The Roserade and the Hawlucha looked at the confused Vincent, the weakened Sam and the KO-ed Lucy and Bit. The fighting-flying type stood on the bed while the grass-poision type sat more properly while keeping one of her bouquets close to her face.

"I must admit 'borrowing' a Teleport is fun from time to time," acknowledged the bouquet Pokemon with grace.

"Cierto!" Chirped in the Wrestling Pokemon with glee, "it tickles all over when that happens, I wish Xavier could do that."

Vincent sighed and looked at Sam, who was only now coming around. “Sam, I will explain what happened to you in a moment…”

“No need,” the Scizor growled. “I was merely forced into a back seat, I didn’t stop seeing. If I knew any moves that’d be effective against that Metagross, I’d offer to use them for what he did...making me turn on you like that…”

Vincent winced at the bite in Sam’s tone. “Yes, well...I suppose the fault lies with me for not shielding you well either…”

One of Sam’s claws rested gently on Vincent’s shoulder. “Hey. You’re just getting used to your strength, let alone your new strength. Not your fault if you didn’t think of it to begin with...though I will request you look into it. In the meantime…” Sam’s other claw waved to the two on the bed, “What shall we do regarding them?”

Vincent looked quickly at Bit and had a brainwave. “Watch them. Maybe ask who they are, why they’re here. I have an idea.”

The Scizor moved a few steps closer, positioning himself between his family and friends and the intruders. “You heard the kid…” he said quite simply while flexing his claws.

"Word of advice," offered the Roserade, "don't be so obvious with your planning dear, it makes others aware of your ideas, but with that being said; we normally do this to begin more proper talks, if we wanted to continue this..." A small ball made of shadows began to form on one of the Bouquet Pokemon's bouquets, it was slightly smaller than regular Shadow Balls, yet unlike the regular ones, this one seemed to be made of pure darkness, almost as Dark-type move, "we would have ended this the moment the teleportation ended."

"Vamos, vamos," said the Hawlucha with a peaceful tone, "we are not here to douche each other, okay, we are here to keep you here until our boss arrives, that is how this normally goes."

The grass-poison type smiled at her friend's words, yet she didn't remove the Ghost move, although neither was she pointing it at anyone. "So shall we parley then?"

Sam sighed at the sight. “Great...just bloody great. I mean, yeah, I know a few things that could be useful in a fight…” Here he eyed the Roserade and Hawlucha with a more critical glance, “Especially due to your typing, but I’m getting the sensation I’m outclassed again. It’d be nice to be able to win one of these situations.”

Suddenly recalling something, Sam looked over his shoulder at the knocked-out Lucy and grimaced. “Great...The connection must’ve been cut before I could see how, well…” here he looked over to the barely-standing Vincent sitting near the knocked-out Bit, “that happened.”

He glanced back at the Roserade and snorted once. “Unknown Pokemon in Vincent’s room, half my friends knocked out, and I’m outclassed. So you can see why I might be a bit nervous in this scenario, I’m sure. I’m also pretty sure your idea of parley in this situation is more ‘there there, little boy, sit down and you’ll get a reward while the grown-ups talk.’”

Vincent, meanwhile, had gotten close to Bit and prayed he could still hear his mental voice. Subject sixteen, this is Master Vincent.

The Roserade made the attack vanish and proceeded to laugh, elegantly, but laugh nevertheless. "Now, now, we are used to situations like these, and believe me when I say we have been on both sides of them, but don't worry, we will talk with you properly."

"Not to mention underestimating niños is very dangerous, by the way..." At this point, the Hawlucha seemed to disappear off her spot on the bed, only to stand between Vincent and Bit, "I think my amiga just told you not to be so obvious," then she gently, very gently in fact, took the unconscious body of Bit off the ground and calmly walked back to the bed where she kept Bit on her lap. "And don't worry, I am not going to say something cliche a la movie villain, lo prometo."

"I would recommend using a 'look right, go left' tactic, as our boss calls them." Pointed out the Roserade, quite calmly.

“Properly…” Sam sighed. “Talking with us properly would be a change. I’m pretty sure you’ve heard the stories, but here, I’ll introduce us. I’m Sam, formerly subject thirty-five of Nurem’s lab. The Lucario behind me is Lucy, formerly subject thirty-six. And that’s Vincent, the one who was there longest, subject thirty-seven. As you might imagine, we’ve not had a lot of time to develop people skills. And any time we were talked to ‘properly,’ it ended up being a lure to a trap. So you might begin to understand our trepidation at being ambushed in his hotel room.”

Vincent merely smiled as he got a mental response from Bit. On...online, master Vincent...barely. What can this unit do for you?

“Oh, I’m not worried about him or about being obvious," Vincent chipped in. "That’s subject sixteen, also known as Bit. Also known as the facility’s back-up plan in case anything ever went down. Memory dump in his mind of everything that ever happened there. Including the simulator room, but I had him cut that out of his head on the way over. The operating systems, that is. Funny, did you know my father had him programmed to respond to his voice? Complete obedience. When I told him to fix himself, he left me a key. A very specific key. One I just used. Subject sixteen, emergency Recover.”

Bit’s form glowed white, and he slowly began to hover in the middle of the room again. Blinking revealed that his normal yellow eyes had turned green, and the program turned to look at Vincent before responding in an emotionally dead tone. “Recover successful. Shall this unit return to normal operating mode?”

“If you’d like.”

The eyes turned yellow again, and Bit shook his head before floating back over to Vincent. “What...happened? The last thing I recall was standing next to you and the Metagross talking to us…”

The mercenaries looked a bit sad, and almost guilty, for a second, at the words Sam and Vincent had said.

"We have heard of him..." the Roserade began, shifting her gaze for the first time, "and we do know how some subjects would fight to the death instead of talking."

The Hawlucha blurred again and snatched Bit from the air, but she didn't seem as cheerful as before. "Bounty hunt jobs can be quite messy. But anyway! That is one awesome trick you have there amigo," she praised the Porygon-Z as she sat back on the bed, "I can do it too, but every time I use Roost, I get grounded for a second, that is annoying."

"And I think I may be able to help your friend here," added the Bouquet Pokemon again as she gently pointed at Lucy, "I mean, I do believe you may want to have your whole family to listen don't you?"

Vincent and Sam exchanged a look at the Roserade’s words. Vincent slowly nodded. Let her pass, but watch her. I still don’t trust them...they’ve not even told us their names, or if they even have any.

Sam nodded as well and slowly walked to one side, to allow the grass-type access to the passed-out Lucario.

Bit, meanwhile, turned his disconnected head around and slightly glared at the Hawlucha holding him. “Please refrain from doing that. It is...unnerving, I think is the word.”

“Oh, also,” Vincent pitched in, “I only have memories of what I saw. Bit, quick question. How many unauthorized experiments took place at the lab? Ones with unique test subjects?”

Bit’s eyes flashed once. “Eight hundred and fifty one unauthorized experiments took place with unique test subjects. All the authorized ones were successful because of the unauthorized ones.”

Vincent merely smiled at that. “Bit can’t ever forget. Or rather, he could, but won’t.”

The Roserade merely smiled before replying to the caution that Sam and Vincent had exchanged.

"Don't worry, I will keep a safe distance, see?" The bouquet she was pointing at the remaining KO-ed Lucario sprouted a single vine which made its way towards Lucy, sprouting a small rose as well which began to glow as the room was filled with a soothing scent. "There," she pointed out as the Aromatherapy took care of the remaining family member.

On her end the Hawlucha let go of Bit, "de acuredo, but why is it unnerving?" She obliviously asked.

"Not to mention what do you mean with he could, but he won't?" Asked a mental voice which wasn't Xavier's. Then a tapping came from the window, where a Bisharp was currently awaiting atop the shiny Metagross. "By the way: can I come in? It’s quite windy here."

Lucy slowly began to stir as Bit replied to the question the Hawlucha had posed to him. “I am still not used to not being a part of the mainframe. Physical contact is a thing I have not had for a while. When warned, I can handle it...but it sends...what is the phrase? Ah yes, shivers through me when I am not.”

Vincent merely glared out the window and pointed his Spoon at it. “You can either wait out there or go in through the lobby. I remember you, and if you think I’m being harsh, just ask your friend that you’re sat on about what I think about words making up for deeds.”

The Kadabra turned away then before replying to the question, not caring who heard the response. “And the answer is simple. Bit’s a program. Some of his functions only I can edit, thanks to that whole ‘he sees me as his proper controller thanks to father’ bit, but one of those things he has proper control over are the logs of what happened. We chose, together, that he wouldn’t forget until we found someone to hold accountable. After that, it’s his choice.”

Lucy sat up and looked around now that the Aromatherapy had worked, highly confused as to what was going on. “...Okay, Sam, explanation?”

Sam merely shook his head. “Just hang on, the ride’s not stopping yet.”

"So you get excited then?" the Hawlucha questioned Bit, her friend beside her bouquet palmed.

The Bisharp hung his head in defeat. "Okay, you do have a point, and for the record, he already showed me what happened... The whole fire blocks of memories included, so I can see why you are mad at him, but I have talked to him, properly, so he regrets what he did."

The mercenary then looked up at the window with an apologetic look and tone. "And I am really sorry for what happened and for what you’ve been through, if its of any consolation, you would be a good mercenary, well, at least as the ones I like."

“Not the words I would use," Bit clarified. "The most easily relatable are: Uneasy, goosebumps, and a shiver running down my spine. The last two are hard to properly relate, due to my lack of those things, but they should paint a picture. It’s not quite a phobia, but it does provoke a similar reaction.”

