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Guys, it has been way too long. Life kinda caught up with me; applying to Grad school + finals + actually having a social life abroad (what, that was possible? 0_0) + traveling = I stink at updating. In other news, I'm going to Japan in thirty minutes. Thus, this will be brief.

Sorry, guys, no personal reviews this time. I figured you'd rather have a chapter than not, and with my flight taking off pretty soon, time is limited. I promise personal responses next update, which should be around beg/mid Jan.

Previously, Anita and Erin were saved Cereal City from a poison Pokemon attack. Liam went back to Drape Town and was confronted by Landon. For more information, re-skim last chapter. Sorry, guys. Again, figure you'd rather have a chapter than not simply because I'm running low on time.

Thank you to my readers and reviewers, who put up with my update incompetence!

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Chapter 46: Preparations

I paused before I entered the gym, examining my tousled blonde hair in a window. I ran a hand through it, then brushed a bit of lint off of my shirt which read, "All revere Jake Veneer!" Winking at my reflection, I stood up tall and strolled through the revolving doors into the Artemis Town gym.

"All right, I'm here to…" My voice echoed around the large dome. Nobody was here.

Shit, this was lame. I sat down on a bleacher bench. First the chirpy trio ditches me in the middle of the night, then this.

Alright, alright. I could chase after Anita, Erin, and the Mendol kid. Some friends they were, leaving without so much as a note or message. And Erin'd said she'd battle the gym leaders with me.

Whatever. I didn't need them. I stood up, slowly walking towards the gym exit.

No, I knew someone better suited to challenge the gym with me anyway.

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

I groggily awoke to arguing voices.

"Kyle, you're a damn moron. You can't host a catwalk when there's still so much damage control to be done."

"So do you suggest we sit by and illustrate to all of Acceber that terrorism is an effective means of silencing a city? That's unacceptable."

"No, I suggest you wait for a more appropriate time to execute the fashion show. After this mess is sorted out…"

As the voices rose in the adjacent room, I sat up in my unfamiliar bed, rubbing my eyes. I was in a dark room, dimly lit by the light seeping in around the thick drapes of two large windows beside my bed's headboard. Erin was collapsed at the end of my bed, her arms cradling her head on the comforter and her body sagging in a plastic chair.

I felt around my waist for my PokeBalls. Not finding them, I tugged the sheets off of me immediately. {Apple?} I called. No answer. Finding my psychic abilities somewhat recovered, I reached out in a wide circle—not panicking, nope not panicking, not panicking…

The sheets got caught on my jean zipper as I climbed out of bed, and the movement woke up Erin. "Anita? Oh, good, you're okay. Arceus, who's causing all that clamor?"

One of the loud voices rose further. "I'm just sayin—"

"Hey!" Erin yelled over her shoulder. "Will you SHUT IT? Some of us are trying to sleep!"

Silence.

Erin sighed then yawned. "What time is it?"

I glanced at my PokeTech. "Nearly one in the afternoon. Where're Apple and my Pokemon?"

"In the Pokemon Center with Styx and the other nurses," Erin answered, waving to the window behind me. I immediately focused my mind in that direction and felt a prickle of Apple's awareness as she sent a psychic pulse to me. "You'd be next door in the hospital if there was enough room. Half the patients were transferred to Artemis and the hospital and Pokemon Center are still overflowing. Or at least they were six hours ago." Erin stood up and stretched as I fell back onto the bed.

"Is everyone alright?" I asked, worried about how Vanilla and Allo may have fared.

"Most will be. The Pokemon will be able to recover quickly, at least. Cereal City citizens might take a little longer. Not sure if anyone died…"

I pulled my sore ankle onto the bed, rubbing it guiltily. I'd only been thinking about my Pokemon. I asked anyway, "Are our Pokemon okay?"

"Yeah, didn't I just say Pokemon recover from poison quickly?"

Two men walked into the room. One was the pajama man who'd arrived at the dump with Erin yesterday. He was still wearing his set of weird, old blue pajamas. The other man looked vaguely familiar. He had a boyish face with hair buzzed to a bristly veneer and eyes the color of the Palute Sea on a cloudy day.

"Gordon, you woke us up," Erin accused the pajama man.

