Hello Everybody!

I know what you are thinking. "Slink, it's been four months since you did anything. What's going on?"

First off, this story got a new beta reader. I would like to thank Okamidragon from the bottom of my heart for helping out with this. We've spent a lot of time sprucing up older chapters, so go check that out. Only chapter one will be up now, but be prepared for all manor of other changes in the coming months.

Anywho, I know what you all are here for. On with the story!

Hobey-ho let's go!

"Check," Eve said with a smirk as she nudged one of her knights into place.

I cocked my head, regarding the board. I hadn't considered that move. Eve was either trying to lead me into a trap, or she had come up with a very clever strategy. Both of us were laser focused on this match. The match that would break the month long tie we had been engaged in.

Honestly, I'm not sure why we hadn't considered playing chess before now. Both of us were really good at it (something about navigating Dungeons led itself to the strategy game), and it was a fun way to spend more time with one another.

Of course it helped that Eve had found us such a cool chessboard to play with. It had been at one of the thrift stalls at the market. It was a chess board table, with two tall stools along with it. It wasn't exactly easy for non-bipeds to use the board, and there were less expensive chess boards out there, but there was one thing that made Eve buy it.

The pieces for this table had to have been custom made, because they were each small fully-colored figurines of different Pokémon. My king was Arceus, the queen Xerneas. Eve had Giratina as her king and Yveltal as her queen. But the part that made us both love it were the bishops and the knights. The bishops on my side of the board were both Delphoxes (and for anyone who cares, Eve's bishops were Zoroarks). As for Eve, all of the knights were different Eeveelutions. On her side they were an Umbreon and an Espeon, and on my side they were a Glaceon and a Leafeon.

Although this arrangement could also lead to awkward situations, like when Eve bragged about taking out both of my Delphoxes with her Umbreon. It took her all of three seconds to realize the line that she had crossed. I didn't exactly have a way to get back at her, but when I could I always took out her Espeon with either my Ekans or my Seviper pawns. For the most part though, playing was a ton of fun.

I studied the board, glancing up at Eve every once in a while. There was no way that she would have make that move. Not only could I have countered it in half a dozen ways, taking her knight in the process, but she had left her king wide open for a counterattack by my bishop. This meant one of two things. It was a trap, or it was part of a larger plan.

I slowly slid my king one square to the right, scanning her side of the board. It took me a second to spot it, as it was tucked behind one of my castles (an Areodactyl) but one of her pawns was in the perfect position to capture my bishop as soon as I sent him in. It was clever, and honestly not something I would have expected. But how to counter it?

Eve nudged her knight back a few spaces so that it would be in place to check my king again in one more turn. I grinned as I slid my rook so that it was directly behind Eve's sneaky little pawn. I glanced up at her, and she was glaring at the board. Obviously she was a little miffed that I had figured out her strategy.

I watched Eve as she plotted out her next move. She was nibbling softly on her lower lip, and her tail lashed out behind her. Her gem was glowing intensely, and if I hadn't known better I would have guessed that she was trying to read my mind. Of course I was certain she wouldn't.

The more I looked at her though, I couldn't help but feel a tingle in my stomach. It had been a few weeks since we had spent the night on the couch together, spilling our deepest secrets to one-another. It simultaneously warmed my heart and gave me the chills that this woman knew all of my deepest, darkest secrets, but then again she was my partner. Perhaps that was expected.

"Slink? What are you staring at?" I blinked as Eve's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. She had her head cocked, and was looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I suddenly realized that I had been blankly staring at her for more than a minute.

I blushed, but I couldn't help but tell the truth. "I'm staring at you."

Eve smirked at me. "Why were you staring at me?"

Uh-oh. I knew I was in trouble now. That smirk all but guaranteed it. What could I say now? "I was staring because…of how beautiful you are…?"

There was a pregnant pause before Eve grinned. "Good save," she said.

"No, really," I said, "you are beautiful, and I love you. I don't think that I say that enough." I leaned forward over the chessboard. Eve came to meet me. I nuzzled her, licking her cheek, her ear, and parts of her neck. Her purring rang in my ears, and I continued to nuzzle and lick so that hopefully the glorious sound wouldn't stop.

I stopped as I felt a slight movement. "Hey, Eve. Move them back."

"What?" She asked innocently.

I pulled back and fixed her with a smile. "I know you just switched my rook and your pawn. Swap 'em back."

Eve grumbled faintly, something about me not being able to notice it, before begrudgingly swapping the two pieces back.

I chuckled to myself, looking for my next move. I lifted one of my knights, but before I could move it Vix came bursting into the room.

"Eve, what's going on?"

"What?" Eve asked, not even looking away from the board.

"We are going to be late. Didn't you say we had to be at HQ by 10:30? Guys, it is 10:20!"

"What!" Eve said, scrambling to get to her feet, tipping her stool over backwards in the process. I hopped down from the table more gracefully before rushing to see if Eve was okay.

She clawed her way free, diving for the Expedition Gadget. "What? Slink you were supposed to tell me when it was time."

"Sorry," I said teasingly, "I was too busy keeping you from cheating."

"Oh," Vix gasped excitedly, "you were cheating Eve?" She said it like it was the most interesting thing she had heard in her life.

"Yes, I did," Eve snapped. Her gem flared for a moment as her bag lifted up from the dresser and flung itself over Eve's shoulder, "but only because Slink was cheating. He was reading my thoughts."

"She'll be more friendly when we get to HQ." I grabbed my own bag from where it was hanging on one of our bedposts. "Oh, and Eve, you and I both know that I wasn't reading your thoughts."

Eve huffed, and pretended that she hadn't heard me. Instead she ran from the room. Vix and I following a few steps behind. "Abby, Sierra, are you ready?" Eve asked frantically as soon as she entered the room. Both father and daughter were laying on the couch, watching Eve scramble with the slightest smiles.

"We've been ready for almost half an hour. We were waiting on you and Slink." Sierra chuckled as he hopped off the couch. He shook himself, as his fur had become matted on one side from where he was laying. "What were you two doing in there that you got so distracted?"

I laughed at Sierra's risque humor, a small amount of blush stinging my cheeks. Eve didn't even react to his comment. She seemed to be having a seizure by the door. "Sierra," she snapped as she hopped from foot to foot, "I'm sure you can make just as crappy of jokes outside!"

Sierra only grinned at Eve's reaction, but he was smart enough to get the hint and head out the door. "Come on Vix!" Abby called to her friend, "If we hurry, I bet we can run down to see Dimitri. He showed me a new trick last time I was there that you gotta see."

"Sure," Vix said skeptically before racing Abby out the door. Eve and I could hear them thundering down the hallway.

"And then there were two," I said to Eve.

"Slink," she said impatiently, "now is not the time!"

I shrugged. "Sorry. Let's go."

Eve was holding the door open, but as I made to leave she suddenly threw out her tail to stop me. "Wait. Slink, I have no idea how long this job will take us today. Just in case… do you have the tickets for tonight?"

I patted my bag and laughed. "Eve, I've got them right here. I had them here last night when you asked. I've had them since you gave them to me last week."

"I didn't really need the sarcasm," Eve mumbled as we walked down the hallway together. "I just wanted to check because… well I'm kind of excited for this you know."

The tickets had been a gift from Gregory. Both were bright green and glossy. The words "The Gogoat" were written across them in bubbly yellow letters, and a picture of the namesake Pokémon appeared above it. It was a new restaurant slated to open tomorrow, but as both a fundraiser and for a bit of publicity the owners had invited several prominent Pokémon from all over town for a special dinner tonight. I knew for a fact that Kegan and Nurse Candice had been invited, as well as a few other famous Expedition Society teams that lived in and around town.

The owners had actually lived in the same apartment building we did for several years, and so they had given Mr. Gloom two tickets to the grand opening. Fortunately for Eve and I, he had had other plans, so he passed the tickets off to us. Since there were only two tickets Eve and I had decided to go alone. As a date.