Vincent cast an eye at the window and kept his glare on. “Actions, words, one’s louder. Your friend there, Xavier? Yeah, if we could actually talk again, maybe I could forgive him. You knocked out my sister. I don’t forgive easily.”

Lucy stiffened a bit at those words and glared out the window as well, the organs on the back of her head glowing in response to her thoughts about just firing an Aura Sphere out the wall. Only Sam’s claw on her shoulder restrained her.

"And how is that different from getting excited?" The Wrestling Pokemon asked again, only for the Roserade to put a bouquet over her shoulder. "Darling, just drop it... Please!" The Bouquet Pokemon said to her friend.

The Bisharp seemed surprised Lucy didn't actually shout at him. After a moment to process said shock, he began explaining himself.

"I did wrong, and I apologize, but try to look at the situation from my perspective; I just arrived, everypony and 'mon looked to be in pain and shooting daggers at you, not to mention some Pokémon seemed happy to return the gesture in kind, and I had no idea of what just happened. The only thing I could come up with was taking you all somewhere else, and by the eyes you were giving Xavier here," he patted the Metagross on the head, "I was sure you wouldn't have come peacefully if I asked you to."

He let his words sink in and added, "Not to mention I am currently making you look left."

Again he let the words sink in as the rest of his current team, minus a Noivern, entered the room and sat on the bed without being noticed by the small family.

Vincent stiffened before sighing. “If I turn around, will I like what I see?”

Sam and Lucy goggled at the sight of a team of Pokemon suddenly appearing in the room. Sam looked at the Scizor with a sense of bemusement, Lucy examined the Greninja wearing what looked like a wide vest, and both of them were puzzled as to how the vest-wearing Excadrill had managed to sneak in.

“Um...probably not,” Sam replied.

“Definitely not,” Lucy added.

Vincent sighed again and remained looking at the wall. “I’ll just keep looking here, then. Lucy, you told me yesterday, but do tell the man at the window...what did you do to the last one who insulted or offended you deeply?”

Lucy stiffened a bit before nodding and glaring out the window. “I was training with Maylene and her Lucario, and the male had some interesting ideas as to what being the son of the doctor mean for Vincent’s personality. As a result, I punched him into a quarry wall, and wouldn’t forgive him fully until I bested him in our sparring match the next morning.”

“And what do you think it would take to forgive the one at the window, who snuck up and knocked you out?”

Lucy pondered the question for a moment, or at least made a show of it. “Eh...two or three Aura Spheres to his face, in an area where I wouldn’t have to worry about property damages.”

The unknown Scizor returned the look Sam was giving him with a calm chuckle, "Such a youngster," he said to himself. The Greninja just kept his emotionless expression in response to the visual examination. However, the Excadrill was the most boisterous of the lot. "You guys should have seen Edge trying to get here!" Exclaimed the excitable Subterrene Pokemon as he pointed at the door, which on cue, swung open and revealed a blind Noivern glaring, somehow, at said Excadrill.

"Well excuse me for getting stuck in this tiny Pony structure!"

The Bisharp chuckled, and then he replied to Lucy's statement, "Sounds totally fair, but just so you know, I didn't knock you out," he then shamelessly pointed at the room, "it was Pancha."

"Judas!" The Wrestling Pokemon exclaimed.

The Sword Blade Pokemon didn't seem to mind, "So I take it we are making some progress then, I mean: you are asking for a condition for forgiveness, that is a start."

The Aura pokemon turned to the now-named Pancha and put on a burst of Extreme Speed. In a moment, she was standing next to the bed, with her target in one paw. “Well. Thank you for the information.”

Vincent merely chuckled. “Forgiveness, absolution, all debts square...call it what you will. I’d merely like to be able to leave with my body and mind intact, along with good memories of Manehatten. This was our first stop on our trip ‘round Equestria, now that we have the freedom to actually go places. As it stands, I think this part will be known as, ‘oh, it was a wonderful stay, until the second day happened.’”

Bit observed the now-named Pancha being picked up and turned to the Roserade. “Is it wrong I find this fitting?”

"I think the word you are looking for is ironic dear." Rouge replied.

"Come on, I was just following orders..." Pancha replied with a fake smile, the whole group didn't seem to mind.

"You reap what you sow," pointed the Excadrill with a grin.

Pancha glared at the Excadrill, but grinned right after. "He was the one who took care of the other one!" She exclaimed with childish glee.

The Bisharp, Greninja, Roserade and Scizor let the duo handle their mess, Edge on her side was enjoying what she was hearing. "Oh, now things turn interesting."

"Well, that is sad," replied the Bisharp to Vincent, "one must enjoy their vacations, more when you just happen to have them in like, for ever!" He then stood atop Xavier, who remained cryptically silent, and then proceeded to give Vincent and his family a humble bow.

"Why don't we start over again, hi: I am Weiss, leader of Checkmate, a mercenary guild under the wing of the Griffin Empire. These here are my colleges and, as in your case young Kadabra, my family: I believe you already know Pancha, this is Rouge, Simon the Driller, Char, Greninja and your new door is Edge."

The clothed Bisharp pointed at each member as each name was listed, the pointed in turn replied.

"Hola!" Cheerfully replied Pancha, despite been under Lucy's grip.

"Charmed," said Rouge with an elegant wave of her bouquets.

"Nice to meat'ya!" Replied Simon.

Char and Greninja simply nodded, although Char added a smile. Meanwhile Edge seemed to get stuck on the door frame.

"And this big fella is Xavier, but I think you know him too."

Vincent finally turned around to see the madhouse his room had become and groaned. “Housekeeping is going to complain, I’m sure…”

After the introductions, he cracked a wan smile and pointed at himself. “Vincent Nurem, first and longest survivor. Also known as subject thirty-seven. Father wanted to bridge the gap between man and ‘mon, and injected me at a young age with Abra DNA. I’m the only one that lived out of the thirty-six others he tried it with.”

Sam nodded and put one claw over his chest. “Sam, also known as subject thirty-six. The doctor strapped me down and injected me with a cocktail to strengthen my exoskeleton. I lost my ability to fly, but I can take a few more hits than normal. Sorta prepared me for the Metal Coat Lucy found the other day.”

Lucy turned to the rest of the room before introducing herself. “Lucy, subject thirty-five. Skeleton modification, which, yes, is the reason my spikes are smaller than others you’ve seen. Still, helps me a bit. Fighting-types tend to be surprised I can shrug off their first hits.”

Bit took his turn. “Bit, also known as subject sixteen. Vincent named me that because I would repeat a string of numbers in the facility, and it reminded him of operating systems. I believe he came up with it after he heard me repeatedly say ‘eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four.’ My test was simple enough, in theory: Combine an Up-Grade with a Dubious Disk, then feed the result to my base Porygon form. I turned into a Porygon-2, and for the next eight years, I was a part of the mainframe, keeping it in better order than I was. Also, Lucy, if you would handle giving an Aura Sphere to Simon, I would appreciate it.”

'So he continued then...' Weiss thought, glad Xavier was covering their thoughts. "That was one long introduction," the Bisharp calmly said.

Simon on his end laughed. "If that is what you need for us to get even," the Excadrill opened his vest and give his belly a sound slap, "fire at will then!"

Pancha on her end seemed to notice what Lucy said. "Anda, she is right," and taking her captor's hand, she moved it around with just enough force for her to let go of her grip and properly look at the spike on it. "This looks kind of adorable don't you think?"

Lucy smiled at the enthusiasm of the Excadrill before glancing down at Pancha. “It’s also a sore spot for me, so if you don’t mind, please don’t stare.”

The mercenaries seemed to have turned from cold blooded soldiers for hire, into simple doofuses.

"... Why..." Began Xavier, Weiss and co. stiffened at the mental sound of his voice, "why do you keep your numerical record? It is illogical to think you keep any kind of fondness of them, so why keep them?"

"Buddy..." Weiss facepalmed, are you even trying to get this over with?

Vincent stiffened for a moment before turning to the window and answering Xavier.

“Someone has to remember. Remember what he did. Remember, and fight it with all our breath, otherwise, in the end, he won and was successful in breaking us. We keep our numbers of our subject listing because it’s better than keeping our numbers of our experiment listing. Bit, recall. Unauthorized experiments with unique test subjects.”

“Eight hundred and fifty one.”

“Yours?”

A pause, and then, “Three hundred and forty-two.”

“What of Lucy’s, or Sam’s?”

“Lucy, seven hundred and five. Sam, seven hundred and fifteen. Between the two, the doctor made the transition to bug-types in an effort to duplicate the success of experiment seven hundred and five. Seven hundred and fifteen was the first success, and led to a variety of successful, authorized experiments.”

“Living test subjects?”

“Thirty seven.”

“Escapees?”

“Five, all from confinement.”

Vincent stared at the Metagross in the window. “Someone has to remember. We choose the less gruesome memory.”

The Shiny seemed to ponder over the reply. "That still sounds..." He seemed to say something else, but he refrain himself of doing so, and instead added, "no, it is not my place to question your reasons."

"You’ll have to forgive our tactician, he can return to his cold, Steel-type, self when curiosity pokes him enough. But still, back on topic; would you guys really want to get even?" Inquired Weiss calmly.

"We would be more than happy to oblige!" Again shouted Simon with a pose.

"As soon as someone gets me out of here!" Added Edge with a frown.