Gordon shrugged, scratching at his stubble-covered chin. "And yet the world keeps spinning. Erin and uh… em…" Gordon looked at me, frowning.

"Anita," Erin filled in.

"Right. Erin, Anita, I'd like to introduce you to Kyle Lamar, the undeserving gym leader of Cereal City." He looked at Kyle fondly. "Guess he's come far from that wee fella that used to crawl over my mother's carpet, spitting up his breakfast. I used to clean up those messes. Guess I still clean up his—"

"Thank you, Godon," Kyle interrupted calmly. Besides interrupting, he didn't display any indication of irritation or embarrassment. Maybe there was some Murphy's Law that required one person within my immediate vicinity to be a stoic weirdo.

Said stoic weirdo turned towards Erin. "There are currently four hundred and fifty three people recovering from severe poisoning. Six of them are in comas, but we've had no casualties."

Erin let out a sigh.

Kyle nodded at her, then flicked his eyes to me. "I cannot thank you two enough for what you did for this city. Without you—"

"The psychic gym leader would have saved everyone instead," I said, remembering the strong psychic presence I'd felt before I'd gone unconscious. Human psychic presence. Zahavah City's gym leader was the only other psychic human I knew of in Acceber.

Kyle gave me an even look. "Tamara arrived in time to help capture and move all the poison Pokemon you gathered to the ship she brought. As I understand it, you came up with the idea to trap and gather all of the poison Pokemon in one area away from the townspeople." Kyle looked at Erin. "And you came up with the idea to release and recapture the poison Pokemon, making the transportation process much faster."

I glanced at Erin. She was blushing and looking at the ceiling, rocking back and forth on her heels. Guess I had been knocked out when her idea had been implemented.

Kyle continued, "Furthermore, the two of you managed to utilize your Pokemon and available resources to accomplish these plans. While Tamara is a talented Pokemon trainer and possess a gift of unparalleled power, I doubt she could have accomplished all you two accomplished with zero casualties."

I closed my eyes, trying to link my mind with my Pokemon. They were the ones who truly deserved to hear this. "Therefore—" I located Sunflower first, allowing her to listen as I listened. "—I would like to present both of you with the Puddle Badge."

My eyes snapped open and my mind jerked away from my Pokemon before I could locate any more of them. Kyle's outstretched hand held two small vials of water with the words "Puddle Badge" engraved in the glass. Erin picked one up, fiddling with it so it shimmered in the dim light.

"I'm not taking one of those till I beat you in a battle," I said. I peered closer. "Is that actual water?"

Erin rolled her eyes.

Gordon snorted. "Of course it's water you twit. He's the water gym leader." I looked at the vial skeptically. This had to be a prank—seriously, getting a tube of water as a gym badge? Gordon scratched his chin. "What are they teaching you kids these days? Look, you've got other badges, right? They're all imbued with the respective properties of the gyms you've beat."

"Not that I know of," I said.

Gordon held out his hand while Erin and Kyle watched, amused. "C'mon, let's see them."

I spotted my pack on the floor and shuffled through it until I found my dingy badge case. I opened the case and passed it along to Gordon.

Gordon pulled out the Maple Badge I'd received from the grass gym leader. "See, made of wood." I looked at the badge doubtfully. If it was wood, it'd been smoothed and polished until it was as shiny as silver. Gordon swapped the Maple Badge for the electric gym Rumble Badge shaped like a cloud. He pulled a paperclip out of his pocket and dropped it on the badge. The paperclip stuck. "See, it's a magnet."

"And what about the fire badge?"

Kyle pulled out the Flame Badge, which was shaped like a candle flame. He casually twisted the top of the badge with his thumb. A small flame appeared where the top of the badge had twisted. "It's a lighter. And the badge you received from Dustin and Tali has been imbued with normal properties—ghost types cannot affect it."

"Huh." Seemed kind of pointless to me.

Gordon handed the case of gym badges to Kyle, who dropped the Flame Badge back into the case.

"Well then, we'll battle tomorrow so you can add a Puddle Badge to your collection," Kyle said, handing the badge case back to me. It bothered me that he assumed I would win—he wouldn't just let me, right? Kyle continued, "It'll be the opening event of the New Blue fashion show."

