So I've actually had this chapter ready for quite some time now, but I've been doing something and hadn't realized all I needed to do was proofread and upload. On a side note, nothing in this chapter is italicized, but I've come up with an idea for that, so I'll try to employ that in the later chapters. Anyway, enjoy!
"Wha-what the hell!?" Several scientists were startled in a large, open room with a tall door behind them. It opened automatically upon detecting registered biosignatures. For it to open now, when all staff was present was illogical at best.
Two ninetales baring their fangs were revealed when the door lowered. One man reacted quickly, grabbing a handgun and aiming at one. It used confuse ray, hitting the white-clad man before he could pull the trigger. He scrunched his face in confusion, looked down the barrel of the weapon, and accidentally fired. Cries of distress filled the room.
Stones impaled people, hurled by a nidoking and nidoqueen that made themselves known.
In short, multiple families of Pokémon had arrived at the research labs, guided either directly by or in search of their daughters. The place was cleared out regarding human life, save for one.
"Go, Pikach-" The television screen went black. The child watching it was bored of that show to begin with, but for it to cut off was unprecedented.
A booming sound near the door to his chamber captured the boy's attention. A purple hand burst through the thick metal mechanism, pulling back and leaving a hole in its place. The head of a nidoking filled the space visible from the hole, peering into the room. It roared when it saw the child.
The door split horizontally in the middle with a loud screeching sound. The pieces were banged on until the top part flew into the room, sliding by the child.
"That's weird. What's going on here? Where are the people?" The child asked the nidoking. He could understand Pokémon speech, but only the sophisticated version. Wild Pokémon seemed to have their own disgruntled language for communication that was impossible to learn as it was unique to every clique.
The purple monstrosity approached. Entering the room behind it were two ninetales, a nidoqueen, and an umbreon and espeon.
The boy frowned. He was confused but not worried in the slightest. The nidoking ran forward, each step a forceful stomp, leaving an impression on the floor. It pulled back a fist and punched at its target.
That target caught the Pokémon's fist with an outstretched palm. It looked ridiculous, seeing a being of such magnitude being stopped by a mere child, but the sound and dents that formed under the boy's feet revealed the true force of the impact.
"I don't get it. Are they trying to get rid of me, or is this a test?" He looked the nidoking in the eyes, expecting an honest answer. He got a roar and an orange ball charging in the mouth of the Pokémon.
He blasted the human at point-blank range with hyper beam. When the scene was visible again, the child was a glassy silhouette, filled with a translucent orangey substance. The move mirror coat took effect and blasted the beast back with double damage. There was no room to dodge seeing as hyper beam required a short recovery time. It flew into the air, slamming the point where the ceiling met the wall, and fell to the ground, almost crushing the eeveelutions.
The rest of the procedure went roughly the same. Moves were used but it was worthless. The human they were determined to eradicate knocked them all out flawlessly, not dealing a fatal blow to any of them. The thoughts of their friends wanting revenge on him should he kill them filled the boy's mind, so he let them live. It was the right thing to do, right?
The child hesitated and looked around the room. He checked and saw that all the cameras, or at least the visible ones he was aware of, had been destroyed or damaged in the confrontation. He viewed his broken door warily; the thing was practically a lock that kept him away from the world. But... if he handled those Pokémon with ease, what could the scientists forcefully do?
"If they ask, I guess I'll come back. But yeah, I suppose they can't really hurt me." The boy mumbled to himself and left his room. It was the first time he'd ever left on his own accord. Normally he was guided under high surveillance and security to the chem lab, the breeding area, or some weird room with a node that was supposedly able to identify moves used and their power.
Wandering aimlessly, he found the entrance to the place. It was filled with the gory remains of the men he'd seen all his life. The sight disturbed him. What'd happened? He walked over to the bodies and inspected their wounds.
"All of these deaths seem to be results of abilities those Pokémon from before are capable of using... Guess that checks out." He stood and wiped some blood off on his pants. Another sight caught his attention.
A large opening in the building revealed a strangely bright light filtering in. He approached it cautiously, unsure of what it could do.
And just like that, he was outside of the facility. Over time, he would learn that the light that he saw came from the sun, and what the world felt like. He discovered burning and destroyed buildings nearby, filled with women and children, but no men. He recalled a conversation he'd had about the scientists having families. For the longest time, Pokémon he came across were hostile to him. Being alone never bothered him; he was raised to believe that he was alone either way. The child discovered that freedom was infinite. Anything could be done, but doing nothing was boring.
"You've got nothing to say?"
"It was only a matter of time."
The only response was a twitch of the person's head, the subtle movement reflecting light off the man's glasses.
"Tell me. How do you feel?" A larger man pointed a medium-sized firearm at the one he'd endured calling 'companion' for so long. "From the looks of things, not great I take it."
"I feel... Hatred. Betrayed. Lost. Empty. I feel everything that has nothing to do with warmth or light. Six Pokémon raided our facility. A mere six. That was so stoppable. So why?" A slender man gritted his teeth with such intensity it felt like they would crack.
"Surviving and living are different. I've been surviving. Say, what have you be-"
"How can you say that!? Our research- it's all GONE! It was living at its finest and just like that, six God damn Pokémon, and gone! And I'm stuck here, unable to retrieve the subject because of the likes of YOU!"
"Relax. Our research isn't 'gone,' you idiot. In fact, that's why I'm not blasting your brains out."
"Why would I help you?"
"Does the whole 'blasting your brains out' thing not answer that? Just saying, man."
"I think I hate you."
"I think you'll get over it."
"Fine then. What do you want me to do, man?'" He mocked his larger companion.
"I want you to record all of our findings and data into a book. But that should only be a section. I want you to add generic human history, cultural history, just a bunch of human stuff as well."
"I... Why?" The smaller man had, for what it was worth, calmed down considerably at the mention of a new task regarding their research.
"You know that Pokémon settlement a region over from here? I'm gonna see to it that it gets there."
"The hell? That would be an easy flight years ago, but if you haven't noticed there IS no flying for humans now. Unless you have some grand team of Pokémon you've been hiding from us."
"Nah, but it'd be pretty cool if I did. I'm gonna take it there myself." The burly man replied.
"Advantageous City?"
"Advent. But yeah, I know it sounds stupid to travel so far, but I'll be fine. Now get started."
The Mayor tapped his foot behind his desk. The dragonite had his hands clasped in front of his face, covering his mouth. Team Fate stood awkwardly. It had been a moment or two since they'd finished their report of the previous mission.
