A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! Part 3 is well under way now, and pretty soon you'll start to see 'special chapters', with the first one coming in a few chapters' time! These are key to the story, and I encourage reading them when you encounter them. I have a few planned, and they will cover character backstory as well as events in Estellis' past. The original write-up did have character one-shots, which were posted separate from the main story. These are going to have a major overhaul, so if you've read them already there will be major changes as well as some serious neatening up!
15 - Daylight Assault
The moon was high in the sky, bathing the mountain in its cool silvery light. The rugged slope began to level out, the stone gradually turning to soft, comfortable grass beneath Harbinger's feet. The worst of it was behind them now as Harbinger and his friends wound their way down, following the river as it rushed away from them, twinkling with starlight. Mountain terrain was no problem to the absol. He was used to coming and going from the mountains all across Estellis, and like any absol he was cut out for a variety of terrains. But despite his snowy coat and thickly furred feet, he didn't feel at home in the snowy peaks. They offered a fantastic view of the surrounding woodlands and villages, but they were often wrought with memories. Terrible ones that reeked of nightmares. He never felt comfortable in them.
They reminded him of home. Well… to use the term loosely. Nowhere felt like home.
Not anymore.
A sharp cry snapped him out of his reverie and he froze, one paw raised above the ground as he tried to work out the nature of the voice. It wasn't a warning of oncoming danger. No assault headed his way. No, it was a cry of distress. A desperate plea for help.
Harbinger's muzzle creased and he turned away from it, following the curve of the river. He didn't do 'help'. He was an absol. They brought disaster, not aide. No one would accept help from an absol anyway.
As he pressed on, Scratch and Claw grew more and more restless. Their huge, round eyes surveyed the land across the river, searching the shadows and twitching at every cry. They were growing louder now, and Harbinger gave the passing trees a sideways glance. That's where the din had come from. He snorted and ignored it, moving with deliberation to draw the pawniard twins after him.
Doom and disaster. That's what absol are believed to bring. So that's what he'd always bring.
Scratch rubbed his blades over his metal chest, the shrill scrape irritating Harbinger yet it barely reached the pokemon on the other side of the river. The pawniard's posture grew more withdrawn, and Harbinger finally looked up to see what had distressed the small steel-type.
A female meowstic sat outside a blue tent, one Harbinger could easily have overlooked if it weren't for the noise. The feline was on edge, tense, her tails bristling as she searched the canopy. The reason lay beside her, sprawled on the floor, legs flailing weakly. A zorua. Bedraggled, exhausted, their voice cracking with the stress of endless screaming.
That behaviour alone told Harbinger the zorua was a prisoner. Dark-type pokemon didn't frolic with psychic-types. Then there was the second clue. The blue markings adorning the zorua's small body. The flash of blue eyes.
Harbinger lowered his head and his eyes narrowed as the fur rose along his hackles. He knew that zorua. Its pitiful cries rang out, carrying with it every emotion the wretched creature felt. Distress, fear, desperation.
Abandonment.
Harbinger turned his face away and moved on. Thick, dry mud wedged uncomfortably between his claws. Scratch and Claw trotted to keep up with him, only glancing back once at the deep rivets in the soil where Harbinger had been standing.
...
Cleo crawled out of her tent, the morning sun's warm rays bouncing off the river and dazzling her tired eyes. She flinched back and rubbed a paw over her face, trying to work some enthusiasm into herself. She rose to her feet and strolled past Spark who was lying spread-eagled on her back beside Mischief. The latter gave a wide yawn and stretched languidly.
Spark cracked an eye open when Cleo stopped beside her. "Oh, Cleo! I'm so exhausted! You might have to feed me."
"I'm not feeding you, Spark. You're not an invalid." Cleo dropped her satchel beside the dedenne. "You can either feed yourself or go hungry."
Spark pushed herself up with one paw and reached for the bag. "I think I can manage."
Mischief looked up at Cleo and rubbed his bloodshot eyes. "I could use a drink."
Cleo gave a glance to Harlequin who had been standing silently beside her most of the night, after wearing their voice out from screaming. The zorua's back was arched and canines bared, which, alongside their bedraggled fur, gave them a somewhat feral appearance. But they were clearly exhausted. Even if Harlequin weren't confined, Cleo wouldn't be afraid. She was fairly sure in this state Harlequin could be taken out with one swipe of her paw.
