FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. It took a few tries, and I didn't do a very good job of it, because what I was about to do was insane.

I lurked out of sight and stared at the unassuming PokeCafe. It was bright and cheerful, and had a neon outline in the window of a Psyduck reaching up with stubby hands to try and catch a treat. It was a place humans would come for a meal with their Pokemon - the cafe had all sorts of dishes that would cater to any taste for a human, and they had treats with ridiculous claims for their Pokemon, like making them faster than a Zapdos, or stronger than a Machamp, or smarter than an Alakhazam.

I don't think the Machamp dish sold very well in this town, with all the psychic types everywhere, but I was pretty sure it was an excuse to make it for the numerous dark types lurking unnoticed in the city.

The dark types that worked for the Pokemon that ran the cafe: The Don.

I tried to remember the plan Opal and I had gone over. It seemed to make sense, and Opal had said he would be there for backup... no, it didn't make any sense, he had just explained it calmly and somehow managed to trick me into thinking it would all be okay. But marching into the Don's office with the recording device Sara had given me, demanding a meeting with him in order to get him to make an audio record of everything he was doing, then turning it over to the Growlithe so they could arrest him and whoever he was working with?

It was insane.

I took a deep breath.

It was the only way to stop more children from being trapped as their home burned down around them.

I copied the arrogant swagger I had seen the Poochyena using a few days ago... and I stepped out of the shadows and into the harsh noon sun.

"I'm here to talk to the Don." I spoke the words calmly, like I imagined Opal probably would do. This would go better if everybody was worried about me, and I suspected that would go better if I seemed calm and completely, utterly confident than if I seemed loud or was acting dangerous. Somebody dangerous might need to be dealt with by the Pokemon that worked for the Don. Somebody scary but calm could be passed along to be handled by somebody else.

The Scraggy stared at me for a long second, then glanced down at the sheets of paper on the stand in front of him. "There is nobody here by that name. This is a restaurant - do you have a reservation?"

I thought about setting the papers on fire right there and saying something ominous sounding like 'I think the schedule opened up', but I was fairly confident that would just get me kicked out. I reached towards the bag at my side and pulled out the bag of nuggets I had stolen from the Mercers. "I'm here. To talk. To. The. Don." I dumped the sack on top of the Scraggy's papers.

I hadn't believed it when Opal had told me what the nuggets were actually worth. I had found individual ones before, and the Raticate had never given me more than a single berry for them. If I found a group of them, I might get two berries out of him.

But the sudden greedy look in the Scraggy's eyes convinced me. I suddenly wished I had burned the Raticate's shop down after all.

The Scraggy scooped up the sack and it disappeared somewhere out of sight. "Right this way, miss."

I followed the Scraggy through the cafe. The place was busy - a lot of humans and Pokemon were seated at various tables or couches and going about the process of relaxing and enjoying their meals. The cafe staff - some humans, some Pokmeon - bustled about the room to refill drinks, bring out meals, clean tables, or collect payments. Most of the Pokemon in the place were psychic types, just like most of the Pokemon in the town were... but I caught sight of Opal munching happily on a plate of crunchy-looking round pieces of bread.

I ignored him completely, just like he did me. No giving it away that I had an accomplice... or backup.

The Scrappy led me through a door at the back of the building and past a few other doors spaced around the hallway. He stopped in front of one and knocked lightly. "Mister Cage, you have a visitor."

There had been an angry discussion underway behind the door, but it stopped with the Scrappy's knock. There was silence for a few seconds... then the Raticate opened the door.

I fought the sudden urge to exhale a powerful blast of fire right into his face. What was he doing here?

The Scrappy produced the sack of nuggets from his pants and passed it over to the Raticate... though I noticed as he did that the bag seemed a little lighter. The Scrappy must have pilfered a few of the valuable rocks for himself. "She brought this."

The Raticate glanced at the bag, then looked up at me. We glared at each other for several more long seconds... then he turned and pushed the door further open.