"Zero." Draco, the Mayor, finally stated.
"Sir."
"Your body language tells me that you're uncomfortable. However, it was like that when you arrived in my office. You seem unsure of what to do while you await my response." He retorted.
"You've impressive psychological understanding, sir. Not to flatter you..." Zero trailed off and stared at nothing in particular.
"What this tells me is that you've been mulling over this situation since before you arrived here. Which can only mean one of three things."
Team Fate perked up slightly.
"You've been worried about my reaction since you got done with this mission. You had the entire thing staged and are now hoping that I'll let things slide and you can pursue a larger, deeper plan. Or, the entire thing never happened and you're wanting, for whatever reason, to get me to believe it did." The dragonite studied his audience's reaction.
"It's the first one, but I can't prove that," Zero told him.
"I think I have a sort of solution. We can document this mission as classified, for the time being, that way only higher authority figures can review the report at the Rescue Federation, and we let your team go on a mission without you."
"And I suppose I'll be on standby?" The human was unsure of what the outcome of the proposal would be. If his teammates were able to select a standard mission, it would be fine, but if they were given a specific exploration, things could get bad.
"That's correct. I'd like for you to remain within the central and tourist districts of Advent Town, and I only will allow the tourist district seeing as your residence, well, resides there."
"Understood..."
"I understand this is on short notice, but I fear this is all I can do for now. I expect to be busy for the next few days, so I wouldn't have time to come up with a different solution. Having been said, you're dismissed. Zero, I expect you to be available at the drop of a hat. As for you, Glave and Cerulean, you may select a mission from the bulletin board located on the first floor of the Rescue Federation building. Please remember to select a mission that accounts for you being a man down."
The team departed from the office.
"Well, that was unexpected," Cerulean stated.
"Yeah, but I'll be honest, I don't really see how us completing a mission on our own will do anything to prove Zero's intentions," Glave replied.
"The Mayor is intelligent at worst, that much is clear. His intentions are beyond even me, but if it's a test then I suppose you two will have to complete it nonetheless. We are an official rescue team, after all. We're expected to take on missions daily. Not to slack off on you two, but a break might do me some good after yesterday."
"Well then, we should go ahead and get this over with. We'll see you later, Zero." Glave told his teacher. The grovyle and lucario split off from the human that headed toward home.
"So, you feeling alright about this?" Cerulean asked nonchalantly.
"I guess. I'm gonna go out on a whim and assume you haven't gotten weaker in the past month?"
"Haha, no I haven't. Why do you ask?" Cerulean laughed at the question.
"Because a month ago, you were pretty badass. I was just making sure we'd be fine on whatever mission we pick."
"Ooh, I don't know how to respond, kiddo. I'm flattered you think I'm a badass, but don't tell me you're scared," the lucario teased.
"Like hell. I didn't bust my ass for a month just to worry about our missions." The grovyle lifted his head and spotted the Rescue Federation's building. "We're here."
The two Pokémon entered, quickly heading to the bulletin board.
"So, what are we feeling? Rescue or outlaw?" Cerulean placed her paws on her hips. Glave, who was practically on eye level with her lower mouth, couldn't help almost looking since the stance spread her legs.
"Yeah, sounds good." He replied as he turned his attention to the board. "Which one?"
"Dude, what? Never mind, how about this one?" She disregarded her companion's blunder and picked up a flyer pinned to an envelope. "Says here there's a wanted... ehhh... Nevermind. Not that one." She replaced it.
"What was wrong with it?" Glave asked.
"Do you know how we'd haul a gyarados out of a lake?"
"Gotcha. Well then, since you're so interested in combat today, this one looks good. There's a steelix in a cave that really messed up a rescue team on their mission."
"I like the sound of that, but I really don't wanna have to deal with dark caves like that if Zero isn't here to light them up."
"Oh, yeah... Damn, is this how other teams feel?" Glave asked in slight frustration as he repinned the mission to the board.
"Maybe. Hey, this is... Really far away, never mind. Uhh, oh! No, that's a fire type. Alright fine, this will have to do it. There's an electivire on the loose in Crimson Forest. The description says that the guy's causing fires with his electricity and stuff like that. Super territorial, the usual works."
"Sounds good to me. We take this guy down today and things go back to normal tomorrow." Glave and Cerulean nodded and the lucario took the mission with her.
"How far away is crimson forest?" Glave asked as they were passing the town hall again. The building, as could be expected of the main facility, was located in the center of the town. The tourist district, where Team Fate's home could be found, was located in the middle-west section of town. Volt and Circe's house, where Glave was raised, was on the East side. The Rescue Federation's building was Southwest of the town hall, putting it close to the bottom center of Advent Town, but it was just slightly displaced.
"Doesn't matter. Zero can just..." Cerulean sighed, "It's about two hours on foot. Fuck us."
Even still, it had to be done. The idea that roughly four hours of the day would be spent walking was nothing short of disappointing for the inexperienced two-man team, but they knew it had to be done. Running was considered, but they'd be tired when they got there if they did.
As time-consuming as it was, they arrived at the entrance to their destination. Forestry was dense in the area, but instead of a bright green image, the trees had a dark-brownish bark, and the leaves at the top were a dark red. It was impossible to see the sky past them, but light still filtered in, making for a shady area.
"Woah. Thick cluster of trees." Cerulean commented.
"Yeah... Really thick. This place is a mystery dungeon. I take it the outer perimeter of trees is dense like this so you have to enter the dungeon the right way. Although considering it's a forest, this might be more of a large maze." Glave thought aloud.
"What do you mean? Aren't they all large mazes?" Cerulean inquired as the two moved around the edge of the forest, looking for an opening.
"Yes, but I meant this might be a larger, one-room dungeon. Unless it splits into different sections when we get inside." Glave stopped, finally standing before a narrow opening in the trees.
Upon entering they discovered it was as much of a labyrinth as the grovyle had guessed. There were lines of narrow trees with thick reddish-orange vines between them, blocking off the vision of the next path over. Smoke could already be smelled from where the two Pokémon were.
"What happens if the mystery dungeon gets burned down entirely?" Cerulean asked.
"The same thing with Zero busting up Coral Cave. Mystery dungeons are mysterious for a reason. The things regenerate and reforge themselves in different patterns by the day. In other words, as long as the border, or whatever is considered the core part of this dungeon, is still intact during the refresh point, the entire thing will recreate itself like it was never damaged."
