Shini: Welcome one and all! Thank you to my reviewers: LDD, Peace and Nyx! I don't really have much to say here, but…On with the story then!

Disclaimer: We've gone through this. I still only own Eliora.

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Chapter 7

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Eliora opened her eyes and found sunlight. She couldn't help but smile, feeling the sun's warm rays caressing her skin. Turning, her gaze fell upon Clark, asleep in a chair. Someone had kindly covered him with a blanket. He had refused to move for the last three days, she remembered. Oh yes, she remembered bits and pieces, she'd woven in and out of consciousness after that day. In fact, the last thing she remembered was Clark's worried face before all had faded to black. And now, here she was in a hospital. The petite teen slowly sat up, wincing when her head began throbbing. Yet, to her surprise, several of her more serious injuries, like the cracked ribs and the bleeding arm…were gone.

To her utter surprise, her legs felt fine and healthy as well. In fact, other than the headache, she felt as good as new, all things considered. She studied her pale wrist, wondering where the bruise had run off to; surely it hadn't just up and left her. Not that she had wanted it to stay, but nonetheless it was her bruise and the fact that it was missing disturbed her greatly.

Finally, she refocused and found that the hand attached to the once-bruised wrist was rather heavier than it should be. Attached to that hand was another hand. This hand led back to an arm, then a shoulder…And there, there was a head resting on her mattress, golden locks spilling around the finely featured face. The girl's gaze jumped from the elf, to her hand, to Clark in utter confusion.

"They were really worried…"

Eliora jumped and turned to find the familiar figures. Piercing silver eyes studied her; there was no hint of concern or fear in that gaze. After a moment, Yue sighed and left the window he'd been staring out of to take a seat in another chair next to her bed.

"I didn't mean to cause anyone problems," she murmured softly in her own defense.

The angel rolled his eyes in an almost comical gesture. "You didn't have to mean anything…They-I mean…" He frowned. "Well, I…didn't…I was fine." He stopped there, but it was alright; Eliora understood that in Yue-speak he'd been worried too.

She reached out for his hand and smiled when he took it. "I promise it won't happen again."

"It had best not," Yue fairly growled; as though catching himself he closed his eyes, feigning exhaustion. "Call if you need me." There was a flash of red light and then Yue was gone, returned to his ball.

That's when Eliora realized why things felt..off. Her belt was on the other side of the room. Displeased with this discovery, she was about to climb out of bed when she remembered that Legolas had taken ownership of her hand. That is when an unfamiliar familiar trainer with a very familiar Vash walked in. The little brunette didn't notice immediately, too busy was she glaring at her belt. Vash chuckled and picked up the belt. He practically skipped over to the bed and handed it to her.

"Colleen had my donuts when we left that horrible place! And she's bought me tons more!" He sounded just like a child, so happy with his gifts.

Eliora smiled happily up at the tall blond and cradled her belt with her free hand. "I'm happy for you, Vash!" She turned to his trainer. "Colleen wasn't it? Could you tell me what happened after I…ummm…lost consciousness?"

Colleen looked rather startled that the younger trainer had remembered her name; Vash had told her enough of what had gone on in the dungeon that she knew Eliora knew that Vash belonged to one Colleen. She just hadn't expected the girl to piece it together so very quickly. "Of course….Demoonica Darkmoon arrived just before Nuriko managed to push enough rubble aside to get you both out. She rounded everyone up, the Ronins, Talpa, myself and Vash, Nuriko, your Bishounen and you…And the unfamiliar young man.

"She had what looked like a plane waiting outside and she gave everyone a ride to Warrior's Edge, where Clark rushed you to the hospital. Miss Darkmoon has had everyone else, except Talpa who's been contained, stay at the same hotel so she can keep an eye on us all. I don't really know how, but she's managed to protect the two uncaught Bishounen from other trainers and she's been taking statements from everyone. She hasn't explained what exactly is going on, but…as far as I know the only statement she needs now is yours." Colleen had turned a lovely shade of crimson by the time she finished explaining.

Eliora nodded. "I see, thank you…" She had managed to free her hand from Legolas's and was no running her fingers through his soft hair. "Has…Has Nuriko left?"

"Nope," Vash answered cheerily, his trainer didn't look like she could handle much more communication at that very moment. "Excuse Colleen, she's a little shy. Back to your question. Nobody has been allowed to leave, especially not the guy who seems to have no identity. Well, that's not necessarily true, he won't tell anyone his name and no one's dex can identify him. Which is interesting, he is a Bishounen after all. Must be a relatively new territory. Unfortunately, he also refuses to be caught; he's managed to dodge several balls Demoonica has thrown at him."

"I see…So do you think Demoonica will tell us what's going on when I tell her what I remember?" Eliora didn't notice that Legolas was now fully awake, although he was pretending to be asleep for all he was worth. But Vash noticed, and it was almost too much for him.