Vincent pondered over the question for a moment before nodding and replying to the room as a whole. “Yeah. I mean, you’re not like the doctor. Nor do I recall seeing you lot around the facility, which is good. Means that you probably weren’t in there. I made it a point to try and at least talk with all the living subjects. So not only were you not in there for ‘work’, but you probably didn’t work for him. I think once Lucy gets her ‘revenge’ we can probably call this all a misunderstanding.”

Lucy nodded and quickly snatched up Pancha again. “One each. You, him,” here she pointed at Simon, “and...Vincent, do I want to hit the one in the window?”

“He hit me,” Vincent cooly replied. Lucy stiffened at that and glared at Weiss.

“Two, maybe three for you,” she said in a voice that could freeze water. Nobody touched her lo- brother.

Sam turned to Edge and frowned. “We...might all have to help get you out. How did you even get in?!”

Bit pondered the question Sam had stated out loud before shaking his head. “It is an illogical query: more data is required. Namely, the state of the hall.”

"Is... Quite okay... I think." Slowly replied Edge as she sort of honestly replied, as she didn't see anything happen, although she did hear some windows being broken. "As for how I got in: are you calling me fat!?"

Before Bit could answer, Greninja shook his head, a look of 'if you value your life' on his eyes.

Pancha seemed to agree with Lucy's assessment. "Well, one seems fair enough..." Pondered the Fighting-Flying-type.

"Only one!?" Exclaimed, yet again, the Excadrill with extravagant tone. "Come on, I can take more than that!"

Weiss on his end only felt his eye twitch. "That is why I hate to get in the middle of couples..." Yet he didn't back away. "Where then?"

"I would say the beach is a proper place, is spacious and soft enough for any impact to take place." Suggested Xavier.

At Weiss’ words of them being a couple, both Lucy and Xavier stopped for a moment before looking right at him. Lucy’s maw gaped slightly that someone could possibly know, whereas Vincent merely laughed. “Hah, us, a couple! That’s rich! That’s nearly as good as the final night of Luke training me! Oh, that was a laugh as well, an exercise in the insane!”

Lucy recovered thanks to Vincent interrupting her state of panic and merely glared at Weiss. The sort of glare that females everywhere had learned to give males. The one that said ‘we will have words later.’

Bit and Sam looked at each other, then at Edge. “Not saying you’re fat, or big, or large, or any of these things,” Sam said carefully.

“It merely seems that this building was not built for Pokemon like dragons in mind,” Bit added. “Although...we may have an answer in Vincent’s Teleport…”

Vincent, hearing his name, turned his eye to the Edge in the doorway and whistled. “Yeah...that’s the only way I can think to get you out.”

He raised his Twisted Spoon and looked at the others. “Is everyone okay if I make a quick trip to the beach with this one then?”

Weiss looked at Lucy with fright, actual and real fright, he motioned his lips saying 'why is it my fault he hasn't noticed it!?' In response to his panic, Xavier chuckled.

"I would go anywhere with you if you can take me out of here!" Exclaimed Edge with some thankfulness.

The rest of the mercenaries nodded as well. Vincent put his free hand on the Noivern in the doorway and closed his eyes, coating both himself and her in his power, causing them to glow an eerie blue. “Back in a flash, assuming I don’t miss! You never know, distance decreases accuracy something awful. Fortunately, the beach is a big target, with an ocean right next to it. TELEPORT!”

The two vanished even as Edge started to voice an objection to the Kadabra’s words. Lucy took this moment to glare at Weiss and Xavier before 'thinking out loud'. It had worked with Luke, it stood to reason it would work with Xavier.

Xavier, can you hear me? If so, I’d rather have my ‘words’ with that one atop you like this.

Sam merely turned to the others in the room and shrugged. “Beach party?”

"As long as I don't swim!" Bolstered Simon with excitement.

"Child," added Rouge.

"If I can bring some things from the mini bar, I am in," Char replied cooly.

"I wanna build a sand man!" Chirped Pancha.

Xavier let the group plan the party as he made a single and private line before adding 'He is all yours.' And let the flustered female have her words with the Bisharp.

"... Traitor..." Was all Weiss could say.

I’ll make it as simple as I can, Weiss, Lucy thought at the Bisharp in the window. He doesn’t know. I realized it when I was out training. Were it Bit or Sam who said the words Vincent did to make me realize just how much he cared and mattered to me, I doubt I would have Evolved. And while I will tell him, soon, I was not planning on it being now. His heart and mind remained unbroken throughout our captivity, and we were always there for one another. He sees me as a sister, I know he means more to me than that. If even that bond is ruined due to your interference, trust me when I say this: I will find a way to make you pay.

With that, Lucy turned and joined in on the planning. Sam looked at the other Scizor, then at one corner. “Holy Arceus, we have a mini-bar? Why didn’t I know this before now?” Realizing something, he turned to Char and grimaced. “Keep it away from Vincent, please? I don’t even wanna imagine him with a hangover.”

The Red Comet smiled slightly and replied, "That won't be a problem," then added, "yet I would advise trying to teach him one day, after all: better drunk with family and friends than with strangers."

Weiss was surprised by Lucy's reply, in fact he expected something more 'dangerous,' however he looked directly at the Lucario's eyes and replied, I understand your fears, and I apologize for that. But... If I can give you a word of advice, don't take too long. Even if he means so much to you, you don't know how he sees you. You see, right now I am in some sort of a problem with love too, I won't get into details, but I ended ignoring the feelings of a very lovely and pure soul, and I feel terrible about it. Point is, you should stop looking for the best moments and just be true to yourself. That is all I can say.

Lucy merely nodded as the words sunk in. I do understand what you are saying, but I had hoped to ease him into the idea of loving someone, understanding his feelings on the topic...and now I have to scrap a good portion of my ideas and work on new ones. It’s not unsalvageable, but it’s the next best thing, she thought back.

Sam chuckled and rubbed at the back of his head with one claw before replying to the other Scizor's advice. “Eheh, point. For a kid of fifteen, he’s not very world-wise. I’m not looking forward to quite a few talks...he sees me as his big brother, y’know? I’m barely older than him. Can you imagine giving those sorts of ‘talks’?”

Rather odd how both conversations, heard and unheard, centered around Vincent’s inexperience…

Bit hovered behind the mini-bar and looked at the bottles. “My word, there is a selection here. I do hope they’re not expensive.” At that, he stopped for a moment. “And now that I’m thinking about it, I should check on our bits. One moment.”

"You guys have money?" Simon questioned.

Char, for his part, chuckled at Sam's worries. "Trust me, I was along a Veteran warrior and a similar brother when we had 'that' talk, boy I prefer to teach about drinking any other day of the week..." He then looked at Sam, and for a second, he saw a little mirror on him. "Say, I could give you a couple of tips, Arceus knows I would have a life so much easier back then if I had some of those."

Okay... And how the idea department is going? Weiss asked with a hint of curiosity in his mental 'voice'.

"...you know, I suddenly felt left aside." Pointed out Rouge.

"You could always take my place on the firing wall," Pancha pointed back .

"Never mind!"

Sparse, Lucy replied to the Bisharp. Hoping to show him I care, and just how much, via the things we find to do in town. Yesterday was simple yet enjoyable, and the beach would have been a nice time. Now I’m worrying how he’ll take my actions; if he’ll see I care, or if he’ll brush it off as it being a silly idea thanks to what you’ve said. His reaction to your accusation was not reassuring.

“Yes, we have money,” Bit replied to the Excadrill's questioning, “And yes, I am aware of the irony of my name and the name of the currency.”

“Yeah,” Lucy pitched in. “There was a thing down in Las Pegasus, some sort of smuggling crime family that operated under the name PegasusAir. We helped bring them to light…”

“Mostly me, accidentally,” Bit put in.

“And then we busted them up when their leader decided that having Pokemon in the city was detrimental to her operations. Vincent apparently got the location of the ‘clean’ money from her mind, and, well…”

“He took a ten-percent finders fee,” Sam said before turning to Char. “And anything you can show me would be welcome.”

Lucy walked off while still maintaining a hold of her first target and waving at the Roserade with her free paw. “C’mon, let’s go find my little brother.”

You should start by stopping your habit of calling him that, finished Weiss as he asked Xavier to take them down.

"Si señora..." Replied Pancha with a defeated tone. Rouge just patted her friend.

"You guys got a percentage!?" Asked again Simon as he followed the rest. "We defeated a whole invading force under a mountain in just a morning and didn't get a single coin!" Arms waved around to make his point.

"My young friend," Char placed a claw over Sam's shoulder and completed, "you better get yourself a notepad, because this is going to take a while, first off: what does he know?"

A few moments later, the room was empty.

“You didn’t hear us properly,” Lucy replied to the Subterrene Pokemon as the large party of Pokemon made their egress from the hotel.

“He took a ten-percent finder’s fee. I’m pretty sure Ace’s scream will be legend when she finally finds where the bits were. She may even demand them back when we return to Las Pegasus,” Sam finished.

“As well, Vincent’s kinda...well, he knows of the regular Pokemon. Legends were regarded as mere myth at the facility,” Lucy added, holding her free paw to her chin.

“Accessing reasoning for that: audio file. It is dated on a Halloween night: If the legends were fucking real, why didn’t one stop me or save my mother?!”

Bit’s proclamation killed the conversation for a few minutes as the troop made their way towards the beach. Sam awkwardly coughed to break the ice again. “So! He’s not stupid, far from it. He’s merely been fed information through a screen. I think the ‘talk’ portion was only scheduled for when he came of ‘age.’ So...probably nothing regarding that.”

The group did get an awkward vibe from the recording, although mostly because they knew the owner of the voice, they heard things like that many times back on Earth after all.

