Updated 4/18/2016
Chapter 2
You Gotta Face Up
Three hours of walking and Pallet was no longer in sight, even with the relatively flat landscape. The main road of Route 1 was a dirt path lined with trees and small Pokémon scampering about among the grass and foliage. Jazz, Rhythm, Beat, and Bianca trekked through the area in peace with very little being said. "So where are you from?" Bianca finally asked.
"Hm?" Jazz's initial response was to move her hand to back of her neck. For a moment she simply continued walking with her eyes pointing at the sky. Eventually she spat out, "I'm from the Orre region. Place called Pyrite Town to be specific."
"Orre isn't that far from Unova." Bianca jogged slightly ahead and spun to face Jazz now walking backwards. "My dad made me swear to never set foot in the place. But he's way over protective. Those stories are just exaggerations. Right?"
"The legends 'bout giant Trapinch that eat entire trucks: complete Tauros-shit. The sky high crime rate, corrupt government, and ineffective cops: the news pretties that stuff up. Take all that into account and keep in mind that Pyrite is even shittier than most of the region and you can figure my childhood was int'resting, to say the least." Jazz held a straight face through the entire statement. Bianca stopped in her tracks and followed with her eyes. "It wasn't all bad though."
"Yeah, we're talking a town that treated vandalizing the news station as a sport, trafficked drugs like candy, and considered a murder as standard fair for Tuesday. Great place to raise a kid." Beat then looked at her trainer. "Don't sugar coat it. We all know the best thing between you and that town was you leaving." Finally she turned to Bianca. "You coming?"
Bianca snapped out of her trance and caught back up her group. "So what about you, Bianca? What's your home like?" Rhythm asked.
"Oh, Nuvema Town? It's a lot like Pallet Town actually. Pretty, small, and has a harbor. Heck, it's even where Professor Juniper's lab is." Bianca paused for a moment. "You know, it's almost like they were designed for the exact same thing."
"Same city planner, maybe?" Jazz suggested.
"I don't think those existed when Pallet Town was founded." Rhythm said.
"You know when Pallet Town founded?" Jazz asked.
"Of course! Professor Oak mentioned it in his second podcast of April last year."
"Y'know, I'm honestly surprised you haven't made some kind of portable shrine to the guy." Beat said with a grin.
Rhythm pointed her nose into the air. "Only because one of you is bound to destroy it trying out some new attack or something."
"Least the fireworks'll look awesome." Jazz said.
"Why would there be fireworks in a shrine?" Bianca asked.
"See, in the Kanto region big festivals are s'pposed to have fireworks so why shouldn't a big time scientist?" Jazz explained. "'Sides, Oak seemed like he threw one hell of a party back the day."
"Oh, maybe she can throw in some whiskey while she's at it." Beat added.
"I pegged 'im more as a beer kinda guy." Jazz noted. "Sam Oak's Craft Beer: has a nice ring to it."
"Actually, I think he prefers rum." Bianca corrected. "It's what he drinks whenever I see him at conferences."
"Stop putting alcohol my shrine!" Rhythm's shout was accompanied by a reddened face.
The day continued like this for another hour with the group having conversations about various random topics that sprang up but nothing of significance. Finally a trainer stopped them. He wasted no time introducing himself and announcing that he was from Pallet Town. A Squirtle who was more than eager to battle stood proudly by his side. Jazz and Bianca shared a glance that confirmed that they shared a thought: rookie.
-#-
Elsewhere on Route 1, in a clearing among trees next a cliff, one of Team Rocket's field units had set up its mobile command station. One of the two unit commanders, a woman with long crimson hair, pale skin, and a pronounced nose, sat at the folding table scratching her Houndoom, Hades, behind the horns. Her eyes were occupied scanning over the map of Route 1 she had laid out in front her though they occasionally moved to her mostly silent radio that was doubling as a paperweight. Her other hand was rubbing her forehead. Her darted to the tree line as an explosion rang from the main road.
The unit commander's name was Billie and, she hated her current assignment. The goal as explained by her admin was to obtain a set of hard drives that had been gathering data on Pokémon populations. Said admin had failed to explain to her why Team Rocket was interested in the data saying that she would know when the time came. On top disliking the vague goals, she also felt that she was short on time and manpower for this operation. She had one day to scour all of Route 1 for an object the size of a car battery with only about thirty grunts. Route 1 was not particularly large by any means but, the one day time limit still meant they were rushing to comb through the area.
