Day 69:
"Damnit Cyan! Where the HELL are you!?" I heard Blue's voice screaming out, muffled and distorted by the rippling water flowing over my body.
I suppressed the urge to chuckle and continued to bob in the under the surface of the river, breathing methodically through the reed I held firmly between my teeth.
After camping the night before, it hadn't taken us too long to make our way from Route 9 into Route 10. Unlike Route 9 which had been mostly tall rock walls alongside the grass path, Route 10 stretched along a wide slow-running river on one side, with patches of grass across rocky terrain on the other. As we'd ventured deeper, I'd seen the River as a good opportunity to toy-Pardon, 'train' with Blue.
It only took me a few minutes to retrieve Yeller into his poke ball and get the materials I needed for my simple breathing pipe. Then I'd told Blue to close his eyes and count to 30, before trying to find me.
By this point, he'd been searching for almost thirty minutes.
"I'm serious! You promised you wouldn't go far!" Blue exclaimed. "If I find out you ran away I'll be really mad!"
I'd already had a feeling before, but I was now certain. Blue was undeniably great at analysing and applying pre-made tactics, but he was absolutely terrible at lateral thinking. Unconventional tactics, or anything he hadn't encountered before, they were enough to throw him off his game.
He had been checking the rocks and plant patches looking for me, focussed on the places a kid my age could hide-The places he would be able to hide. So focussed on his own conceptions that the idea I could be floating in the water nearby wasn't even passing through his mind. I was hardly obscured, any close look in the water would reveal me-The river was fairly clean after all.
By contrast...
...Are you okay? The silver eyes of my young black-haired friend looked at me with some concern as she sat crouched by the riverbank, a finger pushing into the water to test the temperature. You've been in there for a while.
Even though she'd decided to join in the training, Chee had found me before even a few minutes had passed. Once she'd caught sight of me, she sat down by the riverbed and waited, quietly watching both me and the fish Pokemon.
I raised a hand and gestured with my right hand to indicate that I was doing fine. Don't worry about me, I'm doing fine.
You look awfully wrinkly now though... Like Professor Oak...
Well, that happens when you stay submerged in water for too long. Fortunately the sunlight was strong enough to keep the water from being freezing cold-I had the self discipline to endure even if it weren't, but my body was still young and relatively weak.
"What are you even looking at, Green?" Blue spat, stomping over to the riverbank. "Are you even trying to find Cyan? You've just been sitting there since a while..." His voice trailed off as his piercing silver eyes met my gaze.
Ah. Busted. I thought to myself.
...
"...You look like a soggy prune." Blue huffed as I tried in vain to dry my hair. I had been squeezing it to get the moisture out, but I was thoroughly drenched. "I guess that's what you get for waiting in a river." He grumbled. "What reasonable person would do something like that?"
"Well, that's rather the point." I answered, placing my relatively dry cap over my still damp head. "You never thought to check the river because I wouldn't be able to hide there without drowning-Those sorts of thoughts are one of the first things soldiers are taught to use against you."
Blue seemed to consider this for a moment, placing his hand to his chin. "...I see. Taking advantage of a blind spot in my preconceptions..."
I didn't need to explain much more than that to him. Blue was smart enough to figure out the rest-And it was better for him to do so than merely regurgitate my knowledge.
"Hm? But then..." Blue frowned at me. "Who taught you to think like that?"
I paused my hair-drying for a moment, unsure how to answer.
"I mean, the way you talk about it-No, the way you act in general... You talk less as if this is something you were told about, and more as though you experienced it first-hand..."
Yeah, Blue was smart alright. A little too smart. I'll have to be careful of how I behave in front of him from now on. I don't want to end up wasting fate points. I thought to myself.
I opted not to answer Blue, wringing my jacket one last time before I slid it back over my shoulders. It wasn't dry, but it was close as it was going to get for now.
"Hey, tell me about Surge's team." I deflected Blue's question with one of my own. "How does he battle with them?"
We finally started moving forwards again, and Blue's face contorted in a scowl.
"I don't know." He answered, crossing his arms. "I couldn't see."
...Couldn't see?
"What do you mean by that?" I frowned at the brown-haired boy, who shrugged slightly.
"I know his Partner is a Raichu, but... When I got to the battle portion of the test, I was defeated without seeing either one of them." Blue huffed. I got the distinct impression he didn't like to talk about his failings, and he was only opening up a small amount in the hopes that I could help.