"Then you better get yourself a notebook instead, this is going to be a long talk..." Char replied as he opened one of the bottles he had took from the mini bar before leaving.

"Oh, so the old 'sticky hands' trick huh?" Mentioned Simon in response to the story of the bits. "I doubt we could have done that and still have our title."

"I for once, am glad we didn't do something like that, otherwise," the Roserade then tapped her hat gently, "we wouldn't become Griffenheim citizens, not to mention we may get a proper paycheck once we come back."

"Yeah, besides, we only get one mission so far: to show off!" Added Pancha. "That is one ease trabajo alright!"

Weiss was at ground level by the moment they get to the lobby, Xavier on his end was as well on his four legs.

"Okay then, the beach is that way, shall we?" Pointed Weiss.

The party of Pokemon made their way through the street with little incident: it’s remarkable how quickly ponies clear out of the way of a group of Pokemon with a goal, and one could almost be startled by the speed Pokemon would stand to one side at the sight of Xavier.

“I think you’re scaring them,” Sam stage-whispered.

Lucy barked a laugh at that. “How did Vincent say Metagross were described?”

Bit dinged as he accessed his files. “The only non-legendary psychic capable of even standing up to some of them. On one of their bad days.”

Lucy nodded at that. “So yeah. I’d be surprised if they weren’t scared.”

Sam turned to Char and sighed before picking up the conversation about how to talk and 'talk' with Vincent. “I’m not ignorant either. Some day I’ll tell you about the old man who ‘adopted’ me and taught me a variety of things that a young Scyther probably shouldn’t know. It’s just...parsing that for Vincent isn’t going to be fun…”

Bit turned to the trio that had responded to the comment about Vincent essentially helping himself to mob money and dinged again. “It is only marginally better than what we were doing before: using Vincent’s powers to cheat at card games. He thought that since ponies hadn’t heard of Pokemon or psychics yet…” The program let the sentence hang there, the implications clear.

The three looked at Bit, and said in unison, "Been there, done that."

"And we got AWAY with it!" Proudly added Weiss.

"I have never cared for what others think about me," commented Xavier, but added with a more serious tone, "but if I ever had to fight a Legendary," a hint of personal pride on his voice as he finished, "it would be a bad day for him or her indeed."

Back with both Scizor, "Well, if you already know the awkward way, what is so troublesome for you then?" Char questioned Sam.

It was a good thing he was already red, nobody could see Sam’s cheeks flush in embarrassment. “What he taught me was more about the quick seduction rather than actual romance or relationships. Or...to put it another way, he was likely a very, very dirty old man. He liked having an ‘apprentice in being a gentlemanly rogue’ and made it a habit of his to at least try and understand me. That’s...not something I want to teach Vincent.”

Lucy was thankful for Sam’s words, though she didn’t outwardly show it. “Well,” she slowly said to the Metagross, “not caring about what others think of you...hang on, didn’t we just get done with a situation where such a skill might have been, I dunno...useful? After all, if you cared, we might’ve avoided any escalated conflict between our two parties.”

Bit sighed and dinged again before replying to Weiss. “We nearly did, but apparently, some Pokemon Rangers got dragged in as well. One made it her business to stop our business, and she had a Gallade on her team. You can probably tell what happened from there.”

The beach was nearly visible, if the Pokemon closed their eyes, they would be able to smell the salt on the breeze much more clearly now.

"That was an intentional show of power," replied Xavier calmly to Lucy's words as if were not a big deal, "I had no intention to prove anything of myself besides my superiority, it is standard procedure."

"That and his curiosity took the best out of him," Weiss added, "if it is of any consolation, that is one of the greatest compliments one can get from him."

"We can start from there,” Char replied to Sam's explanation, "you know what to avoid, now let's focus on the good parts that you know."

"Hey!" Chirped Pancha, "I can see the ocean!"

The mercs smiled at the sight, save for Simon, he just sweated a little. Vincent’s voice could vaguely be heard, and after a moment of searching, both him and Edge could be seen in the middle of what looked like a decent-sized crater. “Never...again. Maybe on my own, but never again with someone else! Especially a dragon!” The Kadabra’s voice had an edge of panic to it.

“You really should stop complaining,” Edge calmly said.

“It was a huge fall!”

“I’ve had worse.”

“I haven’t, and I’m lucky to be alive!”

“Are you implying me catching you was luck?”

“I’m implying either of us surviving appearing upside-down was luck!”

"Any landing from which you can walk away of is a good landing." She defended.

“And you’ve had much experience landing on your side?! No, wait, I don’t want to know.”

Sam and Lucy couldn’t stop themselves, they laughed at the imagery the two of them bickering conjured up. Bit merely recorded the data, although if you knew what to look for, you could almost say he appeared happy as well.

After a few minutes to set up, Lucy stared at the lineup before her. One Hawlucha, one Excadrill, and one Bisharp. To keep things interesting, she hadn’t told them in which order she was going to throw her Aura Spheres at them. Then again, she did want to save one in particular for last…

She closed her eyes and felt for the Aura, shaping the attack with practiced ease. She considered, then threw the sphere of blue power at Pancha first.

It flew the short distance across the sands and impacted the flying/fighting’s frame before detonating.

From the ones on the fusilation line, only Simon looked eager about the incoming punishment.

"Come on!" Exclaimed the Excadrill with excitement.

Weiss just kept his face as neutral as possible, wishing for things to just end quickly.

Pancha on her end was simply repeating a single oration, "San Pedro del tamborazo, librame del chi-WAA!" She couldn't finish oration number 33 as the Aura Sphere hit her clean on the chest. Once the dust settled she replied, "that didn't hurt!" More in surprise than any kind of taunt.

Lucy frowned at that before shrugging. “Probably wasn’t going to, true. Still, had to try. Either because of your experience or resistances, it probably wasn’t going to do much to you.” The Lucario turned her eyes to Simon next and nearly grinned at his enthusiasm. “Well, let’s see if we can’t fix that problem…”

As Lucy prepared another attack, across the beach a small ways, Vincent was reclining against Edge’s form and just taking in the sight and sensation of the beach. “This...I really, really enjoy things like this. Just moments of tranquility with those that I either call family or feel safe around.”

Edge on her end was simply marveled by what she was seeing at the moment.

"By Rayqaza's awesomeness, I missed how colors were," she proclaimed almost at the verge of tears, as she had managed to borrow Vincent's eyes, somehow she managed to befriend the now Psychic-type easier than the rest of her team, most likely because she hadn't actually attacked him or his family so far.

Bit nodded absently while taking the scenery in, in his own way, of course, before turning to Rogue. “Query: what did you or, more generally, the outside world, know of the doctor? I ask to know what sort of reactions Vincent might earn from tossing his last name around.”

Rouge on her end pondered over Bit's query, then she replied. "The popular world saw him as a revolutionary scientist, the more shady world, that being the one we are from, knew him either as a miracle bringer or a soulless maniac, in either case he was seen as a demon though." She gave Bit a gentle pat on what she thought was his shoulder and added, "If I was being sincere, I would try to keep his last name a secret, or at least not shout it every time he got emotional."

Xavier was merely floating above the group, keeping a shady place for them. Sam and Char been the only ones quite further away, apparently talking about something very important.

“Yeah, just, y’know, stop trying to look around? Gives me a dizzy spell something awful. Let me know if you want to see something different, and I’ll oblige you.” Vincent put one hand to his head in an effort to steady it from some unseen malise. “Um...if it isn’t too offensive? I’m...pretty sure Noivern aren’t...normally sight-impaired…”

Edge moved her long neck and placed her face right before Vincent, "well most Noivern doesn't have these on their eyes," she pointed at her eyes with a wing. "And I can't promise much," she returned her head to her previous position, "I am able to see after years, I think you can understand my feelings of freedom, boy."

Bit dinged a few times before sighing. “I could play back the file, but the general consensus is that after the death of his mother, Rupert began to harden his heart, and a Grumpig only helped accelerate the process, either with some physical trauma to the head or via its psychic powers. Turning him truly into the doctor, the one that only wanted to sate his curiosity. And stopping Vincent from saying his last name may prove to be...difficult. He seems set on ‘taking it back from his father,’ as he claims it.”

"Yeah, our side of the world knows that," replied back Rouge, "actually, the people who really knows what the doctor did are actually few, problem is that those few may had the name on a very, VERY, bad light. But, taking that name back is a very commemorable goal, I wish him luck doing so."

Lucy smirked at Simon and poured just a touch more power into her attack. Just a bit. This one seemed to want to take a massive amount of punishment just to prove he could, so she’d try to oblige. Once it felt ready, she fired her next orb of doom across the beach to impact the Excadrill.

Not moving a muscle and keeping his blazing gaze at the super effective attack, Simon let the Aura Sphere hit him right on the face, a slightly stronger -Boom!- filling the beach. Again the Pokemon had to await for the dust to calm to see what happened, what come out was a smiling Excadrill softly patting his helmet-like horn.

"Well, wasn't that one good way to clean my nose!" He joked as he continued to laugh loudly.

Weiss couldn't stop to smile at his friend, but began sweating right away as he remember there was no other targets left.

Lucy sighed at the lack of any visible marks on her targets. “Is it me or you? Am I exceptionally weak, or are you lot exceptionally strong? I mean, I had been expecting something...”

She shrugged her shoulders and cast her gaze to Weiss then. “Two down…”

"Don't worry lady, we have to be this good for our job!" Simon replied to Lucy's concerns with yet another laugh.

"Now only one left!" Chirped Pancha while adding a little song, "dale, dale, dale, no pierdas el tino!"

