Creme looked up sharply, roused from her TV-induced trance by a confident knocking on the door. She looked down to her remote, then toward the liepard on the couch next to her.
Basil gave a groan, stirring from her nap. She blearily rubbed her eyes, glancing to the door, then up to Creme.
"Mmmm...?."
"Mmmmhmmmm." The ninetales straightened her posture, standing up slowly. She gave a toss of her mane, then stretching her tails to flow elegantly behind her.
The fox strode to the door, flicking it open with psychic. Her eyes darted back, then forth, then down. She gave a slight smile, finding a ponyta at eye-level, an orchid flower held in mouth.
"Ms. Sleezer," acknowledged Coco. He gave a polite bow.
"Good evening, Coconut," came Creme's reply, with a curtsy of her own. The fox turned over her shoulder, calling over to the couch. "Hey, Basil, I think it's for you." She wandered back over to the set of furniture, hopping over to lay on it.
Basil rolled to the floor, giving a fittingly cat-like stretch. She fumbled for her glasses, slipping them on carefully as she approached. She felt a smile come to her lips as Coco came into view.
"Good evening! What brings you by, babe?"
"Well, I couldn't help but notice that you were here. That is reason enough, no?" The equine leaned forward with a careful movement, slipping the flower behind Basil's ear.
"Oh, how thoughtful! And, a beautiful gift, as well, babe." Basil let her head fall against the ponyta's chest, whose chin came to rest atop her head.
"And yet, this flower.., No, flowering meadows most vast, each day, long for the unobtainable reality that, one day, they may match your yet unrivaled beauty. Both in body and mind, you are truly the brilliantly shining beacon of worldly excellence."
"And yet, even I pale in comparison to the radiant vibrance of your endlessly charming self. Your irresistible charm surpasses all barriers, transcends all limit; you are completely and utterly purrrrrfect."
A whimsicott stared in absolute disbelief as the two at the door locked limbs and lips, peering around the corner from the apartment's kitchen.
"Creme, dude, did they seriously just say that shit?'
Barely containing her laughter, the ninetales gave a nod.
"I dunno, this is fairly tame. Are you seriously surprised by this after the 'mac n' cheese' line from six months ago?"
"Uh-huh! Fair enough!"
The ninetales gave a shake of her head, turning back to Basil and Coco's displays. The two walked toward the liepard's rooms, eye-contact never breaking.
"Be sure to use protection!" Creme called, leaning a bit.
As the whimsicott wandered in with a tray of food, they stared in the same direction.
"How does he not destroy her? Am I the only one seeing this size-difference?"
"How do you think Pancake must've felt? That one had multiple children, and I don't think she's the unfaithful type."
The whimsicott shuttered lightly, face going pale.
"Shhheesh. Remind me never to date outside my size-group."
"Of course, deary." The ninetales set to work eating her meal of mashed potatoes slowly. "Say, Mallow... Would you happen to be accompanying us on our upcoming mission?"
The grass-type gave a frantic nod, grinning like mad.
"Oh, absolutely! I was thinking; I should be on the infiltration team, as well, instead of backup. Just in case I slip up and get imprisoned, well... I can do the thing."
Creme nodded slowly, her ears perking up.
"Ah, of course. That does make a great deal of sense. I-"
The fox found herself cut off by a sudden buzzing. She shot straight upright, ears swiveling toward the sound. It came again. Then again.
"It's her phone!" Mallow stated, pointing toward the coffee table.
Creme glanced down as well, giving a thoughtful hum.
"Huh. The guildmaster? Must be important."
"Yeah. Should we go get em'?"
"Hmmm... I do believe that is wise.." The ninetales stood up with a stretch, before prancing over to the shut bedroom door. She pushed the door open with a paw. "Basil! The guldmaster is calling you!"
The cat and the pony both glanced up from their compromising positions. Basil gave a long sigh, reaching to her night-stand to re-equip her glasses.
"Okay, okay. I'll be out in a moment, sweetie."
Shallot coughed and sputtered with a grimace.
The fox and his mother stood just off from the smooth pavement of the side-walk, with the latter being within a glass phone-booth.
The occasional pokémon rushed passed them in either direction, each moving with purpose.
Looming concrete structures towered up into the sky, obscured by a thick cloud of black smog. The streets were lit in the eerie red light of the tall lamps which lined them.
The delphox sighed heavily as she placed the phone back on the hook.
"Well, I got in contact with th' guild," Shroom commented. "Said they'll try t'get us back within a week if we agree to be interviewed"
"Great. Sooner we return, sooner we can explain things, sooner we can free everyone."
"T's right. Hope we can find a place to crash 'till then." She paused for a moment, before continuing. "Your father says they've got a place. Uh..." Her eyes briefly went cross-eyed. "That-a-way!" She quickly spun on her heel, then jutting out her staff to point down the street. A shimmering, translucent trail of magenta sparkles shot quickly down the street, before taking a right and going out of sight. The sparkles fluttered slowly to the ground, beginning to slowly fade upon landing.
