now, every word seemed forced.

“Try to relax, you are safe here. No one is going to hurt you.” Ethan slowly walked up to the bed and sat down on a small chair in front of it. “We have a lot to talk about.”

Chapter 46

“T-t-talk?” Jenny stammered out. “W-what about?” Ethan had tried to appear as non-threatening as possible, but the small seriousness in his voice was enough to send the shivers into Jenny.

She tried to retreat further into the corner, but her partner, her Growlithe, would not let her. He held her close, providing her with warmth and safety. “Ethan is a friend, trust him.” He softly cooed to her. “He just wants to help.”

Ethan watched Jenny and her partner silently. The great officer Jenny, she had been his bane once upon a time, hunting him relentlessly. Even after they came to Equestria, she did not stop. To see a person of that much pride, power, and unquestionable valor reduced to the state she was now… it was strange. But Jenny had grown to be more than just another person, she had put aside her differences, seen past her pride and duty. Ignored all the old scars to give him a chance at a new life, a new chance. It was his duty to help her, to help guide her back to the person she used to be. She deserved that much; she deserved more. But despite his feelings to help Jenny, Ethan could not help but feel a sliver of hatred in the back of his mind. Hatred for the ones that had hurt her, had hurt their friend. He had felt such things before, it was normal, but the feeling just would not go away this time.

“He is right, I am here to help. As for what we should talk about…-” it was a little too early to ask about what she had been through, those old wounds did not need opening just yet. “- we don't have to talk about anything in particular. But it would be good for you to talk about something, it will help.”

“Y-y-you want t-to evaluate me.” Jenny stated, her resolve showing as she forced the words out. “S-s-s-s-,” she started shaking as she got agitated.

“Calm down, Jenny, take a deep breath. It's just us three here, you don't need to push yourself.” Ethan encouraged her to take some time as she stammered more the harder she pushed herself, it seemed.

“I d-d-don't…” Jenny glanced at her partner, who also nodded before she accepted Ethan's words. She closed her eyes, leaned back into her partner’s grasp and breathed out completely. After a second or two, she slowly inhaled, her bandaged chest expanding as her lungs filled with air. She repeated this a number of times, and as she did, the shaking started to die down, until it died completely. She opened her eyes once more and looked over to Ethan. “You want to see how messed up I am from what happened, that's why you need to evaluate me… don't even think to l-lie-” Jenny took another deep breath, “-to me. I know.”

Ethan nodded with a somber expression. “No, you're right. That's exactly what i'm doing.” Jenny was almost as good at spotting lies as he was. Besides, there was no reason to lie to her. “I need to know what state you are in to best treat you. I know that you like being the one in charge, but I got to treat you as a patient for now.” Jenny was shaking again, though not for the same reason as before. She was in a position of weakness again, and she could not do anything about it.

“I… I know, but that does not mean that I have to like it.” Jenny almost sneered at him and even the Growlithe looked at Ethan with wary eyes.

“That being said, you are still my friend. I do this because I… all of us want you to get better. The time ahead of you will be trying, it will be impossibly hard on you… but I know you, I know how strong you are.” He had experienced it first hand after all. “So, is there anything you want to talk about?” He sat back in his seat, letting Jenny have the space she felt she needed.

The hurt lady in question looked down at her own paws as she mulled it over. They too were bandaged, but not as extensively as the rest of her. She missed the reddish brown coat she had grown accustomed to seeing on her paws. “Why don't you tell me what all of you have been up to,” Jenny said, looking up with a small smile, “I would like that.”

“Catch you up, so to say? Well, it's a lot, but we certainly got the time.” He passed a glass of water over to Jenny who accepted it with shaky paws. He took the other glass for himself and took a small sip. They had certainly been up to a lot in her absence. “Well, we did not know that you had disappeared yet, but after the battle, Brawly and I…”

Vernus nearly collapsed into a pillow when he finally got back inside. He did not mind helping out, he really didn't. But when every single question those mon had went right over his head… perhaps he needed to do some reading, too. So he would not be embarrassed like that again.

“Oh come on, it was not that bad,” Zoey argued as she sat down next to her deflated Leafeon. “You were of… some help.” He had shared some of his personal experiences helping Ethan, but for the most part, he had just whined. Teaching was really not his strong suit.

“I was horrible and you know it.” Vernus groaned. He was laying on his back with his four legs pointing straight up into the air.

“You tried, and I appreciated the company.” Zoey smirked and descended upon Vernus. She crawled over him until her head was right above his. “Really, it was nice,” she thanked him with a kiss to prove it.

“Maybe there is some other way I can help,” Vernus smirked and kissed back. His paws trailed up her arms, her tails intertwined with his and-

A heavy knock from the front door rang through the house, interrupting their little moment.

“Perfect timing,” Vernus groaned as Zoey rolled off him. “Can't we let the others deal with it?” He pleaded.

“Ethan has his hands full and Brawly is out training with Chii.” Zoey said as she straightened out her purple sweater. She did not need to wear it anymore, not since Mew had fixed her fur. She was more grateful for that then she could ever explain… but she was just so used to her sweater. It made her feel safe. “Right now, we are in charge.”

“Fiine,” Vernus rolled off the pillow to join Zoey as she walked out of their room. The knocking intensified as they got closer, and the door shook as heavy beats fell upon it. “Are we expecting someone?” Vernus asked.

“Not that I know of,” Zoey paused for a moment. “Mary usually just lets herself in.” But waiting any longer would simply put whoever it was in a sour mood, so she stepped forth and opened the door. “Oh, hello Mary,” Zoey greeted her friend. “What’s with the knocks, you trying to beat down our door?” She teased with a grin.

“Oh, sorry. I just wanted to see how Jenny was doing. I hope I did not interrupt anything.” Mary directed her eyes downwards and rubbed her leg.

“Not at all,” Zoey beamed. “If anyone woke up because of that then they needed to wake up anyway.” She paused and the silence stretched out for a few long seconds while Mary still stood in the entrance. “Please come in. Jenny is busy with Ethan right now, but why don't we just sit down for a little while? It feels like forever since we spend some time together.”

“That does sound nice, I'll take you up on that offer.” Zoey led the way, with Mary following close by and Vernus, after closing the door, slowly followed as well. Mary was nice, but she was more Zoey’s friend than his.

The group settled down at one of the smaller tables with a few cushions around to serve as seats. Zoey loved to spend time with Mary Care, but they had no time to meet up in some time. First there was that whole business with Olivia then Jenny came back. It had been a hectic time and it would be good to just spend some quality time with Mary.

“What sort of tea do you want?” Zoey asked once they had gotten seated.

“Hmm,” Mary put her hood up to her chin. “Do you have something sour?” She asked after pondering for a moment.

“I think we do,” Zoey turned to her mate who was still standing.

“I'll get it for you, no need to ask.” Vernus said with a shake of his head. Zoey always had the same kind of tea so there was no need to ask there. He walked past Zoey, brushing by her tail. He slowed down however as it wrapped around the front of his chest. Zoey had not turned to look at him, but he knew exactly what she was doing, and how to solve it.

“OW!” Zoey yelped as Vernus bit down on her tail, not too hard, but definitely not gently either. As soon as she had turned around however, Vernus was already hopping towards the kitchen, laughing the entire way there. “He can be so-” she paused when she saw the raised eyebrow Mary had and the look she was giving her. “What?”

“Oh nothing. You two seem well for one another.”

“I… yes,” she gave in, the slightest hint of a blush gracing her cheeks. “I was not too sure at first, but he really won me over. And well, I really do love that goofball now.” It had taken some time after Ethan had turned her down, but she was glad that she had given Vernus a chance. “How about you, anypony special in your life?”

“No, far too busy with work. Maybe someday though.” The little tease, Zoey knew that Mary had her eye on somepony, that much she had figured out. If she knew, maybe she could help set them up. “So, how is Jenny doing?” But that would have to wait for another time.

“She is awake, so that's good.” Zoey did not know much, but she could guess. “After what she has gone through though, the road to recovery will be long and hard for her.”

“She is lucky to have such good friends to support her then.”

“Yeah… speaking of that, did you bring the supplies for her?” Zoey asked. After Jenny had returned they asked Mary to bring over some spare supplies for her, bandages and the like, since they had already used a lot for her and were running low.

“O-oh… no, I was planning on making a second return a little later with them.” Zoey thought it seemed strange… but Mary almost sounded nervous. Perhaps she had just forgotten. “I had some extra errands I needed to take care of them anyway and wanted to get them all done at the same time.” Yeah, that made sense… she guessed.

“Okay, it's no real hurry anyway, her bandages are not to be changed until this evening.” Mary knew that, so she had probably planned her day accordingly, or so Zoey thought. “Oh, and here comes our tea.” They could smell the aroma before Vernus even came into sight. “I never get tired of that smell… he makes his own tea from his little garden. I should show you sometime, it's really a sight to behold.”

“Perhaps another day, and that does smell fantastic.” Vernus walked over carrying a small tray with three cups and some napkins in his mouth.

He grew all sorts of things in his garden; tea had never really been his first intention, but he soon figured out that he had the perfect plants and leaves to make some truly magnificent blends. It was a way for him to do something useful with that old horrid expertise of his. Making herbs and berries that could be used for food, medicine, and things like tea. It felt good. Maybe he could expand on it further to add to their income, but he would have to give it some more thought.

After he had put down the tea, Vernus sort of lost himself in those thoughts. He vaguely heard Mary complementing the tea, before she and Zoey started chatting again. They laughed and motioned to nothing in particular while talking. Slowly his gaze moved over towards Zoey. How lucky he was to have her. He had crushed on her for years, but had always kept himself in check. He could have told her that Ethan did not swing that way, but it had to come from Ethan. And now, he had the most perfect girl a Leafeon like him could want and… Zoey was staring back at him with a shocked expression. Had she said something, was he supposed to have heard something? He could not have spaced out for that long, how much could he have missed?

Surely he would invoke the wrath of Zoey if he directly asked what he had missed, so instead he kept his eyes upon her, raising an eyebrow while waiting for her to fill him in.

Had it not been for their guest, Zoey would have done unspeakable things to her mate. She dragged a paw down her face, she loved him dearly, but at times he could be a moron. “M-mary, can you repeat that? I don't think Vernus heard it all.”

Mary finished a long sip of her tea, and put the cup down without making a sound. “Of course,” she moved into a more comfortable position. “It happened a few days ago. I went past the old mayor's house and into the forest behind it to collect some medical herbs that grow locally. It's something I have been doing for years, and it saves a lot of money. Anyhow, after a while and I had gotten deep into said forest, I found something out of the ordinary.” Something clicked inside Vernus’s head, he knew that location. “I just saw a corner of it at first, it was hidden well,” a cold sweat began to form on his back. “But there, within the tree, was a room built out of vines, branches and all sorts of plants.”

“Really?” He had to think fast, Zoey had grabbed his attention for this exact purpose. He was sure that they had cleared everything that could be used as evidence from that place. The room itself wound eventually fall apart, but it was too early for that. Mary was their friend though, she trusted them. “You mean like these?” Vernus gestured to the other plant walls in their home, the ones he had created. An outright lie was never a good idea, so perhaps a bit of redirection was needed.

“Yes, exactly like those in fact.” She stood up and trotted over to the nearest plant wall, that made up Zoey and Vernus’s room. “How did you make this?” She asked, inspecting the intricate work that had gone into making them.

“Using some of the abilities I have from being a grass type,” Vernus answered as he took her side. “We are able to form and twist some plants much easier than other Pokémon.” He lifted a paw to a nearby vine. “We can inspire growth in the plants and really skilled grass types can then form said plants into stable structures like this. Since the plants are still alive they are much stronger than a normal wall.”

“Fascinating.” Vernus hoped that she had believed him, for he had mostly used truths in some way or another. A lot of grass types had wonderful abilities with plants and could affect them in a number of different ways. But he had not met another one who made made whole rooms and bases using just such a technique like he used. “And this is quite common among grass types?”

“No, not exactly.” He answered, she was still prodding, so he would give her another half truth. “Young ones, or ones that has yet to evolve can't do things like this. It requires training just like anything else.”

“They are so similar it's almost scary.” It was scary, her comment that was, and it sent shivers down both Vernus and Zoey’s backs. “Perhaps you can show me sometime, I would love to see how it's made.” Mary looked over at them with an exciting smile.

“Of course, I'll gladly show you. Anytime.” They were planning on building some more rooms in the future anyhow, so Vernus did not mind.

Zoey was not as subtle as Vernus was, but she still had her moments, and there was one more thought that plagued her. “Did you meet the Pokémon who made that hut?” She asked.

“No, sadly it was completely empty.” That was the answer she had been hoping for. “It would have been wonderful to meet the Pokémon who made it, but I'll just have to settle for the show you will give me sometime.” She gave a small laugh and looked over towards the door. “It has been pleasant, but i'm afraid I must take my leave.”

“Oh, so soon?” Zoey was saddened, she loved spending time with her friend, but they got to see each other too rarely. She really had to do something about that in the future.

“Yes, I have a lot of errands that I need to run today.” They escorted Mary over to the door, who almost tripped over a Zigzagoon that ran right in front of her. “Thank you so much for the tea, Vernus.”

“Anytime,” he nodded.

“I hope we see you soon,” Zoey added. She leaned down and wrapped her fuzzy arms around Mary in a warm hug. “You are always welcome here you know.”

“Of course,” Mary hugged back. “I'll see you around, bye:” After separating from Zoey, she waved them off as she left and walked away from their home.

Vernus and Zoey waved back for a small while before closing the door. Zoey was the first to speak up and she slowly turned to Vernus.

“W-we…” She swallowed since it felt like a huge lump was stuck in her throat. “We cleared everything out from that place, right?” She spoke in a hushed whisper.

Vernus slowly nodded as he thought back. “I think so, but we have to be sure. If she found it and told us, she may mention it to somepony else too.”

Zoey really did not want to return to that place. “So, we will go back there?” But they had no choice.

“Yes, after the sun has set, we will make sure that nothing links us to that place.”

“No, no, no! You are doing it wrong!” Brawly sighed from the rather harsh criticism from the leader of their team. She looked cute and cuddly, but she could shout out commands like an old boot camp commander.

“Would it not be better if I practiced juggling with normal balls?” He suggested. “That would not hurt nearly as much if they hit me.” They had been at it almost non-stop after they made a short visit home to check up on Jenny.

“The pain is a good motivator!” Who was this Skitty and what had she done with Chii? He knew that it would be harsh, but as soon as their training had started, Chii’s personality had shifted completely. She was harsh, but she was just as harsh on herself.

“Now come on, send one at me!” Brawly could only grit his teeth and get back up once more. But in truth, he was kinda enjoying it. Pushing himself to the limit once again, it was something he had missed. “Aura Sphere!” The blue ball of energy shone as it grew between his palms and shot towards Chii, that however, was the easy part.

“Tail Whip!” Chii caught the sphere in her tail, guided it around her and send it back towards him in full force. Now one he could handle.

“Aura Sphere!” Brawly fired off another before the first one could reach him again. It was when they started getting to more than two that this was a little tricky. Not to mention how gentle he has to be when actually catching them and guiding their path.

“Assist!” And there came number three, fired from Chii just as he caught the first one, spun around and sent it back to her. And this as still the easy part of their performance. They were both hurting, tired, and dirty.

“Don’t just throw it back! Flow with it, make it look like it's as natural as breathing!” And they both loved it.

“Sounds like you have been up to a lot of shit in my absence.” It was gradual, but over their talk, Jenny had started to open up a little bit. She was actually smiling, and even laughed once or twice.

“We really have, a lot of good times, and a lot of bad ones too. But with you back, it seems like it's going to smooth itself out from now on.” Or at least so he hoped.

“I would have thought that you would be glad to be rid of me.” Jenny looked straight up at the roof as she spoke. “We have a rather shit history together.”

“If he had not, then I would have done it alone.” Her Growlithe spoke up.

“I know you would, thank you.” Jenny let out a soft sigh, feeling her companion and the safety he provided.

“Yeah, he would probably have assaulted their bases without any help… We may have bad history, and I would be lying if I said that the thought had not crossed my mind.” A low growl emanated from the Growlithe, daring him to continue along that line of thought. “But I learned to work with you, after we got here I got to know you, the real you.” He remembered their first few days together, where their relationship was built upon threats and ultimatums. “You were forced to work together with me. You could have done nothing a lot of the time, but you helped us nonetheless.”

“You did good work, I could not just stand by and do nothing while others fought the good fight.” Jenny laughed for a third time.

“No, that's the kind of person you are. I think of you as my friend, we went over that before you disappeared.” She refused to look at him, and even turned her head away so he could not see her misty eyes. “Friends look out for each other.”

She wanted to be tough, like she had always been. But her emotions were shaky at best after everything that had happened to her, and now that she was finally back in a safe place, back home, she allowed herself to feel vulnerable. Growlithe held her tight and stroked her back as she cried into his chest.

Ethan could hear the Growlithe starting to whisper some quiet words to Jenny, but closed his eyes and tuned them out instead. They deserved that level of privacy, and who was he to rob that from them.

Jenny notified him when she had gathered herself once again. “S-so what now?” She asked, doing her best to wipe away the tears around her eyes.

“I think we are almost done for today.” He wanted to dig more, but he knew better. “It's been a taxing session and you look tired. I only have one more question.”

“Okay, I can do one more.”

“How did you escape?” It was more pure curiosity that drove Ethan to ask this question than anything else. “We found the place where you had been held, but you were gone a-”

“aaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Growlithe were the first to jump up, and Ethan followed quickly as Jenny gripped her head and a shrill scream filled the room.

“What happened!?” Growlithe had to shout to be heard over Jenny’s scream. “It's okay, you are safe here.” He tried to comfort her, but Jenny has gripped herself tightly and was rocking back and forth.

“She is having a panic attack! Try to calm her down!” There was no time for anything else, and after giving Growlithe that order, he ran out of the room with great haste.

“N-no more. P-p-please no more.” Jenny was shaking and after a few words her screaming continued.

“There is no more, you are safe here. I won't let anything hurt you!” He held her right and tried to calm her down with his presence, but it was like she did not notice him at all.

“Can't go back! Won't go back!”

“No one is mak- Hey!” He had to stop and dive down to grab both of her front legs in his mouth and pull them up. She had suddenly started scratching her left hind leg, and it was already bleeding.

“Let me go! LET ME GO!” She started to struggle even more, and he had to let go with his mouth so she would not hurt herself against his sharp teeth. Instead he prompted to hold her down.

“Stay still Jenny! You are hurting yourself!” It tore him apart to see his partner and lifelong friend like this, and where the hell was Ethan? He had ran out of them in an instant.

As if he had heard the Growlithe’s thoughts Ethan barged back into the room, a glass of water in his paw.

“Where were you!” Anger exploded from her partner. Ethan had left them, left Jenny as she started hurting herself and-

“Here, drink this!” Ethan pushed himself in between them, and set the glass to Jenny’s mouth. She was refusing to cooperate so he used his other paw to prop her jaw open. “I'm sorry, but you need to drink this.” Ethan started pouring the content of the glass into Jenny’s mouth. At first it was just splashed away and coughed back up, but as he held the glass firmly against her mouth, Jenny started swallowing, draining the glass completely before going into a coughing fit.

“Help me roll her over,” her partner Growlithe was still angry with Ethan, but did as instructed and, as she got rolled over on her side. Ethan placed his paw on her back and started rubbing in a circular motion. He also noticed that the bed sheet under her had blackened; he was a fire type so he had not felt it, but Ethan must have.

“I’m… where…” The coughing died down and Jenny blinked slowly. She looked up at her partner, seemingly struggling with such a simple act. “Don't… leave, please….” With those final words, she slumped down into the bed.

Ethan fell back into his chair, clutching his singed paw. Just touching Jenny at that moment had earned him minor burns. “It's just a sedative,” he explained to the Growlithe who had not left Jenny’s side, but was looking cautiously at him. “A weak one.”

Her partner looked down at her with worry in his eyes, glancing over the burnt parts of the bed. “Is she going to be okay?”

“It's going to take time. But she has a loyal partner to help her through it.”

“More than one it seems,” the Growlithe cracked a small smile. “And sorry for yelling at you, I had no right.”

The Lopunny shook his head. “No, you had every right. I think I would have been angry with you if you hadn't yelled at me.” They could have tried to calm her down without the medecine, true. But because of her earlier outburst as a fire type, and the wound he now could spot on her leg, he has been right in doing so.

“Still, I should trust you. You are trying to help and I'm… what am I doing?”

“You are providing her with stability and safety.” Ethan smiled. “Something I could never do.” He grunted as he stood up from the chair. “I think we are done for today though, I'll go get her some fresh bandages.”

“And some Rawst salve for your paw.”

“Yeah, that might be a good idea.”

It was later that day, near evening’s grasp when Vernus was making his way back from his garden. They were using more medicine than ever before, and he needed to keep up his production of medicinal herbs and berries. He was almost their sole provider on that front; they bought some supplies from Mary Care on occasion, but they could not afford to do that for the most part.

Not that he minded–in fact, working his garden and mixing the plants into different salves and powders were a great form of stress relief. He could just turn his mind off and work on autopilot. He just wished that they did not have to rely on charity to get by at times. Ethan never did mind, but strangely enough, he had noticed that it bothered Brawly some. They just had too many expenses compared to what they got from the mayor. Perhaps they could press him to give them more, they were doing good work after all.

And then there was that whole thing with the house Mary had found. He just wanted to put that whole thing behind them, but it kept coming back. Just a few more days and it would have most likely untangled on its own, his structures never did remain long without the proper maintenance.

He hated that they had to do to Olivia, but it was necessary. A necessary evil.

“Fuck that shit, it does not matter if it's necessary or not. We should have found another way.” Wrong was still wrong, no matter how much good you did afterwards, and he wondered what hell would be like when he got there. Perhaps he could say hello to a few old friends. He knew that they would be there.

As he was clearing the thickest part of the forest and their house and the evening sky came into view once again, he spotted a figure on the path leading up to their home. It was a pony, he could tell that much, but the light in his eyes from the evening sun made it hard to make out any details.

“Hey Vernus, is that you?” A familiar voice called out to him as they got close to each other.

It seemed like Mary had returned already, most likely with the bandages and additional medicine for Jenny.

“You know someone else that look this good?” In the beginning he had managed to get a few embarrassing moments out of Mary, but now.

“Quite a few, maybe I could introduce them to Zoey?” She had stepped up her game, and his pokes of fun were in wait.

“Eh, perhaps not. Anyway, I thought you were not coming back until later this evening, did you finish all your chores early?”

Mary paused at that, “Oh yeah, I got them out of the way rather quickly. How long ago was it that I was here again?” Mary asked eventually. “It's been such a busy day, time must have slipped my mind.”

Vernus scratched his head, moving the leaf on top of it out of the way. “It was a few hours ago, not too long.”

“I see,” Mary used her magic to lifted her saddlebags off and pushed them onto Vernus. “Here would you mind taking these? It's the stuff for Jenny.”

“Sure… but wouldn't you like to come in for a bit? I'm positive Zoey would love to talk some more.”

“Oh I would love to, but I just remembered that I have one more errand that I need to run. And it can't wait. Tell Zoey that we will catch up later.”

“Will do, I'll catch ya later!” Vernus said his goodbyes as Mary trotted away immediately.

Mary maintained the trot for a little while, but the closer she came to the town the faster she went, before she knew it she was going in a full gallop.

Something was very wrong and she knew exactly what. Vernus did not know, but she had, in fact, been swamped with paperwork and had not left her house at all that day, not until just a little while ago when she decided to visit her friends.

There was not many that knew that she had planned to do so much paperwork on that day, there was only one pony that she had mentioned it to, except that he was no pony, not really.

He had promised her that he would not do things like this anymore, and he had promised her that he would never again do it, looking like her. Someone had visited Zoey and Vernus, but it had not been her.

She knew that he would be home at this hour, he always liked his routines and system. So, Mary stormed towards the house of Neighagra Falls police chief and resident Changeling.

“Protocol!” The door was slammed open and the whole house practically shook. With her horn glowing brightly, Mary stepped in with heavy steps. “What. Did. You. Do?!”

Chapter 47 (Crossover)

It was a brilliant day in Neighagra Falls. The sun was shining down onto the land below, warming up all its inhabitants and filling them with energy. As a result, ponies and Pokémon of all shapes and sizes were out and about, making the most of their day. It was practically a crime to remain indoors on such a day, and as such, Ethan and the rest of his little ragtag family were out and enjoying their day to its fullest. Well… most of them were, at least.

“I...I want to go home.” Jenny stammered out as she made herself as small as possible, pulling her cloak tightly around herself. “T-they are staring at me. I c-c… I can feel them staring at me.” She was constantly looking around her as she was talking.

“No one is staring at you, Jenny.” Ethan kneeled down beside the frightened Vulpix, the rest of the group stopping a small distance away from them. Chii had tried to go over to them immediately, but was held back by Vernus who simply shook his head. It had been somewhat of a common occurrence those last few days. Ever since her return, Jenny had been… changed. One could almost describe her as broken. And while they were working with her to help her regain what had been lost, she still had quite a few episodes.

“N-n-no, I know they w-were looking.” Jenny shivered. “They were looking… and talking… talking behind my back…” She started hyperventilating. “I… I NEED to go home.” It had been a struggle to get her to join them in the first place. Maybe Ethan had just expected a little too much of her too soon. Getting her out and making her socialize was important in her recovery process, but it had been too soon, he realized that now. “Not safe here, not safe here, not safe here.” She started quietly repeating to herself.

“It's okay, Jenny. Everything is okay.” Ethan spoke in a soft, soothing voice. He heard some footsteps approaching them from behind, though he already knew who it was.

“Everything is going to be fine.” The Growlithe walked past Ethan and over to Jenny, sitting down next to her. “I am here, you don't need to worry anymore. No one is going to hurt you.” He reached out and gently put his paw on Jenny, who flinched at his touch. Though she did not shy away after the initial contact. It was a huge improvement from when she would go into full panic if someone touched her. “I'm never going to let anyone hurt you again.” He whispered to her, and his voice seemed to calm her down, if only slightly.

“Sorry, everyone.” Ethan turned to the rest of the group as he stood back up. “Seems like we have to go back… you just continue while-” He was going so suggest that he and the Growlithe took Jenny back, but the fire dog interrupted him.

“You just continue with your day.” The Growlithe cut in as he gently nuzzled Jenny and helped her back on her feet. “There is no need for both of us to head back.”

“But what if-” But once again, the Growlithe cut Ethan off, a gentle smile on his face.

“I know that you are worried about her… we all are.” He looked down at his partner, who seemed so small and frail. She was so different from the Jenny that he used to know. Some of her fur had started to grow back, but she still refused to let anyone remove her cloak. “And you have helped her a lot, you have spent nearly all your time working with her. That is why I think you should take the day off. We will be fine.”

Ethan wanted to protest. He had spent the last few days caring for and helping Jenny on her path to recovery. It was his duty as her friend to make sure that she would be okay… but perhaps he was right. Perhaps both he and Jenny needed a break. Besides, it would give Jenny and her partner some much needed alone time to reconnect.

“... You are sure that you can handle everything?” There had been a few nasty episodes where they had to restrain Jenny for her own safety, though that has not happened since the first day.

“I can handle anything that might arise.” The Growlithe stated proudly.

“Okay, but if anything should happen, well, you know where to find us.” Ethan nodded, finally accepting his inevitable defeat. “You two take care now.” He smiled at them.

“We will. Are you ready to head back home, Jenny?” He carefully nudged his partner to get her attention, and Jenny started nodding slightly

“Y-yes.”

“We will see you later then, have fun on our behalf, too.” And with that Jenny and the Growlithe turned around and started walking back, Jenny never leaving his side.

Ethan stood there for a moment, just watching them as they left. They had known each other for years, been through thick and thin together, but now, it was like they were getting to know each other all over again. He dared not think about how things might have gone had the Growlithe not been there for her.

He turned around to the rest of the group, only to see a number of small fiery balls shooting up from the middle of the town. But before he could give any more thought to it, they exploded into a magnificent display of fireworks, casting a reddish light across the whole town.

It was not something any of them had been expecting, and for a moment, they all stood there in silence, speechless.

“Well, something is obviously happening in town.” Vernus was the first to break out of their little daze. “Should we go and… see…” But Chii was already sprinting towards the town, leaving a small dust trail behind her as went.

“I think that means yes.” Brawly laughed. “Come on now, let’s catch up with her before she goes too far.”

The crowd was already quite large when Ethan and the others caught up with Chii, who was hopping up and down at the edge, desperately trying to get a view of what was happening on the stage in front of them.

“Hello there, everyone!” A Braixen said as she walked out on stage. “Having a good day so far?” She was wearing what Ethan would normally call a magician’s getup. Complete with the hat and everything.

Unfortunately, she did not seem to get the response she was hoping for with just a few murmurs going through the crowd.

“Okay, so who here likes magic?” she asked, and the crowd seemed to be easing up a bit, she especially got some more cheers from the Pokémon side of the crowd, and Chii who was cheering from the top of her lungs.

“This ought to be interesting.” Brawly commented with a smile.

“I thought only unicorns could do magic.” A small earth pony colt who was standing close to the stage asked, curiosity and scepticism clearly visible in his expression. And his statement seemed create some murmur through the crowd as several ponies agreed with him.

“And normally, you’d be right in this world,” the Braixen smiled as she sat on the edge of her stage. “But you know what? I’m gonna show everyone that anyone can use magic. Now, let’s see a show of hands, hooves, whatever you have. Who wants to see some MAGIC!” And this time, a much larger cheer resonated from the crowd, which was growing every second. The initial explosion of fireworks had attracted the attention of most of the town, and the ground even shook a little as a gigantic, grey cave troll stopped at the edge of the crowd.

“Jim see magic!” He cheered with the rest, his loud voice easily blocking out the rest and even making a few of the ponies close to him cringe at the sudden volume.

“Whoa… big guy is big,” The Braixen gulped. “Well okay then! Let’s see what we could start with.” She pulled a black and white wand out of her tail and tapped it against her tophat as a bouquet of flowers erupted from the tip of it. “Hmm, no, this is too cliche…” She paced around and then grinned as she held the flowers up and they burst into a swarm of butterflies that spread out over the crowd.

Ethan watched in amusement as one of the butterflies landed on the nose of a certain little Skitty.

Chii's eyes widened as the butterly evaporated, a shrill laughter escaping her throat while she lightly batted after the remains before the winds carried them off. Afterwards, a pink blur ran through the crowd, using ponies as stepping stones and getting a few complaints before the Skitty landed right in front of the stage. Her eyes were positively sparkling and her smile stretched from ear to ear.

The Braixen smiled and winked at her as she raised her wand. “Alright, now watch the pretty birdie, okay?” She took off her hat as a Starly landed on her shoulder. It leapt inside the hat and she held it up to show the bird, inside it quite clearly. The Braixen then placed the hat back on her head and tapped it twice, before lifting it off and showing a perfectly empty hat.

A light “oooh” could be heard across the crowd and some light applause started as the ponies stomped their hooves against the ground. And Ethan had to add his own applause to, whoever she was, she was quite talented.

“Where did it go?” Chii asked as she jumped up and down to get a better look at the hat.

“I wonder,” The Braixen hummed and looked around. She then raised a paw and nodded. “Aha! I know where he went!” She put her hat back on her head and tapped it again. And when she pulled it off and held the hat out, dozens of Starlys flew from it. A skilled trainer could recognise a well-trained Double Team when they saw it, but to everyone else, a flock of birds was pouring out of a very small hat.

The pegasi and flying Pokémon who were watching from the air, parted as the flock of birds flew past them, and most of the audience on the ground turned to watch the Starlys as they flew by. Chii even jumped up and used a nearby unicorn's head as a platform to get a better view, ignoring the rather crass remark her living platform gave her before it tried to shake her off.

The Starlys soon vanished as the original hopped out of the hat and landed on the Braixen's shoulder. She took a bow as the audience clapped or stomped their hooves before she put a paw to her forehead, pretending to search.

“For my next trick, can I have a volunteer from the audience?” Before anyone had the time to put their hooves up or shout out, there was another pink blur and suddenly Chii was standing on the stage next to the Braixen.

“I should have expected this.” Ethan groaned silently while Brawly just laughed at Chii's antics.

“Oooh, me! Pick me, please!” Chii pleaded as she jumped around the performer, the most adorable smile on her face as she begged. The Braixen giggled and knelt down to look at the Skitty.

“Well aren’t you a little cutie. Wanna tell me and this fabulous audience what your name is?”

“I'm Chii!” She cheered in a much louder voice than what was necessary, her excitement bleeding into her voice.

“Well then, Chii,” the magician said and lifted her up. “We’re gonna play a little game. Do you have a mommy or a daddy in the audience?”

“Um, I don't have any of those but I have the next best thing.” Chii said after a small pause. “Ethan!” She shouted out across the audience from the top of her lungs. “Ethan, you need to come up here!” It was a few seconds before anything happened at all, but soon a Lopunny could be seen making its way through the audience.

“Excuse me. Sorry, coming through. Hey, watch the ears!” But it did not take long before Ethan reached the stage and joined the Braixen and Chii there.

“So a big sister then?” The Braixen giggled and winked at Ethan.

“Well, not a sister, but I guess it kinda does look that way.” Ethan smiled while Chii laughed.

“No, Ethan is a guy!” She giggled. “Though he is a very pretty Lopunny. It's not the first time someone had called him a girl.” She made no effort to hide the last part and a small laughter spread out through the audience.

“Aw, I know that, but he looks fun to tease,” The Braixen giggled and took her wand out. “Okay, so let’s get this trick under way. First, we rinse and repeat the last part,” she scooped Chii up in her hat and tapped it as her wand glowed a crimson red. The noise also served to mask her whispers to the Skitty. “Okay Chii, just hold still. You’re gonna feel a little tingle when I teleport you okay? And then you gotta sit still and stay real quiet.”

Up close, Ethan could recognise the aura of magic. Actual magic, like the stuff that unicorns used.

The Braixen took of her hat and Chii was gone as she searched around and then tapped the hat again. But then showed the still-empty hat.

“Hmm, odd. Now, where do you suppose little Chii went off to?” She mused out loud. And while she had told Chii to be quiet, Ethan could hear the muffled laughter of a certain little Skitty coming from within the fur on his ears.

“I'm not sure, though I'm certain that we will soon figure it out. She dislikes staying silent for too long.” Ethan smiled, playing along with the act as he looked around the stage. And a very faint giggling could be heard as Chii had a harder time staying silent.

“AHA!” The Braixen said and took one of Ethan’s ears. She reached inside it and started rummaging around the fur. “Let’s see, nope,” she tossed out an apple. “Not this,” there goes a banana. “What about… this?” She yanked and pulled out an entire potted flower and stared at it. Then she reached in with both arms and soon half her body fell into the fluff, a feat that should be physically impossible. Then she pulled back out holding a certain little Skitty.

“There you are~” The performer giggled and held her up for the audience to see.

“Have fun in there?” Ethan shook his ears to make sure that no dirt or anything remained in there.

“Yeah!” Chii laughed before she wiggled her way out of the Braixen's grip and dropped down onto the stage.

“Okay then,” The magician said and waved her wand as Ethan’s ears were coated in a magic aura, grooming them and removing any knots and tangles. “Now for my last trick…” She looked around and tapped her hat again.

She raised her wand and swirled it around as she lifted off of the stage, floating above the crowd. A gentle aura washed over them in a rainbow of colours as the ground under their hooves suddenly sprouted into a massive field of flowers!

Ethan kept his eyes on the floating magician as she made her little trip around, and while the joy in her eyes was easy to spot, she was also beginning to look quite exhausted as she landed back on the stage again.

The crowd, however. erupted into “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” at the sight, and soon, the flowers vanished almost as quickly as they appeared. After that, the Braixen tipped her hat and smiled.

“Thanks for being a great audience and let’s all thank Chii and Ethan here for being such great test dummies… I mean, such great assistants!”

The applause and cheering from the audience continued and even intensified slightly as the show was over. Chii bowed slightly to the audience before climbing up Ethan to sit on his head.

Just as soon as they had come, most of the audience dispersed, some of them coming up to the stage and tossing a few bits down near the Braixen's feet. By the end of it, a small pile had gathered, each pony may not have given that much, but it quickly added up. A few ponies, mostly foals even remained to ask, or rather bombard said magician with various questions.

“Well, I can’t go spilling all my secrets,” she chuckled as she scooped the bits with her hat.

“She just makes it up as she goes along,” the Starly chuckled. “Don’t mistake that for her actually having any real talent.”

“Props shouldn’t talk,” she poked him and giggled. “Tell you kids what, maybe I might do another one before I leave.”

Hearing that got another set of cheers out of the foals as they got the answer they had wanted to hear. And after they had made their goodbyes, they too left to go back to whatever they were doing before the show had started.

“That was fun!” Chii exclaimed with a huge smile on her face. She had insisted that they wait after she show was over so she could ask the magician a few questions. “Your tricks were cool, and the ending beautiful. Though you could combine them a little better.” In the background, another small group of Pokémon was approaching.

“It was indeed interesting.” Ethan agreed as he jumped down from the stage. “She might not look like it, but she is a Contest veteran, so she knows that she is talking about.” He jabbed a paw at Chii who just laughed innocently. “Though you look a little tired, are you okay?” He asked the Braixen.

“Y-Yeah, just… a little worn out from using… so much… magic…” And that was all that she managed to utter before her body went limp and she fell forward, unconscious. She must have been really tired even before she show for something like that to cause her to pass out.

“Not again,” the Starly muttered. He looked up at Ethan. “Could ya give me a hand with her?”

“Yeah, we live not far from here so we can take you guys there so she can recover.” He looked back to the group who had now reached them. “Brawly, would you mind carrying her?” He indicated to the unconscious Braixen who were currently being poked by a worried Chii.

“No problem, dude.” The Mienshao carefully lifted the Braixen up. “What’s her name?”

“I don't think she ever said who she was.” Ethan turned to her partner again. “Is it just the two of you?”

“For now,” he responded. “Her name is Rebecca Cre-” Ethan noticed that he cut himself off. Though, for what reason he had no idea. “Just call her Becky. And I am Crowe, her lifelong partner.”

“Okay then, Crowe, it's nice to meet you.” Ethan paused and put his paw on Becky's forehead. “It's just exhaustion so she just needs some rest and some proper food once she wakes up.” He pulled his paw back. “That being said, I would like to get her back as soon as possible just to be sure nothing else is wrong with her.”

“As long as your intentions remain pure,” Crowe said with a little bit of bite. “Anything inappropriate and you’ll lose an eye or two.” He was actually a little cute when he tried to be protective.

Ethan started laughing slightly. “You have nothing to worry about, though it's nice to see that you care about her.” He shook his head, a small smile gracing his features. “No, we have a little place where those that need it are welcome to stay, that includes you and your trainer.”

“Yeah!” Chii puffed herself up slightly. “We help others all the time. But if you try to hurt him, you will regret it.” She tried to look angry, and the little Starly responded in kind, but they soon both received a pat on the head from Ethan instead.

“Calm down you two. Point is that she needs help and we can give it. So, shall we go?” Ethan asked Crowe.

“Yes, and thank you for the assistance,” the bird responded and perched on Brawly’s head so he could keep a close eye on the girl.

The Starly had been watching Ethan closely ever since they had made it back to the warehouse. Especially when he had checked Becky to make sure that nothing more was wrong with her. It was obvious that he cared a lot for his trainer, a sentiment that Ethan could perfectly understand.

