"Alright," Anne said. "I'm going to go over the facts with you all. That Ambipom's parents protested during Verity's civil crisis over how the police were handling some lower income areas. So, as a result, he was nicknamed Riot since we didn't decide to release his actual name to the public. So, most media refers to his group as 'Rioters', although we have no clue about what they actually do. The most important defining trait seen so far is the leather scarves, and that's it.
"Our target's in the mall. A Hypno, whose real name we are unsure of, works there part time along with other suspects as employees in a bunch of different stores. We think he's the leader of this faction. The Lodestar's going to wait until the arrests are already at a certain point in progress. Otherwise, they'll be on alert. Once the Lodestar comes in, her main mission is to arrest that Hypno and calm down any unrest. And please, try not to get this on national news..."
Nighttime fell over the city. The party just started in the streets below. The hustle and bustle from workers and people returning home had all but finished by now.
Furret Abigail observed from a rooftop. She looked down through a round, glass dome over the main plaza of a mall. Her brown cape rested on her back, held up from the gritty surface of the roof by her tail. On top of her head, she had on a new gold tiara. There was a camera in the center along with a tiny speaker next to where her ears rested. Her Grapplers weighed down on her wrists.
"Whatever you do, just remember. It's called a 'pro gamer move'."
Abigail lifted up her paw and clicked a button on the side of the tiara.
"Pro game move," Abigail said.
"Game-er move."
"Gamer move. Pro gamer move."
"Remember the full thing?"
"I'm going to do what's called a pro gamer move."
"Yes. Beautiful, just like that."
"Hey Aaron," Gawain said, "are you sure you won't regret teaching her memes?"
"Gawain, I'm this close to having an e-girl's number."
"Translation: e-girl is short for electronic girl," Abigail said. "So, I'm a hot nerd. An e-girl."
"See? And besides, she's technically streaming," Aaron said.
"Isn't this kind of more serious than just some stream? And it's just encounter footage for the Nightlights."
"Yah, but they'll release it to the public. So, pro gamer move."
"I'm going to do what's called a pro gamer move," Abigail said. "Hey, is Zen still up for that date tonight? Haven't gotten a text from him."
"He told me to tell you that he thinks you're ugly and called it off," Aaron explained. "He sucks. I'm sorry. At least you can take me instead."
"Yes, he's still up," Gawain said.
"Awesome," she said, smiling. "Okay. Thanks for talking to me. Switch me over to Anne?"
"Yah. Gotcha."
Abigail took another look down at the plaza. The tiled floor shined under gentle bell-shaped lights hanging down from black poles. She watched a Furfrou and Bunnelby talk next to the gleaming marble fountain in the center, wondering what they were saying. They took turns laughing at what the other said.
She wanted to do that with someone. A date was good, but she wanted social interactions that were easy. Even Aaron was hard to talk to, sometimes. Out of the three, he was the most easy-going, but they all were future rulers. She could tell they looked at things differently.
"Almost there," Anne said. "Five minutes till shift changes. Looks like everyone's in place."
Abigail glanced over her route again. The dome had a single open part in the glass, usually for when the weather was nice outside. Tonight, it was for when she'd jump down and land right in front of the store the Hypno worked at. Supposedly, it was so she could arrest the leader herself, but he also happened to work at a knife store. She'd seen the inside of the building beforehand, and it was the largest, most overkill knife store on the entire continent. She didn't even want to trip and fall in the store, so she'd be waiting until after he left out the door.
She breathed in and out as the minutes ticked by. Anne gave the order to move for the rest of the Nightlights on the mission. Abigail continued to wait with bated breath.
As soon as a flash of yellow came into her vision, she darted to the open window. She looked down again to make sure it was the Hypno, and it was. His brown leather scarf rested over his arm as he walked.
Before he could walk out of range, Abigail jumped right on top of him. She curved her tail to lock around his body.
Abigail landed on the floor. She looked up. Hypno wasn't there.
She turned around and saw him. Hypno stood in the store with his leather scarf over his neck. His hands rubbed over a glass panel standing up with knives inside. There were five more just like, and three more at the counter in the back of the store. Wooden racks of knives hung on the white walls.