Shallot's eyebrows raised. He quickly looked up to Shroom's grinning features, then back down to the gradually dissipating trail of glimmers.
"That's cool. Teach me sometime!"
"'course, sugar."
The two made their way down the illuminated path, which many onlooking pokémon seemed mildly annoyed by.
"How's bruv and momma gonna find us, pops?" The young fennekin put his paws up on the older jolteon's side. Stew gave a hearty chuckle, pulling his son close. Before long, a glittering stream of sparkles rounded a corner and shimmered harmlessly against his face.
"That is how, my young fellow!"
Before long, the two individuals in question navigated their way down the red-bathed streets and back to their family.
The delphox leaned down to briefly share a hug with Stew and Oat, who both returned it fully.
"Where's th'place, honey?" Shroom asked, slowly standing back up.
"It's right thhhheh, momma!" Oat hopped onto his father's head, then jutting a paw out toward the building behind them.
Both Shroom and Shallot glanced up to it. The latter let his eyes glance over the sign adorning the front before speaking.
"'Teeny Fennini's All-Day Panini Cuisinie and housing Routinie'. Salami would certainly have somethin' t'say about that mouthful."
Stew gave a nod, before turning back to the doors.
"The titular young lass has been quite accommodating, I say! She agreed to feed and house us for free, upon hearing our plight! Of course, I could not accept such generosity un-rewarded, so I have volunteered our services for the remainder of our stay."
Oat hopped up and down, squealing in delight.
"I get to work the panini press! Ain't that just swell, momma? Big bro?" The small fox bounced circles around his three family members. He received an adoring smile from each, and a pat on the head from his mother.
"That's cool, bro," nodded Shallot.
"We shan't stay out in this polluted air much longer, I say! Come, let us proceed inside!"
"Oh goodness, oh goodness... He's coming here for a meeting! Oh goodness... I'm so unprepared!"
Basil frantically ruffled through her draws, shuffling and re-arranging several files and sheets of paper.
Numerous other teams in the lobby observed with varying degrees of confusion, amusement, and interest.
An audino and a vulpix approached the desk. The two had pink hats, marked with a yellow semi-circle upon a purple line. They glanced up to Coco in confusion.
"Yo Nutter, what's up with Basil?" Inquired the audino. "I didn't think she had night-shift today."
"Yeah, palsy. Is your dame okay?" the vulpix chimed in, leaping on top of the desk.
The ponyta gave a polite bow.
"Greetings, Team Dawn-sun. The guild master is coming in for a meeting with Ms. Basil and a few others amongst the higher-ups."
The vulpix leaned forward, her eyes brimming with excitement. She almost fell off the desk, but found herself steadied by the equine's hoof.
"Oh, crud! What about? I'd hate to be her right now."
"I hate being me, too, right now," Basil muttered.
Coco nudged the smaller fox back onto the desk.
"It appears that some of the missing pokémon have shown back up. They called just an hour ago from a phonebooth in Rootopia."
The audino blinked.
"Rootopia? But that's all the way on Onya Major!"
"Yeah," interjected the vulpix. "The disappearances have been mostly here on Onya Minor, right? And, in just The Stemmal North, no less."
Coco tilted his head to one side, then the other.
"Well, a couple cases have started over in West-Scallion, actually. That's the complete opposite direction, though."
Basil found herself frantically scribbling into her notebook. She joined in on the discussion shortly.
"Maybe they target further away to throw off suspicion? Or... Maybe the Major guild over there are somehow involved in this? That's just spitballing, though."
The door flew open quickly, capturing the attention of most pokémon in attendance. In walked the chief, Nettle, and Avoca. Shortly after, a charmeleon with a camera rolled in, followed by a jigglypuff with a microphone.
The arcanine approached the desk, giving a polite bow toward Basil. The feline smiled in return, though weakly, giving a small nod.
"Good evening, Basil. Sorry 'bout the small crowd; this is the best I could get on short notice. Short being zero, mind you." The dog gave a small snicker at his own phrasing.
Nettle stayed silent, holding an unreadable expression.
Basil found a camera and microphone stuffed into her face, recoiling back slightly.
"Who are the pokémon that have re-emerged?" asked the jigglypuff.
"And where are they now?" added the charmeleon.
Not long after, a ninetales came barreling in with an entire desktop computer levetated in his grasp. He was soon trailed by a shining white ponyta, levitating a notepad and pencil. Coco nodded, pulling his phone from his bag to record.
The jigglypuff-charmeleon duo turned to the aforementioned three, fire in their eyes.
"Hey, back off, Barbara! This is our story!" huffed the puff.
"Yeah! Let the real news handle this," added the charmeleon.
