Chapter 3: Tailor

The first thing Lumi registered was a light pressure on his shoulder. He groaned and rolled to his side, but the pressure continued, more insistent this time.

His eyelids cracked open, and his foggy mind cleared a bit when a purple cushion greeted him instead of soft grass. Tired eyes glanced over the carpeted floor and up cloth that spilled down the walls, Lumi leaning up as he became more alert.

"Hey, mornin' roomie," muttered a tired voice. Lumi switched his position, spotted Van leaning over him, and smiled. Memories of the prior night bloomed in his mind.

After his rather emotional acceptance to official membership of Absol's guild, Pandora had led the spent Meowstic to his new quarters. Through the other large passage on the lower floor, he was guided through a multi-floored hall lined with tent flaps. His growing drowsiness had evaporated when they walked through one and were instantly met with a shout of "Surprise!" from Clara, and a subdued yet still cheerful wave from Van.

The Spinda was happy to explain that she had been busy preparing Van's room for his stay, as per Pandora's request. Lumi was happy to agree to sharing a room, and was halfway through looking around his side before he passed out on one of the two cushions in the room.

He slept like a log.

"...Morning." He finally pushed out, slipping off the cushion. Holding his arms overhead in a stretch, he felt his muscles pop and sighed. The orb floating in the center of the ceiling, designed to automatically brighten in the morning, illuminated details of the room that he hadn't noticed last night. Besides the cushions and bookshelves on the sides, the room was relatively sparse. A large map dominated the far wall, and besides some books and diagrams, Van's side was also home to a set of bongos. Said Scrafty was already slipping on a bag from a hook on the wall.

"So, what's first?" asked Lumi. Van had to stifle a yawn before responding.

"We'll freshen up, get some breakfast, and head out back for the cheer. Cheers' kind of a big deal, so we can't be late."

"Sounds good."

At that, they left the room and headed down the hall toward the communal restrooms, preparing for the day with the other drowsy looking Pokemon. Once they felt clean and refreshed, Van led Lumi to the Mess Hall for a quick breakfast of berries and cereal. As they ate, more Pokemon entered seeking a meal, sounds slowly filling the space. The two were in the middle of discussing the benefits of fur versus scales when Lumi spotted Damia moving like a zombie through the flap, Clara hanging off her wings and giggling.

"So, don't look now, but your girl just walked in."

Van scrunched his eyes and proceeded to look now. A quick intake of breath and he was somehow behind Lumi, crouched as much as possible and looking over his shoulder. Clara spotted them from her perch and waved, but Damia either didn't care, or was just too dead to the world to notice. The two girls took a seat further down the table.

"...bro, what's up with you and Damia?" he questioned. The Scrafty came from behind him and took a seat to his other side, supposedly where Damia could see less of him.

"Uh, bad first impression. And second impression. And third one too..." muttered Van, scratching his head and gaze downcast.

"Oh. Yikes." He patted Van on the shoulder. "Sorry to hear that."

"Eh, that's life," shrugged the Scrafty. "Sides', not like she's a bad mon or anything. Alot of it was my fault for being stupid when I was starting out. Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime," he grinned.

"She can't be all bad if she's friends with Clara." He gestured to the panda leaning on the slouched Dragonite, happily slurping some juice.

"Oh yeah, they room together."

"I thought she was a guild head?"

"That doesn't really matter. Everyone gets to partner with someone. It's just Clara was the only one who, uh, wanted to room with her. And there just wasn't anyone else for a while when I showed up."

"Ah," responded Lumi.

Once breakfast was finished they followed the Pokemon heading out into what Lumi first thought was the main room of the guild. Past the flaps behind the board, they walked outside into the crisp morning air. The barren space behind the guild was home only to a slightly raised wooden platform, Vert and Pandora already standing atop of it. Following the contours of the guild tent, everyone filed in a loose semicircle around the platform. Lumi stood next to Van and watched as the space filled with all manner of Pokemon. Now that he had a chance to count, he spotted roughly fifty pokemon, much smaller than the larger Explorer guilds he had read about.