The pair came to several dead-ends, quickly getting lost after having to turn around repeatedly.
"Now this is getting redundant. You can't bust down these trees?" Glave complained to Cerulean.
"I dunno. Suppose it's worth a shot." The lucario held out her paws, pads facing upward, and a large blue ball burst into existence.
"What the- that looks fully charged! I didn't know you could..." The grovyle didn't bother finishing his statement, recalling all too well that this was the same lucario that had attacked his town some time ago.
Cerulean drew her arm back and flung the ball into the trees in front of her. A strange sound came from the impact, somewhere between the grinding of a tool cutting the tree and the cracking sound of wood breaking. Wood chips and bits of vines flew past the lucario who, per nature, didn't flinch.
The aura sphere fizzled out and the two reviewed the results. There was a hole, two feet in diameter, in the wall of trees.
"Wait, what?" Cerulean voiced the confusion that she and Glave felt. At the top of the hole was the remainder of the trees, still standing rather than falling as a cut-down tree should.
"These vines are really dense. Not to mention, they run up to the leaves at the top, so I guess it's safe to assume they're holding them up?" Glave unsurely announced.
"Small hole. Should be fine though..." Cerulean took a sort of running stance and leaped through, straightening her body mid-jump to get in. She rolled and stood, putting her hands on the trees next to her on the other side to steady herself. Glave climbed over after her.
"How tiring was that? It's really convenient, but if I have to take this electivire on by myself then it might not go the way we want it." Glave mentioned.
"I feel fine, but I'll try some other tactics to see if we can optimize knocking our way through."
Continuing through the maze, the grovyle and lucario followed wherever the smoke smelled strongest. Eventually, they could hear crackling fire past another wall of trees.
"It's starting to get hot, which could be trouble for both of us," Cerulean said. She approached the wall of trees the sound was coming from. Getting in a fighting stance, she brought both of her arms back. With four jabs from each of them, force palm pounded the obstacle eight times. Each one sent chunks of wood back, making a jagged hole.
Climbing through it revealed a clearing. At the top of the trees making up the perimeter was a blazing fire possessing heat that could be felt from the ground. Rather than the leaves that had been everywhere on the ground before, they stood on a black, charred piece of land. Ashes rose with each of the two's steps. The tree's bark was visible up to the upper middle of them, where the vines were still burning.
"Man, they weren't kidding about the fires. But this doesn't look too recent, so I don't know if the target will be nearby." Glave analyzed his surroundings. There was a corridor nearby, constructed entirely out of trees like the rest of the dungeon. The problem was that they were engulfed in flames at the time.
"I think it's safe to say he went that way," Cerulean remarked.
"Yeah, looks like it. I don't suppose you have any moves that can put out a fire?"
The fighting-steel type put her hands together and another aura sphere grew to her own height. She launched it down the corridor, the pair watching as the flames were pulled in its path, but didn't go out.
"Well, that didn't-"
A roar cut the lucario off, followed by an enormous crack of thunder.
"Whoops."
Zero sat in bed, legs crossed and eyes closed. It wasn't meditating, merely thinking. He had nothing to do in this town, and on top of that, he wasn't permitted to leave it.
[Those hot springs sound fun right about now...] He opened his eyes and scowled. [Except I can't go to them anyway.] His expression altered to one of uncertainty. [That's weird... I never concern myself with sexual thoughts. Come to think of it, I've had more since I was accepted into the town.]
He stood and left the house. He'd been avoiding doing so for the longest time, seeing as the citizens of the town still weren't overly welcoming toward him. Even still, he could only navigate between the central and tourist district, as were the Mayor's orders.
[A breath of fresh air never hurts.]
The human walked through the tourist district, looking at all the other houses. This was potentially the only civilized settlement in the region, so there was no surprise that visitors came with extreme rarity. One house stood out in particular, however.
"Is there a light on in there?" He contemplated out loud.
"Sure there is. You're not trying to peak, are you?" A feminine voice called from behind.
"What?" He didn't ask the question in defense, but out of subtle surprise. "Oh. Cream, right?" He asked the lopunny.
It made a bit more sense. Considering he was all but prohibited from engaging in combat, he had his guard lowered. On top of that, the Pokémon that had approached him was a normal type, which possessed the least intrusive aura out of all types.
"I didn't hear a no." She placed her paws on her hips and bent forward slightly. "So, was it our beautiful, innocent Azure or our lovely, mature Violet? Oh, do tell me you weren't here to see little ole' me?" She sauntered over to him, waving her hips and speaking seductively.
"Why in the world would Team Ultima live out here? Don't tell me this is the home of all four of you." Zero sidestepped the woman's question, maintaining a thoughtful voice.
"You really didn't know? That's so disappointing." She pouted. "Yeah, we all live out here. We kinda joined the town a while ago, and the homes in the residential district are baaasically full, so here we are."
"The 'strongest rescue team in Advent Town' lives isolated from the rest of it? Sounds fishy."
"First off, watch it," Cream started with an offended tone. Zero couldn't tell if it was real or not, but it surprised him. "That strongest team thing isn't just words, and don't think you automatically make your team the strongest from having you on it. But hey, we never beat up a legendary, so who knows?" She shrugged with sarcastic casualty.
"As much as I hate to admit it, you get more interesting the more I have to listen to you." He replied with an edge in his voice. She smirked at it. "No one is supposed to know about the results of our previous mission. Why do you?"
"Oh, well it just so happens that the Mayor was a teensy bit busy, so he needed a cute, charming, sexy little assistant to get a top-secret mission report to the Rescue Federation- and get this: it had Team Fate's name on it!" The normal type consistently altered her expression to match the emotion she feigned while speaking.
"Is that so? Well, pray tell, how did this cute, charming, sexy little thing learn of the contents of that report? Top-secret contains the word secret for a reason." He gave her a glare that lacked any negative emotions. Subconsciously, he was playing her game.
"Dear me, I just had to take a peak. But I didn't say I was the assistant, y'know. So, that means that you must think I'm cute, charming, and sexy to top it off, huh?" Her ears wrapped around Zero's back, pulling him against her. She reached out and placed her hands on his shoulders. He was two feet taller than her, so that was as far as she could get.
"Sorry, it was the little part that gave it away," he replied, placing his hand on her head and pushing her back.