It wasn't the first time we had gone out alone, but there was always something that kept it from feeling like a date. The night we met Sierra for example. We had meant for Vix to come with us, and a half-dead Absol begging for your help kinda kills the mood. Then there was that time five months ago when we had tried to sneak off to dinner, but we ran into Abby as she was leaving the library and she ended up tagging along.

Of course it would also be our first date since we had decided to be partners.

"And of course I'm a little nervous about this job. We've never done a job like this…" I brushed my tail over over her back, trying to comfort her.

"Eve this is a good thing isn't it? I mean, a client requested us and he wants to meet us. We are getting to be more famous and our reputation is growing larger. That means more people will want us for their jobs. That means more money for each job. And both of those lead to-"

"More fame, more respect, a larger reputation. I know." Eve said shuffling her feet a little. "But it just… makes me nervous I guess."

"You weren't nervous when we met Leo. What is the difference?" I smiled, trying to reassure the Espeon.

"There isn't one," Eve conceded, but she shook her head. "I don't know Slink. I've had a pit in my stomach since we woke up this morning. I can't shake the feeling."

"Perhaps that was you dreading losing to me in chess," I snickered. She touched me with her tail too. It wasn't nicely though.

Soon enough we reached Society HQ. I held the door open as the other four members of the team stepped inside. As we entered I could hear a loud nasally voice echoing in the main room.

"Well it's 10:30 now, and they haven't arrived yet. Are you sure you gave the message to Team Mindfire? I don't know what kind of operation you are running here, but in my experience, Expedition teams are never late!"

Eve stepped forward before things could escalate. "Sorry we are late Kegan. We got held up at home. Is this our client?"

I was standing in the back of the pack next to Vix, so I couldn't see the Pokémon she was referring to, but just from his earlier statement I wasn't sure if I liked him. Kegan started to reply to Eve's question, but the Pokémon barged right through.

"Yes, of course I am," he snapped. "But more importantly, do you think I am a fool?"

"Er...uh...No?" Eve stammered. I felt bad for her, but I wasn't in a position to help. "I'm sorry, but what seems to be the problem?"

"I wanted Team Mindfire," the Pokémon answered obnoxiously (I was liking him less and less), "Sure you are an Espeon, but everyone knows that Team Mindfire has a Fennekin and a Vulpix. What did you think that you could try and distract me with a Shiny Absol?"

Eve sounded both hurt and confused. "Fennekin and Vulpix? They are here. Slink? Vix? Where'd you go?"

"Back here," I called raising up on my tiptoes to try and see over Sierra. "Hey, um, Sierra. Do you mind?"

"Oh, sorry," the Absol apologized, before he took a step to the side. Vix and I slipped through the narrow pass to finally meet our newest client.

It was a Watchog. Not exactly the Pokémon I had expected, but hey. I felt him glance over me with those red-yellow eyes with their thousand yard stare. Something about Watchogs gave me the heebie-jeebies, but I tried not to let that show.

"Hello sir, what can we do for you?" I tried to be as polite as possible.

He glanced at me and then his gaze flicked to Vix. He nodded to himself. Then he realized that I had asked him a question and he snapped his attention back to me. "Oh, um, right. Yesterday I was wandering through a Mystery Dungeon, and then I was attacked by a wild Meinshao. I managed to escape, but I dropped my bag. I carry my wallet on me, so I am fine financially. But I did have a few things in my bag that have a certain sentimental value to me. Can you guys help me out?"

"Er… sure," Eve said, "can you give us any more information about where you were or…"

"Of course I can," he said haughtily. "Do you have a map?"

"Yes," Eve breathed, and as she turned to get the Expedition Gadget from her bag I saw that he had upset her with his crass words. I felt a bolt of anger shoot through me, and I turned my attention to the Watchog. I was fully prepared to give him a piece of my mind, but then I felt a calming presence in my mind. Like a hand on my shoulder.

Let it go. Eve pleaded with me.

He is a jackass. I replied angrily. We could probably find another job in five seconds. Or we could take today off to get ready for our date.

He asked us to be here, Eve replied. It could seriously hurt our reputation to say no to him. Eve shot me a glare before handing the Expedition Gadget to the Watchog.

"I was in that Dungeon. Grassy Slope, I believe it is called. I also am certain that I was on the third floor when I lost my bag."

I raised an eyebrow at that. Grassy Slope was a relatively weak Dungeon and had one of the lowest feral populations on the continent. This Watchog must be a serious wimp if he needed us to go get it.

"Oh, we've been to that one before," Eve said happily. "It shouldn't be that much of a -"

"Yes, yes," the Watchog interrupted waving a paw dismissively. "Now can we discuss payment so that you can head out?"

I growled low in my throat. Eve shot me a look, but the client didn't notice. Seriously Eve, this job is one of the most basic ones we have ever seen. Anyone can do it, but for some reason he insists it has to be us. We can make this guy putty in our hands.

Let it go! Eve argued silently.

"Excuse me," the Watchog interjected. He had mistaken our silence as us simply ignoring his question. "Do you need me to repeat myself? Or did you understand the first time I asked you?!"

That was crossing a line. I didn't care what Eve said. He was going down.

"Now my message promised you 1,500 P for the job. Of course if you do the job quickly I might be willing to bump up the reward to 2,000. Does that work for you?" The Watchog crossed his arms and tapped his foot. Obviously he was itching for us to get going.

"Yeah, sorry," I said shaking my head, "we really only answered your message out of politeness. We never agreed to doing this job for you. Thanks, but…" I turned tail and started to walk away leaving a very confused Abby, Sierra, and Vix behind. "You comin'?" I called behind me as I sauntered out.

"Wait," the Watchog cried, the smug air fading in an instant. "I guess I could bump up the reward to 3,000P." He said it casually, but I could sense a quiet desperation behind his words.

"5,000," I countered.

"3,500," the Watchog attempted.

I cut him off again. "4,500. Take it or leave it."

The meerkat huffed to himself, but nodded. "Fine. Now would you please just go and get my bag?"

Eve glared at me, but I felt pretty good. Serves this jerk right. But at the same time something seemed off to me. Why did it have to be us? There were probably dozens of Expedition teams in town that would have taken the job for a fraction of our price. Despite this, the Watchog hadn't walked away. There was something screwy here.

I tried to shake off the feeling as the Team headed for the door. There would be plenty of time to think on this later.

There were only seven levels to this dungeon. That was the first thing Vix had said as we entered.

"So in and out in five minutes I take it?" Sierra grinned.

Vix shook her head, looking around as if she could actually see through the Dungeon walls. "I mean we might, but we would have to land on the portal on the second floor, and then land on top of the bag on the third."

"Vix," Eve rolled her eyes, "cut to the chase."

Vix huffed. "This floor is extremely complicated. There is only one path, and it is a seriously roundabout route."

"Can we not take a more direct route?" Abby asked curiously.

All eyes shot to Vix who shrugged. "We could. But I was told that we weren't allowed to go through traps anymore." Abby looked around, waiting for someone to clarify.

"That's because you never warn us when we are about to hit a trap," Eve said.

I took pity on Abby. "When we went to rescue you, Vix led us through some traps, and we had a few issues." Behind Abby, I saw Sierra blush slightly at my explanation. "Vix, I was kidding. You can take us the trap route if you want. I trust you."

"Ummm," Eve butted in. "How about we don't go the trap route. Remember last week? I was picking spikes out of my fur for hours after that."

"To be fair, there were two traps practically on top of one another," Vix huffed, "I didn't see the Spike trap okay."

"Yeah. But what if it had been a poison trap?" Eve glanced around at the rest of us, probably looking from support from Sierra and Abby. "Come on, we can take the long way."

Sierra shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "I wouldn't mind taking a shorter route," he mumbled to himself.

"They just got a new book at the Library this morning. The sooner we get back, the better the chance that I can get it first. It would help to take a shorter route." Abby said to her paws.

Eve glared at the two Absols, before turning to Vix. "Fine," she barked, "let's go your way then!"