Still, I couldn't help but wonder.
"How did you lose a battle without even seeing the opposing Pokemon?"
Blue didn't seem to be very happy with that line of questioning, as he refused to answer and trailed a few steps behind me. "Just dirty tricks. What does it matter…" I heard him mumble in frustration, but it seemed as though he didn't want to talk about it anymore.
Chee took advantage of the small falling out to sidle up to me again. Her silver eyes shimmering. Are you done talking about battles?
"I think we are, for now." I answered soothingly. "I'm sure it'll keep coming up. You need to prepare for coming Gym Battles as well. Don't you think you should let Bulbasaur out more often?"
The black-haired girl shook her head. I don't wanna.
"It's important to build your bond with your Pokemon." I released Yeller from his Pokeball, and the yellow rodent promptly leapt up onto my shoulder. "The two of you are partners, you'll need to trust him to watch your back no matter what. Building that bond is important."
Her silver eyes washed over both of us a few times, jittering back and forth, before staring down at the ground. It won't change anything.
Realistically, she was probably right. From what I'd seen of Bulbasaur-Including our time working together in Mt Moon- Bulbasaur was incredibly loyal to Chee. He already had the absolute loyalty skill, something even Yeller didn't possess. That wasn't the part I was worried about.
Something about their relationship gnawed at me. Chee never seemed willing to let her Bulbasaur come out to play, and yet the Bulbasaur always showered her with so much affection whenever it arrived.
Why is the affection so one-sided? Is it because of Chee's fear of touching Pokemon?
We continued to work our way through the route, Yeller and I made quick work of several wild Spearow and Ekans-A large purple snake Pokemon with yellow rings on it's body. Ekans was a Pokemon capable of poisoning it's opponents, but fortunately I'd stocked up on a handful of antidotes and other helpful medical supplies for emergencies, even though I didn't know we were going this way when we left town.
As another Ekans fell to the ground unconscious, I began to hear a commotion up ahead. Multiple voices arguing, seemingly in distress. Some sort of internal disagreement between groups, perhaps?
"Sounds like there's some trouble up ahead." Blue sighed, stepping out in front. "Wait here for a moment, I'll go sort it out."
I grabbed his wrist to stop him, but Blue jerked away suddenly, for a moment his eyes met mine, pupils wild like a spearow-Then they settled back down. "Oh it's just-Don't startle me like that..." He grumbled, rubbing his wrist defensively. "Why are you stopping me?"
I was curious what prompted that reaction, but I was more concerned about the commotion up ahead. My instincts as a soldier were telling me it was bad news.
"Blue, this is a good chance-Why don't we try hiding until they pass?"
"...Huh? Why would we do that?"
"Training! Sometimes a soldier needs to be able to sneak past people right? Hiding can give you a tactical advantage too…" I whispered, shooting a glance towards the rock face that obscured us from the owners of the raised voices. "Maybe you'll have a better idea how to spot hiding figures if you try it yourself, too."
Blue gave me a disapproving look, seemingly dissatisfied by my answer. However after a few moments he relented with an exaggerated sigh. "Fine, we'll do it your way."
...
After a very brief crash course in stealth, the three of us had hidden separately through the bushes and crevices in our section of Route 10. I was hiding inside a particularly hearty bush, with several leaves stuck to my clothes to help me blend in better.
From where I was sitting, I could see that Blue was hiding in a similar spot-It probably wouldn't hold up in front of anybody doing a proper search, but at a distance he didn't stand out. Not a bad first attempt.
Chee was also here somewhere, or at least, I was pretty sure she was. I wasn't really sure where-As soon as we'd decided we were gonna hide, she'd vanished, and I hadn't spotted her.
But if I had no idea where she was, I found it highly unlikely that the approaching strangers would be able to find her either. It was probably fine.
There was a muted squeak from my left side, and I glanced down at my partner Yeller, who gave me his usual smile and gesture. It's alright! I'm ready to jump into action as soon as I'm needed!
I smiled and gave the yellow rodent's head a gentle rub.
"Ahhh! What a mess!" A feminine voice called out in frustration, accompanied by a set of footsteps. This turned my attention back to the clearing in the middle of the route-A grassy path lined with bushes and cliff wall on one side, and a long flowing river on the other.
