Author Notes - Yeah slow updates. Obligatory 'story is not dead' disclaimer goes here. I'll try not to actually use that disclaimer though, cos that never works out well. Good thing is, I worked out why I was struggling so much so now this story should be able to progress!

CHAPTER FIVE - A LITTLE SPARRING

'Sooo, let me get this straight, Blade. I gave you a simple order, and you... didn't do it.'

'Yes. I'm, uh, afraid so.'

Queen Nymphia sighed and rubbed her temples with her ribbon-like feelers. When she had brought Blade all the way up to her bedroom to discuss this privately, this is not what she was hoping to hear. And it wasn't what the Honedge was hoping for either. Blade's singular eye darted around the room, unable to focus on a single thing for more than a second. The tassels of his cloth curled and uncurled like the fingers of a nervous person. He hated this serene tone; he knew that any moment now, she'd explode.

'I-I'm sure it's no big deal.' He stammered. 'It's just a-'

'NO BIG DEAL?!' She screamed, baring her fangs. 'Blade, my ENTIRE reputation is hinging on this! How do you think my kingdom's going to react if my daughter returns and tells everyone that I tried to KILL HER?!'

And there it was. Blade stepped back and covered himself up with his cloth, peeping out from behind it at his furious queen as she clawed at her own face.

'You just had to tell her this was all my plan, didn't you? You could've just pretended you went mad, but no. Now, she's gonna tell everyone I want her dead. Good job, Blade.'

'You do realise there's nothing stopping me from telling everyone myself, right?' Blade said, in his rare moment of bravery.

Nymphia smirked. 'HA! Really, Blade? You were the one who brought her into the woods. You, whether you like it or not, will be the prime suspect if anything gets out. After all, why would a queen try to kill her own daughter?' She growled. 'But they'll believe the princess herself, without a doubt. Do you know where she is?'

'Not a clue.' He said, staying behind his cloth. 'Last time I saw her, she was running deeper into the woods. If it makes you feel any better, she's probably hopelessly lost by now.'

Nymphia glared at him for a few seconds, making him incredibly anxious for what she had planned. With a grunt, she turned around and headed for her window. The sun had set, and night-time blanketed the entire kingdom. Most of the Pokémon were packing up and going home for the night, but the Dark- and Ghost-types came out to play instead. Though most of the dark-furred Pokémon blended into the darkness of the night, she could see what appeared to be a glowing Umbreon. He may have been completely unrelated to that Umbreon, but he still made Nymphia sick just looking at him.

'You've got one way to redeem yourself, Blade.' She said through gritted teeth. 'I'll consult my mirror as to the location of our shiny little princess, and you can go after her to finish the job.'

Blade's one eye narrowed. 'How about... no?'

The Sylveon sighed. 'Blade, I... I don't wanna deal with this tonight. It's been a long day. Be thankful that I need sleep just as much as any Pokémon does.' She sighed. 'Maybe I should've been an Umbreon instead.'

'What? So your little scheme against Prince Whiskers would've been much easier?'

Nymphia glanced back at him, not saying a word but giving him a deadly stare that said more than enough. Under her breath, she cursed his typing. Of course one of the only servants she had left to do her dirty work was the Ghost. Not even leaving him to rot in the dungeon like that Garchomp could work - his sharp edges could cut through those bars in moments.

'I'll be fair to you, Blade.' She muttered. 'It's getting late, is it not? I'll let you sleep on your decision. Aren't I nice?'

If Blade had any blood, it would be boiling at that very moment. 'Yes... I understand.'

'Good!' She said with a fake smile. 'Meet me by my mirror tomorrow morning. Then, you shall decide your fate.'

'Are you ever going to set that poor Yamask free? I think he's more than paid your debt.'

Nymphia giggled. 'Oh Blade, you're so funny!'

'WAKE UP! WAKE UP! IT'S UP FROM BED YOU GO!'

'Ohhh...'

'Haaappyyy!'

'I'm gonna kill that confounded Espeon!'

What a way to wake up. When Melancholy burst into his little wake-up song, no one got up quickly. Even Blaze, all the way from outside, grumbling curses to herself as she was dragged out of her peaceful rest. The only exception was Ebony, who apparently hadn't slept that entire night. She and her Psychic-type brother marched downstairs while the others took forever to awaken properly. Prince Whiskers hopped off his bed before anyone else, but Snowy was one of the last - she was never a morning 'Mon. Flash didn't get up at all. In fact, Snowy wasn't entirely sure if she was breathing.

