In the Nightlight Hub, the room temperature skyrocketed from wild tension. Furret Abigail didn't know why. She left her phone in her room while everyone else focused on theirs. She alternated between pacing around and sitting down on the edge of the couch.

It stayed that way until a firm double knock sounded on the double doors. Abigail shifted and straightened herself out.

Through the double doors, a Victini pushed open the doors and flew glazed, blue eyes sent a cold prick down Abigail's spine. She straightened out her posture to match her formality.

"Greetings, your majesties," Victini greeted. "Has everyone seen the recent news?"

"Yes," Samurott said, standing up from the table. "What's this video all about?"

"It's a sighting of a Legendary species, apparently. It was live-streamed off the coast of Kaigan. In the video, it makes various threats. It's already all over the Internet. Reputable eyewitness accounts all confirm the truth of everything on it."

"Legendary species?" he laughed. "What, like some, giant behemoth?"

"First stage of grief, your majesty."

Samurott glanced around the room. His smile fell. Serperior frowned back at him.

"Are other countries reacting yet?" Serperior asked quietly.

"Yes," Victini said. "Lao Shen was the first to add to the bounty set up by the WPO."

"So," shiny Zorua Aaron said. He stuck his head up from the couch. "When you say Legendary species, do you mean something like one of those fairy tales? Like, the Twelve Sisters?"

Victini sighed. "Yes, dumb dumb."

Abigail's head jolted towards Aaron. Aaron seemed to laugh it off, and Mightyena next to him didn't even react. He kept staring at his phone.

"But," Victini said, "none of those fairy tales describe these beings as… Well, prone to temper tantrums. Fairy tales and myths aren't really a specialty here at the N.A., so we apologize if it takes some time to bring information together. There's also another matter that's more important, at least in how it pertains to us."

Everyone's heads lifted from their phones. Buizel Zen walked up to Abigail's side from the table as Victini continued.

"The Nightlight Association has been dealing with a string of antique robberies, everything from stores to deliveries. Usually, no one cares about them enough to even see them in the museum. While we were pursuing one of these cases, we came across a certain antique that, well, may have been more legitimate than what anyone thought beforehand."

"What are you saying?" Mightyena asked with a tired voice.

"That pokemon in the video came from inside of our city, and there could be more."

"And those antiques are gone, aren't they!?" Samurott demanded.

Abigail shrunk down behind the couch. With all the political power behind his raised voice, it'd make anyone crumble.

Somehow, Victini didn't even flinch.

"Yes, they're gone," she answered. "Probably somewhere in the black market out of our reach. By happenstance, only one of them was spared. Just a single pokemon was making a delivery when he got jumped in an alley. A random Furret saved him by beating up a whole street gang in a plaza."

'Not me," Abigail said.

No one paid her any mind. They knew, she knew. It came out of panic more than anything.

"Organized crime isn't easy to deal with," Victini said. "Even with Abigail working for us," she said, glancing Abigail's way, "we can't just steamroll them until we take steps, like finding where these things are in the first place."

"Double agents," Aaron blurted. "Sound solid?"

"We already do that, dumb dumb."

"Triple agents."

Victini rolled her eyes. "Anyways… Lodestar, I have a favor to ask."

"Yes!?"

Abigail talked too fast again. And loud.

Victini floated over to her on the couch. When she got close, Abigail noticed a small, red orb with a white center. Its glossy surface just managed to stick out from her red fingers.

"This is the only one of those antiques we have," Victini said, "and that's because you saved it the other night. And as your only job working for the Nightlights right now, I want you to hold onto it for us."

"Uh, okay," Abigail said. Victini rolled it into her paws. The orb felt warm. "But, uh, why?"

"Well, you're very high profile and easy to keep track of. You also have combat training that's beyond any Nightlight member, and you make the best bodyguard and bait."

This job sounded easier on purpose, even accounting for its importance. It came as a bit of a relief. She took the orb in her paws. It didn't weigh as much as she thought it would.

Furret Abigail reached behind her. Her brown cape had dozens of pockets, and the orb fit perfectly in a pocket close to the bottom.

"Hey," Aaron said, "uhm, I don't like the idea of using my future wife as bait."

"They're not asking your future wife," Zen said, turning around, "they're asking Abigail."

"Take it easy, dumb and dumber," Victini said. Abigail noticed her voice's tone got lower, then higher again. "So, Abigail. I'll be giving you a special rank on your phone later. You can do whatever you want with your time, and feel free to call me."

Abigail's brain caught fire. Did she want her to call? Victini seemed like she was about her age. Her voice seemed higher when directing her voice at her.

"Alright," Victini said, "sorry to have interrupted celebrations with all of this. Nothing really needs to be done right now, with the exception of thinking about adding onto that bounty to show support. Enjoy the rest of your day."