Though Crowe seemed to be a bit split at times. It seemed like he both wanted to keep an eye on Ethan and the others, but also watch Becky who had been placed in her own little, plant-like room that Vernus had grown. It was just a small side-project he had started on, making walls and small rooms out of vines and branches, among other things. And it was really nice and handy to have a few extra rooms available for situations like these.

That being said, it did not take too long before the Braixen in question woke up, and Crowe followed close by as Ethan walked into the room where she was resting.

“‘Bout time you got up,” Crowe said. “Feeling better, princess?”

“As soon as I eat, yeah,” she replied. “So where am I?”

“At our home.” Ethan replied as he kneeled down next to Becky. “And it's good that you are feeling better, but you should not get up yet,” he said while gently pushing her back down. “You passed out so we brought you here. And you should get some food into your system before you get up again, unless you want to risk passing out once more.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Becky sighed as her stomach growled again. “I’ll have a large cheeseburger, fries, and a tall soda.”

“You’ll eat what you get,” Crowe sighed. “Equestrians are vegetarian remember?”

“I want meeeeeaat~” Becky whined and Ethan had to hold back a small laugh of amusement. If he had to guess, he would put her in her early teens from the way she acted.

“We don't have anypony who sells meat in town, I'm afraid.” Ethan told Becky, who seemed a little disappointed at his statement. “And no hunting anywhere near the town either, we have made a little safe haven here, and we would like to keep it that way.” Ethan told Becky with a certain weight, and authority in his voice.

“Hunting?” she said. “What, like fish?”

“I think the rabbit is trying to say that we cannot hunt other Pokémon,” Crowe said. Becky blinked slowly and looked at Ethan like he’d he’d just grown a second head.

“Eat… other… Pokemon!?” the last word coming out as a shriek. “That’s just… ew…
ewewewewwwwwwww!!” A good reaction really, one that he approved of.

Ethan just smiled at that statement. “That rule is mainly targeted towards other wild Pokémon, not former humans like yourself, though it still applies.” He said while taking Becky's temperature with his paw. “Not all of the weaker Pokémon are able to defend themselves, so we made a sort of safe area for them in this town.” He pulled his paw back, a smile remaining on his face. “You haven't gotten any worse, so that is good. Would you mind telling me how long it was since you last ate, and how much?” He asked. He had done a small check on her while she was unconscious, but he would get much more information now that she was awake, especially now that Crowe would not pester him whenever he got close to her.

“I suppose the last big meal I had was about…”

“Three days,” Crowe answered for her. “After that, our money ran out and we’ve been surviving on what we could scrape together while we searched for her brother.”

That explained a lot actually. While malnourishment combined with exhaustion was nothing to look lightly at, it was so early for her that it should be easy to fix. Ethan expected her to make a fast recovery.

“Yeah… so I’m just a tad hungry,” Becky replied as her stomach gurgled.

“That explains a few things.” Ethan mused. “Your situation might not have allowed for any more, but you are a fire type now, and need more nourishment as a result. You burn much more calories than you would when you were a human.” A few clanks and different sounds could be heard from the other room. “Though it sounds like the food should be ready any second now.”

Now that he could get a closer look at her, he realised what kind of shape she was in. Her tail and the thick fur around her ears had a multitude of knots. She looked like she’d used streams to bathe in and her tail had a few leaves stuck in it.

“The move here… has not been easy,” Crowe said quietly. “And she misses her family. This is the longest time she’s gone with any form of contact with them.” That just furthered to confirm her age. It was no wonder she had gone through such a tough time.

“He doesn’t need to know that,” Rebecca snapped.

“What you choose to tell me is up to you.” Ethan commented he moved towards the door opening. “Though it looks like you have been through more than enough.” He paused as Chii came walking into the room, a large plate of fried vegetables and rice balanced on her head. “It's not much, but it's better than nothing.” He said as Chii stopped in front of Becky, offering her the food. “And it’s rich in iron, so it will be good for you in your current condition.”

Becky just drooled a little before she took the plate and went to scarf it down before Crowe stopped her.

“Rebecca Crescent! Manners!”

“Ah…” she blushed a little and nodded. “Right, thank you very much for the food,” she said and then begun to practically inhale it.

“You are welcome.” Chii proudly stated while puffing her chest slightly out. “I hope you like it!”

“Heh, well it looks like you should be fine if your appetite is anything to go by.” Ethan smirked as she watched Becky go to town on the plate of food that she had been handed. “I'll let you finish your meal in peace.” He waved his paw and Chii reluctantly walked back and out of the room. “When you are ready, we will be outside. Take your time though, there is no hurry,” and with that, he left the room, giving Becky and Crowe some peace.

Ethan stretched as he walked out of the room with Chii following close after. Becky… or Rebecca as her partner had called her, was finally awake again. And from the looks of it, she would recover quickly. Severe exhaustion was nothing to sneeze about though.

“...I don't like him.” Chii huffed as she walked up to Ethan's side.

“Crowe?” Ethan asked, and Chii's silence confirmed it. “Well, the two of you are a little similar, so it's not strange if the two of you end up butting heads for a bit.”

“S-similar?!” Chii sputtered, her face flustered. “I am not anything like that stupid featherbrain.” And with that she ran off before Ethan could come with any sort of counter arguments. And he could only laugh at her reaction.

The rest of the warehouse was teeming with life and activity. Brawly, along with a few helping fire types, was manning the kitchen. Becky had gotten her food, but it was feeding time for the rest of the Pokémon that lived there too. The ones who were sick or injured got their meals first, as per usual. It was an arrangement that they had agreed on a while back, so there were no trouble or arguments about it.

Zoey was helping with delivering the food to the ones that could not move to get it themselves, or the ones that needed rest. It had been a while since they had gotten any new patients from any poacher base raids, but injuries and the like always happened in the wild, and more than a few had heard about the shelter that they could provide.

And Vernus. Well, Vernus was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, so our guest is up.” Ethan surprised Brawly with a hug from behind. “Do you have everything under control here?” He had caught them just as they had finished with handing out the food.

“Yeah, someone has to keep this wave rolling.” Ethan only giggled that Brawly had left himself so open.

“I know, it's a good thing we have Zoey to take care of that.”

“You wanna play it like that?” Brawly easily turned around and silenced Ethan by pulling him close and planting a kiss on his lips. “So, our guest is up?” He asked once they separated.

“Yeah, she seems to be doing well.” Ethan said, his smile having a little extra something to it.

“Who is she, anyway?” Now that he thought about it, her partner had revealed her name. Though it had seemed unintentional, especially since he had avoided the topic earlier.

“Becky… thought her partner called her Rebecca, Rebecca Crescent, I think.” Maybe they had something to hide, maybe not. It was not in his place to pry anyway.

“...You don't know who that is?” And once again Ethan simply shrugged. “Man you really need to read more.”

“Hey, I glance over the newspapers every now and again.” Ethan huffed, though it only made him look cute. It was quite an amusing sight. “I just don't find them that interesting. Is it important anyway?”

“Nah, not really.” Brawly waved a paw nonchalantly. “You will find it out soon enough anyway.” It still troubled him a little, especially since Crowe had made a point to withhold her name earlier, though, if Brawly said that it was okay, then he would trust him.

Unbeknownst to Ethan and Brawly, a certain Starly was listening in from the rafters above them. Though, he had been spotted too.

Chii was sitting on her little elevated corner, and was currently glaring daggers at Crowe, who just drew his wing up to his eye and pulled it down while poking his tongue out at Chii when he spotted her.

Seeing this only infuriated Chii even more as she puffed herself up and stuck her tongue out at him too. She was too far away to begin yelling at him, so instead she opted for trying to gesture her point across. Though she really failed at it. She just threw her paws up with a silent scream and turned away from him in sheer frustration. She would get back at the little featherball later.

Back down, Zoey had joined Ethan and Brawly as they were talking about their new guest.

“You know,” A new voice cut in from below. “I hate being the voice of reason but… we are cutting it kinda close you know.”

“I know but… are you saying that we should not have done anything?” Ethan countered.

“Of course I'm not… it's just… well, we barely have enough for the tickets to Canterlot. And this is not really helping.”

“She needed help, and she is our guest.” Ethan said with a serious tone in his voice. “I know that we are in sort of a tight spot, but our doors are always open to those that need it, we agreed on that.”

“I… I know.” Zoey let out a sad sigh.

“Don't worry, Zoey.” Brawly put his paw on her shoulder. “Things will work out, they always seem to do:” His words seemed to instill confidence in Zoey who finally smiled.

“I'll talk to the mayor when I get the chance. With everything that we have done around here lately, well. I think I should be able to convince him to give us a bigger budget.” It was true, they had been doing them a lot of favors and they had also gotten a lot more patients. So, a bigger budget was appropriate. And he had no doubts that he would be able to convince that pony.

After that, everyone went back to their normal daily tasks. Zoey and Ethan still had a number of patients that needed to be taken care of, both physically and mentally. Zoey kept on changing bandages while Ethan had a number of talks with those individuals that wanted and needed it.

Brawly however, really did not have anything to do at that moment, so instead he chose to check up on their new guest.

He had seen Crowe fly in just a few moments earlier, and as he got close, he heard quite a lot of noise coming from the inside.

“You seem to be in a hurry.” And as he walked in, he saw just what that was about. Becky has tried to sit up, but her condition was not that good just yet as she fell down almost immediately. “We have someone who are out gathering some berries that will make you feel better, so just relax.”

“Thank you,” Crowe replied. “But we have burdened you long enough. The meal was delicious and we accept that gratefully. Any more would be asking too much.” Brawly was not stupid though; the Starly was in a hurry to leave, though he had no idea why.

“We got a Leafeon that grows the berries himself, so it wouldn't be a hassle.” He shrugged slightly. “But if you want to leave, then you are welcome to do so…” He eyed Becky for a second. “Though your friend don't seem to be well enough to travel, especially if she can't even stand up straight.”

Crowe sighed and nodded his head. “I suppose you have a point. And, about what you said earlier. We won’t be having a problem with that yes?”

That made Brawly pause for a moment, before his grin widened. “Eavesdropping eh? Well, that's fair enough, I suppose.” He looked back to Becky. “I never met your brother, but it was impossible to not hear about him. Though I never cared too much about all that jazz anyway, so you don't have anything to worry about.” His face softened and he held out an open paw to her. “Names Brawly, nice to meet ya.”

“Brawly… Brawly…” She mulled the name over as she took his paw. “I’ve heard that name… Ah!” She beamed and looked at him. “The surfing guy from Hoenn!”

“Yeah, that’s me.” Brawly laughed. “Small-time Gym Leader, and surfing god.” He continued laughing for a bit as he shook his head. “But as I said, you are among friends here, so you can just relax.”

“I suppose,” Becky giggled. “And, thanks again for this.”

“Now we just need a way to get to Canterlot,” Crowe sighed. “I fear we may be stuck here for the foreseeable future.”

“You guys need to get to Canterlot?” Brawly rubbed the back of his head for a moment. “Well, we are heading out there for that Contest tomorrow, you could just tag along if you want. That’s where your brother is at, right?” They were heading out the place where her brother was tomorrow, funny how fate works that way.

“The problem is that we lack a sufficient amount of this world's currency,” Crowe explained. “So even if you are going, we cannot afford to come with you.”

“Perhaps if I did another show or two?” Becky said and went to get up again. Only for another wave of nausea to hit her, along with a splitting headache.

“Yeah, that is not happening today.” Brawly sighed. “Possibly tomorrow… there is no point in traveling to Canterlot if you can't survive the trip there.” The sound of a door opening and closing could easily be heard through the building. “You tried sneaking aboard?”

“Oh please, that was a horrible idea the first time you suggested it for us,” Ethan came into the room. “And it still is… How are you feeling?” He asked, looking back to Becky.

“Like I got kicked by a Rapidash,” she groaned and put a paw to her head. “Magical exhaustion sucks, especially since I’m still getting used to it. Why can’t ponies make their spells easier to use?” And that confirmed his earlier assumption. He had seen her use a magic that was similar to the one unicorns used. Interesting.

“Brawly, you mind getting some more water?” Ethan asked the former gym leader who nodded and slipped out of the room. Leaving the three of them alone. “Magic, eh? Don't know much about that, not my area of expertise, but you should watch out if it can get this bad.” In his hand he held a big glass that was filled with some kind of liquid that kept changing color. “Don't know if it will help with the magic exhaustion, but it does wonders for a headache.” Vernus was a master herbalist and could make just about anything with half of the ingredients when it came to herbs. Though, despite his expertise in that area, and how good his healing items were, just like his cooking, it had a taste that was out of this world, and not in a good way. “It's a specially made berry juice, it should speed up your recovery significantly.”

Rebecca looked at the strange liquid and wrinkled her nose. “Yeah… not to sure about taking strange liquids from strange Pokémon…”

“It’ll be fine,” Crowe nodded. “If they were to do anything, they’d have done it by now.”

“I guess,” the Braixen shrugged and pinched her nose as she gulped down the liquid. She coughed and spluttered, shaking her head. “Ahhh, gross!”

“Yeah, it tastes like shit, but it works, we use it regularly around here.” Ethan smirked at her reaction. “So, you guys need to get to Canterlot? Any particular reason?” He had just overheard part of the previous conversation.

Becky went quiet for a moment, and it seemed like she was thinking hard about something.

“Her older brother is there,” Crowe cut in. “He is the only one that we have ever been able to count on and she misses him dearly.”

“Crowe!” Rebecca snapped at him and he shrugged before closing his beak.

“Family, eh? That sounds great, I am sure that he missed you too.” Ethan beamed at her. “I got most of my family right here, so I guess I got lucky in that regard. And don't worry about it, I won't tell a soul if you don't want me to. I might be a strange Pokémon, but you are our guest, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, thanks,” she mumbled, blushing lightly under her fur. Then she smiled and leaned closer. “Soooo~ What’s up with you and Mr. Brawly? You two seem… close.”

“It’s that obvious?” Ethan smiled sheepishly. “Well, he is one of my oldest friends and…” He paused for a moment, but before he could continue a small pink fluff landed besides him.

“And his boyfriend.” She simply blurted out with a sly smile.

“Chii!”

“What? It's true.” Ethan had a whole bunch of things he wanted to say in that moment, but he just deflated slightly instead. She was right after all.

“And we are together, yeah.” He said, a small blush appearing under his own fur.

“Aaawwwww~” Becky cooed. “That’s adorable. Have you had your first date yet?”

“You are really interested in this? Well, I suppose-” And once again, Ethan found himself cut off.

“Oh, that was awhile back. I mean, it was so obvious to everyone that they liked eachother, but nooo, they had to go and make it complicated for so long before either of them did anything about it. This… love thing just makes you so stupid it seems like.” Chii made a small surprised sound as she was picked up by Ethan.

“And that's enough of you, young lady, out you go.” Ethan deposited the small fluffball outside the room, despite her objections.

“Aww, but I want to talk to the guests… besides, it was all true.”

“I know, that's sort of the problem. You can talk to them later.” He sighed before turning back to Becky, Chii reluctantly walking off behind. “Sorry about that.” He apologised. “She can be a little... well, like that at times.”

“I understand your pain completely,” Crowe said with a long-suffering sigh. “The young miss can be quite the talonful as well. You would not believe the things she tried to pull when Seth was dating Lady Elesa…”

“Well, it is a little sister's job to cause some amount of trouble, now is it not?” He could not help but smile at Crowe's comment.

“Got that right!” Rebecca nodded, already feeling a lot better. She took her wand out of her tail and Ethan noted that rather than a twig, it was an actual magician’s wand. She pointed at the water jug on the table and her wand shone with a sparkling, crimson hue as she floated the jug over to her.

“Oh hey, that crap actually worked pretty well,” Becky smiled. “Thanks a bunch.”

“No worries.” Ethan smiled back. “All of his creations might taste horrible, but Vernus is one of the better herbalists I know of. Give him a few berries and there is few ailments that he can not cure.” He could not help but note the aura around the jug. And his eyes followed it as Becky levitated it. “I see that you picked up on something new here in Equestria.”

“Yep, I also used it during my performance. The magician finally got real magic.” Becky looked at her wand. “I don’t really know how or why I can do it. I’m hoping Sethy will figure something out.”

“And you mustn’t exert yourself just yet,” Crowe admonished her. “Honestly, you only just got well.”

Becky replied by poking out her tongue, but she still put her wand away regardless. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“I am sure that you will figure it out. With this new world and who knows what else, it's not strange that something like this happens.” He looked between her and Crowe, and a small sigh escaped his lips. “It is good that you got someone to help take care of things… and he is right you know, I would suggest that you keep away from magic from the rest of the day at the very least.” Ethan suggested.

“Yes, doctor,” Rebecca whined and then her eyes sparkled. “You know, I bet you’d look good in a doctor’s coat.” Becky smiled and wiggled her eyebrows. “And I know Brawly would just love to play doctor with you~” He had gotten a few pointers earlier, but now he definitely knew what kind of person Becky was, and it was also time to one up her.

Crowe just sighed and slapped his forehead with a wing.

“What makes you think I don't already have a doctor’s coat?” Ethan grinned, though his blush was clearly visible through his fur. Becky squeaked and blushed in kind, not expecting that kind of response.

“You’re both incorrigible.” Crowe groaned.

The train whistled sharply as it pulled into Neighagra Falls station. A Meganium blinked away the sleep in her eyes and stretched her legs before getting up.

“Well, that certainly took longer than I thought,” she groaned. “I do hope she’s here at least…” After stepping off of the train, she winced at the change in light before her eyes adjusted to her surroundings.

“The main problem… is where to start,” she said as she picked a direction and started walking.

Chapter 48 (Crossover)

It was early morning in the warehouse. Most of the inhabitants were softly asleep, though a few of them had begun to wake up. Two of those were Zoey and Ethan, who were already beginning on some of the work that they needed to do that day.

That was until a knock could be heard from their front door.

“Are we expecting anyone today?” Zoey asked. It wasn’t too often that they had visitors, especially at this time of day.

“Not that I'm aware of… I'm coming!” Ethan shouted, also waking up a few more individuals with his voice. As he opened the door though, he found himself facing a rather large individual. “Hello, can I help… you?” He asked, his gaze slowly moving upwards to look at the Meganium before him.

A gaze that was returned in the form of a fierce glare. Ethan soon found that his paws no longer touched the ground as a pair of sturdy vines held him up at her eye level.

“Where. Is my. Daughter!?” she demanded, that last word coming out as cold as Articuno’s breath.

Ethan slowly blinked and tugged at the vines that held him still, quickly figuring out that they did not budge at all. “I'm… sorry?” His words came out slow and steady. “I feel like I don’t have the whole picture here… who might you be?” He asked. He had been in a lot of strange situations with angry Pokémon, so it was nothing new to him. Though it was certainly an interesting way to start the morning.

“A mother who’s about to find out what Lopunny tastes like if she doesn’t get her daughter back whole and hearty,” the Meganium said through a clenched jaw. “A young Braixen, likes magic. Ring any bells? Or do I have to ring yours personally?”

“Ah, you mean Becky.” Realization dawned upon Ethan's face. “Yeah, she is inside, still sleeping I-”

“Ethan!” In the door opening now stood a very angry Zangoose, clad in a purple sweater and claws at the ready.

“Oh, hey Zoey. You mind wakin-” And once again, Ethan found himself cut off. It was seemingly becoming a trend.

“You let him go this instant!” The Zangoose sneered at the newcomer. The Meganium turned her head and returned the glare full force.

“I will when my daughter is safe from this… this… miscreant!”

“Zoey, you stand down this… wait, miscreant?” Ethan gave her a confused look for a second before he shook his head. “Zoey, stand down!” Unlike his previous voice, this time he had some real power behind it, and the effect was immediate. The Zangoose flinched and took a few steps back while still keeping her eyes on the Meganium.

“B-but she attacked you!”

“It's just a misunderstanding. Now, can you go inside and wake Becky up? Tell her that her mother is here.” Zoey kept her eyes on her for a few more seconds before she gave in and went back inside. “So… you are Becky's mother?” Ethan asked as he returned his attention to the large Grass-type.

The Meganium was a little confused, her anger slowly bleeding out. Had she made some sort of mistake?

“Yes,” she eventually replied. “I am—” That was all she got out.

“MOMMY!” A red and orange blur tackled her at high speed, enough for her vines to release the Lopunny. He remained suspended in the air for a second before gravity reasserted its dominance.

“Ow…” Ethan groaned before he sat back up, smiling as he looked over at Becky who was hugging her mother with all that she had. “All things considered, that could have gone worse.” A smile grew on his face at witnessing their reunion.

“I finally found you,” her mother whispered as she recovered enough to return the enthusiastic embrace. “I finally found my children…”

Rebecca pulled back and blinked. “Wha… children? As in, plural?” Her eyes grew wider. “You found Seth!?”

“Yes, he’s in Canterlot, along with all his Pokémon,” the Meganium smiled. “He’s living with the most charming young mare, but we can discuss that later…” She rolled over and rose to her feet, which looked like it took effort. “I will never get used to this form,” she muttered as she got up. She walked over to Ethan and held out a vine to help him up.

“I believe I owe you my most sincere apologies,” she said. “I may have come to a particular conclusion and acted rashly upon it. I'm Kimberly Haleth, it's a pleasure to meet you.”

“Think nothing of it.” Ethan reassured her, accepting the vine from Kimberly who pulled him up. “I have had worse. You thought that your daughter was in danger; anyone would have done the same in your situation.”

“Thank you,” she smiled as Becky hopped onto her back. “So what happened, anyway?”

“Maybe we should go inside first,” Becky suggested. “Before Zoey rounds up more of their family to… help. And you don’t want Chii getting the wrong idea. Well, provided you can stop her arguing with Crowe long enough~”

“Yes, you are welcome to join us for breakfast if you want.” Ethan offered. “And I would not worry about Chii. She is practically harmless.”

“LET ME GO! I WILL END HER!” Roared a child-like voice from inside the warehouse.

“...More or less. But please, do come in.” Ethan offered once again, holding the door open for the two of them.

“Mmm, such a gentleman,” Kimberly smiled as she walked in. “A rare trait these days.”

“His boyfriend seems to think so too.~” Rebecca grinned widely, relishing the blush that appeared on the Lopunny’s face. Kim shared her daughter’s giggle as well.

Inside the warehouse there was… well… to call it chaos would be an understatement. It seemed like almost everyone had awoken while Ethan had been outside.

Pokémon of all kinds and sizes were running around everywhere, and the kitchen was in full storm. Several fire Pokémon were apparently handling the food that morning, and they were surprisingly coordinated with each other as they tossed food and plated between each other. And near the entrance, meeting them were a tall Mienshao who had a solid hold on a small Skitty that was trying to swear up a storm from the looks of it, though all of it was muted by the paw that was firmly held in front of her mouth.

“Hey!” And once again, Ethan raised his voice, it practically echoed through the warehouse and every mon stopped dead in their tracks. “We have guests and breakfast is almost ready, settle down, everyone.” And just like that, it was like a wave of calmness swept over the warehouse. “Heh, sorry about that.” Ethan apologised to Kimberly. “We don't have guests that often... I think it's exactly because we have guests that they are so worked up in the first place.”

“It’s quite alright,” she smiled as she watched the organised chaos. “I used to run an orphanage back on Earth, so this is all rather nostalgic, really.” She paused to rub the head of a small Poochyena. “Only, the kids here are a little more on the furry side.”

“Remember when Sethy tried to grow a beard?” Becky giggled. “That was hilarious.”

“Oh yes, your brother is much fluffier now,” the Meganium replied. “Such a cuddly Luxray.”

“I bet Elesa is loving that,” Becky wiggled her eyebrows. Kim shook her head and sighed.

“Unfortunately, they are just friends… that said, your brother has… settled down with some others instead.”

Becky blinked, then once again, her eyes widened. “Others? As in, plural, aka, more than one?”

Kimberly nodded as the Braixen just groaned as her face met the table.

“Sounds like you have quite a lot to talk to your brother about once you meet him again.” Ethan could not stop a small laugh from escaping at Becky's reaction. “But you wanted to know what had happened here, right?” Ethan asked, getting a small nod from the Meganium. “Well, your daughter has been staying here since yesterday, after she passed out.”

“Passed out? Yes, a pony I asked earlier mentioned something along those lines,” Kimberly looked at her daughter. “What on Earth happened, dear?”

“Nothing, just a little tired is all,” Rebecca replied, looking away.

Ethan kept his eyes on Becky for another moment before lightly shrugging.

“Well, anyway, we carried her back here and made sure that she was alright.” As they were talking the same Mienshao from before came over and joined them at their table. “How is Chii?”

“Sulking, but otherwise fine. She is hiding in her corner right now.” Brawly answered. “So, this is who Zoey was making such a fuss about… name’s Brawly.” He added with a nod towards Kimberly.

“I know that name…” she mused and Becky filled in the gap.

“He’s a Gym Leader for the Hoenn region,” the Braixen said. “Remember? You used to watch his surfing competitions on TV, because of all the sexy, half-naked men…”

“Gah! Rebecca!” The Meganium scolded her while trying to hide a blush.

“Don't sweat it.” Brawly just smiled. “You weren't the only one.” He said, nudging Ethan who suddenly wore a blush similar to Kimberly's.

“A-anyway, it looks like the food is ready.” Ethan stammered as a Chimchar hopped around the table, leaving a plate filled with roasted berries and other kinds of vegetables before speeding back to the kitchen.

“Oh my, this looks quite delicious,” Kimberly nodded before taking a bite and humming happily.

“I miss meat,” Becky pouted, but ate nonetheless. Berries seemed to taste a lot better now that she was a Pokémon. Crowe had entered the room, and was now staring at Chii in her corner, poking the cat with a wingtip.

Chii turned her head and seemed to mumble something at Crowe before returning to her sulking. Though, when the poking would not stop, it was not long before Chii got fed up and launched herself at Crowe, tackling him to the ground.

“It seems like those two are getting along well at least.” Ethan grinned as they watched the little spectacle unfold over in the corner.

“You have Crowe with you as well?” Kim asked Becky.

“Yeah, I woke up with him,” the Braixen answered as she watched the play-fighting. They were playing… right?

“So, Mr. Ethan was it?” Kimberly asked. “I believe I’ve heard that name before…”

“I would not be surprised.” Ethan just smiled as he finished a slice of an Oran Berry. “It's quite a common name over in Hoenn. I used to work as a Pokémon caretaker… so, not that much has changed since I came here.” He laughed and glanced back over at Chii and Crowe… who seemed to be intensifying their playing.

“A caretaker named Ethan… Ethan Summers, I believe,” the Meganium drew closer to him. “Now I know that name. It popped up in a newspaper some time ago.”

“Hmmm, ‘fraid you got the wrong guy.” Ethan continued smiling. “Name’s Ethan Smith, I worked at the Pokémon day care outside of Mauville City.” She was quite insistent, he would give her that.

“Hmm…” She started at him and then shrugged. “Well, fair enough, I suppose. Everyone makes mistakes after all, and most deserve a second chance at things.” She looked at Zoey and smiled. “I’m glad your Zangoose friend over there is doing better after what she went through.”

“She’s trying to be all enigmatic and mysterious,” Rebecca clarified. “But it was Seth who explained it. That someone who rescued abused Pokémon couldn’t be a bad person.”

“I’m truly sorry that you have me mistaken for somebody else.” Ethan repeated as he rubbed the back of his head. “But Zoey over there is doing much better yeah… she was simply a wreck when she showed up on our door one night. Most of the Pokémon that we treated and took care of were sent away or left on their own accord when they were healthy again… but some of them choose to stick around.”

“Family sticks together,” Kimberly nodded. “But fair enough, I’ll drop the topic.”

“Why must you and Seth do that?” Becky groaned. “That, ‘we’re talking about two things without talking about it’?”

“You’ll understand when you’re older… maybe,” Kim smirked and the Braixen just threw her paws up into the air and walked off to where Chii and Crowe are.

“Still, thank you for taking care of her,” the Meganium smiled. “Seems I owe you a favour now.”

“Oh, there is no need to take things that far.” Ethan insisted, while Brawly just watched the two of them with a smirk. “She needed help and we were in a position to help her. It's not like we could have just ignored her and done nothing.”

“Thunder Wave!” Small sparks of lightning flashed out from the corner where Chii and Crowe were… “playing.”

“It seems like Chii needs yet another timeout.” Brawly sighed as he got up and followed after Becky, leaving Ethan and Kimberly alone at the table.

“Whirlwind!” Crowe countered as he swept up the cat in a miniature tornado.

“Yup, just like old times,” Kim smiled. “The next train back to Canterlot won’t be for a while, but if you’d like us out of your hair, then we could leave…”

“Nonsense, our home is always open, and you are our guests. You are welcome to stay for as long as you want to.” Ethan said as they watched Becky and Brawly try to separate Chii whose fur had fluffed completely out from the wind and Crowe who had small weak sparks of electricity dancing over his feathers. “Besides, I think Becky and Crowe have been enjoying themselves here.”

“I’m glad,” Kimberly chuckled at the sight. “I was so worried that this… change would have affected her negatively. I admit, getting used to this form, this world? I may have cursed quite a bit. I don’t think I’ve said ‘darn’ so many times in one sentence.” She put a vine to her mouth and blushed. “Ah, sorry for that.”

“No need to apologise. But yeah… it certainly took some time to get used too.” Ethan nodded as he looked down at his paw. “As for your daughter, I think she is lucky that she had Crowe to help her through it. It's not something that someone should have to go through alone. I was lucky to have my family here with me, but I know of others who were not so… fortunate, and did not take the change that well either. ”

“Yes, well…” Kimberly wasn’t about to spill the beans on her own freakout. “Well, I’ve adjusted now. And this body has its own perks, I suppose. Reviving dead plants with your breath is a skill that has net me the funds I need to travel around.”

“That is certainly useful.” Ethan nodded. “And you mentioned the train to Canterlot, right? Well, we are heading there for ourselves later today, so we might end up on the same train.”

“Why did you stop it, I could have totally taken him!” Chii could be heard over in the corner, complaining while she was glaring daggers at Crowe.

“As if, Ratatta-breath! A paper bag could beat your fluffy, pink butt!” Crowe retorted as Becky held the bird back.

“Oh, that is it! Just let me go!” Chii shouted once again. “Let me take him! Let us fight!” She kept wriggling in Brawly's arms, desperately trying to get free. Though, to no avail. Brawly just rolled his eyes before giving Becky a amused look.

“Normally, I would have been all for that. But you got the contest coming up soon, you can't fight when that is so close.” Brawly's words seemed to calm the furious Skitty, at least slightly.

“I know… But I still want to teach that rude birdbrain a lesson.” Chii glared at Crowe for a few moments before sticking her tongue out at him.

“Crowe. That was mean. Now apologise or I won’t give you any sunflower seeds,” Becky said to him in a stern, motherly tone.

“W-What!? Why should I-?”

“Crooowweeee!” Did… did it just get colder in the room? Becky glared at the bird and Brawly could swear the Braixen was emanating a dark aura.

“Fine… m’sorry,” he muttered.

“No you are not.” Chii huffed as she jumped down to the ground. “I… I know that it was wrong to attack you, but I am not sorry, so I won't apologise.” She kept her glare on Crowe, though it has softened somewhat. “And neither should you, because that's just cowardly.”

“Fine! Then you get no apologies either!” Crowe squawked. Becky just shook her head and sighed.

“Geez, you two having a lover’s spat already? When’s the wedding?”

“Yeah.” Ethan sighed as the little quarrel continued. “I sort of told her about lying and how it is wrong… and she sort of took it literally like that… a little too literally. It will work itself out in the long run, though.” He just laughed as Chii huffed and turned her back on Crowe and Becky from her remark.

“As if I would date that-that… uncute tomcat,” Crowe retorted and flew up to the rafters. He’d normally hide away in his Pokéball, but that was no longer an option. Becky just giggled and rolled her eyes.

“Anyway,” Kimberly cleared her throat. “I believe you said something about Canterlot?”

“Hmm?” Ethan shifted his attention back to the Meganium. “Oh, yeah. We are participating in that contest that is coming up. Well, Chii and Brawly are at least.” Now that the little dispute in the corner was over, Brawly returned to the table where Ethan and Kimberly sat.

“Chii really wanted to join, and since a partner was needed, I was kinda roped into it too.” Brawly just rolled his eyes at the huge grin he was getting from Ethan. “She really wants to do this, so who was I to tell her no?”

“Little ones often use their cuteness like that,” Kim giggled and nodded her head. “Very well, I’ll have to arrange a few tickets then. Allow me the pleasure of providing your transport at least, as thanks for taking care of my daughter.”

“Oh, no. Something like that is not nec-”

“That sounds good. Thank you.” Brawly cut in and silenced Ethan as he held him in a headlock with his paw firmly planted in front of his mouth.

“Glad to hear it,” Kim nodded. “Now, I’d like to return there as soon as possible, but if you’d like to remain here then I can just give you some tickets for your desired date.”

“Oh, I bet they’d make a date out of it alright,” Becky snickered.

“With Chii with us? That will be next to impossible.” Ethan just groaned. “She is family, and I love her, I really do. But she can be a bit much at times. But I am sure that she would love to go sightseeing a little, so, we would not mind going with you.” He smiled. “That is, if you don't mind though?” He asked Brawly, who had just released him from the headlock.

“Nah, it would be cool to have some extra time to spend there.” Brawly agreed.

“Wonderful,” Kimberly smiled. “There’s a train that leaves in a few hours, so that should give you enough time to pack yes?”

“We were already planning on leaving today, so we don't have all that much more that needs to be packed.” Ethan looked over to Brawly who just nodded. “Not like we had all that much that we needed to pack in the first place. You did not even want to bring anything.” He scoffed at his boyfriend.

“Hey, I don’t need clothes anymore, and you bring more than enough of everything else for the both of us.” Brawly replied with a grin.

Everyone then flinched in surprise as an ear-shattering scream filled the air. Most people have heard someone scream sometime in their lives, and depending on the reason, it can shake you to a different degree. This however, went so deep that it positively chilled the soul of all that heard it.

Panic and worry filled Ethan's eyes as he was one of the first to recover. That came from Jenny.

“Shit… um… Sorry to…” He kept looking between the small room in the other end of the hallway and Kimberly. “I need to take care of this, Brawly, do you-”

“I can take care of things here. Just go.” And with that, Ethan hopped up from the table and positively flew over to the room where he threw the door open and shut it behind himself.

The screaming continued for a little while longer, and all of the Pokémon in the warehouse moved as far away from the room as they could.

Though, as suddenly as it had come, it started to die down, and just like that, silence filled the makeshift home once more.

Kim and Becky shared an awkward look before looking at Brawly.

“Is… everything alright?” Kimberly finally spoke up. “That sounded pretty bad.”

“I… would be lying if I said yes.” Brawly looked back to there Ethan had disappeared to. “I’m sure that you have noticed, but a lot of the Pokémon that live here are hurt or injured in some way or another. We take care of those that need it. Some however, are worse off than others.” Brawly looked back Becky and Kimberly. “It’s a friend of ours that returned a few days ago. Only that she was pretty… she was really messed up. So much that she won’t, can't even talk about what happened to her.” He paused for a spell, letting out a long sigh before continuing. “We can head out, though, if that made you uncomfortable…”

“My dear, being mother to Seth has opened my mind to a lot that humans should not be proud of,” Kimberly answered. “But this sounds like it is Mr. Ethan’s area of expertise…” She paused and had an idea. “Perhaps you could show me your berry garden?”

“Well, it's not mine… Hey, Vernus!” Brawly shouted off near a corner of the building. After a few seconds, a few blankets could be seen moving before a really sleepy-looking Leafeon crawled out from under them.

“What?” He groaned before letting out a really loud yawn.

“Our guests want to see your berry garden, you mind?”

“Guest? You mean Becky or…” The Leafeon paused as his gaze locked onto Kimberly and stayed there for a few seconds. “N-no, I don't mind.” Vernus shook his head and practically bounced over to them. “Hello there!” he greeted Kimberly with a big smile.

“What a cute little Leafeon!~” Kimberly cooed as she pulled him up into a hug. The woman seemed to have a real soft spot for the Eevee line. “Aww, he’s so adorable.~”

“Thanks, you are quite the looker yourself.” Vernus replied with a little smirk. “My little berry garden is just out the back into the forest. I'd be more than happy to show you.”

“Yo, would you kindly stop hitting on my Mom!” Becky growled as she folded her arms. “Or we’ll find out how flammable Leafeons are.”

“Calm down, dear,” Kimberly chided her and rubbed Vernus’s head with a vine. “He’s just being polite and charming. Now then, dear, show me this lovely garden of yours.”

“Certainly.” Vernus replied, completely ignoring the little threat from Becky. “It’s just a few minutes into the forest, follow me and I'll show you.” Vernus commented as he took the lead. Kimberly stood up and followed him, leaving Becky to sit at the table and pout.

“I don’t trust that pervert,” she muttered.

“Don't worry.” Brawly commented. “He is just not afraid to say exactly what is on his mind. And if he tried anything… well,” he pointed over to where a certain Zangoose could be seen, and she looked quite infuriated. “If he tries anything, then she will give him absolute hell for it.” He grinned.

The walk out to the berry garden went by quite fast, and before they knew it, Vernus and Kimberly found themselves standing in front of a small clearing filled with several rows of berries and other kinds of plants.

“Here we are!” Vernus proudly presented. “My little pet project.”

It was quite a sizable garden, much larger than the one that Seth’s girlfriend was setting up. “Hmm, very nice,” she smiled as she looked around. “Peaceful too. I feel like I could just take a nap here and let my worry fly away.”

“I might have done exactly that here more than a few times when I just want to spend some time alone.” Vernus replied with a laugh. “There just is something peaceful about a forest like this, the plants, the occasional ray of sunshine that breaks through the canopy and shined upon your body, there are few things like it… Have you discovered anything like that after you became a grass type?”

“Yes, I have noticed that I enjoy the sunlight that much more,” Kimberly nodded as she walked over to one plant, having been freshly picked. “I’ve noticed other things too. Like this.” She took a deep and exhaled, the plant shining as new berries started to form. More than a few days growth in just a few seconds.

Vernus also noticed a pleasant smell of mint fill the air.

“Wow.” Vernus slowly walked over and sat down next to the plant that had received a growth spurt. Gently inspecting the newly formed berries with his paw. “Now there is something that I have not seen in a few years. It is still an amazing sight to behold.” He smiled at Kimberly.

“Such kind words,” she smiled and did it to another plant. “I thought I might be able to help out is all. Is there… anything else I could do?”

“Well, now that you mention it…” Vernus looked around the garden with a pensive look upon his face before he glanced back to Kimberly. “I do have some plants here that I have had some trouble with getting to grow properly. If you could take help me out with them too, then that would be amazing.”

“Of course, I can’t guarantee that it’d work, but it doesn’t hurt to try, yes?” Kim smiled warmly as her flowered collar shone in the sunlight. “Lead the way, my leafy gentleman.”

“Gggrrrrr, I bet that sneaky little sneak is totally putting the moves on her,” Becky grumbled as she sipped a mug of juice. “I should have gone with them.”

“I have to say, that was completely amazing.” The door opened and Vernus walked back in along with Kimberly. “To think that you have such skills, I'm glad I was able to experience it for myself.”

“W-WHAAAAT?” Becky was literally spitting embers now. “What kindof skills? You-You perverted Pokémon!”

“Yes indeed,” A white paw, ending in long very sharp claws landed on Vernus’s shoulder. “I’d very much like to know the answer to that as well,” Zoey said as the claw tightened.