Breakfast? Just berries, not even mashed. Not that either Snowy or Prince Whiskers cared; they were delicious all the same. Each Eeveelutions got the berries they liked most, from Sunshine's incredibly spicy Tamatos to Ebony's toothache-inducingly-sweet Pechas, though Rose could only stick to what she could eat at all. Snowy and Whiskers both found it rather... creepy that Melancholy had known their favourite berries without them saying a word about it, but he was a Psychic-type.

With breakfast done and taken care of - except for Flash, who still hadn't woken up yet - the Eevees had to think about what to do with the royal members as they hid from the evil queen. Surprise surprise, it was Melancholy who spoke first.

'I know! PRACTISE FIGHTS!' He yelled, slamming his paws into the table.

'Um... practise fights?' Snowy echoed in confusion.

'Yeah! We're Pokémon, aren't we? We evolved to fight! Well, most of us evolved just as we thought it was cute, or because our parents were like that, or... but you get my point! With an evil queen on the hunt, we gotta keep ourselves in fighting condition.'

Once again to no-one's surprise, Sunshine groaned the moment Melancholy finished his last sentence.

'You tellin' me we gotta train our intruders now?' He asked with a grunt. 'Why don't we just bow before them and literally lick their feet while we're at it!'

Everyone at the table gave him a look, and Ebony just laughed at him. Her giggles may have been as silent as always, but they still irrationally annoyed the Flareon. No matter how hard he glared at her, she would not stop laughing.

Spring tapped the toes on his front paws together. 'Um... w-well, they are royalty. M-Maybe we should be doing that. Y-You know, i-if they ask for it.'

Snowy giggled. 'Oh, don't worry about that! We're not gonna ask you to act like slaves. Are we, Whiskers?'

The Litleo nodded. 'Absolutely not. The Auroria royal family believes in treating our servants well, and I see no reason not to do the same with you guys.'

Rose's eyes darted around the room. 'Sooo... you're not upset over that whole 'we tried to kill you' thing?'

Whiskers shook his head. 'I'm certain you did nothing of the sort, so I have no reason to be upset over it. I just wish I could be so certain about my parents' opinions on the matter...'

Melancholy seemed to think that counted as a 'yes', and hopped off his seat. He pranced over to the front door, bouncing up and down with all fours in a manner very similar to a Ponyta pronking across a field. The gem on his forehead glowed as he used his psychic powers to move the door handle and swing it right open. Before he could pronk right out the door and welcome the beautiful spring day, he instead came face-to-face with a certain Jolteon.

'OH!' He yelped as he jumped back. 'Oh, sorry Sleepie. How did you even...?'

Flash stood on the other side of the door, so still that any newcomer would think she was just a statue. The only part of her body that moved was her tongue, which slid along her lips to pick up any residue of berries that she apparently ate outside.

'I heard we were going to have some practise fights.' She said, once she was done licking her lips. 'And I like practise fights. Anyone want to fight me?'

The other Seven Eevees gasped, and looked around at each other like a crowd that witnessed something horrible. Snowy and Whiskers shared looks of confusion, as none of the Eevees bothered to explain what was so shocking, as it were. After a few seconds of silence and worried whispering, Rose lifted her head all the way up, puffed out her chest, and slammed her paw onto the table.

'I accept your challenge, Sleepie!' She declared. 'I shall finally beat you in a duel today!'

Sunshine barely contained a laugh. 'HA! I wouldn't count on it. You couldn't beat a Dratini. After you evolved.'

Rose gave him a glare. 'HEY! We both know that if I didn't sneeze at the worst possible time, I would've made that Dratini wish he was never born.'

The Flareon rolled his eyes. 'Was kinda your fault for challenging him when the pollen count was ridiculously high, but alright.'

Rivers could sense yet another argument about to break out between the two, and after rubbing his temples he clinked his spoon against his plate to get everyone's attention.

'Save the fights for the battlefield.' He said. 'And remember. We're not just doing this for fun for this time. We want our prince and princess to watch and learn. Well, I suppose you could just have fun, but remember we do have visitors. So no bad language. That means you, Sunshine. You too, Rose.'