"Ah, dammit," Abigail huffed.
"Would you like to know why I work in a knife store, Lodestar?"
Hypno set his hands on the glass panel, then wrapped his fingers around it. He pulled the glass up.
"The most powerful in history have always had the most weapons. And I feel mighty powerful."
"Okay man," she squeaked. "Please... just... calm down."
"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Look at all of this fine metal."
Glass panels on the wall floated open. Knives bobbed up and down in the air as he picked more and more up with Psychic.
"I actually learned a lot about knives working here," Hypno continued. He held two plain knives with black handles in each hand. "Carving knives, bread knives, steak knives. I'm rather fond of the meat cleavers myself."
Abigail raised her shaking paw to her tiara and pushed in the button on the side.
"Anne," Abigail said, "please holy shit send backup there are so many knives."
"They saw us coming," Anne said. "Everyone's in trouble. Is your life in danger?"
The knives all shifted and pointed at Furret Abigail. Hypno's glowing blue eyes intensified.
"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I am ascendiiiiiiiiiiiing!"
"Pft... you'll be fine. All talk."
Hypno pushed them all forward at once right for her. Abigail shot off of her feet to the right.
The blizzard of steel became a fast growing bundle of knife handles sticking out of the floor. They were so close together, it looked like a flat black platform. Other knives broke apart or slid on the floor. Most of the pokemon were already running, so they were thankfully far away from danger.
After it settled, the Hypno poked his head out of the front of the store. He looked right, then to his left and saw Abigail.
"No," he said.
Abigail didn't have much time to be confused. He sprinted in the opposite direction, and he was fast. She dove on all four limbs and bounded after him. She ran on the right side of a hallway made out of small stores on the right
Hypno shoved a Meganium and Bayleef walking side by side apart to run through them. They already seemed confused by the erupting screams and noises. Abigail passed them as they stared at the Hypno.
She remembered her Grapplers. She jumped and fired her left Grappler at the Hypno's back.
Hypno spun around and caught the end of the wire under the cylinder. He yanked on it and pulled Abigail with his right arm set to throw a punch.
Abigail fired her right Grappler at the floor. She pulled herself under his punch and nailed him right in the gut.
Hypno didn't flinch. Abigail looked up at his face.
"Ow," he said.
Abigail didn't know how to react at all. As she stared back at him, a fiery sting erupted in her side. The impact hit hard in her bones, but she kept her balance and landed on her feet on the other side.
A Munchlax stood where she used to be. Her elbows were raised as she glared back at Furret Abigail.
"As we planned?" Munchlax asked.
"Indeed. Let's get this back on track, shall we?"
Abigail pushed in the button on her tiara. "Anne," she said, "I think I'm getting into a trap."
Abigail turned her head up just in time. A huge, round purple object slammed on the ground right after she jumped back. A Scolipede unfurled its long body and cast a shadow all the way over her eyes.
He felt strong. Abigail took steps back.
"Abigail. Run, now. They're all converging. The Nightlights are down. They knew."
She turned around and fired a Grappler up and away. A Mawile's second mouth clamped down on the wire in mid air and landed. He yanked the cylinder down with it.
Abigail fired her second Grappler. It stopped just out of her reach, surrounded by a blue hue from Psychic. The Hypno's eyes glowed blue along with his outstretched hand.
The Scolipede hit with his tail while her arms were stuck in place. Abigail stumbled forward. She was yanked off her feet by the Mawile pulling on the Grappler wire. She got back up to her feet, still backing away from the Scolipede.
Abigail ended up in the center of the plaza, just in front of the marble fountain decorated with two Horsea statues spitting water towards each other. Mawile's second mouth bit down and wrecked the cylinder. Abigail checked her other one, and the metal shriveled up and dented. Both of them were dead weight now. She slid them off of her arms before they could take advantage of the grasp Mawile had on the wire.
The sounds of pokemon landing on the floor echoed behind her. Abigail couldn't take her gaze off of the Scolipede to check their species, but they all seemed smaller.
Scolipede used Toxic, followed by Hypno. Munchlax copied them.