"... You fucking people..." Weiss said to himself as he looked at Lucy charging yet another attack.

The Lucario began to bring her aura around both her paws, took aim, flexed her body, and then!

"HOLD IT!" Weiss exclaimed as he raised a hand. He took a few steps away from the line and removed his coat, a constant sound of metal screeching sounded off as he tossed it, a metallic -thud- coming from the cloth as he returned to the line.

"There... It would have been cheating to keep the orichalcum coat on," he said as he awaited for the inevitable.

“That makes sense,” Bit answered the Roserade. “The audio files I have in my memory were set to be sent out should Vincent ever be released, so that he would not have to live in his father’s shadow. The last act of his dying humanity. The only reason they would need to be sent out would be if someone somewhere were keeping the truth away from the world…”

Vincent gulped before poking the dragon again. “Yeah, I get that, I really do. And hey, at least I’m getting experience in linking with others, I think I’d gotten complacent about that…but...how, if you don’t mind me asking, did it happen, Edge? Please tell me it wasn’t father…”

Edge chuckled as she patted Vincent on the head with her tail, "kid, your dad wasn't the only demon out there. But it wasn't such a bad thing now that I think about it." She commented. "But if you want to know..."

Vincent listened intently to Edge’s story, glad that for once, it didn’t feature his father’s name.

"Well, there are always those on high places enjoying their life because of the deeds those on our world did." Contemplated Rouge, "you know...? Being able to be like this, work for a nation without having trouble worrying about having to end some life's at the end of the day just because someone didn't like how someone else looks... Is really, how your friend said... Liberating?"

“Yes,” Bit replied. “Though it’s also a tiny bit scary for me. I was a part of the mainframe, I had access to so much, I could hear everything from the computers. The rush of information...most wouldn’t be able to understand. Yes, I was broken, made to serve a madman at the very sound of his voice, but at the same time, there was beauty there as well. Here I am both more and less. Myself, and tiny.”

Lucy shrugged slightly at the discarding of the coat by the Bisharp. “Fine, if that’s how you want to do it. Let’s get yours out of the way then.” With that, she finished forming the dual attacks over her paws, breathed in for a moment, and on the exhale, shot both of them at Weiss.

"What are you babbling about!?" Proclaimed Rouge with slight disbelief at Bit's words, "you miss having so much information? Well that is simple to fix, tell me; how much information do you think this mere moment holds?"

Bit turned to Rogue before turning back to the horizon and absently thinking out loud. “The information that existed in any given moment during my time in the mainframe was only limited to whether or not I could secure an outside connection to update myself. Here...I hear nothing. Nothing but the world.”

Weiss didn't expect Lucy to throw both at the same time, yet he did what Shredder and Simon had taught him to do for years, he clenched his teeth, fixed his grounding and keep his eyes wide open as both attacks hit him.

KA-BOOOOOOM!

Weiss didn't manage to remain standing as he slowly fell into the sand. He didn't say a thing, he merely began to bring himself back up, walked back to his standing point and simply give a single look at Lucy which said only one thing: ready.

Lucy smirked a bit at Weiss’ reaction to the dual attacks before frowning as he drew himself back up. Recalling the words of her mentor, she shook her head and dispelled the Aura coating her. “You okay? I’m fairly certain just shrugging an attack like that off isn’t something well-advised for one like you.”

Weiss chuckled at Lucy's words, although this seemed to bring some pain to him, he let the stinging sensation pass and simply said," you said three to four, I am still standing and I give my word I will properly take responsibility for my and my team's actions, now shoot!" He demanded.

Lucy sighed and shook her head. “No, I said two, maybe three. But my mentor taught me the meaning of power. It’s not about having strength.” She crossed the distance between the two of them and extended her paw. “It’s about having strength and knowing when not to use it. And using it to hurt you more...that’s not how I should use it.”

"And isn't sound itself a form of information?" Retorted the Roserade as she removed her hat, pointing a bouquet at Bit, "doesn't my flower's perfume hold chemical chains?" She then pointed around them, "isn't this very view something worthy to record?"

Bit was struck dumb by the words of the Roserade and looked at the scene around them again, taking it in in a new light. “...Why did I not see it before? Life is information! I...I’ve been blind, haven’t I?”

"You just became free Bit," Rouge added as she placed her hat back on her head, "it is only natural for you to long for the old and safe days of before, even if it’s only a little bit." She then sighted, "looking on life with a new light isn't easy, but I like to believe..." She then looked up and right at Bit, "life is worth living it, don't you think?"

Weiss let out a long breath, letting his serious self go as he replaced it with the pain of the moment. "Does that mean we are even then?" He asked hopefully as Simon and Pancha get hold of his beaten body.

“For now,” Lucy agreed. “But I’m sure you understand the conditions.”

Lucy then shot Weiss another look, one that probably chilled the air a few degrees. She may have wanted to hit Weiss a few more times, but she could see he was barely standing. That, and her mentor would probably not forgive her if she brought serious harm to someone that wasn’t fighting back.

"I guess that is a start, but I must say there is no point if you still have to use those eyes at me," Weiss was carefully taken before Lucy, "so how about this, once I get better we have a match? No restrains from my part, does that sounds okay for you?"

Bit sighed, and had he the muscles or face for it, he would have smiled. “Yes...life is always worth living. And who knows? Maybe I’ll find a computer here in Equestria on our little jaunt. It’d be nice to make a backup of the information I have. Or have a device capable of withstanding my presence.”

"I wouldn't have my hopes too high here dear," commented Rouge with a smile, "the more advanced thing I have seen here are trains. Steam powered trains must I add."

Bit nearly cursed before he simply sighed and shook his disconnected head. “Ah well. I possess knowledge. All we require is a technically minded pony...along with a generator to run one. Things just keep getting complicated. But, seeing as it’s not really important, I can shelf it for now.”

Lucy considered the offer Weiss had made before sticking her paw out. “Sure, but not while we’re on vacation, okay? I’d like to do as little of that as possible. You can look us up in Las Pegasus.”

"Sounds like a plan Bit, I wish you the best of luck." Rouge commented as she held a bouquet at the program.

"It’s a date then," joked Weiss, "now if you don’t mind, I am going to pass out now..."

And true to his words, he plummeted to the ground, although he did not pass out.

"Please tell me we got some food!" He yelled as he felt his stomach ache.

At the call for food, and the sound of several other stomachs rumbling, Vincent looked up at Edge and smiled. “Yeah, I know what you’re saying. Family isn’t defined by blood. Although yours seems to be defined by their stomachs.”

The teenaged Psychic got up and stretched before looking at the assorted partygoers. “Alright, I know what Sam and Lucy like, plus I’ve been here for a day and can Teleport, meaning I know where to go. So who on your team is coming with?” he questioned the Noivern.

As if Teleport was one of his moves, Simon appeared before Vincent with a claw well raised.

"That is one, but we may need more than just you two to carry it all back." Edge said as she gave Simon and Xavier a glance, "my team does move by their stomach, as you wisely pointed out."

"Not to mention the others are arriving," mentioned Xavier, at last.

“Eh, I can send and conjure things if I know where they are or have a really strong link with the recipient. Don’t even want to imagine sending soup to, say, Simon here. It might arrive upside-down like we did.” The Kadabra stroked his mustache and looked up at Xavier, grinning. “Oy! Get your shiny self down here and let’s see if we can’t form a relay for sending food back for you lot!”

He’d ask about 'the others' later. If it became relevant.

Xavier just give Vincent an 'angry' eye and said, "you really think I need to get down to do something as simple as generating a psychic beacon for you to send the items while I reorganize them over here?" Despite this, he landed all the same, "you truly didn't learn much about me in our little discussion then."

"Xavier, can it!" Commanded Weiss from the ground, "and get started with the food! And bring some beer!"

"I am fine with some salad," commented Rouge.

"Meat!" Said Pancha and Simon at unison.

"I will do with fruit, thank you." Added Edge with a grin.

Vincent looked up at the Metagross and shrugged. “Well I just figured you might want to be here to catch them in case, despite your beacon, things do come out upside-down…”

He then turned to the Greninja and cocked his head. “Um...okay, going to ask you to come with me. Both because you didn’t say anything, which I’m guessing is just your way, but also because I need someone on your team to pick out things they like...and whatever you’d like.”

The Kadabra then extended his left hand towards Greninja while his right held his normal spoon, which even now glowed blue as he prepared his Teleport move. Greninja didn't make any kind of indication of having heard what Vincent said, yet he shone for a second, changing his dark typing so Vincent could teleport him. He took Vincent's hand and merely give him a 'so-so' sign with his other hand. With a flexing of the Kadabra's will, Greninja and Vincent disappeared from the beach to go shopping for food for the party of Pokemon on the beach.

“Hello?” An elderly voice called. “Is everything alright? I know I heard fighting.”

Lucy, Sam, and Bit turned to look at the origin of the new voice, which Bit naturally made creepy by not rotating his body as well. An elder looking Conkeldurr, supporting his weight on a single column instead of the usual two, was making his way towards the group. Lucy blinked a bit but nodded and replied to his question.

“Ah, yes, everything is fine. In fact, the fighting was myself setting all accounts square between our two ‘families,’ isn’t that right, Weiss?”

"What she said..." Replied the Bisharp as he remained flat on the floor. "Is the food here yet?"

At that moment, a few bowls of salad popped into existence nearby before they were caught by Xavier’s grasp and lowered to the sands.

“A bit,” Sam replied. “Who ordered salad, again?”