"Hey! Sheesh, what is it with humans and not letting a girl in their pants?" She pouted again.
"Is that to say you've seen other humans?" Zero pressed with a serious tone.
"No, but seeing as you're one hundred percent of the humans I DO know, and you aren't exactly carrying me to bed, then it's fair to say that all the humans I know are no fun."
Zero cracked a smile, a result of his failure to suppress it. Cream reached a hand toward the human's crotch.
"Y'know, Beat refuses to mate any of us gals on Team Ultima. By the feel of this guy right here, I don't see why you're putting me throu- what the hell!?"
The normal type had noticed that the hard thing she was fondling was the move protect.
"Those things have a hell of a lot of purposes. You should try it." The human slipped around her and began his departure.
"Stop." Cream grabbed his arm and turned him around. "What would it take?" Her eyes were serious and needy.
Zero closed the difference, forcing her to lift her head to look him in the eyes.
"I think you'd need some practice before you could handle me. Specifically..." He trailed a hand down her back, using his index finger to stimulate her. He curved around her tail and spun his finger in circles between the ball of fluff and her higher entrance. He moved back and started to leave silently.
"..." The lopunny felt pressed. Her solution was the move jump kick.
"Woah!" The human sensed her attack and dodged. She crashed into the ground, taking the consequential damage of missing the attack. "Don't get me wrong, I'm positive you'd be at least an entertaining fight, but the Mayor ordered me off combat and I'm not really sure if that involves sparring within the town's walls."
"Then stop fighting!" She rushed him with quick attack, transitioning into two ear punches upon arrival.
Zero crossed his arms in front of him and blocked both. They felt like they met the standard for bruise material. She jumped and spun, seemingly floating as her kick arced through the air at his face. He moved back and wind brushed his clothes and hair from the speed. Lightning crackled on one of the bunny's hands and fire on the other. Both were racing towards Zero's chest. He used protect to block, finally deciding that if he didn't attack it couldn't be called combat.
Cream crouched and static popped between her fluffy fur. A bolt flew at the human.
"Oh bullshit, you do NOT know thunderbolt!" He took the hit, having canceled the mirror coat he instinctively used and not being left with enough time to use protect.
"Haven't you seen our department store? We have TMs!" She bounced at him with quick attack, each step a floaty jump not lacking in speed.
Zero knelt and grabbed her by the waist, spinning her around him several times. It appeared romantic out of context, but to Zero it was the best way to diffuse the force of her attack without straining himself with more moves. He let go and she flew a few feet before rolling on the ground.
The lopunny rose in one swift motion, spinning around and swinging a fist. Zero spawned a blue square to block it; the move barrier was less straining on his biological modifications than protect since the latter move strengthened to match the attack it blocked. However, in this scenario barrier was useless. The glass-like structure shattered and the human was smacked in the side.
"I never use that move; of course you'd use brick break the time I do." Zero stumbled to the side and glared at her. "What are you trying to accomplish? I'm clearly not fighting back, and if it isn't obvious by now, my will hasn't wavered."
"I have my own goal. Just keep doing what you're doing. Or don't, if I knock you unconscious I can just do what I want anyway." The exchange of words was paralleled by an exchange of contact. Cream threw blow after blow, and Zero either caught her wrist or simply knocked her arm to the side. She landed a particularly powerful ear punch to his crossed arms. "If it'd make you stop resisting, I've had quite a bit of that practice you think is necessary!"
Lightning blasted Cerulean like a rail gun. She slid back, feet barely leaving the ground before she landed and tore up leaves in her path. Her aura sphere had struck gold in a not-so-desirable way. They couldn't see the electivire they were supposed to detain, but the cries that filled the area foretold the Pokémon's species.
Thumping footsteps could be heard from the narrow corridor of trees that segmented off the second half of the dungeon. Just as the electric Pokémon was about to burst into the clearing, vines shot in front of the trees starting the pathway, forging a web that caught the target. A thick, long root tore itself free from beneath the ground behind the electivire, displacing leaves and emitting the sound of ripping roots and earth. The incomplete frenzy plant whipped its back, snapping the vines restraining it from the sheer force, and knocking it flat into the ground.
Electricity surged in a beam between the electivire's cord-like tails. Without standing, twin electro balls fired in separate directions. Cerulean used bone rush, forging a long energy bone. She swung it, knocking the energy to the side.
"Glave, watch out!"
The projectile she deflected homed in on the grovyle. He was crouched, having just jumped to the side and skidding to avoid the attack that went his way. He looked to the side to see what she meant and was hit head-on with the attack. When the lucario looked back at the electivire, it was already standing.
"A measly two Pokémon were sent for me? This is laughable at best. You look like you could be some fun, so be ready for me after I destroy your friend here." The electivire laughed haughtily, bragging of his intentions to Cerulean.
He lifted an arm and lazily fired an electro ball at Glave. The ball was large enough to obscure the small grovyle from view, so the electric type couldn't see him block the attack with an energy ball. Smoke, dust, and leaves rose in a small cyclone.
Cerulean threw an energy bone at the electivire. He noticed at the last second, giving him time to raise an arm and take minimal damage. The lucario got into a running position and disappeared with a jump. She was in the electric type's face in no time. He attempted to grab her, but she spun rapidly, knocking his arms away and puffing his chest forward. She used force palm on his exposed body, slamming him in the stomach and sending him rolling backward. He used the momentum to stand back up and ran backward for a short time to stop himself.
A vine wrapped around the criminal's ankle and tightened itself into a knot. The electivire grunted as he inspected the source of the pressure. Glave rushed forward. His right arm was extended by the use of two moves, leaf blade as a base and solar blade to boost it, albeit the secondary move wasn't at full capacity due to a lack of sunlight filtering in. He closed the gap and sliced through the air with his arm. The electric Pokémon tried punching through the attack, underestimating the second stage evolution.
"GAH!" The Pokémon roared, holding the hand he used to punch with his other one. He stumbled back, falling when the vine restricting his ankle tripped him. The Pokémon's finger fell to the ground next to it.
"Huh?" Glave looked at the severed digit. "Oh, shit- I'm sorry!" He rushed forward and was stopped by Cerulean's paw on his shoulder. "Cerulean?"
"Hurry. You should be able to secure him now, right?" She kept her eyes trained on the criminal Pokémon. Glave nodded.
Vines erupted from the earth, two for each limb. His arms and legs were secured and Glave summoned a frenzy plant root to cover his midsection. His tails were under his body, so they didn't worry about them.