The entire kingdom of Forressidon had met before their beloved queen, unaware of the horrors that had been unfolding behind those castle walls. There were so many Pokémon crowding around the castle that most of the Water-types had to swim into the moat to make more room for the others. Queen Nymphia arrived onto the balcony overlooking all of her subjects, with Nassi and Issan the Indeedee right behind her. Though most of the Pokémon couldn't see their queen so well from that distance, others such as Fearow and Rockruff could see that, for the first time since King Absalom died, she appeared heartbroken.

'My fair citizens,' She announced. 'I regret to bring you some terrible news regarding our beloved princess.'

The entire crowd gasped at once, and exchanged frightened whispers among each other over what this 'terrible news' could possibly be.

'It appears that my royal friend, a Honedge by the name of Blade, had turned rogue and tried to murder my sweet daughter!'

Everyone flinched, and many of the Pokémon screamed.

'I can't tell what would've made such a nice and beloved Pokémon snap, but due to his horrible actions my daughter has been forced into hiding. And... and I do not know where she is! Until my lovely daughter is found, I am afraid that her marriage to Prince Whiskers of Auroria cannot go through.'

Snowy had seen some battle arenas before in Forressidon, but none of them were simply the front yard to a cottage. She much preferred it that way. Most of the Pokémon sat on the 'sidelines' - really just where the clearing transitioned into unkempt woods - while the two challengers stood in the middle of the 'arena'. Blaze didn't really care about this upcoming battle in the slightest, and so she pretended the others didn't exist and just ate some more dirt and grass.

'You're going down, Sleepie!'

'Eh. I'm not sure myself.'

Rivers sighed from the Glaceon's optimism alone. Sunshine rested his head on the grassy floor, nearly falling asleep. Melancholy sat on a log, and leaned over its edge as far as he could go before he fell off. Ebony tried doing the same thing on a rock, but only fell flat on her face. Spring lay in a little spot of sunshine, subconsciously inching himself over towards Snowy. The princess sat right next to the prince, as her mother no doubt would've told her too.

'So Whiskers,' She said. 'Who's your money on? Everyone's building up Flash, but she looks about ready for a nap. And she got up five minutes ago.'

'I do not usually like to put bets on these fights, with money or otherwise.' He replied. 'Though I suppose I could make one exception. It seems likely that Rose is going to lose this.'

'Eh. If you insist.'

Rose bowed down, so far that the grass tickled her chin. Sure, the pollen in the air made her eyes a little watery, but she could spot that bright yellow Jolteon no matter how blurred her vision was. She wiggled her shoulders about, ready to destroy Flash the moment the battle started. Flash, on the other hand, just stood there and yawned. She wasn't even using the move Yawn.

Melancholy chuckled and nudged the princess with his elbow, if he had one. 'Oh, I love our matches! We don't worry about turn-based systems or anything like that. It's simply raw Pokémon fighting gusto, the way it was meant to be!'

Ebony nodded, before attempting to get back on the rock again. Like before, she just fell onto her face.

'Can we just get this battle over and done with?!' Sunshine yelled.

Rivers sighed, and lifted his paw into the air. 'As always, anything goes! The match between Rose the Glaceon and Flash the Jolteon begins in three...'

Flash continued to stay perfectly still, resembling a stuffed toy more than a Pokémon ready for a battle. Snowy couldn't tell what was going on through her head, if anything, but she did notice the Jolteon's fur sharpening just a little bit.

'Two...'

Rose, during her three seconds of downtime, lowered the temperature of her own body. The air around her began to cool, and the strands of fur across her body sharpened until they somewhat resembled icicles. She already had her strategy down, and fortunately Flash couldn't read her mind like Melancholy could. As soon as Rivers said the match was a go, she would use Ice Shard to get a hit on Flash immediately. After all, with the sheer difference in their speed stats she had no hope of outspeeding a Jolteon. A priority move would fix that right up.

'GO!' Rivers yelled, signalling the start of the match.

The Glaceon leapt off the ground the moment she heard the cue.

'OOF!'

But she barely got her paws off the grass before Flash zoomed across the field and headbutted her in the chest.

'Oh my!' Snowy cried.

Flash was not done yet. Before Rose could react or even hit the ground, Flash twisted herself in the air and kicked off the Glaceon's stomach. By the time Rose fell back to the ground, the Jolteon had leapt into the air and stared her down. Her sharpened fur emitted sparks, and she launched a powerful bolt of yellow electricity from her spikes towards the poor Ice-type on the ground.