The owner of a voice was a woman in her early twenties, with brown hair tied in a ponytail flailing behind her. She wore a white lab coat over a sopping wet black shirt and simple jeans. As she walked I could hear the occasional quiet splash of water dripping from her clothes and hair.
I frowned at the woman, a strange feeling arising in my stomach. I feel like I've seen you somewhere before…
"Why me!" The woman complained, wringing out her hair. "I never wanted this kind of responsibility!" The moment I heard her whining tone of voice clearly, I recognised her as Shasta, one of the grunts I'd met while captured in Mt. Moon.
"Aren't you the one who always tells me to stay calm?!" A grumpy and stocky man snapped back, playing with his black curls. I estimated he was somewhere in his thirties, and he was wearing a grey cap alongside his beige shirt and grey cargo pants. "Just keep walking, there'll be hell to pay if she catches up with us."
Behind them followed another four people I didn't recognise, they were all shivering, and some of them even appeared to be wounded. I assumed that like Shasta they were Rocket Grunts, and all of them were breathing heavily.
But why? What are they running from?
The woman let out an exasperated sigh. "I know that Simon, I just hate it! Everything has gone to hell ever since Bronze was called away…" She placed a hand on her forehead, walking past the bush I was hiding in.
The man shrugged. "Maybe we should leave the scope here? If that's what she's after, we might be able to escape-"
"Rejected." The woman cut him off. "We've lost more than a dozen men to steal this weird gadget. I'll get it to Petrel if it kills me." As she spoke, she drew a strange goggles-like device from her pocket.
There was a long silence as the two of them stared each other down, but the man eventually shrugged dismissively. "If you say so. But if you want to do that, I think we'll need to do something to buy time..." As the man spoke, he walked close to the bush where Blue was hiding, and the bush shuddered slightly.
Blue, no! You were doing so well…!
"...Huh?" The man glowered at the bush. "Just now... Did that bush move?"
All the eyes of the Rocket grunts turned to the bush. I felt like holding my face in my hand, but I suppressed the urge to move. Shasta was still standing close to me as well-If I made a move it would have to be a decisive one.
Come on Blue... Don't let them find you...!
A soft squeak came from my right, and I instinctively reached down to gently soothe my Rattata with a quick head rub, but the sensation felt a little different than usual. When I glanced over, I saw my hand on the top of a black-haired girl's head, who was looking at me inquisitively. Should we go help?
When did you- I quickly withdrew my hand and shook my head quietly, suppressing my surprise. It's too early to move, if we go it needs to be when they're all fully distracted. I thought to myself.
Chee accepted my refusal, and returned her gaze to the bush Blue was hiding within. Just as I looked back myself, Simon thrust his hand into the space, lifting the brown-haired boy by the collar of his shirt.
"Hey!" Blue spat aggressively. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Well well, looks like we've got a little snoop over here." Simon growled, but after a brief pause his frown turned to a smile. "…Hey Shasta, I think I know what Bronze would do if he was here."
"Look, I may have been spying on you, but I was here first…" Blue's voice trailed off, and I saw him furrow his brow. His gaze started to dart across the various figures in the field appraisingly.
"You go on ahead. Surely even the Ice Queen-Hey! Settle down." Simon continued, ignoring Blue's complaints at first. But whatever Blue was thinking about was abruptly cut short, as he visibly jolted and began to struggle from Simon's grip.
Blue jerked and reached for his Pokeball, only for Simon to grab it and pull it out of his reach.
"Simon, I can't-"
Shasta started, but she fell short as Simon shot her a glare.
"Just go. We'll handle this."
Finally, she nodded and broke into a run, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Shasta had been a little too close to my hiding space for comfort, and now I had the freedom to act. Just a matter of timing now…
"Now." Simon turned his glare back onto Blue, who met him with one of equal force. "Here's the deal kid. We need a hostage so the lady after us doesn't turn us into ice cubes the moment she catches up. As long as you play along, we won't hurt you…"
"Puh." Blue spat on the portly man's face.
"This is gonna be a long day…" Simon sighed. "Someone come tie up this brat for me?"
And as all the other men gathered turned their attention to Blue, Chee and I were free to act. The opening I'd been waiting for finally presented itself.