The sound of boots on grass snapped Billie out of her thoughts. "Squad four, reporting in." The squad leader said as he approached the table. "Our search in areas C-1 to C-9 came up empty."
Billie suppressed a frustrated sigh and said, "Understood, Raoul." She marked the area with a highlighter. "Your squad will take a thirty minute break then head out to search areas F-1 to F-9."
"Yes, ma'am"
The squad leader and the five under him walked to the large tent where water and food awaited them. Emerging from the tent was the other field commander, average height with spiked, black hair. "Thirty minute break? Do you always have to be such a fucking softy? I swear I oughta..." He nearly continued but, Hades' snarling shut him up. Much like Billie, Hades hated Kidd. Unlike Billie, Hades was very vocal about it. Kidd sat in the chair across from Billie who had already had enough of him today.
"If you control through fear those with courage will stab you in your sleep but, if you control through respect they will follow your orders even on your death bed." Billie said plainly.
"Right." Kidd dragged the word and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, big info from on high. Attila and Hun got their asses handed to them trying to rob Professor Oak's lab. Apparently their little tunnel plan went belly up then some black chick with a high powered Lucario and Gardevoir sent 'em packing."
"I told Hun to master Mega Evolution." Billie eyed the Keystone that was set in her glove.
"Hey speaking of Hun, is that a guy or girl. I mean, I'd hit that either way; I just wanna know what equipment I'm working with." Billie lowered her eyes. "Anyway we got word that the trainer's supposed to be coming through Route 1 today. I say we nab her and give those top notch Pokémon to higher ups."
Billie grabbed the radio and pressed the talk button. "This is your unit commander A. There is female trainer in possession a well-trained Lucario and Gardevoir on the Route. Do not engage. I repeat. Do not engage. All squads copy."
Kidd looked at Billie eyes wide and teeth gritted as each squad copied. "Whad'ya mean don't engage!? This could be a big catch! She probably has plenty more Pokémon where those two came from, too! Are you telling me we should just pass up a haul like this!?"
Kidd was now on his feet; the chair had been knocked over when he stood. He ignored the two members of squad four who were peering out the tent and focused all his anger on his co-commander. In response Billie calmly stood up as well. She tilted her head down to look at Kidd with her eyebrows just a bit closer than they had been before.
"To answer your question I'll ask a few of my own. Do you remember what we were sent here to do?" Kidd's lips had closed. He nodded. "Do you have any intel suggesting that attacking this trainer would aid in this mission? Do you know if you could defeat her even with the aid of the grunts? Considering our tight schedule, do think we could even afford to spare any of the grunts on this little side trip of yours?" Knuckles white, Kidd turned his head away. "Get it now? We find the hard drive we go home. No more, no less."
Billie sat back down and returned to her map. Kidd huffed and kicked the fallen chair out his way. When he stomped into the tent, squad four awkwardly went about their business drinking water and eating sandwiches. "God dammit! Why don't they just give her an admin spot already so, I don't have to put up with her shit!? Come on, Raoul! I know you feel me!" Raoul looked down at his sandwich prompting Kidd wrap his arm around his shoulder. "Don't be like that. Everyone knows that the commander spot is waiting for you as soon the bitch is out of the way. 'Sides, I like your face."
Raoul shoved Kidd off when his face got a little too close. Kidd just stood back up and shrugged. "Alright you six. Let's ditch this place. We're going after some kid with grade A Pokémon. Easy brownie points with the higher ups."
Squad four all shared glances before looking at Raoul. "We already have our orders, sir."
Kidd's shoulders slumped. "Fine. If you want somethin' done, you gotta do it yourself."
-#-
"You could've gone easy him." Bianca watched as Jazz let her other four Pokémon out. They'd come to a sizable field with a creek running next to the road.
"Yeah but, what good would that'a done the kid." Bianca tilted her head. "What? Ya think we haven't had our asses handed us before? I've been a trainer for years, Bianca. Course I lost plenty of times in that. If you give up after one beat down from someone with that much more experience, you're not gonna last too long. Win or lose, ya only get better if ya learn what works and what don't. Oh, of course don't forget the part where ya train your ass off. Speakin' of which, now's the time for you to get that hard drive."
