Chapter 12: Frostbitten
"Casey go!" Jimmy exclaimed to the younger girl in great urgency.
Casey flew off of the bleachers and sprinted as fast as she could towards her distressed friend. Lyra started to hyperventilate as her mind attacked itself, unable to think clearly and only focused on what she saw in front of her.
She noticed Casey coming to her aid from the corner of her eye. For a moment, she was relieved, but then she frowned
"No... I've come so far in this battle... I can't give up now... not yet." Lyra thought to herself.
Even though she was losing control of herself, she managed to hold her hand up in Casey's direction as if telling her to stop.
The purple-haired girl halted, a little confused by Lyra's reaction. Then a thought came to her and she narrowed her eyes; "Lyra."
"Casey... I-... I know... you're worried... but please... I c- can do this." The brunette girl stuttered, not wanting to quit.
Casey shook her head; "Lyra, listen to yourself, you'll only get worse if you continue, just forfeit and we'll try again when you've managed to get over your fear. You can't risk your mental health like this!"
"Please Casey..."
"You can rematch, your health is more important." Casey said, trying to be gentle, but slowly growing annoyed by Lyra's unwillingness to comply.
"But Casey, I can-"
"Lyra."
"Casey I-"
"Lyra."
"Case-"
"LYRA! I'm NOT asking you! I'm telling you!" Casey yelled back.
The younger girl's outburst shocked everyone in the room. The remaining members of the group deducted that Lyra was being reluctant based on Casey's reaction. Alias was taken aback by the yelling, he thought the shorter girl was just giving Lyra some words of encouragement. The referee was too exasperated to care, he just no longer wanted to be in the same room as his man-child boss.
"Uhh... hey what's going on over there?" Alias asked, wondering what Casey's reaction was about.
"Shut it Alien! Just let me talk to her!" Casey replied sharply.
The girl's harsh remark bewildered the Ice-type gym leader... and confused him; "Alien?"
If the situation wasn't so dire, Khoury would've facepalmed.
Lyra finally tore her eyes away from the gigantic Mamoswine and laid them on her concerned friend. She was expecting her to be angry and frustrated, but Lyra was surprised to see the purple-haired girl holding back tears.
"She's really worried about me..."
The brunette stopped shaking and took a deep breath, then she turned to the Ice-type gym leader, who was looking rather uncomfortable watching the two girls.
Closing her eyes, and composing herself, she spoke: "Ready when you are Alias."
Lyra's statement shocked most everyone in the group. Casey clenched her fist in deep frustration; "Lyra are you insane!?"
"Probably."
"You aren't thinking clearly! Just walk away! I promise we'll be back!"
"I know, but there's an opportunity I can't let go to waste. I can't give up now. So please... I have to do this." Lyra pleaded.
Casey huffed loudly before sighing in defeat; "When you are rushed to the hospital, I'm beating you up. Understand?"
Lyra shuddered, she knew Casey wasn't being serious, but the threat wasn't exactly hollow either. But regardless, she smiled, thankful that Casey was giving her a chance; "Thanks Casey."
The younger girl rolled her eyes and moved a few feet away, but she didn't move too far in case Lyra lost consciousness and needed to be caught.
The group was a little confused by Casey moving away at first, but they figured that the younger girl just couldn't get through to Lyra.
Khoury instinctively stood up to try to convince his stubborn friend to forfeit, but then he sat back down. Lyra was a difficult person to sway once she set her mind to something, no matter what obstacle was in her way.
Speaking of Lyra, her attention returned to the Twin Tusk Pokémon. Her limbs immediately started to betray her brain's commands and shivered uncontrollably.
"I'm shaking again... at this rate I'll definitely shut down before I even come close to beating this thing. Was Casey right? Should I quit?" the girl thought to herself, second-guessing the decision she had made. "My friends really care about me... they want what's best for me, which means not endangering myself like this."
"No... my friends are right to worry about me... but if I give up now, I am giving into my fear instead of trying to overcome it. If I quit, then my condition will only get worse, not better." Lyra counter argued with herself.
"There are so many more Pokémon that are larger than this one. How can I hope to battle them with a crutch like this? How can I dream of beating Jasmine's Steelix one day if I can't beat this Mamoswine? How can I even hope to compete in the Pokémon League?"
"Being a Pokémon battler means being able to look at any opponent, no matter how strong, and say 'I am not afraid!'! And today, I will show that I am worthy of battling any opponent!"
