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She snorted at him as his words sunk in, and she clenched her claws that had still been outstretched. "We had a deal, Kyn, what is the meaning of not letting me -honor- my half of it?" by now, he should know at least a LITTLE about her by now, and how big of a thing honor was to her.

"Screw your honor on this, I refuse to let something so simple come between us like that. I found it hard to believe that you would agree to something like that in the first place. Just, simply a refusal. Your honor will have to wait. Unless you want to knock me out, and take one."

"Fine." it was a snarled reply, she knew that she would have to go through the Pokémon here to get to him, and so she didn't even try. "Keep your balls then." She turned her back on him. "For the record though, it was uncomfortable, yes, deals often are, but so are over coming your fears, and if you let your fears rule you, then no matter how big you might get, it will just take a little stone, a little sample of that fear to reduce you to a baby." She flicked her tail. "I'm not exactly hungry at the moment. Enjoy your meal...and let me alone for a while, I'm going to go soak in the spring."

It was a small enough climb for her, as it had been worn away by Pokémon who had done it before her. She feared technology, she wasn't going to lie, even to herself, it was against her being, since she had been in the wild, and she felt that the situation at Steel city, which had drifted all the way to Tao, had only made it worse. She didn't even bother to take off her scarf as she slipped into the water, resting her head against a rock. The deal had been the only way she would convince herself to do it, to face that fear, and she had to admit that she had felt the frustration and relief clash as he pulled the opportunity away from her. Bloody emotions...

This time everybody DID leave Serena alone, even Heji. Kyn hadn't gotten EXACTLY the reaction that he'd hoped, but it was good enough for him. If she decided to come back later, he would possibly consider giving her the opportunity to experience it just once, and then release her immediately. Striker meanwhile helped with the skinning of the Tauros, and then Kyn marked the specific Poké Ball with blood, and then put the exposed Tauros back inside it. An odd but effective way to keep the meat preserved, that wasn't immediately cut away by the two of them.

It was some time before Serena did come back down, and she was still dripping, though thankfully she wasn't cold, her body temperature had lowered to the water temp, but she wasn't entirely cooled off. Her mind had rattled on towards thoughts that she wouldn't admit, nor deny having, emotions were the pain in her side it seemed for the past three days...the dying sun highlighted her arrival, but she didn't exactly speak. How could she explain any more than she already did, that she was trying to overcome her fears? She expected to be held to her word, just as she would hold him to his...and he just let her off. Of course, all this time, her mind was dead open, she hadn't bothered blocking her mind off all in all of this sea of emotion. She eventually did reach out consciously to Marlow. {It's probably about time we had that talk...you've been irritable lately, what's going on with you?}

{I feel as if you've been using me for more common household things, just because it is more convenient than doing it yourself... basically a form of servitude. Take a look at how much work you've done in the past few days compared to how much I've done. How many times you've asked me to do relatively useless and non-producive things, such as surveillance, and fetching things that you might as well just have been able to get yourself.}

{Well obviously I can't see it, not from my point of view, give me yours so that I might understand what you're saying and where I've messed up.} She tried to clear her mind as she waited, and then accepted, her eyes were closed to anyone else, her ears were closed as well, she would be strictly ignorant to anyone that came around her, for the moment as the memories flashed from him to her. {.....oh......pitch black void, my mind's been so clouded...why didn't you say something earlier?}

{I guess I didn't think you'd really pay that much attention to it, since you have many other things on your mind, to worry about what was bothering me at the time.}

{You...are a part of me, whatever effect my actions have on you, affect me as well...Don't ever think that I don't have time for you, I will MAKE time for you, Marlow.} The mental snort that followed might have been funny, under different circumstances. {I haven't exactly 'breathed life' into you lately either, though have I...? I suppose it would be chaotic to do it right now..but I do have something else to say, that's been lingering here...I don't know what I'd do if you ever left, Marlow, You drive me insane sometimes, and yet, you keep me sane at the same time...I know you're going to want to go, once you evolve, I've come to terms with that...I don't look forward to it, but I accept it...the day when you don't need me to sustain your form as you do now.}

{It will be a long time before I am able to evolve Serena, and I am letting you use the evolution scroll first. Besides, things can change.}

{You most certainly will not, I have my whole life to evolve, it wont kill me to wait a bit for a shell to cover my form...You have access to my memories now, you can take your breaths when you want them...If I'm not around you I will likely be with Heji...you are okay with that, yes?} She had no doubt that he had heard while he was 'sleeping' {I know you're probably upset that I told the human first...}

{You assume too much with me. You remember how much trouble Tensa caused. Well, Kyn is the human he learned it from, so he would have been able to figure it out anyway. They're both too smart for their own good sometimes.}