I saw the little fox flinch, and then visibly deflate at Eve's tone. "Right," she squeaked before scurrying into the right path, leaving the rest of us to follow.

I choked back the retort that I had been about to shout at Eve. I didn't want to make a scene in front of Abby and Sierra, and I definitely didn't want to scare Vix even more. I forced myself to bite my tongue for the moment. There would be time enough later.

With Vix's help we were able to out maneuver all of the traps, clearing the floor in about half an hour. Even better; when we landed on the second floor we were perhaps five feet from the portal. The worn stone platform was situated in the center of a grassy clearing with a stream running across one end.

Thankfully our decision to stop for lunch was unanimous.

Eve pulled five apples from her bag, tossing one to everyone. I pulled a loaf of bread out of my bag, along with some jerky. It wasn't elegant, but it was food. Soon everyone was eating quickly. The sooner we were done the sooner we could be back home and Sierra could start on dinner.

I finished before everyone else. I hoped that Eve and I would be having a larger-than-average dinner that night, so I didn't really eat much. Speaking of Eve, she didn't eat much either. She seemed to be playing with her food.

"Eve, can I speak with you?" I asked sternly.

"Huh," she said distractedly, "oh, uh, sure." She stared at me for a moment. I realized she was waiting for me to start.

"Alone," I amended.

"Oh, yeah," she said getting to her feet. She trotted off a ways from the group.

Abby and Sierra didn't seem to notice, but Vix was looking at me with her head cocked. I had to fight a laugh as I noticed that her cheeks were bulging with food. "We'll be back in a moment," I muttered. The little fox nodded, and returned to eating as fast as possible.

As I approached, Eve seemed both nervous and somehow preoccupied. I wasn't quite sure about how to start this conversation so I dove right in, albeit tentatively. "Eve, I wanted to talk about… what happened today with Vix?"

Eve flinched and shook her head. "I didn't mean to yell at her. I was mad and a little frustrated, and I lashed out. I'll apologize to her later." She sighed. "I hope she doesn't hold a grudge. I really didn't mean it."

"It's fine with me, but knowing Vix, she will hold a grudge." I shot Eve a grin that she didn't return. "But Eve, even if you are mad or frustrated with her doesn't mean you can just yell at-"

"I wasn't mad at her," Eve interrupted firmly. I was taken aback. What was I going to say now? "I wasn't mad at her," Eve repeated, "I was frustrated with you."

Now I was really confused. "Why me?"

Eve's gem flared as she fixed me with her gaze. "I am sick and tired of your attitude recently when it comes to making decisions."

"What… what are you talking about?" I asked.

"This morning with the client, that was totally embarrassing Slink!" Eve snapped.

"What was wrong with that?" I argued back angrily. "He was a jackass and I wasn't about to let him treat us like that."

"That was not solely your decision to make! You could have told me the plan, I could have helped."

"No, you told me not to do it. You were going to just let him walk all over us."

"That would preferable than burning bridges. You are so Arceus damn stubborn sometimes Slink. Can you ever give in? Can you not turn the other cheek? What if he had decided that he didn't like us anymore? He could ruin our reputation. Nobody would want us to take their jobs!" Eve was nearly shouting at this point.

"But laying down won't help either. Sometimes you have to hit back, especially when you are cornered. What if we had given in? He would tell everyone that we are total pushovers. We might get more jobs, but only because people know they could rip us off. I'm sorry I didn't consult you, but it worked out so what is the harm?"

Eve glared at me. I knew she wouldn't hurt me, but in that moment I was actually nervous. "What about Vix then?"

The change of subject completely threw me off. "What about Vix? I thought we established that her using her powers couldn't possibly attract more attention from the Hatred. Plus getting through Dungeons faster and more efficiently makes it easier for us to avoid them. What is the problem here?"

"Slink, sometimes I wonder if you even care about her wellbeing? Remember what happened last week, with the spike trap?"

"It was a mistake," I argued, "she learned from it. Did you watch her when she was navigating earlier? She was so meticulous, so careful. She is determined not to let it happen again?"

"I get it," Eve agreed, "but that isn't my problem. You said it yourself, it was a mistake. What happens if she makes a different mistake."

"She won't, " I tried to argue, but I knew that it wouldn't hold up.

"Sure, you say that. And that kind of encouragement is making her reckless! Slink someday she may have to tackle a Dungeon alone. That recklessness might come back, lead to another mistake, and she could get herself hurt...or worse. And can you imagine what it would do to her if we are in a Dungeon with her and a mistake kills me or you? Can you imagine if she thinks that she had a direct hand in killing one of us?"

I stayed silent. I had no idea how to respond to that. "I guess that never occurred to me."

"And that is my problem," Eve snapped. "Because even though you don't think these things through they sided with you. They sided with you, and you seem to just take everything as a joke!"

"Maybe the problem isn't me. Maybe you are just too uptight about everything!" I growled. "You are so controlling over money and time and everything You don't let anyone do anything unless it aligns with what you want. Arceus forbid anyone do anything that goes against you!" I'm not sure my arguments were even making sense anymore. I was just looking for ammunition to throw at her.

"You know what Slink, maybe you should find something else to do for dinner tonight!" And with that she turned tail and stormed off back to the group. She barely paused to shove the remaining food into her bag before she stepped onto the stone platform and moved to the next floor.

Vix, Abby, and Sierra stared at me in total confusion, but I barely registered them. For the first time in my life I had no idea what element was flowing through me. It wasn't Fire, and it certainly wasn't cold like Psychic. It was an empty, hollow feeling.

Numbly I made my way back to the group, and the four of us stepped onto the stone platform together.

I stumbled slightly as we landed, barely keeping my feet on the steep slope I had appeared on. The others weren't quite so lucky. Abby had to fall to her belly, and Sierra completely lost his balance and went tumbling down the hill. Only Vix landed perfectly.

"Sierra, what are you doing down there?" Vix asked pedantically.

"Just resting," Sierra shouted sarcastically.

"Vix, focus!" Eve snapped. She was standing at the bottom the hill. Her tail lashed out behind her like a whip. "Where are we going now?"

Vix flinched at the tone before sheepishly closing her eyes for a moment, thinking. "There are several paths, most of them are pretty safe. They all seem to funnel down into one big room. Then there are about half a dozen paths all branching out, with the portal among them."

"But we shouldn't have to find the portal since the bag should be somewhere before it," Abby mumbled.

I nodded encouragingly. "Abby's right. So Vix, what is the plan?"

"Umm," Vix said her eyes flicking to Eve, "there are six main paths with a few offshoots each."

"Are there any traps on this floor?" Eve asked, probably meaner than she meant to. Still Vix tucked her ears back to her head and her tails between her hind legs.

Vix closed her eyes again, and I knew she was searching, scouring thoroughly. I knew she didn't want a repeat of the iron spike incident. "There is one," she said slowly, "on the far left path?"

"Any feral Pokémon," Eve prompted.

Again, Vix paused while she searched. "No, strangely enough. At least on this side of the central room. I see a few on the other side, but they are mostly grass Types."

I nodded. "What are you thinking?" Sierra asked.

"There are five of us and six paths. I say we split up."

Vix nodded, Sierra seemed almost angry, Abby looked downright terrified, and Eve looked at me with an angry curiosity. "It makes sense," I tried to justify. "We just established that there are no traps or ferals. We can each take a path. If we find the bag, we take it to the rendezvous on the other side. Vix can describe our path to us before we go. It will be way more efficient than all of us going down each path."

"Okay," Vix said eagerly, "I'll take the left path-"

I glanced at Eve. "No. Let's leave the trap alone for now. Besides there has to be one path that remains unexplored for the moment. I'll take the right-most path. Then Sierra, Abby, Eve, and then you."

Everyone agreed, albeit reluctantly in some cases. It took Vix a few moments to describe the path each of us should take, but soon enough the details were squared away and we were ready to get started.