After it seemed the last Pokemon had taken their place, Pandora spoke up.

"Good morning everyone!"

A collective 'good morning!' from the crowd.

"We hope you slept well. Let us have an excellent day of discovery. Please, repeat after me:

Guided by riddles.

Guided by riddles!

Led by mystery.

Led by mystery!

Always searching,

Always searching,

Never lost!

Never lost!"

The guild and Pandora finished in tandem.

Lumi mouthed the words during the cheer, excitement growing as he considered the words. He liked the way it sounded.

"And now, Lumi, if you would step forward." His heart jolted when he heard his name. As he was about to step forward, Van put a hand on his shoulder. The Scrafty frantically rifled in his small bag before pulling out the blue orb from before. A white star shone pleasantly in its center. He handed it off to Lumi, and then lightly pushed him forward, smiling at him.

"You got this," he whispered.

Nodding, Lumi walked forward, orb in paw. Despite the eyes on his back, Pandora's warm smile calmed him down, and soon he was directly in front of his guildmasters. The Whimsicott came alongside him, put a paw on his back, and turned him so he faced the rest of the guild. His breathing increased at the sight of all the Pokemon whose attention was squarely on him.

He hoped he didn't need to prepare a speech.

"Everyone, please give a warm welcome to our newest guild recruit, Lumi!"

At once the Pokemon in the crowd clapped, stomped, cheered, and did whatever else they could to make noise. His smile widened when he took in the expressions on the guild's faces. He clearly made out Van clapping and Clara whooping near the back, but was surprised when mon he hadn't met yet welcomed him with the same enthusiasm. A Gligar did flips in the air while a Sylveon sat on their haunches and twirled their ribbons while cheering. Even Damia had a small smile on her face as she clapped lightly. Unsure what else to do, he shoved the orb under his arm and waved out to the crowd, doing his best to convey his appreciation. The clamor died down a few minutes later.

"Please do your best to treat him well," rang out the fairy.

"Now, I believe we are all well enough awake, but a little jolt never hurt. Lumi, if you would do the honors?" she said, taking a small step back. Vert didn't move, just nodded him on.

"Uh, sure..." he held the orb in his paws and, like he saw Van do last night, spaced his feet apart. He concentrated, and the eyes of everyone seemed to melt off of him as the orb's light shone. For as much Energy as he seemed to put into the orb, just as much was put into him, a feedback loop of sparks running through his paws and into his heart. His body trembled and the orb felt like fire, glowing bright white as it too shook lightly. The sensation electrified his senses and he became enthralled with the feeling of energy coursing through his veins, a wellspring of life. It was all he could do to keep giving more. Pouring more.

more.

More.

More.

A fever pitch. His ears rang. His vision was nothing but bright light yet he swore he saw stars.

A jolt and he was pressed up against a soft surface, staring up at a fast retreating trail racing up into the sky. There was no sound, no breath, nothing but undivided focus on the star in the sky. All in attendance were transfixed by the sight, gazes captured by the light.

The spark blossomed into an azure corona, and the sky briefly turned white, the sound of lightning crashing down a second later. He felt something tighten around his chest as a great force slammed down on them, wind buffeting his fur. Right after the initial boom, the aftershock blitzed through the air, sound being shunted in all directions. In minutes, but what felt so much longer, the onslaught of sound dissipated, and he was left only with ringing in his ears, eyes blinking rapidly to clear his vision of spots. There was only breath in the silence that followed.

He had never felt lighter.

Seeing that great spark explode stirred something within his chest, and the lingering nervousness from standing in front of the crowd and any uncertainty regarding his place here was eviscerated, just as the star. His shoulders slumped as a strange peace settled over him, ready to meet the day with whatever it threw at him. He leaned back and let out a sigh.