"Alright hang on." Cerulean reached into the treasure box she carried. She rummaged through it until pulling out an octagonal contraption resembling a bolt. One side had a dark grey piece of metal raised above the sides. The lucario pressed it down. "Hello?"
"Bzzt. You've reached the higher guard office. Bzzt. Is there something you'd like to report? Bzzt." A member of the magnemite family spoke, though discerning its stage of evolution was impossible.
"Yes, we've secured an electivire that was causing a forest fire. Can you come arrest him or whatever you do?"
"Bzzt. You've reached the higher office. Bzzt. The Machamp Guard handles criminal pickups. Bzzt. We will be dispatching a machamp unit. What dungeon was this in? Bzzt."
"Uhh, Crimson Forest?"
"Bzzt. Dispatching machamp unit to your location. Bzzt. ETA is 30 minutes. Bzzt. Please maintain the perpetrator in the meantime. Bzzt."
"Alright, thanks." Cerulean looked at the mechanism in her hand curiously. There was no speaker for sound to come from. She shrugged and replaced it in the treasure box.
"Guess we wait," Glave added a few more vines to the electivire's restraints.
"Hey there, big guy." Cerulean stood over the Pokémon, just out of reach, not that he could have grasped her anyway. "Remind me again, what are you gonna do with me after you take care of my friend?"
Zero and Cream had danced around in a one-sided battle to the edge of Advent Town's tourist district. The lopunny had intentionally brought them away from anywhere a crowd could form. She knew what she wanted, and it wasn't to damage Zero's reputation.
"It's been like twenty minutes, aren't you tired!" Cream panted, kicking a protect shield for the umpteenth time.
"I've engaged in fights that lasted hours. But I gotta say, there's a certain stamina-draining aspect associated with dodging and blocking." Zero ducked her quick attack. She jumped in a way that had her diving over him.
Cream rolled and slammed a foot into the pavement, bouncing back at him. She cocked a fist and punched at him. Zero grabbed the lopunny's wrist, spinning her and letting go, sending her into the air. The Pokémon flipped and landed gracefully with a bounce.
"Where are your teammates right now? Don't tell me you sat out just to get a minute with me." Zero sat down cross-legged and a dome-shaped protect barrier covered him. Unbeknownst to him, using protect was entirely to the lopunny's advantage.
"Actually, I did sit out." She slammed the shield with two fire punches engulfing her paws and both ears using ear punch. The four physical attacks stirred up dust that blew back in a spiral pattern. The human frowned from the energy he could feel leaving his body. "They were going on a mission to some hella cold, super tall mountain."
"I don't know if anyone's told you this, but you're covered in this luscious fur that literally keeps you warm." He replied, resting his head on one hand. "Shouldn't Azure have backed out?"
"Oh, thank you! But no, Azure likes cold weather, Violet is a fire type so she can handle it, and Beat's a lucario, so steel stuff." Her ears repeatedly slammed the barrier.
"I wasn't aware you guys ever split up." He retorted. The human relinquished the protect when she swung another ear punch. She spun from the momentum and fell on her rear.
"Umph! Little cunt- Yeah, we take days off." She stood and rubbed her ass. "What? You're not used to breaks?"
"Team Luck always was a four-man team. No one ever didn't participate." Zero constructed another barrier in time to block thunder punch.
"Well, we're not supposed to tell anyone, but this one isn't a real mission. Not in the sense that we're exploring or rescuing. I mean we are exploring. But not like exploration." She moved around gracefully, jumping and delivering blows to the seated human's protective casing.
"You sound like you have no idea what they're doing." He let the move go again, watching her fall on her side with a cloud of dust.
"Stop doing that!" She grabbed an ankle and hissed. "Anyway, this year's expedition is coming up, so the others are making sure the area that was selected is safe to bring the less powerful and experienced rescue teams."
"An expedition? What are you talking about? And you said yearly, I was with Glave- er, the first Glave and his team and I never heard of an expedition."
"Ha! That's 'cause they went without you, dumbass." Cream smacked at him physically and verbally. "I just said a shit load of rescue teams go, there's no way you could've gone since pretty much all of Advent Town's rescue teams would be there."
Zero said nothing. He stared off into space, no longer acknowledging what the lopunny was saying. In his distraction, protect fizzled out and the kick Cream intended to hit it with made contact with the human's jaw instead. He was lifted off the ground and rolled on the gravelly pavement, allowing his body to come to a natural stop.
"Oh shit. You okay?" Cream approached him, putting her paws on her hips as she stood over him.
A slam of his hand into the ground propelled Zero into the air. He spun acrobatically, kicking her in the abdominal region hard enough to send her several meters back. She flailed her legs, trying to land safely but it took a few seconds before the floor was in reach. When on the ground, the lopunny fell to her knees doubling over and hugging her stomach. She looked up with a wince when she heard footsteps.
Zero walked directly toward her. His face held no emotion, but his hand and jaw glowed green before white particles came off them. When in reach, he put his hands under Cream's arms and lifted her. She groaned in pain. Warmth spread throughout her midsection, and the bunny's pain subsided and white shards of light floated away from the pair.
"Your eyes-" Cream gasped and squirmed, releasing herself from the human's grasp. She was right to mention his eyes. Pink and red fragments floated around in his irises, forming two thin, jagged lines of each color on opposite sides of his pupils.
The leader of Team Fate stumbled, falling to one knee and holding his head. He looked up, eliciting a gasp that became a growl.
[Oh boy. This sounds like the symptoms I've been after.] Cream took a step back.
She jumped out of the way of a quick leap from the human. When Zero got his bearings, she was running away. He jumped, creating a small crater in the pavement. Before he got far he teleported, landing on her back. The two rolled for a short while before Cream planted her feet on him and jumped away. She rushed into Team Ultima's home.
Zero stood and entered the house. He gripped the wall beside him, cracking the wood. He spotted an open door to his right.
Inside was a bed with large pillows strewn with no order on it. The covers were wrinkled and disheveled, and the bedsheet wasn't on one corner. On top was a lopunny laying on her side, propping her head upon a hand. Her back faced Zero. She turned her head and gave him a cocky smile and a wink over her shoulder. She grabbed her rear and lifted one cheek, revealing an ever-enticing sight.