Cage the Donphan - the Don behind every single activity in this city that the Growlithe wanted to lock anyone up for - rested at the far end of the room. He wore dark black shades that covered his eyes and a small band over his trunk... but even beyond the tinted lenses I could tell he was staring at me in annoyance. The tips of his tusks gleamed ominously as he tilted his head and motioned to the chairs in the room. "Come in."

I forced myself not to gulp and stepped forward. And I definitely did _not_wince when the door closed shut behind me.

We waited in silence for a moment. I wasn't sure what the Donphan was thinking, but I was trying to figure out what the Raticate's presence meant and how it changed things. Was anything I had been planning hurt by him being here? The Donphan didn't know me, but the Raticate did... but... most of this plan had been built around the preconceptions and low expectations the Raticate and other dark-types had of Zorua, and by extension, me. I had worried the Donphan wouldn't actually have that bias and would see through what I was doing...

...but the Raticate actually being here would just reinforce them.

I didn't grin at the realization... and then I did grin. It would make things more convincing.

The Raticate seemed to snap at my sudden change in expression. "She is the cause of all of this mess in the first place; let me-"

"No." The Donphan's gaze shifted from me and glared daggers even sharper than his tusks at the Raticate. "You screwed up by not picking the target better, and by not having a better understanding of your employees. Don't compound that by blaming your pitiful failure on an underling." The Raticate went silent and shrunk a little, and the Donphan swung its ponderous head back in my direction, suddenly controlled politeness once more. "To what do I owe the pleasure, miss...?"

"Vulpix." I looked away from the Raticate but didn't quite meet the eyes of the Don. I hopped up on one of the soft pillows that served as chairs without being invited and tried to put some arrogance into my voice. "I'm here... for a raise."

The Donphan began to laugh. It was a deep chuckle that resounded through the small room. I was nervous about it at first... but it seemed genuinely cheerful, and both the Donphan and the Raticate appeared to relax as he laughed. "Of course. Of course. You'll have to forgive me..." The Donphan tilted his head towards the Raticate. "Our friend here had convinced me that you had begun a serious threat. That you were refusing to do basic jobs and were starting to turn us over to the cops." The Don laughed some more. "But that's not it at all - you just want to be paid more."

Well. That was easy.

I nodded and grinned back at the Donphan. "More like I'm tired of being ripped off. I finally figured out the worth of what I was actually bringing you." I glanced pointedly towards the sack of nuggets still held by the Raticate. "I'm not going to keep doing this for a few crumbs anymore, not when I'm turning over fortunes." I almost said more, but I forced myself to stop before I got too eager. Opal and I had discussed this part - don't get too greedy for the recording. Just have a natural conversation and let the details come out as they will, and don't worry even if nothing comes out at all. Don't raise suspicion - let the Don give himself away.

The Don grinned at me from beneath his trunk. I could tell he was relaxed and unconcerned - this was familiar ground for him. Just another part of his criminal organization that needed managing, something he did without a second thought. Nothing to be worried about. "Fortunes? I'd hardly call a handful of shiny rocks a fortune."

I gave a shrug of my tails. "They're still worth far more than the berry or two you've been paying me to grab them." I let that dangle for a moment, remembering the discussions with Opal.

The Donphan bit. "Raticate, Raticate, I'm shocked. Our friend here has been bringing you valuable items, and you have only given her a berry or two for her trouble? That's hardly fair, is it?" The larger Pokemon shook its head slowly back and forth. "Open the bag; let me see what it is she's been bringing us."

The Raticate glared at me but upended the sack on the low table in the room. The shiny rocks spilled out and shone in even the dim light of the room. The Donphan nodded in appreciation. "That's certainly worth more than a berry or two. In fact, I think it'd be unfair to give anyone anything less than two berries for any such nuggets you... happen to find." The Donphan looked up at me and I hesitated. Oh - he had just distanced himself from any blame. The only thief here was me; he could just claim to have had no idea what I had been doing to get the nuggets. "Does that sound like more appropriate pay?"

Time to get rid of that cover.