With a courteous, "That would be me, thank you dear," Rouge picked one of the bowls and began to eat.

Bit turned the rest of his body around and floated close to the elderly Conkeldurr. “Information exchange proposed. This unit is designated as Bit. The Lucario is Lucy, and the Scizor is Sam. Yourself, sir?”

The Conkeldurr smiled. “I am Professor Hastings, head of the Pokemon Ranger Union... Or I was.” He shook his head. “A pleasure to meet you all.”

An instant reaction was provoked from the aforementioned trio, in that they stood stock still. Sam and Lucy slowly turned to look at Hastings and worked their mouths a few times. They’d mostly gotten over their hatred due to their run-in with Abby, but...they didn’t know about Vincent. Bit beeped a few times before replying. “Advice proffered. Flee. Before the one on the other end of the link feeding us food returns.”

Hastings blinked in confusion. “I’m sorry?”

Bit beeped a few more times and made to reply again, but before he could, four bowls of pasta with some sort of tomato sauce atop it appeared and were gently set into the sand. Lucy picked one up and began eating some with a fork that had been included. “This is actually really good, Vincent took us to the place that does these last night. Anyone up for pasta?”

"Just put one bowl here..." Said Weiss with exhaustion. After which, a few pizzas with differing toppings popped in.

“Oh sweet, pizza!” Sam exalted before helping himself to a slice. “But yeah, Hastings? You really don’t want to be here when Vincent and Greninja get back. Vincent more so. He had a run-in with a Ranger named Abby back in Las Pegasus...nearly took the damn casino down.”

“Abby Trombley?” Hastings asked, stroking his beard. “I was hoping to find her, Top Ranger and... wait, why did he try to level a casino?”

“He didn’t,” Lucy said, slowly picking at her food. “It was a bit of...pent-up anger. Quite a bit. He’d never met a Ranger before, and when he learned what they were supposed to do, he became angry that they’d failed before Arceus shifted us here. His rage tapped into his psychic powers and, well...I snapped him out of it. I always have.”

Hastings looked at the Lucario in curiosity. “I don’t know how we’ve failed your friend, but I think I would like to talk with him, perhaps I can clear a few things up,” he chuckled. “After all, she may be a Top Ranger, but Abby doesn’t know everything about the Union.”

Bit dinged once as he recited what had been said that day. It wasn’t in Abby’s voice, but her words were unmistakable to those that had been there for them. “‘The Pokemon Rangers are, or rather were I suppose, an organization devoted to helping find and stop Pokemon abuse in all it’s forms.’” He then leveled a glare at Hastings. “You failed. You did not find us.”

There was a short silence. "Awkward... " commented Simon as he took another slice.

At that, Vincent and Greninja popped back in with a few more bowls of pasta and another pizza held by the two of them. “Decided to make the last trip ourselves guys! Oh, who’s this, a new addition?” The Kadabra looked at the Conkeldurr with a raised eyebrow as he set the pizza down.

As soon both reappeared, Weiss made a single hand sign which told the whole Pokemon team to huddle.

“So, I take it you’re this Vincent I’ve been hearing about then?” Hastings asked.

Vincent smiled and decided to go for a hammy introduction. “Indeed I am good sir! As my family has probably already introduced themselves, allow me to say my name is Vincent Nurem!” He tilted his top hat towards the elder. “And you?”

Hastings mouth hung open and his column/walking stick fell to the ground. “N-Nurem?” He asked.

Vincent chuckled a bit. “Ah yes, allow me to clarify. My father was Rupert Nurem, and due to an...accident involving a Grumpig, its psychic powers, and quite possibly some surgery equipement, his already-hardening heart turned him into the Doctor that is infamous. I’m his son, his first real victim, I suppose.”

Hastings gulped, realizing what Lucy and the others had been talking about. “I see,” He shook his head before picking up his walking cane. “I am Professor Hastings... head of the Ranger Union.”

"... se armo la gorda..." Whispered Pancha as Weiss facepalmed.

It was probably a good thing Vincent didn’t have any form of weather-related moves, Sam would reflect. Otherwise, the sky probably would have gone dark at that statement. The boy who had been jovial a moment before and understanding went limp for a moment, staring in disbelief. “You.”

His hands then clenched and unclenched a few times as he screwed his eyes shut, both trying to stay in control while getting very, very mad. To his credit, only a little power leaked out. Sam got a headache, as he was closest, but nobody else suffered. “Do you realize how much hell I went through in there?”

Hastings chuckled nervously and cleared his throat. “Well... we knew that your father was experimenting, though we weren’t aware of the details-”

Hastings got cut off abruptly. “Details?” Vincent said darkly. “Details? Oh I can give you details. Subject Sixteen, this is Master Vincent! Access logs of experiments!”

Bit dinged and his eyes turned green while his tone became flat. “Logs accessed. Which would you like to view?”

Vincent glared at the Conkeldurr. “Experiment 654! Recite parameters, subject, and fate of subject!”

“Parameters of test: Attempt fifteen at changing a pokemon’s type through external body modification. Subject was a wild Charizard who had its wings amputated. Fate of subject: death via electrical containment system.”

“Experiment 711!”

“A Ledyba, exposed to the sixth iteration of the Doctor’s exoskeleton strengthening serum. It was far too effective. She was crushed under the weight of her own shell and it is unclear if that or the mercy killing injection afterwards was the deathblow.”

“Experiment 342!”

At that, the program paused for a moment before replying. “This unit, in Porygon form, was exposed to a blend of both an Up-Grade and a Dubious Disk. The result was a highly corrupted and erratic Porygon-2, which would serve within the computer’s mainframe from that point on.”

Vincent directed another, harsher glare at Hastings then. “Where were you for any of that, any of that which I had to watch?! I saw so many die because of him, and where were your Rangers?!”

Hastings took a step back, but steeled his nerves and leaned forward on his cane. “Now see here,” He began. “I am truly, truly sorry that you had to experience all of that, I am filled with regret that we were unable to bring your father to justice.” He shook his head. “But we tried to find you, yet our leads always dried out before we came to any results and I couldn’t send my Rangers out willy nilly across the planet searching for a compound we had no idea how to find.”

Hastings shifted his cane to his other hand and continued. “There were countless other problems to deal with, other forms of Pokemon abuse, natural disasters, various criminal organizations,” He cleared his throat. “And on top of all that, we had to track down Pokephiles,” He shuddered at the word. “So I apologize, but-”

“Wait, Lucy interrupted. “You tracked down those...for the crime of following their heart?”

Vincent blinked as he made the connection and growled. “Now,” he said, in a deceptively sweet tone, “I’ve met Luke, Abby’s Gallade friend. So we can’t say that him doing what he did was wrong, Lucy.”

Lucy blinked and turned to Bit, who didn’t respond. She then turned to Sam, who winced. “Eh...Let’s just say there’s those who don’t take no for an answer and took what should only be given from Luke. Repeatedly.”

Lucy shuddered as she made the connection as well. Vincent, however, wasn’t done. “So, is my sister right? Did you track down and try to break apart those that only committed the ‘crime’ of falling in love?”

Hastings rolled his eyes. “You sound like that Phillips imbecile from a few days ago,” He shook his head. “We did not break apart ‘love’, we rescued Pokemon from abusive Trainers who warped their minds and hearts into thinking that they loved them.”

Vincent smiled. It wasn’t a kind smile, especially with the blue glow filling his eyes. It was one most knew to run from. It just screamed ‘I have snapped.’ “Not denying that! My entire world, after all, was a facility hidden from your view, apparently! So clearly I don’t know how the outside world works! But Lucy, question, since you seemed to know about this. Actually, that is a good question. How do you know about this, and what’s your stance on it?”

Lucy shrugged. “Maylene and her Lucario partner trained me in being a Lucario. It came up... and they were both against it. They were surprised I was as well. I think my exact words were...’You can’t pass a law on the heart. The day the heart bows to the law of mortals is a dark day indeed.’”

Hastings looked shocked. “First that troublesome Champion,” He muttered under his breath. “Please understand, a union between humans and Pokemon is not something intended to happen, they cannot produce offspring and, to repeat, Trainers CAPTURE, their Pokemon, and often at a young age.” He raised an eyebrow. “Does it sound like a healthy relationship to fall in love with someone who’s been around you, guiding you, basically your entire life?”

Lucy winced at that, but Vincent didn’t catch it. “Sam!” The Scizor turned to the still-fuming Psychic. “You’ve had the most experience outside those walls. Tell me, what do you think of the Professor’s claims?” He had also, apparently, reverted to calling Hastings by his title.

The Scizor rubbed the back of his head with one claw and was grateful for his red exoskeleton, nobody would see him blush for the first bit. “Well...humans didn’t seem to have any ban on same-gender relationships, from what I remember. Plus, the old guy I was living with sorta adopted me. I was going to be ‘captured’ the day after he passed so that I could be given to his grandson, and he explained the process to me to remove my trepidation.”

The Scizor took a deep breath. “If the Pokemon struggles, then they can break free of the ball in the initial capturing stage. Plus, if they believe their trainer to not be of sound mind or heart...they can always break the ball. The right pressure in the wrong place, and it shatters remarkably easily. As well, you could always simply run. If the ball can’t find you, it can’t grab you, and there is some sort of maximum range. In truth, one of the real reasons Pokemon stay with humans...is because they want to.”

The Kadabra turned his gaze back to the transformed Professor. “So if Pokemon are intelligent, and they clearly are, as we’re talking to them. And they possess the ability to make judgement calls about their trainers. Which is occasionally doubtful, some might not be mature enough. And they know these things. Then why the hell would they allow themselves to remain in what is essentially a hostage situation?!”