"I think we're all thirsty," said Cleo. "But we need to test the water first. And lucky for us, we have just the pokemon to do that."
Harlequin let out a low snarl which Cleo shrugged off as she turned towards the river, dragging the reluctant zorua behind her.
"I think you need a drink too," she said. "What with all that screaming you did last night."
To Cleo's surprise, the zorua was oddly compliant. They moved past her towards the river and gave it a cautious sniff. Then they plunged their head straight into it, gulping it down with noisy laps of their tongue. After a few seconds, Harlequin whipped their head back out and shook it dry. Cleo raised her paws to avoid being splattered, to no avail.
"It's fine." Harlequin marched into the water as far as their confines would allow and stopped up to their knees, glancing back at Cleo. "Come on. I need to get clean!"
Cleo narrowed her eyes. "How do I know this isn't some elaborate ploy for me to let you drown while we all die from poisoning?"
Harlequin snorted. "What, you think I'm gonna drown myself just to trick you lot into drinking poisoned water? I told you the water's fine! Now let me in so I can get this skuzz out of my fur!"
The three pokemon stared at the zorua for a moment, receiving a sapphire glare in return.
"Seviper venom is very fast acting," said Harlequin. "If I was poisoned, I'd be showing signs by now."
"How can we be so sure?" Spark asked.
"Simple." Harlequin smirked, but it wasn't a sinister one. More smug. One a haughty straight-A student might give to their underlings. "You can tell from the land alone that the poison here wasn't exactly at its weakest. Sure, it might have been a little diluted, but it would have caused much more than a mere tummy ache. What did you say it was? Seviper?"
Cleo nodded stiffly.
"Well, seviper didn't exactly die off from starvation, did they?" Harlequin went on, not taking their eyes off Spark. "No. When they hunted their little rodent prey, like yourself, the venom would need to act quickly, not give their lunch a five-minute chance to flee. We're talking asphyxiation. You're not gonna run for very long if you can't breathe."
Spark shuddered and sank to her bottom. "Well that's a nice image, thanks for that."
Harlequin let out a single laugh and turned back to the water. "Now are you going to let me bathe or what?"
Cleo gave her friends a defeated look and waded further into the water. Harlequin immediately set to work tugging tangled leaves and twigs from their shaggy coat. They grimaced as they tugged a particularly stubborn stick out along with a clump of fur, muttering to themselves under their breath.
"You only have yourself to blame for this," Cleo stated.
"Oh yeah?" Harlequin fixed her with one livid eye. "And who's the one who dragged me through the forest?"
"I wouldn't have had to drag you if you'd just cooperated."
"Why would I cooperate with the enemy?!"
"To make things a little easier for the both of us!" Then Cleo added, a little under her breath, "Although you only made things difficult for yourself."
Harlequin barked, lunging at Cleo, causing a cascade of water to rise up over the both of them. Cleo strafed to the side, lashing out with her claws. Neither of them landed a hit. The pair flew apart, landing with a mighty splash in the river.
"Do you mind!" Spark wailed.
Spark stood beside Mischief on the river bank, the pair dripping from head to foot.
"We're trying to have a drink here," she said. "And you two are fighting in the water like a couple of hatchlings!"
Cleo stared at the gasping and stunned zorua, hunched over and dripping in the river. So the collar worked both ways. Neither of them could land a hit on the other so long as Cleo was wearing that bracelet.
"She has a point." Cleo flicked water from her eyes and moved towards the bank. "Get cleaned up so we can move on."
She didn't leave the river, staying enough in it that Harlequin had enough water to work with. Cleo stooped to have a quick drink then turned to address her companions.
"I'll be honest, I have no idea where we're meant to be going," she said.
"Neither do we," said Spark. "We talked about it in depth last night."
Mischief nodded and twirled a claw in his creamy fur. "Maybe we just… ask if anyone has evidence of a new pokemon type whenever we reach an Outcast town?"
Cleo sighed at that. She'd already thought over that idea, and in some way had dismissed it. But perhaps it really was their only option?
"Mischief does have a point," she said. "But I can't help but fear it's a bit of an odd question to randomly ask someone."
"Yeah, and what if they do have evidence of a new type?" said Spark. "How do we even test it?"