This Dungeon was in the foothills of the Scale mountains, and as such it was essentially a meadow. Thick trees split each of our paths from one another, and in some cases red rock walls rose up around us. It was actually kind of relaxing to wander through a Dungeon alone, although the silence got to me after a while.

That being said, it only took me ten minutes to check my path. Before I knew it, I had arrived at the meeting place where Vix was already waiting.

"No luck?" I asked as I approached.

She huffed. "Took you long enough," she said, "and no, I didn't find the bag. None of the rest of them will either. You know why?" She gestured with her head. We were sitting in front of the entrance to the large central room, and sitting in the center was a large messenger bag made from bluish leather.

"Well, that makes this job much easier," I remarked. I nudged Vix teasingly with my nose. "Well, at least now we can have some fun with the others. I bet Sierra gets through his section first."

Vix grinned at me. "No way. Eve will get frustrated and give up way before Sierra. But my money's on Abby." Her voice changed a bit, sounding almost sympathetic. "She doesn't really like Dungeons. I think that if it didn't mean being alone all day she wouldn't come with us. I bet she sprints her section, and is out first."

We were both quiet for a while. "You and Eve both got really mad earlier huh." She said it casually, but I could hear an underlying anxiety in her words.

"You heard that?" I grimaced. I had hoped to keep the others out of this.

"Slink, people on the Sand Continent heard you two. What was that all about anyway?"

"I sighed. She thinks that I make irresponsible decisions, I don't consult her enough, and that you all only agree with me because you like to feel reckless." I knew I was putting words in Eve's mouth, but I was still angry.

"Oh. I think I get it. But to be honest, I don't think she is really mad at you. I just think that today was just the straw that broke the Camerupt's back."

I raised an eyebrow. "I don't follow."

"After the whole spike thing last week Eve talked to me. Remember? She told me that she didn't blame me, and that she understood it was an accident.

"But then she mentioned how she didn't feel like she was pulling her weight as team leader and that may have been what caused the problem."

"How is she not pulling her weight? She is doing great!"

"Well look at it from her perspective. The way I see it, she was the one who wanted to start a team, but you brought me on board. You came up with the team name and symbol, and you were the one to offer Sierra and Abby a home with us. I could be wrong, but maybe she feels like she isn't doing enough. That could be why she's been so controlling lately."

I hadn't thought about that. Suddenly I felt completely horrible. I had taken Eve's dream, her goal, and I had used it how I saw fit. No wonder everyone agreeing with me earlier had bent her out of shape so much.

"I...oh Arceus Vix. I wish I had known this sooner!" I resolved to pull Eve aside and apologize as soon as we got home.

"Just talk to her," Vix suggested with a shrug. "I'm fairly certain you can't make anything worse." She stiffened. "Abby's almost here, we should change the subject."

I probably shouldn't have doubted her because sure enough everyone met up with us. Abby sprinted to us as though a Gengar was chasing her down her path. Eve came next, with Sierra bringing up the rear.

We all couldn't help but laugh at ourselves as we entered the large room to grab the bag. Vix darted forward eagerly (she liked carrying the "trophies" as she called them) with the rest of us getting ready to warp back to base as soon as she had the bag.

We were perhaps five seconds from warping back home when I felt something that was almost like a punch to the gut. Instantly I was on high alert. I opened my mouth to call a warning when…

Wham! A burst of white-hot pain shot through me, followed by another blast of agony across my chest accompanied by a blinding electric blue light. Honestly, I thought my chest had actually exploded as I clutched and tore at the fur there. It took me a minute to realize that my badge had shattered, leaving a small, black scorch mark where it had been.

Looking around, I realized that the same had happened to everyone else. Vix's eyes were wide from shock and pain. Sierra was frantically trying to pat down Abby's chest where the exploding badge had ignited her thick fur. My heart was pounding in my throat. "Run!" I screamed.

Too late. I saw a flicker of orange shoot through my line of sight and land with a thud. An instant later with a ringing crack a pink form shot by as well. Abby cried out as her head was slammed into the ground and held there by a Throh's giant orange hand. Sierra had been pinned down with a Gurder's girder across his back.

I gathered the energy for a Psychic attack, but Vix cried out too. I turned to find the tan Tyranitar holding her in a bear hug. Vix kicked at his arms and pummeled at him with her tails, but with a quick squeeze (and a yelp from Vix) he was able to stop her struggles.

A flicker of black spun me around until I was facing probably the most horrific scene of them all. Smoke was standing upright holding Eve by the scruff of her neck in one hand, and pressing a blade of water to her throat with the other. He grinned at me, while Eve seemed petrified.

I turned slowly in a circle, the Hatred members leering at me while my friends could only look on in shock and horror. And then suddenly I was face to face with Shane. He was smiling at me, but the smile never reached his eyes. "Hello Slink, fancy meeting you here."

I instantly took a step back, opening my mouth, filling my throat with flame. With just a thought, I could turn Shane into a scorch mark on the grass. It would be so easy.

"Hold on," Shane chided quickly realizing where I was mentally, "one more move and well, we wouldn't want my friends to get to excited would we? Someone could get hurt, specifically that old Absol to start." Reluctantly I let my flames and rage die. I wasn't about to let Sierra get hurt simply to indulge my anger.

"That is more like it," Shane smirked. He leaned slightly to the side, looking at Smoke and Eve behind me. "Hey, Smoke loosen your grip a bit. She wouldn't dare do anything under these circumstances, and I told you not to hurt her." Eve was wriggling so much in Smoke's grasp that he had to use both of his arms to contain her. Thankfully that stopped him from using any water shurikens.

"I must say guys," the shiny Umbreon said to his team, "we did well here. Even I didn't think it was going to be this easy." Suddenly he turned his gaze skyward. "How are you doing up there Sparkle. I gotta hand it to you, nice timing on those thunderbolts."

"What can I say Shane? You flatter me." The voice grew louder as a fuzzy form swam into view. The entire figure was a dark brown color except for its paws, ears, cheeks, and tail that it floated on like a surfboard. The Alolan Raichu gave me a quick once over before shrugging. "They had no resistance. It was far too easy to overload their badges."

I tried to keep myself calm as a thousand scenarios ran through my head. First things first, I thought, gather some information. "What do you want Shane?" I challenged through gritted teeth. Probably not the most subtle approach, but to be fair I was still slightly off balance. "How'd you even find us anyway?"

"Isn't it obvious," Shane smirked, his yellow eyes glittered with dark amusement. I heard a collective chuckle around the clearing.

I honestly had no idea, but before I could voice that, somebody else spoke. "The Watchog. You hired him didn't you? He was certain that only our team could do this job, and he didn't hire us until he saw that Slink was going. That way you would know exactly where we would be." I glanced back at Eve. She had stopped struggling, but was looking at Shane with an expression of naked anger and defiance. "I knew he let us charge more too easily. Nobody is that bad a negotiator.

"You couldn't have figured it out a minute earlier," I mumbled to myself. Unfortunately it looked like Shane heard me. He smirked and raised an eyebrow before continuing.

"As for what we want, I think even you can figure that out Slink. We want you of course," he turned his head so he was facing Vix, "we want the girl," he turned to Abby, "and we want the runaway."

I felt my stomach twist into a knot. There had to be a way out of this right? Perhaps I could knock out the Gurdurr holding down Sierra. If he could get away then they couldn't use him as leverage. Shane seemed unwilling to hurt Eve, and he wanted the rest of us as hostages so maybe…

"Slink honey," Sparkle's words broke through my thoughts, "I see what you're thinking. That would be a terrible idea, trust me. We are still taking you, even if you are bruised and battered understand?"

My heart was beating in my throat as I realized that I had missed her probe entering my mind. Using a large burst of Psychic energy I forced her out of my mind and sealed the way behind her. I locked my mind inside of a huge steel box, not letting anything in or out. Unfortunately that also meant Eve. I shuddered as I cut our connection.

I turned away from Shane slightly, still looking for any possible escape. Then from across the circle I suddenly met eyes with Vix. She cocked her head at me before she flexed her tails. Her gold bracelet flashed in the sun. Should I? She mouthed.