{I have learned to follow lines...I wasn't exactly hiding it throughly, I wouldn't have known HOW to hide it...} She paused. {Humans are smart, yes...it just shows me how far I have yet to go, with the idea that most dragons can surpass humans in intellect. Or at least that's what the book said...How was your meal? I assume you stayed around to capture the soul when it left the Tauros.}

{Interestingly... I am going to try something, that I think I can accomplish BECAUSE of that very Tauros. It involves going out in the sun, far away from the rope of our link, to see how far I can get.}

{...just...let me know when, and what direction, so that I have some chance of finding you...I should probably get back to the world around me now...I've closed myself off to talk to you...and I do want a hug before you try it.} Getting a hug from the Duskull had been something a bit interesting, cold and chilling, but somehow satisfying, she gave him time to respond, waiting before letting her other senses come back to her.

{Consider yourself lucky. There are not that many ghosts that are going to be able to hug you Serena.} Marlow drifted over to Serena, and extended his arms, like he had seen the others do, and waited.

She opened her eyes, and the pupils expanded almost immediately. She did wrap her arms around him, one limb at the back of his head, but she could feel his energy pushing back against her? He was more solid? "Be safe Marlow." No tears...she wouldn't cry, it wasn't a goodbye after all, it wasn't even a see you later, it was just a test after all, still she felt the desire to cry, and she wasn't entirely sure why.

Marlow drifted off, making his way deeper into the forest, to the point to where he no longer felt the link between himself and Serena.

Serena inhaled deeply as she felt...nothing from the link, it was a twinge of pain, much like those of which when she tried to find a way to say something that wouldn't be lying. The pain came out more as a punch to the ground, the sand giving way beneath her knuckles, then she forced herself to all fours, if nothing else, she would be with them, she couldn't stand being alone...She tracked by scent, only using her eyes to keep from bumping into trees, she didn't know exactly where they'd gone, but her eyes adjusted to the night quite quickly.

Marlow continued going, and still found that he was able to maintain his form, and still not feel the link, but, he figured that he should go back now as not being able to feel their link, might have a bit of negative effect on her.

"Heji. Serena hasn't come back yet, so could you please drop a few bolts of Thunder to sort of give her an indication as to where we might be?" Kyn said. Heji, then went into a battle position, and then began charging electricity. His fur glowed and then as the electricity built, a single cloud formed above them. The electricity reaching it peaks arced from Heji to the cloud, then back down to the ground. It continued like this several times.

Serena had had her nose down, still, the light in the sky caught even her attention, and in response she let a pulse up into the sky and shatter, easily mimicking a firework explosion, before trotting in the direction of the lightning, pulling off big leaves from the bushes, only barely checking their quality as she moved. She did eventually burst into the clearing, but paused in the bushes as she felt the link reconnect. It hadn't even been an hour yet, why would he have been reconnected already?

"Well, I'd say she's still alive at least. That's good. We'll just wait here, until she gets back." Kyn said. The other agreed with him, and all took seats in an outward facing circle.

Marlow went back towards the direction of which he felt the link the strongest, in an effort to meet with Serena, who was heading back to the rest of the crowd.

Serena did step through the barrier of bushes that lined the clearing, the stems of the large leaves in one hand while the leaves themselves hung over her shoulder. "Evening." The tone was relaxed, not the almost panic filled voice she would have used if Marlow hadn't come back, she was about willing to do -anything- to get rid of that pain, she doubted that she would be able to do the full test...whenever that was.

"Welcome back. Serena, there is another thing from my world that I want to know if you have here. Do you have fireworks here?" Kyn asked, intending to add that to his list of things to show her when they returned.

"We do actually, yes...It was before I joined the rogues but apparently the town's supply had once been stolen by an Arbok." She checked the leaf quality in the firelight where she could check for discoloration and thinness, and those that weren't deemed suitable for use she tossed into the bush line. "Um... Marlow might be leaving the group for a while, he wants to test something...If I freak out, don't worry too much." She said offhandedly.

"Well that's good I suppose, but I'm not sure of the scale of what they are. My next question is have you ever seen a fireworks show. Oh, the reason why I guess that they might have fireworks there is because of that one Gabite, Gunpowder. Speaking of Marlow, do you want Lacu to blank your emotions for a while if that starts to happen?"

"No." She said simply. "I might be worthless for a while, but him going away is one of my fears, and I have to face them eventually, if I don't then I'll never be able to move forward...It's just a matter of keeping myself distracted...How long did you want to stay here? Oh,I suppose I should have thought to tell you that Tauros are worth a good bit of money, in the bones, horns, hooves and pelt..." She shook her head at the first question as well, which ironically, she answered last. "No, I've not seen them, wouldn't be able to tell you anything about them actually, just know that we have them and that someone tried to take them from the village once...and maybe, but there are Pokémon from other regions here, the bay has all sorts of imports."