The electivire squirmed around, trying desperately to break the living restraints that bound him. His body glowed with electricity that was grounded by the vines and root. A buzzing sound came from the treasure box hanging from Cerulean's shoulder. The lucario reached inside and pulled out the small bolt-shaped contraption she'd used to speak with some sort of police regiment.
"Hey there! I'm the leader of the machamp unit that was dispatched to Crimson Forest. Are you in there?" A voice sounded from the machine.
"Uh, yeah we're here. You're gonna come take him, right?" Cerulean and Glave shared an awkward look.
"We're sorry ma'am, but there's a problem. There's a wide-scale conflagration that's preventing us from getting in. We're going to need you to find a way to transport the culprit safely outside, conscious if at all possible. Can you manage that?"
"Confla- what the hell is that?" The lucario asked under her breath.
"Big word for fire." Glave whispered to her. "Means this place is only gonna get more dangerous. Do you think we can get him out?"
"I guess we don't really have a choice." Cerulean let out a long sigh. "Stand back Glave. Hell, take cover behind this big lug," she commented, motioning to the electivire.
Cerulean stood straight up and closed her eyes. She calmed her breathing and began turning her arms slowly. Visible aura flowed around her paws, growing more intense in size and brightness. The cobalt energy started to fade into a darker color, becoming an assortment of pinks and purples. Slamming her paws together, the now purple aura formed a sphere around her entire body, seemingly hardening into a shell before shattering into pieces that dissipated in the air. In Cerulean's place was a mega lucario.
"To think I'm not even using this for a battle." She grunted and got into a stance for using aura sphere. Glave winced and closed his eyes from a bright flash.
The grovyle opened his eyes to just a squint. What he saw was breathtaking; Cerulean held an aura sphere roughly five times her height over her head. She swung her arm back as far as she could while standing straight, and proceeding to fling the massive attack forward as hard as she physically could. The sound of an explosion filled the entire dungeon, followed by a multitude of thuds and cracks. The aura sphere exploded when it smacked the outer edge of the dungeon, composed of thick lines of trees.
Glave stared with a dropped jaw. There was an enormous path leading straight out of the dungeon. Several startled machamp could be seen from the clearing that Glave and Cerulean were in. A buzzing sound was the next thing to catch the pair's attention.
"Cerulean look out!" Glave leaped from his position and tackled his lucario partner, knocking her away.
"Ugh, what?" She stumbled and let go of her mega form, purple energy dissolving off her. "Oh shit."
Three combee and a vespiqueen all buzzed angrily at Glave, spraying him down with a pink vapor. They flew away when they were done, never relenting their angry noises.
"Was that sweet scent? Seems like a dumb retaliation. I'm really sorry I didn't see their nest though." Cerulean remarked to Glave. "Oh my goodness."
She blushed when the grovyle turned to her.
"Ugh... I don't know what that was, but I feel hot." Glave shook his head and faced his companion."What?"
He looked down to find he possessed a full erection. Gasping, several vines were summoned from the ground and wrapped around his torso, forming a covering that resembled a skirt. The vines severed themselves from the ground, and Glave tied them tight enough to maintain their position.
"So, uh, do you know how to fix that? I'm guessing that was attract." He asked, blushing profusely at the ground.
"Attract, huh? Guess it would've been alright if you let them hit me if they were girls. Thanks for the thought though. As for taking care of that, you should probably try to hold out until we get home and then you can jack it or something."
"Wow Missy, that was some kind of power!" A machamp leading four others arrived after jogging into the center. "Don't worry about this guy, we'll take him back to the Higher Office for containment. Thanks for the entry point as well!"
Just like that, the electivire was tied with a rope-like material, loaded onto the backs of two machamp that ran in perfect harmony, and the rest of the unit ran with them. Glave and Cerulean were left to walk back.
"This is gonna take a while, are you sure you don't wanna just go take care of it now and we can get home without any trouble?" Cerulean checked with her friend.
"Uh... No, let's just focus on getting home. I've never..." Glave swallowed and stopped himself.
"Never what?"
"Don't worry about it. So what's the deal with attract? My understanding was that you were put under a hallucinative effect that made you feel a strong attraction to the Pokémon that used it on you, granted they're a member of the opposite gender." Glave asked.
"I haven't exactly been in town to see how you guys were taught, but I'd have to guess they probably don't go around telling kids that attract makes you wanna fuck stuff. Your next question is probably something about a time limit, or if it'll wear off, and lemme say that one attract lasts about a week. You got hit with four. Being generous and saying two of them could've been males, you'd still be horny for the next two weeks."
Glave said nothing, gripping the ends of his vines nervously and tightening the makeshift clothing covering and holding down his erect member.
"If I don't solve this by tomorrow, what will that mean for the mission?" Glave wondered aloud with a blush. It was just a thought, but he was interested to hear Cerulean's response.
"Dude what? Seriously, is there a problem with masturbation? Even then, word on the street is that you're pretty close with a charmeleon in town. Can't get her to suck you off or something?"
"Woah, what's the deal with that? You can't just volunteer my friends for that... stuff. And I've never made myself do it either." He added the last part under his breath, but the dog Pokémon still heard it.
Cerulean stopped him and made him look her in the eyes.
"Listen, Glave. You need to stop being shy. In all aspects. I've seen you do things that take a lot of courage, but to be honest? You seem weaker than the day we fought. It feels like while you got new abilities, you also got scared of everyone else's. Learn to not hesitate. There's a difference between taking time to calculate things and just wasting time wishing inevitable things wouldn't happen. Step one can be talking about sex without acting like it's some kind of crime and you're surrounded by machamp."
The two-hour trip back home felt much longer than it did on the way out to Crimson Forest. They were both already tired, and Glave had his new dilemma. Because of that, the sight of home brought them both relief. They entered the walls of the city and headed to the town hall. They needed to let the Mayor know how the day had gone. Navigating to his office, the two shared a nod before knocking on his door.
"You may enter." A disciplined voice called out.
The two-man team did just that, finding a dragonite studying some papers inside the office.
"Hello Mr.- uh, sir." Cerulean began awkwardly.
"Oh! Glave and Cerulean. Sorry, you must forgive me." He set down his papers, organized a few stacks of other more complicated-looking diagrams, and turned his full attention to the pair. "So, how did it go?"
"We took on this mission." The lucario handed the Mayor the envelope containing the mission details. "We've actually yet to claim the rewards. Either way, as you can see there was an electivire causing some trouble in Crimson Forest. Uhh, we took care of it and that was that. I'm not sure if you want me to go into more detail...?" She waited to see what the dragon would say.