My mind raced beneath my barriers, and I made sure they were still up. If Sparkle heard my thoughts now, all hope would be lost. Slowly I weighed out my options.

Yes, Vix had an out here. All she would have to do would be evolve, absorb her Firestone, and become a Ninetales. She would lose her navigational powers, as well as any value to the Hatred, and they should let her go. They should.

Shane… He already didn't want them to hurt Eve… and when she had told me her story, Shane hadn't tried to kill anyone. He simply put them to sleep. I eyed Smoke warily. He might kill. I knew he would kill.

And then my thoughts drifted to Abby. The runaway Shane had called her. I got a sudden sick feeling in my stomach. I had known for over a year now that if the Hatred caught me I would die. In a way, I guess I had made my peace with the idea. But Abby hadn't signed up for this, and I had promised her and Sierra safety and protection from the Hatred.

My heart broke a little as I made my decision. I could only hope that Vix didn't have to pay for it. I turned back to Shane. "No," I said emphasizing the word. Hopefully Vix would understand, "you don't get all three of us. Me and Vix you can take. Abby stays here!"

There was almost a collective gasp from around the circle as my bold statement drew a reaction from both friends and enemies. It took all of my willpower not to look over at Sierra and Abby. All of my concentration was focused on Shane.

For the record even he seemed taken aback, at least slightly, by my bravado, but it passed quickly. He hitched a grin onto his face. "Slink, buddy, I'm not sure you know how this works. We captured you. We make the demands. You have nothing. Why would we do what you say?" He spoke slowly, condescendingly, as if I was an idiot.

I took a deep breath in through my nose. I forced myself not to glance back at Eve as I said the next sentence. "Because right now we are coming quietly." There was a pause as I waited for my words to sink in. "If you let Abby go, Vix and I will come willingly and quietly. Otherwise you will have a fight on your hands."

"Oh, a fight," Shane rolled his eyes, "and why should we fear a fight?"

I looked him dead in the eyes. My voice was little more than a growl. "Because if we fight, at least two of you will die."

Everyone was silent, shocked by my threat. I decided to strike while the iron was hot so to speak. "Don't doubt it. In my first move, two of you will go down. If you don't believe me ask Sparkle. She knows what I can do." The Raichu's cheeks turned from a tropical yellow to stark white in an instant as my words hit her.

Shane tried to recover, but there was a definite tremor in his voice. "And you think that you would come off any better?"

I shrugged. "No. But just think. If you do things my way, you get me and Vix with no hassle. If we do it your way, two of your men go down instantly. I know you won't hurt or kill Vix, Eve will almost certainly leave relatively unscathed, and you obviously won't kill Abby either. Sure you will probably have to kill me, but you are planning on doing that anyway right? And of course Sierra would die for his daughter I'm sure. In the end though you end up with Abby and Vix, but you are down two or more of your people?" I glanced over at the Throh and the Gurdurr obviously. "The question should be is your team willing to risk a fight?"

The Umbreon opened his mouth to argue, but before he could get a word out he froze. We both heard it. Muttering. We both looked around (I forced myself not to look at my team. Not yet) and saw that every member of his group except for Smoke were glancing at each other. My two targets, the Throh and the Gurdurr, were whispering to each other. The Tyranitar was shivering, and even Sparkle, who had seen what my plan was, was currently standing on the ground. Apparently she didn't trust herself in the air.

This was it. My final play. I had honestly been bluffing this whole time. If they still wanted Abby I'm not sure I actually could take out both of the Fighting Types in one move. I could only silently pray that Shane would take my offer.

Thankfully the confused mutterings seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for Shane. "Fine," he huffed to himself, almost growling. "Now slowly and carefully lift that bag over your head, set it on the ground, and come sit next to me!"

I nodded before reaching slowly for the strap of my shoulder bag. It opened slightly as I lifted, and I could see the glow of the extra badge I had stashed in there after the whole Abby incident. I hesitated for a second. Once I took my bag off, there was no way I would be able to get it again. Was I giving up our only chance of escape?

Perhaps we could fight our way free. But then I remembered the argument Eve and I had had. "You are so Arceus damn stubborn sometimes Slink. Can you ever give in? Can you not turn the other cheek?" She was right. Sometimes you had to give in to avoid burning a bridge.

"Slink," Shane said firmly, "take it off now. Any sudden movements and I promise you that Sierra will not be walking away from this!" I nodded again, what else could I do? Excruciatingly slowly I pulled the strap of the bag over my head placing it on the ground. I could still get to the badge, but I would probably be the only one to survive… uncaptured at least.

I gingerly stepped over to Shane, who despite himself was smiling. His plan had actually worked, and I didn't blame him for being a little proud. "Good," he smirked at me. "Quake, bring the girl over here!"

The Tyranitar lumbered forward Vix swinging helplessly along in his arms. She looked absolutely terrified. I didn't blame her, but I had to keep myself together. The big lizard threw her down next to me. She crashed painfully into the ground, before rising carefully. She shook herself, giving the Tyranitar a withering glare. For a moment, she looked like her usual self before her face melted back into a mask of fear. She carefully padded to my side under a watchful Shane and sat down beside me. I curled my tail around her as best I could. It was all the comfort I could offer at the moment.

"Form up," I heard the quiet yet soothing voice of the Greninja say. Almost as one unit each Hatred member turned so their back was to us. Nearly in unison they spoke. "Make one move, and you'll regret it," before each quickly released their hostage and backpedaled forming a big wall between me and Vix, and the rest of our team.

Through the milling Hatred members I could see Sierra shakily getting to his feet. His eyes were fixed on me. Eventually our gazes met, red into red. Then he broke his gaze, glancing at Abigail who was clinging resolutely to his side. When we met eyes again, his were full of tears. "Thank you," he mouthed.

I nodded in return, my mouth set in a hard line. I didn't want to, but at the same time I couldn't stop myself from looking over until I met Eve's desperate, pleading gaze.

She didn't bother to mouth her words. She shouted them for the whole world to hear.

"Slink, please. There has to be… You can't… not after..." she trailed off as she remembered that the Hatred would stop at nothing to take me. She changed tactics. "Shane please, take me too!"

I could see the Umbreon almost consider the request, if only for a moment. Before he could even speak, Smoke cut across him. "No. We only want the Fennekin and the girl." He glared at Shane, almost daring him to speak.

"Eve," I said. The world seemed to stop for a moment as I felt her search my face. In the back of my mind I briefly wondered if she was memorizing it for when I was gone. I pushed that morbid thought away. "I promise I will keep Vix safe until you come get us." And then before I could lose my nerve, I said it. "I love you Eve. I'm sorry."

The Hatred had been slowly shuffling back into the corridor behind us. Vix and I were completely surrounded by shinies with Shane at the back and the Tyranitar, Quake, standing at the mouth of the corridor. I maintained eye contact with Eve for as long as I could, but just as I was about to lose sight of her, I saw her composure snap. "Slink!" she screamed as she darted forward. She didn't make it far.

Quake roared, the pure energy in his voice enough to make Eve lose her feet. He then placed a paw on the walls to either side of him. The ground seemed to rumble as a tan-brown light appeared around his hands and feet. The walls cracked as he strained against them. Then, with a final shout of victory he tore the walls apart. Both of them collapsed, completely sealing the doorway.

An instant later there was a dull thud and then a muffled cry of anguish. It killed me to hear Eve make that noise, but I had to keep myself together. I suddenly become hyper aware of Vix clinging to me. I met her brown eyes, and once again I found a question waiting in them. Now?

This would be the moment to do it. The Hatred was a little off balance from their success, and they wouldn't be able to stop Vix if she chose to evolve. She was also close enough to the others to be able to find her after the Hatred let her go. But the ugly truth of the matter kept rearing its head at me.