"Maybe," the Trigun Bishounen replied lightly, munching on a donut he'd pulled from who-knew-where. "I certainly hope so. Ryo said that Lord Insanity, as the Ronins call him, is the first Talpa to beat and murder trainers. Talpas seem to like wreaking havoc on trainers, not murdering them."

"Lord Insanity, the title appears to be catching. I need everyone out…Okay, the sleeping ones can stay, but you two go off and shop or something." Demoonica had appeared and immediately began shooing Colleen and Vash out of the room.

Colleen fairly bolted, Vash followed after his trainer with a soft chuckle. In reaction, Eliora tapped Clark's bish-ball and he disappeared. Legolas was left alone, so that she could fiddle with his hair. The elf continued to breathe deeply, simulating sleep. Although part of him doubted that he actually fooled Demoonica.

The young woman took the seat Yue had earlier occupied. "Hello, Eliora. I'm-"

"Demoonica, I know." She shrugged in reply to the raised eyebrow. "Lucky guess? You want me to tell you what I remember, right?" When the older trainer nodded, Eliora smiled ruefully. "Alright…are you ready?" Again, Demoonica nodded and so Eliora tapped Legolas's bish-ball. When his prone form was gone, she started her tale. She really didn't want any of her Bishounen to overhear it, even if they were asleep.

~*~

The next day Eliora was allowed to check out of the hospital. As soon as she was outside, she took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled. "Alright, where are we staying?" She turned to Colleen and Demoonica.

"We're staying at the Loving Samurai." Demoonica caught Eliora's raised eyebrows. "No, I really don't understand why the name is so very…strange. No offense guys, but as soon as I resolve Nuriko and Mr. Gunman, I have to go and report. Besides, I have kids to get back to." She grinned, reminiscing. "Ah, the days of the young, spent hunting and sleeping outside. You guys have it easy…Why, I remember when I was your age," she burst into peals of laughter upon sighting the long-suffering expressions on the younger trainers' faces. "Alright, fine, I won't share my wisdom, suit yourselves." Still highly amused, she led the through the hotel. When Eliora headed for the receptionist's desk, Demoonica dragged her away.

"But I need to get a room at least," Eliora protested.

The more experienced girl shook her head. "No you don't. You get to take mine when I leave. I've got you booked for one more night." She leveled a stern gaze upon Eliora's upturned face. "So promise me you'll get another day's rest before heading-Oh god, look at me! I sound like my mom!"

Eliora giggled softly. "I promise…Mom."

"Wow, now that takes me back…" Demoonica shook herself and pulled Colleen and Eliora after her into a room at the end of the hall on the first floor.

There, inside were several Bishie, one of which Eliora recognized as the Nuriko who'd saved her life. The look of utter relief on his face upon sight of her took her by surprise. She caught a glimpse of white hair and then she was gawking. Heero…

"Y-You're blond," she stumbled over her own words; the blond almost cracked a smile. "I mean, sorry. That was rude, I didn't mean to offend. I just-"

"No problem," he interrupted smoothly. "Don't worry about it." He glanced at one of the other figures knowingly.

The blond who met his gaze was also all-too-familiar to Eliora. "Sage!" She stopped moving across the room and put her hands behind her back.

Ryo immediately took note of this and set the little tidbit down in the back of his mind. Rowen was…sleeping and Cye and Kento had gotten into an argument about something to do with pancakes and frosting. Eliora didn't interrupt them. There was an angel with blue hair that the young teen didn't recognize and an Inuyasha complete with Kagome. In the corner sat a Riku, he kept a watchful eye on…the flash of white hair she'd caught.

She didn't see Talpa anywhere and turned to ask Demoonica where he was only to find the other trainer already in the process of rounding everyone up. In a matter of moments, Rowen was up, although not completely awake, Cye and Kento were on opposite sides of the room sending venomous glares at one another every once in a while, and everyone else with the exception of Flash-of-White-Hair and Riku had been situated on the bed, the couch or the floor.

Of course that's when a door in the wall adjacent to the wall leading to hall opened and two characters Eliora recognized as being part of X/1999 walked in. They were holding hands and behind them was…Vash. Vash settled next to Colleen and the other, who obviously belonged to Colleen as well, took seats on the floor. More chaos was added when Eliora remembered her own boys and tapped their balls. Legolas simply sat on the floor next to his precious trainer, Clark was forced into Eliora's chair and she took the floor space between his knees. Yue found a spot next to the only other angel in the room.

Finally, when everyone was settled, Demoonica was able to start explaining. "I belong to the Bishi World Safety Department, or BWSD for short, and recently they've been investigating a rash of trainer kidnappings. Now, the Bishi-world has had such problems before, I remember, but this is different. Trainers are reappearing…dead. Thus, a good many of our available agents have been working on figuring out what's going on. No one has been able to locate the masterminds, nor have we yet figured out why exactly trainers are being killed.