Then he registered the feeling of fur against his back, and realized he was being cradled against someone's chest. Eye's widening, he craned his neck back and saw Vert still staring up at the sky, forepaw firmly holding the Meowstic against his front as he sat on his haunches. His intense gaze lingered on the dissipating light for a while longer before looking down to meet Lumi's eyes. They stared at each other for a bit.

"...Uh. Sor-" he was interrupted as Vert's face came down, grabbing his nape in a bite as he stood up on all fours. Thoroughly caught off guard and hanging from Vert's mouth like a kit, Lumi let out a soft mewl as he was tossed backward to land on the Absol's back. He was able to stand on Vert's broad back, and looked over past his horn to see the other members of the guild beginning to stand up on their feet, and down from whatever stupor they were in prior. After everyone seemed relatively present again, Vert addressed them.

"Alright. Let's get to work."

A short cheer was the response before everyone rushed back through the tent flap to begin the day.

Vert strode forward with the Meowstic, Pandora following alongside. They entered the flap and walked to the front of the board, spaced back enough to not get mobbed by the swarm of Pokemon taking tasks. Pandora's eyes squinted before she walked off toward the Sylveon about to enter the Development Wing, stopping them for a chat.

Vert and Lumi waited. The Absol got comfortable, resting forward on his forearms.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" started Vert.

"Hmm? What does?" replied Lumi, talking to the back of the Absol's head.

"Jubilant orb, someone different gets to activate it every day. It's a tradition."

"Oh. It was...awesome. Never felt anything better, actually. Van said you made it?" Vert shifted his position and moved his head to the side to see his passenger better.

"More like, found it. Lots of trial and error."

"Glad you did, great idea for a morning pick me up." At that, a small smirk grew on Vert's face.

"Thank Pandora. Her idea." Lumi 'ahhd' at that, before a more pressing thought slipped its way out.

"Hey, Vert? Why, uh...why did you pick me up?"

The Absol shrugged.

"Couldn't resist."

"Oh."

Pandora returned then, Sylveon in tow. She motioned for Lumi to come down, so he hopped off his ride.

"I believe it is best for you to become acquainted with the rest of the guild before you take on any tasks, Lumi. This is Purl, Head of the Tailor Branch." She gestured to the smiling Sylveon. "Unfortunately, I have other matters to attend to today, so he will be your guide in my place."

"Hellooooooo~ Lumi!" sang the Sylveon, stepping forward and daintily reaching a paw out. Lumi was just about to grab it and shake when he felt ribbons tighten around his limbs. Before he could blink he was squished into a hug from the fairy type.

"Oooh, he's cute as a button. Dora, I promise I'll take good care of him!" he said, squishing the cat to his chest.

"Nice...to...meet...you too..." came the muffled reply from the Meowstic. After returning the hug, he was set free and allowed to breathe. He noticed Pandora giggle as she stepped closer to Vert. She whispered something in the Absol's ear, before sharing a brief nuzzle. Vert nodded to them and got up, walking out of the guild, while Pandora gave one final wave.

"I will see you both later." and with that, she walked off.

Before he could get a word in, Lumi was whisked off of his feet, suspended in the air by Purl's deceptively strong ribbons. They made their way toward the Development Wing.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you showed up. I mean, a new recruit? It's been soooo long, I have so much to show you!" gushed Purl.

"And just what sorts of things do you get up to in Tailor?" Pandora had explained a bit earlier, but he had the sneaking suspicion the Pokemon currently holding him had a lot more to say.

"Darling, we pump out the latest and greatest to make sure Pokemon everywhere can be fierce, fashionable, and..."

He brought Lumi directly in front of his face, sparkling blue eyes and wide smile taking up all of the cat's vision.

"Fabulous!"

With that, he sped off through the flap, hanging a left through the Tailor entrance. From his captive position, Lumi smiled at the sight of the room, still in awe at how the guild continued to surprise him.