"You too, Anne," Zen said, smiling.

"Kay."

Victini flew out the doors. When she closed them, Abigail realized that she never replied after she spoke right to her face. She couldn't now.

"Maybe we should stick around the Nightlights for longer than we planned to," Zen suggested. "I mean, our families have plenty of fairy tales. Maybe we could learn something."

"What do you mean fairy tales?" Abigail asked quietly.

"That we're ancestors to Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit. That they're where the blessings come from."

"What."

"You didn't tell her?" Mightyena asked. "Aaron, Zen?"

"I thought she knew," Zen said. "I mean, I should've figured, actually. Kind of just some useless knowledge they only teach in public schools."

"We forgot…" Aaron groaned. "Okay, I'll explain it. Basically, I'm a fearless beast of a-"

"The Valorian blessing," Zen said, talking over Aaron, "is a gene that runs in the Valorian royal family that stops physical reactions to fear. The Veritan royal blessing makes me and my family sensitive to other people's emotions, and our own."

"Temper tantrums," Aaron said.

"And the Acuitan royal blessing," Zen hissed, "helps speed the learning process and makes pokemon view the world from a more... logical standpoint."

"Nerds."

"So, it just runs in your families?" Abigail asked.

Umbreon peered his head out from behind the Mightyena. Abigail had forgotten he sat there with how quiet he was.

"Let's say for example that you wanted to marry my handsome young lad," Umbreon said. Furret Abigail accidentally glanced towards the Quilava Gawain when he mentioned him. A bit of heat rose from her chest to her face.

"If you married him and planned to have children, the partner in the relationship without the blessing would receive a blood transfusion. The child would have the blessing after that process, but not without it. So you wouldn't receive the Acuitan blessing yourself, but the child would."

Mightyena spoke up. "It's worked the same in all of our families for generations, but our families only realized how similar they really were just a century or so ago. We make it a point to treat each other like family."

"So," Zen said, "do you guys agree about staying?"

Serperior, Samurott, Mightyena, and Umbreon all looked around at each other. A conversation happened between their eyes that Abigail couldn't hear.

"Yes," Umbreon said, "but I expect you all to be responsible. And stay close to Abigail if you're out and about, or I'll call Yellow Clan. And I know you all don't really like being followed around everywhere."

"Yah... That sounds good," Zen said.

"So, is there anything you want to do, Abigail?" Zorua asked.

"Uhm, for what?" she asked.

"Just to relax," Zen said. "I mean, you seem tired and all. So, do you want to hang out?"

Abigail wanted to back out on her choices she made in the last day or so, but she couldn't do that. She might as well be honest.

"I just want to go to my room and then get a massage at a spa or something or watch movies and sleep and... Stuff."

"I know how to give massages," Zen blurted.

The pokemon in the room all looked at him. Buizel put his hands together in front of his mouth. Samurott and Serperior passed each other tired looks.

Abigail understood it. He just needed a little help.

"Sure," Abigail said casually.

Abigail's face felt hot enough to make her blink out tears. Her tail was swishing on the couch. She didn't have the nerve to speak much more.

"I do too," Aaron said.

"He does," Mightyena added. The room glanced at the pair, but their eyes suddenly shifted towards Umbreon as he stared at Quilava Gawain..

"Uhm... My back is a nice heater," Gawain pointed out. said. His face showed he was irritated with himself after talking. "Yah. Great sandwiches. I actually prefer to cook that way, so..." He shook his head and sighed.

Abigail's face heated enough to make tears well in her eyes. She lowered her whole body and turned away while barely suppressing laughter.

"I'm going to... Uhm, grab my things from the guest room."

"I'll help," Gawain said.

"I can carry things, too," Aaron added.

The adults in the room tensed. They all looked far away from Abigail and the princes as they stood up. The Umbreon cupped his face in his hands as he lied on the couch.

"Let's go," Abigail said.

When she walked out of the doors, Gawain, Zen, and Aaron followed at their own paces. Zen's was the slowest. Abigail caught him glancing back into the room before turning back around.

Umbreon lifted his head up from his face and sat up. He looked over the edge of the couch as Serperior glared at Samurott.

"Why is he acting like a suck-up?" Serperior asked, "I thought you handled teaching him about this stuff."

"But that's what you want me to act like," he replied. Serperior scoffed.

"That was awful," Umbreon said. "I mean, I know the Veritan blessing can be hard, but… How are any of them going to attract a girl like that…!?"

"My wife would have known what to do, but me… Mightyena scowled. "Out of all the easier ones they could've gone for, they had to choose the badass in a cape…"

They all sat in silence.

"Yah," Mightyena huffed out. "It was to be expected."