"Yeah, I see what you're saying." Bianca admitted. She released Barb and made her way into the wooded area. Barb's flames weren't active to prevent a fire. "So what do you think of Jazz?" Barb's response consisted of series of grunts and arm motions. "Yeah it just felt like she didn't want to talk about the past. I mean sure she mentioned her home town but not what her parents are like. Or really anything that happened before yesterday. Oh well. I'm sure she just has to warm up to us."
They continued walking through the forest with Bianca occasionally checking her map to make sure they were on track. Bianca took in the sight of a new region letting her thoughts go back in time to her first journey through the Unova region when Barb was Tepig trotting along at her feet. She recalled her attempt to collect the eight badges which she gave up on before deciding to become a Pokémon researcher. With those memories came the battles with Team Plasma and the mysterious N. Most importantly, however, were the strengthening of her friendship with the now gym leader Cheren and still MIA White. White had gone looking for N after Team Plasma's first defeat and still hadn't returned. No one, not even her mom, knew where she'd gone. Ironically if Nate was to be believed, N had returned to Unova.
Even without her old friend by her side, Bianca was still sure White was out there and happily waited for the day their trio would be united again. Presently, however, her mind was occupied by the single Pidgey that flitting among the trees. The bird looked down at Bianca intently before flitting down to her out stretched hand. "Hi there little guy." Barb grunted. "Sorry, girl."
The Pidgey tilted her head in curiosity before flying over to Barb's head and making herself comfortable in the Emboar's natural warmth. Barb gave a slightly frustrated groan before following Bianca through woods. She too recalled the time when their journey began. Bianca had been a spacey and naive girl and still was the former but to a significantly lesser degree. Her experiences with Team Plasma had knocked the latter right out of her though. Barb's recollection of Bianca's decision to cease collecting the gym badges made her realize how easily she should have seen it coming. Between having a hard time adapting in battles to her often poor handling of situations with Plasma, anyone could see she just wasn't cut out to be a great trainer. However, the way her face lit up when the Junipers talked about their research and the observations she put forth made it clear where her talents lie.
Now here they were, walking through the foliage of an entirely different region with goals in mind that hopefully wouldn't involve terrorists.
-#-
Back at the creek, Rhythm, Beat, Tiësto, and Darude had split off into pairs for sparing with Jazz ordering them to switch opponents periodically. Icona and Jimi on the other hand were receiving individual training. Icona was attempting to combine Dragon Rush with Extreme Speed and, splintered trees near the edge of the clearing proved that she was making headway. Jimi on the other hand was working on a variation of Razor Leaf with limited success.
"C'mon, Jimi! You got the hard part down. Now it's just about timing." Jazz said from her spot directly in front of the Torterra which was surrounded by leaves big and small. Jimi planted his feet sent out the first volley and immediately a second. As the leaves approached her, Jazz's face stretched into a smile. The first set was tiny compared to the second one but, from her perspective they were the same size. It looked like she could dodge to the left or right but, in reality she safest standing still. A cut on her face proved that it wasn't totally safe, though. "Alright! Perfect! Let's see if we can a streak going! Oh! And you guys switch! Rhythm v Darude and Tiësto v Beat!"
Unfortunately, it would take a few more attempts before Jimi's next success but, Jazz's primary focus was that he had improved from the day before. Icona on the other hand, was currently tearing apart the unlucky trees. Her new technique was much more straight forward than Jimi's and Jazz had thought of it sooner. The biggest problem was that the best ones seemed to leave Icona sore. She did her best to hide that fact from her trainer but, Jazz noticed.
"Oh goddamn! I really hit the jackpot today!" Activity ceased as the trainer and her team looked to sky. On the back of a Braviary, Kidd eyed the six Pokémon he intended to steal. The teeth showing grin on his face vanished when a Thunderbolt struck his Braviary and by extension him. When he and his bird fell from the sky, Kidd was knocked off by the impact and skidded on his back. Braviary's attempt to get back up was halted by another Thunderbolt knocking the bird unconscious. "You fucking cunt!"
Jazz wasted no time planting her boot onto Kidd's chest. "God and Arceus, you are stupid." She stomped on him when he attempted to reach for his Pokéballs. His face contorted and flushed at the pain of one of his ribs cracking. Beat took the radio and remaining five Pokéballs from his belt. Jazz examined them quickly before taking the Braviary's and recalling it. She then handed them to Rhythm.