“Oh my,” Kimberly said. “It seems we have been misunderstood, Mr. Vernus.”

“Y-yeah!” Vernus quickly agreed, as he could feel how close Zoey's claws were to digging into his back. “There is nothing to worry about, Zoey! Miss Kimberly here was just helping me out in the berry garden and showing her revitalizing breath. Which I have to say, you are quite good at for how long you have been a Pokémon.”

“I assure you two, nothing beyond me reviving few plants happened,” Kimberly added and nodded. “You must be Miss Zoey, yes? Mr. Vernus told me about you, he seems to like you quite a lot.~”

“I should certainly hope so, since I'm his mate. But it is nice to finally meet Becky's mother.” Zoey kept her paw on Vernus but relaxed her grip slightly. “I'm going to talk to you later.” She whispered to Vernus who just laughed nervously.

“W-well, I will leave you two ladies alone for now. I am certain that you have things to talk about.” He nervously smiled before he excused himself and walked down past where Brawly and Becky was sitting.

“You totally worded it that way on purpose.” Brawly commented once Vernus walked past them. “Was it worth it?”

“Totally.” The Leafeon grinned back before continuing to skip down the warehouse.

“I swear I’ll set him on fire,” Becky said and folded her arms. “Or maybe turn his leaves hot pink…”

“Rebecca,” Kimberly took a motherly tone and the Braixen sighed and threw up her hands.

“Whatever. I’m gonna go and make sure all my stuff is packed.” She hopped down from the table and walked off, leaving the Meganium to sigh.

“I’m sorry about her, she does mean well, though…”

“She seems like a nice girl, it just seems like she is not too used on being the target of jokes instead of firing them out herself.” Brawly just shook his head. “It's a good thing you came along though. I don't think she handled herself too well out there when she was alone.”

“I have worried about her constantly,” Kim sighed, allowing her relaxed features to fall a little. “I knew that Seth would adapt quickly, but he’s actually more prone to finding trouble than she is.” She sighed once more. “My children are quite the handful as you could imagine.”

“That's part of a kid’s job, is it not?” Brawly commented. “To make a parent worry.”

“I have always wanted to be a mother, but it sounds like it can be more than a little stressful at times too.” Zoey chipped in. “How do you deal with it all?”

“One step at a time,” Kim nodded. “No one is ever truly prepared to be a parent. You simply have to do your best. Hope that you’re doing the right thing and support them no matter what.”

“Yeah…” Zoey smiled somberly as she glanced over to where Becky had gone. “That is some good advice, thank you.” She said as her smile grew a little brighter.

“Of course dear,” Kimberly smiled, before it shifted to a smirk. “Also remember anything embarrassing they do. It makes great blackmail later on.~”

“You are an evil woman.” Zoey giggled and shook her head. “I'll keep that one in mind for when the time comes… eventually, maybe.”

“If you want it to, then I’m sure it will,” Kim’s featured brightened and rubbed her head with a vine.

“Thank you.” Zoey flinched from the first touch of the vine, but did not move away. Brawly even joined in and put one of his paws on Zoey's shoulder.

“How did you even manage to find her anyway?” Brawly asked after a few moments of silence. “Your daughter, I mean. It’s great that you found her, don't get me wrong, but it's a big world, you know.”

“Rumors mostly,” Kimberly chuckled as she sat down. “Rebecca is far from subtle, and I knew that even if she was scared out of her mind, her magic would be something she’d fall back on. And a Pokémon magician is a lot rarer than you’d think.”

“She did put on quite the show, so I can see that. yeah.” Brawly agreed. “She has a real talent in that department, managed to draw quite the crowd.”

“The little dear used to perform in the streets of Castelia City, where we used to live. Most of the money she earned went to supporting the orphanage.” Kim wiped her eye with a vine and smiled. “She’s a good girl. Headstrong and determined to excel at whatever she does, but she’s never let us down.”

“She is a good kid indeed.” Brawly nodded.

A loud, creaking noise could be heard and they looked up just in time as Chii plummeted down from the rafters and landed on the table with a rather heavy thud, scaring Zoey who practically jumped out of her own skin.

“Um… hey.” If she was bothered by the fall at all, she did not show it. “So, when are we leaving?” Chii complained while Zoey was getting her breathing back under control. “I wanna see Canterlot and practice for the Contest!”

“We are leaving in a little while.” Brawly answered. “Though, have you packed your things yet?”

“Um… yes?” Chii tried, but very quickly gave in and looked down. “No…”

“Well, then you can go and do that. I will do the same in just a moment.” The three of them watched in amusement as Chii then jumped down from the table and skipped over to her corner where she pulled out a bag that was much too large for her and began to stuff all kinds of things down into it.

“Yeah, I should really get on that.” Brawly sighed while he rubbed the back of his head. “Will you two ladies be okay on your own?”

“I believe we can manage,” Kimberly nodded at him. She was still trying to get her racing heart under control from Chii’s surprise attack.

“We will be fine.” Zoey agreed. “Just go and do your thing.” And with that, Brawly left the table too, leaving Zoey and Kimberly alone. Zoey looked around for a moment, and when she had made sure that no one was within hearing range her happy expression dropped completely, a rather grim face taking its place. “We need to talk.” She practically sneered at Kimberly.

To say that this was an unexpected turn of events would be an understatement. “I believe I said that nothing happened between that Leafeon and myself,” she said. “As cute as Pokémon are, I simply don’t feel that way about them.”

“W-what?” Zoey reeled back for a second, a surprised look on her face. “No, not about that, I know that he would not do anything… No, rather, it's about what you told Ethan earlier.” One of her paws was resting on top of the table, and her claws were slowly unsheathing. “I will cut straight to the chase. I don't know how much you think you know, and I don't trust you. Don't know you. But I would advise that you keep whatever you think you know to yourself.”

“Ah, so it’s about that then… I wasn’t entirely sure as Ethan seemed convinced I was wrong… until you just confirmed it.” The Meganium smiled and placed a vine on her paw. “And if I recall dear, I never blamed him… did I?”

“I…” Zoey's resolve seemed to falter. “No, no you did not... We have never really had any allies, apart from Brawly and a few others, and even some of them have turned on us. But he is family,” her voice had softened a little from before, “and I will do anything to protect my family.” She told Kimberly. “I don't know you, but you seem nice enough and I don't want to have to threaten you. So, would you please keep this a secret? Please?”

“My dear, threats wouldn’t work on me,” Kimberley said with a narrowed gaze. “My life may not have been as life-threatening as yours. But it was not without its own problems. A word to the wise, no matter how bad you think you have it, someone always has it worse.” She closed her eyes and relaxed a little. “And as I also said, I don’t know the details. All I know is what I read in the newspaper, and my son saying that a person that rescued Pokémon couldn’t be as bad as they said. Mind you, his faith in others is almost limitless, to the point of being naive. But it’s also one of his best traits.”

The Meganium looked at the Zangoose and smiled. “So do not worry. Your secret is safe with me, hmm. Just make sure you take care of that boy.”

“No, I figured that threats would not work on you. But just like me, you have a family that you would do anything to protect, do you not?” Zoey looked over to the room where Becky had entered a little while ago. “I am glad that it does not have to go down that route though… thank you.” Zoey seemed to relax a little, as if a huge weight had been lifted off her back. “I know that someone always has it worse, that is why we did that we did.” A smile began to grow on Zoey's face. “I don’t know why, but for some reason I feel like I really can trust you… so I will take your word for it.” Her paw flexed slightly as her claws retracted. She had been making an effort to better herself lately, especially after… after what had happened with Olivia. She did not want to hurt anyone anymore.

“Good to know,” Kimberly nodded. “I’d hate to start a fight in your home, after all.”

Before Zoey could respond, Becky emerged from the room she’d been using, a small suitcase trailing behind her.

“Okay, I’m all packed and…” She looked around and sighed, “Lemme guess. We’re waiting on boys?”

“I think Brawly went to check up on Ethan.” Zoey turned to Becky. “So, they should be ready any moment.”

While they were waiting, Chii came dragging on a bag that was a few times her own size. She was holding the handle in her mouth, and was seemingly all her strength to move the thing.

“A-are we ready?” She flopped down onto the ground, breathing heavily once she finally got the bag over to the table.

“Just about.” Zoey smiled. “We are just waiting for-” over in the other part of the warehouse, Ethan and Brawly emerged from the room where the chilling scream had come from earlier. “Well, them… looks like you are all set.”

“Sorry about the wait.” Ethan apologized when they arrived. He was carrying a small bag. How Chii needed more luggage than him was a strange thought, but somehow the little Skitty had done it. “I take it that we are all ready to head out then?”

“If you are all set,” Kimberly nodded as she reached out and took Chii’s bag for her. “Oof, my word. Did you pack rocks in here?”

“Yeah, they probably fell out of her head,” Crowe laughed from his perch on Becky’s head.

“No!” Chii huffed. “I just had to pack enough patience to deal with you on the train ride.” She grinned and stuck out her tongue at Crowe.

“Huh? You didn’t pack enough then,” Becky smirked.

“A Skitty with patience, that’ll be the day,” Crowe said and then smiled. “Oh look, a ball of yarn!”

“Hah, now I know you are lying!” Chii exclaimed. “I already have all my balls of yarn hidden away.” But despite her words, she tried to sneak a peak to where Crowe had pointed too. Just in case.

“Hah! Made you look!” Crowe cackled as Becky just sighed and shook her head.

“This is gonna be a looooong train ride.”

“How is it possible for someone who is that small to argue and bicker that much?” Ethan groaned loudly once they had finally reached Canterlot Station. One would have thought that Chii and Crowe would have grown tired sometime during the trainride, but no. Their irritation for one another was seemingly endless.

“I have no idea,” Becky groaned. “But I’m gonna start coming up with recipes that use Starly and Skitty…”

“A mute spell could be handy.” Brawly commented. “Or something along those lines.”

“It’s your fault for making me travel with this… this—”

“Ruggedly handsome species of avian?” Crowe interjected. “I can understand why you’re so flustered now. I’m just too handsome for my own good.”

Chii was practically shaking with fury at that last comment, she was about to open her mouth and unleash hell on Crowe, when instead another idea came to her mind. And a evil little grin accompanied it.

“You know what, Crowe?” Chii said as she walked close to the Starly in question. “You might be right.” And before Crowe had a chance to react, Chii leaned forward planted a kiss straight on Crowe's beak.

She held it for a few seconds before stopping. “But you know what?” She leaned in and whispered to him. “I win.” She laughed as Crowe just stood there speechless.

Becky just stared at her bird partner and shook her head as he blushed and stammered incoherently.

“Oh dear, he seems to have broken,” Kim chuckled. “And to so boldly display your affections like that, little Chii. I guess I should bring him back at some point for your first date.”

Chii turned around and flicked her tail in Crowe's face before calmly walking over to where Ethan and Brawly stood. “Maybe, if he ever gets his voice back under control.” Chii had not stopped grinning, though, a small blush had formed on her face too.

“You are evil, you know that?” Though despite his words, Ethan could not help but chuckle at the sight. “But I guess this is where we say goodbye.”

“So it seems,” Kimberly nodded. The city was much busier than when she left the day before. There were ponies and Pokémon everywhere.

“Thank you once again for being so hospitable,” the Meganium smiled. “Perhaps I should introduce you to my son sometime. I have the feeling you two would get along very well.” She chuckled and looked him over. “And he too, is so very fluffy.”

“We will be staying for a few days, so maybe so.” Ethan agreed. “And Crowe can come visit too if he regains consciousness. But it has been a pleasure of having you as our guests, perhaps we will see you at the contest?”

“I intend to head straight there,” Kimberly nodded and shook Ethan’s paw with a vine, before doing the same to Brawly. “And well, you’ll meet my son if that’s the case, seeing as how he’s the one hosting the event.”

“Then I'll be looking forward to that.” Ethan smiled warmly. “And it was a pleasure to meet you too, Becky.” Ethan shook the Braxien's paw as well. “But we have to be going now, see you later!” He and Brawly waved them off as they started heading into the crowd, though Chii stayed behind for a few seconds.

“Byyye.~” She winked at Crowe one last time before hopping off after Ethan and Brawly, disappearing into the sea of ponies.

“I see that you have been listening to the things Zoey taught you about flirting?” Ethan teased Chii as she caught back up with them.

“Yeah, it was worth it seeing that dumbfounded expression of his.” Chii giggled.

“So, did you just do that to play with him?” Ethan asked her. “Or is there something more to it?”

“What? Of course I just did that to mess with him!” She huffed, and looked away in protest. Though, Ethan could see that despite her words, her smile had just been growing ever since she had kissed that Starly. Maybe there was something hidden there, even if she was not completely aware of it herself.

“Well, if you say so.” Brawly chimed in. “But we better get to the hotel before the streets become even more cluttered.”

Chii skipped along besides Brawly and Ethan, never veering too far off course. She was excited by the new sights, but the amount of strangers did put her off.

“I did not want to mention it while the others were there, but I have to ask.” Brawly turned to Ethan. “Why did you decide to come along? I know Chii is thrilled-”

“You will get to see our amazing contest!”

“-and I'm pretty glad about it myself. But I know that you had planned to stay behind with Jenny… so why the sudden change?”

Jenny had been hyperventilating after the initial scream that shocked the entire house and their guests. Luckily, it had just been a bad dream this time and Ethan did not have a hard time in calming her down again.

“It was a bad one I take it?” He asked after she had explained that it had been about a dream.

“I-I was back in that cave. Chained up with…” She was shaking, and her teeth shook so badly that she had to spend several minutes just calming herself down before she was able to speak again. “It was him… he did all of this to me.”

“Shady, right?” She had mentioned his name several times in her sleep, but awake, she flinched at the mention of him. “He can't hurt you here, he is long gone. I know it can be hard but-”

“Don't you dare tell me to try to forget about it, to put all of that behind me!” Jenny sneered, she wanted to cry, but she had no more tears to give. “He was different from the others, he… he liked it when we screamed. He laughed at-” Jenny choked up again before continuing. “He needs to be stopped, please, you have to stop him. I can't even sleep without him tormenting me, please.”

Jenny begged and he did not know what to say. “Jenny… we are doing all we can, Protocol is working hard on it, but we have no real hard leads to go on. He could be anywhere-”

“Canterlot.” Jenny cut in. “He is, or was very recently in Canterlot.”

“How do you know this?”

“And not just him, but the leader of that horrid group of poachers. He travels around a bit. But he will be staying in Canterlot for a while. If you go now maybe you can still get them, you have to go now, put a stop to all of this. I-”

“Jenny.” Ethan placed both his paws on each of her shoulders. “How do you know all of this, we found nothing at the base where you escaped from.” They had gotten some information, but even after going through all of the coded material, they were not left with a lot.

“After what they put me through… I made sure to give them hell during my escape, and they deserved far worse than they got.” Jenny growled. “But I did find out a few things in my escape.”

Jenny told him about how she had obtained information about the travel routes of her captor, where he would go, when he would go there, all leading up to Canterlot. Apparently, it was in Equestria's capital city, under the nose of the princesses, that The Weavers had their main base located. And even the big shot, the boss of the whole group would be there.

“This is great news!” Ethan exclaimed. After all their hard work, they finally had something to go on, a way to take them down at the source. “With some help we can finally take them down!”

“NO!” Jenny grabbed him by his chest fur and dragged him down to her level. “You can't tell anyone about this! T-they have ponies working everywhere. We can't let them get away, he must be stopped.”

“Calm down, Jenny, deep breaths or you will have another panic attack.” It was worrying him how obsessed Jenny seemed about this, and how paranoid. “We have to tell someone, as you said, if we don't they will get away.”

“B-but you can go, right?” Jenny’s looked at him with desperate eyes, it was a deep cry for help. A kind of help he was not sure he could, or should give her. “That's what partners do right?” That struck a chord within him. “What friends do,” and that one struck deeper. “He… he made me feel worthless, I was his plaything. Only useful for making money and the occasional laugh… Y-you have to stop him, you have to…”

In the end, how could he say no? He had seen several other cases, where his patients had not made any signs of proper recovery until the person responsible for hurting them were behind bars. When they were one hundred percent sure that they could not hurt them anymore.

Jenny was his friend, and they were partners in this new world. She had done so much for him, lied for him and gone against what she believed in. How could he not do the same for her?

He was no fighter, but promised her that he would find as much information he could about Shady and the leader of that poaching group. After he did, he would hand it over to the authorities, maybe even the princesses himself since they were going to Canterlot. It would help Jenny with her recovery, put her mind to ease to just know that he was doing this for her. And while he would have preferred to stay behind and take care of her, Zoey was more than capable of doing that. And she had her Growlithe with her too, Jenny would be fine.

He had thought about telling Brawly what he was up to, but he did not want his boyfriend to worry. They had other things to take care off.

“Jenny just asked me to take care of a small errand for her. It should not take that long.” Ethan casually answered the question. It was not a total lie, and he promised himself that he would tell the truth later.

“Okay, just make sure that you have some time to spend with us too.” Spending time with Brawly and Chii in a big city like Canterlot. Yeah, it sounded like a lovely vacation, he really hoped he would have some time for that.

“Enough talking, I wanna see where we will be staying!” Chii complained as she ran around their feet. “Come on, let's get a move on!”

“Yeah, you are right.” Ethan agreed as he picked up Chii, depositing the little, smiling Skitty on his head. “Let's go!”

Chapter 49

Ethan had excused himself after they had found the place they were staying. It was one of the cheaper places, but the rooms they had were big enough for the three of them. His excuse was a valid one too: Canterlot was a magnificent place and every sight of it would be a true joy. He hoped that he would have time to spend a little quality time with his family while they were there, but for now that would have to be put aside. Both Chii and Brawly were quite insightful, but they would be too busy with training and getting ready for the Contest to worry about anything else. He was in the clear.

He had feared that he would stand out as a lone Lopunny wandering the streets, but free-roaming Pokemon seemed much more common there than back in Neighagra Falls.

A Lucario or two, a lot of flying types–he even spotted a Seviper. Good thing Zoey was not with him in that moment.

But despite the number of Pokémon that roamed the streets, he was stopped a few times by ponies who had not seen a Lopunny before. One foal in particular was incredibly adorable.

“Look mom, it's a bunny!” A small, excited voice exclaimed, making Ethan pause.

“Tippy, it's rude to point!” Looking around he soon noticed two earth ponies, the bigger one who held onto the tail of her daughter who was literally bouncing with excitement. The curiosity on her face combined with her excitement was just too much and Ethan smiled as he made his way over to them.

“Mommy, mommy look! It’s coming over here!” The little filly gushed while her mother held her in place by standing on her tail.

“Tippy!” The mare hushed her child. “Oh, I'm sorry, she is not usually like this.” The mother was quick to apologize as Ethan neared. “She just love rabbits and bunnies, not that you are just a bunny, I'm just-”

“No need to apologize,” Ethan decided to cut in as the mother started verbally backpedaling. “You are right in a sense. So,” he stopped a little distance away from the pair and knelt down, “you like bunnies huh?” He smiled to the little filly who was grinning and audibly squealing with excitement.

“I do, I do,” the mother could no longer contain her little daughter who zoomed over to Ethan. “I got a little pet bunny back home, named Mr. Stompy. What kind of Pokémon are you?” The filly saw in front of him with two eyes as big as saucers as she stared at him. Her mother had followed her filly and was standing besides the little filly.

“I'm a Lopunny, a normal type.” He explained to the filly who, surprisingly, was sitting still despite how excited she had been just a few moments ago.

“Are there more like you?”

“There sure are. Lopunnys are not the most common Pokémon, but we are not rare either. We evolve from Buneary, it's a small bunny-like Pokémon who is much smaller than I am.” The mother was listening intently to his words too.

“Do you think I might see one here in Canterlot?”

“I'm not sure, I'm just visiting.” He answered honestly. “But with the Contest that's happening, I'm sure you can spot or find one. Are you going to see that?”

“Yeah, my mom took some time off work so she could take me. It's going to be fantastic.” Contests usually were a sight to behold, especially when the elite performed.

“Well, if you find a Buneary and become friends with one, you might really help it out.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Well, they evolve through deep bonds of friendship, so you might just help one become a Lopunny like me if that happens.”

“You heard that, mom? They evolve with friendship!” The little filly started racing around her mother and him in her as her excitement now knew no bounds.

“Thank you for indulging her.” The mother smiled sweetly. “And I hope you enjoy Canterlot during your visit. Come on now, Tippy, we should get going.”

Ethan got up and was just about to leave when a small hug on his leg made him pause again. “Um… can I touch the fur on your ear before you go?” Were it an adult pony, he would have most likely turned the request down as he went to great lengths to make sure his fur stayed in tip-top condition all the time. But with the little filly staring at him with those big, begging eyes… the battle was lost before it even started.

“Sure,” he said and pushed one of his long ears over to her. Tippy gently prodded the cream-colored fur with a look of awe on her face.

“It's so soft, thank you so much.” For a little filly, she was quite polite, such a sweet sight to see.

“It’s no problem, you have a great day now.” He smiled to the mother who mouthed him a silent “thank you”.

“Bye, miss Lopunny!” The filly called back as her mother led them away.

“Miss… I was sure my voice is deep enough, do I really sound like a girl?” Ethan sighed but soon laughed it off. It had not been the first time he had been mistaken for a girl, and it was probably not the last either. But the meeting with the filly and her mother had raised his spirits anew. And with the task he had ahead of him, he would need all the spirit he could get.

As he went on, the streets started to become less crowded. Few foals ran laughing along the roads until they disappeared completely. Marketing stalls also became a rarity, most of the shops he now passed were safely located behind doors. Yeah, he was definitely headed in the right direction.

Before he left, Jenny had told him about what she had discovered during her escape and the time leading up to it. The leader of the poaching group Jenny had been taken by was located in Canterlot, right under the princesses noses. Quite bold, or perhaps foolish. But that was all the info they had on him. He was male and in Canterlot. Luckily, Jenny had also gathered a number of other names of operatives and individuals, all who were located within Canterlot.

She had made him promise to keep the information she gave to himself, and he would uphold that promise as long as he was able to. He would do what he could, but if he discovered something that was way over his head, then he would have no choice but to seek out help. To stop that nefarious group of poachers was the most important thing, or so Ethan told himself. But he also had a second goal. To find the unicorn named Shady.

In his line of work, Ethan had learnt just how important closure could be in the progress of a patient's recovery. If he could give that to Jenny, to give her that peace of mind, then he would.

As he continued down the streets, he turned way more heads now than he did in the more busy parts of Canterlot. Almost every pony turned or shot him a look as he passed. He stood out, not that such a thing always was a bad thing, but it certainly would not do him any favors in his next goal. He needed more information, Jenny had provided him with a lot but he simply needed more. If anypony who passes took notice of him, that would definitely not work in his favor.

But he was also looking at them as he passed, and there were more than enough Pokémon there that he should have been able to pass without attracting too much attention. So he changed the way he moved. He slowed down, he had been walking rather quickly, like someone who needed to be somewhere instead of someone who was just passing along. He also stopped looking at nearby ponies, just casually glancing around every now and again as he passed.

He certainly did not look like he belonged completely, but it was a start.

The street itself was quite curious and no two establishments looked alike. More than a few buildings he had passed had their windows and doors completely boarded up. A lot of the times, it was cheaper to simply build something new than to restore something, perfect places for ponies who wanted to avoid attention to hide out he thought.

As he passed, Ethan reached out with his senses. His large ears were not just for show, and he had honed his improved hearing even further since he had arrived in Equestria. He created a zone around himself as he walked along, where he could pick up on most things. He could hear ponies inside their homes, hear the pages of a book flap as somepony read, hear the conversations they were having and the mood they were in. It was not perfect, and he could only concentrate so much while he walked. But he had a constant makeshift map of every pony around him as he passed them with a constant stream of information flowing in. Sorting out all of it was impossible, but he did not need to. He just had to be aware of certain things, names, phrases and hidden locations.

He could have gone with a more active plan, seeking out shady individuals for information and the like. But ramming his head against this like that could work against him just as much as it could work in his favor. He could tip off the wrong pony that someone was looking for them, especially if he confronted and pushed a pony who knew nothing for information he did not have. No, Ethan did things a different way, and as much as he disliked it. In a city as big as Canterlot, with as little initial information as he had, well, he had to get somewhat lucky.

So he passed along the street like a fluffy ghost, humming a familiar tune. Ponies noticed him, sure. But they would soon forget about him too. For he was just another drop in the chaotic river that flowed through Canterlot's streets.

Several hours went by before Ethan noticed something truly noteworthy on his little sound radar. It was a rundown building, still functional but it had certainly seen better days. But what caught his attention was what he heard from under the building. There was a lot of commotion coming from what he assumed to be the basement. That alone would not have been enough to make him pause, no it was rather the amount of noise that came from the place, it was a surprising amount of ponies.

Ethan walked past the house, and settled down on a bench a few houses past it. He had a clear view of the place from where he sat, it seemed like it was in a very bad condition at first glance, but the more he looked the more he second guessed that first assumption of his.

The garden and grass around it was overgrown, but a small path leading around the house was clear of any vegetation whatsoever, it was walked enough to keep it clear. As for the house itself, it was dirty, but all the windows were intact, and the front door looked like it was a few generations newer than the rest of the house.

Ethan leaned back and closed looked up at the sky as he began concentrating, focusing in on the sounds from underneath that house. There were quite a few ponies there, and the space underneath the house was much bigger than he would have first thought… interesting.

His ears twitched as he heard a metal door open, creaking loudly as it did, and a single pony walked out… but he did not go anywhere. He did not go up into the house, or out, he just stopped at the other side of the door. A guard? Now, what basement needed a guard?

Ethan fished a newspaper out of a nearby trashcan and started pretending to be reading. If he just sat there in clear view, somepony might get suspicious.

It was almost half an hour before something noteworthy happened, no other ponies had arrived, but he had heard some extra noise coming from the inside, the noise was muffled by the metal door, but if he had to make a guess, it almost sounded like a fight. And not long after, the same metal door was opened, and a pony was kicked out.

“C-come on here, I… I didchen mean anything by it.” Ah, somepony was drunk.

“Get lost.” A pony of few words, this guard.

Ethan winced at the next few sounds as what sounded like a second fight erupted, this one between the guard and the drunk. It was short lasted though and not too long after a brown earth pony spotting a black eye limped out from behind the house. He stumbled out into the street and down past Ethan. From where he sat he could tell that the pony reeked of booze. But he paid no attention to anyone or anypony and simply continued down the street, soon disappearing from sight.

Now, it made sense for a bar to have a guard, or bouncer if you will. But there were no signs, and the entrance was clearly hidden out of sight from the main street. Now, that did not seem like good things for a business. Why did they want to hide? Underground bars or establishments were not a thing that was unheard of back on Earth. They often dealt in things that you could not get in normal places, drugs, illegal items, and more importantly information.

Yes, this was a place he could make some use out of, but first he just had to-

“Watcha doing?”

Right behind him hovered a young pegasus mare, her face just inches from his own. To call the surprised sound that Ethan let out for girly would be an understatement, and if Zoey or Vernus had been there, he would never have lived that one down.

“Cause it looked to me like you were checking the place out.”

Shit

“No, I was just sightseeing a little.” He lied quickly, still surprised by her sudden appearance. He tried backing away from her but she refused to let him have any personal space and followed.

“Mmh, yeah that's a bunch of baloney. No one comes around these streets unless they are after something, it's not the kind of place you randomly stumble into.” She called his bluff without hesitating the slightest, and she was right, this place was so far away from Canterlot's main streets it was hard to randomly stumble upon it. “So, whatcha really after?” She grinned smugly, sensing that she had hit the nail right on the coffin.

This was really not what he needed right now.

“Okay, back off, kiddo.” Backing away had not worked so he pushed her back. Now that he got a better look at her, she was clearly not a full grown mare, but no filly either. A teenager maybe? She had a dull grey unkempt mane that hung down in front of her eyes, and a sea-green coat.

“Kiddo?!” She blew her mane out of her eyes revealing a pair of bright blue eyes and scowled at him. Yeah, totally a teenager. “Why I oughta-”

“You want to know what I am doing here? I could ask you the same thing, you seem a little too young to be mingling with the kind of ponies that roam these streets.” He tried turning the situation back on her. A lot of teenagers were brash and seemed very confident, but lacked the experience to back it up. “And just barging up to a stranger asking questions like that is a nice way to get yourself into trouble.”

The pegasus mare continued scowling at him as she hovered. He did not like the way she was looking at him, almost like she was scanning him for something. But her scowl and intense gaze soon softened and she landed on the bench next to him.

“Eh, you got a point, I'll give you that.” She said, her tone a little softer than before but still quite brash. “How about this, we trade information? You tell me what you are doing here and I'll do the same. Seems like a good deal.” She was so naive. It was a good deal, for him anyway. She was in a position where she could have pressed for much more than just a equal trade, but he would not look a gift pony in the mouth.

“It does. So, why don't you start off.”

“W-what? I asked you first!” She stuttered.

“You did. You were the one who interrupted my time and demanded answers. I am quite content with just continuing with my own business. So if you don't want to, we can end this little trade right here and now.” In truth, it was a little cute to see the young mare have an internal battle with herself as she was visibly annoyed with his answer.

“Fine… but you better not try to steal my story!” The Pegasus huffed and blew her mane out of her eyes once again. It seemed to be the perfect length to annoy her sight every now and again.

“Story?”

“Thats right,” she took a quick moment to look around and grinned when nopony was in sight. “I'm a journalist, and I have been checking out this place for weeks. That's why I immediately noticed that you did not fit in.” So she was a journalist, Ethan had little love for them. They only did their jobs, sure, but the truth could often be twisted and hurt innocent people.

“So, why are you out here then? Seems to me like you would get a better story from inside that place.” The little journalist squirmed slightly under his gaze.

“Well, of course, I would have loved to get a inside look of the place. There are so many ponies that regularly go to this place and I just know that they are up to no good. It would be my big break!” She cheered, her wings flaring out in excitement. With that movement, Ethan finally got a look at her cutiemark. It was one of those traditional journalist hats with a quill piercing through it. “But um… getting inside was a little harder than I had first thought.” She sighed with a sullen look on her face.

“Yeah, seems like you need a password to enter.” If he could just figure that out he could get inside.

“Oh, I already know the password.” That made Ethan pause. “Its… Um… the bouncer saw through my false ID.”

“So they don't let foals inside?” A shady hidden establishment that respected the legal drinking age? Well, at least they had some integrity. Everyone had some lines that they did not cross.

“Hey, I'm no foal!” No, but she was sure easy to rile up. “...But the guard basically told me the same thing. One look at my false ID and ‘Come back in a few years.’ he told me. That thing cost me a fair amount of bits, that no good scammer got lousy when making it. I have been trying to find some other way in or hope that they change the guard, but it's the same stubborn stallion each time.” Another useful piece of information.

“So?” Ethan asked her. “Just get one of your co-workers to go in for you. Find a partner so to speak.” The way she nervously fiddled with her hooves told him that he had hit a sore spot.

“Yeah… about that…” She dragged the words out. “Me and my co-workers are not really on speaking terms, none of them really like me.” She admitted. “That and even if I got somepony to agree, they would just steal the story from right under my nose, and I would be left with no credit at all.” Ah, that explained it. Ethan had heard that the journalist business was quite cutthroat back on Earth, seemed like things were the same here.

“Guards then?” Ethan suggested. “I don't know if you have enough proof, but with just enough probable cause, I’m sure you could convince some of them to check the place out, then you could take credit for whatever came from that.”

“You don't think I thought of that?” She snapped at him, a real bite to her tone. “If it was that simple then I would not still be at it after this long… Look, they have watch ponies up and down the street. If any guard comes near this place, then the entire place clears of ponies faster that you can blink.” That made Ethan glance around them. “They are not so easy to spot.” She said, noticing him looking.

“No, I guess not.” He mumbled. Not only a guard and password, but watch ponies aswell, the more he heard the more he was sure he needed to get inside.

“Well, how about you then? I told you my part, how it's your turn to dish out.” True enough, a deal was a deal, and if she was telling the truth, then she had the password.

“I’m looking for something in Canterlot,” he said, keeping it as cryptic as possible. “And somepony in there knows something that can help me find it.”

“...That's it?”

“That's it.”

“Oh come on, after everything I told you and that's all you give me!” She sank back against the bench, deflating in defeat. “I thought maybe you knew something about the place that I could use.”

“Sorry to break it to you, but that's all I got. Now, you mentioned that you knew the password?” He fished, but he had been impatient, and as the gears turned inside the head of the mare she started to grin.

“So… you need to get inside but don't know the password. I need info from inside, know the password but can’t get inside.” She spoke, her grin still growing.

He did not need her, he could get the password on his own given enough time. But time was exactly what he did not have. “...Okay, tell me what you need,” he sighed.

“First I wanna know who I'm gonna be working with.”

“Very well. Im Ethan, how about you?” he said holding out his paw at her. She grinned and thrust her own hoof out to meet his.

“Murphy Mane!”

“Swordfish, what a lousy password,” Ethan grumbled to himself as he sipped from his drink. It was something with a name he could not pronounce, apparently imported from the Griffin kingdoms and illegal in Equestria. That was one of the things this establishment dealt in, illegal alcohol and substances.

The inside looked nothing like the house it was placed under. The cellar, if he could even call it that, was huge. The roof was tall enough that another Lopunny could have stood on his shoulders with ease, and several pegasi hovered around taking advantage of that. The place was one big room with colorful cloths hanging from the roof to sever it up into different rooms and parts, cheaper than building walls and doors he guessed. An old aroma of tobacco, sweat and alcohol filled the air, and it made Ethan wrinkle his nose in disgust. No music was playing but a steady noise of chatter filled the void.

The main area was filled with cheap looking tables and chairs, and quite a few of them were occupied with ponies and other creatures at them. He had spotted at least two Griffins and one… Minotaur? He think that's what it was if he remembered correctly. He even saw a pony looking creature, it had no coat but had a shiny black exoskeleton instead, and it had holes littering its legs. It had a horn like a unicorn, and large blue eyes. He vaguely remembered Mary Care telling her something, a Changeling if he remembered correctly, but the name was all he remembered. It sat by itself at a table, no one else were bothering it so he guessed that whatever it was they knew it. In fact, he seemed to be the only Pokémon down there and that made him a little wary when he had come in. Everyone had looked up and eyes him when he first entered, but the place quickly calmed down again, everyone going back to their own business.

Ethan had ordered a few drinks and had been taking his time with them. If he started asking questions right off the bat he could potentially get in a lot of trouble. Ponies and Creatures in places where he was now did not like people snooping in on their personal stuff. Apart from the guard, who tried to give him a hard time when he entered, no one had approached him. So, he sipped on his alcohol, feeling the subtle burn as the Gryffin drink slid down his throat. Of course, it would be a waste of his time if that was all he did, and he had been listening and surveying the bar and all its occupants.

It had several back rooms, and some of the guests had gone back there. One of them was using a makeshift guestroom with what he assumed was a cheap hooker. He wished he could tune them out but they were way too close.

The minotaurs were in the arms business trade, and were currently sharing stories of grandeur and victories in fights with eachother.

The Changeling was… doing nothing, since Ethan had entered he, and he was not even sure that it was a he, had not said a word and no one had approached him.

The griffins were selling drugs. A pair of mares, who had really seen better days, had snorted something they had bought from the griffins off a table. No one batted an eye at it, so it was apparently normal behaviour down there. After what they had talked started kicking in, they were escorted into one of the back rooms, where they could go crazy or ride down the high without disturbing the other customers.

A few of them had talked among each other about him a little while after he had entered, wondering what kind of Pokémon he was, he wished he could unhear a rather nasty looking stallion who had told his friend what he wanted to do to Ethan. Apparently he really liked the way he looked. However, that had triggered an event that caught Ethan's attention. After the stallion had said that, a pony from behind one of the cloths had brought them into his little private stall.

He had overheard the stallion, most of the bar had with how loud he was, and were now offering the nasty stallion… Pokémon prostitutes. He ensured that they had another Lopunny in stock… in stock? He talked about it like they were simply merchandise. They went on after that, discussing details , prices and the like, it made him sick. He tuned them out and concentrated on his drink while waiting for them to finish “dealing”.

After almost half an hour, he hard the dealer in the room give the nasty looking pony some directions and he stumbled out of the room and out of the bar with his friend. Both of them laughing over what they were gonna do next.

Ethan looked down in his drink, and downed the rest of it in a flash. He needed it and a steeled resolve for the act he was gonna have to put on now.

He left the bits for the drink on the counter and walked over to the makeshift room. He breathed in, held it for a few seconds and released his breath before grabbing hold of the heavy purple cloth and pulling it aside so he could enter. The inside was rather small and if he had not known that they dealt in there, he could have even called it cozy. A small round table was positioned in the middle of the room, with thick pillows positioned all around it as seats.

“Yes?” A voice with a heavy accent asked, an accent remarkably similar to those from Kalos. Opposite from him, on the other end of the table sat the owner of the voice. A light pink unicorn with a neatly groomed white mane. He had been counting bits when Ethan had interrupted him and was currently looking at the Lopunny with a questioning look. “I think you may be in the wrong booth, dear.” He said before going back to counting the bits on the table.

“Oh I think not, Jacquett.” Luckily he had overheard his name when he dealt with the other pony. That certainly got his attention and he looked up at Ethan with an eyebrow raised.

“I do not think we have had the pleasure of meeting yet,” he motioned to the table and Ethan sat down opposite from him. “But if you know my name then I assume you are here to do business?” He asked with a tone so sleazy Ethan had to resist the urge to sucker punch the bastard then and there.

“Certainly so,” Ethan nodded, keeping his expression as neutral as possible.

“Well, we certainly carry a lot of different kinds of girls… or guys if that's what you prefer.” The unicorn said after giving Ethan a once over with his eyes.

“Perhaps later, that is not the kind of business I am here to discuss.” Ethan swallowed, hoping that the pony in front of him was a bigger douchebag than he seemed, that would really help. “I have been sent here by my boss to seek out potential buyers.”

“No offence, but there are plenty of traders down here, I however, am not one of them.” The pony used his hoof to motion back to the exit. “So if you would.”

“But what we are selling is exactly what you are dealing in.” Ethan reaffirmed him. “You can call it whatever you want, but as you said you caters to a lot of tastes, guys and girls included. With the recent… addition to the population it can't be easy to keep up with some of the more exotic requests.” As he spoke Ethan noticed that the pony settled back into his seat, he had clearly gotten his attention. “And it must be a shame when you have to turn away a customer because you don't have the right… merchandise. My boss and his organization however, can acquire any and all merchandise, no matter how exotic.” The pony in front of him was really mulling over his words.

“You… are talking about slaves?” He spoke slowly, as if he was having trouble believing what he was hearing.

“Call it what you will. Once their wills have been broken, they are quite content in continuing to do whatever you ask them to.”

“B-but… you are a Pokémon yourself.”

“And?” Ethan raised his head to give the sensation that he was looking down on the pony in front of him. “Ponies commit crimes against each other, stealing, murder and other things i'm sure. We all have our reasons.” Pokémon were individuals just like anyone else, there was no lies there. “And I can assure you that our prices are quite reasonable.”

“I…” He had quite clearly shaken the bastard of a pony who was looking quite nervous. He leaned down against the table and motioned Ethan to do the same. “Look,” he spoke in a hushed whisper. “We don't normally deal in things like… like what you are offering. But the Madame would want to talk to you herself.” Ah, a name, even if it was a fake one. Nicknames went a long way in circles like this one. And if this Madame was in power, then she would have the info he wanted.