The black smog and purple streams of liquid surrounded Abigail on all sides. She dodged the streams, but she couldn't see through the smog to see where they were, and because of that, she couldn't sprint through to try to run. It'd be too much to resist getting poisoned if she got hit by enough of it all.
Abigail swiveled on her feet with her arms raised to avoid the jets of poison. They came at regular intervals, then stopped all of sudden.
All of it came at once. Abigail had nowhere to dodge. Stinging pain set into her body.
As soon as she took a step, a small explosion stung the bottom of her feet. She recognized the move Spikes.
A muffled shout rang out from somewhere. In response, the move Screech rang out from behind Abigail. She covered her ears, but couldn't even take a step to get out of the range.
A green projectile came from the smog in front of her. she ducked the first Venoshock with sheer terror coursing through her veins. She knew she couldn't dodge the second one.
Fire pushed through her veins. A scream roared out of her throat high into the air.
Scolipede bounded through the smog. The pain stuck Abigail's limbs in place as he stalked closer and loomed over her. The edge of the two horns on his head lit up with poison type energy.
He jabbed her in the stomach, then spun around and hit her with a Poison Tail. Abigail flew back over the water of the marble fountain and hit the Horsea statue. It collapsed from the force as chunks of marble fell with her into the water.
Green, grassy hills rested under a clear blue sky; perfect training grounds for that day. Patches of brown wheat and flowers broke it all up.
Abigail was still a Sentret. Looking up at her mother, a Furret, nearly strained her neck sometimes. She liked being able to see her reactions. Right now, though, she just stared out at the horizon.
"The Wilderbeasts of Abuja always fascinated me," Mom said. "They tap into an animal's instincts and turn it into something more. Something ferocious. I heard fighting them was horrifying." Mom looked down at Abigail and smiled. "Of course, you and I aren't Wilderbeasts. But, I went to Abuja to see how I could become stronger from it all."
"But, we're not Wilderbeasts," Abigail argued. "So, why?"
"I used their teachings with my own knowledge to make my battle style thereafter. Now, there are multiple steps, so watch me first."
Abigail watched her take in and release a deep breath. She stared at her body, trying to notice the slightest twitch or small sign of the first step.
Instead, her fur rose and spiked up over her whole body at once. Abigail hopped in place with how she looked bigger all of a sudden.
"It's not suited to everyone," Mom said. "So, don't be discouraged if you never can or end up using this, okay? It just means you're different than me. I just want to show you."
Abigail's mom was usually pushy about her needing to master a skill. The contrast today relaxed her.
"First step," she said. "You've got to push energy through every string of fur. It spikes up like this so that it can feel attacks or movement before your skin does, increasing your reaction time."
Furret fell on all fours. Her tail swept and whipped against the grass.
"Feel out your surroundings," Mom said. "Then, the last step is all mental. It's hard, but it's the key component of what I learned from the Wilderbeasts. You need to think 'attack' and just that, but still maintain your techniques through the chaos. Otherwise, it won't be efficient at all. You need to lose control without losing control. Your body itself needs to have memory on how to punch and how to use moves, otherwise, it'll just be a weak temper tantrum when you need something fierce.
"If you do end up being able to do it, though, don't just use it on anyone. It's my most destructive technique."
"So, then when should I use it?" Abigail asked.
"Always match your enemy's violence."
Abigail's head rose over the water. She wiped her eyes and stared at the group of pokemon coming together as the dark smog lifted. From the edge of the smog, she could see a Bannette, Turtwig, Klefki, Liepard, Sableye, and Ghastly, all of whom she couldn't see before. She could feel her heartbeat in her head as she rubbed down between her eyes.
Scolipede's eyes widened. As they did, the other pokemon turned and noticed her standing in the fountain. She looked at each of their eyes.
"Didn't hit me hard enough," Abigail called.
There were two Ghost types. Furret Abigail used Foresight. Red beams of light pulsed out from her eyes. As they swept over the group, Ghastly and Bannette glanced at each other. Abigail winked and smiled at them, then jumped out of the water.
She landed on top of the Horsea statue's head. She shook off her fur and started step one. Fur across her entire body spiked up like a porcupine.