I leaned forward and grinned, letting smug pride enter my voice. "I found those as a side project for what 'our friend' actually had me doing. Those came from the Mercers' safe when I took their payment records." I nodded towards the Raticate again, who now looked mortified. "He told me all about what I was actually doing for you - getting rid of any physical records of payments, opening the door for somebody else to delete records at the bank, and then taking the house out from under them. The price of two houses for one, I think he said." I nodded down at the nuggets. "I'm not hung up about how many berries I get from those rocks. I want a share of the actual prize."

The Donphan's eyes narrowed, visible even behind the dark glasses. "I see. What did you have in mind?"

I was worried at first - was he suspicious? Did he think he was being led into a trap? But... no the, Raticate still seemed relaxed. Oh. This was a negotiation tactic - get me to reveal what I wanted and work from there, instead of risking offering a 'fair' price that was far more than I was willing to accept.

Well. I could work with that, too. The plan of criminal activity was on the recording now - all I had to do was get the Donphan to agree to pay me for it. That would be something. Though, if I could get him to admit to what he had already done...

I grinned back at him, thinking about what the Zorua always fought over. "I want a house."

The Raticate began choking. "You can't be serious!"

I glared at him, then looked back at the Donphan. "I am serious. He told me you've done this before - what was it, eight times?"

"Six."

Bingo.

"Six times. You can give me one of those houses and you're still ahead five. I'll even share it with the Pokemon that erases the bank records, uhh, the Porygon, if that's what it takes. I want that for the work I've already done, _and_for the trouble of dealing with the Poochyena you sent after me..." I glared at the Raticate again, then glanced back up at the Donphan. "...and for going forward, I want one berry a day. That's my price - give me that and I'll keep working for you. I'll even burn down houses if something goes wrong, and I'll do it the right way, without risking any deaths, not like whatever amateur you hired did." I glanced back at the Raticate and tried to make it seem like the disgust suddenly entering my voice was one of professional pride, and not at the sudden horror of what I was suggesting I would do.

The Donphan also glanced at the Raticate... who squirmed and tried to look everywhere but at the Donphan. Aha. The Donphan hadn't known that somebody had almost died in the fire at the Mercers'. That was probably important - an investigation into a fire was one thing, but an investigation into somebody's death... that probably changed things for whatever the Donphan had planned.

His head swung back to me and he looked... disinterested. "Even if we had a spare house at the moment, I think you greatly overestimate your value. There are plenty of Pokemon in this city; I think we'll be just fine with using their skills instead."

What? No! No, he had to agree... the admission of past guilt was one thing, but...

Oh. Another negotiation tactic.

I forced myself to laugh. "Ha! Good luck with that - ask Raticate how well he thinks that will work out. That Sentret left his scent all over my place; the Growlithe would hunt him down in half a day. And he'd lead them straight to you. And that's even assuming whoever you hired got the goods in the first place. You think those Poochyena could pull off the job?" I smirked back at the Raticate. "Good luck. I'm the only one in this city that can do what I do, and who will do what I do, and you know it. One house is nothing compared to the rest you'll get."

The Donphan glared at me... but all three of us knew I was right. I was bragging and putting on a show... but... I was good at what I did. Slipping into a place, retrieving something from inside, and slipping back out again without leaving a trace... that's what I did. That's what they needed done. They probably weren't going to find somebody else to do it for them.

The elephant Pokemon snorted, then glanced... behind me? "What do you think?"

"A house will take a bit to arrange. But it's doable."

I yelped as I shot off the pillow in complete shock and darted for the far wall in surprise at the sound of the voice behind me. Only when I got there did I take a second to look for the source - a tall human, thin, dressed in all black and wearing dark glasses that looked similar in style as the Donphan's. He stared at me with a sneer. Had he... he had been there the whole time? He would have been out of sight when the door open, but... I hadn't heard him breathe or move or make any noise at all.