All three looked over at Harlequin. The zorua lay on their back in the water, flailing their limbs to splash it over their body. Noticing the group's staring eyes, Harlequin paused to give them a vicious snarl.
"No," Cleo said firmly. "She's with us as a bargaining tool, not a punching bag."
"Yeah, but I bet Tinker would beg to differ." Spark waved a paw. "She's the wrong type anyway."
Harlequin sat up again to groom their fur with their teeth. Both ears were trained towards the bank, listening into the conversation. Not a surprise, given they'd need all the information they could get if they wanted to find a chance to escape. Cleo looked down at the river lapping over her hips and drenching her tails. She was getting very wet, but she refused to show the zorua she was unhappy about it.
"I think our only option is what Mischief has suggested," she said. "We find the nearest Outcast town, and ask."
"Yeah, I guess." Spark took a huge bite out of an oran berry. "Mischief can't be the only one to show this new type, can he?"
Cleo wanted to say 'he might be' but didn't want to drag everyone down more than they already were. Things were already looking bleak. Outcasts towns weren't as populous as they once were, and now they were dragging a notorious assassin around with them.
As if she'd read her thoughts, Spark nodded to the zorua. "And what about her? What do we do with her when we do find a settlement?"
Cleo glanced back at Harlequin and shrugged. "She's no harm to anyone so long as I keep her away from them. So… you two would have to do most of the work, I'm afraid."
Harlequin looked up at that and shook water from their fur. "You really think it's a good idea to drag me into an Outcast town?"
"You're unarmed and detained," said Cleo. "You're hardly a threat right now."
"Yet not one of you managed to sleep?" Harlequin laughed and flashed their canines. "I'd say my threat is still pretty much intact."
"You didn't exactly reach any of your comrades last night, did you?" Cleo retorted.
Harlequin's ears pulled back and they let out a small snarl. "I have time to reach them yet."
Cleo blinked and looked away. Harlequin might not be a physical threat, but they were still a psychological one. If none of them managed to sleep, then they would soon become as weak as day-old hatchlings.
"I've actually noticed something," said Spark. "Where was the murkrow patrol last night? It seems as though Hydreigon's soldiers are growing as few and far between as Outcast towns."
"It's probably because he's driven most of us across Estellis," said Cleo. "And wiped out several species."
"Several hundred more like it." Spark slumped and lowered her berry. "Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever bounce back."
"You wont," said Harlequin.
"Don't make me muzzle you, zorua!" Cleo snapped.
"You can't," said Harlequin. "You've already shown you can't touch me. And if either of your friends try, I'll bite their faces off!"
Cleo bristled and turned away. She was much too tired to fight. She pulled her map from her bag and checked the location of the next Outcast town.
"There's a town we can visit just a day's walk from here," she said.
"A day's walk?" Spark sighed. "Another night in the open with no sleep?"
"I'm not happy about it either," said Cleo.
"Oh dear," Harlequin crooned. "Do you really think I'm going to keep you all up again?" They smirked at Cleo and inclined their head on one side. "Well there's an idea."
"Come on," Cleo tucked her map away. "You've had enough of a wash. We're moving."
Despite Harlequin's protests, Cleo dragged the soggy vulpine from the river. She set her satchel down by a tree and opened it to find something for breakfast, but a sudden spray of water rained down on the trio as Harlequin shook out their waterlogged coat.
"Eurgh, yuck!" Spark shook water off her whiskers. "Thanks for that, zorua!" Electricity danced over her damp fur.
"Don't." Cleo halted her with a raised paw and turned to Harlequin. "Have some berries. You'll need your strength, because we're not stopping until we reach the next town."
She placed two oran berries and a cheri before the zorua. The latter added to make walking easier for them, since the paralysis was still apparent in their right leg.
Harlequin lowered their head threateningly. "I'm not a herbivore."
"All pokemon eat berries," said Cleo. "But if you're good and actually walk for a change, I might share some of my fish."
Harlequin licked their lips, apparently considering that a tantalising enough offer. Then they ducked their head to pick up the cheri berry and swallowed it in two bites.
They all ate their breakfast in silence, and once Cleo had finished her fish jerky she gathered up her bag.
"We need to make tracks," she said. "At this time of year, the periods of daylight are getting shorter by the day."