"Then... as a leftover of the time you basically served me, I am requesting that you come back to my world again to see one. As for the Tauros, I believe that if I sold it, this would be the first bit of money I would have ever made here in this world! Are you sure you do not wish to have any meat from this Tauros yet?"

"...Oh, right, you don't know...Have you ever encountered food possession among your Pokémon, Kyn? If not...I -can't- have any of the Tauros unless its specifically cut off and given to me, or else it classifies in my brain as being mine...which for the record, is bad...I've a very...alpha mindset, if you hadn't noticed." She didn't add 'except around Heji' but she didn't think she needed to, Heji had seen the way she had gone submissive around him, even surrendering her neck, something the alpha part of her brain detested quite a bit.

"If I have... for some reason they choose not to exhibit it. Perhaps leading more than twenty six Pokémon has altered my own mindset. I will give you about a decent sized portion, about a pound then. Then your mind can decide what it wants to do with it." Kyn said, releasing the exposed Tauros again.

"That would be because if all of your encounters are like the one with Striker, you defeat them in battle--one way or another, before you feed them, however unlike them, you've yet to accomplish either with me. I've played your game...In fact as of yet the only one to outsmart me was technically Tensa...though you are the first to ever make that infernal heat rise to my cheeks, and my mind doesn't know what to do with that bit of information yet."

"Oh Serena... there were plenty of times where I could have. I figure one of us doing it is enough. I didn't feel like.... move pun, double teaming you. Oh. Actually that reminds me. We need to play Chess. Brainy peoples play that. It is a strategy game that involves thinking several stages ahead of your opponent, as well as predicting their moves. The rules themselves are what are simple, the game itself is what can become complex in some cases."

"...I get enough 'chess' figuring out how to get Me and Marlow from point A to point B and back to point A again in a mission, without getting caught, without actually dying, in fact putting it like that, this whole journey has been one big chess game, and this place? It's one of the riskier moves that I'm hoping isn't going to bite me in the ass, especially with that light show of yours, Heji. Lightning around here will attract attention like no other...I'm probably going to have to break one of my own rules if that situation does come to pass..." She sighed. "Can I have the meat now? I'm starting to get pessimistic...and YES Marlow, I know you're there, and I know you like the shadows, and I'm sorry for talking about you like you're not here." She said, rather loudly. "....and he knows, now, yes, we had a talk about things." She said, referring back to Kyn again.

"Second question, would you like a tender cut, or are you going to go into one of those trances so it wouldn't matter?" Kyn said quickly, almost cutting into some of the flesh.

"I've come back with the results of my experiment, Serena." Marlow said, ignoring her comment since it didn't really bother him that much anyway.

"It's been night time, Marlow, you have always been able to sustain yourself at night, so I'm not sure what your experiment was about?" She flicked out her tongue at the question. "I try not to eat out of a hunter's trance, so it doesn't matter so long as it's not the stomach...speaking of which I do hope that you've already cut that out and buried it, before it got bloated."

"I went several miles away from you. My theory was confirmed. Tomorrow when it is daytime, you will see what I mean." Marlow said cryptically.

"It has not been that long since I cleaned a Tauros, and yes, I did. What I neglected to tell you after you decided to attempt to leave me out of hunting was, that there is a bit of a double standard when it comes to eating Pokémon. Humans hunt Tauros everyday, using a whole different variety of methods. Basically... Tauros... parts, are incredibly cheap right now. There is an overpopulation. If I were to come here, I'd be able to the first inter-dimensional merchant. Oh that purple Kecleon ain't got nothing on this."

Serena sighed at Marlow. "As you wish....and possibly, Kyn, but the only places that would accept it would be the bay and Gambitville, and it would be quite a trip to make just to get some coin that you couldn't use in your world...well I suppose you could, actually, if you just sold it for face value as oddly shaped gold, I'm sure that Inferno wouldn't mind softening it into a nugget or two." She muttered, more to herself than to him, and took the meat when offered to her.

"Oh, we should see if we can find either a Buizel or a Ducklett for some waterproof oil...I'm sure it will come in handy, if not for your cape then for your..." she seemed to have lost the word shoes, but no Pokémon ever wore shoes, so they didn't have a word for it. "Foot coverings." she finally said.

"Well, I would probably be able to use it in this world. As for the oils, what about Floatzel? Shoes, by the way, is one word for what I am wearing that cover my feet. Though these are something different than shoes, and are called boots." Kyn said casually.