Lyra found the ability to move her hand again and instantly slapped herself, awakening the rest of her body from its state of shivering. "C'mon! Get a grip! I can do this!"
Thus, Lyra began her battle against the huge Mamoswine; "Use Aqua Tail!"
Marill smiled, glad that her trainer was okay and still willing to battle. Then, she surrounded her spherical tail in a veil of water and raced towards the Twin Tusk Pokémon.
"Earthquake!" Alias commanded.
The Ice/Ground-type raised its two front legs and slammed them on the ground, creating huge shockwaves that ripped the ground up. The force was so powerful that the Water/Fairy-type was sent flying all the back to Lyra's feet.
The girl's fears instantly returned upon seeing how powerful Mamoswins's attack was: "That attack effortlessly knocked Marill away! I can't beat this thing! What was I thinking?"
"No... I can't give up! I have to do everything in my power to win!"
With a quivering, but determined body, Lyra raised her hand and pointed at the large creature that stood in the way of her victory; "C'mon Marill let's do this! Play Rough!"
The Aqua Mouse Pokemon got up and surrounded her body in pink, sparkling energy. Then it raced towards Mamoswine.
"Earthquake again!"
Mamoswine mooed and slammed its legs on the ground again, causing another tremor.
This time however, Lyra had a plan to counter the Ground-type attack; "Jump up and land the attack on its head!"
Marill leaped to avoid the shifting ground beneath it and smacked its Fairy-infused tail into her opponent's large forehead.
However, the attack didn't do nearly as much as Lyra had hoped for as the Ice/Ground-type wasn't pushed back by the attack at all.
"Yikes, this won't be easy to take out..." Lyra mused to herself as she analyzed the situation. "I need to defeat it as quickly as possible though. I don't know how long I can prevent myself from freaking out again."
Suddenly, Alias ordered another attack, which snapped Lyra out of her thoughts; "Hail! Then use Icicle Crash!"
It had stopped hailing beforehand due to Blitzle and Weavile's clash being powerful enough to disperse the clouds, so Alias needed to activate it again. Grey clouds gathered as heavy snow and light hail started to fall.
Lyra waited for a second until she noticed a large icicle materialize in the clouds above Marill, prompting a response from her; "Brick Break!"
The Aqua Mouse Pokémon noticed the icicle above it and flipped herself forward, swinging her tail and destroying the obstacle in the process.
More icicles came down, but Marill either dodged or destroyed them all with her powered-up tail.
A few seconds later, the icicles stopped falling, and Marill hadn't taken any damage.
Lyra smiled; "Awesome job Marill! Now let's attack the Mamo-"
Lyra was cut off by her Water/Fairy-type crying out in pain. Mamoswine was now on top of Marill, crushing it.
Acting on impulse, Lyra pulled out Marill's pokeball and recalled her. Then she thought about what had just occurred; "I didn't even see it coming... how is that even possible? There is no way I missed something THAT big!"
She started shivering again, and it wasn't from the cold weather.
Contrasting to Lyra's fear and confusion, Khoury knew exactly what was going on; "Snow Cloak. Mamoswine's ability is Snow Cloak."
"If my memory is correct, that's the ability that makes the bearer more difficult to see when it's hailing right?" Jimmy asked.
The younger boy nodded, "Yep, Lyra will have to think of a strategy to deal with an opponent that cannot be seen unless it's nearby."
Lyra took a deep breath and wordlessly threw Girafarig's Pokeball, releasing the Long Neck Pokémon from its home.
At first, he took his battle stance and looked for its opponent. Then he noticed the terrifyingly huge Mamoswine and fearfully whipped his head around, frightened for his Megalophobic trainer.
Though she was shivering and unstable, she weakly gave her Normal/Psychic-type a thumbs up.
Relieved, but still unsure, Girafarig reluctantly turned his head back towards his opponent, prepared to battle.
Knowing that Girafarig wouldn't be able to safely set up Nasty Plot again without him getting KO'd, Lyra chose to attack immediately; "Use Energy Ball!"
The Normal/Psychic-type charged up a ball of green energy and launched it in the direction of Mamoswine.
"Hide in the hail!" Alias countered.
The Twin Tusk Pokemon attempted to move out of the way, but its large size prevented it from performing such a task, taking a super-effective hit from the Energy Ball. But even though it had clearly taken a lot of damage, the massive Pokemon still looked as threatening as ever and backed into the raging snowstorm again, concealing itself from view again.
Lyra's terror and anticipation rose through the roof as she frantically searched the raging downfall of white for the immense mammoth.