As soon as Vix evolved, I would lose all leverage and the Hatred would kill me. Of course they were already planning on killing me, but using Vix and her Firestone I could bargain for more time. Enough to last until Eve came to save us? Maybe. I also knew that every passing moment that Vix didn't use the stone meant a moment when someone could take it from her.

I am not proud to admit it, but I made the selfish choice. I'll admit that some of it was hope that Eve would come through, but the majority of it was that I didn't want to die.

I shook my head slowly, making the movement as small as I could manage. Then as an afterthought I mouthed two words, Hide It. They were going to search us sooner or later, and it would be disastrous for them to find Vix's secret.

"Alright everyone, let's get going," Shane called. Immediately everyone snapped to attention, focusing on the Umbreon. "Quake, you watch the back. Crash, Stanley, you are with me. And Smoke," he turned to me, "you watch the prisoners."

The Greninja leered at me and Vix, and I couldn't help but shudder. I knew that if I made even the smallest move in the wrong direction I would end up with a blade in my back. I couldn't make a move now. I just hoped that Vix knew this as well.

Shane led us straight to the portal. I mean, directly to the portal. No wrong turns. No hesitation. "How is he doing this?" Vix whispered to me. She had gone pale under her fur, and there was a definite tremor in her voice. Apparently Shane sharing her navigational ability was scarier to her than being kidnapped.

"Well it is really simple," Shane called. I jumped nearly a foot in the air. Note to self, the Umbreon had extremely sharp hearing. "We scouted the floor this morning. We had plenty of time considering you didn't get to this floor until noon."

"But how come we didn't know-"

"You used discs!" Vix cut across me. She seemed both scared and awed at the same time. "I knew that there were spots on this floor that didn't feel right. They were from yesterday's Dungeon." She turned to me. "They planted the bag. They hired the Watchog. They hid where I couldn't find them." She was hyperventilating. I darted forward, trying to comfort her, but I was yanked backward as a vice-grip clamped onto the scruff of my neck. Smoke.

"I think you should stay away from the girl." His tone was calm, but the bruising squeeze that he gave me told me that he meant business. Slowly he set me down and stepped between me and Vix. "Shane, you take the girl through first. I'll follow with the Fennekin."

Shane glanced at Smoke and nodded. "Come on then," he snapped at Vix. She glanced at me.

"But-" she mumbled.

"NOW!" Smoke roared. Vix tucked all six tails between her legs, and stumbled backwards towards the portal. Shane stepped through and vanished. Before stepping onto the platform, Vix turned back and met my eyes. I nodded softly, and gave her a small smile. She shivered before taking a step and vanishing.

The Fighting wonder twins stepped through next, and then Smoke signaled that it was my turn. Seriously? I couldn't believe my luck. I could take down the two Fighting Types as soon as I landed, and then it would be me and Vix against Shane. Then with Vix's ability we could run through the Dungeon and go get help before they could catch us. I stepped forward confidently, but once again Smoke nearly gave me whiplash as he pulled me back. "On second thought," Smoke growled, "we go together."

So much for that plan. Once we landed, Smoke set me back down. "Remember, one wrong move, and you are dead!"

Before I could check on Vix, the Gurdurr, Stanley I think, spoke up. "Why wait? We know he is a threat. Why not just take him out now?"

"Yeah," Quake said as he landed, "why give him the chance to attack us? Just kill him."

I reflexively backed away.I didn't like where this conversation was headed. Smoke grinned at me (more like bared his teeth at me) and prodded me forward. Thankfully at that moment Sparkle floated down to join in the conversation..

"You all never said anything about killing him." The Alolan Raichu glanced at the others. "I never signed on for this."

"You didn't really have a choice," Shane said. Unlike the others he didn't sound excited for my death, but it didn't seem to freak him out like Sparkle. "We needed an Electric Type to take out their badges."

"But if I had known that…" Sparkle argued. I lost track of the conversation. I doubted that Sparkle would be able to convince the others to spare me. I needed a plan.

The obvious answer would be to show my hand and hold Vix's Firestone over their heads, but any number of things could go wrong. Smoke could jump her and take the stone, and even if we convinced the others to leave us alone, we were headed right to the center of the storm so to speak. Back at their HQ, any number of Hatred members could surprise us. I needed to think that move through more before I played it. What I needed was something to buy me one or two days.

Vix was staring at me, looking horrified. My gut twisted. I wished she didn't have to go through this. I wished I could spare her from all this. That being said, there was one thing that I had to take care of. The backup plan.

I glanced at Sparkle, only to find that she was still arguing with Shane and the others. I only had seconds. Gathering my power, I sent a quick message to Vix while the others were distracted. Vix, I know you don't want to hear this, but if anything happens to me Evolve Immediately. Do you understand?

Vix's eyes widened as she received my message. She began to shake her head vigorously and constantly. I fixed her with a steely gaze. "Yes," I said firmly.

She didn't get a chance to answer. All of the Hatred members were looking expectantly at Shane. I realized with a jolt that he was about to decide my fate. He seemed to shrug. "I think that we should act sooner rather than later. Smoke would you like to do the honors?" I felt my heart freeze for a few moments, and then it started pounding as fast as it could. Vaguely I wondered if it was trying to get as many beats in as possible before it was stopped for good.

"Nooo," Vix shrieked. She dove at me, but she was grabbed by Stanley. She scratched him badly as she clawed to get free. The Gurdurr growled and pinned her to the wall. There were several grating screeches as her claws scrabbled against the wall.

I couldn't focus on her. My mind raced as the Greninja advanced on me, a smirk plastered across his face. Instinctively I backed away with every step he took, but all too soon my back was pressed against unyielding stone. Smoke held out his hands, one on top of the other, a few inches apart. He seemed to concentrate for a moment before shadows began forming between them. At first it was only oily black smoke, but soon the mass of shadow between his hands seemed to distort the world around it. I knew that if it struck me, I would be done.

My brain frantically searched for something to say, something I could do to stop what I knew was coming. But nothing seemed to come to mind. "Any last words?" Smoke teased. "Tears to shed? Want to beg?"

And then I had an idea. "Shane, I thought Eve's life meant more to you than this!" I nearly vomited the words out, trying to get them into the air as quickly as possible. At the same time though, I made sure to enunciate. There was no point if Shane didn't understand me.

I saw a flicker of uncertainty in his features. "Smoke...wait…" he mumbled. Instead the Greninja thrust his hands forward, the energy he had gathered about to explode in a burst of Darkness. But at the last second Shane dove forward, knocking Smoke's elbow, and sent the shot whizzing through the sky. "I said wait!" Shane snapped.

Before Smoke could reply, the Umbreon turned on me. "What do you mean? About Eve?"

I took a deep breath. One wrong step, and I was done. I had to play this carefully. "Well, I saved her life. But if you didn't know, honestly I shouldn't be the one to tell you." I turned to the Greninja whose black skin had turned grey at my words. "Smoke, would you like to do the honors?"

Smoke glared at me, and I could feel another Dark Pulse coming. Shane glanced between the two of us, finally settling on Smoke. "Well?"

"It was the day when we had attempted to bring in the runaway. The young Absol." Smoke's speech became rougher, as though he was spitting each word out. It actually looked painful. "After you had been knocked out of the fight, I took the opportunity to eliminate the Fennekin. Unfortunately your Eve…"

"What happened to Eve?" Shane growled low in his throat.

"He nearly killed her," I answered helpfully.

"What?!" Shane shouted glaring at the Greninja. "I told you that Eve isn't to be harmed. Ever. Did you not understand? Did you miss? What the hell happened?"

"I was aiming for the Fennekin," Smoke snapped, "but Eve pushed him out of the way and took my shot instead. There was nothing that I could have done!"

"Does it really matter," I asked innocently, "I mean dead is dead, and Smoke nearly killed her."

"You took her to the hospital," Smoke snapped back at me, "anyone could have done the same. You didn't save her life."