Hastings waved his hand, having heard such excuses hundreds of times before. “Allow me to reiterate, a trainer goes out and catches a young pokemon, essentially a baby, and captures them, they treat them with ‘respect’ and ‘love’ all the while raising them to their final form where one of them will admit that they’d fallen madly in love with the other, and don’t care what the law says. If it’s the Pokemon, the ‘trainer’, if they can be called that, fakes uncertainty, before coming to terms with their true feelings,” He sighed. “If it’s the ‘trainer’ the Pokemon will often fall for the trap, otherwise, the human either continues trying or starts over with a new Pokemon.”

Vincent had taken off his top hat and set it, upside down, on the sand. “Hmm. That would indicate that you think that every single case of ‘Pokephilia’ that has ever crossed your desk, you have been right to follow up and ‘fix.’ Am I right? You seem to have left yourself no middle ground there.”

Hastings glared at Vincent. “Yes, every case-”

“Bit. Recall. The message from Arceus. What would have been right: Telling us this beforehand and letting us get our affairs in order, or what he did?”

Bit beeped a few times. “The correct thing to do, if one were to enact a plan such as his, would be to at least give this world some warning. Judging by the content of his message, he did not.”

Vincent then pulled his Twisted Spoon from his top hat. The feeling of dread in the area increased drastically in response. “Even Arceus gets things wrong. Who are you to claim otherwise? What sort of man places himself above a god?”

Hastings closed his eyes and chuckled. “Please, Arceus may think of himself as a god, but he is nothing more than a powerful Pokemon, messing around in Human affairs for his own reasons.”

“AND YOU AREN’T?! I’m not sure if you listened or looked in a lake lately, but wake the hell up! We’re both Pokemon, this is a new world, and your views and laws and morals hold no ground here!”

Sam pitched in, despite the fact that Vincent was glowing blue. “Yeah. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in a generation or three, ‘Pokephilia’ first became identifiable with just the term ‘sex’ and then fell out of use entirely.”

Hastings huffed and stamped the ground with his cane. “Not if I have any say in the matter.”

“Who said you would?”

At that, Vincent pointed his Spoon at Hastings, and his cane was coated in the same aura before being yanked from the massive Fighting-type’s grasp. “Hell, by our typings and the fact that I’m very familiar with my Psychic powers thanks to Luke, I could probably beat some sense into you, or until you were black and blue. Whichever came second.”

Hastings held his arms out to steady himself, his bulky body finding it hard to remain upright without a cane. Vincent closed his eyes and breathed deeply once, twice, as the training sessions with Luke came back to him, and the cane was floated back. “But that would be cruel. I could make you relive what I remember, seeing all those deaths...and those that had the misfortune to live long enough to have to be put down.”

Hastings, now leaning on his cane, gulped. Vincent shook his head again. “But that would be excessive. Bit, recall. How many unauthorized experiments with unique test subjects?”

“Eight hundred and fifty one.”

Weiss took a deep breath at the quite overwhelming number. Hastings’ eyes widened at the number, he knew there had been a lot of experiments but that many… “How many lived?” Vincent shot off next.

“Thirty-seven. Five escaped from their confines.”

The young psychic glared at the older Conkeldurr. “Eight hundred and fourteen dead. Find a way to atone for that, I dare you. Because I’m willing to bet that if you pulled even so much as one more ranger from your damn Pokephilia hunt to find the Doctor when the bodies first started to show, it’d be far, far lower. I might have even tasted fresh air before this happened.”

Hastings couldn’t think of anything else to say. “I...”

“Their blood is on your hands as much as it was on his. His for doing the deed, you for not stopping him.” Vincent turned to his food, long forgotten and cold, and found he wasn’t hungry. Shrugging, he turned back to the Fighting type and put his Spoon back in his hat. “Oh, and if I find that you’ve tried to get your ridiculous views passed as law before you find a way to make up for what you couldn’t do? I’ll find you, and we’ll start from what I can remember seeing and go from there.”

While Hastings had primarily worked in the lab back at the Union, he had been in the field enough to know when it was dangerous to continue what you had been doing. This was one of those times. Turning back around, Hastings lumbered back the way he had came. He paused momentarily and said. “I’m sorry.” Before continuing on his way.

“Sorry doesn’t bring back the dead!” Vincent screamed. “Sorry doesn’t undo what he did to them all, to me! Sorry can’t make up for fifteen years of HELL!”

Hastings cleared out of there faster than any Pokemon his size should have been able to move. The Kadabra, now burnt out, collapsed to the sand, crying as he recalled the things he’d been threatening Hastings with. Lucy was there in a moment, holding Vincent in a hug that he desperately needed. With a few sobs, he choked out a simple phrase. “Subject sixteen, you may resume normal operations.”

Bit dropped back into his normal mode, his eyes turning yellow and glaring at where Hastings had been before seeing the mood of the beach party had been thoroughly soured. Weiss didn't said anything, he merely walked over the food Vincent had left, a slice of Pizza, and pick it up. Only to call Xavier beside him. As soon the huge Metal-type floated beside him, Weiss left the slice flat over his sun-heated head.

"That should make it hot again in no time!" Proclaimed the Bisharp with a smile.

"You know I could have heated it by making its molecules vibrate right?" Retorted Xavier with little enthusiasm over his new role as a stove.

"It’s funnier this way." Retorted Weiss calmly. "Say, anyone want their meal hot again?" He asked to the whole group.

Vincent hiccuped a few times before shaking his head. “Not...not hungry anymore. I...I shouldn’t have threatened him with that…”

Lucy shot Weiss another Look, one that said ‘I am comforting this male and your efforts are not currently appreciated.’ “Maybe it’s time we considered moving on, Vincent. I’m pretty sure you’d rather not meet him again,” the Lucario suggested.

The Kadabra breathed deeply a few times and nodded. “Yeah...We probably should. We did most of the touristy things yesterday, today was going to be a quick sweep to see if we’d missed anything, and then we’d move on anyways...I think we should check the timetable at the train station, at least.”

"Young man!" Exclaimed Simon as he walked over to the hugging 'siblings.' "You just had a heart breaking experience, and you think walking away is the answer?"

As the hot blooded Pokemon said this, Weiss and Xavier made a quick escape, not wanting to get mixed on the resulting chaos. And before anyone could reply, the Subterrene Pokemon shouted. "Of course you don't!"

Right after that Simon raised one of his massive claws, the team already awaiting for the worse when their comrade suddenly turned around and slapped his own rear, using his other claw to make a taunting expression while giving a raspberry. "What you do is laugh at the world and walk forward!" He said with his tongue out and proceeded that way. "You did what you thought was right and let him walk away. That needs a lot of power to be done, so don't let such an old fashioned gramps ruin your day out."

With that said, Simon faced towards Vincent and Lucy again and offered them his massive claw to pull themselves up with. "A man's way is to know when to fight, but even more to know when NOT to fight. And you young man, just learned a great lesson of life, don't let sadness took over that achievement!" The last part was said more as a command than as a compliment. But the look the Excadrill give them surely showed how happy he was for them.

Vincent took a hold of the proffered claw and drew himself and Lucy up from the sand. “I...thank you. I think I needed that. No, I know I did.” With that, the Kadabra tilted his top hat towards the Excadrill and smiled. “I think I can see why you’re so integral to your team, besides your massive endurance. You don’t let anything get you or others down, do you?”

The Subterrene Pokemon let out a strong laugh as he placed his claw, not delicately, over Vincent’s shoulder. "Damned I’d be if I ever did that!" He then did the same to Lucy, "As your sister brightly said: the day that the heart bows to other's laws is a sad day indeed!" With that proclaimed he then give them a hug which would make a Ursaring jealous. "Now stop being so down you two and enjoy what is left of the day!"

“Hey, there’s an idea,” Sam posited. “What say we show them a few sights before we call it a day?”

Vincent looked over at Sam and then at Weiss. “Well? Think you have the time to do the tourist thing?”

Weiss smiled at the Kadabra and replied, "We would be honored." He then took the pizza off Xavier's head. "And you sure you don't want some grub, it’s hot again!"

As if on cue, a new group arrived at the beach, a Yellow Pony covered with a coat and a sunhat, a Togekiss, a Sylveon, a Zoroark, and a Golduck. The group seemed to have been running to get there for some reason and time. "One... Hour..." Gasped the mare as she walked towards them, an exasperated expression on her eyes. "I couldn't leave you guys alone for a simple hour!"

Guessing what she was talking about, Weiss simply said. "We didn't start it this time."

“To be fair,” Vincent pitched in, catching on quickly, “It was a fault on both our sides. Xavier and myself escalated it far more than it had to be, far faster than we had any right to.”

Lucy smirked a bit. “At least we made up afterwards. That’s the important bit, surely.”

"Now isn't she one smart lady alright," pointed Rouge as she walked to the newcomers. "And even when is a bit late, let me make the introductions, Lucy, Vincent, Sam, Bit, these here are our friends, Daring, Valerie, her mate Sylveon, Roa and Gold."

The Poison-type thought for a second and added. "Well the latter two are more like luggage."

"Oi! We are being held hostage by you bloody mercenaries!" Retorted back the Golduck named Gold.

"You two could learn a thing or two from these youngsters." Deadpanned Rouge.

Ignoring the two 'hostages,' Daring offer the quartette a hoof. "I know these guys can be a real pain in the flank, so I am sorry for whatever they did."

Lucy smiled and took the proffered hoof before shaking it. “Eh, Weiss made up for it. Took a bit of being punched on his end.”