Fashion show?

"Just take the badge," Gordon urged. "He's manipulating you! Can't you see he just wants a spectacle—"

"I made my own decision, thank you," I snapped at Gordon. I turned to Kyle. "Tomorrow."

Giving me a small smile, Kyle straightened his back; I hadn't realized he'd been leaning forward and he was unexpectedly tall. "Well, if you two are sticking around anyway, perhaps you'd like to help out—or even participate—in the fashion show tomorrow night."

Erin gave me a searching look when our eyes met.

"I agreed to a battle, not…" Kyle reached into his pocket and pulled out a water stone. "But I'd be happy to help."

"The catwalk will be held in the gym tomorrow night. Meet me at the gym in an hour to start setting up preparations." Kyle turned around, patting Gordon on the shoulder as he walked towards the doorway. "Gordon can show you where the gym is. You'll be properly compensated for your help, of course." The water stone flashed in his hand as he left the room.

"Jerk," Gordon muttered. He shook his head. "Well, you two get dressed. We can stop at the Pokemon Center before trying to stop Kyle from going through with this madness." Gordon left the room, his pajama pants dragging on the floor. He shut the door.

"Anita, what are you doing?" Erin hissed. "What about Liam?"

So much for out of sight, out of mind. "What about Liam?"

"We need to go find him—help him."

"He's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"We're not going through this again, Anita—"

"Look, let's try calling him again. I'm sure he's fine." I pulled my wrist out in front of us and dialed Liam's number on my PokeTech.

Only two rings in, Liam picked up. "Hello?" a groggy voice said. The screen was a blur of black and grey as it was jostled about. After a moment, Liam appeared on the screen wearing the same dark wrinkled shirt he'd left in last night. His hair was matted, and he looked more tired than I'd ever seen him.

"Did we wake you up?" I asked, startled. Liam, sleeping late? "It's nearly one."

"Where are you?" Erin demanded.

Liam squinted at the screen before his face recovered its typical, stoic façade and his eyes resumed alertness.

I smiled. "Wakey, wakey."

"I'm fine," Liam snapped. "I've got a family predicament to smooth over."

And that's zero for two on answering our questions. Liam was sitting in a plush black chair, the kind you'd expect to find in the lobby of a fancy hotel. I could make out a glass shelf behind him. Where exactly was he?

"Can we come help?" Erin asked. "I mean you—"

"I'm fine."

I felt a spike of anger from Erin. "You know, we'd do anything to help you out of any sort of trouble. I don't understand what your problem—"

Liam hung up.

"That went well," I said.

Erin threw my pack at me. "You smell like a rotting fish rolled in a used diaper. Go take a shower."

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o

I folded my arms, tapping my fingers impatiently against my sleeve as Hypno swung her pendulum in front of Seth Hastings' face. Gallade stood stone facedly next to her. Across the room, the idiot boy flipped absentmindedly through the television channels on a monitor attached to the wall. Bored, I imagined the boy smashing his head through the monitor, his bleached blond hair streaked with red blood.

Hypno straightened and the professor slouched forward on his stool. Gallade caught him.

"Reece, you're dismissed," I said. "Gallade will return to you once he's reported to me."

"He's my Pokemon," Reece complained, setting down the remote on a stool. "We helped you escape to this base or whatever it is together."

"You're dismissed," I repeated, my eyes slipping to the door. A Team Glop'emm grunt passed by the door's window carrying an armful of PokeBalls. "I will call upon you when you are needed again."

"Fine," Reece grumbled. "Fartcle-Arkle." He left the room.

I let the remark slide. The idiot boy had proved useful. It was satisfying enough to know he lived because I allowed it, for now.

Apart from myself, the two psychic Pokemon, and the professor, the room was empty. Gallade laid the professor against a wall facing the TV monitor, which buzzed quietly. I turned my attention to Hypno. "Report what you've found this lunatic knows about the Mendol family."

{Of course, sir. First, let me say that his brain is muddled and unfocused. Sometimes it was difficult to discern dreams from reality. For instance, he seems under the delusion that he time traveled. His memories during the time-traveling period are muddled and often incomplete. I'm unsure how reliable his information will be.}

"Gallade, do you also find this to be the case?"

