Rein glanced at the city from the small grove of trees they were hiding. Celadon gleamed in the early morning sun as people walked through the street. A few Rocket Grunts idled stood talking in the streets, but other that, the city was clear of other Rocket activity. "Ok, I don't see anyone patrolling the outside," she noted. "I think we're safe for now."

Valerie turned to her. "So what do we do now?" she asked.

Rein folded her arms and tilted her head, thinking. "Well..."

Kai cut her off. "Do you guys have any money?"

They all glanced at him. "Well, yeah, of course we do," Rein answered. "Why?"

He rolled his eyes. "You and I need disguises."

Rein gave him a confused look. He sighed. "Our eyes. Red isn't really a normal eye color. We're pretty noticeable right now."

Rein frowned and looked down uncomfortably. "Yeah... good point."

Kai shrugged and turned to Valerie and Jeremy. "Can you head into Celadon and buy some... I don't know, colored contacts or something?"

Jeremy nodded. "Good idea."

They turned toward the city. "Keep your heads down and don't do anything stupid!" Rein warned.

They nodded and hurried into the city.

Rein sighed, sitting down on a nearby rock. Kai leaned against one of the surrounding trees. For a while, they waited in silence until it was broken by Rein.

"How do people react to them?"

Kai turned to meet her gaze. "What do you mean?"

"Like, your eyes. What do people do when they see them?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. "They hated me," he muttered. "I was bullied a lot. Everyone thought I was creepy. Like... I was some sort of freak."

He wasn't sure what she was going to say. Maybe he thought she would agree with him or something like that. What she did say surprised him.

"That's it? That's all they did?"

His gaze sharpened. "What do mean that's all?! That's plenty!" He crossed his arms, daring her to argue. "Why? What do they to you that's so bad?"

Rein hugged her knees and buried her face in them. A moment or two later, she lifted her gaze to his. Kai was surprised to see her eyes were… wet. Shimmering streaks ran down her face that she attempted to wipe away. She gave a slight sigh before answering. "When I was eight, my parents left me. They thought I was a demon, and they never returned." Rein glanced downward. "Ever since then, I had no human friends. I only met Fenrir when I started my journey, and since then, it's been just us. It's not like people are comfortable around me. At least when they notice my eyes, anyway." She sighed again. "And now, with all this crazy Legendary business… I don't know. Everything's just so complicated."

Kai didn't know what to say. He wanted to say something to make her feel better, but couldn't find the words.

They sat there in silence for a moment before Jeremy and Valerie returned, bringing with them a small bag. Valerie smiled. "It took a while, but we got them!"

Jeremy shrugged. "There was a Rocket Grunt walking around the store and well… I wanted to get some other things too." Jerking his thumb at his backpack, he added, "You know, for the mission and all."

Rein smiled, looking nothing like she had a while before. "Good job!" she told them, then addressed Kai. "We should probably put them on now. Who knows when someone's going to show up."

Kai nodded. "Good point."

They opened the bag and quickly removed the contents. Kai's contacts made his eyes look a dark shade of blue, and Rein's eyes looked a light chestnut color. When they finished putting them in, they hurriedly stood up. "Let's go," Kai said, turning and starting toward the city. The others followed close behind.

Getting to the Rocket Game Corner didn't take that long, even with dodging all the Grunts roaming the city. Before they knew it, they were standing right in front of the building. "So how are we going to do this?" Jeremy asked.

Rein sighed. "I guess just act natural and try to find a secret entrance," she concluded.

"But don't we have to be twenty-one to gamble and stuff?" he pointed out. "You guys might be able to pass, but Valerie and I'll have a rough time."

Kai scratched his head. "Yeah… I guess we just have to wing it and hope for the best."

Jeremy shrugged, like the answer didn't satisfy him. Valerie merely nodded.

Rein turned to the building again. "Ok. Let's go before more Rockets come."