"Waterproofing." She said again. "As in, will keep the water off of your skin so you don't need to have me dry everything off again." She went quiet as she ate, then responded again as she picked her teeth with a claw. "Thank you, we don't use shoes...some tenderfoots put cloth over them, but for the most part we can tolerate our feet against the bare ground." She pulled off her scarf and blew the hot fire over it in a way that would have reduced any other type of cloth to ash, but while it steamed, she put it back on, enjoying the warmth against her scales. "It was still retaining water from the dip in the springs." she answered the unasked question.

"Serena, I've decided to reconsider allowing you to have a Poké Ball, but... I'm just letting you know, that it wasn't my intention at all. Are you still willing to... uh..." Kyn didn't exactly know how to phrase it.

She shook her head. "Don't... misunderstand. I was never 'willing'...the deal would be the only way that I would ever submit myself to it, but I didn't want to let my fears rule me...actually, I don't think I've ever told you...You know about Porygon, right? Well there's this place called Steel city, the place is full of them, they run and move everything, on schedule...and there was an incident...Pokémon lost their lives because of a stupid error in the system...there was an incident in the bay too, where a Porygon went berserk and made all of the machines in the casino pay out...technology might seem like a perfect escape, but it feels like a trap...any time there's a glitch it can do horrible things." She paused, thinking about her options, she could use the Poké Ball to hide from the other fear, to protect them from her freak outs...

"Would you be able to find your way back to my den...if I spent the time when my emotions were out of control, in it...?" She didn't feel brave, she was rational, quick thinking, but rational, and curious...it would help with the theory, wouldn't it?

"What's... a Porygon...?" Kyn said, tilting his head, before answer the rest. "I think so, yes. I've been keeping track of the direction we've been traveling in, so I have a general idea. If you combine that with when we get to the forest, where you made those markings and I made marking with my sword, it'll be easy. I do not have a GPS to rely on right now. Oh dear how some humans cannot go anywhere without them..." He made that last statement seem like it wasn't really that important but worth mentioning anyway as a casual jab at some humans.

"You've...never seen a Porygon? Well, they're born in computers, just data, they and Rotom have the ability to go into computers and make them work, all computers here have a version of a Porygon in them, whether they be normal Porygon, Porygon 2 or Porygon Z...Steel city had a Porygon 2 in charge of several other Porygon and they ALL went haywire." she shuddered. "The Pokémon who were overseeing the operation tried to fix it; tried to pull the plug, tried everything in their power to prevent the crash..." She shuddered again and wrapped her tail around herself. If just a little. "...Okay. If only for when Marlow's gone and I start to freak out."

"All these Porygon... a Rotom... I... I have no idea what you're talking about? Are these Pokémon?" Kyn didn't notice Serena's shudder, but he did hear her mention the sort of acceptance of the Ball. "Alright so... does that mean you'd just want to get it done now, or specifically if/when that happens? Oh dear. Well, by if/when I mean that... you sound like you're sure it's going to happen."

"...Marlow left for not an hour tonight and I was almost willing to do anything for company...I don't want to hinder him from exploring his freedom but I know my emotions well enough to know what will happen when he does...I'll just consider it...practice." she took a breath. "Now, if you don't mind...I probably will not have the nerve for it a third time...and yes, they're Pokémon...does your scanner thing have a record of all Pokémon or do I have to ask Lacu for a memory transfer, so to speak?"

"It has a record of all the known Pokémon. Arceus isn't exactly well known though. If it isn't in my Pokédex it's probably because Porygon is a top secret project, and if I start asking, I might get in all sorts of trouble that my Pokémon would have to break me out of. I only found out about Arceus... via Miru and Dialga. Now, as for the ball, alright. Serena, here." Kyn took an empty Luxury Ball, despite Serena's advice about using a regular Poké Ball and handed it her.

"I'm sorry, who?" She shook her head. "I was a wild, remember? There are myths...but..." she took the ball and stared at it for a bit, then finally closed her eyes and pushed the button against her head, and was enveloped in what might have been an interesting blue light, before the ball clicked closed around her, and she tried to keep calm and not move.

Because she didn't move, there was no typical ticking of the ball, but the light did turn red. It was only after she had stabilized that she opened her eyes to look around, and worked to keep herself calm.

Kyn quickly pushed the button on the front, releasing Serena, and waited for her response before beginning to respond to her response that he didn't get to respond to due to her pushing the button.

Serena flicked out her tongue as she reappeared, rather on her feet. She looked up at him. "Thank you...yes, I think that will help...I'll have to learn how to get out on my own, but it will help..." She waited for the question overflow that she could see would likely be coming.