Vincent, meanwhile, drew close to the Golduck and glared while making a guess as to why a mercenary team would take anyone hostage. “Be glad that you’re being treated as well as you are for attacking his family. I would not be so nice.”

"Well, well, isn't this a surprise?" Noticed Char with a smile. "He seems to have found you tolerable Weiss!"

"It may be some insolation though," added Edge.

"Not to mention he must be cansado." Pancha gave her opinion.

"... you fucking people..." Deadpanned Weiss.

Gold on his end didn't know why he was suddenly being glared at when he clearly mention he had been the victim. "But... But..." The agent was at a loss for words, something he was starting to become used to since he 'joined' the mercenaries. However he wasn't the kind to just give up. "But I am a warrior chosen by Arceus himself, I can't be the one wrong!"

He also had to admit he was becoming more and more like his commander as well. In the next moment, Vincent snarled again. “Oh! So Arceus had time to choose warriors from his imprisonment, but none of them had the time or resources or will to come find me or any of the ones I saw pass? Either you’re incompetent or a goddamn liar! So shut your face before I start sharing memories with you that’ll make you shut up!”

"Now, now young man," said the Togekiss Rouge introduced as Valerie with a polite but stern tone fitting of a teacher or a mother. "I am sure you have your reasons to say what you said. But it is not polite to threaten others at the first meeting." She looked at Gold who seemed to be thankful for her rescue and added. "Even when they totally deserve it. So how about we let it go for now and enjoy the sights?"

She looked at Sam as she said this, apparently having been informed about the idea. Vincent merely shrugged as he looked over to her. “You’re with them, right?” At her slow nod, Vincent pointed at Xavier. “Ask him my last name, then. Mentally. You’ll probably understand, then.”

"I already know dear," she clarified as she put a wing on his shoulder. "And you are one strong man for staying sane after what you must have been through." This second sentence was said more with a motherly tone than before.

Then another voice added, "As for how we know, mister Xavier has the habit of filling people in with information when he deems a situation appropriate, and by filling in I mean it literally." The Eevolution placed a paw over his forehead as he finished. "I think I may never get used to the dizziness."

Lucy came up and grabbed onto Vincent from the side, letting him know that she was still there for him. After a moment, Vincent breathed deeply a few times and nodded, now back in control. “Right. Right then.” He then looked at the suddenly quite-large party of Pokemon on the beach and shrugged before turning to Daring. “Anything in particular you want to visit while you’re here, ma’am?”

Valerie couldn't stop looking at how Lucy cared to Vincent and smile widely.

"Wow! Cut the ma'am please." Commanded Daring as she removed the hat she was wearing. "I am not that old. And I would suggest you go and pick someone else, I already know the place after all."

Vincent smiled slightly and waved at the Pokemon of Checkmate. “Allow me to repeat myself. Is there anywhere you want to visit?” The tone and gesture had hopefully done their job of asking the question he’d wanted. Namely, where do you think we can take these guys where damages won’t be an issue?

"Oh... Yeah, that." Noticed the explorer as she bring a hoof to her muzzle and ponder over the options. "Mhm... well, Central Park isn't prone to damages." She finally offered.

"Hey! I did said we didn't blow anything up this time... All Xavier did was land roughly at the middle of the street." Weiss clarified. Sam took this opportunity to snipe at Checkmate with a well-placed observation.

“It’s really telling, you know, when the mare that seems to know you the most, when asked for suggestions to take you all places, suggests only a place where nothing can be destroyed.”

“To be fair,” Lucy countered, “We do the same with you.”

"Oh! Burn!!" Pointed out Simon as he held a claw for Lucy to high five.

"We do know how to properly conduct ourselves though," pointed Xavier calmly.

"We have to in our line of work." Added Char smoothly and added. "Although I have to admit we have really 'let ourselves go' since we get here."

"Bueno, this world seems to be used to chaos." Suggested Pancha as she placed her poncho over her body and get ready for the tour.

Elsewhere, a certain Draconequus would sneeze, causing a small snowball to appear before rapidly melting into a pink puddle in the middle of a hallway. Said puddle would then later trip up Blueblood to the sound of mariachi, bringing a smile to the face of everyone who saw the spectacle.

“Well we can at least visit the park,” Vincent said, “And if the mare comes up with any ideas as to where we can take you lot afterwards, then we’ll add it to the list.”

"Sounds like a good plan." Daring said as she replaced her hat on her head. "And 'the mare’ has a name you know? Although I would thank you if you call me Yearling." She flatly added at the end.

"Ehm... Miss, these claws are heavy you know?" Commented Simon as he remained with his arm raised.

Lucy looked up at Simon’s claws, then at her paws, and then back at the claws before sloooowly shaking her head. “Pretty sure that’d hurt.”

"Aw come on! Where is your sense of thrill?" Simon shouted and then added. "And aren't you supposed to be bullet proof?"

“There’s bullet proof,” Lucy deadpanned, “And then there’s being crushed. But if you insist…” She raised one paw and tapped the upraised claw. “Yay, woo-hoo.”

"That is the spirit!" He laughter as he then pat her on the back, with enough strength to bring a Tyranitar on his rear. Lucy, naturally, faceplanted into the sand.

"Well, I was interested to see one of this world's libraries." Suggested Xavier.

Bit floated closer to Xavier and beeped once. “I too profess a desire to learn more about this world’s literature.”

"The park will do for me as long as it is smashing," pointed Rouge.

"I want to see something awesome!" Chirped Pancha. "Like some lucha!"

Char and Greninja simply shrugged. "I am fine as long we have a calm day." Said Char.

"I wouldn't mind to see some of the more romantic sights" flirted Sylveon as he snuggled Valerie.

"Oh hush you." Replied the Togekiss as she also returned the snuggles.

"I-"

"No one cares!" Cut the whole team the Golduck's words.

Sam merely shrugged and began helping Lucy up as Vincent walked a bit closer to the Golduck and glared while his eyes glowed blue. Hello there Gold. I’m only going to say this once: My name, my full name, has so many terrible, horrible memories attached to it. Had you attacked my family or Weiss’s in front of me, I would be using them against you. And if you don’t shut up and take your punishment for whatever the hell you did, then I will.

"Can you people please cut out the threatening?" Inquired Gold.

"Let's see..." Began Weiss. "You began to accuse us on sight of Arceus knows what!"

"Then you used your lovely friend here to make an awful illusion of Weiss acting like some brute." Continued Valerie as she kept herself close to the Zoroark.

"And not to mention you refused to give up which led to her go all carnivore on us!" Included Edge.

"So long story short." Commented Rouge elegantly.

"Calladito estas mas bonito." Finished Pancha.

Vincent smiled his mad smile again. Yup, be really glad that you didn’t do that in front of me! Ooooh, the things I have locked up in here...Ever wonder what would happen if you tried to forcibly remove the plant from the back of a Bulbasuar? Cause I saw it happen. And so much more. So shut your damn yap!

The whole group kept silent as they glared at Gold.

"... It was just a slip..." He said to himself before keeping silent.

"Now with that solved." Char clarified. "Let us get going, shall we?"

Vincent turned to Daring and was all smiles, the glow dissipating from his eyes. “Indeed. Daring, Yearling, or merely ‘the one that puts up with them,’ shall we lead them to the park? At least, the ones that want to go. I trust Bit to be able to lead Xavier to the library.”

"How long for us to reunite and where shall we do it?" Xavier inquired as he began to float.

"Mhm, our train goes at night." Weiss remembered. "What about you kids?"

“We were gonna catch the last train to Ponyville, make traveling an overnight thing,” Vincent replied. “Only, I sorta forgot to check the timetable. Xavier, could you…”

"It’s the same one we are taking." Replied the Metagross right away.

“Huh,” the Kadabra replied. “Convenient. Well then, a meet-up at the train station sounds normal enough to go off without a hitch.”

Somewhere, a pony practicing on his cymbals and drum set would execute a perfect rimshot.

"We wanted to have as much time on the day, apparently you kids did as well." Pointed the shiny as he and Bit left. "And you just called one of the worse forces we have ever encountered." He finished as he floated away.

“Oh please,” Lucy said as she and Vincent began walking towards Central Park. “We’re out of that facility, we’re on vacation, our two families have made up from their little spat, what could possibly go wrong?”

The whole mercenary team, Xavier and Greninja included, became livid at Lucy's words. However, the taunting of reality wasn’t done, as Sam walked over to Pancha. “C’mon, let’s go find something exciting to do. I made note of a few places during the tour that we took yesterday. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”

"Shut up- shut up- shut up!" Proclaimed the Hawlucha as she shook Sam from the neck.

"Kids, we didn't make it this far without making a few... " Weiss slowly replied as he stopped Pancha from shaking the Scizor. "Discoveries. Whenever one of us ever said any of those phrases you just said, things went south so far we would start talking like Pancha!"

“Ah,” Vincent said. “But I think you’re forgetting that we’ve already experienced the worst life could throw at us, me especially. There is very little I properly fear anymore. I think it got burned out of me in that facility. I mean, meeting Luke and Xavier, yeah, I was angry...but afraid? No. I wasn’t scared, because I’ve seen worse. Life’ll have to pull out some weird, new thing if it wants to surprise or scare me.”

Author's Notes:

Part two of this crossover. Good Christ the length on this chapter!
Yeah, V and I were working on it in a G-doc, and it just kept going. Making it harder and harder for him to connect and stay connected, making it hard for us to finish. Thus, why these updates are so late as compared to the last ones.