"What we do know is that, much like what happened four years ago, Bishie are reappearing in their home territories. But they are all absolutely insane." Several different Bishie reacted to this in different ways, although the most noticeable to Eliora was the light shudder than ran through Clark. "Some of these insane Bishie turn on other trainers and injure, maim or murder them..I believe that Talpa is one such case. I sent him back to BWSD headquarters already and, due to the helpful information the Ronin Warriors and Nuriko have given us, we're going to try to track down other survivors. But if you don't mind, Eliora, I'd like to save your dex number. And yours Colleen.

"To be honest, there was one other case where they found trainers had survived ordeals with an insane Bishoujo, much like Talpa. Within six months, all we found of those trainers were corpses. I would like to make certain the same thing does not happen again." Demoonica eyes were hard and angry, but she smoothed it over with a more peaceful expression. "In any case, the last thing I'd like to resolve before I go are Nuriko and the Mr. Mysterious." What she didn't say was that she'd already made arrangements to drop the Ronins off on the way back to BWSD, however Nuriko had refused such an offer and the other Bishounen had been kind of…unresponsive to anything she tried.

Nuriko stood up. "With all due respect, I'd like to ask permission to join Eliora and her group." Eliora's jaw dropped, but Demoonica merely looked amused; Nuriko smiled lightly at the petite brunette. "If you'll have me, that is."

Numb with surprise and embarrassment, Eliora nodded. Immediately, he stepped over Vash and knelt before her and offered his hand, palm up. Instinctively, she pulled a bish-ball off her belt, pressed the button and then gently touched it to his hand. He disappeared and she stared at the ball, which didn't move. A click filled the silent room and Eliora let him out again. Nuriko looked far too proud of himself, as though it was he who'd caught her and not the other way around. Colleen covered a smile as Eliora turned a brighter shade of crimson and Demoonica was trying her hardest to stifle laughter.

The group began to split up while Demoonica received Colleen and Eliora's dex numbers. Inuyasha and Kagome disappeared, Colleen's X Bishie went back to through the door joining the two separate rooms. With the room less crowded and everyone getting up, Eliora finally got a good look at the Flash-of-White-Hair or whatever nickname he'd adopted most recently.

"Kittypon!" Eliora practically squealed and everyone froze, staring at her as though she'd just grown a second head. And then the trainer did something that those in the room who knew her had never thought she'd do. She glomped the newly dubbed 'Kittypon'.

Kittypon looked incredibly irritated. "I didn't leave one stupid chick just to run into another stupid chick." He didn't even appear to be bothered by the fact that there was a trainer wrapped around his torso.

Clark's eyes were huge, he wasn't even sure he could form coherent sentences. "E-Eliora?"

The girl blinked. "Yes, right. Hold on." Without further ado, she pulled a bish-ball off her belt and before 'Kittypon' could do anything, she tapped him with it and he disappeared. The ball shook violently in her hand for several long moments. Everyone stared. Riku was on his feet, seeming to expect a fight.

Eventually there was a click and the whole room seemed to relax. "Sorry about that, everyone. Oh!" Yue was at Eliora's side in an instant, hands already searching for an injury before any of her other boys had been able to move. She gently brushed his hands aside and pulled out her dex. "I put it on vibrate, it startled me."

Immediately, the angel released a breath that he'd been holding in his fear. "Please, try not to give me a heart attack."

"My apologies, Yue. Thank you for caring." She smiled up at him and then turned to her dex. There was a moment of silence while she went through Nuriko's-who was a Sama apparently-information and pushed 'N' at the ever familiar nickname question.

And then she turned the sound on so everyone could hear the next bit. "Alzeid. Stage-Sama. Alzeid is an albino who travels on a long journey to get revenge the woman who killed his father. He is one of two clones of his 'father' and seems to be one of the center pieces of a large game masterminded by Kiara of the same territory. He likes cocoa, peaches, sweets, and sleep; he dislikes the morning, baths, alarms, carrots, and green peppers. He tends to pout when people are ignoring him. Nickname?"

Alzeid looked murderous and was staring at Eliora, his red eyes demanding a 'no' to fall from her lips. The girl took one look at him and smiled evilly. "Yes..Kittypon." As soon as it was registered into his profile, Eliora turned off the dex and put it away; she blinked when she found everyone staring at her in varying degrees of utter shock. "What? Dazzle was my all-time favorite manga back home. I guess it's still picking up publicity since no one could identify him." She wrapped her arms around the albino, who was clutching his gun as though he'd loved to use it. "Isn't he just gorgeous? I've always wanted to meet Alzeid and scold him for being so incompetent."