"You listen better up." Kidd growled. "I've got guys thirty guys crawling in this entire route. The second they realize their leader's gone missing, they're gonna be on your ass faster than you can blink. Let me go and I might consider leaving you alone for the rest of the day."
Jazz nodded to Beat who climbed up a tree and began scanning the route. Kidd's radio then came to life. "Unit commander A to unit commander B. Do you copy?" Billie's voice was clearly agitated. "I repeat. Unit commander B. Do you copy?" Silence. "Unit commander A to all squads. Can anyone tell me where unit commander B is?" Five negatives came back. "Unit commander A to unit commander B. If you have gone after the girl and find yourself in over your head, do not expect me or anyone else to come save you. All squads, a reminder to not engage the trainer. All squads copy." Five copies came through.
"Ooh…tough luck." Kidd attempted to throw Jazz off but, she simply dug her boot deeper breaking his rib. "Yeah I can see that unit commander A is the brains behind this little operation."
"Listen up." Beat had come back over and mentally told Jazz her findings. "Thirty humans in five groups of six. Looks like they've been combing the route looking something. One of them is on a path direct to run into Bianca."
"I see." Jazz looked at the radio then her captive. "Rhythm, Hypnosis." Kidd struggled for half of a second before the pain in ribs stopped him. One Hypnosis later and he was out like a light.
"Okay, now what?" Rhythm asked.
Jazz's face twisted into caricature of itself. A smile that stretched from ear to ear revealed her teeth and gums and folded the skin of her cheeks. Her nostrils were flared open and her eyes were squinted upwards. She put her finger to her mouth, took a deep breath, and began shushing. She turned her head slowly so that each of her Pokémon could get a glimpse of her contortion. When she finally stopped, Jazz and Beat's faces were mere breaths from each other. Then through her teeth Jazz said, "We're gowing Wocket hunting."
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
-#-
Billie's face was in its usual, neutral position: lips straight, eyelids slightly lowered. Her hands were folded so that her chin could rest on top of them and her eyes were focused on the map. Underneath that face, however, was the burning of anger. She had been working with Kidd for a very short period of time but, all she could of think when it came to him were ways she could get him arrested or killed.
She let out a sigh and released a Charizard and Trevenant. "You two need to find the Fool. Don't draw attention to yourselves. If he's engaged in a fight with a teenage girl with a Lucario and a Gardevoir, report back immediately. Otherwise bring him back kicking and screaming if you have to."
Her Pokémon nodded in understanding and left. The Charizard, Apollo, took to the skies while the Trevenant, Persephone, ran into the forest.
"This could be a real problem." She muttered as her hand scratched Hades.
-#-
Squad four walked through Route 1 as their tedious task continued. Raoul wasn't looking for the hard drive too hard at the moment though. His eyes were fixated on his radio. "What a fucking idiot," he said to no one.
He swiveled his head to the rest of his squad all of whom were searching for the hard drive with vested interest in getting Kidd left behind. Raoul knew that wouldn't happen. Kidd had knowledge on Team Rocket's various hideouts and other information that Billie wouldn't risk falling into police hands. Then again, Billie obviously hated Kidd.
"This is such bunkum." Logainne said as she scanned the tree tops.
"Y'know just because you can say 'Tauros-shit' in twenty different ways, doesn't mean you should." Raoul clipped the radio to his belt as he said that. "These four probably can't understand half your sentences without a thesaurus."
"Yeah, unlike you, our parents didn't expect us to be somethin'." Tony hopped down from the tree he was in. "I mean for us, it was about a dreamin' of the glitz 'n' glam but, never quite reachin' it. Ain't that right, Jonny?"
Jonny looked up from his crouched position and dusted off the letterman he had over his uniform, "Yes sir. If there's anything I've learned about life it's sometimes you've just gotta say goodbye to love and dreams even if they're all you've got."
"And then there's me who got ditched when she was barely old enough to remember her folks' faces." Sally said with a grin and shrug.
"What? Still mad that they took your growth spurts with 'em when they left?" Mark rested his elbow Sally's head earning a groan from her and continued with, "Yes, we know all of us had shitty lives beforehand but, the longer we hang around on Route 1 the worse it'll get. So let's find this damn hard drive and get out of here."