"Where is it? How can I find it? Oh no, no no no no no!" Lyra panicked, visibly clutching her head in distress, unable to think logically through all of the anxiety crashing on her mental stability.
Alias saw this as a perfect opportunity to strike; "Icicle Crash!"
A distant 'moo' rang out through the thick snow, momentarily giving away the Ice/Ground-type's location before sharp icicles the size of knight lances fell from the grey clouds.
Lyra only noticed where Mamoswine had mooed and paid no mind to the command that Alias had given. "Use Energy Ball in that direction!" she commanded while pointing to where she had heard the Ice/Ground-type.
Girafarig's back head noticed the direction Lyra was pointing and sent a message to the front head, allowing him to charge up an Energy Ball and-
CRASH!
The first icicle struck the Long Neck Pokemon's back, causing him to cease his Grass-type attack and cry out in pain. From there, the barrage of large icicles continued on the Normal/Psychic-type, dealing tons of damage.
Lyra's only response was to watch in total panic as her faithful Pokemon got bombarded by the Ice-type attack. Any part of her mind trying to come up with a logical plan was drowned out by terror and anxiety.
But... even though he was close to fainting, Girafarig still stood up, his back head gave his trainer a confident smile. Her Pokemon's determination snapped her out of her incoherency.
"Girafarig is still standing even after taking so many hits... he doesn't want to give up, nor does he want me to give up. I truly have some incredible Pokemon..."
"Heavy Slam to finish it off!"
Alias' aggravated voice broke Lyra out of her thoughts and alarmed her of what was to come.
"Keep your guard up Girafarig, wait for my command." Lyra said. She knew that Heavy Slam required the Twin Tusk Pokemon to make contact with Girafarig, revealing its location in the process.
Lyra and Girafarig's eyes scanned the colorless infinity ahead of them for any sign of something darker, until Girafarig spotted a dark shadow out of the corner of his eye rapidly increasing in size.
The Long Neck Pokemon's front head sent a message to its back head. In only a matter of a couple nanoseconds, the back head had received the message and gave an unspecified cry to alert his trainer. Lyra heard the cry and instantly took notice of where the Normal/Psychic-type was looking and pointed her finger in that direction, with the intention of uttering a command.
However, Mamoswine came into full view and raced towards Girafarig. The Twin Tusk Pokemon's sudden entrance paralyzed Lyra, delaying her command. Without any direction, the Long Neck Pokemon panicked as well, knowing it was too late to come up with a plan on his own.
Thankfully, Lyra snapped out and frantically shouted a command; "Psychic!"
Just like with Dewgong before, instead of focusing his energy on the Ice/Ground-type, Girafarig unleashed his energy without direction, in an attempt to blow his gigantic foe away from him.
Unfortunately, Mamoswine was much heavier, and much stronger than the Sea Lion Pokémon, and held its position rather than being pushed back.
"Push through it!" Alias shouted , surprisingly able to see through the thick, white snowfall.
Mamoswine attempted to move its large feet through the sheer psychic power Girafarig was exerting, though it was struggling. Now that the initial shock of Mamoswine being too close had worn off, The Normal/Psychic-type focused all of its energy on the Twin Tusk Pokemon.
Lyra would normally see this as an opportunity to attack, but with how tired Girafarig was and with how much energy he was pouring into his Psychic, ordering another attack would surely leave the Long Neck Pokemon wide open. For now, she needed to wait and think of a more rational plan.
Alias wasn't one to be stuck in a stalemate, so he promptly ordered another attack; "Use Earthquake to add pressure!"
Mamoswine mooed and stomped its back right foot, causing cracks to appear on the ground and producing shakes that you would only feel in a high-magnitude tremor.
"Use Psychic! Keep the attack from affecting you!" Lyra shouted, all rationality had disappeared, her only objective now was keeping Girafarig in the battle.
Girafarig brayed loudly and unleashed more energy, so much that the shaking didn't only die down, it ceased entirely!
The angry shouts from the other side of the field continued, "Don't let it best you! Icicle Crash!"
Mamoswine mooed again and unleashed a third attack, creating a ball of ice in front of it and sending it upward, where it shattered into many large icicles that rained down toward Girafarig.
"Don't give up! Keep using Psychic!" Lyra shouted.
The Normal/Psychic-type kept pouring more and more power into its attack, now repelling the icicles, enough to hold them in place, but not enough to blow them away.