The Donphan used his trunk to shove me back into the center of the room. "It sounds like the human side of things will be able to accommodate you. A house it is then." The elephant Pokmeon poked me with his trunk again. "But this is inconveniencing me. Every other day on the berry, and you will share it the house with the Porygon. You'll get your assignments through him going forward, since it seems obvious your previous arrangement wasn't working out." The Donphan glared at the Raticate once more, then looked back at me. "Is that acceptable?"

I was still rattled by the human who had practically appeared from nowhere. He was creepy, and he still wasn't moving, unless his eyes were following me somewhere behind those dark glasses. "Y-ye..." I gulped, trying to get control of my voice. "Yes. B-but I'm not doing any jobs until I have the house." I remembered that at the last minute - just in case something went wrong, it would be good to have some wiggle room. Opal had suggested that.

The Donphan nodded. "Excellent. Now, there's no need to cut this meeting short; would you like to have a bite to ea-"

A knock on the door interrupted the Donphan and he sighed. "Always with the interruptions."

It was silent for a second, then the Scraggy's voice came from the other side of the door. "S-sir, there's... um... there's a Karen here, asking to speak with the manager."

I tensed. I still didn't understand why the Umbreon had smirked so much at the suggestion, but that was the code Opal had given me - we had enough on the recording.

The Raticate looked confused. "I thought _Scraggy_was the restaurant manager..." He rose and skittered back to the door, then opened it enough for him to peek through. There was a quick conversation... then the door suddenly flew open.

It hit the man that had been lurking behind the door, and I heard him let out an angry growl. But I ignored him for the sight in the hallway.

An Espeon waited calmly there. I recognized her from last night - she had been asleep then, but it was obviously Sara's Espeon. Opal had said she would listen in from outside and come when we had enough recorded evidence.

He hadn't said a word about her glassy eyes. She was obviously blind.

And she was just as obviously completely unhindered by that.

The door started to swing back closed - either the man behind it was pushing it, or it was swinging back around from the force that had shoved it open - but the Espeon simply flicked her tail and the door slammed back against the wall again, hitting the man once more. One of the pillows near me shot upwards, towards the door, and disappeared behind the door. Nothing happened at first... then the man stumbled out from behind the door with the pillow pressed to what was an obvious large bump where his head had hit the wall.

Neither one of his hands were anywhere near the pillow - it was the Espeon's power holding it in place over the bruise.

The Donphan tilted his head towards the Raticate, and the dark-type rat shot towards the Espeon with bared fangs...

...and ran head-first into Opal, who simply appeared between the Raticate and the Espeon. They collided mere inches from the Espeon, the Umbreon's bulk stopping the Raticate's charge cold, with enough force to generate a small breeze that ruffled my fur.

The Espeon didn't even flinch... though I wasn't sure if she was just that certain Opal would have intervened, or if she had simply not even known the threat - and protection - were there. Psychics always had trouble around dark-types, and if she was blind... it was possible she didn't even know there were two Pokemon fighting right in front of her.

The Raticate hopped back and braced to charge again... but Opal shot forward even faster to slam the Raticate into the far wall. The room shook with the impact, and the Raticate slunk to the floor. Unconscious - with one simple move from the Umbreon, one of the Pokemon who had terrified me for most of my life had fainted and was out of the fight.

The Donphan didn't seem impressed, though. A snarl rose from him and he snorted again, then stomped at the floor with one of his heavy legs. The room shook again. "What is the meaning of this!"

I started to edge slowly away from the Donphan, closer to the far wall. I didn't want to be near him... but I didn't want to be near the doorway, either.

And when the Arcanine stepped into the doorway, I was glad I had stayed away.

I stared at Opal in sudden horror. I had told him I didn't trust the Growlithe; what was one of them doing here!

The Donphan focused on the Arcanine... then laughed. "You! Arrest these intruders."

The Arcanine tilted his head and looked over at Opal. "Ummm... no."

The Donphan's eyes narrowed visibly, even beneath the dark glasses, and he scowled back at the Arcanine. "Just for that, our restaurant has just experienced a supply shortage and will be unable to provide any meals for you and the Growlithe for the next week. Do you want to rethink that answer, or is the shortage going to last for a month?"