"What do you mean by that?" Mischief asked as he fell into step beside her. "Are we losing daylight?"
"It means the cold season is drawing in," Spark explained.
"The cold season?" Mischief tapped his chin with a claw and tilted his head to the side. "What's the cold season?"
"Are you kidding me?!" Harlequin laughed. "You don't even know what the cold season is? How old are you?"
Mischief glanced back at the zorua. "I can't remember. How old should I be?"
"Really?" Harlequin scoffed. "What, are you some kind of dunce? How do you even survive?"
"Oi!" Spark leapt off Cleo's shoulder and stood sparking between her and Harlequin. "You leave my friend alone, all right? It's not his fault he has no memories, and I won't stand for a bully like you picking on him like that!"
Cleo turned slowly towards Spark, her heart beating in her throat.
"Besides," Spark went on. "You don't look very old yourself! I mean, you're not even evolved!"
Spark seemed oblivious, or fearless, of Harlequin's canines poking angrily from their lips. Cleo wanted to scoop her up, but the electricity buzzing from her whiskers made it a precarious endeavour. And she was standing stretched up to her full five inches of height right in the middle of what Cleo was beginning to think of as 'the danger zone'.
"How do you become an elite assassin if you don't fight enough to evolve?!" Spark went on. "It's not like your carrying an everstone, either."
"Shut up!" Harlequin barked.
"Spark!" Cleo leapt to her friend's side, but Harlequin didn't even twitch.
The zorua stood glaring at the dedenne, breathing heavily, a low growl resonating from deep in their throat. They were probably seething too much to have even realised Spark was within striking range.
"I don't have to explain myself to you!" Harlequin's voice was thick with danger.
"Really, Spark," said Mischief softly. "He didn't even upset me. You didn't have to lash out like that."
"Get back on my shoulder, Spark," Cleo demanded, not taking her eyes off Harlequin.
Spark looked between Mischief and Cleo, then slumped. "I suppose I didn't need to lash out. Urgh, she just really pushes my buttons."
"Spark! Shoulder!"
Spark shook herself and clambered back up onto Cleo's shoulder. Cleo turned her back sharply on Harlequin and marched on, ushering Mischief ahead of her until he was a safe enough distance away. Harlequin plodded along silently behind them, occasionally falling enough behind for it to tug on Cleo's bracelet.
...
"The problem with passing through a forest," said Spark bluntly, "is that it's difficult to see when you're leaving it when there's so little canopy."
Cleo had to agree. They'd been following the river for some time, and the forest didn't seem to end. With the combined efforts of the cooling season and the shock of poison, the leaves of the trees alongside them were very bare, letting light leak down into it constantly. Ordinarily when traversing a forest, an increase of light meant you were either nearing the outskirts of it, or a clearing.
They'd decided to stick close to the river, given the poison had driven all pokemon living near it further into the forest, and the lack of shadows meant there'd be a reduced chance of encountering any of Hydreigon's armies. The ground sloped up on either side, growing steeper the further they advanced. Trees stood at lop-sided angles, straining to stay upright on their thick roots that trailed down the slopes like coiling snakes. Thin willow branches swept over Cleo's fur and licked up froth from the rapids. Skeletal remains of what would have once been a lush paradise.
The path had narrowed so much the group had to move in single file, treading carefully to avoid slipping into the river. Mischief trudged on ahead, leading the way not by choice but to keep Harlequin at the back of the party. The wind whipped up, racing through the narrow gorge and whistling through the bare branches. Mischief's soft, creamy fur caught the breeze and whipped up, sending tufts soaring away behind them. Several times Cleo had to sweep them from her nose and whiskers.
Harlequin let out a bitter chuckle. "Oh, talk about smoke signals. Anyone's gonna find him at this rate."
Cleo tried to ignore the zorua, but deep down she feared they were right. She lifted her head to see past Mischief, squinting into the distance.
"It shouldn't be much longer now," she said. "If my calculations are right, we'll be out of the forest pretty soon."
Mischief glanced back at her. "What's beyond the forest?"
"The Glen." Cleo clambered over a fallen tree that now created an uneasy bridge across the river. "I've been there a few times, but I've never passed through it entirely."
"How come?" Mischief asked.
"The world is big, Mischief. I haven't been everywhere. But it will be a good opportunity to mark new places on my map."