Spilling down the walls in cloth waterfalls were massive streams of thread and silk. They pooled in clusters, snaking through the floor loosely, coiling everywhere. The floor could barely be seen past the various colors of cloth. Lined up in rows on both sides down the hall were large looms connected to knitting machines operated by various pokemon. Dominating the center of the room was a large cauldron full of a rainbow-colored liquid, spigots connected to the bottom. He was lightly put down on the ground, Purl standing in front of him and flinging his ribbons out dramatically.

"Welcome to Tailor, where your dreams can be made a reality! Our state of the art Crafting floor has everything we need to make Dungeon diving accessories! Come on." he walked off, Lumi struggling to not trip on the cloth strewn floor.

"Every scarf, ribbon, and bag that explorers use has been specially altered with Aether to give it special properties," explained Purl as they walked past a station. Lumi's eyes lingered on the small pot full of the rainbow liquid next to each machine. Pokemon would occasionally place their creations inside the pot while they began a new project.

"...Let me guess, soaking something in Aether means you can infuse it with Type Energy to make something new?"

"Ooh, you smart cookie! Got the basics in one!"

"But, how do you get the Aether like that? When I saw, it was hard as a rock as an orb."

"That's because it dissolved from a solid! If you were to find, say, a river in a Dungeon, it would destabilize into liquid Aether. We can harvest that, and use it here! That particular discovery was made by one of the first guilds in our line. It made useful accessories possible. Speaking of accessories..."

They came to a space behind the large cauldron, and a row of work tables came into view. Rather than thread or cloth, various other materials dotted the tables and floors. Plastics, bands, jewels, and lenses were being worked by the Pokemon here into different kinds of apparel.

"Over here is where we make all kinds of knick-knacks for Pokemon to wear! We used to specialize in spectacles, but recently found out how to infuse different forms of jewelry too."

Purl reached out to grab a necklace left on the table, but it shot upward before his feelers could take hold. Eyes widening, he tried to catch the midair necklace, but it shifted to the side. Sticking his tongue out, he tried in vain to grab hold of the object, but it eluded him every time. Soft giggling could be heard, as well as the jingling of a bell.

"Esther I know it's you, quit it!" whined the Sylveon. From thin air, a Banette materialized wearing the necklace, tittering all the while. Attached to the ribbon connected to her head was a set of bells that jingled as she moved. After evading the Sylveon some more, her gaze locked with Lumi's, and in a puff of smoke, she was right in front of him. He jolted, as one does when a ghost appears in front of you.

"Hello, kitten," she breathed.

"You know, we're probably the same age. Still, hey there. You look familiar." She tittered again, and he remembered her as the Banette he waved to when he first walked in the guild.

"Esther, you saw Lumi during the cheer. Lumi, this is Esther, a real doll," he growled, finally wrapping his feelers around the ghost. She simply hung there, limp in his grasp.

"And how would Lumi like to see some of our more...interesting projects, hmm?" intoned the ghost. Lumi's ears perked slightly.

"What have you got?" She popped out of Purl's grasp and leaned on the Sylveon's head.

"My partner and I have been busy on a project together. It's something truly...eye-catching."

"That's not funny~" snarked Sylveon. Ignoring him, she disappeared, popping back in moments later with a pair of heart-shaped glasses with pink rims.

"I present the 'Charm Specs.' Simply put them on, and they infatuate anyone you look at. Made by infusing Aether soaked glasses with a permutation of the Charm energy pattern." The Banette lifted the specs above her head proudly.

"They don't work." said Purl, dryly.

"Yes they do, I fixed them."

"Really?"

"No."

Esther popped in front of Purl's face and slid the glasses over his eyes before he could react.

He stiffened. Then, a wide smile grew on his face.

"Esther! You're so cuuuuute!" he pounced for the ghost, who teleported away just in time. Pulling his face from the ground, the fairy looked ahead and spotted a large Galvantula working on one of the looms.

And pounced for them too.

"Ooooooooh Gaaaarland~" he started as he sashayed toward his target. The spider looked up at his name, but then seemed to deflate, letting out a long sigh.