"It was certainly a close run thing at the hospital. That was a pretty grevious wound you gave her. I am probably the only one on our team who could have gotten her there in time. But if that isn't enough…" I turned to face Shane. He would be my judge and jury here. I only needed to convince him in order to avoid the executioner. "She was bleeding out. I gave her some of my blood. I gave her a lot of my blood. I am certainly the only one on my team, perhaps on the whole continent who could have done that." I didn't mention that my blood was just as likely to kill her. I didn't think that fact would help my case.

Shane glared at me. "So what?" he challenged, but he didn't sound very convincing.

I shrugged, trying to appear calm. "I don't know. I'm just saying that I saved your ex-partner's life, while your right hand here nearly killed her. Seems like you would at least thank a guy for that kind of service."

Shane rolled his eyes, but his glare flickered for the smallest moment. "Fine. Thank you. Now what?"

"Well, I assume that you will kill me now. But, I saved the one you love. What does that mean to you?"

That was it. All my cards were down. I just prayed to all of the Legendaries that he wouldn't call my bluff. Shane stared silently at me. I could almost feel his mind whirring. He broke his gaze looking down at the ground and growled to himself. He spat out a word that I could only hope that Vix didn't hear.

"What do you want Fennekin?" he finally snapped. I felt a small surge of victory, but I couldn't let it take me over. I still had to play this safe.

"I only need a few days. To get my affairs in order, make sure that Vix is fine. Just one week. Then you can execute me. Just one week."

The other Hatred members muttered angrily. I felt them exchanging glances behind me. Shane looked around at them too. He shifted from foot to foot. For a moment he was acting like his life was on the line. Finally he shook his head.

"I can't. You are too dangerous." I hung my head, my heart dropping. I heard Smoke move up behind me. "I can't do a week," Shane said. "I'll give you three days."

"What?" Smoke growled. He instantly lost all focus on me. He advanced on the Umbreon, but Shane stood his ground. "We have to kill the Fennekin! He is too dangerous!"

"I don't care who he is. I am not going to kill him today. He deserves at least a little respect. Besides I think the rest of the team would like to see the end of the Fennekin."

For perhaps the thousandth time I wondered why I was so dangerous. Why did they need to eliminate me?

"And that goes for all of you. Nobody so much as touches the Fennekin without my permission. He is under my protection until the date of his execution. Is that clear?" There was an uncommitting grumble from the rest of the Hatred. "I'm sorry, perhaps you didn't hear me. Is that clear?!" This time there was a unanimous cry of "Yes, Sir" but none of them seemed too happy about it. "Good," Shane snapped, "now let's move. I want to be out of this Dungeon before sunset!"

We had barely moved one step before Shane turned back to us. "On second thought search them. We don't want any nasty surprises." The Throh went over to Vix and began roughly, albeit professionally patting her down. Smoke came forward to search me, but hovered sarcastically over me glaring at Shane.

"You may search him." Shane growled rolling his eyes. "Hurry up."

My search didn't take long. I didn't have anything on me. There wasn't anything to find. Smoke did pause when he found my necklace. He turned the grey stone side to side examining it closely before he let it drop back to my chest. "Nothing," he called to the others.

The entire time however my gaze was leveled at Vix. The Throh started at her neck, obviously searching for a necklace like mine. Failing that, he ran his hands along all four of her legs. He must have squeezed her front left leg or something because I heard her gasp in pain. I shot a look at Shane, but he didn't take his eyes off Vix. I bit my tongue. Protesting and threatening now would only tip them off.

Finally the only place left to search were her tails. He hesitated briefly, shooting a nervous glance at Shane. "Er, Shane, the ummm, the tails they can't, uh…"

Vix shifted her weight, her tails rustling as they moved to counterbalance. I saw a brief flash of green, like cut glass. It had to be the Firestone. She had it clutched in her second tail, the same one that marked her as a Navigator.

"No, she's only a Vulpix. Her tails won't be able to curse you until she becomes a Ninetales. Now finish up!" Crash nodded before resuming his search.

Thankfully he started on her leftmost tail, the farthest from where she hid the stone. He carefully combed his fingers through her fur, up and down until he had searched the whole tail. Honestly I wanted to protest that he was getting a bit too close to her tail base, but again I didn't want to make them suspicious. He slowly worked his way to her fourth tail, the one next to the one that held the stone.

I silently praised her acting skills as she suddenly jerked forward as he investigated her tail. It was only natural that he would grab ahold it as it pulled away from him. That was all Vix needed. She yelped and then turned sharply, ripping her tail from his grasp. "Hey, that hurt!"

I jumped in instantly. "Shane, stop! If he hurts Vix again I will kill him."

Shane regarded me dryly. "I'm sure it won't happen again. Will it?" He addressed the last question to Crash who was staring at me, terror written across his face. He nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he rambled. He moved towards Vix who recoiled half a step, wringing her tails together nervously. I noticed several more flashes of green as she used the moment to shuffle the stone's position.

"Enough of this," Smoke spat. I think we had finally pushed him to the end of his rope. He yanked Vix towards him and sloppily combed through her two remaining tails. He paused as he encountered her bracelet. He lifted it up (and her tail with it) so he could examine it more closely.

Not for the first time I silently thanked Kegan for the bracelet he picked. I had only asked for a plain golden band with a place to set the Firestone. He had thankfully seen the folly in that. In a situation like the one we were in, Smoke would see the plain band, notice the empty setting, and then more fully search Vix to find the Stone. Vix's actual bracelet was more like two thin gold bands, an inch or two apart. Intricate designs sculpted in golden wire connected both sides. The setting was cleverly disguised, and even more brilliantly it suspended the stone in the bracelet so that in a pinch Vix would be touching the stone and therefore able to use it without taking the bracelet off.

Still, I didn't relax until Smoke had let Vix's tail go. After all, it was only a bracelet. "Nothing here either," he spat at Shane. I took note of the angry tension between the two. Perhaps it was something I could use later.

"Fantastic," Shane said with all the enthusiasm of Vix taking a bath, "let's move."

It took us two hours to clear the Dungeon. It was actually entertaining in a way. Sparkle was obviously the "navigator" of the group, but she just couldn't match Vix. In fact after every turn Sparkle made, I could hear Vix muttering under her breath. "That other path was a shortcut…glad she isn't worried about that nest of ferals up ahead…oh, I see we are taking the scenic route…"

Thankfully we only had three more floors to clear. When we finally escaped the Dungeon we were much higher up on the mountain slopes than when we had entered, although we were still nowhere near the top.

The Hatred formed up around us even tighter now that we were out in the open. Of course I didn't really plan on making a break for it. And I swear that Smoke juggling a Sharrukin casually behind my back had nothing to do with it.

We continued up the slope for an hour or so until we eventually ran into a road. We followed that up several switchbacks until we finally reached the peak of the mountain pass and Shane called a break. They gave Vix and I a few mouthfuls of water and a few thin strips of dried beef each. Vix devoured hers in the time that it took me to eat one. She glanced at me sheepishly, and I discreetly passed her half of my remaining food.

We continued down the other side of the mountain spine for a few hours before we reached the valley between the Scale mountains and the Crimson Peak at the center of the continent. In the back of my mind I hoped we wouldn't pass by Lake Ogon and my former home. I knew it was impossible, but I could have sworn that I saw a black mark on the side of the Volcano.

We reached the base of the Crimson Peak just as the sun was beginning to set. Sparkle left the group, flying off into the thick trees that surrounded the base of the Volcano. She floated back a few minutes later. "This way," she muttered to Shane before floating off once again.

We followed her off the path into the trees and eventually we came across a set of caves that honeycombed the clifface there. Shane glanced at Sparkle raising an eyebrow. "You're sure?"

Sparkle nodded. She flitted up to the sheer cliff face and raked aside a curtain of ivy with her tail. I felt my stomach twist with the symbol she uncovered. It was carved into the sheer face with black tar rubbed into the etchings. It seemed to be an upside down tree. A closely knit snarl of roots pointed skyward, but the odd thing was that the tree was also bare, or dead. Skeletal branches stretched downward zig-zagging like lightning. The whole thing made me think of death and destruction. It was a dark image.