The electric power consumed Rose in seconds.

'AHHHH!' She screamed.

Snowy and Whiskers gasped. Compared to the matches they had witnessed, this one seemed almost barbaric. The Thunderbolt didn't last very long, as Flash ended it prematurely and landed on the ground with all the gracefulness of a Persian. Rose twitched from the electricity coursing through her body, but fortunately didn't seem paralysed.

'I know you know Ice Shard.' She said, her voice as monotone as always. 'I guess you forgot I knew Quick Attack.'

Rose managed to fight against the electricity and get back on her feet. Her look of determination through the pain made it seem like she wasn't ready to end the fight yet, so Snowy was a little shocked - pun not intended - by the words that came out of her mouth.

'Dang it...' Rose muttered. 'You win. Again.'

A smile appeared on Flash's muzzle, but only for a moment before she returned to her usual apathetic stare.

'Nice.' She said, with only a slight hint of emotion.

'But you only won cos all the pollen in the air made my eyes water!' Rose insisted, shaking off the last bit of Thunderbolt.

'Why do you always blame your losses on your allergies? You say that even when we're inside.'

The Glaceon pouted. 'It's a good excuse, okay?'

Rivers sighed and shook his head. Snowy and Whiskers stared at the battle with their jaws wide open, shocked not only because of how barbaric it seemed but because of how quickly it went. Whiskers could've sworn that the battle had just started before he blinked.

'That's... that's how Flash battles?' Snowy asked, to no one in particular. 'It looked so brutal. And Flash is so, well, anything but!'

Spring rolled over onto his back so his belly could feel the sun. 'I-I think Sleepie saves all her energy for the fights. Or she might just be lazy. I-I'm not sure...'

Snowy turned her head to look at him, and nearly squealed from the sight. He just looked so comfortable lying there, basking in the sunlight.

'What are ya doing, Spring?'

The Leafeon flinched, surprised to have received any response at all. His fine tan fur did a poor job at hiding the blush on his cheeks. He got back onto his feet, flailing his legs about in a manner resembling a panicking Octillery more than a quadruped creature. Flinching a little as he managed to hurt his paw somehow, he sat up straight and gulped. His blushing intensified enough for him to resemble a Flareon.

'I, uh, I-I... It's, um, a Leafeon thing. I can eat berries, but they don't give me any nutrients I need like it does for my family. I need to sit in the sun and photosynthesise daily if I want to get any energy. I-I know it's weird, but-'

'AH!'

Melancholy swooped in and snatched up Snowy into his grasp. For a Pokémon who prefered mental battles over physical ones, he had a lot of force in his hugs, so no matter how much she squirmed she couldn't even begin breaking out. At least his fur was really soft; it made Snowy feel like she had been tucked into the world's most comfortable bed.

'Sleepie is a beast when she battles!' He yelled. 'Look at that monster!'

As expected, Flash stood perfectly still in a manner that did not resemble the Espeon's claims at all. She slowly returned to the rest of the group, dragging her paws along the ground as if moving her own body was a chore. Rose followed, and quickly overtook her, as she returned to her family as well, still muttering to herself over and over about how she should've won that battle.

'In fact,' Melancholy continued, looking straight into Snowy's eyes. 'There's only been one Pokémon who was ever capable of taking her down in a fair fight.'

Snowy figured he was exaggerating at least a little, but still her eyes sparked. 'Ooh... who?'

Melancholy settled her onto the ground, backed up to the edge of his perching log, and pointed at Rivers. The Vaporeon turned his head just slightly, just enough to see him, and he rolled his eyes with a sigh.

'Wait, Rivers?' Snowy asked. 'He's the only one who can beat Flash? But... but he's a Water-type! That would make him weak to Electric-type moves, wouldn't it?'

Melancholy nodded. Ebony nodded alongside him, shaking her head up and down hard enough for her tongue to smack her in the face.

'OH YEAH!' Melancholy said, doing the closest thing a quadruped could get to a fist-pump. 'Doc is an epic fighter! You know how Eeveelutions like us tend to have problems with their movesets? Doc doesn't care. Using moves like Ice Beam and Acid Armour to his advantage, he finds a way to win every single battle he's in!'