The Arcanine just laughed. Right at the Don's face.

Cage didn't seem to like that at all and stomped his heavy stump of a foot. "Completely stupid... what do I pay you all for, if..." The Donphan swung its head back to the Arcanine and stared at it in sudden intensity. "Oh... oh, you're not with the cops. I recognize you - you're that Arcanine from television. The Champion's... what was its name again..."

"Kenth." The Arcanine strode into the room and...

...ignored me completely. I edged towards the doorway.

"You have no authority here. Get out, before I call the cops and have you arrested for breaking and entering, and have your trainer sued for the damage you've done to my property." The Donphan nodded towards the door, which did look a little damaged from the bouncing it had been through. "Everyone knows you couldn't even handle a team full of cripples, and only won because they withdrew right before your match - go away before a _real_fighter shows up."

A low hissing sound began to come from the Arcanine - an ominous sound I recognized from when my own fires were growing particularly hot. I began to prepare myself to dash for cover, wondering if the recording would survive a fire... but Opal interrupted with a laugh. "Yes, let's call the cops! I'm sure they'll be extremely interested in what was going on here." The Umbreon sat up beside the downed Raticate, and his bemused smirk caused the hissing sound to fade from the Arcanine.

"I was engaged in a perfectly legitimate business meeting before you barged in." The Donphan sounded confident... but there was a wariness in his eyes, as if he was beginning to suspect something more was happening. He glanced at me in suspicion, suddenly seeming to realize I was the only one the invaders had ignored...

I hesitated. I could still claim that I knew nothing about Opal or the Arcanine. I could claim I had honestly just been seeking more payment for my work....

...but I would have to keep doing it. Keep driving people from their homes, even burning some of them directly.

I reached into the sack at my side and used my mouth to pull out the recording device Opal had given me. The red light on it shone steadily in between my jaws, indicating how it continued to record everything.

The Donphan stared at me, expression hardening. I saw in his expression as he reclassified me as 'useful employee' to 'problem to be stomped on'. "That will prove nothing. The Growlithe only have authority over wild Pokemon, and a court can do nothing to my human partner with that. A group of Pokemon speaking in ways the jury can't understand isn't going to be much of a case."

"Oh, but that's why Clara's here." The Arcanine - Kenth? - grinned a big doggy grin as he stepped closer to the Donphan.

"Oh, please. My mind is too strong for psychics - even if I'm not a dark type, even without my glasses, I'm still more than strong enough to keep her from doing anything to me."

The Umbreon rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. She doesn't need to do anything to you."

The Donphan snorted again. "So, she'll... what? Add more indecipherable Pokemon noises for the jury? What can she possibly do?"

"I can translate." The simple words came quietly from the Espeon, changing Cage's expression to what I found to be a very satisfying look of shock...

...and then the room exploded in violence.

The Donphan charged straight at me, rolling up and hurtling forwards. I yelped and jumped away, carrying the recording with me. The Aracnine charged but was too late, and landed in the empty place the Donphan had just left. I was vaguely aware of Opal jumping in between me and the Donphan, of the sharp ridges all along the elephant-type slashing at the Umbreon that had leapt to defend me...

....

...and then I was outside.

I blinked in confusion. How had I gotten outside? I glanced around to be sure, looking down at myself and then down at the sidewalk I was standing on. I poked it, just to be sure, but it was solid. And it was nice and warm from the noon sun.

"Clara's Teleport." The voice came from beside me, and I looked up to see Sara sitting calmly nearby. "The people here have been a lot of help for her. She's strong enough to do that again - she sent you outside so you'd be safe." The trainer looked at the device still held in my mouth. "Is that the recording?"

A loud crash came from across the street, and I looked to see the cafe - the entire building - shaking from the impact of something heavy slamming inside. The fight must still be going on.

"We're safe here." Sara smiled as she looked at the building too. "Clara called the police before she went in; they're just keeping him occupied so he doesn't have time to destroy any evidence. Well." She frowned as more crashes came from the building. "Any evidence that isn't in that particular building. May I have that, please?"