"Yeller! Quick attack!" I whispered to the rodent awaiting commands at my left. "Chee, go!" I called to the girl at my right.
The leaves of the bushes we hid in rustled as they were forced aside, and my partner and I burst forwards. A trail of white energy streaked past my side towards the Rocket Grunt I'd pointed at, slamming the unwitting man in the back of the head.
"Wh-Mnpf!"
Was the only sound the man made before he fell to the ground unconscious, dropping like a crumpled ball of paper.
The surprise that washed over Simon's face wasn't lost on Blue, who took advantage of the confusion to plant a deft kick directly into Simon's palm. This knocked the Pokeball into the air, where Blue caught it with his right hand.
"Squirt! Water Gun!"
The burst of white light as the Pokeball released it's containment heralded the arrival of Blue's partner, who immediately drenched the older man in water. He recoiled in surprise, finally letting go of Blue-But Blue didn't let up.
"Tail Whip!" Blue commanded, pointing towards the recoiling attacker. The Wartortle obeyed, wrapping it's tail around Simon's ankle and causing the heavy-set man to fall onto his back.
…He applied what I told him before! I realised suddenly, slowing my approach. I'd expected Blue to need my help, but he'd proven that he already understood at least a little of what I'd told him.
Instead I turned my attention to the remaining three conscious Rocket Grunts, one of whom was trying to grab hold of Chee-A foolish endeavour. In the many times Chee and I had played tag and other such games together, I'd almost never been able to catch her. These two-bit thugs didn't even come close to being able to touch her.
This is fun! Her eyes sparkled as she ducked and weaved, doing short hops and acrobatics to avoid the grabbing hands of the grunt. Honestly, even if they managed to grab her I was pretty sure she could get away.
The other two grunts were nervously surveying both me and Blue, clearly unsure of what to do now. They lacked the decision-making to deal with this sort of situation.
I however, did not.
"Tail Whip!"
I snapped my fingers as I gave the command to my partner, who dashed towards the teen girl I directed him to. The grunt braced her legs for a tail attack, only for Yeller to smash all the air out of her lungs with a white trail of energy. It wouldn't knock her unconscious, but it would leave her winded long enough for me to focus on the other one.
"What are you idiots doing?!" Simon bellowed through gargled gasps for air. "Bring out your Pokemon!"
Unfortunately, that command seemed to snap the Rocket Grunts from their stupor. The two grunts still standing reached for their belts, each retrieving a poke ball and releasing their partners into the battle.
The Grunt chasing Chee released a creature that almost appeared to be an orb made of yellow bricks. The Pokemon uncurled, revealing a beige underbelly. It was a bipedal Pokemon with a pointy snout and stubby limbs, each ending in short but sharp claws. A Sandshrew.
The other one facing me threw his Pokeball into the air, the burst of white energy coalescing into the form of a long purple snake with golden rings on it's body. Another Ekans!
I shot a glance over to Blue to see what Simon's partner was, and I spied a floating purple ball with small craters on it's surface which leaked a thin brown smog. The ball had a wide open mouth and two slanted eyes, beneath which rested an off-white pair of markings that resembled a skull and crossbones. A Koffing.
The girl Yeller had head butted in the stomach was still reeling, so I finished running to her side and grabbed the Pokeball from her belt before she had the chance to use it.
I felt a little bad about swiping a Pokemon like this, but we were heavily outnumbered, so removing even one player from the field was more important than staying completely moral.
If only disarming our opponents had been this simple during the war…
As a result of my meddling and choice of timing, what could have been a six versus two fight with a hostage had been equalised to a regular three versus three battle. If possible I would have liked to bring us a numbers advantage, but both Chee and Blue were battle geniuses. I had no doubt they'd handle themselves…
I was more worried about myself.
On her side of the field, Chee narrowed her eyes and retrieved her Bulbasaur from it's place in her bag. I hadn't heard the call for it, but I could no longer see Blue or Simon due to the smokescreen pouring off of the Koffing.
"Ekans, Poison Sting!"
The man in front of me called an order, and the snake responded by rearing up and opening it's mouth wide. A set of purple needles launched from the back of it's throat, digging in the ground as the Pokemon corrected it's aim towards my partner.
"Yeller, get in close and use tail whip!"