A deep, resounding bellow cut through the roar of the river, shaking Cleo's insides with a deep primal fear. She froze, ducking slightly and raising her paws to her chest. She wasn't the only one. Mischief had frozen solid with his head turned towards the noise. Spark stood rigid on Cleo's shoulder, her ears pricked and nose twitching silently. Harlequin had one paw raised, their ears pivoting towards the terrible noise as it cut through the air once more.
"What did I tell you?" Harlequin gave Cleo a smirk that didn't feel genuine. "Smoke signals."
Cleo shook her head and ushered Mischief on. "No. There have been reports of noises in the forests. The Guild have investigated it, but no one has ever found anything."
"Could it be another one of Grey's illusions?" Mischief asked.
"Perhaps. Or something constructed to give out such a noise as a deterrent." Cleo swallowed dryly and gave a nervous glance back up the slope. The roar sounded again, closer this time. "But to be safe, let's speed up. I don't really want to find out what it is."
The group picked up their pace, scampering through the narrow gorge. Heavy footsteps exploded through the trees above them, followed by another gut-shaking roar and a sick crack. With a creak, one of the trees began to topple down towards the river, and Cleo let out a shriek. Mischief flattened himself to the floor and slid beneath the heavy trunk before it came down on top of him. Water erupted from the river with the impact, and shattered branches exploded through the air in a shower of splinters.
A hulking tyranitar thrashed above them, flailing its stubby limbs as it let out another blood-curdling howl. Thick chains hung from its limbs, clattering and clanging as it swung them around. Cleo shrieked again, turning to duck beneath the tree after Mischief. Spark had already left her shoulder and had squeezed her way through the smallest gap she could find. Harlequin shouted curses after the fleeing meowstic as they struggled to get past the fallen tree, scrabbling with their claws over the coarse bark.
"Wahay! Way to go, B! You found it!"
The heads of two lycanroc appeared at either side of the tyranitar. The one who'd spoken had one of the heavy chains in her jaws, while the other stood grinning at the Outcasts while clutching the other chain in his forepaws. The tyranitar struggled against them, causing both wolves to dig their claws into the ground in a bid to restrain it.
"Yo! We found the whimsicott!" the female barked over her shoulder. "It's over here!"
"Cleo…" Spark crouched beside Cleo's feet, staring up at the hulking tyranitar.
She didn't need to say anything else. Cleo couldn't take her eyes off it. It threw its head back again, howling and flailing against its restraints. Its eyes were full of fire, a madness she'd definitely seen before. And the lycanroc had said they'd found the whimsicott. Mischief…
Cleo's heart hammered against her chest as she put the pieces together.
Four more pokemon rushed to the edge of the gorge. A vigoroth, raichu, heliolisk and sandslash. Each one sported the crescent moon symbol on their right shoulders, and for the first time Cleo spotted the tattoo on the tyranitar and its two handlers. Although it was harder to spot beneath the dark fur of the midnight lycanroc.
"Oh ho!" said the vigoroth. "So Rio's crazy plan worked, eh?"
"Heretics!" Spark hissed.
The vigoroth's eyes narrowed. "Don't use that word, rodent!"
The sandslash flexed his claws while the two electric-types sparked dangerously.
"Now, let's see." The vigoroth scratched his nose. "Well, this is interesting. The three pokemon we were told to apprehend have gone'n'got themselves an ally!" He chortled and folded his arms. "Shouldn't you be serving Lord Hydreigon, eh, little zorua?"
Harlequin bared their canines. "I am not their ally! And I'm no friend of yours either!"
"Yeah, well, we'll take you with us anyway." The vigoroth waved a claw. "Grab 'em!"
The four pokemon rushed them, leaving the lycanroc pair to deal with the tyranitar. Spark leapt up between the onslaught and Cleo, her body flashing as she lashed out with her discharge. The raichu intersected, raising his tail high and channelling her attack into his body.
He looked up and gave her a wicked grin. "Thanks for the boost, sweetheart!"