Hypno turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction. Scolipede glanced at him, then turned his head back up to look at Abigail.
The second step; Abigail swished her tail and gripped into the gray stone. Her eyes tensed as she started the third.
"Get behind me," Scolipede said.
Abigail shot off the statue before they could move. She used Double Team and sent the illusion straight on towards them. The Scolipede took the bait and swung at it with his tail. Abigail jumped off the side of the wall and shot at Klefki. She soared over the Turtwig, Liepard, and Bannete and past the Ghastly.
She snagged Klefki in the air and slammed him on the floor. She put fire energy into her paw and slammed the Klefki's face over and over with Fire Punch. she put her back into the last one to make sure he stayed down. His eyes closed after she lifted her paw the last time.
The fur on her tail shifted. Abigail swiveled on her feet and uppercut the soaring Munchlax in her gut. Her momentum came to stop while Abigail grabbed her ears and chucked her in a random direction.
Munchlax flew face forward through a clothing store window. As the glass fell, Abigail turned toward the others.
The remaining pokemon formed a wall and used Toxic again. Furret Abigail darted forward as the smog formed. The poison still stung in her body, but now that she was poisoned, more didn't matter. The only accomplishment they made was ruining their own vision. She kept low and used the fog of smoke to hide.
"Where the hell is she!?" a boy cried.
Abigail locked on the pokemon's location thanks to the noise. She stalked behind the source and found a Sableye. He turned around only for her to grab his face and slam his head into the floor.
His face seemed dazed, but he struggled under her grip. Abigail grabbed Sableye's leg and swung his whole body over her shoulder straight into the floor again. After hitting it right on his face, he conked out.
Abigail's fur shifted from movement behind her. She shot forward first.
Her fist landed on Liepard's chest. His gaping mouth told her he lost his breath, so she wrapped her tail around his body in the second he couldn't move. Furret Abigail gripped the ground with her claws and jumped, swinging her entire body and throwing the Liepard away.
Another pokemon grunted. She must've hit one of them by accident, but a nearby reaction of footsteps gave away another pokemon's position.
Losing her patience with the fight taking so long, Abigail curled her ears and used Hyper Voice in that direction. Blue waves of energy from her mouth started to shatter glass she couldn't see. As she screamed, the fur on her tail shifted again. Unlike before, she could feel the force was uncontestable on reaction. She dove out of the way.
Scolipede rolled past her. After missing, he unfurled his body and stood up.
It shifted into a stare-down. As the gas cleared, Abigail swept her tail as she kept an eye out for the other enemies. The Liepard laid on top of a Turtwig, both unconscious. The Munchlax and Gastly were embedded in the wall behind Scolipede, sliding to the floor. Hypno ran earlier, so he was long gone, but that still left the Mawile.
Abigail noticed a subtle shadow from above. She shifted to the side.
Mawile tried to stomp on her head, but fell on the floor instead. His legs couldn't move as they took the impact, so Abigail pounded on his head. His legs collapsed under him as he felt face flat on the floor.
Abigail circled along with Scolipede. She wanted to line him up with the fountain, so she decided to play along with the stalling. The poison already started to leave her system, so she had as much time as she needed. His lip quivered under her gaze.
"You don't understand the harsh reality-" he said.
"I'm going to do what's called a pro gamer move," Abigail said.
"What."
Abigail jumped forward and tackled him. As he flew in the air, she punched up right in his gut and sent him flying.
The urge hit her to see how high in the air she could punch him. Her next step was jumping on the head of the Horsea statue and jumping into the air again.
Abigail put her all into it. She punched in the same exact spot in his gut, then pushed up. He flew up and shattered the glass ceiling as he screamed.
Abigail soared through the newly opened space and landed on the scratchy surface of the roof. Scolipede continued up to the sky. His body turned into a shadow against the lights shining up from the parallel skyscraper windows.
In her mind, Abigail questioned if her next plan was too violent, then she remembered the Venoshock and point blank poison jab. She shrugged it off.