"Fantastic," Shane grinned. "Stanley, you go get water. Crash, you search the caves and find the cache. Quake, you go gather some firewood. Don't bother with any tiny kindling, I'm sure our new friends will help us out."

I rolled my eyes at him, but he didn't notice. The Hatred members fanned out leaving Shane, Smoke, and Sparkle. "Do you need me to do anything?" Sparkle asked as she watched the others go.

Shane shook his head. "I need you and Smoke to help watch these two. Come on, let's get inside."

The interior of the cave was not what I expected. It was larger than what I anticipated for one thing. The entrance was little more than a gap between two of the rocks, but inside it widened out into an almost perfectly circular cavern. The ceiling was really low, but the space was almost one hundred feet across. The natural stone floor only existed near the cave mouth. After that the floor was covered in fine, soft, white sand. A small circle of stones that were almost in the exact center of the cave marked a fire pit.

The more I looked, the more I realized that this cave had been carved out to be usable. Heck, the sand wasn't natural. Looking at this, for lack of a better term, hideout made me nauseous. The Hatred was well supplied and more organized than anyone in the Expedition Society expected.

We all sat down in the sand considering we didn't have anything to do. After a while Sparkle drifted to the back of the cave and disappeared through another cleft in the rocks. She came back with a roll of canvas under each arm. She tossed one to Shane and Smoke and then went into the back again. She came back out carrying four more. She tossed two onto the sand, and then threw the fourth one at me. I barely managed to stop it from smacking me. I watched as Shane, Smoke, and Sparkle unwrapped their bundles. It was a large rectangle of canvas with a couple of blankets and a pillow wrapped within.

"There was only one bedroll left," Sparkle apologized to me as she saw me studying it. The thing was militaristic in design. The pillow being just functional, and the blankets were thin cotton. Of course I wasn't worried about Vix or me getting cold.

I shrugged. "Vix and I can share. Can't we?" I glanced at Smoke questioningly. I could tell that he wanted to tell us no (he knew that I was planning something, but he couldn't know what) but he also couldn't find a reason to say no.

Thankfully it was around that time that the others came back. Quake was first, with his arms full of bare branches. He immediately dropped the stack onto the sandy floor before quickly piling a few branches into the fire pit. "I didn't bother with any kindling," he commented before looking at me. "Light it," he commanded.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You seem to be missing a few words in that sentence." I muttered.

Quake nodded. "Sorry. Light it, or else. Does that work for you?"

There was a brief silence as we glared at each other. Then I unceremoniously spat a single ember into the pile of branches. They caught almost immediately filling the darkening cave with yellow light and the cheerily crackling of flames. I couldn't help but relax as I saw them. Fire was an ally, part of me.

The other two reappeared soon enough, one clutching a tall metal bucket full to the brim with water, and the second carrying a metal box with a blue stone embedded in the lid. He pushed it towards Quake as soon as he entered the cave. "Ugh, those are so uncomfortable to carry," he grumbled wringing his hands, "I can barely feel my fingers."

"Hey, an Ice box means fresh food," Quake consoled, "would you rather have dry rations?" He didn't wait for an answer as he set the box on the ground and opened it. I could see mist rising from it as it opened, but that was nothing compared to what it contained. There were dozens of berries on top. Below them was a huge side of beef, and a few more basic things like potatoes and a few greens.

Without asking permission, I reached over and grabbed a Pecha berry from the top of the box. I rolled it between two of my claws. The skin was cold to the touch, and my body heat caused mist to form across the surface. I bit into it, almost sighing as the sweet juices exploded into my mouth.

"Impressive isn't it?" Quake smirked. "Bet you haven't seen anything like this before have you? Don't have any ice boxes at your Expedition Society?"

"How does it..?" I mumbled. Quake spun the box around and lifted the lid, showing me the blue stone embedded in it. I felt a chill run through my body as the cold blue light washed over me. I could just make out a large blue snowflake encased in the stone.

"Ice stone," Quake laughed. "Now go sit down. Unless you want to cook dinner."

Quake worked for over an hour, but it was worth it considering the savory stew he had ended up making. Vix had tucked into hers with gusteau, but I hesitated when Quake offered me some. There are so many ways he could have tampered with mine. I knew for a fact that Smoke probably knew a Poison Type move. He could have easily spiked my bowl.

"You should take it," Quake advised. "We don't have many hard rations left, and we definitely won't be wasting any more on you."

I didn't argue and quickly took the stew. Vix watched me with wide eyes the whole time because she had already finished hers. I ate half, and then passed Vix the rest. I looked up to see Shane staring at me.

Once dinner was finished the others began unrolling their bedrolls and settling down for bed. "How are we doing watches tonight?" Sparkle asked Shane.

Shane regarded the cave. "Obviously Crash and Stanley can't keep watch alone, but they should be fine if they stick together." Smoke said softly. Shane nodded. "That leaves five of us each with an hour shift. I'll go first, and Smoke will go last, you all can figure out the rest."

Everyone settled down, sinking into their blankets. Smoke extinguished the fire with a loud hiss before dragging his roll over to the mouth of the cave. I doubted whether he would actually sleep tonight, not when he was making sure that no matter what Vix and I did we weren't going to escape.

I gave Vix the pillow. She curled up on top of it, using her tails as a blanket. I settled down next to her with my back pressed against hers. I let out a sigh as I tried to relax. I watched as Sparkle, the Fighters, and Quake whispered to each other trying to determine the turn order. Finally they broke apart and tried to settle down. From what I gathered, the Fighters would take the second shift. That would be the only time I might have a chance to discuss things with Vix. I only had to wait one hour.

"Slink," Vix said tentatively. "Slink, I… um… could you...uh...I'd feel better if…"

I smiled at her before I stood up. I turned around so that I was curled around her and then lay down once again. "Thanks." Vix purred. Soon enough Vix was asleep, but I didn't let myself drift off. I would get one shot to talk to Vix tonight and that window could pass in an instant.

It felt like an eternity, but an hour finally passed, and it was the Fighter's turn to keep watch. I counted out twenty minutes into their watch, then I sent a tiny Psychic suggestion into both of their minds. Sleep. Both of them slumped over instantly. I glanced over at Smoke. He was laying on his back with his hands folded on his chest. His eyes were closed, but I knew he was listening and waiting for the slightest sound.

I shifted slowly, trying to make as little sound as possible, until my snout was pressed into Vix's ear. "Vix…" I breathed.

There was a long silence, until. "Slink?" She was even quieter than I was.

I laughed to myself. Of course she was awake. "Vix, this is our only shot to talk for awhile. How are you doing?"

"I'm…er…" she paused. And even as silent as the conversation had been I could hear her tone change. She lost her bravado, and she sounded like what she was. A scared kid. "Slink, why? Why did you let us get captured? Why didn't you let me evolve?"

I bit my lip. The correct answer here wasn't 'because I am selfish'. "Vix, did you really want to Evolve? If you had been captured all alone, different story. I would tell you to Evolve immediately. But since we are together, I think we can use your Firestone against them. We might be able to use it as leverage."

Vix shivered against me. "Slink… do you have a plan?"

I couldn't lie to her on this one. "Not a whole plan. More like a bunch of ideas. I'm not sure I can put the whole thing together until I have all the information."

We were silent for a count of five minutes. "Vix where is your Firestone?"

"My third tail. Why? Where should I put it?"

"Tuck it between your tail and the bracelet. On the bottom, or on the side where nobody will see it."

"Sure." Vix grumbled to herself and twisted, tucking her tails closer to her. To anyone watching Vix was simply shifting in her sleep, but I knew she was shuffling the stone. "Okay."

"I need to wake the Fighters up soon, or things will start looking suspicious. This may be our only chance to talk for a while. Is there anything else you want to say?"

"Slink...this might sound horrible but… of course I wish we weren't captured, but I'm glad that you are here with me."

I curled tighter around Vix. "I'm glad I'm with you too. Goodnight Vix. I love you."

"I love you too Slink."