{Aside from fading memory common in most elderly humans, I find his mind reliable.}

I nodded. "Go on, Hypno."

{Professor Hastings believes Landon Mendol was brought to him as a child by the current Master, Liam Mendol. I can find no memory of Celebi, though he believes he has samples of Celebi's DNA. Whether or not the time traveling is fantasized, Hastings did raise Landon in Winsk City. He discovered soon after Landon's arrival that psychic Pokemon did not affect the boy. He also later blamed Landon for the death of his true son.

{Professor Hastings studied and was considered an expert in ancient Pokemon. He particularly focused on powerful ancient Pokemon and the comparisons to their less-powerful relatives.

{While living with Landon, Hastings took up an interest in twining—the ability to give objects slightly Pokemon-like abilities. Some, like magnets, have existed for thousands of years and the method of creation is widely known. On the other hand, the twining of dark objects has been a well-kept secret by the darkly gifted for several generations.

{Hastings learned the secret to dark twining from a colleague. This information combined with his research of powerful Pokemon was the basis of his experimentation on Landon Mendol. Through his experiments, he was eventually able to amplify Landon Mendol's gift. Landon escaped from Hastings' house about a week ago, and Hastings was arrested soon after.}

Smiling, I said, "Gallade, bring me Marcus." Gallade teleported away.

I took a moment to bask in delight. Arceus, G-d, or someone had granted me all the resources a man could dream of and many that were beyond dreaming.

Gallade reappeared with a scruffy man by his side. He was wearing the black Team Glop'emm uniform. The uniform's pants were ripped at the bottom and the sleeve's were too long. This man was the lowest of the lowest. Or he used to be. That would change after I paid him… unless I decided to kill him.

"Um, sir Master Arkle sir, I already reported my destruction of the tracking device's hard drive and the appearance of the green dots…"

I waved my hand. "Yes, of course. I'd like to know more about a rumor that's been circulating from several of my correspondents—that the Master's returned to the base."

Marcus scratched his head. "Well, sir, you're the only Master I answer to. Professor Teal let a boy in that a bunch of people thought was the Master later that evening, but no one was sure because he kept his hood up. Later someone else entered wearing a cloak, too. Nothing's really been announced as far as I know."

"Thank you, Marcus."

"I know her," Hastings suddenly said, pointing at the television. On the monitor was a blonde woman wearing a lab coat. She was shown reviving a comatose man who'd been in Cereal City at the time Reece's Pokemon attacked yesterday.

I glanced at Hypno. She too did not recognize the woman on screen.

"Sticky's all grown up," Hastings said.

"Sir, um if you don't mind me saying, that woman does look a lot like the girl who assisted Professor Teal a lot, only an older definitely prettier version."

Sticky was one of Rita Teal's Dittos. Then, this girl could be…

{Sir, supposing Professor Hasting's memory is accurate, this girl traveled back in time with Liam Mendol,} Gallade said.

The bitch would try to teach her Dittos to act human. Some higher being truly was gifting me. I was meant to become powerful.

"Gallade, take Marcus away," I ordered. The pair was gone a moment later. I grinned. "It appears a new plan's in order. Professor Hastings, I'd like you to continue your research. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to impart a gift unto the non-gifted." I walked up to the professor and crouched down. "How about it, can you grant an ungifted human like me a powerful gift?"

The professor nodded, dazed. "I'd need an experimentation subject, and maybe an assistant…"

My grin widened. "That and more you shall have."

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

I ripped the tape with my teeth, holding the tape roll in my right hand and the gold balloon in my left while balancing precariously on the ladder. I managed to stick the tape to the balloon and the balloon to the wall in line with all the other balloons.

{Allo, is it even?} I called.

{Err, no. Move it—}

{Anita,} Vanilla interrupted. {Splash magnetized all the construction work wrenches again. Now they're sticking to the walls like we're in some freaky galactic warehouse.}

My finger was caught in the tape on the wall. I pulled it out. {Okay, so get Sunflower to psychically remove him from the premise, and tell her to stay with him until he's finished charging the generator for the lights. The wrenches will demagnetize in an hour or so.} I squinted at the balloon. Allo was right, it was too high.