The gym leader's question was calm, but it was more a directive than a question. I found myself dropping the heavy device into her outstretched hand without even thinking about it.

"Sit down for a bit? You'll be safe, and it will be easier if the cops know where everybody on the recording is at when they arrive. I won't let them hurt you."

I was absolutely certain I didn't want to be anywhere near the place a bunch of cops were going to show up at... but... I believed her. And I still wanted to make sure Opal got out okay. I sat down next to the gym leader and waited in silence while the fight continued inside the cafe.

Finally, I looked up at the gym leader. "Can Clara really do it? Get the police to put the Donphan away?"

Sara frowned down at me, not quite understanding what I was asking. "Uh... oh! Yes, she's done it before. There was a case... how long ago was it? A few years back; Flen and another gym leader were asked to help in a court case. A lawyer wanted to question a Chatot who had witnessed the crime; Clara and two other psychic types translated what the Chatot said for everybody. She did that for me and Opal, too, back when I first became a trainer. I didn't really understand him that well at first."

That hadn't really been what I asked... but it did answer the question. If Clara had done it before, she could do it again, right?

The fight continued inside the cafe for several minutes while I watched with Sara. People and Pokemon began to leave the building, getting away, but they moved to the other side of the cafe, towards where the cars were parked. New cars began driving up, the kind with the bright lights and loud sirens, and Growlithe and people in blue uniforms rushed out. They ran into the building, disappearing for several more minutes... then they came back out, surrounding Opal, Clara, Kenth... and the Don.

The Don had clearly been beaten in the fight and looked exhausted. He still seemed defiant and was yelling at the police... until his ponderous head swung back to catch sight of me. He grew quiet, but I could tell he was seething with rage.

One of the humans in the blue uniforms and a Growlithe crossed the street towards us. I tensed, feeling the sudden urge to run for it... but Sara's voice spoke beside me with a firm confidence. "Stay. I won't let them hurt you."

"Excuse me, miss... are those your Pokemon?" The human stopped a few paces away and spoke with a stern but polite authority.

The gym leader slowly rose and nodded. "Two of them are, the Umbreon and the Espeon. The Arcanine belongs to a friend of mine who is in town; I am taking care of him and this Vulpix for the time being." Sara responded just as calmly and politely.

"Would you mind coming with me for a moment? We just have a few questions..."

The human in the blue uniform led Sara back towards the cafe, where two other humans began asking her questions. I watched from where I was sitting, not daring to move - because the Growlithe sat right where the other human had left it, and it watched me with a look that made it obvious it was just _hoping_I would run.

I saw Sara motioning to the Donphan a few times, and back to me, and even to the recording device. I grew especially worried when she started to hand the device over and hoped she had an extra copy... but I caught the Espeon looking blindly towards me. She nodded slowly, and I relaxed. Eventually the humans seemed satisfied and they let her walk away. The Growlithe watching Clara and Opal relaxed - the Growlithe watching Kenth all looked like they wanted to ask for his pawprint to have framed back home - but it was still obvious even across the street that they weren't allowed to leave yet. Two humans in blue went back into the cafe... then emerged with a third person in uniform and the man that had been lurking on our meeting. They led him to a car and drove off, with the remaining free Growlithe leading the Donphan in the car's direction.

Sara glared at the Growlithe watching me... and he seemed to gulp... and... left. I stared in amazement as the cop simply walked away from me and back towards the cafe. The trainer lowered herself to sit down on the floor and slowly held her hand out to me. I looked back to it and stared for an uncertain moment, and she seemed to take that as permission. The hand moved to rest on my head, then stroked slowly through the fur over my back.

It felt nearly as good as eating the PokePuff had.

I stared down the street, in the direction the Growlithe had dragged the Donphan off. What was I supposed to do now? I could go back to my den, but... I didn't have any more food stashed there. Nobody would let me work for new ones, not now - not once word spread that I had helped the Growlithe take down the Donphan and all the others I had worked with.