Girafarig knew he was going too far, the amount of effort he was putting into this one attack was far too much for him. However, he had seen the look on Lyra's face when she had sent him out to battle the Mamoswine. She gave the indication that she was okay, but he knew better. Lyra is in a really unstable mental condition right now, and he knew she was counting on him to pull through, even though she is terrified and on the verge of losing consciousness.
There was no way he was going down here, he would stay up.
For his beloved trainer, who believed in him.
In a final display of energy, Girafarig unleashed a tsunami of psychic energy everywhere. It effortlessly tossed Mamoswine and the icicles away from him. The clouds dispersed, stopping the hail. Lyra was blown back a considerable distance. Casey nearly fell down. And everyone in the bleachers needed to hold on to the edge of their seats to keep themselves from being pushed back.
Lyra rubbed her head, a little woozy from the unexpected force she had to endure. Then the thought of her Pokemon crossed her mind: "Girafarig!"
Her eyes returned to the field to see her loyal Pokemon, still standing, breathing heavily.
An overjoyed smile materialized of Lyra's lips; "Girafarig! Thank goodness you're okay!"
No response.
Lyra's expression faded; "Girafarig?"
The Long Neck Pokemon turned his front head towards his trainer. He gave her a quick smile before his knees buckled, slipping into a brief period of unconsciousness.
"Girafarig!"
"Girafarig is unable to battle! The challenger may now select their final Pokemon!"
Lyra worriedly ran over to her fallen comrade and held his neck in her arms; "Are you okay?"
He woke up and gave his trainer a tiny, but discernible nod.
As she held her Girafarig, a gnawing feeling rose up in Lyra's unstable mind.
"I overexerted him."
"This is my fault."
Lyra's inner feelings broke into her physical state as she started getting choked up; "I-I'm sorry."
Girafarig gave the teenage trainer a confused look, he didn't understand why she was apologizing.
"I- I was so focused on winning. I d-didn't consider how tired you were."
The Normal/Psychic-type still didn't understand, but it still wanted to help. Without the ability to verbally soothe her fears, Girafarig could only rub his nose against her arm, in an attempt to tell her that everything was alright.
"Sh- Should I forfeit so that I can take you to the Pokemon Center?"
Girafarig shook his head, he may have overworked himself, but he wasn't in a dangerous condition, just exhausted.
The gesture only calmed Lyra's nerves slightly, but it was enough to realize that she didn't need to forfeit for Girafarig's sake. Lyra took out Girafarig's Pokeball and returned him to its cozy interior.
With her overwhelming fear for her Pokemon's healthcare dampened, she now returned her focus to the other side of the battlefield. Unfortunately, Mamoswine was still standing but...
...it was breathing heavily.
It was tired.
What at first seemed like an unstoppable force to our heroine now appeared to be a feasibly conquerable opponent. The effects of Lyra's fears were diminishing.
Lyra brought out the Pokeball of her remaining Pokemon and threw it, causing it to open; "Let's finish this Marill!"
The Aqua Mouse Pokemon leaped out of her ball and landed on her tail, suspending her entire body weight on it.
"Start off with Aqua Tail!"
Marill used the buoyancy of its spherical tail to bounce into the air towards Mamoswine, prepared to strike.
"Heavy Slam!" Alias shouted in response to Lyra's attack attempt.
"Move out of the way! Then attack it!"
The Twin Tusk Pokémon lifted its two front feet off the ground, fully intending to ram Marill, but the Aqua Mouse Pokemon nimbly shifted out of the way and landed on its tail behind Mamoswine. Then she turned around and prepared to strike with her tail again.
"Earthquake!"
Mamoswine slammed its already suspended front feet on the torn-up battlefield, creating a powerful shockwave that blew Marill away from it.
"Marill!" Lyra exclaimed in worry.
Marill hadn't taken a lot of hits during the battle, but she wasn't exactly known for being able to take a hit well. Since she is unevolved, she suffered more from attacks than it would if it was an Azumarill. Lyra relied on Marill's small size that allowed her to dodge attacks more reliably than other Pokémon. The Megalophobic trainer was genuinely terrified that Marill was already unable to battle.
Thankfully, the Water/Fairy-type stood up with a bit of struggle, but she wasn't ready to give up yet.
"Let's try Play Rough!" Lyra commanded.
"Icicle Crash!"
Pink, swirling energy surrounded Marill as she bounded towards her target. Large icicles materialized above Mamoswine's front and started raining down, but the Aqua Mouse Pokémon dodged them all and leaped up with its tail ready to strike.
"Earthquake again!" Alias shouted.