{Sunflower's helping Kyle siphon clean water into the pool,} Vanilla said. I nudged the balloon downwards squashing it against the wall. That didn't look right.

{Alright, then tell Fiery—}

{Fiery went to pick up that model's dry cleaning, remember?} Allo said.

{Well, Apple—}

{Apple's with Fiery.}

I released the balloon, letting it bounce against the wall as I climbed down the ladder. {Alright, let's go find Splash,} I said.

On the last rung, I looked up at my work. The balloon wasn't that out of line. Glancing around the gym, I'd say we were doing a pretty good job turning a gym full of water into a model runway. Carpenters and construction workers were still hammering away at the raised platform running down the center of the gym. The gym's pools that surrounded the central platform were covered in a sturdy layer of glass. Tables were being set up on the glass floor, and the way the light reflected off the water, rippling across the tablecloth took my breath away for a moment.

And my breath returned in the form of a loud cough when I eyed the back of the gym; on the stage several workmen were arguing and pointing to the wrenches stuck to the wall.

"Ah, Anita, just who I was looking for." I turned around and found myself facing Kyle. I did a double take—moments ago he'd been in the corner, directing Sunflower. "Come, there's some people I'd like you to meet." Kyle ushered me out of the gym into the gym's atrium.

{Take care of Splash!} I called to Allo and Vanilla over my shoulder.

In the atrium, there were women—tall women in heels who clicked and clucked about like there was a nest to clean up. Kyle smiled blandly at the women, introducing me as his opponent for the opening event tomorrow. He maneuvered us toward a table with refreshments.

Across the table, chatting amiably to a redhead was Carly Snot-face Goldenthrill, long blonde curls and all. Our gazes crossed.

"This is Charlotte," Kyle waved to a woman in a blue dress standing next to me. He noticed where I was looking. "Ah, and I wanted to introduce you to Carly Goldenthrill. She's about your age—"

"We've met. Childhood buddies, actually," I said. "In fact, I recently went to her birthday party in Nelcorn City, right?"

Carly gave me smile of pristine, white teeth.

I smiled right back. "You ran out of that party so early I didn't get the chance to give you your gift." A nice slap across the face followed by a long interrogation.

I bent over, picking up a plastic cup of some fancy mango-banana-fruit juice concoction as I pushed into Carly's mind. {…little freak is everywhere. Please tell me Kyle hasn't hired her out to be a model as well. Hmm, wonder if she brought her dark-haired friend—}

"Is Reece around?" I asked, taking a sip of the juice to hide the look of disgust on my face.

Still linked to Carly's mind, I caught images of Reece standing with a Gallade by Cereal City's central fountain. A flash of red. Grimers, Trubbishes, Koffings—

I sputtered juice all over the table. Carly and Reece were involved with the release of the poison Pokemon. How… what…?

The woman in the blue dress looked at me in disgust, using a napkin to dab at the wet spots on her dress. Somewhere in the back of my mind, Apple chanted something about controlling my emotions.

I took a deep breath and looked up, checking the ceiling for broken light bulbs. Zero for twelve. I was doing well today. I took another breath. "Carly Goldenthrill released the poison Pokemon that attacked yesterday," I said calmly.

Several conversations around me grew quiet.

Blue dress lady threw her napkin on the table. "That's utterly ridiculous. I was with Carly when two Muks came at us. They ruined her skirt."

Next to me in his deep voice, Kyle asked, "What evidence do you have to support this accusation?"

Well, hell. These gym leaders new about my gift, right? {I saw it in her mind,} I told Kyle, showing him the images.

{We'll investigate. Don't make a scene,} Kyle replied.

Several people were staring at me or at Carly or at Carly's maroon dress that twinkled in the light—it was absurdly distracting, actually. Now what was I supposed to say? A laugh bubbled in my stomach but died in my throat, turning into a grunt.

Behind Carly, a woman in a suit was talking loudly on her phone. Two men with shifty eyes and stiff backs stood near her. Now that thanks to me most of the room's chatter had quieted, her voice echoed across the atrium. "No, tell the director of Wobbufets in Love he'll just have to wait; I was asked to step in for a model at the New Blue fashion show—yes, it was terribly tragic…" The woman looked at me. "John, I have to go. Take care of it."