Rivers chuckled, giving the Psychic-type a soft smile. 'Melancholy, relax. That's all in the past. These old bones aren't what they used to be.'

Melancholy scoffed. 'Come on, Doc! Age is just a number. You know that, right?'

'Just wait until you're my age.'

Sunshine groaned and plopped to the ground, spreading his legs out and burying his chin in the grass. 'You really expect this idiot to slow down just cos of his age? He dances around in his sleep! Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if we heard him laughing as we buried his body.'

Prince Whiskers winced, and gave the Flareon a look. 'Don't you think you're getting a little morbid there, sir?'

'DON'T CALL ME 'SIR'!'

Flash found herself a nice spot in the shade, and lay down in a soft patch of grass. The moment she lay her head down against the comfy blades, she conked right out like she was never awake to begin with. Rose stepped over to her twin brother with a grin on her face. He returned her smile, even if it was noticeably more nervous.

'H-Hi sis.' He said. 'That was a, uh, pretty good battle. I mean, I-I know you didn't land a single hit, b-but against Sleepie that was pretty good.'

'Oh, so you think I'm no good at battles, huh?' She asked, her grin turning into a smirk. 'Let's see you do better!'

Giving him no time to react, she grabbed one of his big leafy ears with her teeth and yanked him forward. In reality, she did little more than nibble on him and her 'yank' had less power than a Magikarp, but in her mind it was a brutal attack.

Spring pulled against her grip, giggling. 'Sis! Let me go!'

'Never!' She yelled, though she could barely be understood through her mostly-closed mouth.

Blaze glanced at the Eevees for just a moment, and rolled her eyes as she returned to her meal. She could never understand those 'split-evolutions' types, but she figured that the pressure of having to choose which evolution to become drove them mad. Luckily for her, as a Mudsdale she didn't have to decide. Mudbray directly into a Mudsdale, nice and easy. Definitely no envy there.

'I appreciate the demonstration,' Whiskers said to Rivers. 'But how does watching a Glaceon get defeated by a Jolteon before landing even a single hit help us out at all?'

Sunshine snickered. 'It's good to laugh at, so there's that.'

No one gave him the dignify of even being looked at, aside from Rose who glared directly at him.

'Well,' Rivers said, adjusting his glasses. 'The best way to get good at battles is to participate in them yourself.'

'Quite.' Whiskers agreed. 'Though, I must admit, I've never been much of a battler myself. If I am to have a battle with one of you guys, as you are clearly implying, let's have it be someone who I know will go easy on me.'

Upon hearing his request, Ebony - who was previously distracting herself by staring at an odd patch of moss on a tree - bowed before the prince like a Growlithe about to run off and play. She growled and snarled as an attempt to look threatening, but her wagging tail and the drool pouring out of her mouth ruined whatever drama she was trying to build.

The Litleo stepped back just a little. 'You do not seem like someone who will go easy on me.'

Rose laughed, leaving Spring to clean his ear like a cat. 'Dopey? HA! She won't go easy on you for a second. Better yet, her strats revolve more around defence and watching you faint to Toxic rather than all-out attacking, and barely anyone is taught how to deal with defensive strats.'

Whiskers cringed. 'Ah, yes. I remember. She's one of those battlers.'

Ebony's eyes widened, and her mouth opened into a snarl.

'Don't give me that look.' The prince said. 'While I do think that even the dirtiest of battle strategies are legit, it can't be denied that hiding from attacks while your opponent slowly succumbs to your toxins is not exactly the most noble way to fight. Then again, you are a Dark-type. My great-grandfather, King Lepardas the Liepard, was quite the dirty fighter himself.'

This statement must have impressed her, as she puffed out her chest like a queen. She gave Rose a little smirk, to which the Glaceon frowned and pretended she couldn't see her. Sunshine rolled his eyes, slowly regretting his decision to take her in all those years ago. Which one? Knowing him, probably both.

'It's not like we're any good to teach them anything about battling anyway.' He remarked with a groan.

Rivers glanced his way. 'Oh really? And why is that?'

'Because most of our quote-unquote fights are more like that.'

He pointed towards the Umbreon and Glaceon, the latter of which was clearly pretending to look away while her tail grew stiff. It glowed white, and shone like polished metal under the sun. When the moment was right, she spun around and whacked Ebony upside the head with Iron Tail. Ebony fell face first into the ground below, but didn't suffer too much damage thanks to her species's natural tough hide. She responded by grabbing one of Rose's dangles and biting down hard.