Barbie stamped a hoof, glaring daggers at the two.
"Like, no way, losers! There's no way we're passing this up! Salami, use flamethrower!"
The ninetales tilted his head.
"I, uh, don't know that move."
The charmeleon rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.
"Great. You got another pesky journalist to join you?"
The jigglypuff, for added emphasis, mimed a heaving display.
Salami stepped forward with a snarl. The two didn't budge.
"Journalism is an equally valid method of report. Don't even start."
The ninetales felt a paw come down gently on his back. He turned to see his mother staring back.
"Don't let them get to you, honey. Just do your thing."
It wasn't long before more and more pokémon flooded in. Guild teams, civilians, news-reporters, and more.
"...Huh. You really live up to the name," Shallot commented. He stared down at a fennekin, much smaller in size compared to himself. The usual red-oranges of a fennekin's fur instead took on a more rosy hue.
Fennini gave a bright grin, nodding eagerly.
"That's right! I really am teeny!" she squealed. Shallot couldn't help but smile in response.
"'course."
"Yo, Shalsy, can you help me catch the little demon?"
Shallot turned to see his older sister chasing his brother around the room. Mustard leaped and bounded with well-practiced agility, yet could not catch the energetic child.
Shallot closed his eyes, before forcing them shut tighter in concentration. He focused his mind toward a particular spot in the room. Upon feeling it become occupied, he seized the offending fennekin, holding him up by the scruff.
Oat struggled as he was levitated slowly toward his mother.
"Hey! That's cheating! Cheater cheater!"
The fennekin instantly relaxed upon being placed into the delphox's lap. He leaned into her warm embrace, and soon felt careful strokes along his fur.
Bean placed his own daughter carefully upon the bed, before flopping down next to her. The vulpix curled up against her father's large form, who in turn curled his tails around her.
Fenini gave a satisfied nod.
"Okie-dokes! Seems everything is set in here! If you need me, just ring the bell!"
"That we shall, miniature lass! We are most thankful for your hospitality!"
"It's always an honor to help those in need!"
As the door closed, Mustard reached up to flip off the lights. Everyone who hadn't already soon made their way into a bed.
"Night, y'all," Shroom yawned. The delphox soon fell into a slumber, held in the mutual embrace of her family.
Bean nuzzled into his daughter's mane, giving a content breath. As he relaxed, he felt his mind beginning to once more become whole.
"We're safe, now, honey."
"I always had faith in you. Come back soon, okay?"
"That's on you guys to make happen!"
"I-"
Creme gave a shout, startled from her telepathic communication. She ducked under a stray fireball.
The charmeleon who had thrown it leapt out of the way of an oncoming psybeam, before taking Salami's paw to the face. A jigglypuff then impacted the ninetales' stomach, knocking the breath from his lungs. The jigglypuff rolled away from another volley of psybeams, before leaping toward Barbie.
The jigglypuff found herself knocked from the air by an axew's tackle. Upon landing, the dragon-type threw his own microphone toward the puffball.
They were both, however, thunked together by the clapping hands of an infernape with a camera.
Yet another microphone-wielding pokémon, a pikachu, stood amidst the room, with a bibarel pointing a camera at them.
"Breaking news!" exclaimed the mouse. "A fight has broken out between no less than four factions of reporters all here for the same story! A small group of the pokémon reported missing have reappeared-"
"Hey! No you don't!" The pikachu squealed in shock as it was dogpiled by a ponyta, axew, and charmeleon in short order.
Upon seeing this, the bibarel decided to cut his losses, quickly fleeing the scene with his camera.
Coco carefully led Basil out of the quickly growing carnage of the guild's reception.
"Ah... Thanks, babe."
"It is my honor."
The two shared a brief kiss, before pulling away slowly. The chaos of the lobby echoed faintly down the corridor as they strode down.
"Gah... I'm sorry about all this. It's just really important work, and all that."
Coco gave an understanding nod, nuzzling the top of the liepard's head.
"It cannot be helped, Ms. Basil. We can indulge in intimacy when duty no longer calls."
"I look forward to it. With all this headache lately, I need a break. Maybe if you make me ache in other parts, I can use that as an excuse to just rest for a few days."
"That is... A touch crude, Ms. Basil."
"Sorry 'bout that, babe."
A few more sets of steps came behind the pair, leading them to turn around.
The chief, Nettle, Creme, and Avoca approached.
"We've just received word that the guildmaster has arrived in his office. We shall depart quickly."
"Of course, sweeties." Basil quickly turned to share a nuzzle with Coco, who returned it with passion. "Think you can keep the press off us for a little while, babe?"
"Of course, my lady." Coco gave a sharp salute, eliciting a giggle from the dark-type.
"Charming as ever. Until we meet again, my knight in shining armor!"
"I will not let you down, Ms. Basil."