The woman walking towards me had brown eyes, eerily similar to…

There was a tap on my shoulder. Erin stood with a clipboard in hand. "Anita, where have you been? One of the balloons isn't taped on right—" Erin stopped midsentence, staring past me.

"Oh my, baby sis, it's so good to see you!" The woman walked past me to envelop Erin in a hug. "Everyone, this is my little sister, Erin."

"Anita, this is my sister, Melanie," Erin muttered as her sister ruffled her hair.

Melanie released Erin from the hug, but held onto her shoulders. "Oh, it's so good to see you. Mom told me you were traveling with—" Melanie's eyes flicked to me. "And this must be her, the darling trainer you're traveling with. Ah, of course, she's the challenger for tomorrow's show. Are you going to be modeling? We can arrange matching outfits—Frank, get Natasha on the phone—"

Erin slapped Melanie's hands away. "I'm not going to be in a catwalk. I'm just volunteering to help set up."

"Come on, you used to love this type of thing. Here, have you met Carly? She's your age so you won't be the only young model. And after tomorrow when your friend here earns another badge, I can drive the two of you to your next city or maybe Arctic Village's beach. I just bought a new car—"

Erin pushed away with enough force to knock Melanie back. "Anita and I are not a part of your drive-around posse, and I am not a model. I'm a research assistant." One of the men—maybe Frank—who'd been standing near Melanie grabbed Erin's wrist to keep Erin from shoving her sister again.

I tripped the man with a short barrier, allowing Erin to twist away.

"Why can't you do both?" Melanie yelled as Erin stormed out of the atrium.

A workman entered the room as Erin left. He was holding a mass of electrical tape—no, he was holding Splash, who was covered in electrical tape with the occasional spiky fur bit sharply poking through. Oh and look, there were more lumps in that electrical tape mass—Vanilla and Allo were loosely taped to Splash's sides. A loop of electrical tape threaded around Vanilla's paw and clung to the nearly finished tape roll.

The workman held Splash up by the scruff of his neck. "Hey, do these belong to anyone?"

o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

My fur felt hot an itchy, like a gross woolen blanket. I looked up and scrunched my nose as the sun peeped out from behind a cloud.

"I really hate the sun," I said. This… allergy had developed after evolving into an Umbreon.

"You're the one who chose to come with me to pick up dry cleaning," Fiery grumbled.

"I don't get how we're going to bring the clothes back anyway. It's not like we have opposable thumbs." I peeked into Fiery's mind and saw a small cart with wheels we could pull. "Oh, I guess that works."

Fiery sped up his pace down the street.

"Hey, don't be mad!" I used a quick attack to jump ahead of him. I walked backwards.

{No, I'm just thrilled you know every intimate detail of my life,} Fiery thought loudly. He stepped around me as I accidentally backed into a tree.

"I don't know everything. I don't actually know much of anything about your life. Just the occasional thought worrying about one of your siblings…"

"Right."

"Seriously." I ran until I was trotting beside him "Like, I don't know why you chose to stay with Anita."

Fiery didn't say anything.

"I'm not wheedling for information," I said defensively.

Fiery signed, a puff of smoke floating from his nose.

"You already know why I chose Anita. You were there—you saw the condition we were in, we didn't have a choice."

"You could've walked away at any time. Anita offered you that much. Why'd you stay?"

Fiery looked at me sharply. "Why'd you?"

"Let me show you something," I said.

Even from upstairs, curled in a small shoebox under Anita's creaking bed I could smell the onions. As I'd been doing for the past few days, I closed my eyes and left my sore body to reside in Anita's.

We mushed the potatoes with a potato masher as our—no, her—mother minced the onions. Our hands were small and the potato mashing was hard work, but if we finished before mother, we could maybe sneak into the cabinet to steal more medicine without her noticing.

The doorbell rang. A loud Houndoom howl sent a chill down our back, and a foreboding feeling rose in our belly. Our mother looked at her watch, then muttered testily about visitors after seven at night. She went to answer the door.