Once again, the Ice/Ground-type mooed loudly and slammed its feet down, knocking Marill back with extreme force.
Lyra watched in utter shock as her faithful Pokémon skidded across the rough ground before halting and laying motionless.
Even without seeing Marill's eyes, Lyra was certain she had lost. The Water/Fairy-type was already tired from the last hit, so there was no way she wouldn't have been knocked out by this one. She would've walked over to return Marill to her Pokeball, but her trembling feet wouldn't budge. Maybe it was her fear and panic returning, or maybe it was just the temperature of the room, probably a combination of both. She decided that she would get Marill when Alias returned Mamoswine.
...
But he didn't.
Lyra turned her attention back to Marill, who was struggling to stand up, she still wanted to fight.
The Ice-type gym leader sneered in annoyance; "Finish it with Heavy Slam!"
Lyra could only watch as Mamoswine raced towards Marill, with the intent of knocking her out. Lyra shut her eyes, refusing to watch her precious friend get hit again.
...
Nothing?
Lyra was expecting to hear a distressed cry from the Aqua Mouse Pokémon, but against all odds, she had pushed herself out of the way before the Twin Tusk Pokemon reached her. The teen girl laid her eyes on Marill, who was trying her hardest to get up.
Something about Marill's resolve triggered something in her trainer's mind.
Throughout the entire battle, Lyra's Pokemon had pushed themselves to the max, choosing to power through their struggles when other Pokemon would have quit.
Blitzle had used three moves at once to cripple the Weavile even though she was in a lot of pain.
Girafarig pushed himself to the max, choosing to stay up when the pressure was unbearable, resulting in Mamoswine taking big damage.
And right now, Marill was choosing to stand, even when she was in a world of pain.
All of her Pokemon had accomplished unimaginable feats, the only one yet to prove their strength...
...was Lyra herself.
As soon as Mamoswine came into the picture, Lyra was using all of her mental strength possible to stay conscious and keep fighting, but her fear never went away.
Realizing all of the trouble her Pokemon went through just to win, just for her, was an indicator of how close they were to their trainer, and each other.
"I won't let their efforts...
..go to waste!"
In an act of sheer willpower, the teenage girl broke through the binds of her phobia yelled; "You can do it Marill! I BELIEVE IN YOU!"
They were just words.
But they meant the world to Marill.
With a burst of strength, the Aqua Mouse Pokemon stood up completely, ready to fight.
All effects of Lyra's fears disappeared as she commanded Marill; "Iron Tail!"
Alias, who was getting really annoyed with how long this battle was taking, yelled back; "Earthquake!"
Mamoswine released another seismic wave, disrupting the already ruined ground another time.
"Slam your tail on the ground!" Lyra commanded.
The Water/Fairy-type-type shouted her name like some sort of battle cry as she slammed her metallic tail on the ground, rooting her on the ground and practically nullifying the effect of the Ground-type attack.
"Switch to Brick Break and finish this!" Lyra exclaimed.
"Heavy Slam!"
Lyra detached her tail and raced towards the Twin Tusk Pokémon at full speed while Mamoswine raced towards its opponent.
When they neared each other, Lyra called out: "Jump up!"
Marill leaped up to the Ice/Ground-type's face and slammed her tail against its forehead, halting its stampede. Marill then flipped backwards, landing in front of the massive Pokemon on her feet.
Everyone watched in anticipation as Mamoswine took very heavy breaths. Lyra held her breath in this moment, her anticipation reaching ridiculous levels.
It took a single step forward...
...and collapsed on the ground, unable to battle.
There was a brief silence before the audience erupted into elated cheers.
"Lyra won!" Marina exclaimed.
"I knew she had it in her!" Jimmy followed suit.
Lyra just stood there, unable to comprehend what just happened. When Mamoswine first appeared, she was terrified, not ready to face an opponent of such power and size.
But here she was, as the triumphant victor of the battle.
Lyra collapsed on her back, exhausted.
"We did it... my Pokémon and I won."
Marill came to her side and happily cheered her name, causing her trainer to smile and scratch her head.
"Marill, I couldn't be prouder of you right now. Thank you for pulling through." Lyra said to her, resulting in a beaming smile emerging from the Aqua Mouse Pokémon.
The brunette trainer stood up and took out the Pokeballs of Blitzle and Girafarig; "I'm proud of you two as well, I wish I could release you to tell you that face-to face, but you both need your rest." Though she wasn't looking at them directly, she could feel their proud smiles radiating from the spherical devices.