"...this again." he said, gruffly. He didn't react as Purl all but glomped on his back,

"Garland, haven't I ever told you how good you look? Your thorax is looking mighty fine today~" His ribbons caressed the Galvantula in a way that made Lumi blush.

"Damn it, Esther."

Said ghost was busy laughing her incorporal behind off, bells jingling merrily. Lumi stepped forward and greeted the Galvantula, ducking his head to avoid the blushing Sylveon's gaze.

"Hey. Looks like you caught someone's eye." Garland rolled his eyes, but couldn't help an amused huff.

"New guy, you have no idea with these clowns. Wanna see something actually interesting?"

"You're going to show him your sack?" blurted Esther, popping next to his face.

"I can't even with you..." He turned his body to face Purl towards her, whose gaze locked on and leapt off to chase her. The spider and cat watched briefly as they engaged in a strange form of tag, living doll goading the lovestruck eeveelution.

"...so about that sack?" a laugh escaped Lumi as Garland sighed heavily.

"Come on. This way."

They walked through a tent flap on the side of the room, and Lumi tripped on a satchel on the ground. He looked up and gawked at the sheer amount of explorer bags that piled the floor. The workbench in the center, bookcases, and floor were covered in identical purple bags.

"Watch your step," mentioned the spider as he crawled over to the center table. He picked up a bag by the strap in his pedipalps and turned to give it to the Meowstic.

"You know how explorers use these all the time when they go out?" Lumi nodded.

"That's because someone a while ago figured out how to distort space in bags, and things of that nature, using Aether. Soak something like cloth in it for long enough, and you end up with how the Absol guild is now."

"Oh. Is that why almost everything is made of cloth?"

"Stuff like cloth and tarp holds Aether well, makes it good material for infusion."

"So that's why explorer bags are so useful..." the cat opened the bag in his paws and reached inside. Despite his whole arm disappearing, he only felt cool air. He swished his arm to the sides but felt no walls.

"Yup, and I've been working on how to make them better. Increased space is in high demand right now, so there's alot in it for us to develop."

"There needs to be more space? I dunno, it looks like there's plenty in here." Lumi opened the flap further to stick his head in. His eyes widened when he saw some kind of a bottom, very far down.

"Er, that's not really the problem. I've been try-" A bang and hysterical laughter cut him off, and he rolled all six of his eyes.

"Hang on one second, I need to make sure they didn't break anything..." Garland exited the tent flap, leaving Lumi to continue his inspection of the explorer bag.

Curious about the sight below, he lifted the satchel above his head, hoping to get a better angle. He stepped forward a bit, but his balance faltered slightly when he stumbled over another bag. His grip slipped, and the bag fell down over his head.

With a surprised 'yowl' Lumi was swallowed up, the bag falling amongst the many on the floor.

"Would you two cut it out? You're freaking out the new guy." Purl and Esther lay trapped, entangled in the Galvantula's web.

"I don't know, the kitten looked to be enjoying himself." sniggered Esther. They all knew she could just pop out whenever she wanted, but it seemed she had calmed herself enough to cooperate.

For now.

"He was laughing at us because you keep messing around Esther! I was supposed to show him the beauty of the Tailor Branch, but you just made a fool out of all of us!" complained Purl.

"You both do that anyway..." Garland sighed heavily, but then released the tension on the web. Esther continued to lay there, but Purl hopped up on his paws and stood tall.

"Alright! We can salvage this! We can still show Lumi how amazing this branch is, and we can start by walking him through Garland's wonderful project. Good idea by the way~"

"If you say so boss. He's in my workshop right now." He left to go inside. Purl snatched up the Banette with his ribbons and squinted his eyes at her.

"And you, you will behave yourself, missy..." she smiled sweetly and jingled her bells in response. Purl just sighed and carried her with him through the flap. They walked in to Garland looking around the room, confused.