His cheeks sparked and a huge bolt of lightning left his body, hitting spark head on. The small dedenne flew back from him, and Cleo leapt to catch her before she hit the ground. Cleo rolled into the fallen tree, clutching Spark to her body. As she pushed herself back to her feet, she spotted the vigoroth rushing her, claws spread. She unfurled her ears, blasting him back from her with her psychic. It was enough time to quickly assess the situation and plan a path to escape. But they were in much worse shape than their allies. Harlequin was a burden strapped to Cleo's wrist. They couldn't attack, and likely wouldn't given the chance. Mischief leapt back and forth, tossing energy balls to keep the sandslash and heliolisk at bay. The tyranitar thrashed against its restraints in an attempt to get closer to the whimsicott. Cleo didn't like the hunger in its eyes. Foam had gathered around its lips and spittle flew with every snap of its jaws.
"Easy, B!" said the midday lycanroc. "You might get to eat them later, hey?"
The midnight one laughed at that, his red eyes almost as crazed as the tyranitar's.
Cleo's mouth turned bone dry. If they were going to get away, then she first had to deal with Mischief's problem. And there was always the risk he'd lose control himself. And if they let the tyranitar loose… no, she couldn't think about that. Not yet.
Cleo rushed to Mischief's aide, trapping the heliolisk in her psychic. Mischief quickly got the message and focused his attacks on the sandslash. The pangolin took an energy ball to the stomach and struck the ground hard on his bottom, letting out a shrill hiss. Cleo brought the heliolisk down on top of him, but a sharp pain to her neck caused her to gasp. The bubble released, letting the heliolisk fall short and land on his feet.
Cleo raised a paw to her neck, and her claws fastened around a feather dart. She looked back at the vigoroth standing a few feet away. He held a small blow dart in his claws. Cleo's heart sank. She'd miscalculated. Assumed he was down for the count. And now they were all in trouble.
She opened her mouth to shout, but it came out as a weak breath. The world began to spin and she sank to her knees. She thought she saw Mischief turn to help her, but she wasn't sure. A heavy fog descended on her like a blanket and she flopped to her side in the soft, dry leaves.
...
Harbinger had heard the chaos long before he saw it. A deep, bellowing roar that turned his blood cold. The shouts and cries, the crash of trees and bodies. Lightning that had lit up the bare canopy.
Curiosity had got the better of him. He followed the river back upstream until he found it, and he sat and watched, sheltered behind a brittle shrubbery. Scratch and Claw sat a little way away, bracing themselves perchance the battle turned towards them.
It was a spectacle. Heretics battling with the Outcasts. A chaos of attacks lighting up the air, backed by the bellows from the enraged beast in chains. The Outcasts had lost the battle before it had even begun. Harbinger had watched transfixed. The tyranitar was what had piqued his interest. A massive behemoth struggling against its restraints held by a stubborn pair of lycanroc. Deranged, crazed.
Then there was the whimsicott. As soon as the meowstic had fallen, his demeanour had changed. Warped, as crazed as the tyranitar. The vigoroth barely stood a chance. If it weren't for the heliolisk who had managed to grab the blow-dart, the vigoroth would have come off a lot worse. But once the whimsicott was down, the battle was won.
The zorua… Harlequin… had turned into a feral ball of fur, snapping and barking as they tried to flee the scene to no avail. Realising their plight, the assassin had soon begun pleading for their life, for their freedom. Pathetic. Another dart, and they were down for the count. Silenced. Motionless. Harbinger's hackles rose as a deep hatred welled up inside him. That was his job. He was the one who was meant to kill the zorua, not a group of Heretics.
The Outcast group was picked up carefully, one by one, and taken away.
Why? Why would they gather up them up? Had they not been killed after all?
Harbinger raised his head to get a clearer view. The meowstic's limp body flopped over the vigoroth's arms. Her chest rose and fell as if she were only sleeping.
Harbinger narrowed his eyes in thought. They were up to something. Something that certainly piqued the absol's curiosity. He slowly rose to his feet, watching the Heretics as they vanished over the lip of the gorge. The tyranitar's cries echoed through the forest, slowly fading into the distance.
Once he was certain he wouldn't be spotted, Harbinger slipped from his hiding spot and, with a commanding glance back at his twin allies, he picked up the Heretics' trail and followed.
...
Review Replies:
AdamFics - Thanks for the review! You'll find out about the swablu egg in due time ;) As for your question about the dragons, Hydreigon did drop a hint in an earlier chapter concerning the salamence, Ripwing, who he was very unhappy to hear the name of. So... you may be onto something with your theory!
Thanks, everyone! Please R&R!