My partner nodded with understanding, leaping into action and hobbling left and right, pivoting on his hind legs to avoid tripping on his missing foreleg. Each hop let him avoid the needles and get closer to the Ekans.
I quickly shot another glance to my companions.
Chee was standing with her arms crossed, an annoyed expression on her face. Both her opponent and their sandshrew were contained in a tangled mess of vines. Sure enough, that battle hadn't been a challenge for her.
I still couldn't see Blue or Simon, but there were still shots of water breaching the smog, so I figured that battle must still be ongoing.
"Damnit-Ekans, Bite!"
I snapped my attention back to the snake Pokemon just in time to see it summon the pair of purple jaws to snap onto Yeller.
"Overhead Mark!" I called out, and Yeller received my message. Using a quick forwards spin, he slammed the ball of his tail into the top jaw as it snapped down, pushing his body back just far enough to escape the chomping maw.
Yeller landed somewhat unsteadily, the momentum forcing him to land on his left side where a limb was missing, and he stumbled slightly. I clicked my tongue in frustration.
Maybe it's time to use Quick Mode…
"…! Glare!" The Rocket grunt unfortunately didn't let up on this momentary opportunity.
"Yeller!"
The face of the snake Pokemon contorted into a fowl glare, and it's eyes flashed blue for a moment. Yeller attempted to jump aside, but was too slow to get out of the way-He suddenly stiffened, almost as if he'd been glued in place.
Paralysis… I cursed internally. I hate Paralysis…
Paralysis was one of the many status conditions Pokemon could inflict on one another using their moves. Not only did it slow down or even stop a Pokemon in their tracks, it made every move that Pokemon used have a reasonable chance to just fail to work. The more moves Yeller used, the more likely that one of them would simply fail to work.
In other words, it made Quick Mode completely unviable. A technique that relies on executing multiple moves in quick succession was all but guaranteed to fail.
"…Hah!" The grunt let out a sigh of relief and victory. "That's what you get for messing with adults!"
Paralysis will eventually wear off after plenty of rest or enough medicine, but I don't have that time right now…
As I bit my lip gauging my next move, I felt my body shiver. I wouldn't have noticed normally, but since I was still damp from playing in the river I could tell the temperature had been gradually decreasing ever since the fighting started, and the air was now pretty chilly. Why is it getting colder…?
I shoved that thought aside for now, reconfirming the state of the battlefield. Although I'd taken her Pokemon away, the female grunt was now back on her feet and was looking at me with spiteful eyes.
Blue was still contained within the ball of smog, which was now… Quaking?
A deafening crash burst through the route, the smog dispersing violently as a gigantic ball of water flooded down from the space the smoke had previously occupied. A drenched Simon was washed back closer to us, while Blue held onto his Wartortle in order to resist the current, cheeks puffed up.
"…What?" I muttered in surprise, unsure what had just happened.
The water swashed over the grass and rocks, reaching up to my ankles before draining away into the nearby river.
Blue was coughing violently, waving smog away from his face. "Finally!" He exclaimed, taking several deep gulps of air. "I was getting sick of that smoke! Ah, fresh air!"
But there was a problem Blue didn't seem to have noticed. The Koffing was nowhere to be seen. I scanned the field repeatedly, but there was no sign of it.
"Wait, the air…" Blue looked up to the sky, which prompted me to do the same. It was only then that I realised I could no longer see the sun-Despite it still being the middle of the day. In fact, the entire field we were contained in had dimmed just as gradually as it had cooled, the visible route tinted with the slightest edge of blue.
"Nonono…" Simon paled, shooting frantic glances in every direction. "She's here!"
I felt a strange, subtle shift of temperature around my left shoulder. I never would have noticed if I wasn't already extremely sensitive to the cold at the moment, as the change couldn't have been more than a degree. A moment after, a minuscule flash of blue whizzed past my shoulder, passing me without-
"Aghhhh!"
I wheeled around in response to the startling scream of anguish, only to see the grunt who had been fighting with me clutching his wrist in pain. Around that wrist was a formation of ice, almost like snowflake. The icicle seemed to be causing him immense pain.
"Cyan!" Blue's voice called out to me as he dashed towards me his voice ringing with… Was that desperation?
"Cyan, quick! I need you to hide me!"
I blinked in surprise at Blue's sudden request. "What? Why?"
"Quickly, before she-!"