'OW!' The Ice-type cried.

'Hey!' Spring said, stepping forward. 'D-Don't do that!'

Ebony glared at him, narrowing her eyes until they glowed an eerie shade of blue. Spring immediately recognised this as the start of a Mean Look, and - in contrast to the move's effects once completed - hightailed it out of there and hid behind a bush, whimpering like a lost little Yamper as he peeked out from behind the leaves.

'Other than Flash,' Sunshine continued, raising up his paw to count on his toes. 'We've got... a Vaporeon too old to fight, an Espeon who won't stop dancing, an Umbreon denser than a neutron star-' This prompted Ebony to tilt her head in confusion. 'A Leafeon scared of his own shadow, a Glaceon allergic to everything under the sun, and a Flareon who doesn't care about any of them. That last guy is me, in case you couldn't tell.'

'Yes...' Rivers said with a sigh. 'Yes, I could tell.'

Blaze laughed and laughed, until she snorted not like a horse but instead a human. It got her a glare from Sunshine, but - being the heaviest Ground-type in existence other than Groudon - she didn't fear the Fire-type's attacks at all.

'Sounds like you'd get better lessons from me!' She said, stamping her hooves on the ground. 'And I've never been trained to fight!'

Rivers narrowed his eyes, just a little. 'I wouldn't try that if I were you. Three of us have types that are good against yours, and since Mudsdale are naturally very slow my old age wouldn't matter so much in a battle against you. Believe me when I say you don't want to get on my bad side.'

Melancholy slung his foreleg across Rivers's back so hard and so suddenly that it made the old Vaporeon flinch. Rivers could feel his bones almost collapsing on him.

'You don't wanna mess with Doc!' Melancholy yelled, giving Blaze a glare offset by his massive smile. 'He'll mess ya up big time if you get into a fight with him!'

Rivers lifted the Espeon's leg off his back, without even looking at him. 'Please ignore my little brother. I really don't wish to get into a fight. I am simply saying that getting into a fight with me when you are a slow Ground-type is not going to end well for you.'

Blaze had apparently already forgotten about this conversation, for she was already grazing on the dirt again. 'Whatever.'

The old Vaporeon sighed. He could still remember his glory days of fighting when he was younger, going as far as before Sunshine was even born, yet alone a part of their family. The memories of fighting Flash back in the day were especially glorious, as he somehow managed to overcome a lightning-fast Electric-type with nothing but skill and strategy. As much as he loved those days, he couldn't say that he missed them.

'Hey Grumpy!' The Espeon hollered. 'Do you wanna have a practise fight with me?'

'If I get to shut you up for five minutes, sure.'

'ALRIGHT! Let's do it!'

Rivers didn't like to think about it, but he knew he had to admit the truth. Sooner or later, he would be unable to defend his family anymore.

'WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU WON'T TELL ME WHERE MY DAUGHTER IS?!'

'No longer do I have to give you my reply. And I do not have to tell you why.'

Queen Nymphia gaped at her magic mirror. The mask within the mirror not only refused to answer any of her questions, but didn't emote at all like it used to. The Yamask holding up the mask, meanwhile, was more visible than ever and gave his queen a noticeable glare. The angry Sylveon could handle this nonsense no longer, and bashed her paws into the glass so she could look that Yamask right in the eyes.

'Tell me at once, Magic Mirror!' She demanded. 'That is what you are made to do!'

The Yamask shook his head. 'I am not part of your little deal anymore. So you should turn around and head out the door.'

Nymphia snorted, about ready to toss her mirror aside like a raging Tauros, until she noticed something in the glass. It was hardly visible, but there was a small crack right in the middle. Wisps so tiny that they could barely be seen leaked from the crack and dissipated into the air. Now that she saw the culprit behind why her mirror was disobeying her, her rage did not calm down at all.

'BLAAAAAAAAAAAADE!'

She had to find that cursed Honedge as soon as possible. No one but the queen and her servants were allowed to know why the princess was missing. No one.

Author Notes - I realised that my problem was that a story like this should really focus on the characters, and less than the action. Throwing in some fight scenes when there was little narrative purpose to them was not a good idea, so I'm gonna take a bit of a character-driven approach now. All things considered, that's when my writing is the best.