“I see, and where would I be able to meet with this Madame?” Ethan asked.

“...” Jacquett sat back up and took out a napkin, using his magic to scribble a short street name down on it. “On the third house of this street, knock three times. When asked what girl you are there to see, say that Jacquett sent you to negotiate with the fair lady.” Ethan nodded as he made a mental note of it. “I cannot guarantee that she will be able to see you immediately.” Ethan took the note and tucked it into the fur on his ear.

“Oh of course, running an establishment like that, I'm sure your fair lady has her hooves full.” Perhaps he was laying it on a bit thick, but it seemed to work on the pony in front of him. “But my boss is one with very little patience, so if she will not see us then we will have to seek out other potential buyers.” Ethan started to get up and Jacquett scrambled to meet him and block the exit before he could get to it.

“W-wait,” he stammered; he was afraid, extremely so. “I will send word ahead so she will be expecting a visitor.” This pony was clearly not comfortable with the business proposal Ethan had put forth, but he was still going through with this. Had this so called, Madame, instilled such fear in him? He was deathly afraid of crossing her. Whoever this Madame was, she must be quite the character to instill devotion of that level, even if it was through fear.

“Good, I will be looking forward to the meeting.” Ethan nodded and lifted the cloth that separated the room from the main establishment. “It has been a pleasure, Jacquett, have a pleasant night,” and with that, Ethan let the cloth fall as he left the nerve wrecked pony alone in his little room.

He took one more look across the bar, still no sign of the two mares that had been escorted into the backroom earlier, and he could hear no sounds coming from there either. He wanted to make sure they were safe, but he had no time to be doing so. He had gotten what he came for, and such, he left.

The cool evening air greeted him as he stepped up from the basement into the downtown Canterlot street. He felt dirty about his visit, and he would have loved nothing more than to call the guard down on it. But like Murphy Mane had said, that would do little good.

No, he had more important things to worry about, this, Madame, character for instance. Now that would be an interesting meeting, it made Ethan shiver with excitement as he thought of how Jacquett had shivered with fear of her. A character like that… she would be a challenge to be sure. Not nearly as easily fooled as the chump down there.

Before he could get any further with that line of thought, Ethan felt a hoof poke his shoulder.

“Hey, took ya long enough,” it was Murphy from earlier.

“I almost expected you to have left by now,” Ethan said, a hint of amusement in his tone, something that she really did not care for.

“We had a deal!” They certainly had, and Ethan had a feeling that he would not be rid of this pegasus for some time. “So, tell me what you found.”

“Before that…” Ethan fished out the note with the address on it. “You have any idea where this is?” Murphy made a small pout as she looked at the note.

“Oh for sure, I know all of Canterlot.” It still seemed like he needed her then, and so, he had to keep up his part of the bargain too.

“Well, why don't you lead us there and I'll tell you exactly what I found along the way.” And so, Ethan began to weave her the tale of what went down in the underground establishment. Of the Changeling, the drug dealing Griffins, the pony he met with behind the curtain and the location they were heading to next.

Chapter 50

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 51 Author's Note

Been a while huh everyone? Yeah, as some of you know I moved back to where I used to live a while back, and have been struggling with settling in, finding a new job and things like that. Things are finally going better tho, so I have been able to use more time on my writing^^

As for this chapter, at the request of some of my prereaders, Ill have to give out a small warning that this chapter may be a bit dark.
But if you have come this far then you probably expect that of me anyway.

I hope you all enjoy it and if you think it was a bit too dark, or otherwise, please let me know in the comments^^

Chapter 51

He was in paradise: soft, fluffy clouds carried him through the sky. Birds of light flew past him, skimming the sky with their wings as if it was made of water, and by his side was his lovely companion. It was all he could have ever wished for, all he could ever want.

A knock shook the world and the birds screeched and flew away. Another knock shattered the sky, shattering into a million little pieces that fell into nothingness. He hugged his companion tight, but the third knock dissipated their cloud and they both fell into the abyss, screaming….

Ethan woke suddenly and abruptly, a silent scream caught in his throat and his heart hammering in his chest. He blinked a few times as he properly gathered himself. He was back in their hotel room, the one he, Brawly, and Chii shared. Soft purring noises came from the bottom of the bed where Chii still slept, and the covers next to him slowly rose and descended with Brawly's breath. He had gotten home late last night, both of them had already been sound asleep, tired out by their day of training for the upcoming contest.

Another series of knocks made Ethan jump and his eyes dart to the window where he heard it, and there she was. On the other side of the window hovered his improv partner and pain-in-the-ass, Murphy Mane. She looked just as tired as he felt. He had said that they would meet up tomorrow to continue this case, but he had not expected her to show up that early, nor did he remembering telling her at what hotel they were staying…

But if she was here then he needed to get up too. Ethan took one last look at his lover, before carefully sliding out of the warm, comfortable covers and tip toed over to the window.

“Someone is looking like something a Muk threw up,” Ethan snarked as he opened the window.

“Yeah well… I couldn't sleep much. Too much on my mind.” Murphy retorted, her eyes darting from Ethan to the bed behind him. “So, are you coming?”

“Yeah, yeah, fly over to the front door and I'll meet you there.” Ethan replied, closing the window. Murphy lingered for a few more moments, watching him before flying away.

As he made his way over to the door to their room, he heard small yawn and the bundle of pink that was Chii stretched and looked up to him with sleepy eyes. “Mmh, where are you going?” She asked in between her small yawns.

“I just need to go take care of something, you go back to sleep.” He smiled and patted her head softly.

“Yeah… sounds good,” Chii leaned into his hand and curled back up into a ball. “We… are going to… take first place…” she murmured as sleep once again overcame her. Ethan could not help but smile even wider at the scene before him.

“You sure are, Chii, you sure are.”

“Two coffees please,” Ethan grumbled with as much enthusiasm as his sleepiness allowed.

“I don't drink coffee.” Murphy kept walking in place, she had expressed her disdain for their delay earlier.

“Well, none of them are for you anyway.” That early in the morning, Ethan needed a double dose to get his brain into working order, he did not care for the taste, but he needed it nonetheless . Even then it would take a little while for it to do its startup process. He handed the barista a few bits and took the coffees to go, one in each paw.

“Can we finally get going now?” Murphy complained for the fourth time. “I… I feel like I need to do something. What's the plan anyhow?” Ethan looked down on her while sipping on the bitter liquid. He never cared much for coffee, but he had learned its usefulness when, as a student, it had carried him through some mornings when he had gotten little to no sleep.

“Plan? Plan…” he mulled over the word, did he have a plan? If he did he had lost it between last night and that moment. No, he had no real plan. He had too little information to come up with a suitable plan. “We have the general location, and the *password*,” the colored armbands they had gotten from the Madame, “ as far as I see it, we go there and see what happens.”

He stopped when he noticed the lack of hoofsteps clattering against the cobblestone besides him. Turning, he saw Murphy having stopped a little ways back. “Are you out of your mind?” Would not be the first time, he thought to himself as he resumed walking. “What should I do, what should I say?” She easily caught up to him with her wings.

“You? As little as possible.” He never raised his voice, but the contempt was plainly there. “You almost blew it for us back at the Brothel, you almost blew it for me.” Images of Jenny, bleeding and broken, outside their home flashed in his mind. “You were of great help at the start, but I don't need you anymore, you need me. So you will do as I tell you, and nothing else. You can't get emotional with things like this, so you screw up again, repeat the brothel incident, then we are through.” Like a glass breaking, it was like he could see parts of her innocence breaking. She had to see the world for what it truly was eventually, he might as well be the one to break it to her.

“Who else would guide you then? I know these streets better than anyone, I grew up in them! Without me, you would not have gotten anywhere!” This was not like last night, her inner fire was burning hotter and brighter. She would not take a talking to like that without firing back.

“I would still get where I need, it would just take longer. In such a big city as Canterlot, don't you think I could find another guide eventually?” Time was not something he had in excess tho. He had said otherwise, but he did need her. “But I am grateful for what you have done so far. So, let's see this to the end, together.” He held out his paw.

“...Fine,” she grumbled and bumped his fist with her hoof, making Ethan wince. Hooves were quite hard. “But when I'm writing this story, I'm not giving you any credit.”

“Fair enough.”

It took the duo awhile, but soon enough they were entering the street that the Madame has told them about, each of them wearing the colored armbands as to signal what they were there for. Boxes, crates, sacks and working ponies moving, lifting or opening these could be seen nearly everywhere, it seemed that this place was used for storage. More than a few ponies looked up as they passed, but nothing more than that.

The silence that had reigned supreme during their walk there was still going strong. Both of them wanted to say something, but neither wanted to speak to the other. Murphy was still furious with Ethan, as was obvious by the glaring cold looks she sent him every once in awhile. And Ethan, while knowing that he had gone too far, instead focused his thoughts on the challenge ahead. It was a heavy and uncomfortable silence, and after having walked the streets where they were supposed to meet Hubby and his gang, Murphy finally spoke.

“Looks like they are a bunch of no shows.” She grunted, kicking a nearby can out of frustration. It bounced along the ground and into a trashcan making more than a few nearby ponies look up at the sudden clatter.

“We have to be patient,” Ethan retorted, though he wanted to agree with her, they only had the Madames word to go on, what if she had lied to them? *Then we will go back and get a real answer* he thought. If that mare dared to send him on a wild goosechase, he would dismantle her world. A few right words here, a bribe there, some planted evidence… it was nothing he had not done before. There were several cases where he had gone to such lengths to see criminals put in jail.

Had he payed more attention, he would have heard the ponies approaching, had he not been so tired, he would have spotted the pegasi closing in. Ethan was having a bad morning, and it was about to get worse.

Murphy reacted first, a high pitch scream followed by a muffled thud. Ethan barely had enough time to turn and see two pegasi hovering behind Murphy, each of them holding a leather covered rod, a blackjack. He did not even get two steps towards her or them before an explosion of pain erupted from the back of his head. The world blurred and danced before his eyes, sharp lights seemed like they were going to blind him. He wanted to scream out in pain, but the blow had taken all the air out of him, there was nothing left. Colors and shapes danced before his eyes, everything was just one big blur.

“Oh come on, rookie, you gotta hit harder than that, look, he is still conscious,” one of the colored blobs spoke, filling Ethan with dread. He had to move, it was just a little hard with the world spinning and the lack of motor control he currently had. “See, this is how you do it,” and then there was nothing.

“-old it like this.” Pain, everything was pain. “That way, you get more oomph out of your buck.” Why did his head feel like he had found and drank an entire liquor store, yup the nauseating feeling was there as well. “You gotta use your whole body aswell, not just your leg,” and who was speaking, Ethan decided, or struggled to open his eyes yet nothing changed everything was still dark. He could feel some sort of fabric brushing up against his face, a sack, he had a sack over his head, and he remembered everything.

“Urgh,” he tried to move, but to no luck, he was tied up aswell.

“Looks like pretty boy here is awake,” a voice spoke up, a different one from the one he had heard when he woke up.

Bright lights made his headache redouble its efforts as the hood was quite roughly ripped off. He was in… he had no idea where he was. It was a big room, light was shining in through a few windows in the roof, a roof that was quite high up as well. Blinking the bright dots out of his eyes, Ethan looked down, the room was filled with crates, a storage area maybe? And quite a few ponies were sitting on them, all of whom were now staring at him and the bright red pony who was up in his face.

“Shlept for a while, that you did.” He spoke with a wierd lisp, probably because of the fact that he was missing a few of his front teeth, something that was impossible to miss once he started talking.

“Where am I?”

“Heh, Same thing your little pegasuth asked when she woke up, you two seem to be the same kind of boring.” Murphy, drat, Ethan had almost forgotten about her. He could not see her among the ponies sitting on various crates in front of him, maybe if… “Oh she is fine, just a little wordy sho we gagged her,” the pony grabbed Ethan's head and made him look behind him, where Murphy was sitting on a chair just like him, with a piece of cloth bound in her mouth and positively fuming with anger. “She is no worse for wear, sho don't get your teatsh in a twisht.” At least she was safe, well, as safe as either of them were.

“And where are-” his words were literally slapped out of him, hooves hurt, even if they hit you lightly.

“Ah ah ah, I'm not done talking.” The red pony started slowly walking around Ethan. “Now, your friend would not say much, but perhaps you will be more reathonable.” He leaned in close once again, so close that Ethan could smell his breath. “I want to know whaht two noisy youngsters are doing, walking into my territory, wearingtraitors colors on their arms, and why I should not just dispose of you immediately for that insult.”

She had lied to them, that old hag had lied to them. Ethan's mind raced for possible solutions, they had to get out, he had to escape, somehow.

“W-wait, the Madame sent us, she told us that these colored bands were a code so you would let us in.” Maybe they did know each other and the Madame had just given them the wrong colors by mistake, yeah, that was possible.

“The Madame sent you?” The red pony, who Ethan at this point guessed was Hubby, stopped and looked right at Ethan, narrowing his eyes. “You dare menthion that whore’s name in my prethence?” In a flash, Hubby had produced a knife and pressed it against Ethan's cheek.

“Mmmgh, mmmgh,” Murphy struggled against her bonds, she was cursing up a storm under her gag and tears were slowly trickling down her cheeks.

“W-wait, we do not work with the… whore,” after his initial reaction, Ethan did not dare mention the Madames name in front of him again. “We were at her place, offering a business proposal. She was not interested but sent us here, perhaps you would be interested? We are working for a group that excels at procuring rare and exotic creatures, Pokémon included, I'm sure we could strike a good deal.” Ethan spoke quickly, blurting out the same lines he had practiced for their meeting with the Madame.

“Heh you think, ahahahahaha,” Hubby started laughing as did all the other ponies and Pokémon surrounding them. “Y-you think that we need thomepony elthe go geth what we want?” The knife pressed harder against his cheek. “When we need something, or want thomething, we take it.”

“Okay, um, you see,” Ethan's options was running out, he got out of sticky situations by talking and manipulating, nothing of which was working right now. “Okay I was lying, you see we are looking for a group that kidnap and sells Pokémon, we have no quarrel with you, we were just trying to get info on the other group.” He was panicking, the knife had broke the skin and he could feel some blood starting soak into his cheek fur.

“Hmm,” Hubby removed the knife and eyed Ethan, Murphy had gone quiet and was watching the intense scene before her. “You lie quite a bit pretthy boy.” With a flick of his hoof, the knife was sent flying, right into the floor between Ethan's legs. “I don't care much for liars. What's the name of this group of yours?”

Ethan hesitated, should he tell them? Maybe they were working with them, in which case they were doomed.

“I doubt you would have heard of them, why don't you just-” another slap, and Ethan felt a metallic taste inside his mouth, the stallion hit hard.

“Don't play games with me bunny, name, now!”

“The Weavers!”

Hubby took a few steps back and eyes Ethan closely. He knew the kind of pony Hubby was, no matter what he told him he would take it as a lie or ignore it. So, in a last ditch desperation he had told them the full truth.

“You must be even more deshperate than I thought, spouting out a lie like that. Nopony looks for them, that whore will regret sending two spies as incompetent as you two.” Ethan had a bad feeling before, but now he started panicking.

“We are not spies, I told you, we was sent here to do business!” If Hubby heard him however, he did not let it show.

“Now, what do we do with spies, boys!” Hubby turned to the crowd.

“We show them the terror of Hubby!” They excitedly cheered in unison.

“That’s right, now go get my equipment, let's teach them a lesson they will never forget,” several of the ponies got up and started to leave, yet their boss, Hubby remained.

Now Ethan redoubled his efforts as he struggled against his bonds, he pulled and flexed his arms yet they did not give in the slightest. As a Lopunny he had way more power in his legs, and he could hear the wood creak in protest as he struggled with them, but Hubby was already walking towards him, knife in his hoof and a wicked grin upon his face. He had to get away, it could not end like this, he refused to let it. He summoned all his strength and pushed with his legs, yet nothing happened, the wook just creaked some more, but it held.

“Shorry, bunny, nothing personal, but I got a image to keep up. You and miss temper insulted us with the colors you bore, so you gotta pay. Though I will enjoy this a little, speaking of your little sidekick, why don't we start with-”

“Boss, look out!”

Like Ethan had learned earlier, hooves hurt, even if you were just slapped with one. Hubby however was struck with one at the full speed of a flying pegasus. Teeth cracked and the red stallion was sent flying.

Ethan had no idea how she got loose, but there she was, Murphy. She was still gagged, but in her hood, she had a small knife. Everypony was stunned for a second, from their boss being sent flying, had it not been for that second, Murphy may not have had time to cut Ethan loose. Or at least some of him, she had freed his legs when she had to fly up to avoid being dogpiled by all the hench ponies rushing her. Instead a bunch of them crashed into each other, while a few of the pegasi took to the air after her.

“Fheth hath bithc!” Hubby pointed towards Murph, after spitting out a mix of blood, saliva and some tooth pieces, Murphy however was speeding around the room, narrowly avoiding the other pegasi who kept cutting her off.

They were focused on her, not him. His arms were still tied behind his back, fastened to the chair, but he had his legs free, that was more than enough.

He tensed his legs, his thighs swelling up with power as he leaned forward and got ready. He was battered and tired, but they would not break him, not before he gave them hell.

One of the ponies in the dogpile looked over and noticed the Lopunny leaning forward, crunched up like a coiled spring, he was about to call out to the others, but it was too late. As one of the pegasi passed over Ethan he unleashed all the power and showed everypony in the room exactly what Lopunny's are known for. He leaped straight up with such speed and force that the impact against the pegasus broke the chair he was tied to and surely knocked the poor bastard out at the same time.

Finally free and high into the air, as gravity settled in again and started pulling him down, there was really only one thing to do, “Jump Kick!” The ponies underneath him had witnessed enough Pokémon attacks to know that they did not want to stand in the way of one, but one of them was too slow, he had been pulled down by his companions as they scrambled to get away. Ethan's kick came down upon the earth pony's back leg and the bone simply shattered.

No piercing scream of pain came from the male earth pony, as he simply stared at his own twisted leg after Ethan stepped off it. He was in shock: it was bent in such an unnatural way, and small pieces of bone was sticking through the skin. When a limb gets mangled to that degree, it's unlikely that it will ever heal completely even with proper treatment. But despite that, as nearby ponies were already throwing himself towards him, Ethan could not help but let a small smile creep onto his face. It had felt good.

Up in the air, Murphy had finally gotten her gag off, but she was not doing so well. She kept trying to get to the roof, to the windows to escape, but every time, the other pegasi dived her, or a lone unicorn from the floor fired a magic beam towards her. The unicorn was pretty shotty at magic, but the pegasi were fast, and they had gotten more than a few hits on her. It was classic pegasi tactic: hit and run. And it was pissing her off. They were too good fliers for her to take them on and they outnumbered her, so they could just keep this up until she got too tired to dodge.

“Son of a-” she dodged yet another slow magic beam that fizzled when it hit the roof. That unicorn was really getting on her nerves, he was also looking quite scrawny, unlike those pegasi.

Murphy dodged yet another dive from her airborne attackers, and dived straight for the pink unicorn whose eyes widened when he realized what was happening. “See how you like it!” Nopony could hear her over the chaos, but it felt good to yell it nonetheless before her front hooves smacked right into his side, sending him sprawling to the floor, gasping for air.

They were holding their ground, but only because of the initial chaos and surprise. They had to get away; it was not a fight they could win, for every pony they threw away or knocked out, another was there to take his place. There was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.

Ethan lunged forward into a roll to avoid a humongous earth pony who barreled through where he had just been and smashed through his own teammates and crates like they were made of paper. However, from within one of the crates that had been so viciously smashed, a small familiar object rolled down onto the floor and towards Ethan whose eyes lit up. He had an idea.

The room they were in had three escape options, the windows in the ceiling. The sky however was so crowded with pegasi, so that was not an option. That left the two doors they had seen, one was at the far right corner of the room, a metallic black door they had seen some ponies left through earlier, and a grey door with a few steps leading up to it. There was no real decision, the closest one would have to do.

Ethan grabbed the purple orb in his paw, wincing as he could already feel the telltale poison within the toxic orb start to tingle his skin. It was not the first time he had handled one of those, being familiar with them because of Zoey. The orbs were usually quite tough, made to take a hit without breaking when used in a battle. However, these ponies were not so thorough in their craftsmanship. So, before the poison could fully set in, Ethan reared his arm back and threw the orb with all his might.

The purple orb sailed through the air, towards the earth pony with the monstrous strength who had just dislodged himself from the wreckage he had caused. He just had time to shake some debris off himself, before the toxic orb struck the ground between his front legs, and exploded in a cloud of poisonous smoke.

Chaos erupted within the room, ponies coughed, and fled from the rapidly expanding smoke. Those caught within soon began coughing and felt a mild poison begin to set in, they had not experienced anything like it before. The shouted and called out for help, but it was everypony for themselves, and that included Ethan and Murphy.

As soon as the panic and chaos had set in, Ethan made a beeline right into the poison cloud, holding his breath and covering his mouth and nose with his paws. The door was on the other side. Visibility was not good, but manageable. The poison stung his eyes, but he pressed on. A pony bumped into him as it scrambled to get out, nearly knocking Ethan down in the process. To his luck, he found the door, and it was unlocked, so he ripped it open and fell through, gasping for air, clean delicious air. He had ended up in a hall, a short one, filled with all sort of junk, but most important, it was empty. The ponies had ran away from the poisonous smoke, not into it like he had. The poison had stung, of course and his eyes watered from the irritation, but it would soon pass. A toxic orb is so harmful because of its concentrated poisons, when dispersed over such a large area, it would leave no lasting damage on him, nor on the ponies.

Ethan had just gotten up when a pair of hooved slammed into his back and threw him into the wall across from the door, where a few soft metal pipes caught him.

“M-Murphy?” As he looked up, that's who stood there in the doorway.

“Yes, it’s me, you ass!” She was not happy. “Why, you had the nerve to-” Murphy however, had not been very quiet, and other voices now could be heard from within the poison cloud.

Before Ethan got back on his feat, Murphy pushed him out of the way, grabbed a lean metal pipe, and slammed the door shut, jamming the pipe in between the handle. It was a crude lock, as the door opened outwards from the hall they were in, it would not last long after the poison died down.

“Now…” Murphy turned back to Ethan who had gotten back on his feet now. “What were you doing!?”.

“I was creating an opening,” Ethan groaned, his back hurt, his face hurt, but worst, he had hit his left leg kinda badly when Murphy sent him into those pipes, every step made him wince slightly. Even so, he started walking down the hallway, and Murphy followed, they had to move. Ethan also noticed that she kept scratching her throat with one of her front hooves, somepony had not held their breath while flying through the toxic cloud.

“Yeah, and what about me?” Murphy screamed, too angry to care about her own volume. “You said nothing back there, you just left me to fend for myself. I was lucky I saw you run into the smoke and put-” she stopped and started coughing, she was probably going to need some medical attention or a Pecha berry in the near future. “-and put two and two together. You just ran, I thought we were supposed to be in this together.”

She was right, Ethan had just made a beeline for it. It had not been a conscious decision though, in all that chaos, he had just seen an opportunity and went with it.

“I know, sorry,” it was not sincere, or even faked to be. Ethan was simply too tired and hurt to care. He knew that he should have felt bad about it, he simply did not have time for that, they still had to find a way out.

“...That's it huh?” Her voice was lowered, but shook with the anger and frustration that had been building up.

“Just look for a way out,” yeah, that was it.

The hallway they were in started to feel like a prison, the walls were made of metal sheets, thick enough that nor Ethan or Murphy could punch or kick through them though, they had both tried. Small amounts of trash, and some minor tools were strewn about the floor, this gang was not very organized. Murphy still carried her knife, Ethan had picked up a ball point hammer he had found along the way. They had turned two corners when they came to a staircase and without much choice, began their descent down.

“Where'd you get the knife anyway?” Ethan asked, listening intently to the distance they had left behind. It was faint, but he was sure he could hear some banging against a door, probably the one Murphy had barred.

“Always carry it with me. You never know what kind of creepy, shifty, untrustworthy characters you might come across in Canterlot. A mare needs some extra security.”

“Smart,” it had been much the same back on Earth.

They stopped in the middle of the stairs, as Murphy got yet another coughing fit. She leaned against the railing to steady herself, and spat out a few globs of purple goo.

“W-what’s wrong with me?” She asked, wiping her mouth and looking at the strange color she had just spit up.

“You are poisoned.” In truth, it was kinda fascinating to Ethan. To see how poison would work on a different species, ponies. She had started sweating lightly already, a slight case of poisoning he rationalized, or the symptoms would have been way worse already.

“P-poisoned? Is this from that shitty escape cloud of yours back there?”

“Yes, but don't worry, it's easily curable. An antidote or a Pecha berry is all you will need, or even another Pokémon with the right move can cure you when we get out.”

“Great, another thing I have to worry about.” Perhaps it would even pass on its own because of how light a poisoning she appeared to have gotten. “This won't have any lasting effects, right?”

“No,” probably not at least, but Ethan decided to keep that part to himself, she was already pissed enough at him, “it will be fine.”

At the bottom of the stair, Ethan and Murphy came to a doorway where a door definitely should have been, but just some tattered hinges remained. Inside the room, a few rays of sunshine shone through a broken window in the ceiling, it was much smaller than the room they had previously been in, and if they had to take a guess from the stairs they had just walked down, they were probably below the ground.

Various equipment filled the room, workbenches with various tools and schematics scattered around. Metal tanks with pipes running to and from, they twisted and curled as they ran from the huge metal tanks down to smaller ones, or connected with bigger pipes leading to places they could not see, various colorful liquids dripping from leaks, hissing when it hit the stone floor. This was a workplace of some sort, where Hubby and his goons had, or were making various things. Perhaps it was here they had made that shitty toxic orb, Ethan wondered.

There were even several pots and wooden tubs that were being used as makeshift gardens to grow plants, he even spotted a few ones with berries in them… sadly no Pecha berries but he would gladly take a few Oran ones.

But there was one main problem, “there is no exit.” Ethan had hurried into the room but as far as he could see, the only way into or out of the room was the way they had come in, a dead end.

“There is one,” he thought she meant the way they had come in and suggested backtracking, but as he turned Ethan could not see Murphy anywhere, other than a flapping above…

“There is no way I can jump that high,” even if his leg had been okay that would have been a no go.

“I know,” Murphy simply answered as she continued to rise towards her exit.

“Can you carry me up there, or find a rope or something to throw down?”

Murphy halted in the air and looked down on Ethan, the rays of sunlight blinding him slightly, so he could not look directly at her.

“Maybe I could, but I won't.” W-what was she saying? “You left me without a second thought back there in that brawl, left me to fend for myself, even after I saved your ass.”

“I said I was sorry, it all happened so suddenly!” This was not good, Ethan's mind raced to find a solution. “What about what we have been through?” Maybe he could appeal to some other part of her.

“What we have been through? I joined up with you because I wanted a story, I wanted to make my breakthrough. But also, because it seemed like you wanted to do some good.” She took a small break and he could hear her sigh. “Well, I have my story now. Maybe not as good as what I could have gotten, but a damn good one nonetheless. About the Canterlot gangs and the rivalries between them. And you,” she started laughing, a hollow and humorless laugh, “You don't care for ponies who suffer as you trot towards your end goal. I would call you cruel, but no, you simply don't care.”

“You can't help everyone!”

“But you should be able to help somepony!” She screamed. “Or… you should at least try. Maybe I'm naive, or my way of thinking is. The real world is not all pretty colors and sunshine, I grew up alone in Canterlot of course I know that! But I would rather be naive, than live in the same world as you do.” She started beating her wings harder again and rose. “Maybe you will get out of here, perhaps not… I don't care.”

“Wait, tell somepony, a guard, anything, don't leave!” He cried out with all his soul, desperate, clinging after something, anything.

“...Bye,” and the window slammer shut, she was gone.

Gone

Yet another of these ponies had betrayed him, what he had done in the brawl was not a conscious decision it was just a split second reaction, what she had just dont had been thought through. His eye twitched. First that whore the Madame, now Murphy…

“Son of a B- AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,” Ethan just screamed with anger and frustration. A flask of something was within his reach, he had no idea what it was and he did not care. He chucked it against the wall, watching it smash and its contents slowly drip down. Everything was going down the drain, he was trying to help, why could she not see that? Why could she not see the good he was trying to do!?

She was ignorant, foolish, and he would show her, he would show them all. The real enemy here was Shady, and the organization he worked for; The Weavers, they were what's important. How many ponies, Pokémon and innocent creatures did they hurt? When they were gone, all would be better off for it. She had not understood that, but he still knew what he had to do.

His ears twitched as he picked up a faint sound, the hammering of hooves against a metal floor approaching, The door had fallen and his only exit was effectively cut off. His eye twitched again and, head shook slightly and he started stroking his ears, why did everypony have to be so problematic. The Madame for tricking him, Hubby for not listening, Murphy for abandoning him.

The group of ponies were getting ever close by the second, and to get out, to show them all the error of their ways, he had to get through that group.

He just had to…..

It was not long before a ragged looking group of ponies came down the stairs and reached the entrance to the room at the bottom. Quite a few of the ponies were bruised or limping, and a few were looking quite sick, possibly poisoned. In front was a very familiar red stallion, now with a swollen cheek and fire in his eyes.

“They cornered themthelves,” Hubby started laughing before stopping with a whimper, his hoof moving to rub his swollen cheek. “Thspread ouht, ain't many placthes here in the workshop they can hide. Find them, and beat them shenseless!” He shouted with as much power and fury as he could with his mouth hurting.

“Um, boss?” The group had just gotten into the room when they all stopped. “He is just standing there,” and so he was, in the middle of the room, Ethan stood, his eyes burning with a fury only matched by Hubby.

“Nowhere tho run, so ya gave up eh? Well, donht think that will do ya any good.” The Ponies started slowly approaching Ethan, fanning out to cover any escape options while Hubby remained by the entrance, smiling with a sick glee.

“Didn't give up.” Ethan picked up a lantern that stood on a barrel next to him. “Just not running anymore.” He stared them down. “I want you to let me leave peacefully, just walk out of here. If you don't,” he looked around, “I will destroy all of this. Looks like it took quite some work to set it all up too.”

The ponies stopped and looked back to their leader who had started to laugh.

“He is bluffing, don't listen to a dang bit he has to say, get him!” Ethan sighed, at least he had tried.

“Very well.”

“Um boss, what that smell?” One of the henchponies asked, he looked down to see a clear brown liquid, “I-is that?”

“Yes,” Ethan let the lantern fall, it hit the floor and the room was illuminated with such intensity it made everypony jump back. The fire ran across the floor, licking against everything and everypony that came within its all consuming reach. Several of the ponies screamed, the liquid on the floor was also on their hooves and the flames had them in its grasp, eating away at their hooves, and starting to climb up their legs. They continued screaming they ran, it was a scream like no other, not only of pain, but of fear, the fear of something primal and ancient. One unlucky soul fell and his scream intensified. Several ran past him, but a few ponies who had outran the fire grabbed him and dragged him out.

Ethan hoped that pony would be okay, he had no intent on hurting anypony with this stunt of his, not unless he had to. He just needed to scare them away, they had no reason to stay and risk everything.

In just a few heartbeats the entire workshop was transformed into a raging inferno. Hissing and popping came as the flames invaded storing crated, consuming its contents in it impartial road of destruction. It found its way into the metal tanks, where the contents were already nearing their boiling point.

Within this raging inferno, only two souls remained. Ethan still remained in the middle of the room, The flames trashed and clawed at the floor, but a circle around him remained clear. His fur heavy with sweat and a unsettling smile on his face.

The henchponies had escaped, but the leader remained, just like he had thought. Hubby had a stake in all of this, much more than anypony else, it was his gang, his workshop, his creation. There would have been no chance with a fight versus all of them, but with just the two of them… once the leader falls, the rest might lose their fighting spirit. That was his gamble.

Hubby shook with primordial anger, reason told him he should follow his gang in their escape, there was plenty of volatile things within the workshop. But he no longer heard those thoughts, there was only a want, a need to hurt the one that had caused all this, the rabbit that continued to goad him by standing unharmed within the firestorm his precious workshop had become.

As if fate wanted it, clear spots started to spread on the floor as the fire had consumed the that had started the fire in the first place. And soon enough, a path had opened up, a path between the the furious sadist and the tired soul who had let go of his gentle nature.

There was no moment of silence, no staring each other down like you might see in a movie. Hubby just roared in rage, threw his head back and galloped forward.

Ethan thrusted his hand into his fluffy ear and withdrew two large flasks, they contained the same oily liquid he had used to set the workshop aflame. In rapid succession he chucked them at the approaching earth pony. The first flash hit Hubby right in his face, but the bottle was too thick and it simple bounced off. The second hit the ground in front of him and the nearby fire jumped on the nearby fuel immediately creating a small explosion.

It was something that would have stopped most ponies, but Hubby had already left his senses behind and the ball of flame did not even slow him down. Small patches of flame tickled his fur, yet he cared little, he only saw his target.

“Fuck,” Ethan muttered, spinning the ballpoint hammer in his hand. Unicorns had their magic, all kinds of tricks up their sleeve. Pegasi their speed and mastery of the air. But on a small path, few things were as frightening as a massive Earth pony with no sense of self preservation barreling towards you.

Using a quick attack with a damaged leg was not the smartest thing Ethan had done, he had meant to pass Hubby and hit him from behind, but instead they slammed into each other. Ethan had the speed, but Hubby was several times heavier and his momentum continued. They rolled forward, a tangle of limbs. Hubby had not expected that move and faltered, while Ethan raised his arm and brought the hammer down on the nearest things he saw, his opponent's ribs. A muffled crack as a rib gave under to the force of the hammer, but stopping was no option. Ethan hit again, and again with as much strength he could muster, yet the moment of surprise would only last so long.

His head was yanked back, and a powerful leg was forced around his throat. He nearly dropped the hammer and feeble scratched at the leg with his free hand, he was choking him. Panic started settling in and he started hitting randomly with his hammer, he could not see anything, but he was too weak to pull the leg off. His chest started burning and he was kicking wildly with his legs, spots started to appear in his vision. He pulled and scratched with all his vigor, but it just would not let go.

Suddenly though, Hubby slacked his grip and Ethan rolled over to his stomach, gasping for breath. He was alive, he had no idea why Hubby had let him go but he was alive. His eyes wandered to the hammer he was still clutching in a death grip and notices the blood that was now dripping from it. Before he had any time to think further on it, he heard somepony next to him start moving and groaning in pain and Ethan forced himself up on his two feet. He swayed, and got a little too close to the fire, for a moment before he regained his balance, then he saw why he was still alive and what he had struck.

One of Hubbys eyes were closed, his coat color made it hard to see, but blood dripped down from the side of his face onto the still steaming stone floor. He took a step towards Ethan, but staggered having a hard time just keeping his balance. Sensing an advantage Ethan stepped forward with his hammer, but nearly tripped again. He was running on fumes, hurt, tired, the only thing that carried him on was his will, the will and knowledge that he needed to get out and do what he needed to do to get revenge for Jenny.

“Everything I worked sho hard on, in flames, becauhse, of, you.” Hubby spoke slowly as he took one step at a time towards Ethan. He raised his hoof, and slugged Ethan, who at this point had no chance at dodging, right in the stomach.

“If you had just let us go in the first place, none of this would have happened!” There was no strength in his arm, Ethan just twisted his upper body, letting his arm swing free. Yet it was good enough as the hammer smacked into Hubbys muzzle with a crunch.

His nose was bleeding, but he was not backing away. He put his hoof into the nearby fire, ignoring the intense heat and in a moment of insane brilliance, swiped his hoof against the floor, sending specks of flaming liquid right at Ethan who had to cover his face to protect his eyes. As he did that however, Hubby powered through, ignoring the new burns from his hoof as he tackled Ethan down to the ground once more. This time however, he had the upper hoof.

Ethan continued to shield his face as Hubby slugged him over and over, bruising his arms and ribs. An opening presented himself and Ethan swung his hammer once more, but Hubby caught lunged forward and caught the handle with his mouth. He grinned down at Ethan before he bit down, crushing the handle with his teeth like it was cardboard. He spat out the remains of the weapon and delivered another hit into Ethan's ribs, and he was sure something cracked at that point.

Without a weapon and without an advantage, Ethan had to play dirty. He threw himself to the side, it did not remove Hubby from him, but it did throw him off balance and have him just enough room to knee him in his most sensitive area.

A whimper was all that escaped his lips as Hubby rolled off Ethan and clutched his crotch.

“In your words. Buck, you!” Ethan forced himself to his feet once more and kicked the downed stallion in his jaw.

He fell back into a sitting position breathing heavily while Hubby still whimpered and cradled his precious goods.

“Was this,” he gestured to the inferno around them, “worth it?”

“Buck you!” The earth pony replied, his voice significantly higher than normal. “This is what your whore of a boss wanted anyway.”

“Why won't you listen!” Ethan fell back and stared up onto the smoke filled roof, for some reason he could swear he saw a cloud inside all the smoke. “I told you, I am not working for her, I never was.” He took deep breaths, his chest hurting every time it rose. “She tricked us both.”

“So… this was all meaninglehss?” he forced his head up and saw Hubby looking up at him. “All this work… buck you man, did you have to thet it on fire?”

“Hey, you tried to kill me.”

“Only because you seth fire to my workshop. We were just gonna rough you up before that, to thend a message,” in a strange turn of events, Hubby started laughing, and Ethan could not help but to join in. It was a infectious laugh, filled with despair and sorrow. “Hey, where ith your cute sidekick?”

“She bailed, left me to fend for myself.” Ethan scoffed as the laugh died down, it hurt to laugh anyway.

“Mares, right?” Hubby continued to laugh a little more at his own comment before he too stopped.

“What's the deal with you and the Madame anyway?” Ethan found himself asking.

“She wanths my territory, to expand her shit,” a grunt came as Hubby rolled over on his side and looked up at the roof. “Looks like she finally got what she wanhted.” Both of them blinked as a few wet drops splashed against their sweat drenched faces, and in just mere seconds it was like a thunderstorm, sweet refreshing water flowed down in masses. “My boys finally got here… you know that we can't just let you go right? Working for her or not, you still did this.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ethan started to think again, and an idea sparked to life. “What if I gave you the Madame? Delivered to your doorstep.”

“...I’m lithening.”

“The stuff you had here, you got more of it stored somewhere?” He would need some tools to work with after all.

“Yeah, several placeth.”

“Good, then I believe we have a deal, oh one more thing…

Ethan did not bother to knock, he just opened the door to the Madame's office and stepped into the room of a very surprised looking Mare.

“M-Mr Ethan?” He had not seen the Madames facade crack at all during their first meeting, but this, was not what she had expected.

“Sorry if I don't knock, but I'm tired of games.” Just like last time a chair materialized by her desk and Ethan saw down. “I beat your little, test,” he made no effort to hide the venom in his voice, “and I do not care for it.” He breathed deeply, straightened his back and ran his paws through his hair. “So, I am expecting some major compensation for such a task, one presented to me without my compliance.”

“But of course,” the pen that was levitating over a scroll on the desk was put down and the Madame leaned back in her chair, gently tossing her hair so her mane laid down elegantly on one side of her face. “But first, let me congratulate you and apologize for thrusting such a rude task upon you. Backstabbing is so coming in this business, and I had to make sure that you were truly who you said you were. If you were, as I am now convinced that you are, I had no doubt that you would have the resources to handle such a nasty business.”

“Yes, Hubby and his gang truly gave me a rude welcome. Luckily, they also had some berries stashed over after the... unpleasantries was over so I recovered somewhat.” He still looked like shit though, there had been no time to groom or the like.