Meanwhile, Alias returned Mamoswine and trudged over to the girl in an uncharismatic fashion. He wasn't happy.
Lyra noticed his expression and feared for the worst, but he just sighed and held something out.
"This is yours."
Lyra reached out and graciously received the small object. It was a badge, it looked like a pair of light-blue teeth with the symbol of the ice-type inside of them.
The Frostbite Badge.
She took a few seconds to admire it, probably still in disbelief that she had won, which annoyed the Ice-type gym leader.
"What are you waiting for? Go before I change my mind."
Lyra was taken aback by his outburst and quickly joined her friends near the entrance of the gym, who were giving her bright smiles. Marill had hitched a ride on her shoulder.
"Congrats Lyra!" Vincent praised.
"Yeah! I'm still mad at you for endangering yourself, but you managed to pull through! GG to you!" Casey said, following up on Vincent.
"Thanks you two!" Lyra answered.
Khoury spoke next; "Hey, I know you managed to win and all... but please... don't do that again. You nearly gave us all a heart attack."
His best friend laughed; "No promises! But yeah, I'll look after myself a little better now."
Jimmy chuckled at the two; "Anyway, we should get back to the Pokémon Center and have Lyra's Pokémon rest up."
"Yeah. Then we should leave for Blackthorn City, unless anyone has any last-minute errands they need to run." Marina followed up.
Everyone agreed and walked back to the Pokémon Center to let Lyra's team rest. Khoury and Marina went out to buy some supplies in a nearby store since they had the largest backpacks. Everyone else stayed back to play Kan Jam and other games, which Casey smoked everyone at.
12:28 PM, Mahogany Town
Everyone finished packing and was ready to leave. A news broadcast was on, so they watched to see if anything interesting would show up before they left.
For a while, it was just the usual stuff: weather, upcoming contests/events, et cetera.
But eventually, something very alarming was announced.
Alias was missing.
Casey raised an eyebrow; "He's missing? We just saw him 2 or 3 hours ago!"
Jimmy nodded; "This is really sudden. I can't remember anything about him that might suggest that he would leave on his own. Maybe he was kidnapped."
"That's definitely a possibility, but I doubt he's careless enough to be kidnapped. Regardless, nobody knows, not even the news, we only know that he disappeared." Khoury pointed out
"Should we help look for him?" Lyra asked.
Vincent took a peak at the TV broadcasting the news before turning back to Lyra; "The police are everywhere looking for him. A gym leader is really important, so I doubt that we would be able to offer much assistance."
"Besides." Jimmy said, attracting everyone's attention over to him; "On the way to Blackthorn City, there is an area with reports of Team Rocket activity, so I think we'll be a bigger help there."
Marina nodded; "Alright, if that's the case, we should go now and get there sooner rather than later."
"Yep, let's head out y'all."
The group stood up and exited the Center, and later, the town, as they continued their journey.
Team Rocket Headquarters
Giovanni, the middle-aged leader of Team Rocket, sat in his comfortable swivel chair, feeling a little bored. Not much had happened today, basically giving him nothing to do. If there was one thing he hated, it was boredom.
Just then, his door burst open, allowing a random grunt that he doesn't know the name of in his dimly-lit office.
"Sir! I have come to tell you that-"
"Before you tell me anything related to that, answer this: What did you do wrong?" the CEO asked menacingly.
The grunt stopped herself and gulped, which Giovanni enjoyed. It felt good to be feared.
"I- I- forgot to knock?"
Giovanni sighed in annoyance; "We don't knock here fool."
"I- I- didn't bow?"
"You should respect your superiors, yes, but that's not right either."
"Ummm, I don't... know?"
Giovanni sighed again, even more annoyed; "Look at your feet."
The grunt looked down and immediately turned red from embarrassment. She wasn't wearing any shoes.
"How about you leave, put on some shoes, and retry. Okay?" Giovanni offered.
"U-um yes sir!" the grunt said as she left in a hurry.
A few minutes later, Giovanni's door burst open again.
"Sir!"
"Excellent. You get a gold star."
The grunt perked up; "Whoa! Thank you boss!"
Giovanni shook his head; "What is this preschool? We don't do gold stars either."
"Oh... right."
"Anyway... what is it that is so important?"
"Right! Your son has returned."
Giovanni's eyes widened slightly in surprise; "Now that is interesting."
"Should I send him in sir?"
"Please do. After that, you are dismissed."
The grunt nods and exits the office. A few seconds later, a short man with messy white hair entered the room.
"Ah Alias." Giovanni greeted him; "Welcome back."