She charged up electric type energy as the Scolipede fell back down. If a single fur hadn't been sticking up on her body, it was now. Yellow sparks surged from the top of her head to the tip of her tail across her skin.
Scolipede continued to fall and zoomed past her on his way down. The statue crumbled as he fell on it and splashed hard into the water. Upon hearing the splash, Abigail fired a strong Thunderbolt right down into the fountain.
Steam erupted upwards. Abigail backed her face away from it as it wafted up and vanished into thin air. Once it was gone, she looked down through the ceiling again.
Scolipede laid on his side in the middle of the fountain, surrounded by rubble and puddles of water. His breathing was heavy, but Abigail made sure he was down for the count. She let the tension and energy in her body fall away as she hopped down to double check.
The floor became gritty from dust and blown up marble. She looked around in a circle to see if any of the other pokemon had stood up, but they didn't. The only movement was the rising and falling of their breathing. Every other pokemon there had ran away. Unsure what came next, she raised her paw up to her tiara.
"Anne?" Abigail asked. "Are you there? What's happened?"
"Abigail!? Where are you!?"
"South side, right where I was stationed. What happened to the others?"
"They all got tricked when they tried to ambush them. They're okay, but most of the targets converged on you. Are you alright?"
"Yah, I'm fine. Are the others good?"
"Yes. We had doctors ready, and their injuries aren't too bad. Just stay where you are, I'm making my way over. I'll be there in a minute."
"Okay."
Abigail took her paw down and kicked the floor. Dust clouded up around her foot. She took a few paces in circles to bring down her heart rate, even though it wasn't that high in the end.
The Victini Anne eventually floated into sight. She grew slower and slower as she looked around the scene. Her arms fell and dangled in front of her as she inched closer. She froze when her eyes fell on Furret Abigail. Abigail returned a small, shy wave under her chest.
"Did something explode?" Anne asked.
"No," Abigail said. "I, uh, remembered a few techniques."
Anne raised her head and sniffed the air. She grunted.
"Lots of poison smell," Anne said. "Were you poisoned?"
"Yah, but I'm good now."
"What's up with your fur? Do you need a doctor?"
"No, I'm all set. Anything I can do?"
"Well, I'll just look through the footage," Anne said. "You can cut it now, by the way."
Abigail clicked into the center of the tiara. After, she pulled it off of her head and handed it to Anne. Her eyes glossed over it as she nodded to herself.
"So, you sure you don't need me?" Abigail asked.
"Yah, why?" Anne questioned. "Got a date or something?"
"Well, yah. With Zen a few blocks away."
"Oh."
Anne's eyes floated around the plaza more. They settled on the broken remains of the Grapplers that were covered in a layer of dust.
"Sorry, but I lost the Hypno," Abigail said. "Too much going on to chase him."
"Don't worry about it," she replied. "Just go enjoy your date. Leave the rest to us. Good work. Go take a breather."
"Thanks, Anne."
Abigail walked past Anne. As she did, she rotated her arms and cracked her back. After she passed, she glanced back at Anne.
Anne floated perfectly still in place, gazing out over the destroyed fountain. Abigail rubbed the back of her neck and kept walking.
Abigail used her phone and called for a carriage ride. The Blaziken that answered was a kind, chipper fellow. He gave her a smile that she could tell he gave to everyone, just how she liked it. Instead of going in the back, she raised the hood of her cape and sat next to him on the front of the carriage.
The front of the carriage was a platform with a variety of steering tools to use. Most pokemon species used the wheel or the tablet, but there were also levers for snake-like species. Larger carriages were available for larger species, but they were much less common. Most pokemon could use the wheel, but practically every species could use the tablet. The Blaziken used the tablet.
He talked about his wife and kids a lot. Abigail enjoyed listening to him and taking in the sights of the streets. The plain interiors of convenience stores casting light over the dark surface of the road charmed her.
"So, what does marriage really feel like?" Abigail asked, gazing up the length of a skyscraper.
"Well," Blaziken said, "been married three times, third time was the charm. When it's right, you feel a little more alive. Excuse the language, but that person is just your damn favorite."
Abigail chuckled as her eyes fell back down to the street.
"You're about to go on a date with one of them, right Lodestar?" he asked.