No Meowstic was in sight.

"...Hey, did you two see Lumi walk out of here?" asked the spider, lifting up a cushion.

"Nooooooo? You said he was in here." Purl walked forward to look around, Esther popping out to stand on top of the table. For a moment it was silent as they searched the room for any clue, until Esther's eternal smile somehow got even wider.

"...Garland? Aren't these the experimental, extra high capacity bags you've been working on?"

"To fulfill the commission from the Explorer HQ, yeah. Why?"

Esther stared at him and then pointed her gaze down. Garland and Purl followed where she was looking, down at the hundreds of bags littering the room.

They stared at each other again.

Then down at the bags.

Garland closed his eyes, and exhaled a long, tired, sigh.

Esther giggled, bells singing in an eerie tone.

Purl, heart rate increasing and eyes dilating, sucked in a breath.

"Ooooooooooohhh..."

"...damn." muttered Lumi, staring up at where he assumed he fell in from. The moment the bag slipped over his form, he felt gravity reverse and he was suddenly falling into a purple abyss. He definitely did not scream like a kit all the way down, a soft, cloth surface breaking his fall. He laid there for a moment, digesting what had just happened, before the reality of his situation dawned on him.

He was currently trapped inside of a large cavernous space, which was inside of a treasure bag, which itself was inside of a room, which was inside of a dimensionally altered tent booth that was itself only about thirty feet of square footage.

His head hurt.

He shook his noggin wildly in order to focus, and thought about how to get out of here. Standing to his feet, he concentrated, noting the pleasant feel of cloth on his paws. His ears unfurled slightly, and he attempted to recreate the art of levitation that those of his species were capable of. Squinting his eyes, he breathed in deeply and focused on his core. He had been able to pull that Psychic energy out yesterday in order to use moves against the ferals, so it was simple to guide that energy up to his ears instead. The powerful amplifiers that they were, it was difficult to string only a bit of energy their way, lest he blow the surrounding space to smithereens.

That was a lesson Espurr had to learn only once.

He felt like he was balancing on a tightrope as he fed Energy through his ears, propelling it downwards to the ground. The strength of his ears enabled a strong enough current, and after a moment his feet lifted from the ground. His arms shot out to his sides, attempting to keep balance in the air, and he was able to maintain it well enough to continue his slow ascent. He looked up at the ceiling, hopeful that he could make some headway, but his breathing began to increase. His ears burned, and the flow of energy from his ears started to peter out. Losing altitude, he yelped as his levitation gave out, and fell the short distance down to his soft prison.

Staring blankly at what passed for a sky here, a small, niggling piece of concern sprouted in his heart. Not too much though, he still had one backup plan.

He stepped to his feet, put his paws to his mouth, and screamed.

"Oooooh my goood heeeeEEEEEELLLLLLPPP!"

The three had recruited the rest of the Tailor Branch in their mad search for the cat. Purl dove between bags, desperately opening and calling out inside of them amongst the others searching. Garland hung from the ceiling, making sure nobody else got too curious and fell in, and Esther stayed at the entrance of the room to toss out any bags already checked.

It had been an hour.

"Lumi!" No answer. He tossed it.

"Oh cuuuutieee!?" No answer. He tossed it.

"Say something, please! Pandora will eat me!"

"Purl!, Thank Arc-" No answer. He tossed it.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh! Wait."

He scrambled, paws blurring in an attempt to recover the satchel he just had. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Esther holding the bag out to him. He thanked her profusely and looked inside, heart leaping at the small speck of blue that dotted the bottom.

Lumi, for his part, was slightly disturbed at the massive eyeball that suddenly replaced the purple ceiling.

"Everyone! We found him!" Cheers rang all around, and a collective sigh of relief was shared.

"Don't worry Lumi, I'll get you right out." called Purl into the bag. He leaned back and reached his paw in, closing his eyes as he thought of the poor little Meowstic inside that needed saving. He pulled his paw out, expecting to be holding on to his charge.