Traitor!!

The Poochenya's snarled shout echoed in my head. I wouldn't find anybody in this town that would give me food, no matter how many shiny rocks I brought them, or how many houses I snuck into, or how many life-ruining papers I stole... It would just be a matter of time before I starved to death.

Assuming the Growlithe didn't do something to speed that up. I had no reason to believe they would suddenly be nice to me just because I had helped them once. Especially if I somehow did manage to find somebody who would pay me in berries - if I kept stealing, it would only be a matter of time before they came after me. And I had to steal something if I had any hope of eating.

I didn't like to think about leaving, but... there weren't any other options, were there? My home... maybe it wasn't much, but... I was used to it. I knew where everything was at, I knew what smells were meant to be there, what scents meant something was wrong, what sounds and noises meant I needed to run, or that food was near, or that it was safe to sleep. If I left the city and went out into the wilderness... it wouldn't be the same, but I didn't really have any choice, did I?

Sara's voice broke the silence, her hand still warm and gentle along my back. "Opal likes you, you know." She paused, then started speaking again after a moment. "I've been worried about him... he was my first Pokemon, and I love him, but... it's hard for him. He doesn't do well during the day, but that's when the rest of my team is active. Well. Except for Constella, but... they don't get along as well as I had hoped. She's a bit too much like Phoenix, I think. He's close to Clara, but... she's been struggling. I came here to try and find help for her, because this town had so many psychic types, and... she lost her trainer recently. The people I've talked to have said they think so much of her power, so much of her strength, was tied up in her faith and confidence in Flen, and... without him... she can barely see anymore."

She grew silent again for a few more strokes over my back, then spoke once more. Her voice was quieter this time. "It's been hard on Opal... he's tried so hard to help Clara, and tried to hide how her struggling has hurt him, so she wouldn't be worried, but... I'm his trainer. I can see it. And... I saw when he suddenly turned cheerful a few nights ago, and when he seemed to have more energy about him. I thought he had just swiped an extra PokePuff when I wasn't looking - I_am_ missing one and I know somebody ate it... but... he's been happier because he met you, hasn't he?"

I could hear the smile grow in her voice as she continued talking. "I don't know what life has been like for you here, but... I know it must have taken a lot for you to do what you did. I don't know what life is going to be like for you going forward, or what you want to do, but... okay, you have to promise not to tell Opal, but I always dreamed of one day having a Vulpix; I still have that a poster of a Ninetales in my bedroom, and I'm sure I've seen every match that had a Vulpix in them..." She looked back down at me, her smile turning a little sheepish. "I still have one spot left on my team. You're brave, and you're good for Opal, and I know you'd be good for Clara too, and I think Sonata will like you too. So... I guess... um..." The gym leader bit her lip, and I got the impression she was suddenly nervous. "Would you like to join my team? You can stay with Opal, and I'll take great care of you; there will be lots of food, and you'll get to see other places, and show off your skills, and..." She trailed off, then shook her head before speaking in the quiet voice again. "I'd like you to come with me, if you want."

I felt my tails start to swish behind me. If it was a choice between starving here, or struggling out in the wilderness, or going with Opal and Sara and meeting the rest of her Pokemon? That wasn't a question at all.

"I'd like that." I nodded to her, and the gym leader lit up with happiness. She brought her arms down and scooped me up in a sudden hug, pulling me into her lap. I had a sudden sense of panic and looked around frantically for a way to get out... but her grip was gentle, and after a moment I calmed down, especially when she started petting me again and I realized she wasn't going to hurt me.

"You're going to need a name if you come with me, though." The gym leader... my gym leader? She smiled and looked down the street, back in the same direction I had just been looking at. "How do you feel about 'Sinori'?"

The Ninetales closed her eyes for a moment. She took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, trying to think. It was getting harder to think... the strain was getting to her. But she would manage. Just a little bit longer now.

The confused voice spoke while she was still trying to think of what to say next. "I don't understand... I don't remember any of those things. None of them happened..."