"Yah," she nodded.
"Think about how you want them to make you feel. One of them will probably make you feel that way."
"Well," Abigail sighed, "the thing is, I just don't know how I'd want to feel."
"Yeah, tough question to answer. But you've got the answer somewhere."
The carriage pulled up to the bottom of a small hill. The ornate restaurant rested on top. A small, winding path led to the front doors. It had two floors, both of which she could see inside from outside. A table with a single, red flower in a bottle on top peeked over the walls.
"You mind a selfie?" Blaziken asked. "My wife's a big fan."
"Yah, of course," Abigail said.
Blaziken lifted his arm above them. Abigail drew closer to get in range of the camera. She pulled off the hood of her cape and smiled.
"Oh," he said, "like the new look. Say cheese."
Furret Abigail smiled. She kept her eyes open through the flash before she blinked off the aftereffects.
"Thanks," Blaziken said. "Shine bright, Lodestar."
"Uh, thanks!" Abigail smiled back. "You too."
After a lost, awkward nod as she stood up, she hopped down from the front of the carriage. As she drew close to the path up, the carriage rolled away with wheels singing against the soil back to the street. Skyscrapers still cast shadows, but they were from further away than usual in this part of the city. The darkness of it all unnerved her until she walked higher up the hill.
As she came under the restaurant lights, she stopped short of the entryway. The entire building was open to the outside with walls reaching halfway up.
It was also totally empty. With Abigail being able to look inside, she didn't see another pokemon as she took the last steps to the entrance. She shivered and lowered her head when the front counter didn't have anyone behind it.
The floors had deep red carpeting. The lights hanging down from the ceiling by black poles were shaped like bells. The light from them gave everything a gentle, blue hue.
"Hey, Abigail."
Furret Abigail turned her head. Buizel Zen stood under a frame leading out to the dining area. He wore a sharp, pink gown with sleeves that reached just under his paws. His fur was extra sharp.
"Hey," Zen said. "You look... good."
"Just came back from a mission," she said.
"Wait, you weren't fighting or anything were you?"
"Yah. Kind of why they hired me."
"Oh, well, uh... I won't bother asking you all about it," he said, growing a smile. "Anything in particular you want to eat?"
Abigail followed him as he turned around. The dining room was empty for two tables. The first was a long banquet table with a white tablecloth. An ocean of food rested on top, with plates so close together that a few of them touched. The second was the table she saw from outside, a plain wood table with two pink cushions and a rose inside of a bottle with water in it.
"Cause," Zen said, "I made sure to order everything."
"Oh wow," Abigail said under her breath. "Well, alright then. I made sure to have a good appetite, but wow."
"Hey, about what I said earlier..."
Abigail glanced back to Zen's face. He held his paws together and shifted on his feet.
"I think you look beautiful," he mumbled. "Not just... Good."
"Oh, I'm sorry?" Abigail asked, smiling. "Couldn't quite hear you."
Zen's eyes curled down. Abigail blinked twice and tilted her head.
"I did get hit by a sound-based attack," she said.
Zen sighed. His dark blue eyes lowered. "You look really pretty."
"Thanks."
Abigail took a second glance over the banquet table. There was so much food that it all blended together.
"My feet are killing me," she said, "do you mind grabbing a plate for me...?"
"Sure. What do you want to eat?"
"Whatever you think I'll like."
"Oh... Okay."
Abigail walked to the cushion as Zen went to the table. As she sat down, Zen started to walk down the length of the table with a white plate in one of his paws. He paused, stopped, and continued five separate times without picking anything. She continued to watch him, curious about what he'd choose to present. With how hard he stared down at the food, he was definitely thinking hard about it.
When he finally came back over three or four minutes later, he loaded her plate up with brown, fried chicken and celery with a small tub ranch dressing. On his own plate, he had a quesadilla with a number of meat and vegetables wrapped under the surface.
"So," Zen said, "I know I said I wouldn't bother you too much about it, but how did the mission go?"
"Alright," she said. "It was kind of like the same thing I usually do."
"Yah, that's the idea. Well, good."
