"Are you sure about this?" Lilly said, pacing. We were all currently in the restaurant, the party with the other gangs having finished, and I had told her and the rest of the gang my suspicions.

"Dead positive. The Geoaxes never attacked us, and I think I know a way we can prove it. Capture the flag is tomorrow, right?" She nodded. "Okay, so what we should do is first have someone spy on them as they compete. Should the Geoaxes use weapons, then we know they attacked us. Should they not, then someone should go talk to Kasuai. Kan said that she has some relation to him. We could also send someone to the Geoaxes territory to see if they are attacked."

"Not bad," Lilly said. "Elric, you spy on the Geoaxes during the games. Hydra, Hana, and Ore, I want you guys to go see Kasuai afterward. Hydra seems to have the best social skills of us all, and Hana was a Freeland ruler. Plus Ore has his mineral abilities, which should go over nicely with her. While you guys do that, the rest of us can watch the Geoaxes. Should they be attacked, we should be prepared to help them. Sound good to everyone?" We nodded. "Good, then onto other business." She grabbed a map of the city and laid it out in front of us. "Capture the flag."

"That sounds fun." We all jumped when we saw Kannin walk through the front door, a bag slung over his shoulder. "Is this a part of the tournament?"

"It is." Lilly said. "Are you here with items for us?"

"I am." He set the bag down. "I have to ask, how do you plan to pay for the work I do? I'm not a very harsh dealer. I mostly do it because I enjoy my line of work, but one must make a living. I will require at least one trade a month. What do have?"

Lilly walked over behind the counter, and came back with a huge pearl. "Will this do?"

Kannin took it and examined it closely. "Stunning. I know a few people who would love to have this, some for more practical reasons than others. It will do perfectly. Lead the way to your storage."

We took the platform upstairs, and went to the food room. He opened his bag, and pulled out large crates of items. "Here we go. I also looked through past records of the restaurants purchases, and got everything they should have had in stock, should you want a good amount of variety."

I stared. "How did that all come out of that small bag?"

"The move trick is quite amazing, isn't it?" He said, grinning at me.

We thanked him, and went back downstairs. Before he left, he set his bag down again. "Now, before I go, I do have a few gifts, as a sort of thank you for doing business with me. First up is you, Lilly." He pulled out a necklace with a teardrop shaped charm. "I found this mystic water only recently. It will work miracles with your strength. Though it is slightly worn, so I suggest only having it when in very important battles." He put the charm around her neck. "Oh, and I have a bracelet that is meant to be worn around your tail. It's said to bring strength to others." He pulled out a black bracelet with a gemstone in it and put it onto her tail.

Next he turned to Eriff. "I heard that you wish to become a breeder one day." He pulled out a tattered book. "It may look a bit worse for wear, but still very nice. It is the breeder's guide, buy someone named Suzy. I believe she was a famous breeder from Kanto." Eriff was grinning like crazy, and started reading immediately.

Then he looked at Elric. "You were a bit harder to find something for. Though I found this." He pulled out a small satchel which he opened to show the sparkly powder inside. "Should you add this bright powder with your amazing speed, I doubt anyone will be able to hit you."

Next was Kykis, and he smiled at him. "I'm afraid I don't have anything particularly for you, but I do believe you will find something you will greatly appreciate in the near future."

Then he turned to KY, and pulled out a weird looking battery. "I heard you like electronics. This is a universal battery, and can power any electronic you wish."

Then he turned to Mark. "You I didn't get anything for either, but like I said, you'll find something neat really soon."

Next was me. "You get an extra nice gift since you helped out Kedo." I was a little surprised he already learned his name, but I ignored it. He pulled out a pretty pink, white, and blue bow. "This is a rare version of the pink bow. I have a feeling you'll like what it represents, should you ever find out." He tied it around my hear, and I thanked him.

Then he turned to Ore. "Heard you like rocks. But that's not the only thing I heard." He smiled big, pulling out a notebook, along with a large slab of rock and a few jars.

Ore's eyes got wide. "Is that granite?"

"Yep. Capable of being used for making pencils or mineral paint."

Then he turned to Fort and Hana. "You two weren't easy, but I found something nice for each of you." He handed Fort a helicopter camera and Hana a necklace of flowers and seeds. "Heard Fort likes security systems, so I thought I'd get you this little flying camera. Just set it up and it'll spy on anything for you. As for you, Hana, I know someone who was able to grow miracle flowers, which is what that necklace is made of."

"Miracle flowers?" I asked.

"grown from miracle seeds," Hana said. "Thank you."

He nodded, and turned to Gani. "You were probably the easiest." He showed her a basket of different fruits and nuts. "I will be dropping these off at your home, and make sure that your home stays in upmost shape while you are gone."