"Alrighty then. So, Arceus claims to have had a, figurative of course, hand in the creation of the universe, from as small as the atom, to as large as the earth, the sun, the solar system, the galaxy, all from the void. At first there was nothing, no time no space, but Arceus, inside the void. Then Arceus created time. After time was created, it then created Dialga to have free control over time. The Sinnoh Myths about Dialga creating time are false. I know from firsthand experience that it only influences time and has free control over it. Next Arceus created Space, and the rest you copy and paste from the first part of the story. The Sinnoh myths are in a way true if you look at them from a certain way. I am not sure if the same creation story happened here."

"I don't follow the creation stories here..." She tilted her head. "You'd have to ask the Ho-oh at cathedral drop about stuff like that, or rather the...follower that he put in Tao, talking to them might help you get a sense of things." She sat back down and licked her claw. "However, the myth I remember was that one Pokémon asked for a feather from each of the trio and used the feathers to create the three instruments, the Dracoello, the Glaciate Triangle and the Thistle Whistle...this Pokémon MIGHT have been the one you speak of, but it was never specified...and contrary to popular belief, while I spend a lot of time reading books, I don't really like to read." she paused. "So, did you want to see the two Pokémon I mentioned before you delved into history that likely will never have any connection to what happens here?"

"I can show you pictures of carvings of Arceus. But, oh. That's right thank you for reminding me Serena... Perhaps I should pursue in the questioning sense of the word, my version of Ho-Oh. I've been told that the Kimono girls know a way to in essence, summon Ho-Oh, so I'll try to meet with them when they aren't busy. Or maybe they want me to fight them to be busy. Where was I? Oh yes, I would like to see the Porygon. Would they want to get their hands on some of my technology at all? If they even have hands... actually."

"With the way they're going they'd probably infect all of the technology you own and make it error out." She brought up the memories of the Porygon that she had seen, and the Rotom as well. "If I could ask for your assistance Lacu? I've the memories at the forefront so you should only need to graze my mind, instead of getting lost in the maze that is my mind."

"Serena, I would be very very very angry if all my work on this Pokédex was erased. Not only would it set me back eleven years, but... alright, look at it this way. Those houses, and if all of a sudden someone came along and decided to knock them all down. After all the reconstruction in Tao."

"Mm, this would be the second time I've entered your mind. Guess I'm gonna be a sort of projector." Lacu said, floating down to the ground, and then placing a hand on Serena's headplates. He then closed his eyes, and a visible glow enveloped him, and he remained silent.

There were several different pictures of Rotom, while only two of each of the three Porygon, and one of those was in black and white, clearly a sketch from a book, but the memories were fragments, like a slide show of things that had happened from the past. There were multiple colors that the Rotom took, and their many forms, but at the end she forced the forefront away from her thoughts and made it go black, like a movie that had faded away, and she pulled away from the Medicham's hand. The look in her eyes was clear. 'My actual mind is dangerous, you don't want to be there.' "Yes, I know what you mean...there, there's something you can add to it...well, not really, but added to the Pokémon you've seen."

"Well. Yes, I've seen over 360 Pokémon now, registered about 95 percent of them in the Pokédex, but since Porygon aren't in there... it won't really do anything if I scanned it except read as 'No Data Available'."

[Everyone's mind is dangerous. There is a reason why not everyone is a mind reader.] Lacu said, in response to Serena, telepathically.

She snorted at Lacu. [Everyone who has the capability to be one here, IS. Now you know why my mind is considered dangerous. Psychics know not to go around me because there are TRAPS in my mind that even I can't disable.] "You need a better Pokedex, or make your own entries...I probably could fill in most of the others with all those stupid books that I read trying to become more civil. Ugh, I probably gave away about 10 years of my life for information that turned up perhaps one percent of what I got in return." her mouth twitched into a smile. "It's a good thing that dragons have a lot of time in the world."

"Who says I'm not making my own entries? I do have a journal. Also, Reshiram is going to be included in the new Trainer's Pokédex, as well as Zekrom, but not Kyurem, since that time I did not know about Kyurem. Serena, I would like you to sit down with me sometime, and compare entries. You said you have a lot of time... well, then... let's go through about 600 of them and see. There was a time when the Pokédex only had 150 Pokémon, so..." Kyn said trailing off, leaving that as a sort of finished thought.

[Well then, perhaps since my abilities are freshest and I cannot suppress them right now, I'd be willing to risk it. Like I said earlier, when I first came here, your thoughts were broadcast to me as clearly as if you were speaking out loud to me.] Lacu retorted back.

"Ugh...I don't think we have that much time left at this point in time, or you don't anyway, since you wanted to get back to your world after our trip, and since there was a miscommunication in the feeding arrangement of our bird, I would prefer spending the time at my home...after I get you a Miltank." [Even if I couldn't get you out? Fine, take a look around, explore, soothe your curiosity, just don't blame me if you come back damaged, or linked to me like Marlow is.] She looked at the leaves. [Oh...and I suppose that I should tell you that speaking about what you find would probably put you on my Kill on Sight list, but you would have figured that out, I'm sure.]