"The failed Spielberg wanna be has point." Tony said as he passed Mark and Sally. "And besides that, if we get out of here fast enough, I might be to surprise Maria with a long, long night. Course little ole Logainne here wouldn't know what I'm talkin' about now would…" Tony looked around for moment only to realize Logainne was gone. "Come out, Logainne! Seriously, we were just messin' with ya. You know we didn't mean it!"
They stopped at that moment and felt something. It was tingle, just enough to make their stand on end. They all looked around each reaching for their Pokéballs when they heard a thud. After a moment's hesitation, they turned to see Logainne on the ground, in her underwear and unconscious. Her hands and feet were zip tied, and her mouth was gagged with a black cloth.
For an instant a black and blue blur dashed across Raoul's field of vision and, when it did Tony vanished. The radio was in his hand and thumb on the call button. "This is squad four! We are under attack! I repeat! We are under attack!" When the reply of static came, Tony, bound and gagged, was thrown into Jonny who was quickly wrapped in a dark green tail and pulled away with a scream. "Where are our Pokémon!?"
"I don' know! The Pokéballs are actin' up. What's the green light mean!?" Sally shouted as continually pressed the release button. Raoul's eyes narrowed when remembered that the green light meant an electromagnetic interference was preventing the Pokéball from operating properly. When Jonny was dropped in front her, Sally turned away and, a pair of glowing eyes rendered her unconscious. An invisible force pulled her into the bushes cutting squad four down to two.
Mark and Raoul pressed their backs together with their Pokéballs in hand. "Oh, shit. Oh shit. Oh shit." Mark kept saying as panic began to set in. His eyes frantically scanned the area hoping for a way to counter whoever was attacking them. "How the hell are you so calm?"
"Someone has to be." Raoul said drawing a knife from his pocket.
"Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!" A rapid firing female voice echoed in their heads before a pair of boots landed on Raoul's face. Jazz flipped off the Rocket and onto her feet before picking up the dropped knife. She folded it ad placed it into her own pocket before looking at the last Rocket standing.
Mark dropped his Pokéball and put his hands in the air. "I surrender."
-#-
"Squad four do you copy?" Billie said into the radio only to get no reply. "Lovely, the only competent people around here…" She said through gritted teeth. Fortunately she knew exactly who to blame for this going from an annoying mission to a potentially lethal one. "Unit commander A to all squads: be prepared for an attack. We have an unknown assailant, most likely an experienced trainer. Retreat if possible. I repeat. Retreat if possible. Also add the members of squad four to your search."
A mighty roar followed Billie's orders. She looked up and saw Apollo returning. In his claws was Kidd, sans pants, zip tied, and asleep. Apollo landed and dropped the man onto the table snoring away. Persephone walked out the wooded area shortly after. "Good work you two. It's nice to know I can at least rely on somebody around here. So do I yell at him now or later?" Apollo growled and, Hades and Persephone nodded in agreement. "Tempting but, he'd probably like it."
Kidd started to stir at this point and woke up shortly after. "Aw, you did come to rescue me." He said groggily.
"Hardly. I need to mitigate the damage you've caused and try to salvage this mission. Having you out there doing God knows what only increases the chance of things getting worse." The venom in her voice was almost palpable. "And no, I will not untie you. Throw him the tent."
"What!? This is Tauros-shit!" Persephone picked him up and carried him into the tent. "Wait until the higher ups hear about this! Your ass is grass! You hear me!?" His shouting continued for a while and he was audibly banging into things.
When he finally quieted down the radio came to life but, only static. "Could not get a copy on that. Please repeat." The radio was quiet for a moment. "This is unit commander A, all squads report." Squads one, two, and five copied.
This process repeated itself three times over the course of an hour and a half. Static would come in through the radio. Billie would try to find out who was being attacked but, get no response. Then contact will have been lost from one squad. It was clear the mission was a failure.
As Billie prepared to evacuate, she felt a tingle in her body. She rolled up her sleeve and saw her hair standing on end. Hades and Apollo began growling while Persephone began scanning the area. She attempted to release her other Pokémon but the green light indicated that it couldn't be done. Billie looked up and saw Jazz standing with a sack that had countless bulges in it. That's when the singing started.
"I've got a lovely bunch a Pokémon du, du, du, du, du,
Taken from some Team Rocket scum du, du, du, du, du,
One~ 'bat, Zu~bat, all deserve a good home!