Anita sensed the same wrongness I sensed, or maybe I gave her the sense. Anita grabbed the cutting board and the bottle of apple juice off the counter, before racing up the stairs as fast as she could while balancing the juice, the chopped onions, and the knife in her hands.

Downstairs, we heard our mother raise her voice. "You have absolutely no right to enter my house. The mayor—"

"Ma'am, we have a search warrant signed by the Drape Town gym leader. Please move aside."

"This is a blatant violation of privacy. Believe me, I'm going to raise havoc—I know Acceber's legal system has problems, but I'll see you in court if you think—"

There was a shuffle of feet and a muffled cry. I winced.

We heard scratching against the floorboards and barks. Houndooms.

Putting down the cooking supplies, Anita pulled the shoebox out from under the bed. Seeing my bruised body from the outside was too strange to maintain my connection to Anita. I returned to my body, breathing raggedly. Anita picked me up with one hand, pulling her backpack from under her nightstand with the other.

She unzipped her backpack, shuffled the papers and crayons in her bag around and pushed me inside. The crayons poked at my skin like needles.

{Sorry. Dad read a book to me once. When Houndooms chased the man in the book he made lots of smells and the Houndooms never found him.}

Anita poured the apple juice over me, then tipped the backpack over so the crayons fell over my face. Through the unzipped backpack, I watched her pour the apple juice and the onions into the shoe box I'd lied within since Anita found me two nights ago, injured and unable to stand.

I squirmed to get more comfortable. "Don't move, they'll hear," Anita scolded in a hoarse whisper. I stilled. The crayons had fallen over my right eye, and I could only watch Anita with my left. She stared at the shoebox, frowning with a childish pout for a moment. Then she picked up the knife and sliced her left hand.

Pain sliced through my left three-fingered hand. I hadn't realized we were still so connected.

We heard pounding on the stairs. Anita quickly took a handful of apple-onion with her bleeding hand and threw it around her room. She took another handful and threw it over me in the backpack. I closed my eyes to prevent the onion from stinging.

I shifted into Anita's body. She was rolling over the onion spread over her carpeted floor, her eyes were tearing, though I wasn't sure if it was from the onion or the pain in her hand. As the door handle jiggled she put the shoebox on her head.

The man who opened the door immediately covered his mouth and nose with his shirt. "Shit, what the…?"

Anita wailed, flailing her bleeding hand.

A Houndoom entered the room and sneezed. Anita cried louder when the Pokemon neared her, putting her bleeding hand on the Houndoom's nose.

"What are you doing to my daughter?" Anita's mother shrieked. "Get that monster away from her!"

The Houndoom shook his head and sniffed around the edges of the room while the creepy man dressed in black watched on. Anita's mother finally pushed past the man and scooped us up into her arms. She ran a hand through our hair.

The Houndoom finished sniffing the room and sneezed.

Another man dressed in the same government-looking outfit stopped outside the doorway. "Anything?" he asked.

"No," the first man answered.

"What about the girl's eyes? Are they purple?"

The first man looked at us and we huddled closer into our mother's arms, sniffling. "Didn't get a good look with her crying and all. Something light, maybe. Bloodshot, mostly."

"Her eyes are blue, like mine," our mother said firmly. "Now get out of my house."

The two men shrugged at each other and ordered their Houndooms away. Our mother sung softly to us as the front door slammed shut, leaving our house in disarray and our mother unsettled.

"I smelled like apple for weeks after. That with my apple-colored burnt fur is what earned me the nickname," I told Fiery. "I stayed… well, I'd never had anyone in my life so dedicated to me."

"Did her mother know about you?" Fiery's fur brushed against mine, giving me a brief relief from the sun's painful rays.

"Anita certainly didn't think so. I'm not so sure. Sometimes I think she suspected, but if she ever knew for certain, she kept the thoughts well hidden at the back of her mind."

We stood outside the dry cleaners. Fiery sat down, looking up at the crooked sign. "When I saw how happy my siblings were playing and training and living with you and Anita, I knew I couldn't take them away from that."

"And are you happy?"

Fiery looked at me then licked my cheek. "Yes." He walked inside.

I followed, grinning.