"I am aware of that. When would you allow me to next visit you? A few months, a year? Your time I mean." Kyn quickly clarified.

[...you could try. But I will not worry about that.] Lacu then switched back to using his voice again. "I believe I will be on of the constant members of the group then. Even on non 'Team' related things." He added.

"That's not really up to me, now is it? I suppose that whenever I come back to my cave and discover a human laying in my bed with a Lacu, a Sceptile and..." she trailed off "I'll know that your space bender has decided to link our worlds again...I'll probably have loads of time when I'm a Shelgon, and Marlow seems dead set...if you'll excuse the wording...on me having the first scroll that we get." She let the Medicham explore the recesses of her mind, It wasn't as if she had much to hide. Her way of thinking, the things she had done hunting, the things she had learned...the location of the rogue's guild was one of them, but she didn't mind too much on that, the law firm finally had a door to be walked in now, so pretty much everyone knew, but didn't know what laid under it. There were of course, her thoughts on the group that surrounded her, that were locked up with the strongest defenses that her mind could conjure...which in this case was an angry Salamence that wouldn't hesitate in literally ripping someone's head off.

"No Serena, it is completely up to you, now decide." Kyn said firmly.

[Oh my. Quite intriguing.] Lacu didn't really know much about what he was processing though it was still interesting nonetheless.

"You want me to decide on when you can come back?" [Hang on to your ass then...] Of course what happened next was the thoughts veered from being semi normal, and a rather battlefield of emotion and instinct versus logic and sense of being took place, they may as well have ripped one another apart as they sought to be the victor, until one side came out the winner and the others regenerated.

[Welcome to the thought process.] the voice in her head might as well have been chuckling, but she had enough sense to put an 'avatar' of herself along beside him. "I don't mind having you here, it's...stimulating, but it causes a lot of changes and I'm not sure if I can handle too much of that at a time. I pride myself on being able to adapt quickly when needed...A month your time is about a year mine, with all the crap that goes on here, probably once every half year would be best; unless you can't find that time, at which point I would understand." She looked at the mental Lacu. [No, it doesn't really matter who wins these small battles, as I still listen to both sides of my brain, THAT fact has gotten me out of sticky situations.]

"I have a few more questions about Tauros, and selling them. Do you think that I should just go to the bay to ask more information or do you know enough?"

[...humans.... they are the most violent species on this planet.] Lacu said simply to Serena, not really explaining why.

"You want respect from the people you sell to, you sell them in Gambitville, you want to be known as someone to stay away from, sell to the bay and speak to a golden Kecleon named Anana, she'll give you access to the back doors of the place...the things the normal 'mon don't know exist, or pretend they don't anyway. They don't discriminate who eats the food down there, but they do with who sells it...Personally, I think it's worth the walk and the respect that a decent hunter deserves to sell up here. As for WHERE to sell...there's always some ragtag city boy trying to prove his worth that has more coin than he does balls." She was sitting with her arms crossed, and leaning back so that her tail was keeping her upright. "Well, they all want the respect, but don't want to have to do the work...it's a bit...sad, but if you can make money off of it..." She looked up at Kyn again. "Didn't you say you were going to start sitting down when you were talking to me?" [Humans do not exist here.] She said simply. [The fact that Kyn got here was my own judgment, perhaps a mistake on my part, perhaps not. THAT battle isn't over yet.]

[You DO know a human though, which does have significance.]

"Oh right... it slipped my mind a bit." Kyn said, sitting down in the sand. "I'm only a mediocre hunter at best though. Now, what am I going to do with the bones and horns? Do those get bleached by someone, or do they stay as is?" He didn't exactly want to be known as someone to be stayed away from, but he didn't exactly know if he wanted respect either.

{Serena. I wanted to let you know... that watching Kyn and that Tauros was... rather interesting. Based on the way he acts, I wouldn't have expected him to be able to do what he did.} Marlow said, after hearing most of the conversation about hunting.

[It makes me considered crazy around here.] She answered back to Lacu, and then Marlow's voice would have echoed around them. "I'll be the one to judge that, when Marlow decides to show me his memories, if he decides to. Bones bleach in the sun...since we don't have time to bleach them out, leave them as is and wrap them up in the pelt to make them easier to carry." {Say hello to Lacu who's braving the dangers of my mind, Marlow.} She chuckled in her mindscape.

"If you say so. But, I'm telling you though, I'm by no means an excellent hunter." Kyn said, wrapping the skull, horns and various other bones that were not still currently covered with meat.

{Hm, well this is a bit unexpected, but anyway. Make your judgment then, as I am interested in hearing it.} Marlow said, followed by immediately transferring the memories of what he had seen Kyn do.