“I am pleased to hear this, but I have to ask, why didn't my assistant, Snow, show you in? She is usually so diligent with her tasks,” the Madame asked, not noticing the small smile that started to grow on Ethan's face.

“She is just resting a little, sleeping soundly, just like you will in a few moments.” The Madame blinked. There had been no aggression in his voice, just the pleasant polite tone he had used when they had first met.

“What are you-” and that's when it hit, a wave of dizziness came over her. She had to grab her desk just so she would not fall off her chair and onto the floor. She tried to use her magic, to teleport away, but her concentration was failing her, and all she got was a few sparks from her horn.

Now, Ethan grinned fully. He reached into his ear and pulled out a Chesto Berry, grimacing as he bit into it.

“I never liked the taste of these, but, you can't deny the effect they have.” He said while munching away

“..at… d...you do?” She had not slid off her chair and was struggling to keep awake on the floor.

“I have picked up many useful tricks over the years.” Ethan spoke after swallowing his latest mouthful of berry. “A friend of mine, is a rather brilliant herbalist and alchemist. With the right ingredients, one can make a odorless and almost invisible sleeping gas.” Now on the floor, the Madame did notice a small fog like mist. “It does not work long, but it does not need to either.” He pushed the chair back and stood up, walking around the table before kneeling down beside the struggling mare. “You crossed me. Things would have been so easy if you had just played along.” He got up and walked back to the door, opening it to reveal two ponies wearing masks, one of them carrying a huge burlap sack. “Know this, you brought this upon yourself….

“Like we agreed,” the pony next to Ethan jumped onto the wagon the other was pulling, and threw down the now moving burlap sack. He brandished a knife and cut through the rope that held it closed, revealing a gagged and bound mare; the Madame.

“Amazing,” Hubby smiled like a boy on his birthday. He was still looking rough after their little tumble, but at least he had gotten some bandages on in the time Ethan had been gone. “You and I will have so much fun…” He teased and the Madame tried to shriek and trashed against her bonds, though it did her no good.

“You won't hurt her workers or employees, right?” Ethan asked, feeling a sense of joy as he watched the mare squirm.

“Not unless they come afther us, no, we have no reason to.”

“Good enough, now, you found what I asked for?” Hubby nodded and pulled out a folder, which he handed to Ethan. He opened it up to see the one page that was within.

“The pony you want is Hock Flynn.” Hubby told him as the page said the same thing. “A shady nopony without a thpine that does anything for bits. But he is the most well known informant in Cantherlot. He works for everypony to thome degree, delays orders, and is the negotiator between gangs when they want to talk or settle something. He knows everything that is worth knowing.” Ethan nodded and stored the folder in his ear fur.

“Thanks,” he turned to leave but Hubby's voice stopped him.

“He works for us too… does good work, so, I would rather he remain in one piece if you know what I mean.” They stared eachother down for a few seconds before Ethan nodded once again.

“Yeah, I'll try.”

“Good enouth.” Hubby nodded. “May we never meeth again, bunny boy!” He shouted as Ethan started to leave.

“Sounds good to me,” he agreed, that was a pony he never wanted to see again. As for what they would do to the Madame, he did not care. That was their business. “Hock Flynn…” He finally had a real solid lead. From a pony, despite all his shortcomings, he saw as trustworthy when it came to things like this. The file placed several large areas where Flynn used to roam, but it was too big for him to cover on his own.

It seemed that he would have to get some help once again.

He looked down on himself and sighed. But before that he would have to freshed up, the berries had helped a ton, but he needed a good scrubbing, his well trusted brush… and he was late for the Contest where Chii and Brawly would be performing.

Damn it.

Chapter 53 (Crossover)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 54 Author's Note

Moldyshishkabob: "It begins... Or ends, I'm not sure. Something's going on, and it won't be pretty. Or maybe it will. I, uh, guess it depends on your point of view. Anyway, enjoy some stuff involving police officer(s)!"

Arcticbrony: Well, here we are again. The ending is rapidly closing in, everything is comming together for the finale. I hope all of you are as exited for it as I am.
As for this chapter, I apologice for it taking so long, it underwent a complete rewrite, and that left me quite exausted. I am pleased to say that it turned out much better after said rewrite though.

Hope you all enjoy^^

Chapter 54

A pony with a dark blue coat and a mane only a few hues lighter trotted through the streets of Neighagra Falls with haste. Everypony in his path moved out of the way and let him pass without as much as a second thought, for they knew this pony. They all knew who he was and what he did for their town.

Very few ponies really knew this police pony though, his serious attitude deterring most who wanted to approach him. But the same thing that kept them away from him made them respect him. He was the sole reason why the crime rate of their little tourist-heavy town was so low, and any cases that did pop up would be solved swiftly and justly under his iron hoof. Protocol was a goal-oriented pony who always kept his calm and serious demeanour about himself. Yes, this was what most ponies of Neighagra Falls thought about him.

Protocol was having a bad day.

He slammed the door to the his office shut behind him and let his disguise drop, revealing his true self as a changeling.

His desk was neatly organized: papers in neat piles, a vase with a fake flower—gift from a case he solved years back—and a lone picture of himself after his graduation.

He grabbed it all in his hooves and threw it against the wall, the wase and the picture shattering from the impact, the papers fluttering randomly as they were scattered everywhere.
He looked up to the ceiling and the scattered papers that were still floating down and let out a primal, frustrated scream.

Protocol was having a very bad day.

The station was empty, but if somepony was close enough they could have heard him. Protocol did not care. His carefully crafted persona of a calm, serious pony who always had things under control came crashing down around him.

He was left panting on the floor when he had finally screamed his throat raw. Protocol was a mess, his mind was a mess, all over one single case. That damned case, he cursed. The case that had kept him up nights working for days, that had him skipping meals as he was desperately searching was clues, leads, and proof.

He had dealt with impossible cases before, but they had never been impossible like this one was, and they had never been personal. He very rarely let ponies in, rarely allowed himself to make new friends, his identity as a changeling just did not allow it, not really. But after Olivia, a former Pokemon Ranger, showed up, he took a liking to her. She was funny, just as obsessed with justice as he was, and she proved herself more than a few times while they worked together too. He had even gone so far as to reveal his true nature to her, and she had accepted him for who he was. He had to reveal it twice though, because she had lost her memories after somepony had tried to kill her, or maybe they wanted her to lose her memories.

No, not somepony, he knew who had done it, he knew it all to well. It was a Pokemon, a Leafeon that went by the name Vernus. He knew it, he had known it for a while, he just could not prove it!

He had solved impossible cases, tracked down thieves through the forest after it had snowed. But this Celestia-damned Leafeon was always one step ahead of him. He had “confirmed” his suspicions when he came across a hut nearby where Olivia was found, a hut that seemed like it had been grown. The plants themselves twisted and agreed to form the shelter, just like they had at that warehouse they lived at, just like the ones Vernus had built. It looked exactly the same. He had entertained the possibility that another Grass-type could have done it, but his training and instinct told him otherwise.

Any artist, had their style, signatures and methods they leaned towards, unconsciously or otherwise. As Protocol had learned, Vernus was no different. He heavily used vines in his work, and intertwined them in a pattern, they never went over one another or crossed, but danced or flowed elegantly as they held up whatever structure he had created them for. This was what he had seen in their home, and it was exactly the same in the cabin, where, he suspected they had taken Olivia and drugged her.

But he had no real proof, not anymore. He sorted through the papers that littered the floor, pushing the ones he did not need out of the way without any care, until he found what he was looking for: a picture of the “crime scene”. He had taken samples from the hut, to compare them to the foliage inside the home of Vernus and all the others. He had taken pictures; there was no blood, tissue or obvious dna samples, but perhaps he would find some later when he returned with a proper crime scene investigation team, he had thought. He was sure he had won, he had gotten cocky… and so, when he did come across Vernus and his marefriend, Zoey, he had taken the disguise of their mutual friend Mary Care and done a light interrogation. Nothing to make them suspect him, but enough that he would get a feel for them.

But he had let on too much, his hubris had gotten the better of him. When they returned the next day, there was no tree or cabin to be found. If it had burned there would be some traces, but all that was left was a small brown spot in the grass where a tree once stood.

It was if someone had just erased it from existence, or maybe it had rotted away, shriveled up and died within that single night.

Was that even possible? No magic he knew of could do anything like that, not without leaving some major traces behind. Could a grass Pokemon do that?

If that was not bad enough, all the samples he had taken had also shriveled up and died within their test tubes.

He still had the photos, the last piece of tangible evidence he had left. But they were useless. He had taken a squad to their home after they had discovered the disappearance of the cabin, dead set on confronting the green scum in his own home, using the pictures, comparing them to Vernus`s own plant construction within their home to frame him. It was not much, in the moment he was unsure if it would have been enough, but it had not mattered anyway. The signs, the artistic signature and the style of building that he had observed had been entirely replaced. The new walls looked almost the same, only different. Gone were the heavy use of vines, gone vere them dancing next to another to make the structural integrity. The new walls looked just as artistic as they had done before, just different. Wood was more heavily used now, smaller branched being woven together into knots and intricate designs to form floral patterns all over. It was all changed.

Of course, none of the other residents had seen or heard any of this rebuilding. But perhaps they were just protecting him. Covering for him...that's what he wanted to believe. However, he had truly not sensed any dishonesty from any of them. No, it was only Vernus and his accomplice that had acted strange during that meeting.

Yes, accomplice. You see, Protocol prided himself in being a fairly good judge of character, it came with the job and from being a changeling. Vernus, to him, was a enigma. During their meeting, the Leafeon had not been evasive, afraid or anything he could expect a criminal to act when confronted. No, he had been his usual gleeful self, inviting them in, answering any questions they had and had pretended to be as helpful as possible. It infuriated Protocol to no end, he was playing with him!

Instead, it was Zoey the Zangoose, his lover who had been acting very suspiciously. He had already suspected that the two lovers were in it together, but that meeting had sold it. She had been aggressive, brash, and rude. Nothing too unusual, that was who she was on a good day after all, but she had also been nervous under the entire meeting, glancing his way and looking away when she thought he had caught her. And every time he pushed them a little harder, she pulled on the bottom of her purple sweater, she had some very obvious tells. Yes, she was involved. What part she played in Olivia's memory loss… he was not sure just yet, but he knew she was involved somehow.

But if any of that was to matter, then he had to find some new clues, some concrete proof.

Protocol pushed himself up, almost slipping on a paper under his hoof. He could clean up later, he was the chief, no one would question him or his methods anyway. For now, he had a warehouse to stakeout.

For the life of him, Protocol did not understand half of the things that went on in that home, or how they got anything done with how much chaos there was. The first day was mostly just spent learning their routines and getting a grasp on how the social structure worked. To his understanding, the Leafeon and Zangoose were in charge, they cooked, or one of them did. The Leafeon wanted to help but was always chased out of the kitchen with threats of violence if he touched anything. For a couple they sure did fight a lot. They treated the sick or injured who were staying there temporarily. Yes, that was one of the first major things he found out. Most of the Pokemon there did not live there full time, but used the warehouse as a hospital of sorts.

They also organized activities for those willing. Everything from physical training to confidence boosting exercises. It truly did seem like they were good individuals who wanted to help… but he knew better. He knew what they had done. He did not think that they were faking it, no, even the worst criminal had different sides to them, nopony was innately evil.

The second day introduced some new elements as two more of the warehouses permanent residents came home from Canterlot. He would have to keep an eye out for those, his cover was nearly blow from the literal storm the little cat, the Skitty, had caused.

Knocking on a door before entering it considered polite, even if it is at a friend’s home. But if it’s your own home, knocking is silly and unnecessary. One might just go in or even kick the door open. Chii wanted to make a bit more of an entrance.

Only the ones closest to the door heard the vocal cue to the attack and had time to jump out of the way.

“Blizzard!”

The frozen tempest threw the door open in its might, the hinges fighting to hold onto the door. Icy wind assaulted every corner of the warehouse. Wave upon wave of cold made the inhabitants huddle together once the initial shock had worn off.

But as soon as it had come, the blizzard dissipated, leaving a light sheet of frost covering the ground and specks of snow floating down from the ceiling. Most of the Pokémon inside was dumbstruck, not entirely sure what had happened, what they should do about it or how to feel.

“We have returned!” Proudly stating and striking a pose in the doorway, was their very own troublemaker. Chii.

A resigned Brawly sighed as he moved up behind Chii, more tired than anything else. He knew he should scold the little Skitty, but she stepped away from the doorway in a hurry. Was she in such a hurry to greet everyone or- oh…

A white and purple blur was upon him in an instant, stopping just where Chii had been standing a moment earlier.

“You get back here this instant, young lady!”

No, Protocol had no idea how their so called *family* worked. The Zangoose, Zoey, chased after the Skitty while the Mienshao greeted the Leafeon. They seemed more like friends or companions than a proper family, at least according to his definition of the word.

It was not until later that day, closer to the evening that something interesting happened. The Leafeon left the house, and ventured deeper into the forest. Protocol abandoned his hiding spot and followed as close as he dared. At first he had just thought that his target had picked a random direction into the forest, but at closer inspection, he did spot a path. It was small, hidden within the foliage, not used by many or often, but definitely a path. Interesting.

Protocol followed from a distance, he made his way down from the roof, being careful that nopony was watching before he carefully followed Vernus into the forest. He had to stay closer than what he would have liked to keep up with the Leafeon, the path had such twists and turns within the thick foliage that he would lose him otherwise.

What are you after? Protocol pondered. Then he froze, and the Leafeon stopped, his ears twisting around. He dared not move a muscle, he dared not breathe. He was confident that he was well enough hidden that he would not be spotted if Vernus looked in his direction. But he did not want to take that chance.

Lady luck was on his side however, as Vernus continued on down the path, finally letting Protocol breathe out in relief.

After about fifteen minutes, they reached a truly peculiar sight. It was a hidden garden within the foods, rows upon rows of plants, berries and herbs. All neatly organized, well kept and nurtured for. But that was peculiar was that it was places so out of the way.

True, Protocol knew next to nothing about farming, so maybe this location has something that made it the ideal garden.

Or perhaps, it was to keep it away from prying eyes.

He waited until the Leafeon had removed gathered the berries he came there for, and another ten minutes after that before he came out from the shadows and descended upon the garden. It was truly well cared for, he could see the amount of work and effort that went into it. Inside the forest, taking a hidden path.

There were very few of the plants that he recognized, other than the obvious ones that everypony knew of, but one dres his attention. Away from the other plants, planted to they had room for themselves were a few light blue flowers. Five pedals on the outer ring, and another five smaller one in a inner circle, pointing upwards with a few stems reaching up from within, all ending on small round bulbs. Poison Joke. It was not illegal, not per se. But a pony would need a special license to grow them, something he doubted the Leafeon had. If he grew something like that, who knew what other treasures the garden would reveal to him.

However, he would not find out any more by staying and risking somepony else returning and catching him in the act. So he photographed the entire place, giving each plant their own shot and a final one of the entire place. He knew a botanist who owed him a favor. He did not want to arrest or fine the Leafeon on such a small thing as keeping illegal or poisonous foliage. But it was something he could use, a place he could pressure.

“I told you to let this go!” Protocol was more used to yelling at his subordinates than being on the receiving end. But, when Olivia found out what he was doing, tartarus was raised in his living room.

He was in his natural changeling form, as it was most comfortable for him, and also a sign of trust between him and his friend. A trust she believed that he had gone and broken by going behind her back. Protocol did not see it that way.

“I followed the leads on a potential interest, all according to the laws and regulations. You can't expect me to just drop everything after what was done against you?” As he saw it, he had done nothing wrong, and he had a hard time understanding her rage. “You wanted nothing to do with it, I respected that, but I did not drag you into it this time, you found out on your own and came to me!” It was not a quiet argument, voiced was raised on both sides with emotions flying high.

“I am happy! Why can't you respect that and let this be.” She cried out in frustration. Sparks flew out of her coat and blackened spots on the floor around her. “I… do you have any idea how hard it was for me to learn to live with this?” She screamed at him. She blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill forth. “I wanted to put myself in your shoes. To delve into the path of revenge, of justice.” She walked over to him and hopped up on the sofa. Resting her head on her paws. “I am happier than I have been in years. I had to work so hard to convince myself that happiness was something I wanted… something I deserved.” The last part was added in a whisper.

Protocol was at a loss for words. He just stood there in the middle of the room, staring at her, at his friend. Her blue and yellow fur still had small sparks dancing across it, and her face was hidden behind her paws.

“Everyone deserves to be happy.” Protocol said as he climbed onto the seat besides her. “I remember how miserable you were after we took you home from the hospital. You did not eat, refused to walk outside, we basically had to drag you to the shower to get you to clean yourself.” It had been a horrible period for her, when she had been truly depressed. “But I can't just forget what was done to you. They need to be brought to justice!”

“THEY TRIED TO KILL ME! O-or at the very least they did not care if I did or not.” Olivia started to quiver, her voice cracked and her breathing came out in short shallow breaths. “I'm scared. I know you want to do the right thing Protocol… you always do. It's what drew me to you in the beginning and made us become friends. B-but I’m scared that if you dig too deep into this. That they will come back to try to finish me.”

Suddenly it all made sense to Protocol. He had never stopped pushing forward, it was everything he knew. But in doing so, he had made things worse for his friend. And still…

“I can't just let this go.” It was who he was at his core, he could not change that. “I will do everything to make sure that you are safe… but I can't stop this and let those criminals run free.”

Silence stretched out after that. Olivia stared at Protocol, her eyes still wet, though she had stopped shaking. She was taking deep breaths trying to calm down once again.

Protocol stared back, his large unblinking changeling eyes staring deeply into hers. He was like a rock, his ideals unmoving and unshakable. For better and for worse.

“I know.”

It was getting late in the warehouse, the day’s last rays of sunlight shone through the windows in the roof and a few cracks in the wall, illuminating the cozy insides where some Pokémon were gathering in small piles, sharing heat as they got ready for the night ahead of them.

Chii was not taking part of such a pile, instead she had burrowed into her blanket, with only her tail and face sticking out, allowing her to keep view of everyone before she too welcomed the embrace of the night. She liked having that small measure of control, knowing where everyone was. Everyone except Ethan… he still had not come home since the Contest. Brawly kept telling her that he would show up soon. But she knew that was not true, she could see it in everyone's eyes. No one knew where he was or when he would come back to them. Zoey had also forbidden her from looking for him. But she missed him, she really did. Not only that, she was scared. Ethan always told his family everything, he never just disappeared. She would have ignored Zoey's order… but she had no idea where to even look. Nowhere to start. Nothing. She was just a small Skitty who had to pretend that everything was alright. Who had to continue to put up a fake smile so that the others would not worry about her. With Ethan gone, they had enough to worry about as it was...

A sharp heavy knocking sound broke the comfortable silence that had filled their home, and quite a few awoke with a cry of surprise, setting off a chain reaction. Within a few seconds the entire home was buzzing with confusion.

“I got it, I got it!” A voice called out over all the others, “Man, who would bother to come all the way out here this late.” A Mienshao with bed hair walked over to the door, while a curious Skitty watched him closely.

“Good evening, Brawly,” a firm commanding voice spoke after he opened the door. For there were no visitors who had come to their home late at night, but instead the police officer Protocol, flanked by two more police ponies at his sides. “I would like to do this smooth and calmly in consideration to the others who live here,” he did not gesture but let his eyes wander across the insides of the warehouse. “So, would you please get Vernus and Zoey.” Chii froze as Protocol looked right in her direction, she had no idea what was happening. What did that creepy pony want with her family?

“Mind if I ask why?” Brawly inquired, and Protocol looked back to him, his normally stoic neutral expression turning into a rather creepy smile.

“Well, you see. Your-”

“What’s going on here?” The resident Leafeon arrived after having heard some commotion going on at the front door.

“Ah, just the Leafeon I was looking for.”

“Do you know anything about this?” Brawly looked at Vernus with concern.

“No I don't, I have no idea what he's doing here.” Both of them were nervous, but none of them could see the fear-stricken Chii who was witnessing it all.

“I'm afraid lying won't do you any good at this moment.” The police changeling in disguise shook his head. “Vernus the Leafeon, you and Zoey the Zangoose are officially under arrest.” The two police ponies behind Protocol stepped forward, each of them carrying a pair of special handcuffs.

“Protocol!” From behind Brawly, stumbled a Vulpix who had seen better days. Jenny's fur had started to grow back in, but was still mangy in certain places. She had gotten rid of most of the bandages, the only ones that remained were located where her tails used to be. “What is the meaning of this! On what charges are you making this arrest!” To say that she was angry was an understatement. Protocol was her friend as well, that he had gone around her back on this was an insult she would not tolerate.

“Jenny, let me handle this, just go back inside!” Vernus hissed. Quite a few of the Pokémon who lived there had overheard them and the discord was growing between them. “You need to keep everyone calm.” But Jenny was not bulging.

“Ma’am, please move or we will be forced to move you.” His voice was calm and level, but it had a heaviness to it that signalled to everyone who heard that he meant business. “I'm not obliged to tell you. But, since you are his friend, and have helped me and the station in the past, it's okay. The charges are possession of illegal substance. Multiple accounts of cultivating dangerous and illegal flora without proper permit,” Jenny started to lose his composure as the charges were being listed and Vernus pushed her aside and stood in front of Protocol. “Tampering with evidence, and kidnapping with attempted murder.”

The silencer was eerie. Brawly and Jenny stood there in shock. He was usually such a laid back guy, with nothing facing him, not really. But now he had no words whatsoever. He just stared at Protocol, opening and closing his mouth, yet no words came. He wanted to protest, to deny these charges made against his friend. But when he looked to his side at Vernus, who just stared down at the ground in defeat… could it be true?

Jenny was furious as well, at Protocol for going behind her back, but more so at Vernus, at the ones she had been living at, the ones that had helped her when she was at her lowest, the ones she had trusted! To think that they had done something as hideous as that?

“Vernus, is this true?!” She yelled at him with as much force as she could muster.

Vernus refused to look up to meet their eyes. What he and Zoey had done had been a gamble, one that, in the end, had failed. In a way, he was thankful that Ethan was away. He was not sure how he would have explained this to him. “Go get Zoey,” he said to Brawly even as he said it, the words felt wrong and alien. Like he had not been the one to say them. “Just go… I'll explain everything later.” He added to the both of them.

Soon enough, only Vernus and Jenny stood before the police ponies.

“I trusted you…” Jenny said in a low voice, dripping with venom.

“So, will you be coming willingly?” Protocol asked, his horn alit with magic, a precaution.

He did not answer, but nodded solemnly. In a way, he felt relieved. Even if he and Zoey had been caught, even if they were going to jail. They had not asked for Ethan, so, in that way, they had still protected his secret. He could live with that.

“T-they are lying, right?” A small, meek voice spoke. “Please Uncle Vernus, don't go with them. They are lying! Right, Jenny? They are lying, tell them!”

“Miss, please st-” Protocol held out his hoof, silencing the other police pony besides him.

“Chii,” Vernus looked up to the small Skitty in front of him. She had not made a sound when she jumped down. “I thought you had fallen asleep. It's rather late for small Skittys.” The sight of her nearly broke his heart. Brawly had looked lost, but Chii was absolutely devastated. Her normally thin, small eyes were wide open, shaking. She was grasping her tail, with its three little feelers in her front paws, like a small child might hug their stuffed toy for safety. She was looking at him for answers, answers he was not sure how to give her.

Going with Protocol would have been easy. But explaining it to Chii, explaining why he had to go. He was not sure if he was brave enough to do that.

“I will explain everything later, Chii, I will explain it later. They will be able to visit, right?” Vernus looked over to Protocol who nodded. “Right. I had wished to keep you away from this, you deserve so much better, Chii… you will be so much better than any of us.” He managed a smile, however small it was.

“B-but you are good. You help other Pokémon who need help, you help Ethan take care of them, help them find better homes… you helped me, you found me a home.” Her voice was shaking and she squeezed her tail harder. “They are l-lying.” She stared into his eyes with hopelessness, she wanted to believe in him with all her might, but, “please don't leave me.”

“Chii… come here,” Vernus walked up to her and sat down, wrapping his tail around her small body, pulling her close. “Sometimes,” he started, struggling to find the right words, “sometimes, good people do bad things.” She latched onto his fur and buried her face into it. “They might do them for the right reasons. Or reasons that seem right to them, but are wrong to everyone else.”

“S-so it was a good thing, and they are wrong! You have to tell them, they are wrong. They are wrong.”

“No, Chii. What I did was not either of those.” He still had his doubts, but in his mind, what he did was still the right thing to do. But Chii was not allowed to see it that way. She was too pure, to good. She could be better than any of them, all of them. She had that opportunity. “I did a bad thing, a really bad thing.” He could see her heart break as she took a step back and stared up at him. “My intentions for doing it does not matter. It was wrong.” He and Zoey would be examples for her. It would hurt, it would hurt her so much. But hopefully, she would come out better for it. “That's why I have to go with the police ponies.”

He leaned down and gently nuzzled Chii. She was still in shock, but she felt the physical gesture and returned it, rubbing the side of her face against his. “Take care of Brawly and Ethan, and Jenny too… they will need you. I love you, Chii.” He moved away from her, he did not want to leave, but he had no choice. “I'm ready,” he sat down in front of Protocol and held out his front paws.

The police pony nodded and used the smaller of the two sets, clamping the small iron circle down around each leg, with a metal chain linking the two. He would still be able to move and walk with it on, but the tight chain would severely limit his movement.

“And your marefriend?” Protocol looked down on Vernus, who was testing out his cuffs.

“She will be right along,” he looked up at Protocols horn, “your spell, will it hurt or just stun.” He asked, making Protocol blink in surprise.

“Stun mostly, though it is certainly not pleasant to be hit by… why, are you planning anything?” But Vernus shook his head.

“No… but you may have to use it nonetheless. I don't think Zoey will come quietly.”

A primal scream tore through the warehouse. The police ponies besides Protocol flinched by the sheer volume and hostility of it. A white blur shot past the still shocked Chii, who stared ahead with empty eyes, past Jenny who kept looking at Vernus with a mix of hatred and disgust, past the door to the warehouse and right towards Protocol.

If you had blinked, you would have missed it. Vernus had surrendered willingly, to make it easy on his friends and family. He saw no reason in fighting. Zoey however, had murder in her wild eyes. Claws at the ready and positioned to spear Protocol as she charged. She wanted him dead. But Protocol was a veteran, and he had been ready. His spell discharged after Zoey crossed the door threshold. A white lightning bolt arced out from the tip of his horn, it left a soft blue line behind it as it traveled forward through the air before striking Zoey right in her chest. She lit up, sparks of magical electricity pulsing through her form, and her face contorted like she was giving off a silent scream. It was definitely not painless.

She collapsed to the ground in a heap, smoke rising from her back, the spell had done its job so the other police pony went up and cuffed her aswell, with a larger pair around her front paws. Vernus looked at the entire scene acting out, doing nothing. He hoped that the spell had not hurt her too bad, but it was for the best that it went down that way.

Protocol used his magic once more and levitated Zoey and put her on his back.

“Let’s go,” it was a order to the two police ponies following him, as well as to Vernus. They turned around, and slowly started heading back to town.

“Not Zoey too. L-leave my family alone!” Another pang in his heart as Chii called out again. Looking back he saw that she was fighting against Brawly's grip, tears now flowing freely down her little cheeks. “Don't take my family! Please, please. They are all I have. Please d-d-don't take them!” She shrieked from the top of her little lungs. “P-please!” Even Jenny had to look away, she was angry, furious, but the scene before her was too much, even for her.

He wanted to tell her that everything would be alright, that things would work out. But the tug one of the police ponies gave him forced him to look away and keep walking. He had nothing else to say to her anyway, and he did not want her to see him as he began to cry silently as well. Chii continued to scream after them the entire time, eventually they got too far away to hear her, Vernus hoped that Brawly would manage to calm her down. He also began to feel some anger build up inside of him. Where the hell was Ethan anyway? Chii seriously needed him right now, and he was gone in the wind. It was enough to make a Leafeon want to lash out at something, anything.

“Calm down before you do something you will regret,” Protocol called out to him, sensing the anger and nipping it in the bud before anything happened.

He was right, nothing good would come from taking his anger out on them anyway. But he was curious. If Protocol was taking them in, then he must have found some serious evidence. Something they had forgotten or missed when they were removing it.

Oh well. He would deny everything as far as he could, unless what Protocol had on them was so ironproof that it would not matter. They would know later anyway. Right now, he lacked the energy to do anything but follow.

“What do you mean you remember?” Protocol exclaimed in a shock of emotions, quite unlike him.

“I don't remember everything, its… bits and pieces.” Olivia admitted. It had taken quite some coaxing for her to get this far. Protocol had thought that she had been hiding something. It had been a gut feeling, but when she had dropped that bombshell… he was at a loss.

“Why did you not come to be sooner then!?” To say that Protocol was upset and angry would have been an understatement. “All I did for you, for this case, and you tell me it was all for nothing!”

“It would not have mattered if you would just have listened to me in the first place!” Olivia yelled right back at him. “Do you think this has been easy for me!?”

“I… b-but...no, no of course not.” Protocol sighed heavily. “I just… why did you not say anything sooner?” He could not for the life of him fathom why anypony would keep something like that hidden.

“Do you think I liked it? To know that the ones that assaulted me lived that close?” She started shaking. “I was terrified… terrified of what they would do to me if they learned that I knew. If they would try again… or just kill me this time.”

He could not be mad at that, or frustrated, no matter how much he wanted. “I could have protected you.” He spoke softly. “You saw them regularly, we… we even had lunch with them.” Underneath his nose all that time. “I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you.” He wrapped his front hooves around her neck, hugging her.

“I know you would have tried,” she spoke weakly, not hugging back, but leaning into it. “B-but I was afraid of my life… I, I did not want to die. I don't want to die.”

He held her close and stroked her fur as she let her emotions flow freely, feelings that had been bottled up and kept under lock for such a long time. Minutes passed with neither of them saying a word, Protocol just wanted to protect her, and in his hooves, Olivia felt safe.

“How much do you remember?” She just wanted to stay like that, but after everything that he had done for her, he deserved some answers.

“Bits and pieces, like I said.” Olivia admitted as they separated and Protocol sat down in front of her once again. “I remember most of the actual assault and… kidnapping,” the experience of being forcibly drugged like that was something that made her sick when she thought about it. It was a haze, hours melting into each other, with her body being on fire. “But memories from earlier are… not all there. They said that Ethan had something to do with it… but I have no idea what. I can't remember.” She knew that something was missing, like a jigsaw puzzle where someone had stolen a few pieces.

“Its okay, you are safe now.” He now knew that Zoey the Zangoose and Vernus the Leafeon had been the one to assault her. But how did Ethan fit into it all? He had no idea, but once they arrested those two, he would make them tell him. “Those two will not hurt anypony again, not after today…

In another part of Equestria, far, far away from Neighagra Falls, far away from Canterlot even, somewhere between the Smokey Mountains and Galloping Gorge, there was a small village. It was so small and new, that it would not be found on most maps, and the inhabitants there liked it that way. It was a close knitted community where anypony knew everypony. New ponies were rare, and it was even rarer that any of them stuck around. But this little village had recently gotten itself a new addition. A light grey unicorn with a black mane and a scarred cutie mark had arrived in town, and had integrated himself rather quickly. The native ponies had been sceptical of the newcomer in the beginning, but he had proven himself to be hardworking and trustworthy. And soon, everypony knew of the new pony who had arrived, seemingly out of nowhere seeking a new beginning.

Nopony questioned where he came from, or what his past where. They were simple ponies, and life was good. And so life continued as normal once more.

But one individual knew this pony, knew what he was hiding. The scarred cutiemark was new, but he still recognized him. The tone of his coat, the way he spoke, his dialect and the way he carried himself. It was no doubt in his mind that he had finally found him. After such a long time, tracking him across Equestria.

“Shady…”

He had built a new life for himself in that village, a new start. He genuinely looked happy with his new beginning. He thought he was safe, he had finally begun to let his guard down.

That would make it so much sweeter when he would take it all away. Shady had wasted his chances, there would be no happy ending him. There was no place for justice there. It would be a place, without any mercy. The time had come to reap the hate he’d sown…

It was judgement day

Chapter 55

He woke with a start as the alarm went off. Half past seven, as always. He got out of bed with a groan, more out of habit than anything else, for he was truly looking forward to the day he had ahead of him.

The recent weeks living in Locksville had been quite outside the norm for him, but in a good way. After making his bed he trotted to the bathroom, and, after taking care of the morning necessities, trotted back out to the living room. It was a large room, taking up most of the space of his house since it was combined with the kitchen where he now started to make his morning coffee. He took a minute to admire his home while the coffee was brewing. His home was not luxurious, nor big, it was a medium cottage on the outskirts of the town, just big enough for two ponies, so he had more than enough room to himself.

It was furnished rather simply, a small sofa, and a couple of chairs stood around a table in front of the fireplace. It was where he usually spent his evenings, reading while enjoying the smell of burnt wood from the fire. His kitchen was not much to speak of either He had no kitchen table, so dinner was often just eaten outside by the table in the living room. He had a counter that was built into the wall so it looked like an extension of the house rather than an addition. It had numerous cabinets and drawers but no real stove to speak of. He had ordered one but the delivery had been delayed. So, he just made do with a small gas burner he had purchased at the local general store.

The kettle snapped him back to attention with a shrill whistle, signalling to him that the water was boiled and ready.

He grabbed the kettle in his magic and poured the steaming water into a nearby cup. Depositing a spoon of finely grounded coffee beans into the water, mixing it a little with a spoon and suddenly it was ready.

He trotted over to the sofa with his coffee floating besides him, he stopped by a window and glanced outside, squinting because of the bright morning light. He could see the morning ponies milling about on the street outside, a pink mare named Merry Goals was setting up her stand where she sold homemade ceramics. She had a lot of skill and her wares had a certain, rustic charm to them that a lot of ponies loved. His coffee cup was one of her works. She would greet him every morning when he walked past to his own job and she had given him the cup as a welcoming gift when he first moved to the village.

His first instincts had been to decline her gift, to keep to himself and take upon the role of a loner. He would be left alone to do whatever he wanted. But, protocol forced him to make nice with the locals, integration was key to a good cover story.

So, he had accepted her gift, and returned her greeting every morning when he passed her and her shining personality. Her smile that was always a little bigger than anypony else, truly, it was a little annoying just how happy she was all the time, or it had been. Over time, he had grown to tolerate her presence, and from there to actually enjoy it.

Still, it would be a little while until he would pass her, and he moved away from the window and back to the sofa. His breakfast was not much, just a steaming cup of coffee. He knew that he should eat more, and his coworkers always told him so.

But habits were hard to break, he had never been one for eating breakfast. His previous employment required him to stay up late, and wake up at irregular times at best. His internal clock has been nonexistent, and his appetite had suffered because of it.

“I tell ye Spirit, ye hafta get more grub in ya to do work like us, need the energy, eh?”

Spirit, that was him, the one that everyone at the village knew him as. For the safety of things it would be his permanent identity moving forward. Shady would be no more, Shady died the moment he set hoof in that village. There was only Spirit Misthoof from that point on.

His coat was changed, no longer the deep dark color he had been born with, but instead a misty grey to fit his new name. Changed with a deep illusion spell, that if powered and maintained correctly over a few months would become permanent. It went much deeper than any non magical products ever could, change the color at its base and would make it so that his body would no longer produce hairs of the old color. When complete, there would be no trace of magic, impervious to any and all dispelling attempts. The perfect disguise.

He had left his mane color alone, just changed the cut of it to a shorter one. But his cutiemark on the other hoof, that was trickier. True, he could place a short term illusion over it every day, but the innate magic of the mark made any permanent changes, impossible. So, it was what it had always been. A black hoof with mist around it.

“Good morning, Spirit!” And there it was.

“Hey there, Merry.” He greeted her as he moved past her and her stand. If he stopped to chat, she would never stop.

She giggled and tossed her mane out of her face. “Still the morning grump. You are coming to the gathering tonight though, right?” She asked.

In truth he had completely forgotten about it. They were gathering for a quiz night at the local pub. Some alcohol to raise the mood for those that needed it, and some friendly challenging. He could imagine better things he could spend his time on, but…

“Of course, wouldn't miss it.”

“Great, I'll see you there.” And she waved him off as he continued off to work. The quiz would be a nice opportunity to get to know some of the villagers he did not see that often, to further secure his position within the town. That, and dominating the others by acing the quiz did sound a little fun to him. None of the ponies in such a little town had the level of education of knowledge that a unicorn of his stature possessed.

His arrival at the workplace was uneventful.

“Oy, yer a bit late, scrawny!” Well, uneventful for that place at the very least. The comment came from the pony who, the first time they had met, had appointed himself as his new best friend. And with it came a tidal wave of hazing and shittalk.

“Not my fault, Hardhat, Merry held me up again. And you know how pouty she gets if you ignore her.” In truth, he was not late at all. If anything, he was early, his shift did not start for another ten minutes. It was just that the ass of a pony who greeted him liked to show up early, and expected him to do the same thing so he would have somepony to chat with.

“Ooh, been putting the ol’ charm on ‘er, have ya?” Hardhat wiggled his eyebrows at him.

“As I have told you time and time again, Hardhat, i'm not interested in her.” He dismissed his so-called friend and trotted past him into the construction site where he worked.

“Oy, ooy, what's the matter with ya?” Hardhat however, would not leave him alone and quickly caught up to him, trotting at the same pace. “Such a fine piece of flank, ye ain’t playing for the other team are ya? Riding the snake? Going bowbow, in the backd-”

“No, I can assure you that I quite like mares, thank you very much.” Spirit interrupted his partner, before the profanities escalated.

“Then when what is wrong with ya?” The annoyance shouted in disbelief. “Such a fine piece of flank, she is the beut of this lil’ town of ours. Erry stallion, is lusting after her.”

“Even you?”

“Especially me! The other mares in this town are witches and hags in comparison to er, and she is practically throwing herself at ye. N` what do ye do? Spit in the faces of all us other stallions combined, is what yer doing. If ye weren't me mate, I would have decked ye, long ago.” Spirit stopped next to a pile of steel beams and drew a deep breath, he needed it to deal with the amount of stupidity his “friend” was putting out.

“Did it ever occur to you, that I was not interested in a relationship? That she is not my type? “ He could not stop frustration from seeping into his voice, raising the volume as he ranted on. “That I have other things to focus on, instead of letting my every decision be decided by my fifth leg?” He was inches from Hardhat’s face as he finished his little outburst.

“Course not, yer just being silly.”

“Of course, what was I thinking.”

He did not care to listen to any more of Hardhat’s bullshit, so, instead of waiting for the rest of the workers to arrive, Spirit walked over to his worktable. It was filled with all kinds of different papers, plans and blueprints of what they were supposed to do, along with plenty of measuring tools. His horn lit up, and slowly but surely, a small, blue, scale replica of the finished building they were working on came into view.

“Phooie, never get tired of seeing that,” he hard Hardhard comment. “Helps out some of the boys too, seeing it in the final version instead of just these papers here.” The small magical scale shifted, and the outer layer of the house was peeled away.

“We are starting on the left side today, how's the progress coming along?” He asked his so-called friend. Hardhat was many things, a pain in the flank, a blabbermouth, but for all his faults, he was a hell of a worker, and was in charge of their little team.