"Were there any injuries sustained? I find it hard to believe that Glave here saw something out there that influenced his fashion sense so suddenly."
"No particular injuries, no. I think I accidentally slapped an electric attack into Glave's face. I suppose we're also obligated to inform you that some combee and a vespiqueen gave him a good dosing of attract." Cerulean explained the whole ordeal without flinching. Glave averted his eyes from the Mayor's gaze.
"Bug types. I take it the attack was in a gaseous state then? No matter, I expect you to be at full capacity to go on a mission tomorrow with Zero. If there's nothing else of notable concern, then you may be dismissed."
"Yes sir," the two stated.
"Actually, Glave could you stay for a moment?" The Mayor asked.
"Um, yes sir." He looked at Cerulean who shrugged and opened the door.
"Alright then, Glave. I'm gonna head on home, so you know where to find me, 'kay?"
"Yeah."
Cerulean closed the door behind her.
"You needn't be so nervous, this isn't a huge request." The dragonite began.
"I'm sorry. I'm just a little on edge right now."
"Understandable. At any rate, I gave Cream an important mission report to deliver to the Rescue Federation. I've no doubt she completed that, but I also asked her to return here for something else. She never did come back. I'm not overly concerned; she's liable to have simply forgotten. Could you run by her house? I'm sure she's lounging around somewhere. I can find someone else if you aren't comfortable visiting her in your condition."
"That's alright. I can take care of it. Is that all?"
"That's all. Thank you, and take care."
"MMMPH!" Cream screamed at the top of her lungs, muffled by the pillow stuffing her mouth. Currently, she was lying on her bed, her chest touching the bed while her head rested on the pillow she was biting and her arms were stretched out in front of her. Her rear was lifted up.
Zero's fingers slipped in and out of her pussy like a jackhammer. She already knew she'd need to change her sheets; she covered them in lopunny cum at least twice from the human's actions. He took his hand out of her, slapping her vulva a few times and pinching her clit hard.
"Mmmph! Mm~" The bunny's teeth almost touched through the pillow. Her body tensed, raising her ass higher. Zero slapped it, hard.
"Move." He issued the one-word command, but it was useless since he got to work himself. He grabbed her under her arms and swung her, plopping her on her back at the edge of the bed. Her head hung off it. Team Ultima was composed entirely of bipedal Pokémon, and their beds were all much higher than other Pokémon's furniture in Advent Town. As of right now, it was a nice height for lining his cock up with Cream's mouth.
The lopunny giggled and opened her mouth. At the same time, she spread her legs and put a paw between them. Zero bent over slightly, placing a hand on her. He used his other hand to grab his toy's neck. He placed the tip of his dick in Cream's mouth and waited. She closed her lips around it. Being upside down, her tongue began playing with the top of his member. The human sighed as she sucked his head.
Zero moved his other hand to her chest and passionately rubbed her fur. He began humping, slowly at first to signal to her to open wide. When he felt the open air around his flesh rod, he thrust hard. It was an action intended to communicate who was in control to the female under him, but to his shock his cock sank down to the base. The human groaned, an involuntary sound that couldn't quite be recognized as a moan. The lopunny clearly wasn't just talk; she had experience she was willing to use.
Enjoying the feeling of the soft, slimy upper mouth of the loppuny against his cock, Zero slowly slid his penis in a rhythm that Cream picked up on. When he pulled back, she opened her mouth slightly wider, raising her tongue and licking at his tip. On his way back in, she opened her throat and repeatedly attempted to swallow, closing her throat muscles around the meat in her mouth. With each reinsertion, his balls rested against her face.
He pulled out and backed away from her, witnessing saliva connect his reproductive organ to her tongue. The strand broke and disappeared in her fur. He reached over her and grabbed her thighs. Having the human bent over her face, Cream smirked and sucked his balls, taking one in her mouth. A gasp and the release of the grip on her thighs told her she'd made an impact.
Zero continued his initial motion, grabbing her and swiftly flipping her. At this point, the lopunny knew not to flail about and let her chest fall on the bed rather forcibly. Her feet were on the floor, and her rear was facing Zero, fully exposed. Looking over her shoulder, Cream was disappointed to find that he wasn't analyzing her assets. He was looking around, seemingly thinking. He reached a hand out and two big pillows were lifted and moved over to the foot of the bed. He placed them on the floor with roughly a foot and a half of space between them and the bed, perpendicular to the larger piece of furniture. Zero grabbed Cream once more and swung her over. She lied on her back, her rear pressing against Zero's thighs with her legs wrapped around the human she was desperate to be mated by. The human looked at her, somehow wearing a bland and condescending expression at the same time.
"Open wide." Zero stated, pressing his cock against her lower lips. Cream moved her paws to her pussy, only to have them batted away. "Open your mouth." Zero reasserted.
"Why's that, hun?" She smirked at the human.
"Because it's only fair that our guest has some fun."
"Huh?" Cream looked back at the door, a move that required her to lie straight down to see, albeit upside down. Zero's cock finally filling her forced her to obey his previous order.
Glave stood in the door. He was breathing heavily. His erection was pressing hard against the makeshift restraints covering his waist. He didn't know if it was the attract, but he was turned on by what he saw. The seed of curiosity he felt when he saw Cerulean sucking Zero off had grown into a flower that burst into full bloom. The grovyle tore the vines from his waist. Cream gasped when she saw his member. She'd sort of watched Glave grow up, not that she was overly involved with him. She willingly kept her mouth opened, not that her moans would have allowed otherwise, and winked at Glave. If nothing else, she could just tell herself she did it to not let Zero get one over her later.
The human nodded at Glave and patted the side of Cream's face. She winced, but the grovyle got the message. Letting his primal desires work, he crossed the room. The grass type gave the situation one more deep thought as he looked on at the sight of his cock hanging over the lopunny he'd known for years. The kiss she gave the bottom of his dick arguably forced his hand.
Glave clumsily shoved his cock into her mouth. He wasn't sure what to do other than move back and forth. Cream pursed her lips around his tip and rolled her tongue around it. There was a certain pleasure to behold in the way the lopunny's mouth opened wider when Glave sank his girth in it. The vibrations in her mouth from a moan added to the feelings.