[Guess that means that as a side effect, I'll be seeing it too then.]

Almost as Marlow gave her the memories she closed her eyes, leaving Kyn to wrap up the bones in peace, but SHE had control over the memories as they entered her mind, and her instincts pointed out positions that would have given him away, her hunters eye judging the look of the Tauros, and the system that he used to take it down. "It was blind." She said after a while. "Your approach was mediocre at best, but when approaching a bull with a defect like that it was good enough...And you didn't use your sword, kudos." her eyes opened and she looked at him. "Well, you'll get to see me work against Miltank a bit later, perhaps it can help teach you some new tricks."

"I really don't like being out in the open like that though. Next time, I'll see if I can't find a Tauros that is more able to actually charge me."

"'Jes like a rodeo'," Kyn said, imitating Clay. "Actually, that reminds me. I probably could hunt using that as well, though... it's a bit risky. I have seen plenty of people gored by Tauros, though it was their fault for not being intelligent about it."

"Rodeo?" She questioned. {Thank you Marlow, for being his safety line if he needed it, and for the memories that you shared with me.} She chuckled about being out in the open. "considering the fact that I've done my best to conceal us every time we stopped, do you think I do either? Around here, though, using the grass, you're never really...out in the open." She looked up at the moon, that which she called her mother, on her waning cycle. "I've had a Tauros charge me before...they seem to forget about a Bagon's headplates when they do that...the smarter ones will try to use Tri-Attack on you."

"That Tauros' head was less hard than I thought." He paused. "Eh... about rodeos... well, see, it's kinda like a place where certain types of animals and Pokémon are used for human entertainment. Cattle wrangling, and other ranching type events. Serena... help me make a list of all the humans terms I've used so far that you'd like me to go more into detail about. Though of course you'd probably keep the knowledge to yourself as it is from my world but... just temporary anyway, for when I actually visit you, or you visit me. Alright, I need to find another Tauros... so I can practice with my rope again."

"I have a feeling that we could make a book or two between the two of us." she inclined her head to him a little. "There will be likely one or two Tauros among the Miltank, since they're both Bovine types...and since Tauros are all male...and Miltank are all female...they tend to guard the females." she chuckled, remembering a previous comment. "With my luck, you'll probably get to see non-sentients mating again..." She trailed off, how often had her nose led her to where Pokémon were getting frisky? A couple of times at the least, but she couldn't help it, they smelled so good when she was hungry.

"I hope I don't have to use my swords. By the way, I never told you, that Striker and I train with the swords I have back home. Just a little bit of trivia for you."

"You probably wont...since this time you wont be doing everything yourself." She stretched, a very catlike motion. "Just another pearl to toss on the pile I suppose." She added at the trivia, and then her mind clicked. Pearl--treasure.

Lacu could see the dots click together as they were connected, and she snorted a little. She hoarded treasure, and she should treasure these moments, she wasn't going to tell anyone about him anyway, it was a secret to be kept all to herself...so he was something to be...treasured? Her tongue flicked out at the mental response. Rarity of his personality and the way he perceived things would have put him as a gem...yes, that was a connection that she could make...something that she should protect...wasn't she doing that already though?

"Hm, though there is one issue that may arise. I have never faced a group of more than two Tauros. In that case I would definitely have to use my swords. Alright, let's head out now then, everything is packed." He said, standing up again.

She waited for him to stand, before slipping her leaves in her bag, and slipping that back onto her hide. "Night time, they'll be groggy...yes, it would probably be to our advantage." She didn't bother standing all the way up, rather choosing to remain on all fours as she had for quite a bit of the journey. "Marlow, if you would be so kind to join me on this excursion? We'll need to paralyze the Tauros that are with them...and they're going to be wise to both of the tactics that were used by myself, and Kyn previously." She was a hunter, yes, she knew how to hunt without using her abilities, and that was what was going to be shown today. She didn't want them permanently damaged, and they didn't really need yet another Tauros to eat...but hopefully he would be happy to prove useful, instead of just being a 'lifeline'.

"Serena! I wish you to give me instruction on this new demonstration that you plan." Kyn said simply.

"I pretty much always join you, Serena. Now, what do you need ME to do precisely?"

"Situations always change, I can't control their minds any more than I can yours Kyn, or yours Marlow. The bit that I DO know is that at the end you're going to have to build up the start of a charge beam and use it to paralyze the bull, that shouldn't be too hard considering the fact that you're rather...semi-solid, you should be able to access the spinal column easily..." She flicked out her tongue, and while the blue of her hide might have been muted in the dark, it was still brighter than some of the things around there, and easy to spot. "If there's another one, then that will be left to Heji, Striker and Tensa, if they deem it necessary to participate...There will be Rollouts to lookout for, as more of them become awake, and so it will be rather important to accomplish the goal quickly...and without killing them."