But we just can't expect that out of some!"
"Flamethrower!" Apollo and Hades both jettisoned fire from their mouths. The only thing that kept Jazz and the forest from being burned was a Protect from Rhythm. "Hades!"
"Beat!"
"Mega Evolution!" Both the trainer's and the Rocket's Keystones began glowing. The Pokémon felt that energy well up in their Mega stones and accepted it into their bodies. They felt themselves transform in a rush that only be recognized as Mega Evolution. An Aura Sphere and Flamethrower met head-on the second the light faded. The Flamethrower was split down the middle but, the Aura Sphere had dissipated before it could reach Hades.
Apollo attempted to attack Jazz with a Focus Blast but, ended up getting rammed into by Icona's Dragon Rush. The two barreled out of the sky and crashed in the tent destroying it and leaving a pant-less Kidd exposed. He attempted to crawl away as two Dragon Pulses collided and, the shockwave helped him. Kidd now found himself caught in between the snarling Beat and Hades. Punches, claws, fire, and aura all flew as he desperately tried to get safety and not become collateral damage. Jazz running over his broken rib did not help. "That was on purpose, you bitch!"
Jazz wanted confirm his accusation but, the knife Billie was swinging demanded her immediate attention. Both of them had a few nicks on their arms and neither had any intention of backing down. Lacking a free arm to defend or grapple was forcing Jazz to stay on the offensive and, she did whatever it took to keep from having to defend. This included using unit commander B as an obstacle. Jazz took the momentary slow down to thrust her blade at Billie's chest. The attack was side stepped and, Jazz's arm grabbed. Billie flipped Jazz onto the table knocking the radio and marker away.
Billie didn't waste a breath before driving her knife down at Jazz's neck. Jazz rolled out of the way but wasn't completely clear as the cut in her shoulder indicated. When Jazz's feet touched the ground, her swung her other arm and finally realized that the sack of Pokéballs had been replaced with an Occa berry. Her eyes searched frantically hoping to find the sack and saw Rhythm attempting to take it back from Persephone. After escaping another slash from Billie Jazz shouted, "Ally Switch, with Tiësto!"
Rhythm complied teleporting herself away and placing the Electivire in front of a startled Trevenant. "Disengage!" Billie suddenly kicked Jazz in the chest and recalled both Hades and Persephone causing the attacks that had been aimed at them to go wide. Jazz was quick to get back on her feet and saw Billie hoist Kidd over her shoulder. She rushed at Billie's turned back but, was interrupted by Apollo flapping his large wings. After Billie had climbed onto to her Pokémon's back, she took off leaving the trainer with her own Pokémon.
Icona immediately flapped her wings to give chase. "Stop. Let 'em go." Jazz said as she looked at her knife. "That was good call." She put a hand on her shoulder to inspect the only wound she was concerned about. The rest were a Heal Pulse away from recovery. The blood on her hand said everything. "Yep, that was worse than I thought."
"I hate to say 'I told you so' but…" Beat began but stopped when she noticed the smile on Jazz's face.
"This is gonna be fun."
-#-
"Where have you been?" Bianca said turning away from her newly caught Pidgey. "What happened to you!?"
"Hm?" Jazz hopped off of Icona and folded her arms. "Ran into Team Rocket. Got a bit rough. No biggie."
"What do you mean 'no biggie'? You're clothes are cut up and have blood on them!"
"I can sow this up when we make camp tonight. Then mix bleach with some Oran berry juice. It'll come right out."
"Jazz, this is serious!" Jazz found Bianca's dangerously close to her own. "The only person in Team Plasma who got this rough was Ghestis. What if something worse had happened?"
Jazz put her hands to her sides and tried not to stare at Bianca's chest. "Alright. I'll be more careful next time. Happy?"
"Don't be too angry, Bianca." Rhythm said. "She's not used to having other humans worry about her well-being."
"Seriously, last time she made human friends before you: eight months, give or take."
"What about that one chick from the Resort Area?"
"Doesn't count." They both said.
Bianca relaxed herself and smiled. "Okay, but next time there's trouble, tell me, please. I'm not as strong as you, White, or Cheren but, I can take care of myself."
"Fine, fine." Jazz said as she began moving back to the trail. "Whatever you say."
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