“Well, we finished up the foundation so we gonna start working on them walls when the boys show up.” The magical replica shifted to the west side, showing the bare side, with only the foundation, the corner posts and stills. The things that were carrying the building. Slowly, yet again, it changed, layer upon layer appeared, the innermost layer of planks, isolation, pathways for the electrical and magical wires, before it ended with the outer wall. “Yeah, that seems about right, we won't get that far, just today, and some of the other boys gotta start other places, ain't enuff place for us all to work on one wall, but by the end of the week, it will be a beauty.” Hardhat slapped him on the back, making the magical constrict fizzle and drop. “You just scan regularly to check for faults and irregularities as usual, and help out where it's needed of course.”

Yes, that was his job. He had convinced the villagers, that his special talent had been for illusions, hence his use of the magical construct to compare the finished product to the blueprints, finding any irregularities, or faults. Technically it had not been a lie, Illusions were part of his talent, including persuasion along with controlling and using other ponies. But he kept that little part to himself.

His magical strength was also enough for him to be plenty useful in lifting materials and the like, so, when he discovered that the old planner and safety chief was having some marital problems… well, it did not take much for him to twist and corrupt the situation to his advantage. So, when that pony quit and moved town, it did not take much for “Spirit” to come in and take over. Yes, things were pretty much perfect….

They were getting closer

He had been running, but no matter how far he ran, they gained on him. But he was no coward, ShadySpirit never ran from an inferior opponent. So, he stopped in his tracks spun around and fired a magical bolt into the darkness.

His opponent was slippery, he would give him that. But while SpiritShady was no battlemage, he was no slouch when it came to magic either. He heard footsteps around him, and spun around once more and fired at their direction, hitting air once again.

“Show yourself!” He screamed, his horn crackling with power and frustration.

“You can never escape,” another voice whispered from the overwhelming darkness, it too was closing in.

“Fight me like a stallion!” He shouted once more, and fired multiple beams of magic, nothing hit their mark.

“Coward.” The same every voice whispered.

“I don't need this,” he powered up his horn to teleport away, but nothing happened, his spell just fizzled out.

“I have found you, Shady!” The voice was louder, and SpiritShady started to panic, he wanted to run again, but his legs wouldn't move. He could hear the footsteps closing in behind him. “I will break you, Shady.” It was right behind him, whispering in his ear. A long clawed appendage, crept out of his peripheral vision, grasping at his face. “Everyone will know, what you-”

His body shot up into a sitting position and his hoof went to his chest. He had awoken in a cold sweat, and he was practically hyperventilating. He was no newcomer to nightmares, they came with his past… but never had he had anything that intense. And… his horn felt, funny. He reached up and felt it with his hoof. It was warm to the touch, he had fired magic in his sleep?

And why was it so dark? He has just laid down for a quick nap, a quick fire spell lit the nearby candles he had in his living room. Yep, the broken cabinet door in his kitchen definitely proved that he had indeed had a accidental magic misfire.

“Not since I was a baby…” he groaned while getting up from the couch where he had napped. How his body aked, it had not been smart to sleep on that couch. Another glance over at the ruined cabinet made him sigh, he would need to get that replaced.

Forcing himself to get up, he trotted over to the window and looked out, it was pitch black. He could have sworn that he set his alarm clock to wake him up after just an hour or two, but when he turned back around, there was no alarm clock to be seen.

That also meant that he missed the quiz night, Merry would not be happy about that. He let out a small sigh and shook his head. Well, she would forgive him, she always did.

“Guess I won’t be sleeping tonight,” he said to himself, a habit he had picked up over the years of working alone. “Might as well get some work done…

“Well, somepony looks like shit.”

“Urgh, not today, Hardhat, i'm not in the mood.” He had practically dragged himself to work, and he could not wait for it to be finished.

“Careful with that bite, fella,” his annoying friend laughed. “Ye werent at the quiz last night either, something happen?”

“Just a nap that went a little longer than intended.” He had also taken a sidepath to work, avoiding Merry, he just could not deal with her that early when he felt that shitty.

“Well, ya better make it up to pretty Merry, or the rest of the boys will make ya regret it.” He threw out that casual threat with a laugh that made Spirit pause, was that a joke or not?

Well, he would deal with it later in either case. “Let’s just get to work.”

The day had been long enough, and he just wanted to get back home and fall into his bed, or couch, whichever came first. But fate would not be so kind to him, not just yet, as he was cornered by Merry on his way through town.

“Good afternoon, Spirit!” Her tone was a little less chipper than usual, maybe she had a long day as well. “We missed you last night, did something happen?” Concern overflowing in her tone, she was practically oozing it.

“Just a small slipup, nothing serious, I’m sorry I missed it.” In a strange way, he actually was. Dominating the other ponies with his extensive knowledge seemed like it would be amusing.

“Well, you did promise to show,” Merry made a small pout, something he was sure she used its cuteness to manipulate other stallions. “Luckily for you, I know how you can make it up to me!”

“Wait wha-

“I’m free tomorrow night, so you can come over to my place for some homemade dinner.” He pushed a little, she hadn't phrased that as a question, but rather a statement.

“How do you know that I don't have plans then?” He asked, but it only made her laugh.

“Oh silly, Spirit, you never have anything to do on your evenings, you spend almost all of your time alone in your house.” Well, she had him there, still, it annoyed him to hear her state it like that. “So, let me treat you, it will be my pleasure.”

He did owe her for missing the quiz night, and perhaps she would tone down her clinginess a little if he indulged her.

“You know that, that sounds nice.”

It took a little bit of effort for him to not take a nap, as he had not slept at all that last night, and he had bought a new alarm clock as the old one had seemingly disappeared. The next day passed rather quickly, and soon enough he found himself getting ready for the “date”.

He was freshly showered and groomed, he took pride in his look and looking his best was part in gaining the utmost respect from the other ponies.

He just sat by the window and sipped on a cup of coffee while he waited for his mane to dry. The broken cabinet door mocking him with its presence, reminding him of what he had yet to fix.

He would contact the local carpenter first thing in the morning, as for Merry… he was unsure how he would handle that business. If what Hardhat said was true, then she had a crush on him, and depending on how this date went, there was the possibility that she would be hoping for more. A relationship did have its advantages, it would let him further integrate himself into the town. He would no longer just be the newcomer, but instead the coltfriend of someone everypony knew.

But it also came with its setbacks, maintaining a relationship took work, lots of work, and if he did something wrong, he could harm his reputation, possibly even alienating himself from the other ponies in the village. That would mean he would have to relocate again, and he was not sure if he had the funds for that.

His magic fizzled out and he almost dropped his cup before catching it in his magic field once again. What was up with his magic? First the misfire while he was asleep, now his magic was failing him altogether? Was he coming down with something maybe? Now that he started to think about it, he was getting a little woozy, a spell of dizziness came over him and his eyes drooped. A visit to the local doctor did not sound all that b…..

His head was killing him, it felt like something was drilling on his skull from the inside, and he clutched his head with his hooves. What was wrong with him, the left side of his head felt like it was bleeding, his fur was matted with something wet and sticky.

“H-hello?” He called out in a weak voice, but as expected, no one answered. He definitely needed to see the doctor, but his head hurt way too much for him to even consider moving.

A crash and the sound of glass breaking made him open his eyes, and he immediately regretted it.

His vision was a blur, his room, if he even was in his room anymore, it was hard to tell. Everything was just a sea of swimming colors intermingling. It was faint, but he heard footsteps, light footsteps, not those from a hoof, somewhere in his house.

Intruder!

His old, finely honed reflexes tried to kick into action, he needed to get on his hooves. That, however, proved to be a futile effort, as he fell right back down onto his other side. The feeling of vertigo proved too strong for him to overpower.

The footsteps were coming closer, his breath caught in his throat, his heart was speeding up. He was Spirit Misthoof, previously, Shady, one of the most successful officers in The Weavers. He had been through countless missions, solved all problems that had been thrown in front of him. He did not panic!

But as his body started to shake, he knew he was wrong.

The footsteps were almost upon him, and despite his already crushing headache, he powered up his horn. Out of desperation, he kept pushing more and more magic into his spell, before he let it all loose. A blinding bright light and a deafening boom went off right in front of him.

He barely had a second before the feedback from the spell caused his head to rise to unimaginable levels, but, in that second, he was sure that he saw the outline of a tall figure. Then, everything became dark…

He awoke as he felt a few rays of sunshine strike his form, sending waves of warmth into his core. He was not dead. He felt like he should celebrate that, but all he managed was a weak groan.

When he opened his eyes, the world was back in focus, and he could see his living room, and was surprised to see that everything looked more of less like usual. His hoof went up to his head, as he remembered the pain and wetness, thinking he had been bleeding. But his hoof came back completely dry, in fact, it smelled faintly of soap, a hint of something sour that he could not quite put words to.

Getting up proved to be a small ordeal as well, his legs were weak, and a small headache throbbed as he steadied himself. After a minute or two, he stumbled towards and into the bathroom. The face that stared back to him from the mirror was the pony he had learnt to be the past few weeks. He inspected his head in the mirror, there was no wound, had he imagined that whole ordeal?

He stood like that, pondering the fragments he could remember, that was, until a sinking feeling caught up with him. Work. He had not checked the clock yet, but there was a good possibility that he was late to work because of that strange...dream?

“It did not feel like a dream though,” he pressed his hoof to the side of his head, and it did hurt a little, a small stinging pain.

He tried to draw on his experience, his previous job had him go through more than his fair share of questionable activities. But he had always been of the careful sort, using others when he could, the less risk to himself the better. So, he came up empty.

He needed time to think about it more, to analyze everything, and try to fill the gaps in his memory. But before that he had to head to work.

“I'll go there and explain that I need a sick day or two, shouldn't be a problem.” He had been a model worker up until that point, and he really did feel terrible. Yeah, seemed like a plan.

“There is mister big shot, what, last night turn out so good that ya couldn't make it here till midday?” There has been plenty of things Spirit had been prepared to hear when he arrived at work, but not that. He took a little too long to get his thoughts into order, because Hardhat just kept talking. “Don't hold out any details on us, how did it go with you and Merry?”

Right, Merry had invited him over. He had completely forgotten about that, that was not like him at all.

“I’m afraid I missed that,” the words had barely left his lips before Hardhat seemingly teleported up to hm, their faces mere inches from each other.

“Why?” Spirit froze for a spell from the surprise and tone his friend has suddenly taken.

“I… well, you see i was feeling really under the weather last night, still am actually.” He took a step back from Hardhat who had done the same. “Last night is just one big blur to me, I'm not too sure what happened, but I felt like garbage when I woke up.” His friend held a hoof to his chin and kept nodding as he spoke.

“I guess that makes sense, and now that you mention it, you do look a little worse for wear.” Hardhat keps scrutinizing him for a few more seconds before sighing. “Can't be helped I guess, hey, you didn't happen to see Merry on your way here did ya?” Now that he mentioned it, Merry has been missing from her usual spot at the market, strange, but he had not seen her, so he shook his head. “Hope she is doing alright.”

“Well, if you do see her, give her my apologies. I need to head back home before I pass out again though.” It was not too far from the truth, he was really dizzy.

“Yeah, yeah, you just take it easy and get well again. Though, before you go, you need to look over a small thing.” Before he could protest he was getting pushed over to his working station.

“What did you do now.” He groaned, it was all the enthusiasm he could muster.

“Well, it's more something we did a while ago. Lookie here,” he pointed down at the plans for their current project. “Some of the other boys think that everything is in order, but I’m sure that we made a mistake, look at these beams here.”

Why did he have to deal with that now, he thought. He focused on the blueprints, glancing over it, taking in the numbers.

“This is correct, this is how it's supposed to be done,” he said, tapping the paper with his hoof.

“Are ya sure?” His friend asked, looking at the blueprint and back to Spirit. “We have been following it the entire time, but if that's correct then we made a mistake. Quite a big one at that, it's not like the boys at all. You sure you don't want ta take a look yourself?” He gestured to the unfinished house.

“If we made a mistake then just fix it… urgh, please?” He winced as another spike of pain shot through his head. He would definitely take a detour by the doctor's office on his way home. “I went over these plans myself multiple times.”

“Well, you know what your talking bout I suppose.” Hardhat put his hood between his lips and gave a sharp whizzle. “Alright boys, group two and three, we have some fixing to do,” a chorus of groans echoed throughout the construction site, “I know, I know, ah don't like it either. But the faster we fix it the faster we can keep going, now, we have some support pillars to move, so I want…

Hardhat kept shouting commands but Spirit was not paying attention anymore, he was heading back home to get to the bottom of last nights mystery, and pick up some painkillers on the way.

The doctor had been more than accommodating, and Spirit rejoiced in the slight buzz that came with the painkillers. Perhaps a tad bit stronger than he needed, but he felt like he was allowed that little luxury. Manipulating the doctor had been foal’s play.

Sadly, there was no time to relax though, he still remembered bits and pieces from the nightmare he lived through. There was no footprints, that would have been too easy, but if somepony made their way into his house… how did they get in? He always locked his doors and windows, a healthy habit that came from the slight paranoia he had gained in his previous line of work.

He checked all the windows, and they were still locked, no one broken either. He came to the backdoor, it looked fine, was still locked even. He went to unlock it and… noticed a slight slark in the locking mechanism, it moved ever so slightly and made a faint metallic noise. It was not much, something one might even expect if the one who installed the lock was being a little lazy. But it had been perfect, he had made sure of that.

Had someone broken into his house? For what reason? Nopony knew of his real identity, he had been extra careful with not leaving any trails. Had he been assaulted? Apart from the pain in his head there was no signs of that, and why would they just leave him alone perfectly fine if that was the case. Nothing had been stolen either… could it be that he was a little too paranoid about all of this? That it had just been a dream, he had fallen out of the sofa during his nap, hit his head on the floor, the figure may just have been a figment of his imagination of that was the case.

Still, it was better to be safe than sorry, and so he started looking for tracks around the back entrance to his house. Footprints, broken twigs, anything out of the ordinary.

A sharp knocking forced him to stop, someone was visiting him?

He made his way to the door and spotted Merry standing out front, making him suppress a groan. He still had to deal with that.

“Hello, Merry,” he greeted her with a pained smile, he really wanted to be left alone.

“Good afternoon, Spirit. I was worried when you did not show up last night.” She did smile, but her usual giddiness was not there. “I sat there for so long, waiting for you. Maybe you were just late, I thought at first, then… then,” she started blinking rapidly, “why did you stand me up?”

The blinking continued, but she swallowed and he knew that she was forcing back the majority of her feelings, gathering herself in a stressful situation. That date had really meant a lot to her he realized.

“I thought the event at the quiz night had just been a coincidence. B-but after this, and you did not even show up this morning to my booth like you usually do. I…

Spirit stopped her, this was becoming uncomfortable, and he had other things to deal with apart from a distraught Merry. “Hey, hey, I'm sorry about what happened, I have not been feeling quite well recently. I didn't mean to stand you up, I really didn't.” His words started to calm her down, and she listened to him. “I started to get ready for the dinner at your home, I was really looking forward to it even. Then I passed out.”

“Oh my, are you feeling alright?” The previous feelings were gone in an instant, concern taking their place in full. “You really should not be up and about if that's the case.”

“Yes, yes I know. I already visited the doctor, and I’m supposed to take it easy for a few days.” Not his words, but he would be busy for the next few anyway. “I'm really sorry, Merry, I’ll make it up to you for sure.” He moved a few steps closer, and lifted her chin with his hoof. It was a little much, but it seemed to be working, if her blush was anything to go by.

“Ehehe, that sounds lovely. B-but don't think about that now, you get your flank back inside and rest properly!” She practically pushed him back inside.

“Alright, alright, take it easy.” Spirit laughed, as much as he pretended and played, she really was growing on him. “I'll let you know once I’m back to good health.”

“Be sure that you do!” She has started to turn to leave, but stopped half way, “do you want me to bring you your newspaper? I saw it stick out of your mailbox.”

“Don't bother, I doubt I'll do much reading over the next few days anyway.” He waved his hoof, dismissing the offer.

“Okay… get better soon.” And with that, Merry was prancing away from his house, and he could get back to his business. After a short rest perhaps, he really was feeling out of it.

On her way out, Merry took one last look at the newspaper, glancing at the front page headline.

“*Smuggler organization `The Weavers` taken down.*”

“At least all those bad ponies are caught now, wonder how big it was.” She pondered to herself, as she took the newspaper with her, reading as she went.

Chapter 56

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Prologue

Ethan groaned slightly as he felt the warm rays of the sun hit his face. As much as he liked to sleep in he had a lot of things that needed doing, meals to prepare and mouths to feed. He rolled off his makeshift bed, rubbing the sleep gunk out of his eyes as he stretched, feeling a few pops in his back.

“Hey, wake up, Vernus.” He nudged the leafy bundle that was curled up at the edge of his bed.

“Leaf?” The Leafeon yawned as he looked up to his trainer, questioning why he had disturbed him from his rest.

“It’s morning, buddy, can you wake the others while I make breakfast?” Vernus nodded in confirmation. “Thanks,” Ethan smiled brightly as he scratched his friend behind the ear, making the Leafeon let out a small purr at his touch.

Vernus hopped down from the bed and began making his rounds around their home; it was not a particularly fancy house, but it was home. The roof was made of branches that had been carefully twisted and organized so it was waterproof. The same went for the walls; a combination of the long branches that stretched down from the roof and vines growing up from the ground formed a sturdy wall, and the only gaps in it were the small openings that had been made to form windows and the large part where the door was. It was rather nice for a secret base, all things considered, and it served its purpose.

The floor was covered in all kinds of Pokémon, and Vernus had the task of waking them all up. As tempting it was for him to simply let out a loud cry, he knew better. Some of the Pokémon that lived there did not have the best of pasts and could react badly if they were woken abruptly, so he began gently nudging each and every one of them making sure they were all up and ready to eat.

“Alright, everyone, come get your fill!” Ethan exclaimed just as he had finished filling the last bowl with food, almost having to throw himself out of the way as every Pokémon rushed to their breakfasts. Well, almost everyone.

Ethan felt a small tug on his arm.

“What’s up, Zoey?” He asked the Zangoose that was standing beside him.

“Zang,” she pointed off to a small basket where a small Skitty was laying. It had not moved at all, and was instead simply staring at the other Pokémon as they ate.

“Go eat, I’ll take care of it.” Ethan sighed, picking up a small bowl of food and making his way over to the Skitty.

“Not hungry?” He asked as he sat down besides the small Pokémon, receiving a head shake as an answer. “Both you and I know that’s not true.” He picked her up from her small basket. She was incredibly light, even for a Skitty, and while it was not as evident as it used to be, you could still see her ribs.

“You got to eat something, Chii.” Ethan placed the small cat Pokémon on his lap. He gathered some of the food he had brought and held it out in front of her, only for her to push it away. “I’m not letting you go until you eat.” They had been over this before; the first time the Skitty had refused to eat, he had sat with her for half a day before she finally gave in.

“Zoey, Vernus. Take the others outside when you are done. We will be joining you soon.” He smiled to his two friends as they started gathering up the other Pokémon that had finished. He could always trust those two with helping him out.

After a while the last of the other Pokémon went out the door, leaving only him and Chii inside the base. He could make some liquid food and force-feed her; he had done it in the past when it was needed. But having her give in and eat on her own was for the best, and he did not have to wait too much longer this time either. After an hour, the Skitty finally gave in and began eating the food he had been holding out in front of her. “There, was that so hard? Tell you what. If you finish everything, we will go out and you can play with the others after you are done. How does that sound to you?”

“Skitty!”

“Alright then, it’s a deal.” Ethan smiled as the Skitty picked up her pace, consuming all the food he held out for her. Taking care of Pokémon that needed help or couldn’t take care of themselves was Ethan’s job. In most cases, it was enough to take care of them until they were old enough to live on their own or until a suitable family or trainer could be found. But sometimes special cases came up, Pokémon that were damaged, either physically or psychologically. They could in some cases be a danger to those around them, but more importantly, a danger to themselves. Those required a little more attention and closer follow up than the rest; this Skitty was one of those cases.

“There, go have fun. You did well.” The Skitty purred happily, nuzzling Ethan’s hand before running outside to join the other Pokémon.

Walking outside after her, Ethan smiled as the forest around them was teeming with happy Pokémon playing with one another. The Skitty had run off to join some of the younger ones, while Zoey was watching them, making sure none of them hurt themselves. She had always been good with the younger Pokémon, acting like a mother figure to a lot of them. She had been one of the Pokémon he had saved, but after making a recovery she had decided to stay and help him out instead of leaving. It always filled him happiness to see what had become of the once battle-crazed Zangoose.

The forbidden forest had some nasty rumors stuck to it, some of them planted in order to keep humans out, and some had some truth in them. It was certainly a strange place to call home, but being wanted by the authorities in the first place, the forbidden forest provided Ethan with the perfect place for a home while hiding them at the same time. It was true that the grass Pokémon that lived there did not like humans; there had been several close calls in the beginning. But as time went on, the Pokémon that lived there learned to tolerate Ethan once they learned that he did not want to do anything to harm them.

One would not think that someone that specialized in rehabilitating and taking care of Pokémon would be on the wrong side of the law. But not everyone agreed in his methods when it came to saving Pokémon, or about what Pokémon needed saving.

“Hey there, sleepyhead.” Ethan sat down besides Vernus, who was relaxing in the sunlight. “You haven’t been very talkative lately, something on your mind?” Ethan asked with a grin, he already knew what was bothering his Leafeon but decided to tease him about it.

“Leafeon!” His companion huffed and turned his head away.

“Oh really? Well it certainly doesn’t look like so to me. I think my little Vernus has fallen for someone, maybe a certain Zangoose?”

“Leaf…” Vernus let out a sad sigh.

“Don’t be silly, the two of you are great friends and you always seem to enjoy spending time together. How can she resist such a handsome Leafeon such as you?” Vernus snapped his head around, blushing furiously as he stared at his friend.

“Leaf! Leafeon. Leaf, Leaf Leafeon.”

“That’s just a bad excuse and you know it.”

“Leaf?” Vernus asked him, tilting his head slightly.

“Oh don’t try making this about me; we are discussing your love life right now. Mine can wait for another day.”

“Leafeo…” Vernus had started, but stopped suddenly, his ears rotating around to the forest nearby. “Leaf!” He yelled suddenly.

“Trouble? What are you talking about I don’t see any…” A burst of Pokémon rushed out through the trees close to them, rushing past them in a hurry. “You lucked out this time, but we are not done with this talk.” A Sunflora stopped in front of them, it took a few seconds to catch its breath before speaking up.

“Sunflora. Sun! Sun, Sunflora. SUN!” The Sunflora spoke quickly, in almost a frantic manner.

“Um… Vernus, you mind translating?” Ethan asked his friend, he was good at understanding Pokémon, listening to their tone of voice and observing their body language but he had his limits.

“Leafeon. Leaf leaf leaf” Vernus spoke firmly making several gestures with his paws to carry the meaning over to Ethan.

“There are intruders in the forest? How many of them are there?” He asked the Sunflora, whom tapped the ground three times. “Alright, can you describe what they looked like?”

“Leaf, Leafeon. Leaf” Vernus translated as best he could for his friend.

“The three of them all have a fire type with them? Three Growlithes, and their trainers are all dressed in blue...” Ethan really hoped he was wrong, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Can you get the other grass Pokémon to hold off confronting them? I know you guys normally don’t like humans, but we will see if we can get them to leave. Can you do that for me?” The Sunflora thought about it for a moment, before giving in.

“Flora.”

“Thanks, we will take care of it. Promise” He gave the Sunflora a comforting smile before sending it on its way.

“Hey Zoey!” He yelled, catching the attention of the Zangoose. “We might have some trouble on our hands; keep an eye on the little ones while we are checking it out. Get Sax to help you, we will be back as soon as we can.” He trusted her to keep an eye on things while he was gone. But in case some trouble arose Sax would be able to handle it. “Come on, Vernus, lead the way.” The Leafeon took lead as they ran into the forest.

“By the description it sounded like three officer Jennys. You up for a fight if that’s the case, buddy?”

“Leafeon!”

“Thanks, good to know that you have my back.”

After a while, they took notice that fewer and fewer grass Pokémon could be seen. Ethan hoped that meant that the Sunflora had managed to convince the other Pokémon to let them handle it. If the Jennys were here, they were most likely after him, and that was his problem to deal with.

“Leaf.” Vernus let out a quiet warning for Ethan as he stopped and listened closely. He stood completely still for several minutes, searching for any foreign sound in the area. “Leafeon.” he pointed off to the direction he was sure that he heard some voices from.

“Alright, buddy, you know the drill. Run ahead and lay out a few toxics in the area close to them, which should mess with the Growlithes’s sense of smell.” Getting a nod as confirmation, Vernus sprinted ahead, leaving Ethan behind.

They had dealt with Growlithes before. If Ethan even tried to get close, they would smell him immediately. Slowly walking after his friend, Ethan soon spotted some purple lines of smoke in the distance, meaning Vernus had already completed his task. As he got closer, he started hearing several voices coming from what appeared to be a small clearing in front of him.

“That stuff is everywhere; I thought we managed to scare away all the grass Pokémon.”

“Just don’t breathe any of it in, the last thing we need is to get anyone poisoned.”

“Who in their right mind would come here anyway? I can’t imagine anyone hiding out here, not with the local Pokémon population being as hostile as it was.” The Sunflora had been right, three officer Jennys and their Growlithes were standing in the clearing.

“Leaf?” Vernus had found his way back to Ethan and was now standing at his side waiting for what they would do next.

“Let’s try to scare them out of this forest. They came in and invoked the wrath of the grass Pokémon down upon themselves. Hit and run tactics, stay out of sight as you make your way around the clearing while sending different attacks at them. Energy Balls, Razor Leaf and Magic Leaf. Make it seem like there are a lot of grass Pokémon attacking them. You don’t need to hit them directly though, we are trying to scare them so just blast the ground around them.” Ethan hoped to end this without a fight; they had little to no chance in a direct fight. There were three against one and they had the type advantage. Worst case scenario and they would have to flee.

“Hey! I think I saw something move in those trees… AAAH!” An Energy Ball hit the ground in front of the Jennys sending a wave of dirt and dust against them.

“I said coming here was a bad idea.” One of the Jennys shouted as several Razor Leaves almost hit the Growlithes, making them jump back.

“We finally got a lead on him; I’m not letting that go. Growlithe use Ember.” One of the Growlithes started throwing Embers after where the attacks came from, the other two following its lead in trying to bring down or scare away their attackers.

“This is definitely not going as planned.” Ethan grimaced as one of the Embers hit the trunk of a tree right next to him. “Vernus use Grass Whistle!” Ethan shouted, deciding to abandon their current plan.

“There he is. Growlithe… use…” A soothing melody filled the air, making all its listeners fall prey to its sleep inducing powers.

Waiting until after the attack was finished, Ethan removed his hands from his ears and walked out into the clearing, where three Growlithes and two Officer Jennys were sleeping on the ground, only one of them had been fast enough to act against the Grass Whistle.

“Wake up, Growlithe. Please! Wake up!” The remaining Jenny was shaking her Pokémon in a feeble attempt on waking it up.

“Admit your loss, and leave. Your friends won’t wake up anytime soon and you can’t take me on alone, not without your Pokémon.” The Officer Jenny looked like she was having troubles accepting what had happened.

“We will come back. We have finally found one of your hiding places.” She simply refused to give up; she still thought she had gained a small victory in all of this.

“And what good will that do you? I have plenty of time to escape in the time it will take for you to organize another party to search for me. But say if you did come back here, I will not be here to stop the grass Pokémon from attacking you a second time. You might have managed to scare away the little gathering on the ones that were there when you arrived, but they were planning to come back in much greater numbers.”

“We will still try. There is no way that we will allow a criminal like you to roam free.” Vernus growled at her when she mention of the word criminal.

“… Vernus use Grass knot to bind the sleeping ones to the ground.” The grass around the sleeping Growlithes and Officer Jennys grew exponentially, twisting itself around their bodies until they were completely bound. “There is a village just outside of this forest. If you go there, I’m sure that they will help you free your friends. They do not take too kindly to humans entering this forest though, but being a police officer, I am sure you will do fine.” The villagers would probably just lecture them in why humans were not to enter the forest. They were a peaceful bunch of people.

Ethan turned around and was just about to leave as he began to feel like there was something pressing on his mind. Everything became heavier, and he tried to speak but to no avail as both he and Vernus fell to the ground. A single sentence echoing in their minds before everything went black.

“Rest now my children, for when you awake a whole new world shall be your home.”

Chapter 5

It took a little while, but Ethan and Chii managed to wake Zoey from her daze. She still seemed a little nervous to Ethan though.

“I knew that Lord Arceus was telling the truth… but it’s another thing to see it with my own eyes.” Zoey commented as she looked at Ethan.

“Ethan is a pretty Lopunny!” Chii had the biggest grin on her face as she stood between Ethan and Zoey.

“I don’t know about that. But yeah, it was a… interesting experience, waking up like this.” Ethan said. “I’m still getting used to the body though… Don’t know how to do any moves,” he had not really had the time to try though.

“Oh, I can help you with that.” Zoey smiled, but then her mind caught up with that she had just said. “W-with learning m-moves I mean, since we are both normal types. Not getting used to your body, I….” She stopped herself before she could embarrass herself any further. She was used to having to watch what she said around Ethan. He had always been good at understanding their body language when he was human, but Vernus was the only one he understood fully.

“That would be great. I know Lopunny can learn at least some of the same moves that Zangoose can. Thanks Zoey!” Ethan thanked her.

“Y-you’re welcome.” She would do anything to help him, as he had always done for her, she owed him her life after all.

“Have you seen some of the others?” Chii asked Zoey.

“Yes actually… when I woke up Sax was there.”

“Really? That’s great but… where is he now?” Ethan asked her. Sax had always been the oddball in the group.

“He said he wanted to speak to Lord Arceus and went his own way. I’m sorry; I tried to convince him to stay but…” Ethan held out a paw to stop her.

“No, it’s alright. If he set his mind to something then it’s impossible to stop him anyway.” Ethan let out a sigh. “But I heard that you helped some Lotads escape from the Whiscash down at the pond.” He was proud of her, he always tried to do what he could to help others and it seemed that the she followed the same mentality. “We met them, they are all safe.”

“That’s a relief.” Ethan noticed now how roughed up she actually looked. Her white fur had several dirt spots on it, and her sweater even had a few tears.

“It looks like it was a tough fight… you did not use it did you?” His voice turned serious as he asked her.

“N-no of course not. I know not to do that anymore.” She looked down. “It… was a tough fight, yes, but I managed.” She reassured him. “I’m a little banged up. I had just stopped here to rest before you found me.” Ethan knew Zoey was tough, but he still could not help but worry.

“I’m… sorry, I should not have mentioned it, I know you know better.” Ethan apologized to her. “I’m just happy that you are safe. Do you forgive me?”

Zoey smiled and took the chance to steal another hug from her cute trainer. “Of course, I forgive you.” She had gotten over her initial shock, but she still could not help but blush slightly.

Not wanting to be left out, Chii jumped in between them and joined the hug too, purring happily.

“Are you able to walk?” Ethan asked her as he leaned back from the hug. “There is a village located some ways up the river from here.”

“I… should be fine, as long as we take it easy” She reassured them.

“Then that is what we will do.” Ethan said as he helped Zoey stand up. “Just lean on me if you need to.”

“Thanks… It’s really nice to be able to talk to you properly.” She smiled, as they slowly began walking. “Did you meet anyone else?” She asked curiously.

“We met an Officer Jenny. She was really nice, and she is a Vulpix!” Chii cheered before Ethan had a chance to say anything. He could feel Zoey tense up when Chii mentioned Officer Jenny.

“If she tries anything I will…” Ethan quickly held a paw in front of her mouth to silence her. He looked her in the eyes, nodding down at Chii and shook his head.

Chii did not know that Ethan was considered a criminal, and Ethan wanted to keep it that way if it was possible. It was something that had been impossible to hide from the Pokémon that had stayed with him longer, like Zoey and Vernus. But they had grown to dislike most Law officials for what they would do to their trainer. That was something Ethan did not want for Chii if he could prevent it.

“Yes, she even helped me find little Chii here.” Ethan smiled, continuing where Chii had left off. “Both me and her woke up close to the village I mentioned. And we had some small mishaps with the locals at first. Say… have you seen or met any of the locals yet?” Ethan asked Zoey.

“No… I heard what Lord Arceus said. What are they like?”

“Well you see…” Ethan began explaining their experience with the ponies up until that point. He told her about how their first contact with them had been, and how it had all worked out after Arceus had spoken. How he had found Chii and about how generous Mary Care had been with them. They had enough time to catch up on their way back to the village.

“They are staring…” Zoey partially hid behind Ethan when they made it to the village.

“They are still really new to Pokémon; we just need to give them time.” Ethan reassured her. “Besides, they are really kind.” The ones he had met so far had been at least.

“That does not mean I have to like it…” she mumbled as she continued to walk behind him. Zoey had always been nervous when it came to other humans. And it seemed like that carried over to Ponies. They were still an unknown to her; Ethan figured she just needed a little time.

“Where are we headed?” Chii asked. She was sitting on her usual spot between Ethan’s ears, and was enjoying the feeling of her newly brushed fur. Ethan had given both Chii and Zoey a once over before they arrived.

“We are heading to the Mayor’s office. I have a few things I need to talk to him about,” Ethan told her. He needed to inform him about the Whiscash and he had another matter he hoped to solve as well.

“They seem really similar to humans… but not at the same time.” Zoey commented as she was watching the ponies intently.

They had not seen either Officer Jenny or Mary since they had arrived back. Because Ethan did not know how far it was to the lake they were escorting the Lotads to, he had no idea about when they would be back.

“Speaking of Ponies, let me introduce you two to one of them,” Ethan said as he spotted Mignon. “He showed us around the town when we first got here, and even gave us a free meal at his restaurant. Hey, Mignon!” Ethan waved at him to catch his attention.

“Well lookie there. Good morning Ethan.” Mignon waved back as he trotted over to the group. “And friends too. Name’s Mignon, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He said with a short bow.

“It’s good to see you again. This here is Zoey,” Ethan introduced her. He had already explained to Zoey about the translation spell, so she kept quiet for now. “And this is Chii. You want to say hello?” He lifted her down from his head.

“H-hello, it’s nice to meet you.” She smiled at him. Chii was a little nervous but Mignon seemed friendly enough.

“And you too, cutie.” Mignon replied with a grin. “I would love to stay and talk, but I have to get things ready at the restaurant. Feel free to stop by when you got time, friends. Have a great day.” He waved back at them as he trotted away.

“He seems friendly.” Chii cheered happily. Ethan smiled at how quickly she seemed to have warmed up to him.

“He certainly seems cheerful. Are all of them like that?” Zoey asked.

“No, he seems rather straightforward. You should give them a chance; they are really nice once you get to know them.”

“I.. I’ll try.” A small growl emitted from Zoey’s stomach, making her blush slightly.

“Hungry?” Ethan asked her, while Chii giggles at Zoey’s embarrassment.

“…A little. I have not had anything to eat today yet.”

“We can fix that. I got some food back at Mary’s house; we can pick that up for you before heading to the mayor.” He was sure that Mary would not mind if he let himself in. That also meant that the food he got from Mignon would not go to waste.

“Really? That would be great, thank you!” Zoey smiled. She had not had time to gather anything before Ethan and Chii found her, so she looked forward to getting some nourishment.

“It’s no trouble. Now, I’ll go get it, the two of you just wait here and I’ll be right back.” Chii hopped down to Zoey, as Ethan made his way around to the back of Mary’s house. He had seen her lock the front door, but the back had been unlocked the last time when he came to rescue Officer Jenny. But he was in and out quickly with the food he had left in hand.

“Here, hope you like it. It was Mignon that made it.” Ethan said, handing over the takeaway box to Zoey. It was cold, and some of the pasta on top had begun to stale a little, but it would be better than nothing. And by how quickly Zoey wolfed it down, it must have still been pretty good.

The rest of the walk to the Mayor’s office was rather uneventful. Ethan really hoped that the mayor would grant him what he had planned to ask for; it would mean that they would no longer need to rely on Mary’s hospitality.

“I don’t know how long this will take… Zoey, do you mind watching Chii for a bit?” Ethan asked her.

“No, not at all,” she answered.

“Thanks. There is a park just back there; you can go play there if you want. I’ll find you when I’m done.” He trusted Zoey to keep them out of trouble. She was always the responsible one.

“Okay, see you soon!” Zoey said as Ethan opened the door and entered the building.

There was a reception where a female pony was sitting. She was looking upon Ethan with curious eyes as he closed the distance between them.

“Excuse me, is the mayor taking visitors?” he asked her. “I have some important business I would like to discuss with him.”

The secretary seemed out of it for a few moments, but quickly shook it off and regained her professionalism. “Um, yes he finished with a meeting a little while ago. If you would wait here, I’ll go and notify him of your request.” She stood up and walked through the door behind her.

It did not take long for her to return. “The mayor is ready to see you now.” she said with a smile as she got back to her desk.

“Thank you.” He said to her, before he stepped past her and through the same door she had used. On the other side was a large room. Multiple bookshelves filled the walls, and at the end of the room was a large desk. Sitting at the deck was the same pony Ethan had seen holding the speech when he and Officer Jenny first arrived, the mayor.

“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.” Ethan told him. If the political ponies here did anything the same way as they did back on Earth, it was important that he made a good first impression.

“Oh it’s no trouble at all. I have been hoping to speak to you as a matter of fact, news travels fast around here and I heard that Cursed Vision had cast a translation spell on one of you. Please sit.” The mayor gestured to a chair in front of his desk.

Nodding Ethan took him up on his offer and sat down. “Yeah, his spell worked perfectly.” Ethan paused for a moment. “Forgive me for getting straight to the point, but there are two things I wanted to talk to you about.”

The mayor nodded in understanding. “A pony… no, a Pokémon of action? I can respect that. What did you wish to discuss?”

“As you may have heard I and some of my friends were so lucky to be able to stay with one of your ponies. The town veterinarian Mary Care, she was so kind to offer us a place to sleep for the night.” Ethan said, choosing how to best present his case.

“Indeed, she is a kind soul.”

“…That she is. But I can’t take advantage of her kindness for too long. I wanted to ask you for a building, or a warehouse that we could fashion into something that Pokémon that need it can call home, or as a temporary place to stay.”

“Hmm… I can certainly see your reasoning for not wanting to take advantage of her, but I can’t simply give a building away, you must understand that.” The mayor told him. Ethan had not expected it to go so smoothly, but he was not done yet.

“No, I can see how that could be troublesome for you… Are you aware that the situation by the waterfall has been taken care of?” Ethan asked, slowly leading the mayor in the direction he wanted. He did not like to do things this way, as it required manipulating people or ponies in this case.

“No, I had not gotten word of that yet. That is certainly good news, the falls are one of the main attractions of this village of ours.”

“Yes, me and my friends were able to convince the Pokémon there to leave with the help of Mary Care.” While they did not need any convincing it was them that had contributed to getting them to move, so it was not a total lie. Rather a fine interpretation of the truth. “There had also arisen another problem in a pond further down the stream from the waterfalls. Some very territorial Pokémon has taken residence in it, so it could be dangerous if ponies ventured too close.” Ethan could see the distress on the mayor’s face now.

“That… is troubling news indeed.” Ethan took the initiative and spoke up again.