Kai nodded before pushing open the doors. The group stepped inside.

The lights and sounds were a dizzying wall that hit them at full force. Laughing, glasses clinking, and the whirring of slot machines sounded around them. People were everywhere- at the slot machines, by the bar in the corner, at the poker tables. It would be a lot easier to disguise themselves in this huge crowd than they thought.

Valerie turned to the rest of them. "We should probably split up. We can cover more ground that way."

Kai nodded. "Let's each take a corner of the room and work our way in."

The others nodded and spread out ready to begin their search.

Valerie worked her way down the wall, looking for anything suspicious without looking that way herself. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Started, she whirled around to see Jeremy standing there. "What the heck was that for?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She paused before adding, "And what are doing over here anyway? You're supposed to be-"

"Just be quiet for a second!" Jeremy hissed. Valerie sighed. "Ok," Jeremy continued. "I saw something weird over here, and I came to check it out."

Valerie crossed her arms. "Ok, so what is it?"

He pointed to what appeared to be an arcade game. "Doesn't that look a little out of place?" he questioned. "I mean, they probably would've removed all the arcade games already. Why keep that one around?"

They walked toward it. "Huh. 'Rocket Control'?" Valerie read off the name written on the machine. She turned to Jeremy. "Are they seriously being that obvious?"

Jeremy shrugged. "You can never tell with Rockets." He dug around in his pocket. "Do you have any change?" he asked. "I don't have any on me."

"Here." She tossed him a quarter. "That's extra from earlier."

He caught it. "Thanks," he said, inserting the coin into the game. The machine buzzed to life. The screen it up, but it didn't show a game. A question lit up the screen. "'What are Rockets most known for?'" Jeremy read.

Valerie sighed. "Is this a code or something?" she asked.

Jeremy shrugged. "I guess so."

She frowned. "Well… If a Rocket programed this, it's probably something like 'awesomeness' or 'great battling skills' or something stupid like that," she smirked.

"Hm…" Jeremy was about to say something more, but he was interrupted.

"Hey! What're you doing?!" A Grunt had noticed them and started toward them. "What are you doing here in the first place?"

More Grunts around them started to take notice of them, and headed for them.

Valerie glanced around. Kai and Rein were nowhere to be seen. "We need to hurry!" she turned to Jeremy, who was fiddling with the machine. "C'mon!"

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Duh." He continued to play with the controls. Suddenly, there was a click, and the side of the game swung open. "Hurry!" he hissed. They darted inside and slammed the door shut. Jeremy pushed one of the nearby buttons.

An automated voice spoke. "Command acknowledged. Recalibrating password."

Noises of angry Grunts sounded from the other side. Jeremy smiled. "Thank Arceus that worked," he said leaning against the wall. "I was sure we were done for."

Valerie smiled. "Yeah," she agreed. "So I guess this is their base? Or one of them, that is."

They glanced down the narrow, dark hallway. It headed downward into the earth and seemed to open up farther along the way. "Seems like it," Jeremy replied. Glancing at the door, he remarked, "I guess we can't wait for Kai and Rein. We'll have to go it on our own from here on out."

Valerie nodded. "I guess so." They started walking in silence, but it was quickly broken. Valerie turned to Jeremy. "By the way, what was the password?"

"What Rockets are most known for?"

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Yes! What was it?"

Jeremy grinned as they continued into the darkened hallway. His voice seemed to echo off the walls.

"They're most known for… Blasting off again."

Hope you guys had as much fun reading this chapter as I had writing it! I've been planning that bit with Kai and Rein since I got their OC forms and I'm soo glad I finally got it down on paper (or WordPad ;) ). And to everybody reading this, MERRY CHRISTMAS! :D Hope you guys have an awesome time on break. I'm going to my Grandma's house for Christmas, and it's going to be great ;) Anyway, just remember the real reason for the season! See ya next chapter :)

~~~Ins4ne Gam3r~~~