Zero was doing his own thing. Even in the primal state he was in, he was acutely aware that Cream knew what she was doing. The mentality in control of him was only focused on filling suitable holes with his member. Currently, he was interested in making the hole he was stuffing more suitable than it was. Zero took his index finger and thumb, charging the first with soft static and coating the other with frost from powder snow. He pinched Cream's clit and enjoyed the accomplishment of having her pussy clamp down on him twice as heard.
"MMPH!" The sound of the normal type's moans satisfied Zero, while the feeling on Glave's cock did it for him. Zero frowned when he took notice of how things were going on the front end.
Glave was lifted slightly off the ground. A pink light enveloped him, creating a border around his body. He looked at the other male in the interaction, who had a hand up. He pulled the hand toward him and Glave's cock was forced to push into Cream's throat by an inch and a half. Zero set the grovyle down.
"See, the thing about sluts," Zero growled, grabbing Cream's throat semi-tightly, adding pressure to the penis edging into it, "is that you can use ALL of it." The human pounded against the bunny's rear, burying his cock in her cunny to add emphasis. "But since you're so unsure, let me get her to do her job RIGHT."
Zero bent over, not enjoying the closer proximity to another male genitalia, but that wasn't part of the picture. He pursed his lips like he was going to whistle and blew a small pink gas out. Cream breathed it in and shut her eyes tight before opening them. Immediately, she sucked Glave's whole cock with more suction and began grinding her lower end against Zero. Even under the influence of his biological modifications, Zero could detect Glave was under the move attract's control. It was only fair to him that the loppuny under him join in the effect.
Glave grunted and fell forward, catching himself with his hands. His stomach tightened as his testicles tensed up. Cream arched her back, allowing her to take the whole dick inside and poking her nose against the grovyle's balls. In seconds, semen fired down her throat in long strips. A surprise to even Zero, she had almost no reaction until he was done secreting his reproductive liquid. When he pulled back with a sharp gasp, she swallowed it all at once.
"Already? Fair game, that was just your second." Zero stated absentmindedly. He was systematically hilting his cock in the lopunny cunt before him. "But still, I could smell the attract spray on you. If you're good to go, then let's go."
Even in his forced horny mindset, Glave felt subtle surprise that Zero could speak as much as he could. It was clear from his eyes, growls, and blunt language that he wasn't himself, which could only mean one thing. The grass type felt more surprised when his leader grabbed Cream's wrists and lifted her into the air. Psychic powers piled a bunch of pillows together and threw the blanket from the bed on top of them. Fixing his cock between her legs, Zero fell carelessly into the pile on the floor. Maneuvering his body, he placed the tip of his rod into her anus and began leaking cum into her. It wasn't the same ropey shots he normally had, and Cream had no way of knowing he had an orgasm, given he didn't make a sound.
Using his and her fluids combined, Zero buried his cock in her butthole. He maintained his grip on her wrists, holding them at his chin. Cream squirmed from the experience.
Glave gulped at the sight. The lopunny that'd sucked him off was sexy; there was no doubt there. And seeing as she was lying on her back, legs spread and cunt open for the world, Glave didn't struggle to make up his mind.
"Wha- huh!?" Cream looked down in a panic at the feeling of Glave's tip protruding her primary entrance. Protect glowed into existence, preventing any accidental contact between Zero and Glave's swords. It wasn't necessary with the absol from before, but Zero knew how complicated it could make things with Glave.
A shriek from Cream signified Zero fucking her ass at a steady pace. Glave swallowed and thrust himself into her. It wasn't at tight as Cindy, that was clear. There was something different about this pussy that Glave couldn't put his finger on. Nevertheless, he let carnal instinct take over and began pounding Cream.
"I-I didn't sign- oh~ up for this!" Cream was moaning uncontrollably, cutting her speech. She got no response from the boys inside her. They were lost in their own mottled thoughts. Glave was comparing his first and second times, and Zero was contemplating how the absol's cock had applied more pressure in his last threesome.
Being reptilian, Glave lacked a knot, but his girth substantially increased toward the base of his flesh rod. Cream made a strange sound whenever that base entered her. The grovyle grabbed her hips and began pounding harder. For a few thrusts, juices squirted out from her pussy when she was hilted.
"Ah-ah... Ahhohmy..." Cream's whole body tensed up. Her head lifted off Zero's chest and both her holes constricted to what felt like double tightness. A steady stream of clear fluids broke free from her stuffed pussy.
Zero let go of one of her wrists and it limply fell off his body and onto the pile of the blanket and pillows under them. He took his free hand and put his ring and middle finger in her mouth. Cream sucked weakly on them, looking seductively at Glave since she didn't have the strength to turn her head to show Zero.
"Woa- Fuck!" Glave doubled over and put his hands on her stomach. He grunted and smaller, thinner shots of cum filled Cream. Releasing her other wrist, Zero let static shock her clit hard.
Cream screamed through the fingers in her mouth, simultaneously wrapping her legs around Glave and closing them, forcing him all the way in and against her. Zero didn't slow in his intrusion of her rear hole. Finally, he came to an orgasm that released nothing from his cock.
Glave lied on top of Cream and Cream on top of Zero, the only one barely breathing hard. Against their better judgment, all three of them fell asleep.
Zero's eyes opened.
[Shit!] He sat up abruptly, lifting as though he was weightless given the two Pokémon lying on top of him. Glave tumbled to the floor and awoke, grabbing his head and groaning.
"Unghh... That hurts." He inspected the source of his fall. Cream yawned, still sitting on Zero's lap.
The human began to lift her but her eyes opened sharply and she grabbed his hands.
"No! You're not ruining this part!" She told Zero. She forced him to lay on his back while she slowly lifted, sighing as the rod that was still embedded in her was pulled out. When she plopped off it, she frowned and pressed a paw to her rear. "What the- hey, you did cum last night, right?"
Cream pouted as Zero teleported to the door, fully clothed just like that.
"Glave, c'mon, we're getting out of here. If we're lucky, we woke up before Cerulean! As for you," He looked at Cream over his shoulder, "hope you never meet me in combat. But to answer your question, the Mangekyo is in full disrepair after the last mission. Time is almost stopped for my bodily systems, including reproductive generation." Zero and Glave rushed out, the grovyle shaking his head in dull pain.
"Hey, Zero?" Glave asked as they jogged toward their house.
"Disregarding the fact that last night happened at all, can you please not tell anyone about it? I don't know if Ci... I think you understand."
Zero nodded.
"I think you should've said that to Cream first." He replied with a smirk.