The Ninetales opened her eyes and looked around again. The cave was still lit with her wisps - seven of them had dwindled to mere pinpricks of light, but the last two were still brightly lit, even though one was beginning to flicker. There was still more than enough light to see by, and the Ninetales took another slow glance around her.

At the five broken bodies of her friends, lying still and lifeless on the ground.

At the five healthy bodies of her friends, resting in peaceful sleep.

At the Frosslass that had helped guide them as they told the stories of their lives to each other, until their spirits resonated together... and who had guided the divided spirits back together, drawing them away from the doomed bodies destined to fade away and merging them together to instead rest inside the healthy bodies. The healthy bodies that would be able to survive after this moment ended.

And at the Vulpix who had just spoken. The young Vulpix, so impossibly young, so confused, so uncertain, so frightened.

The young Vulpix that was her.

"I know. Because... as long as I didn't change things too much... as long as I didn't break the things that led up to my own existence... as long as the ripples I caused didn't create a wave so large that it would wash me away... then I could change some things. There always had to be a chance_things would end up similar enough, there always had to be a way for things to still lead to me being there _to change them, even if that chance grew smaller and smaller, at least up until this very last moment... but... the tiny details..."

The Ninetales smiled, remembering the relief she had felt when she had finally learned that, and the happiness it still brought her. "Those tiny details could be changed. I could help Clara get enough food when she was a baby, so long as she was still left hungry enough to risk the danger of a strange human when Flen set out on his journey. I could offer Opal some reassurance of what he already knew deep down inside when he really needed to hear it, so long as..." The Ninetales' voice began to shake as she remembered that moment, and the words she had wanted to say to her friend after so long. "So long as I didn't tell him too much. I could bring a little bit more sunlight to Sonata, so long as she was still weak and in need of Sara's help when the time came. I could help keep Phoenix warm, inside his egg..." The Ninetales closed her eyes. "So long as there was nobody else left that Sara would leave him with instead." She took another breath, trying to steady her voice. "I could stop Constella's wings from being burned, so long as I waited until she had already been betrayed by her kind and had no other home to look to but for Sara."

The Ninetales went silent again as she tried to calm her breathing, then finally opened her eyes again to look back at the young Vulpix. "And so long as you ended up with Sara, I could steal you away while you were still an egg and take you away from that city. I could help deal with the Donphan and Raticate all over again, without needing you... and then I could stretch time for you, keep you in the egg until Sara came home from helping Clara..." The Ninetales smiled softly. "I could change things so that you missed all of these things I just said... and instead have your first sights and memories be of a family who love and cherish us."

The Ninetales smiled as she thought of that - of remembering watching her younger self grow up with Sara, and of having the childhood she herself never had. She tilted her head towards the Frosslass, who floated calmly between them. "That's why I've been telling you my story, instead of having you tell me yours, like the others all did. The friends I know... they didn't know what it would be like to have the life the friends you know have had. They needed to hear what life was like with the changes I made, so that they could get to a state she could work with. But... I already know what life was like for you. You needed to learn what life was like for me."

The Ninetales turned her head to look further off to the side, to the final figure in the cavern. "Just like you did, I lived with Sara, and Opal, and Clara, and Sonata, and Constella, and Phoenix... with all of our friends. It was fourteen of the happiest years of my life... singing with Clara and Opal, helping Sonata grow the most delicious berries and helping her roast them into all sorts of wonderous meals... giving tips to Phoenix and Constella when they sparred, and sparring with them myself... taking my side on Sara's team and teaching trainers how the strength of a Pokemon could ebb and flow with the time of day, just like it could with the area the fight took place in... fourteen happy years..." The Ninetales closed her eyes for a time, then shook her head. "But you already know about them. You lived them too. We don't need to talk about them... all that matters for the moment is that it led me here, with my friends, just like it did with you, and with your friends. Who better to fix the problems here than the Gym Leader of Time..."

Both the older Sinori and the younger Sinori stared at the Temporal Pokemon that lay unconscious at the back of the cave: Dialga.

"But unlike you... we lost."