Alzeid was slowly turning red, and his expression was becoming more and more indignant. "I am not incompetent! That was him, you stupid chick!"

Eliora ignored him, but she did release him and turn to Demoonica almost sheepishly. "I-I'm sorry…"

"It's fine, Eliora," the young woman brushed tears of mirth out of her eyes. "Thank you for the show. I'd love to stay, but I really must be going. C'mon Katan." She was already heading for the door; Riku was already in the hall. Katan waved politely and followed his trainer. She stopped at the door to wait for the Ronins.

As they were filing out, Ryo whispered something into Rowen's ear and he nodded enthusiastically. Sage was the last one headed for the door and was shocked beyond reason when his two friends grabbed him and whirled him around before forcing him to lower his head. Ryo gestured to Eliora, who jumped at the chance being offered to her. Sage struggled uselessly, his one visible violet eye huge with horror. Glee filled the brunette as she sank her hands into his lush locks. Within thirty sends, his hair was a complete and utter mess, Eliora stepped back and Sage was released. Horror-filled, the stared first at the trainer and then at his friends indignantly, then he marched out of the room with as much dignity as he could tape together. Ryo and Rowen were cackling when they followed him, although Ryo paused one last time.

"The next time you're in the Ronin Warrior territory, tell the first…Well, the first Ronin you meet that you want to talk to Ryo of Scouting Group Q. I have a surprise waiting for you, Miss Eliora." With that, he was gone and Demoonica was closing the door.

Once Demoonica was gone, Eliora grabbed Clark, Yue and Legolas in a hug. "I'm sorry guys. I'll tie myself to you next time, okay?"

"You don't need to go that far. Besides, it wasn't your fault, if I'd been paying attention you'd never have been hurt." Clark was very obviously beating himself up about it, so when Eliora released them she punched in the arm lightly.

"Don't beat yourself up, I'll do it for you." She smiled up at him and then bounced over to Nuriko and hugged him.

Colleen's Bishoujo had reappeared with a box of donuts. "Here, I figured Vash might be going through withdrawal."

Vash jumped up before Colleen could thank her and accepted the box. "Why thank you! So, when are we heading out, Colleen?"

The shy trainer was quiet for a moment. "I thought I'd ask Eliora if we could travel with her for a whi-"

"Yes, please! That would be wonderful. I mean, my boys are great, but it's always nice to have female company." Eliora beamed at the older girl, who smiled in reply.

With a start, Colleen gestured to her Bishoujo. "This is Karen and the guy you saw with her is Aoki from X. They're happily married." Karen smiled at Eliora, who fluttered her fingers in a rendition of a wave.

"It's a pleasure," Eliora said. "How about we…head away from the Ronin Warrior territory. I'll eventually come back to collect on Ryo's surprise, but…I want to see Tortall or Alasea…I mean the territories…Well, the Tortall territory and The Banned and the Banished territory. Hmm…" She pulled up her map on her dex to consult it. "I heard there's a teleportation device here in Warrior's Edge. Why don't we make use of it and just…go?"

Colleen nodded. "Good idea. I wasn't headed anywhere in particular, so I'll just follow you for now."

The younger trainer grinned. "I promise it won't be boring….Much? Anyway, I'm gonna do some shopping with just the boys. Bonding time, you know?"

"It's no problem; I've already done my shopping, so I was going to go to the gym today." Colleen ushered Vash and Karen back towards her own room.

"Good idea, I'll meet you there!" Eliora waved and then turned to her boys and found Alzeid…asleep. "Kittypon! Come on, we're going out…" When that got no response, she sighed. "Fine, be that way." She tapped his ball and the sleeping form disappeared. "C'mon guys, I need to get clothes for Alzeid and Nuriko, I don't think I need anything else since..you know."

Clark nodded. "I think you should challenge the gym's leader. A three for three.." The others nodded, backing him up.

"Alright, then. Since you guys are all itching for a real match, I'll do it. First clothes, then gym. Let's go." With that, Eliora caught Nuriko's hand and headed out.

~*~

Shini: So, yeah…I was gonna apologize for something when I finished earlier today, but I can't remember what now. There was a ton of stuff that happened this chapter, but I will work on continuing to strengthen relationships in the next few chapters. I've already started on the next chapter, so go me!

Bishi-dex:

Katan – Angel Sanctuary (I think…)
Inuyasha&Kagome – Inuyasha

Riku – Kingdom Hearts

Shini: Now I remember, I wanted to apologize for not going into deets on Eliora's half of the kidnapping. Right now, she's not ready to impart, sooo…we'll leave that all mysterious, shall we?

I also find it ironic that Eliora went into the RW territory searching for Ronins and came out with…two non-Ronins. The next chapter should be more relaxing than this one was!