“That it is. There are also other Pokémon related problems that could arise in the future… Don’t you think it would be for the best if I and my friends stayed in this town of yours?” He had to resist smirking as the mayor must have begun putting the pieces together by now. “My friend is even a Pokémon police officer. And I am also used to dealing with situations like these. We would of course be willing to help you with any such problems that may arise… it’s just a shame that we don’t have a place to stay…” The ponies knew next to nothing about Pokémon after all, so Ethan could not see the mayor denying his request.

“I… I need some time to think about this.” The mayor said, his voice starting to sound slightly panicked.

“Of course,” Ethan nodded. “I’ll stop by again later today. I’m sure you will be able to find a suitable building by then.” Make it seem like they have a choice when they don’t, and they will play their part. “Have a good day then, mayor. Thanks for your assistance.” Ethan smiled as he stood up and left the mayor’s office with a bad taste in his mouth. There was a chance that he could have gotten his request approved by other less manipulating means. But he did not want to take any chances. A building where they and any passing Pokémon or former human could stay… it would really help them out in the long run. He only hoped he had not made an enemy with the mayor.

“Have a good day,” he thanked the receptionist on his way out. Stepping out of the building, Ethan smiled at how lively the town was. It was a pleasant sight, and reminded him of his hometown, Dewford. It had always been a closely knit community a place where everyone knew everyone. He really missed that place.

He greeted most ponies as he walked through on his way to the park. A lot of them were still a little wary of him, but at least they greeted him back. He was slightly surprised at how empty the park was when he walked into it.

“Still early in the day, not even noon, I think. Guess most ponies are still at school or work.” He smiled as he sat down by the foot of a tree and leaned against it. He could not spot Chii or Zoey anywhere either, but it was a large park.

It was nice for Ethan to just sit down and relax for once. He had not really had the time to do so since they had arrived in this world. The first day was mostly filled with confusion, and the second there had been Officer Jenny… he still had to take care of that problem. Being turned into a Pokémon did not help anything either. He did not have any particular wish to be turned into one in the first place; it certainly had its perks, but he missed his old body… his own body.

“I could really use some help by now…” he muttered to himself. It was only a matter of time before another Officer Jenny or Pokémon Ranger that knew who he was would come. A day, two days, a week? Hell, it could even be in a few hours. He had no way of knowing, and he hated that feeling. He felt completely helpless.

Perhaps it would be for the best after all. Zoey would be able to take care of Chii by herself just fine. It would help if Vernus was here too, but the two of them would manage. He was sure they would.

Small teardrops began rolling down his cheeks, dripping down onto the ground below him. He really did not want to leave them: it would crush Chii, but he really did not know if he had a choice in the matter. Running was not an option, not anymore. He had run from his problems enough already, perhaps he should go to jail. Perhaps he should finally pay for what he had done.

Ethan was brought out of his own thoughts when he felt something brush against his leg. He raised his head to see that Zoey and Chii were sitting in front of him; they had nudged his leg to get his attention.

“W-what’s wrong?” Chii’s voice was cracking slightly. She looked on the verge of tears herself. “W-why are you crying?” Ethan wanted to hit himself. Above all else, he had not wanted Chii or Zoey to worry; he was supposed to take care of them.

“Come here, you too, Zoey.” He brought them in, and hugged them both tightly. “Thanks, you two.” He smiled once he leaned back against the tree.

“Really though, what is bothering you?” Zoey asked him. It worried her to see Ethan like that.

“…Chii, can you wait over there for a moment?” Ethan asked her. “Everything is alright, I promise. I just need to talk to Zoey for a bit.”

“B-but can’t you say it while I’m here?” she sniffed, as she looked up at him.

“Sorry… grown up stuff. We will be right there with you.” He scratched her head in the way she enjoyed. “Sorry for worrying you, Chii. It will just take a moment.” Chii really did not want to leave him like that, but she nodded sadly.

“…What is it?” Zoey did not want to admit it, but it scared her to see Ethan in the state he was in.

“You will take care of Chii if anything happens, right?” he asked her.

“Why are you saying that, why would I…” Realization came over Zoey. “Is this about that Officer Jenny? I swear if she tries to do anything to you I will…”

“You will do no such thing!” Ethan interrupted her. “You will not do anything to harm her.”

“But… I… I can’t just sit by and let you arrest you. Can’t you explain to her why you had to do what you did?” Zoey asked.

“… I killed him. That’s not something I can just explain away, and even if I tried, why do you think she would believe me?” Zoeys anger grew as she listened to him.

“You had no choice and you know it. If you had not stopped him, he would have killed me… you saved my life. He deserved to die, don’t do this to yourself. Don’t you DARE leave me or Chii alone.”

“I just… I did not mean too… I didn’t…” Zoey hugged Ethan tight as he softly began to cry again. “I never meant to kill him…” It had been so much easier to deal with when he ran from his problems. Being forced to acknowledge and deal with them…

“I know Ethan… I know.” Zoey spoke softly as she held him.

Chapter 7

Ethan caught up with Officer Jenny just outside Mary’s Clinic. He had ran most of the way, and was out of breath as a result.

“Here I was unsure if you would show up.” Jenny commented as she looked up at him.

“I don’t really have a choice, we are doing this!” Ethan replied. He had gotten a lot of weird looks from the ponies as he had run through the town, but he did not have the time to deal with any of them at that moment.

“So you really think that you can actually convince me?” Jenny asked with a skeptical look.

“Maybe… I know that I have to try at least. Besides, I like my chances.” Ethan said with a fake smile, he had to seem confident.

“… We’ll see.” Jenny did not think that he had a chance, he would say his story and then he would go to jail, she had ensured that by adding a witness. But she had to admit that she was interested in his story, he had not been like other criminals she had dealt with.

Ethan reached out and knocked on the door to the clinic. He liked to think that he had a good chance in convincing Officer Jenny, but Mary Care, she was still a wild card. She had been more than kind to them, but there was no way of knowing how she would react, he knew too little about her to assess her properly.

He could hear something move inside, and soon the door opened up with Mary on the other side.

“Oh, hello again! Please come in,” she smiled and welcomed them. She was wearing the same medical cloak she had when they last saw here there. “It’s only you two?” she asked as they walked in. The room that greeted them seemed like a waiting room, there was several chair around the room, with doors leading to other parts of the building.

“Yeah… Chii and Zoey wanted to rest a little bit, so they will come later.” Ethan told her.

“We had something we wanted to talk to you about.” Officer Jenny said, getting straight to the point.

“Sure, we can go into my office.” Mary led them into one of the rooms to the side. It looked like a normal office. She had a desk, which was overflowing with papers. “S-sorry about the mess… I’m just a little behind on my paperwork… so what did you want to say?” Mary asked as they sat down.

“Can you promise something first?” Ethan asked her. “Hear me out before you decide to do anything.” He could see confusion appear on Mary’s face. Mary looked over to Officer Jenny for answers, but she only got a nod.

“Ethan was going to talk to me about something, but I wanted you there too as a witness.” Jenny told her. At this point Mary Care started to get slightly nervous.

“W-what’s going on?” She asked, looking between Ethan and Jenny. The former was fidgeting in his seat.

“We are just…” Ethan paused to think on how to formulate his words. “Settling a matter from our old world.” He decided that it sounded better that way. “It will all make sense, I promise you.” Ethan said to try to calm her down.

“…Okay.” Mary agreed with a nod.

“…Well I suppose the beginning is a good a place as any to start.” Ethan began, deciding to put all the cards on the table from the start. “In our old world, I was considered a criminal.” Ethan stopped as Officer Jenny huffed besides him.

“You still are!” she glared at him.

“…That’s why we were going to have this talk.” Ethan turned back to Mary. “I want to convince her that she might be wrong… and she wanted you as a witness here in case I couldn’t.”

“So the criminal you said you were chasing during our talk this morning. Was that…?” Mary looked in between Ethan and Officer Jenny, she was still confused, but the fear had subsided a little.

“That was me, yeah…” Ethan gave her a sheepish grin. “I’m not a bad person though, I promise you.”

“Not a bad person my ass… he is a murderer.” Mary Care gasped as Officer Jenny blurted that part out. “Or are you going to claim that you did not kill that man?” Jenny asked Ethan.

“…No, I did kill him.” He felt really badly now, Mary care looked absolutely terrified. She was about to speak but Ethan held out a paw to stop her. “Just… let me tell what actually happened, and you can judge me after that. That’s what you promised me, is it not?” He returned the glare Officer Jenny had given him earlier.

“I did, yes.” She admitted. She may have gotten a bit ahead of herself. It was just that the chance of gaining Mary on her side was too sweet of an idea. “Go ahead.” She had made a promise, and she always kept her promises.

“But… I thought you said you took care of Pokémon, that you helped them.” She questioned him.

“I… I did, still do. I…” Ethan looked back to Officer Jenny. “I have a lot of respect for what you and most law officials do. It’s important work, but not even you can catch everyone or fix everything.” Everything had its flaws after all. Officer Jenny knew what he meant. She had personally seen her fair share of criminals go free due to lack of evidence. Even if they knew that the person was guilty, it meant nothing unless they could prove it.

“So I decided to take it into my own hands.” He gave them a pause to think about it for a second before continuing. “The people I targeted were ones that had hurt or abused Pokémon in any sort of way, that had managed to somehow avoid the law or, if not enough evidence could be found, to get them sent to jail. And since there was not enough evidence against them, they could safely report me to the police for rescuing the Pokémon that they were abusing.” Ethan was unable to contain the anger in his voice as he talked about it.

“…A lot of the people you targeted, we received anonymous tips on. Was that you?” Officer Jenny began to remember back to the cases she had worked that involved Ethan.

“Correct.” Ethan answered with a grin. “If you had done nothing, then I always sent a tip to you guys. A lot of the times you got the criminals too. But as I just said…”

“Someone always gets away…” Jenny finished for him. She had begun to understand Ethan more, what drove him, and what kind of person he really was.

“I never harmed anyone if I did not need to. Some bruises or broken bones in worst case… at least it was supposed to be…” Ethan looked down at his paws as he remembered that night. “I never meant to kill anyone… but that doesn’t change the fact that I did…”

Ethan and Vernus were making their way through the city’s back alleys. The moon was high in the sky, and most of the streets were empty, only the occasional drunk or night patrol. They had gotten tips about this underground fighting ring a while back. But this time the police had done nothing, no investigation, nothing at all. It was more than a little strange, especially when he knew how competent the police force of that city actually was.

But if they did nothing, then he had to. Ethan was no fighter though, so they had to go in after hours, there was no way he and Vernus could handle multiple trainers on their own, at least not in a straight up battle. No, his friend Brawly had managed to get some inside information for him. It was supposed to be empty when they got there.

“Leaf!” Vernus bit down on Ethan’s jacket stopping him in his tracks.

“What’s wrong?” Ethan whispered. When they had to make through a city, Vernus was always his eyes and ears. They took as few chances as possible, which meant avoiding any sort of human contact, or at least trying to. It was easier to make it through a city, during the daylight with a disguise. During the night however, everyone stood out.

Vernus did not say anything; he only nodded to the corner of the alley Ethan had almost walked around. Leaning around the corner, Ethan could see a homeless man sleeping next to a trashcan. That must have been what Vernus had warned him about.

“It looks like he is sleeping, we are good to go!” Ethan said in a low tone as the two of them walked around the corner, sneaking past the sleeping man. But when he got closer, he spotted something else. Curled up in the man’s lap was a Poochyena which was also sleeping. It was quite a common Pokémon in the Hoenn region, and one of the more liked dark types.

Vernus bit Ethan’s jacket again, and tried to drag him past the sleeping couple as Ethan kneeled down next to them. The man had definitely seen better days; his face showed signs of malnutrition but Ethan was more interested in the Poochyena in his lap. It looked like it had been taken well care of. Its fur was a little dirty, but that was to be expected. More importantly, it looked well fed.

Ethan let Vernus drag him on after he had confirmed the health of the Poochyena; it seemed like it had a good owner that took care of it to his best ability. It was not unheard of that homeless or less fortunate people took better care of their Pokémon than they did with themselves, after all.

After continuing walking for a little while, Ethan and Vernus ended up in front of a rather large warehouse. It was there that the underground fighting was supposedly taking place. There were no lights on; as far as Ethan could see, there was no activity going on at all there.

“Do you hear anyone, Vernus?” Ethan asked.

“Leafeon,” Vernus shook his head, and pointed to the entrance.

“Alright, let’s go then.” The two of them moved up to one of the entrance doors. It was strange; he had thought that there would be at least one or two persons guarding the place. But there was nothing, no guardsmen or Pokémon at all outside.

Being careful not to make too much noise, the two of them entered the warehouse and began looking around. From first glance, it would seem like it was nothing more than a normal storage place, with some containers.

“Vernus, see if you can find anything. You know what to look for.” Ethan said to his friend as the two of them took off to different parts of the warehouse, looking for anything out of place. Almost all the containers that Ethan checked were empty. But in the last one he found something. There was blood splatter on the floor of the last container. It looked like someone had attempted to clean it up, but they had clearly missed something.

Before Ethan could do anything else he heard Vernus call out to him.

“Leaf!” Hurrying over to where his friend was standing, Ethan saw what Vernus had found. It was a rather obvious metal hatch. It baffled him, it was so easy to find, and with the blood. If the police had actually checked the place out, he would have thought that it would have been an easy case. But Brawly had told him, that there had been no investigation at all.

Officer Jenny was moving uncomfortably in her seat before she spoke up.

“That… was not one of our proudest moments…” She said in a defeated tone. It was easy to see that she was hiding something.

“What do you mean?” Ethan asked her.

“It was not discovered until after but… the chief officer had apparently been taking bribes from several gangs, that being one of them… She was relieved of her duty immediately and was dealt with accordingly. She deserved far worse that she got…” Jenny was furious when she thought back at that incident. That one of their own had been hindering their own work and helping criminals… it was simply disgusting. “That… is probably why there was no initial investigation.”

“…I see.” Ethan could easily see how upset Jenny was about the matter; it must have been hard on her when she found out that one of their own had gone against them. “Like I said, we found a hatch. When we opened it we found a ladder that lead further down…”

“You know… if you would learn how to properly climb ladders, then we would not have to deal with this.” Ethan complained as he climbed down with Vernus clinging to his back.

“Leaf…” Vernus sighed sadly.

“I know that you don’t like heights that much… but still.” It had been a fear his companion never had managed to conquer completely. He had no problems climbing up ladders anymore… but down them, he required Ethan’s help.

At the end of the ladder, there was a thin long corridor in front of them. There was no sound, other than the occasional water drop hitting the floor they were standing on. After a little while, the corridor expanded, into a huge room before them. And in the middle of the room, there is was; the fighting ring.

“Leaf…” Vernus could smell the blood from the ring from where they stood. It was overwhelming.

With the size of the room and the ring itself, it looked almost like a concert hall with how big it was. This was much bigger than Ethan had anticipated. The ring itself was a drop in the middle of the room, with the spectators sitting above and around it. When they got to the edge of the ring itself, Ethan saw what Vernus had smelled.

The bottom was filled with sand, but there were several places where you could see blood, fur even scales of the former fighters. It looked like someone had died in that ring, that’s how bad it was. Unable to keep his gaze on it for any longer, Ethan tore himself away, feeling slightly nauseous.

“Y-you hear anything Vernus?” He asked his companion.

Vernus sat down and concentrated on his surroundings, sharpening his senses. He had been too focused on the smell to notice anything else. His ears rotated around as he searched for anything out of the ordinary. He picked up on something… it was off to the side, but he swore that he could hear something, or someone; it was too faint for him to be sure.

“Leafeon!” He informed Ethan of what he had heard.

“Well let’s see what it is then… hopefully it’s something better than… that.” He took a last glance back at the ring behind them.

“Leaf, Leafeon!” Vernus agreed with him.

“I know buddy… but that’s why we are here. We are going to fix this.” Ethan reassured his friend.

Vernus set off down one of the corridors to the side, with Ethan close in follow. As they got closer Ethan could also hear something, it was coming from one of the rooms to the side ahead of them, it sounded like whimpering.

Vernus took a battle ready stance, as Ethan opened the door, but quickly realized that he did not need to when he saw what was inside. There was several Pokémon bound up in chains or in cages around the room; it had been their whimpering he had heard.

The Pokémon looked up at the new arrivals, some in curiosity, some tried to be intimidating, and some looked upon Ethan in complete and utter fear. The moment Ethan took one step into the room the effect became even worse. Most of them hurried back in their cages, trying to get as far away as possible from him. One Mightyena bared its teeth at him at the same time as it backed away. It was more than obvious, they were afraid of humans.

“Vernus! Do you think you can manage to break those locks and chains?” Ethan asked him.

“Leaf!” He nodded confidently.

“Good, you take care of all of these, and lead them out.” Ethan put a hand on Vernus`s shoulder and kneeled down beside him. “If you can, see if you can tell them that I mean them no harm. I don’t think they will be easily persuaded, but it will make escaping with them easier.” Vernus nodded and readied his Leaf Blade as Ethan walked out of the room. The corridor was leading further down and he could not take any chances, if there were more Pokémon down there he had to find them too.

Ethan could hear the sound of the locks breaking as he went further down, checking the doors he passed. A lot of them had cages or other equipment in them. He even passed what looked like a medical room. It made sense, as despicable as these human beings were, they did not want what they considered to be their property, to die.

He shook his head and continued down further, he trusted Vernus to get the others out safely and wait for him outside. If he took too long he would probably come back after him to check up on him too. The two of them always had each other’s backs.

Ethan slowed down as he heard some sounds from one of the rooms up ahead. There was a sound of something hitting something; he could hear a distinct thud sound over and over again. When he got to the door he paused for a moment, when he heard a voice, a human voice.

“You useless piece of shit!” It was the voice of a man, and by the sound of it, he was out of breath and angry. “You lost again! Do you have any idea of how much money you lost me?” Ethan was getting increasingly worried, he considered running back to get Vernus since he was alone, but he decided against his inner voice and took a peek through the gap in the door.

There, in the middle of the room stood a large man with a bloodied shirt on. He was breathing heavily and was standing with what looked to be a bat in his hand. Ethan had to hold himself back when he spotted what the man had used the bat on. On the ground there laid a Zangoose, that was so badly beaten up that Ethan could barely believe it. A lot of its fur was missing, and a lot of what it had left was bloodied. He could see that it was moving slightly, but every slight movement, made it let out a whimper in pain.

“Well I have found myself a new champion now anyhow. That new Mightyena will do what you could not.” Ethan felt his blood freeze, as he saw the man turn around to the table behind him. It was filled with all sorts of knives and blades. “And a useless bitch like you, are better off dead!” Ethan reacted immediately as the man reached out for a knife.

He sprang through the door, grabbing the attention of both the man and the Injured Zangoose. Ethan was scared, he was terrified, but he acted without thinking about what he was going to do, but he had to do something.

“What the…” The man paused slightly with his hand hovering over one of the knives as Ethan busted into the room. “Who the fuck are you?” He roared as he grabbed the knife and turned around to face Ethan, but was met with something else instead.

Ethan had grabbed the closest thing he could get his hands on when he entered the room and swung it with all his might as the guy’s head, in hope of knocking him unconscious. The guy just had time to turn around before he was hit with Ethan’s desperate attack. He stumbled back a few feet, before be collapsed.

Ethan dropped the pipe he had used as an improvised weapon and let out a relieved sigh. He was unsure of exactly where his strike had hit the guy, but from what he could see, he was not moving anymore so he must have managed to knock him unconscious. Ethan tore his eyes away from the man, and down to the Zangoose instead, who were looking up at him with an uncertain gaze. He carefully kneeled down next to her, when he was this close he could see that it was a female.

“Z…Zang,” she managed to utter; her voice was hoarse and raspy.

“Don’t speak… I’ve come to save you.” Ethan gave her a comforting smile as he looked over here more closely. She was covered in both fresh and old wounds, not all which had healed properly from what he could see. One of her claws was unseated unlike the rest, and it seemed to be cracked. But more importantly, was what Ethan saw on the parts of her that was not covered in fur anymore. Her skin was sickly purple in a lot of places; he placed his palm on her skin to confirm what he thought it looked like. She was badly poisoned, as if her health weren’t bad enough. Most people think that Zangooses are immune to the effects of poison, and a lot of them are. However some of them draws strength from it instead, becoming a lot of vicious when affected. They may still be more resistant to its effects, but long exposure to them will still have severe effects… and from that was one of the most severe cases of poisoning Ethan had ever seen.

“Damn… we need to get you to Vernus as quickly as possible.” Ethan mumbled under his breath. Ethan was not carrying any antidotes with him currently, but Vernus knew how to use Heal Bell, so he could fix the poison.

“This will probably hurt a lot… but I need to pick you up, so I apologize in advance.” Ethan told her, he was about to kneel down and pick her up, but stopped as he glanced over at the guy he had knocked out earlier. Ethan felt like his whole body froze as he saw the large pool of blood around the guy’s head.

“No…” Ethan hurried over to him. He may be evil but no one deserved to die, at least not in Ethan’s mind. He quickly checked his pulse whole begging that he was still alive… and he felt it, there was a pulse. But it was weak, and the pool of blood was only getting bigger by the second.

“No don’t you die… don’t you dare die!” Ethan was hysterical at that point. He moved over so he could see where the blood was coming from, maybe he could stop it. Just below the ear was where he saw it; there was a huge gash just below where Ethan thought he had hit the guy with the pipe. Ethan pressed his hands down on the wound in a feeble attempt to stop the bleeding.

“It was only a pipe… it was supposed to knock you out,” He looked around the room for anything he could use… but there was nothing. The blood combined with how Ethan was shaking was enough to make him slip and release the pressure he had been keeping on the wound.

“Zangoose…” Another painful whimper from the Zangoose, Ethan also had to get her out of there as fast as possible. But he just could not… the man was not breathing anymore. His chest had stopped rising, he was completely still. Ethan almost felt like laughing, he had thought he would be faced with having to make a choice but it had been made for him. He was a killer.

He glanced down at his bloodied hands, desperately trying to wipe the blood off them. But it simply refused to go away.

Looking over to where he had dropped the weapon Ethan saw what had happened. What he had thought to be a normal pipe was actually shredded at the end, making several sharp metal points, one of which was covered in blood. There was no doubt about it, he was now a killer.

But he did not have the luxury of thinking anymore about it. Ethan kneeled down next to the Zangoose and carefully picked her up, but she still whimpered in pain. “Hold on tight… I’ll have you out of here soon.” Ethan told her as he held tightly onto her, only giving himself one last look at the lifeless corpse before he ran to the exit…

Ethan looked to both Officer Jenny and Mary Care who were both being quiet for the moment, thinking about the story he had told. He had left out the part about the scars since the Zangoose in the story was Zoey, she was ashamed about those scars, and it was not his place to tell anyone about them.

“T-that’s… that’s such a sad story…” Mary sniffed as she wiped her eyes. She had gotten more and more emotionally involved over the story.

“You actually believe him?” Jenny huffed when she spoke up. “He is a murderer, for all we know he could have made the whole thing up… can you prove any of what actually happened?” She asked him.

“You know that I can’t… all possible evidence is back on Earth. You only got my word.” He said in a slightly defeated tone. He had all possible reason to lie to her after all.

“But… I don’t think he is a liar.” Mary spoke up, taking Officer Jenny by surprise. “I want to choose to believe in him. I have only known him for a day, but he had been nothing but kind and helpful so far.” Mary Care told Jenny. She would be more wary of Ethan from now on, but she still believed that he was a good individual.

As much as Jenny hated, it she knew that she agreed with Mary on some points. She knew that Ethan was a lot of things, but a liar was not one of those… as much as she wanted it to be so.

“So what are you going to do?” Ethan asked Jenny. “I did kill him, but… I believe that it was the right thing to do in that situation.”

Jenny did not say a word at first. She knew that Ethan had won Mary Care over with his story, that much was obvious. She honestly did not know what she was supposed to do, she did not want to believe Ethan, but she did not sense any deception from his either. She honestly did not know what to think anymore. She lived for justice, it was who she was… Officer Jenny stood up and left the room without uttering a word, leaving Ethan and Mary behind. She needed time to think.

“... I don't think she agreed with me…” Mary said after a few moments.

“It was a longshot at best…” Ethan sighed out as he slumped back in his chair. He glanced over to Mary, he was surprised at how well she had taken it after she got to know that he was a killer. “What about you? Do you agree with her, that I should go to jail?” He asked her.

“...” Mary looked down for a moment as before she met Ethans look. “I… don't know,” she said softly. “Killing somepony is… wrong, no matter what the reason. But you said that you never meant to kill anypony… and I believe you. That and your god said that he only brought good and those that deserved it right? I believe that should mean something.” She gave Ethan a kind smile.

“Thank you…” Ethan felt relieved, even if he had not convinced Officer Jenny, he still had someone that believed in him.

“But.... I…” Mary was struggling with something. “You still killed somepony… I know you are a good person but… I don't know if I'm comfortable with you staying in my house… I'm sorry.” Mary told Ethan. Her eyes were misty and she struggled not to cry, she did not want to seem rude or anything, but she just could not let Ethan stay with her. At least not yet.

“I understand…” Ethan nodded solemnly, he understood her reasoning perfectly well, but that did not mean that it hurt any less. “If it’s no trouble… do you think Zoey and Chii can still stay with you if I don't find another place for us to sleep?” He asked her. There was still the deal with the mayor, but it never hurt to have a backup plan. “I dont want them to have to sleep in a cold place if its possible.” Mary gave him another kind smile and nodded.

“That is perfectly alright,” she told him. “I just think I need some time before I… trust you completely again.” She was sorry that she felt that way, but she could not control her feelings.

“I have another thing to ask of you if you don't mind…” Ethan took a deep breath to prepare himself. “If I do end up going to jail… can you take care of Chii?” the question shocked Mary. “Zoey is like a mother to her… but Chii needs a stable home… Zoey should be able to take care of herself whatever happens.”

But before Mary had the chance to say anything a pink blur ran in through the door and hopped up and into Ethans arms. Chii nuzzled herself as close to Ethan as she possible could.

“Ethan!” her voice as slightly muffled since she had it pressed against the fur on Ethan’s chest. She leaned back and looked up to him. “We… I was worried,” she sniffed. “You weren't there…” she buried her face back into Ethan’s chest.

Ethan wrapped his arms around Chii as she nuzzled against him. He had left without a word after all, he knew how sensitive Chii was about people abandoning her, so it had been a colossal mistake on his part. “I’m sorry…” he spoke softly as he patted her back.

Mary looked upon the two of them and shook her head sadly. She did not want them to have to break up what they had. It was obvious that Chii needed Ethan, and he needed her as well. She just hoped that Officer Jenny felt the same way.

Chapter 29

“So this is where the battle took place?” The Growlithe asked as he surveyed the area that he and Protocol stood in front of.

He had seen the area before when he and Vernus came upon it the first time. But he had not found it to be too interesting at that time, so they had just moved on without looking around. Now though… it was the last place where Jenny had been seen. It was the best place for finding any clues about what had happened to her… the only place.

It had not been until the day after Ethan had introduced him to Protocol that the police pony had agreed to take him out to the mine to see if he could be of some help. He had naturally wanted to go out immediately after Protocol had used the translation spell on him, but he had reluctantly agreed to wait until the next day after a stern talk from Protocol. There would not have been too much they would have been able to do that day either way since it was already fairly late after Protocol had agreed to let him help with the investigation.

“Yes it was.” Protocol answered as he led the Growlithe through area leading up to the mine entrance. Signs of the battle could still clearly be seen on the ground around them. Some of the other police ponies that had accompanied them had already gone ahead and entered the mine, Protocol had taken it upon himself to show the Growlithe around and fill him in. “The battle went rather well, Ethan and his friends helped us contain the hostile Pokémon while we took care of the ponies. It all went smoothly until that snake… Scylla went off on her own.” Protocol shook his head and spat on the ground in distaste. “I should have never agreed to let her have such an important role in our operation. She was impulsive, arrogant… and so full of rage.” He whispered the last part to himself under his breath. “ And ultimately, it was my mistake by letting her take such an important role that ultimately ended up leading to Jenny's disappearance. You have my apologies.” Protocol hung his head as he apologized. As the one that had been in charge, every loss or mistake was a fault on his part. Or at least so he told himself.

“... Don’t beat yourself up over it.” The Growlithe eventually said. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to have someone to blame, everything would have been so much easier that way. And he had tried, after Ethan had first told him about Jenny, he had attacked him. Everything would have been so simple if there had actually been someone to blame. He could blame Ethan for taking Jenny along with them in the first place. But he knew that she would have just gone along either way. He could blame Protocol for making a bad judgement call. But he just did what he thought was right at the time. He could even blame Scylla. But, in the end, he could not even do that. It would not have been right. Jenny had simply charged into danger without regarding the consequences… like she always did. If he wanted to blame anyone, it was himself since he had not been there to stop her like he always did.

But no, he could not blame himself either. What was important was that it happened, and that he did everything that he could to get her back. To do that, he had to keep a cool and level head.

“You did the best you could with what you had.” Ethan had told him that Protocol was most likely under a fair amount of stress because of the Pokémon. He had been placed in situations he had never been in before and had no training on how to deal with. All things considered, he did a remarkably good job for the circumstances he had been in.

“Have heard that one before…” Protocol commented but let the subject drop. “We are fairly sure that she ran into the mine, chasing after a few ponies. Do you agree?” It was sort of a little test run for the Growlithe. Protocol wanted to see for himself if his smell was as good as they had told him that it was. It was not that he did not trust Ethan, he had proven to be very useful. But he was a pony that liked to see and judge individuals for himself.

A few sniffs easily confirmed what Protocol had just said. “Yeah… she went into the mine, that much I can tell.” The Growlithe said as he lead them up to the entrance, intently watching the ground as well. “She was going fast, sprinting as fast as she could.” As a police Growlithe, he did not just have his sense of smell to rely on. He was also trained in other kinds of tracking. “She took the first path to the left.”

“Very good.” Protocol nodded. They had also gotten to the same conclusion. “You lead the way.” It would a test of sorts. Protocol wanted him to be able to track Jenny's scent and tracks to the hidden laboratory they had discovered without his help. If the fire Pokémon did that successfully, then he would have no doubts about his abilities.

“Yes sir!” And so the Growlithe took the lead, following the scent of his partner as they navigated the maze of tunnels before them.

Once again, Ethan found himself on the path leading down to the waterfall. It had been over a day since his last session with Scylla, and he figured that a day was enough for her to cool down since they had not ended that session on the best of terms.

But they had made progress. Significant progress. And he now had a lot to work with.

Scylla had a rough past, that was something he had suspected from the start. But what most likely shaped her even more was how her problems had been handled. If he got his paws on Weiss… then the two of them would certainly have something to talk about. After what Scylla had told him, he was sure that Weiss had meant well, he had just gone about it in the wrongest way possible.

Scylla was no where in sight when Ethan came down to the water, but he figured that she was not too far away. And if she was anywhere nearby, then she would definitely notice him before he noticed her.

It did not take long before a familiar blue head poked out of the water and swam towards Ethan, who was sitting patiently at the banks, waiting for her.

“Good morning, Scylla.” He greeted her with a gentle smile, a gesture that she did not return.

“Morning.” She muttered, clearly not in the best of moods yet if her tone of voice was anything to go by. But whenever that was, due to the fact that she was not a morning mon or something else, Ethan was not sure about.

“I think I owe you an apology.” He started. “I… I wanted to help you, but I pushed a little too hard too quickly. I am sorry.” He could feel Scylla's eyes on his as he bowed his head.

He could hear her breathe in before she let out a short and sharp sigh. “You only meant well. Don't worry about it.” It was one of the things that he liked about Scylla. She wore her emotions on her non existent sleeve. She said what she meant and usually did not hide anything in the way of her feelings. If she was angry with you, you would know it. “They make any progress with Jenny?”

Ethan shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not. Though Jenny's partner, a Growlithe, showed up though. So perhaps he will be if some help.” No one had been down with Scylla the day before so she had not been informed of what had happened. “But enough about Jenny, nothing good will come if you worry too much about her.” Scylla had the type of personality where she would feel useless and worry more and more if there was a problem or an issue that she could not personally help with.

“If you say so.” Scylla nodded reluctantly.

“So, how have you been since I last saw you?”

“Well, I haven't exactly been going anywhere. So, good I guess.”

“And have you thought about what we talked about last time?” That was the money question. He could help her and provide support, but ultimately the effort rested on Scylla.

“I… have.” She hesitated, she was still uncomfortable with talking about it. A life time of suppressing your problems and putting on a tough exterior was not something that just disappeared overnight. But Ethan was nothing if not patient, and it was important that he let Scylla proceed in her own pace this time.

“Take your time.” He simply told her. “There is no rush.” He had nowhere he needed to be, and her being comfortable was an important part. So they just sat there for a little while, Scylla resting her head on the banks, taking deep breaths to calm herself just like Ethan had taught her earlier. It took a few minutes, but she finally mustered the courage to continue.

“I don’t want to continue like this.” She admitted. “I can't continue like this. But I don't know what to do. Strength has been my whole life. It still is, and I don't want that to stop.” She straightened up, towering over Ethan as she lifted a large portion of her body out of the water. “I am Scylla, the raging queen of Checkmate!!” She roared loudly the water beneath her rippling. “But I don't know what to do! I. Don’t. Know. What. To. Do!” She thrashed about in frustration with each word, sending small waves in all directions, Ethan had to hop out of the way to prevent himself from getting wet. Once she was done, she was breathing heavily as she sunk back down into the water, resting her head on the banks once more.

She was angry, she was angry at herself. She was upset because this was not a problem that she could solve with her usual ways. This was not a problem that would disappear if she threw enough force on it. She was way out of her comfort zone.

Ethan slowly made his way over to Scylla, who had her eyes closed after that whole ordeal. He gently placed his paw between her eyes. “It’s alright.” He spoke in a soft voice as Scylla opened her eyes to look at him. “There is nothing wrong with not knowing what to do. In fact, it is a normal part of life. But I am here to help you. And together we will get you through this. Okay?” Scylla closed her eyes once more and nodded.

“...Okay.” With how loud she usually was, it was strange to hear her speak in such a quiet voice. If he had not been so close to her, Ethan might even have missed it.

“That’s great, Scylla.” Ethan beamed as he removed his hand and backed away slightly, sitting back down on the rock he had been sitting on earlier. “Don’t worry, we will get you through this. And I will be here to help you, every step of the way.”

“...” Scylla looked at Ethan. When she had first met him, she had seen him as a weak former human and nothing more. She had been annoyed at how persistent and… kind he had been towards her despite them being nothing but strangers. But, as time went on, she had begun to see him in a different light. He had begun to grow on her. In many ways, he reminded her of Doc. “Thank you.” And now, she actually found herself trusting that same strange Lopunny that had treated her injuries when they first met.

“We are friends, are we not? It’s the least I could do for you.” Ethan smiled at her and it was one of the few times that Scylla returned the gesture and smiled back. “Now, as for what we should do…” Ethan had been giving this some major thought and he believed that he had come up with something that Scylla would agree with. “Your anger is not necessarily a bad thing on its own. I’m sure you already know this, but there is a lot of power in emotion. You have experienced this for yourself a lot of times. But, the problem lies in the fact that you have lost control of your anger. It has gotten to the point where your anger is controlling you.” A lot of other psychologists or therapists in Ethan's shoes would most likely have done things differently, or just straight up disagreed with what Ethan was planning.. But he believed that this would be the course of action that best fit Scylla. “So, instead of working to quell your anger, I think we should be working on getting you to master your anger instead. You have been a prisoner to your own emotions for long enough. No more unwanted rampages or blackouts on your part. You'll be in control.” Scylla gaped at Ethan once he finished talking. Whatever it was that she had been expecting, that had not been it.

“Y-you think that is possible?” Scylla asked. It had been exactly what she had wanted in the first place.

“I really do!” Normally, one would rather work towards quelling Scylla's anger. But with her personality and how emotional she was, Ethan did not think that such a plan would fit her. If she learnt to successfully master her anger so she would always be the one in control, it could also result in making her stronger. She would be able to draw on the power of her rage and still make controlled decisions instead of just going on a mindless rampage. “It’s not going to be easy though. It’s going to take a lot of work.” The rage of a Gyarados was legendary; that, and Scylla's anger issues ran deep, very deep. But Ethan would never back down from a Pokémon that needed his help.

“I don't care!” Scylla huffed. “I want to succeed with this, and I am going to make it!” Some of her usual confidence back. She was not the kind of Pokémon that backed away from a challenge.

“That's the spirit!” Ethan grinned. “We will get you through this, and you won't be alone. I will be here to help you.” Ethan reassured her. They had a long way to go, but Ethan was confident that Scylla had the determination that it would take for her to get there.

Protocol had to admit, he was impressed.

The Growlithe had lead them straight down to the laboratory where some of his other ponies were already set up and were making themselves busy. Sure, his own ponies had also managed to track Jenny down to the laboratory, but they had also encountered a few dead ends along the path. The Growlithe had taken them directly there without fault. That took skill.

“And this is where her scent ends…” The Growlithe came to a stop in the middle of the room. “What happened to her?” He asked, turning back to face Protocol.

“Magic.” He simply told him. “Most likely some sort of teleport. We can't figure out exactly where they went though… all trace of the spell was gone by the time we got here. This is where our trail ends… at least for now.” They had discovered a lot of strange objects in the laboratory, weird stones and items. Some of them had been taken back to the town to be studied, like the Toxic Orb that Ethan had taken. But a lot of what they had found was still there, studying the items themselves had not been their top priority.

“So… what now?” The Growlithe asked. He was eager to do something, anything to help. But Jenny's trail ended there for him, and he knew nothing about magic.

“Our next move is… not clear yet.” Protocol admitted. They had found a lot of books and texts being kept hidden there. Some of it burnt, but they had been quick enough to save the majority of it when they came down there for the first time. And unlike the letter that Ethan and Jenny had gotten Cursed Vision to translate, none of what they found had any sort of spell cast on it. Everything was perfectly readable, so at least they had somewhere to look for additional clues. “We are looking over everything that was found here in hope that something contains a lead to where they might have gone.”

“Oh… “ Looking around, he did indeed see that multiple of the ponies had books and papers in front of them, which they were looking through. “What were they doing down here?” He had gotten the brief version of what The Weavers had done, but he was still a little out of the loop.

“From what we have gathered so far… this was a temporary base that they were using to… for the lack of a better term, “figure out” how to best make money off the Pokémon that they had captured.” Protocol looked away in disgust as he had read some of the notes for himself. It had reminded him why he hated poachers in the first place. The only thing they cared about was money. They needed to see what parts would regrow so they could sell them separately, or if it was just better to sell the Pokémon individually. The amount of information they had found on those subjects was disturbing. “We caught them at the right time. They were only going to stay here for another few days before moving on.” Now if they could just figure out where exactly they would be moving on onto…

“I… see…” Seeing one of the cages which had some dried up blood around it made the Growlithe cringe. Jenny had always been the impulsive of the two, but seeing something like that made his blood boil all the same. “ To think that they could do something like this…”

“Somepony will do anything for the right amount of bits.” Protocol spat in annoyance as he looked around the laboratory as well.

“So… W-what about me? Is there anything I can do?” The Growlithe asked. He would join the ponies in reading through what they had found there if necessary. Jenny had taught him to read at an early age. It was not something that was required of police Pokémon, but it certainly came in handy at times.

“Yes… in fact there is, something you could do.” Protocol said as he started walking, leading the Growlithe over to a corner where a female pegasus stood, waiting for them. “This is Glider!” Protocol introduced her, and glider gave the Growlithe a smile and a small wave of her hoof. “I want to send the two of you on a special mission.” That made the Growlithe perk right back up, if there was anything he could do then he would be overjoyed. “Have you gathered up all of it?” Protocol addressed Glider who nodded in return.