His paw was empty.

"...Garland. Why am I not holding the Special Item: Cute Cat?"

"Probably because I haven't established the mental link for the bag yet."

"What's the point of a bag you can store a bunch of stuff in, if you can't get the stuff!"

"Does 'experimental' mean anything to you?" replied Garland in a dry tone. The Sylveon deflated.

Esther came up and rested a consoling claw on his shoulder.

"Not to worry. You can simply go inside and bring him out."

"Good idea! Only, erm..." He checked inside the bag again, and noted the distance between him and the blue dot below. He swallowed dryly.

"I'm, um, not so good with heights...Why don't you do it Esther? You can just teleport." He said, looking into the bag.

"Because..." he faced her again, and felt something slip onto his nose.

"You're my brave leader. Won't you rescue my poor kitten from his prison?"

"Anything for you dear!" he bolted out the room, and everyone inside dove for some kind of cover to avoid being spotted when he came back. Esther smirked, and picked up the bag to look inside.

"Fret not, kitten. Your knight is coming to save you."

"What!?"

She giggled in response. Purl came dashing in, donned with a deep purple scarf adorned with white sparkles. It flowed above and around him, defying gravity. He used his ribbons to tie the end of the scarf to the table, and opened the bag wide enough for him to dive in.

"Don't you worry Esther, I'll save Lumi for you!"

"I know you will, dear." She blew a kiss that seemed to physically impact the Sylveon. He shuddered and his face blushed a deeper shade of red. From his place underneath a pile of bags, and sheltering a Plusle and Minun, Garland rolled his eyes.

With a loud 'whoop' Purl dove into the bag, purple scarf stretching longer the further he fell.

Still mulling over what Esther had said before, Lumi was caught off guard by the top of the bag opening, a shrill sound making its way down toward him. He squinted, and caught sight of a pink and white spot growing larger, revealing itself to be Purl speedily lowering himself on some kind of purple tether.

The Sylveon landed with a 'pomf' on the cloth floor, eyes locked on Lumi and running towards him. Lumi grinned, both at the sight of the guild head coming to his rescue, but also at the knowledge that what he thought was some kind of rope was actually a scarf around Purl's neck that stretched the impossible distance to the ceiling.

He didn't fight the hug, knowing it was inevitable. He was squished with extreme prejudice.

"Ooh, Lumi, we've been looking for you for so long. I'm sorry~" apologized Purl, nuzzling the Meowstic softly.

"It's fine Purl, it hasn't been too bad. To be honest, I think I learned alot about Tailor just from this."

"That makes me so happy! I look forward to working with you in the future." Lumi nodded, and tried to release himself, but Purl's grip was strong. He was stuck squeezed against the Sylveon's chest, ribbons rubbing small circles in his back.

"...uh, Purl? I think it's time we get outta here?"

"...well, I mean we could. But it is just us down here...alone..." Purl met the Meowstic's gaze and tossed a suggestive wink towards him. Lumi gulped and snatched the glasses off, the Sylveon blinking rapidly as if coming from a daze.

"You still wanna stay down here?" asked Lumi with a smirk. Purl laughed nervously and grabbed him with a ribbon, giving a strong tug to the scarf.

"Let's just...go."

At once, the two shot up. Lumi felt butterflies in his stomach as he watched the ground get further away from them. Purl's scarf got shorter and shorter until they popped out of the bag, landing in a heap. Purl presented the cat proudly for all in the room to see, as Esther untied the scarf from the table.

"Ladies and gentlemon, we got him!" There was a round of cheering and applause, Pokemon sprouting from every corner of the room to voice their joy. Esther stood tall on the worktable to join in the celebration.

"It looks like the cat's finally out of the bag!"

The room went dead silent.

All eyes turned to the Banette in the center, smiling like the fiend she was.

Purl gently put Lumi on his feet, wrapped the ghost in one of his ribbons, and yeeted her right out the room. She never stopped smiling.