Then he turned to the final two, Auroc and Absolum, and smiled. "I have extra special gifts for the two of you." He showed them both two really pretty marbles, I believe. One was light blue, with a dark blue and cream inside, while the other was orange, with a blue and red inside. "My grandmother loved to collect these little things. She would always tell me stories of the love and trust they symbolized. Keep them with you at all times." They both nodded, and accepted the gems.

He pulled his bag over his shoulder. "Well, I am off. A quick suggestion for your game of capture the flag. There was an emporium that got abandoned not too far from here. You might want to make that your base. Till we meet again." He walked out of the restaurant.

"He's a good dealer," Mark said.

"Agreed." Lilly turned our direction back to the map. "I think I know where the emporium he's talking about is. It shouldn't be too hard to guard. Now, the objective is to get another team's flag. The more flags you have, the more points you get. Three teams with the lowest score will be eliminated. The main problem will be the seven major gangs."

"So there's the Shadow Eaters, the Geoaxes, and the Volcs. Who are the other four major gangs?" I asked.

"The Harmonics, the Kimonos, the Draviathans, and the Skyscrapes," Elric explained. "These gangs are the seven most noticeable gangs so far. The Shadow Eaters are known for their dark types and cruelty, the Geoaxes are known for their ground, rock, and steel types and their recklessness, the Volcs are known for their strategy and fire types, the Harmonics are known for their singing abilities, the Kimonos are an all female gang known for their cunning, the Draviathans are known for their strength and dragon types, and the Skyscrapes are known for their speed and flying types."

"And we are going to take one of their flags," Lilly said.

We all stared at her. "What?" KY asked. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. If we plan on winning, I don't want to be that new gang that slipped into first place. We are going to become a major gang. The only real question here is who should we try to get a flag from. I wouldn't recommend the Kimonos. They are extremely crafty, not to mention somewhat cruel. You do not want to be caught by any of them."

"The Harmonics would be a bad idea as well," Auroc said. "I've seen them destroy a building from them all using round at the same time. None of us are soundproof, so it would be best to avoid them. Plus, I don't think they plan on going on the offensive. They will probably just all guard their flag so they don't lose any points."

"That leaves the Shadow Eaters, Geoaxes, Volcs, Draviathans, and Skyscrapes," Eriff said. "Though I would suggest ruling out the Skyscrapes. They have some very dangerous long range attackers, and are very good at sneak attacks from above."

"It would also be unwise to go against the Draviathans," Ore said. "Besides Auroc, we don't have any type of advantage over them."

"We should go after the Shadow Eaters," I said.

This was met by silence.

Elric was the first to speak. "Why?"

"Because they don't like us. I can almost guarantee that they will want revenge on us. Dahk told Lilly so. I'm betting they will immediately come for us. Depending on how angry they are at us, they might get reckless and leave very little defense behind. The only problem is Kan will probably assume the same thing, and come after their flag as well."

Lilly nodded. "That's a pretty good assumption. Okay, here's our plan. Kykis, I want you to start stationed at the top of this skyscraper." She pointed to a large building at the end of the street. "The second you spot an enemy coming, then we need you to let us know. It would also be good if you could pinpoint the location of the other bases. Fort, since you and KY have the most experience with security, you two, Gani, and Hana will be guarding the base. Kykis will assist you after he is done on the skyscraper. He will tune in telepathically to you, so he'll know if you need help. Elric, Eriff, Mark, and I will all be spying on the Geoaxes. We won't necessarily take their flag, but should they use weapons, I want to be there to intervene, since I have an advantage over most of them. We will go after other flags when we are sure they aren't doing anything suspicious. Auroc, Ore, and Absolum, I want the three of you to be instigators. Cause mass chaos throughout the games. Try to see if you can provoke the Shadow Eaters to attack us. They might trip up."

Then she spoke to me and Kedo. "You two have the most important job. You two will be infiltrating the Dahk's base and getting their flag. We don't want to look cheap, so try hard not to use Psyche Scream. Kedo, cover Hydra from the shadows. KY will set up his information center, and relay details of their bases layout to you, unless we get attacked. Should anything go wrong, get out of their as fast as you can." I nodded, shaking slightly. That was a lot of pressure.

She rolled up the map. "Now that we are clear, we all better get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day."

We all went upstairs and into our rooms. I shifted around on my bed, nervous about tomorrow. The Shadow Eaters scared me. Every time I thought about them, I imagined myself or someone I loved getting hurt. But we were all so close. We were like family. Should one of us get hurt, the others would be there for them. This thought comforted me as I fell asleep, giving me the same warm feeling I had when I had talk to war about how much I liked them all.