“Yes, sir!” She answered, pointing to a small pile of what seemed to be clothes. Lab coats, hoof gloves, safety goggles. All kinds of equipment and clothing was gathered in the small pile. “It was all we could find.”

“Let’s hope that it is enough then.” Protocol sighed before he gathered himself and turned to the Growlithe once more. “This…” He pointed to the pile again. “Is the equipment and clothes that the ponies that worked here used. Could you learn all the smells from these clothes?” Protocol asked, and the Growlithe already began to understand what he was asking of them.

“Yes sir!” He answered. Picking up on a particular smell and remembering it was one of his fortes.

“Good. Because I want you and Glider here to make use of your nose and track any and all of these scents back to where they came from, where they went from here, and find out what they did.” Protocol addressed the both of them. “There will most likely be a lot of dead ends, but just creating a timeline of what they have done before will help us out in the long run.” And maybe, they would stumble over something that would crack their case right open. “Do you understand your mission?” He asked the Growlithe and Glider who looked at each other for a split second before they gave their answer in unison.

“Yes sir!”

“So, why did you bring me out here?” Vernus asked. It has been a little later during that day when Chii had dragged Vernus out to the local park. Now, there was nothing wrong with just taking a trip to the park, but he knew Chii fairly well and he could tell that she was hiding something.

“I.. I wanted to ask you something.” Chii asked of him. She had hesitated a little though, as it was about something that had been on her mind for a while.

“Alright, ask away then.” Vernus grinned as he laid down in front of Chii.

“Well… who was Ethan's first Pokémon?” Chii looked at Vernus who had blinked in surprise when she had asked just that. “I always thought that it was you, but he told me you weren't.” She could not help it, it had been on her mind ever since since Ethan had talked about it.

“Ethan told you about that? What did he say?” Vernus inquired. He was slightly set back by the question, mostly because it was something that he had not thought about for such a long time. And it was a subject that Ethan mostly did not enjoy talking about so…

“Not much.” Chii hung her head sadly. She had tried to talk to Ethan but… “He talks about something else every time I ask him. So, I don't know anything about it.” Seeing the sad look on Chii's face, Vernus reached out and pulled her against him, settling her under his head and between his front legs.

“Hey, what's with the frown?” Vernus nuzzled her gently, a gesture that she happily returned. If it was one thing that he had learned about Chii, it was that she really took comfort in being close to the ones that she liked. She could pretend to want to be alone all that she wanted, but nothing cheered her up like a good hug. “There is no reason to be sad about that. She is not a subject that Ethan is happy to talk about. It carried a lot of bad memories”

“W-what happened to her? Is… is she dead?” Chii looked up to Vernus, her ears laying flat against her head.

“What? Oh, no, no she is not dead. Sorry if I made you think that.” Vernus quickly corrected her. “Something happened and… and they simply went their separate ways.”

“Did you know her?” Chii asked, she had been watching him as he spoke and noticed that he had the same look on his face as Ethan had whenever she asked about it.

“...Yes, yes I did know her.” He remembered her well, and he remembered the events that led up to her and Ethan falling out. And how devastated all of them had been. “Camy, that was her name.” He could never forget that name.

“W-what happened to her?”

“...” He pondered on how things would go if they met in this new world. And if she would actually believe that Ethan had gotten a place in it. “I think that’s enough for now.” He sensed Chii's disappointment in his answer. “I can’t tell you the rest of that story, that is something only Ethan can tell.” Just like why he had not told Zoey about Ethan's sexuality, it was not in his place to say.

“Oh…” Chii did not like the answer, but she had gotten a name now. Perhaps Ethan would be willing to tell her the rest later. “T-then… how did you meet Ethan?”

“You are a curious little Skitty tonight.” Chii then suddenly felt herself flipped over onto her back, and she just had time to look up and see the large grin that Vernus was wearing before laughter filled the entire park, as Vernus mercilessly initiated his tickle attack.

“S-s-s-stop it!” She cried out between her laughs, but her voice betrayed the words behind it. She did not want him to stop, and Vernus had no intention too as he continued his assault, blowing raspberries into her stomach.

It was not long before Chii was gasping for air from all the laughing. Though she had managed to turn the tables around sometime during it and tickled her uncle Vernus right back. So the both of them just laid there, still laughing between their breaths even after the attack had ended.

“I guess there is no harm in telling you.” Hearing that, made Chii roll back over to her stomach. “Ethan helped me, just like he helped you and Zoey.” The only difference was that he had met and got to know Ethan before he was labeled as a criminal. “I was not in a good place back then.”

“So… he rescued you too?” Chii asked as she looked up to Vernus. She had always thought that Vernus was Ethan's starter, but now she knew differently.

“In a way, yes he did.” Vernus looked down and met Chii's glance. “Do you know what an addict is?” Chii's face scrounged up for a bit as she thought about it before she shook her head.

“No… is it something bad?” Vernus could only smile at her curiosity. He was not proud of his past, but he did not hide it. Besides, she had a right to know since she was now a part of their family.

“Yes, it is something very bad.” He told her. Drawing in a long breath before he started on his little story. “Let me tell you about this stupid Leafeon, and how Ethan saved him from himself…”

Chapter 52 (Crossover)

A Mienshao slowly walked out into the middle of the ring with a small Skitty sitting on his shoulder. She looked nervously around her. It looked so much bigger from the inside.

“Calm down, Chii, just do as Ethan told you. Close your eyes and imagine that we are the only ones here.” Brawly told her as he reached up petted her hair.

“And now for our next Contestants! Brawly and Chii!” The announcing voice cried out.

“Show them all that you can do this, you have trained for years for this very moment, Chii. What was it that we decided on before we came here? We go big…” Brawly told her grinning as he heard Chii`s answer.

“Or we go home!” Chii smiled happily, having gotten her confidence back.

“That’s my girl! Now, just like we practiced. You lead, and I follow.” Brawly held forth his arm, allowing Chii to run along it. When she came to the end, she jumped, spinning in the air before gracefully landing some lengths away.

“Now!” Chii called out as she landed.

“Aura Sphere:” Brawly held out his hands as a small Aura Sphere formed and was held in place.

“Assist!” Chii cheered happily as a similar Aura Sphere formed at the tip of her tail before they both fired the attack simultaneously. The two spheres spun around as they began to rise in a spiral around the two contestants, the spheres moving opposite from each other.

Chii then set off towards Brawly as the two Spheres continued to rise. She jumped towards Brawly who had been waiting for her, his paws at the ready. He acted as a springboard for her, launching Chii high into the air and immediately sent another small Aura Sphere after her.

Chii spun around as she gained height, the third Aura Sphere gaining on her as she reached the pinnacle of her jump.

“Tail Whip!” She spun around just before the sphere was about to make contact and hit it back towards Brawly with her tail at the same time as she used the momentum to launch herself towards one of the other Aura Spheres that were circling around them. Back at the ground, Brawly was standing at the ready, waiting for the moment to strike as the Aura Sphere came towards him.

It had taken more than a little amount of practice for them to get the Aura Spheres just right with their size and control so they could hit them back and forth without them exploding. But they still had to be handled with care, one wrong move and he would take a Sphere to the face and their show would be ruined.

Gently grabbing the Aura Sphere in the palm of his paw, Brawly led it around before sending it back up towards Chii who had already sent the next Sphere down towards him.

The two of them continued to juggle the Aura Spheres in between each other, even adding another two to the mix. Brawly had to give it to her, it took a lot of concentration on his part to pull it off and look graceful at the same time, but Chii simply jumped in between the spheres with ease as she continued to laugh joyfully. She made it look easy, it was obvious that he was the novice in that arena.

It continued like that for a small while. A few times, Brawly misjudged the amount of power he was supposed to use and sent the spheres slightly off course, but Chii was there immediately, making it seem like it was done on purpose.

“Weeee!” Chii cheered loudly as she jumped to the next Sphere, signaling to Brawly that the first part was coming to an end. Using her Tail Whip just like before, she hit the sphere down towards the ground, only this time she did not aim for Brawly, but the ground around him. She repeated this with the four other Spheres, creating five small explosions in short succession around her partner. Chii grabbed her tail as she started to spin on her way down, letting go and landing gracefully on Brawly`s head just in time as the dust from the Aura Spheres dispersed.

“That was fun!” Chii laughed as held out his arms, letting the whip like fur on his arms fall loose.

“Ready for the finale?” Brawly asked as the two of them did a short bow to the audience.

“Yeah!” Chii cheered happily before she looked up towards the sky. A small blue orb of energy beginning to slowly form in front of her mouth, the air around it shimmering.

“Show them what you can do.” Brawly encouraged her just before she unleashed her attack .

“Blizzard!” Chii fired the Blizzard straight up into the air, the ice crystals glistening in the light. A cloud of the ice crystals formed high in the air as she ended her attack, hovering above everyone in the audience.

Just as she finished, Brawly focused all his strength in his legs and leaped into the air. Chii laughing in joy from on top of his head as they approached the ice cloud. As they came to a stop in the center of the cloud, Brawly took a deep breath as they seemingly paused in the air momentarily.

“Go for it!” Chii exclaimed as she held onto the hair on top of Brawly's head.

“Double Slap!” His arms shot out at a blinding speed. The whip fur on his arms disappearing from sight as he used it to crush the ice crystals. Focusing more on speed than power, Brawly continued his attack for just another second or two, before they began to fall back down towards the ground, most of the ice crystals from the Blizzard now crushed into a fine powder.

A line of glittering ice powder following after them as they gracefully fell down to the ground, Brawly landing kneeling down as they reached the ground to soften the landing.

“Let them have it.” Brawly spoke softly to Chii as she looked to to the ice cloud.

“Hyper Voice!” Chii screamed to the skies. Her Hyper Voice traveling upwards, connecting with the ice cloud that hung in the air, making it explode as her attack reached it.

Everything was glittering as the ice powder had been dispersed and was slowly raining down across the audience over the entire stadium. The ice powder melting instantly when it hit a pony or Pokémon.

“And that’s it!” Brawly straightened up before bowing to the audience. And while he bowed, Chii waved happily to the audience.

After they were done, they turned to the judges, ready to hear their opinions. The three judges seemed to take a moment to talk in between each other before Diantha was the first one to speak up.

“I must say, I never expected to see the Gym leader, Brawly in a contest hall. As a participant no less.” She said with an amused smile.

“Surely stranger things have happened.” Brawly countered. Though, while he had watched a few contests on tv, he had never actually been to a contest in person before, so she was right on that.

“Indeed they have… But as a contestant, your inexperience shows.” Diantha said, her expression turning a tad more serious. “You move fluidly, and your actions are elegant in their own way. But they are always with a strict purpose in mind, not to impress the audience, but just to complete the task before you. And you did have a few slipups, using too much of your strength.” Brawly knew that she was right, and he could feel Chii squirm on top of his head, anxious about what they had to say about her no doubt.

“But those mistakes also made your partner shine so much more.” Nurse Joy continued where Diantha left off. “It was even difficult to notice that they were mistakes, because Chii was there immediately, to correct you. Every step of the way, she was there to guide and help you. It has been long since I have seen two individuals who are so different, but complement each other so well at the same time. It was a pleasure to have you here.” Nurse Joy finished, with a gentle smile and a nod.

“It was fun! Thanks for having us!” Chii cheered joyfully. Brawly gave another small bow and she waved to the judges before she and Brawly walked out of the arena, feeling content with what they had accomplished.

“See, I told you that you could do it!” Brawly grinned as he could positively feel the joy radiating from Chii.

“Yeah, I don't care if we don't win. It was fun! And I want to do it again.” He lifted her down and ruffled her hair as he held her. It was hard to believe that she was the same Skitty that had been afraid of going to the contest in the first place.

“That’s my girl!” Brawly smiled, their goal for participating having been accomplished.

Once they were backstage, a Luxray was waiting with a wide smile. “Hey guys,” he greeted them. “That was an amazing performance. I couldn’t think of a better way to open the show.”

“Thank you!” Chii exclaimed with a huge grin. “That was so much fun! It is just a shame that it had to end so soon.” And with that, her mood did a complete turn around.

“It was my first time ever doing one of these things, but I have to agree,” Brawly nodded in agreement. “It was fun.” His words seemed to bring Chii back to her usual, happy self.

They paused in their conversation as the next group headed out to perform, Seth offering some words of encouragement. Once they left the backstage, he turned back to Chi and Brawly. “So, you said you knew my little sister? I know Mom was out looking for her, but-”

“She stayed with us for a little while.” Chii cut in rather rudely. “Your mom too. They were kinda nice, even though that Crowe was a jerk.” She huffed.

“Yes, we do know her. Just like Chii her said, she stayed with us for about a day… you haven't seen em? They came back to Canterlot with the same train as we did.” Brawly mentioned with a thoughtful expression.

“No, but then I’ve been really busy with the Contest,” Seth replied. The truth was that Kimberly and Becky were in the audience, they didn’t want to distract Seth while he was running the event. “Still, it’s good to hear that they’re safe and both in town. Thank you very much for the information.”

“No worries,” Brawly just nodded. “And thank you for this little Contest of yours. This little fuzzball here has not been able to stop talking about it ever since it came up. Think it meant a lot to her.”

“Hey, I am not a fuzzball.” Chii complained. “B-but yeah, thank you for the Contest, it was lots of fun!”

“You’re welcome… fuzzball,” Seth smirked and rubbed her head with a massive paw. “I’m just glad people showed up.”

The crowd outside stomped and cheered as the performance ended. The judges started giving their verdict and Suri pointed at something on a clipboard.

“Yeah, alright,” Seth nodded to her. “Mm, sorry guys. I’m just crazy busy. Still, if you’re gonna hang around, we should go out or something later?”

“Sounds good,” Brawly agreed. “We will be sticking around Canterlot for a little while, and I know that Ethan also wanted to have a word with you. But we'll let you get back to your work.” He picked up the little Skitty who was still silently cursing over being called a fuzzball. “See ya later.”

Ethan cursed himself as ponies and Pokemon were leaving the stadium, and just as he had arrived, too. In truth, he did not think that he would be there in time; it was not why he was in Canterlot, but even so, he felt a sting of pain from within his chest.

There had been no time for him to come sooner. His business in the city was important: he had promised Jenny. But… he had also promised Chii that he would witness the act that she and Brawly had trained so hard for. Now what was he going to tell her?

Damn it.

He did not have a lot of time to think about it either, as more and more were leaving the stadium every second and it was only a matter of time before they did too. He had contemplated not returning at all, instead making up an excuse when he met back up with them later on. But no, he had hit a roadblock. He had discovered a lot, bribed and manipulated his ways through the unsavory characters that thrived in Canterlot's darker side. He was cute and weak-looking, which made most underestimate him, and in turn made them much easier to deceive and to work with. But he had hit a roadblock: he did not only look weak, he was fairly weak. Sure, he could maybe take a pony or two if it was needed, and if they were inexperienced. He had gotten through his previous encounters mostly based on luck, improvisation and using his environment to his advantage. He needed some extra muscle. He needed help.

“Ethan!” A shrill, familiar voice cut through the crowd and deep into his ears, making him cringe. It was at times like these that he cursed himself for his overly sensitive hearing. But he knew who the voice belonged too, and it did not take too long for its owner to find him.

Ethan braced himself, he knew her well enough to know what was coming, not that it would do him any good. Ethan went down like a sack of potatoes when Chii rocketed into him, scaring most of the nearby ponies who thought that a fight had broken loose.

“H-hey there, Chii.” Ethan croaked out from his prone position.

“Did you see our Contest? It was so great, Brawly tossed me up high into the air and we kept juggling these Aura Spheres back and forth, it was just amazing, and then I made it rain ice over the whole stadium with my Hyper Voice! The ponies were like,” Chii stopped talking for a spell as she made a surprised looking face, “they were speechless, it was so cool to see, and kinda scary at the same time too, so, what did you think? Huh? Huh? Huh?” Nearby ponies gave the overly excited Skitty and the prone Lopunny a wide berth.

“It was a wonderful show,” Ethan lied as he sat up, making Chii smile even brighter. “And you had a lot of fun, that's the most important, right?”

“Yeah, it was tons of fun!” Chii agreed. “And we also kicked some of the others’s butts. They did not even come close.” She had trained hard and was overly excited, so a little bragging was to be expected. “Can we do it again? Pleeeaaase?” She looked up at Ethan with her most adorable expression, though his answer would not have changed anyway.

“Of course you can.” Ethan smiled. “I’m sure they will do more of these, and if you want to keep doing it, then you absolutely should.” Hearing that sent Chii into another happiness and excitement-induced overdrive.

“She really needed that.” Brawly commented as he appeared next to Ethan. It had taken him a little while in catching up to Chii who was currently running under and around nearby ponies, unable to contain her feelings. “So… why did you lie to her?” That sentence struck Ethan harder than any physical blow ever could.

“You know why.” Ethan countered, his reply a little colder than he had intended.

“Yeah… I guess I do.” Brawly shook his head, glad that Chii could not hear them. “Still, this meant a lot to her; you should have been there!” His voice was quiet, yet hard. Brawly was angry, though he did not let it show.

“I did not come to Canterlot for this!” Ethan almost hissed back in a hushed tone. “The ones who hurt Jenny are in this city, and I promised her I would find them.”

“And how's that working out for ya?” Chii was currently running between the legs of a number of ponies, making some of them laugh, and more than a few of them hop in surprise. “Will you even come back with us?”

“I don't think so, not yet at least.”

“Of course not.” Another sigh came from Brawly. “Dude, I don't know exactly what Jenny asked of you… but she would not have wanted this.”

Ethan had no answer to that.

“Why did you even come back here?” Brawly asked in a surprisingly calm voice. “I'd like to think that you did it for her,” he looked over to Chii, and gave her a little smile, “but somehow, I doubt it.”

Ethan felt himself burst with anger at that. Of course he cared about Chii, and he would have loved to see her performance. It was just that his business in Canterlot was more important, and he had to find those bastards… he just had to.

“I came because I need some help.” He said, his anger disappearing as quickly as it had come.

“I hope you don't mean—”

“No, not you,” he shook his head, “I know that you don't want any part in this.” Brawly did not know much about what he was doing in Canterlot, but he knew that he did not like it, that much was obvious to Ethan. “No, I'm waiting for someone.”

As if he were waiting for the cue, a large Luxray emerged from the hall. He had a Braixen riding on his back, an earth pony mare on one side and a Sylveon on the other. He spotted the Lopunny and nodded his head.

“Hello there,” he said once he drew close. “You must be Ethan, I take it?”

“Indeed I am, and you’re Seth. Finally found your brother I see.” He nodded to the Braixen he had gotten to know just a few days earlier.

“Sure did!” the fox beamed, hugging his neck. “He’s so FLUFFY!”

Seth rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Ethan and his friends. “In any case, yes. My name is Seth Crescent. You already know my sister Rebecca. This here is my marefriend, Apple Fritter.”

The mare bowed her head and smiled. “Howdy.”

“And this is my girlfriend, Rika.”

“Hi!” Rika beamed, her face an inch from Ethan’s.

“H-hey there,” Ethan blinked while taking a step back. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Rebecca talked a lot about you, and you too, girls.” He smiled. “You have already met my boyfriend Brawly.” The Mienshao stood at his side, the mood from earlier completely gone and a grin sporting his features.

“Hey again.” He greeted the group.

“And you also know Chii, I believe.” He smiled as Chii had already noticed the group and was currently in the air, on collision course with Rebecca. She paused mid-air as Becky caught her with her levitation magic and floated her over, smothering the pink cat in hugs.

“Becky!” Chii cried out, having missed their guest, happily returning the hugs. “It's good to see you again!”

“Speaking of, I have to thank you for taking care of my little sister,” Seth smiled. “If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“You don't need to worry about that,” Brawly replied. “She was no trouble at all.”

Ethan nodded in agreement. “Yes, it was a pleasure… there was something I was hoping to talk with you about actually, alone if possible.”

Well, that sounded serious. Seth nodded as he let Becky down. “Alright, you guys go find Vincent, I’ll meet you at home later, okay?”

“Aww… alright,” the Braixen sighed.

“It was nice to meet you!” Rika beamed, ever the cheerful one.

“Eeyup,” Fritter nodded.

“Then I guess we'll see you later too.” Brawly nodded to Ethan. “It was nice to meet you girls, come on, Chii.”

“Aww, do we have to go already?” Chii pouted, but she did not disagree and jumped down from Becky. “You had a great performance,” She beamed at Rika. “It was fun to compete with you.”

“Thanks! You were awesome too, Chii,” Rika beamed and winked at her. “I’m glad to see you performing again.”

“Bye!” Chii waved them off before a thought struck her and a small grin formed. “Say hi to Crowe from me!” She called out to Becky remembering the note she had left the bird Pokémon on.

“Tell me yourself,” the avian replied, flying down and landing on the ground. “Typical cat.”

“Hey, your voice is back.” Chii grinned. “You seemed to have lost it when we left at the train station.”

“I…” Crowe blushed and glared at her. “Shut up!”

Chii giggled. “You should come visit sometime, I wouldn't mind.” She winked at the blushing Crowe. “Byyeeee~” She sang, waving to the group as they left.

“That… insufferable furball!” Crowe pouted and took wing, flying off. He looked rather red though. Becky smiled and called out.

“Crowe and Chii~ Sittin’ in a tree~”

“Shut it!” the bird yelled, flying further away.

Becky and the others left not long after that, leaving Seth and Ethan alone.

“Okay,” the Luxray said as they started walking. “What’s the problem? It’s something serious, yes?”

“I'm afraid so.” Ethan nodded. “Tell me, do you know of a group that calls themselves `The Weavers’?” He asked, looking up to the Luxray. He remembered the letter they had sent to Canterlot asking for assistance a while back, and the strangely vague answer they had gotten in return.

The Luxray shook his head. “Doesn’t ring any bells. Sorry.”

“Yeah, somehow, I did not think so.” Ethan sighed. “It's a relatively small poaching group. They went after rare and magical creatures. But now they have expanded their scope and are going after Pokémon too.” He paused for a spell. “We sent a letter asking for assistance from the princesses a way back… but if you haven't heard of them, then I doubt it ever arrived.”

“They’re poaching… Pokémon?” A low growl built up in his throat as Ethan could feel his fur stand on end as the lightning Pokémon sparked. “Dexxy?”

“Yes, daddy?” the Porygon materialised next to him.

“Go through the messages we’ve received in the last month. Is there anything from Neighagra Falls?”

The Porygon whirred and hummed for a solid minute. “Data compiled and check. No such message exists. Last known correspondence was two days after Transfer. To notify [Princess Celestia] of new Pokémon population.”

“Cute kid.” Ethan commented, he wanted to speak to Seth alone because of his recent paranoia, but knew enough about Porygons to know that it was a real one and that it would not be an issue. “And yeah, they are poachers, though they don't seem to want to kill… intentionally or most of them anyway.” He still remembered that Oddish. “My friend got captured by them a while back… a former Officer Jenny. She escaped recently though, and got some got some important information. It seems that the leader of the group, the headquarters if you will, is here in Canterlot.” He explained to Seth. “I have been looking into it these last few days… but I am only one Lopunny, and I'm not really a fighter. That’s why I waited for you outside of the Contest. I heard a lot about you from Becky… you seemed like a trustworthy guy.”

“And I at least owe you the benefit of a doubt,” Seth replied as the Porygon vanished to… wherever she’d come from. “I take it that a certain news report about a murder isn’t all the media made it out to be?”

“Your sister and mother have mentioned me I see.” Ethan smiled for a second before he let it drop. “You were not exactly liked by the media back on Earth either so I'm not gonna lie to you, I did kill that person. But there is a lot more to the story than just that, more than the media ever told or cared to tell. I'll explain it all to you, along with the details of this poaching group if you'll let me.”

“My family said nothing, I recognised your name, and that Skitty… I have a good memory,” Seth smiled. “I’d also like to think I’m a good judge of character. So yeah. Let’s take a walk and we’ll talk…

More than a few ponies turned their heads as Seth and Ethan walked past them, and for good reason. Seth was already rather big for a Luxray, and next to Ethan, who was quite small in stature for a normal Lopunny, he truly looked like a giant.

“That… Arceus above, and I thought Canterlot had it’s issues,” Seth sighed once he’d finished listening to Ethan’s story. “Kidnapping, poaching, drugs… the more I hear about what others went through, my own problems seem pretty insignificant.”

“No problems are really insignificant, it always matters to someone… to somepony.” Ethan countered. It was something he kept in mind when he helped those needed it. He had seen too many ignored because their fears or issues seemed miniscule. “It may seem like some things don't matter in the bigger picture, when compared to something else. But a problem is still a problem, no matter if it involves just one person, or an entire nation.”

“Perspective is everything,” Seth said, his tone suggested he was quoting someone. It was something Diantha had once told him. “So, what can I do to help you? I can’t promise any results, but I’ll try my hardest.”

“That means a lot to me, really, thank you,” Ethan nodded. “I have already uncovered a lot here in Canterlot, and I believe that I'm getting close to finding their leader.” He decided to reveal what he had been doing now that Seth had agreed to help. “You will be of more help than you may think… your name carries weight in this city. You have resources available to you should it be necessary, that and, well, I'm not really a fighter.” Ethan admitted. “I know a few moves, but even if I did find their lair, base, or whatever, I don't know how much I would be able to accomplish.”

“So, you’ll need muscle on top of finding them,” Seth nodded. “Okay, yeah. That much I can do. But… finding them will likely be the hard part. If they’ve been this elusive so far, I doubt they’ll slip up now.”

“Hey, I haven’t spent the last few days doing nothing,” Ethan smiled. “I have the name of, what I believe to be one of the local street contacts for these guys. Hock Flynn, from what I have gathered he is rather unimportant in the bigger picture, but he takes and delays orders in Canterlot, which means that he should lead us somewhere.” It was the best lead he had; it was the only lead he had.

“Alright, even a vague lead is better than none at all,” Seth nodded and looked around. “So, is it just us? Or do you have some kind of backup in mind?”

“No, there's no one else. The letter we sent got stopped somewhere, so I'm not sure who to trust. That's why I came to you. I already knew about you back on Earth, that and I trust your sister and, by extension, you.” None of his pony friends back in Neighagra Falls even knew why he had gone to Canterlot, as he could not risk it. “If they get wind that someone is after them, it's going to be impossible. They will just disappear.”

“Even so, fate has a rather vindictive grudge against me, so I’d like a little backup in case things go south…” he reached up and tapped the silver torc around his neck, then sun engraving glowing softly…

And after a moment, a mare dropped from the sky rather suddenly. She wasn’t like any pony Ethan had ever seen before. She kinda looked like a pegasus, except that her wings were like a Golbat’s… and her eyes were a stunning emerald, possessing a cat-like slit. As she smiled, he saw two pointed white fangs in her mouth.

“You rang, Boss Cat?” she said and noticed the Lopunny. “Ohh, who’s this little cutie~ Another girlfriend of yours?”

Seth groaned and smacked his face with his paw.

“In his dreams,” Ethan rolled his eyes before they narrowed at Seth. “Who is this? I came to you because I thought you to be trustworthy. A pony–any pony–could be caught within their network of information… even if they don't know it.” He ended, sizing up the new bat mare.

The thestral’s hackles rose as she went to tear into him verbally, but Seth put a paw over her muzzle.

“Her name is Midnight Song, she’s one of Princess Celestia’s personal guards and my partner. I trust her completely and am positive that she isn’t caught up in this, okay?”

Midnight’s words were muffled, but they were words not meant for a child’s ear as she swore up a storm..

Ethan's eyes shifted between Seth and Midnight. She may not be directly involved, but someone she worked with, or someone she knew might be. Then again, he recognized Seth's personality, and he was not going to be able to change his mind about this. “Fine,” he begrudgingly agreed before directing his full attention towards Midnight. “Sorry, I'm not too trusting of ponies these days. Name’s Ethan.”

Seth removed his paw and the thestral sighed. “Well, I suppose. That was a lousy first impression, by the way. My name is Midnight Song, and Thunderbutt here already told you my job.” She showed off her wingblades and smiled a fanged grin. “Accuse me to being treasonous to my Princesses again though… and I’ll shave that little bunny bod bald.”

“You stay away from my ears and we will get along just fine.” Ethan shot her a small glare, perhaps he should have gone alone after all. “I don't doubt your loyalty,” he did. “But if the wrong pony gets wind of this, it's all over. I'll trust your judgement here.” He said looking up to Seth.

“Look Ethan, I get why you’re so paranoid, especially when it comes to members of the police or guard,” Seth looked at Midnight and nodded. “But I trust her with my life. And besides, if we mess up and they get away, they’ll be even harder to find and more Pokémon and other creature will get hurt.”

Ethan looked up to Seth, perhaps he had been a bit too paranoid. He really had no reason to lie to him. “Fine, I'm sorry, Midnight, and you are right, that was a shitty first impression.” He admitted. “Let me try again,” he said, holding out his paw for a handshake. “I'm Ethan, Pokémon psychologist, therapist, and more often than not a dumbass.”

“I’ll concur with that last one,” the thestral smirked and shook his paw. “Besides, you can’t be all that bad if Seth likes you… eh, scratch that, Seth likes everyone.” She looked him over and nodded her head. “Still, you’re pretty cute I suppose, so all is forgiven.”

“Glad to hear it,” he smiled, taking the compliment in stride. He was used to being called cute at this point. “But enough of this, we need to find Hock Flynn, you would not happen to have heard that name before?” He asked Midnight.

The thestral’s expression soured. “Oh, I know the little snitch alright. A weasel in pony form is what he is.” She smiled… one that reminded Ethan of a hungry Sharpedo. “Oh yes… this is going to be most fun~”

“Great, love the enthusiasm.” Ethan laughed, with eyes like that, he almost felt bad for Flynn. Almost. “Let's get going, I'll fill you in on the rest on the way.”

Canterlot was bustling with activity, every street was filled up with ponies of all kinds. So the trio went by mostly unnoticed, except for Seth who could be easily seen over the crowd. Midnight led them along while she was filled in on the same Seth had been earlier.

“Sorry but I have to ask about the wings.” Ethan asked. “I have heard about thestrals but never met one before.” It had taken a while, but Ethan's curiosity had gotten the better of him. “Is it natural or modified with magic?”

“Oh, I’m all natural~” the mare purred and licked her lips. “You know… why don’t we go off, and I’ll give you an in depth biology lesson~”

Seth facepawed again.

“Mixing business and pleasure, are we?” Ethan matched her smile, but could not stop his blush. “I'm afraid I'm spoken for... though somehow I don't think my boyfriend would mind that much.” Especially with Brawly's carefree nature, Ethan on the other hand, would mind.

“Tch! The good ones always have boyfriends,” Midnight sighed, then smirked. “The better ones invite them to play too~”

“Midnight…” Seth said… and that was the only warning she got before he shocked her lightly.

“T-Tingly…” the bat twitched. “Okayokay, fiiine. I’ll leave him alone. Now! Where the heck is Hock hiding today…” She looked around for the weasley stallion. It was Market Day today, plus all the extra ponies that the Contest brought in… “It’s like Hearths Warming for him today.”

“With this many ponies around I don't doubt it… How do you want to handle it when we find him?” Ethan asked. He had no doubt that he could get Hock to talk, but Midnight had possibly dealt with the stallion before.

“Hmm, you know what info you want,” Midnight said, Seth taking a backseat to this conversation. “So you can start, and if he doesn’t squeal… then I’ll take a crack at it.”

“Fair enough,” Ethan said as he started to survey the area, knowing the stature that kind of person or pony carried himself with. “Have you dealt with him before?” Ethan asked as a certain pony caught his attention, he was rather hard to spot, which was strange since it did not look like he was trying to hide. He had a dapple grey coat that made it seem like he was rather dirty, and a black mane to complete it. He was currently talking up a elderly couple from the looks of it “That him?” Ethan asked, nodding in their direction.

Midnight nodded. “That’s him. He’ll try and talk his way out of it. But with me here, he might cooperate.” Midnight walked up behind him as the stallion was trying to talk the couple into buying a fake diamond bracelet.

“Hello, Hock~” she hummed and he turned. Ethan saw his eyes go as wide as saucers.

“Oh bloody Tartarus…”

“Hello there, Hock.” Ethan joined in, if he was that intimidated by Midnight then he should press their advantage. “We have some business to discuss.”

“Eh?” Hock turned to see the old couple leave. Well that was just great… well, more suckers were always hanging about. “So, the illustrious Midnight Song. What can I do for your Royal Battiness? And her pet rabbit.”

Pet? Ethan felt his already short temper rise. Oh he certainly knew this type, having dealt with his kind before. Midnight was right, this was going to be fun~ “Pet? Certainly not, at least not hers.” While he did want to slap Hock around for that remark, there were too many ponies around, it would make a scene. “We just want to know a few things regarding The Weavers.” His said, still keeping his sweet smile.

Hock blinked and look around. “Stars, are you bucking stupid?” he hissed. “Ya don’t say shit like that out loud, it’d ruin me business.” He sighed and nodded at an alley. “Ten minutes, in there.” And then he stepped back into the crowds and vanished.

Ethan blinked and looked over at Midnight. “Think he'll make a run for it?” He asked, not trusting Hock for a second. He was afraid of Midnight, that much was obvious, if it was enough to keep him around? That was yet to be seen.

“No doubt,” Midnight nodded and smiled. “Go to the alley, I’m going to play fetch~”

“You heard the mare,’ Seth replied with a small smirk. “Let’s go Ethan. We have a delivery to wait for.”

“They always run,” Ethan shook his head, but walked with Seth into the alley. “I'm certain Midnight will have fun with her little game of catch though.” The alley would serve them well, as it blocked all view from the main street.

And they didn’t wait long. The two had barely gotten settled when there was a yelp, and Hock landed on his flank right in front of them.

“Oi! I nearly broke me bloody arse ya stupid—”

Midnight slammed down in front of him, her fags bared and her eyes burned with rage. “What was that?”

“Nothing!” Hock replied in a squeaky voice.

Ethan knelt down so he came to eye level with the cowardly pony, the sweet smile from before was gone. “Now why did you go and have to do that?” Hock kept glancing around, looking for a way to run again no doubt. “Eyes on me,” he said, slapping Hock, easily gaining his attention. “I know that you know of them, you just need to give us what you know and you can go about your day, just like that.”

“Y-yeah, an’ what’s in it for me?” Hock put a shaky smirk on his face. “You don’t wanna buck with those guys. Their kinda shit is somethin’ I don’t wanna deal with, thank you very much…” His smirk widened. “But, there’s a price for everything…”

“So in other words,” Seth spoke up. “You want money for the information.”

“Bit’s make the world spin my friends,” Hock chuckled. “Information isn’t free you know. Especially dangerous information like this.”

“See here, Hock, you are in no position to make demands.” Ethan gave him a wicked grin. “You see, The Weavers are going down, how do you think I know that you have information on them?” He paused for a spell just to let Hock begin to think, but not enough to let him finish said thought. “Shady sold you out, he wanted off that boat before it sank completely. So, from where I'm standing, you are as much as an accomplice as anyone to those poaching bastards. Working with that kind of scum… withholding information… when you are sent to prison, do you think you'll ever see the light of day again?”

“Oooh, and combined with your known thefts and fencing… even Celestia won’t live long enough to see you released,” Midnight said.

“That sonovabitch sold me out?” Hock swore and frowned. “Tch! And why should I believe you bunnygirl?”

“By all accounts you shouldn't, you have no reason to do so after all.” The confusion on Hock's face was as clear as day. “And while we could get the information somewhere else, it would take time… but, earlier, you were scared when I as much as said their name in public… Say, how long do you think you would make it on the streets if word got around that you leaked information about them to us? That you cracked and spilled everything.” Just to reinforce his point, Ethan went back to his sweet smile from earlier. “The Weavers have ears everywhere, and sure they might not believe the rumors… but why take any chances? I mean, you are just a lowly street rat, you can easily be replaced.”

“Street rat? I’m the best bucking Fence in Canterlot, prolly all of Equestria,” the thief shot back. “Tch! This city’s gone to shit since you Pokémon showed up. Muckin’ around and makin’ life hard for us workin’ folk.”

“Oh boo hoo,” Midnight snarked back.. “Now out with the info, Hock.”

“Anythin’ for the lovely Midnight,” he smirked. “Now, I dunno much. They’re a secret organization that, surprise surprise, is quite secret. BUT!” he held up a hoof. “I heard that they’re having a little party tonight. Some rich bugger is throwin’ a shindig in the Cloud District.”

“A Noble?” Seth blinked. Figures. “Where?”

“Bucked if I know, shouldn’t be too hard to find,” Hock shrugged.

“See, that was not so hard, was it?” Ethan patted Hock on the head as he stood back up. “Such an obedient pet.” He had really disliked that earlier comment. “Cloud district, that a big place?” He asked Seth, completely ignoring Hock.

“It’s the upper section of the city. Most of the Noble caste reside there. So yeah… it’s pretty huge,” the Luxray nodded. “Still, we have a few cheats to work in our favour. So finding them will be the easy part. What happens after will be the fun part.”

“And if it all falls apart?” Midnight asked.

“Well, that’ll suck,” Seth nodded as Hock scrambled to his hooves and took off. Time to get the heck outta Dodge for a while. “So, we have until tonight. Any ideas of what to do until then?”

“Oh, I have a few ideas~” Midnight purred as she looked Ethan up and down. “I answered your question about thestrals, so answer one of mine. Is it true what they say about rabbits and breeding~?”

“Yeah,” Ethan answered automatically, but it only took a second for his mind to catch back up with what he had said. “Oh… um…” Ethan laughed nervously as his face flushed up. He glanced to Seth but quickly understood that he would get no help this time from the grin he was sporting. His face was turning more red for every second, his coloring closer to that of a slugma than a Lopunny. “W-what I meant to say was….” His sentence slowly died out as he hid behind his fluffy ears, covering his face completely.

“Ahahaha, you are too adorable,” Midnight giggled and lightly punched his shoulder. Ethan made a mental note that even lightly, hooves hurt. “Don’t worry Bunnyboy, that’s your boyfriend’s job right?”

“Just… ignore mostly everything that comes out of her mouth,” Seth sighed and Midnight waggled her eyebrows.

“Nothing ever comes out, I like to swallow~” she said in her husky tone.

“See what I mean?” Seth sighed. “This is what I deal with. Every. Single. Day…”

“Y-yeah,” but still Ethan could not help but laugh, she reminded him a lot about how Brawly used to be when he was younger. “At least you won't have a dull day with her around.” For better or for worse. “But you are right, we do have some time to kill until this party is getting crashed, and we should probably figure out what to do once we get there too. I'm not letting that bastard escape again.”

“A party full of rich snobs,” Midnight snorted. “Well, we can go about it three ways as I see it. One, we just raid the place. Two, we sneak in… but Seth’s kinda big… or, there’s Three. You uh… might not like three.”

“What’s number three?” Seth asked her, the smile on the mare’s face told him he indeed wasn’t going to like it.

“You know,” Midnight mused. “I always wanted some pets~”

Ethan frowned, he knew where she was going with this. “It will allow us to get much close to them than sneaking in ever would. And a raid is bound to let some if not most of them escape… Still, I don't like this… oh wipe that grin of your face.” He commented as Midnight seemed a little overly excited about this idea of hers.

“Let’s go shopping~” the bat hummed. Oh she was going to have so much fun with this~