"So, how about you?" Abigail asked. "What was your life like before all this?"
Zen's paw touched the top of his plate. His eyes flickered past the red rose petals between them.
"Honestly," he said, "I hated my life. I just... didn't get any rewards for working so hard until now."
Abigail frowned. "What kind of rewards?"
"Mm, good question. If I had to say... I guess maybe from my parents. I dunno if I'd call it approval or anything that dramatic..."
"Pats on the back to keep you going?"
"Yah, that sorta thing."
"So, how about your friends?" Abigail asked. "I mean, they must've all been shocked."
"Well, actually, no," he said, staring down. "Aaron was really the only friend I had in the end. Kind of had a falling out with everyone else a few months before."
"Not fun to talk about, huh?"
"I don't want to turn this into a venting session or anything." Zen smiled and turned his eyes up. "I am trying to look a little cool."
"I think the pink's got you covered," Abigail smirked.
"Ah, well, my mom warned the outfit wouldn't do all the work."
"Is she the one who dressed you?"
Zen pushed his lips together and tilted his head.
"Helen first picked out the cape for me," she said.
"Oh, really?"
Abigail nodded.
"Huh, okay," Zen nodded back. "You should tell me about your life before all this. You probably have some stories to tell, right?"
"Would you believe them?" she asked.
"Yah. Hit me."
"Okay, weapons dealer, bank robbers, or street gang?"
Zen's face fell. "Wait, seriously...?"
Abigail leaned back and crossed her arms. "You calling me a liar?"
The first she talked about was the street gang. They bothered the restaurant's usual customers, so she had to throw them out. Cleaning afterwards took an extra thirty minutes. The second were the bank robbers. Abigail met them by luck, but she had to stay awake till three in the morning to track them all down. They were the most annoying group she'd ever dealt with.
The weapons dealers were the most fun. The neighborhood was abandoned, so it was basically a playground. She got to fight without having to worry about anything going wrong except dying. And because it was a weapons trade, it wasn't easy enough to be boring. They swung, threw, and fired a lot of stuff at her. Axes, lances, plenty of blast wands; it all ended pretty fast after Abigail got her paws on one of those.
"And then," Furret Abigail said, "I used the blast wand on the last one against a brick wall."
Buizel Zen stared back with his face stuck. He stared down at her plate without moving a muscle, with the exception of his eyes shifting.
"So, what do you think?" she asked.
"That street's name wouldn't have happened to be Cherrygrove...?"
"Yah?"
"Holy crap... that was you..."
"The explosions were so big," she bragged. "You should've seen it."
"Uh, yah, our parents noticed that."
"Oh. Ooooh... Uh, my bad..." Abigail cringed in place and huddled her paws to her chest.
"Oh, it's fine," Zen said. "They were just scared of what did it. They've been trying to get to redoing that whole street for quite a while. Actually looks better now."
Zen finally took his last bites of his quesadilla. Abigail took the chance to finish, too. Both of their plates were finally cleaned about an hour after they started.
"Hey," Abigail said, "What about the leftovers?"
Buizel Zen glanced in the banquet table's direction. "We'll just give the leftovers to the Yellow Clan," he said. "They'll clean it up."
As Zen looked back, he froze up with the silence hanging in the air. Abigail tilted her head and smiled.
"What's up?" she asked. "Look like you want to say something."
"Ah, don't worry about it," Zen said. "Just, nothing..."
"Okay. Suit yourself."
"We should... You want to try going to a concert again?" Zen asked. "I feel pretty bad about last time. Maybe we can get, like, I dunno..."
"It's okay," she said. "I've been feeling a lot better, actually. I think those... energy blocks or whatever they were called affected me more than I realized. I mean, I feel good."
"So, you want to do this again sometime? Or maybe I'll find something?"
"Yah, of course," she smiled. " It can be a surprise."
"Really...? Cause, I'm not sure-"
"You pick. It'll be fine."
"Okay!"
Zen tensed up again after his excitement bled through. He cleared his throat and shortened his smile.
"Alright, it'll be good," he said.
Abigail stared at his face for a few extra seconds. His cheeks were a little chubby, and he had a small nose.