"Aurora Beam." A sultry voice declared from the depths of the mist that had covered our field. Blue and I were briefly illuminated in a rainbow of different colours, a streak of something arcing past us through the fog. As soon as it faded, a trail of ice led from the riverbed to the Rocket Grunt I'd stolen the Pokeball from.
A grunt who was now completely encased in a block of ice.
"No…!" Simon exclaimed, sloppily stumbling back to his feet and diving just in time to evade another flash of random colours, sliding across the wet grass and mud-A large spike of ice forming across the place he previously occupied.
I nodded rapidly, grabbing Blue's upper arm and dragging him towards my former hiding spot. "Alright, this way!"
However as I tried to pull us away, I found myself face-to-face with a ball of smog. A purple uneven ball emerged from within, mouth stuffed with poisonous gas.
"Stop right there!" Simon growled, although whether he was talking to us or the owner of the voice I was unsure.
I froze in place nonetheless.
"If you attack me one more time, these kids will bite the dust! Understand?!" He called out in desperation.
There was a long suspenseful moment of silence, and I turned my gaze back towards the strange attacker who had suddenly assaulted Team Rocket. As they walked through the fog, I slowly became able to make out their appearance.
A tall and beautiful lady, somewhere in her late thirties. She had long red hair in a ponytail, secured with a pin that was stylised to look like an ice crystal. Her face was adorned with smart-looking glasses over her dark red eyes and rosy red lipstick. She wore a formal-looking one-piece black dress, with long stockings underneath to cover her legs. With every step she took the black high-heel shoes she wore clacked and squelched against the ground.
In one hand she held a small notepad, in the other a pen that looked like it had been lifted directly from an important government office. She held the pen less than an inch from the paper, as if any further distance would just be wasted time when she needed to write again.
"If you want to add more charges to your arrest, then by all means go ahead." She answered smoothly, her voice chilling like ice. "If you want to avoid the same fate as your friends, return the scope to me."
I'd never seen this woman in person before, but I immediately knew who it was. One of the members of Kanto's own elite four-Lorelei, the Ice Queen.
And one of the members who betrayed Kanto and sided with Johto during the war. I thought bitterly, suppressing a scowl.
Simon was sweating buckets now, as any reasonable man in his position would be. Lorelei twirled the pen in her fingers deftly, as though bored waiting for the man's response. Yet through every twist and twirl, the tip of the pen always remained mere inches from the paper.
"…I don't have it." Simon admitted begrudgingly. "All I want to do is get out of here, and if you don't let me, the blood of those kids will be on your hands."
There was another long silence, and Lorelei let out a long, almost seductive, sigh.
"In case it wasn't clear, I don't particularly care about…"
Her voice trailed off suddenly, as she turned her gaze over to the pair of us. Her eyes had brushed over me for only an instant, but they lingered on Blue for quite a few seconds, her mouth left half-open.
"…Very well." She answered. "Just you. Go now."
Simon blinked in surprise. "Wh-Er, really? You're not going to attack as soon as I call off Koffing?"
Lorelei fixed him with a stern glare, the kind that would make even a wild Snorlax freeze with fear.
"Leave before I change my mind."
Simon was still for a moment, but eventually nodded and dashed away, and it wasn't long before the thickening fog completely obscured both him and his escape route. The Koffing seemed equally startled, but quickly floated away after him.
The older lady watched them leave without laying a finger on them, then she tucked her pen and pad away in her pocket, turned towards us and walked straight over, the heels on her shoes clacking against the wet stone.
She spoke, a little softer than before. "Blue."
The boy twitched slightly, keeping his gaze focussed on the ground.
"Blue. Look at me."
She ordered, her voice taking on a stern tone.
There was a long moment of silence, and Blue finally turned his gaze up to meet her own stare.
"I didn't need your-" Blue began to respond in his usual arrogant manner, but a stern glare from Lorelei caused him to stop short, directing his gaze back to the dirt in dismay.
I'd never seen him act so meek.
"What do you say in moments like this, Blue?" She scolded him, her arms crossed.
Blue muttered something under his breath which I couldn't properly make out.
"Louder."
The brown haired boy inhaled slowly, and finally turned back to look at the red-haired lady.
"…Thanks for saving us, Mum."
…Huh?
The lady smiled, her face taking on an almost eerie edge.
"Good boy."