Kyn chuckled at the mention of the move Rollout, and he figured that Serena wouldn't know why, and he wanted her to inquire as to why he was chuckling, though if she didn't he'd tell her anyway.

"It has been ages since I have used that move. This should be interesting." Then it occurred to him that she had mentioned his current state of being, "What does being semi-solid have to do with this?"

"Marlow, with the number of times you've phased through me, you probably know the shape of my organs better than I do. I'm suggesting a DIRECT pulse to the spinal column, NOT a diffused one through the skin." She did hear Kyn chuckling, but chose to let him have his moment, she was scenting the air and determining how to avoid the OTHER Pokémon that inhabited the area while she 'looked' for a mix of Tauros and Miltank. When she found the herd she was looking for, she shifted course.

"As it turns out Serena, A Normal-type Gym Leader named Whitney, made a lot of trainers frustrated via her use of a Miltank with the move Rollout." Kyn said, before going silent again.

"Y'know, if I were to partially phase through them with a charge beam charged, then releasing the charge beam while inside them, that would be a bit devastating to their functionality." Marlow said, thinking the process through.

"I did specify, or at least, I thought I did, that it wouldn't be a full release of the beam, but yes, damaging enough." She listened to Kyn speak. "Ah...here it's...well...probably just as bad, but if you can use the momentum against them it's a lot more devastating for them rather than the Pokémon they had planned on attacking." when they were a safe distance from the herd, but they could still be seen, she stopped. "So...Lets see, two Tauros...and from the scent...a Miltank in heat...we'll need to avoid that one, as even paralyzed the Tauros are rather protective of those that are capable of breeding with them at the time." She squirmed a little, trying to get comfortable in the tall grass. "We're down wind, so we have that to our advantage as well." Her voice dropped as she spoke, to where only those immediately around her could hear her. "Lacu is still in my head, so you SHOULD be able to see things from my perspective if you asked him to relay for you Kyn."

Kyn couldn't exactly muffle his movements in the sense that Heji could, so he dropped to his knees and then moved forward on his hands. He'd probably have to work extra hard to get the stains out of his pants, though his overcoat was more important to him than a pair of pants that were easily replaceable, but would still be washed nonetheless. He wasn't used to crawling much though so his pace was slightly slowed down.

Marlow took this opportunity to go invisible, and then he followed the group, waiting for either a distraction or an opportunity in which he would be able to attempt paralyzing both of the Tauros.

Serena took down one Tauros, waited for the others to take down the other and Marlow to shock the one she had captured, then took down the alpha Miltank and told Kyn it was okay to come get his milk while she looked around to see how the others had done.

Striker made his way to the general area that would be their escape route if they chose to go to the left. He kept his body low and in the attack position with both of his blades held forward.

Heji made hie was carefully behind the first grouping of cows, and cut off their escape route there, crouched low and in a pouncing ready position. After the Miltank near Striker was successfully focused on him, Heji used a quick Crunch attack, after which Marlow immediately went to, and paralysed, following the pattern that they were going in, he went over to Serena's Miltank next, followed by the one that Kyn had managed to engage.

Kyn, after having been on his knees until he could successfully get close enough, went after the Tauros that was closest to Striker.

Serena observed the system they had used, it was rather clear cut, she did however, hope that the one in heat had gotten away. She sniffed, to be sure, and nodded to herself. "No one got trampled, right?" She was sitting on the Miltank she had taken down, and looked towards the Medicham. /Enjoy the show?/ She didn't tell him that she could turn the tables on him at any moment, she had gotten plenty of practice with Marlow on how to control where she went, and even reverse the link, but then, where would the fun in that be?

"I am perfectly fine, and it seems that everyone else is as well." Kyn said, looking around to see the effects of their combined work. He'd forgotten about acquiring milk, since he was rather used to farmed Miltank and their processed Moo Moo milk. Though he'd still be able to make pizza if he had the unprocessed milk as well, it just wouldn't taste as good. He made a mental note to ask Serena to try some more cooked food of his.

{There was nothing to enjoy. We were all performing a task.} Marlow left his tone flat and neutral, waiting for the next stage of assignments, if there were any.

{Lacu wasn't, well, aside from keeping Kyn's disguise on him...I keep forgetting that I'm going to have to be specific with both of you in my head now...} she did mentally chuckle. {You did your job well, Marlow.} There was a hint of pride and affection in her words, but she tried to keep the other thoughts to herself. "Well done." She said, with all of them situated. "Kyn, don't let the adrenaline go to your head, get your milk before we have to take down the Tauros again. They learn faster than most people give them credit for." she felt like an informative blip on the notice board.

"What, exactly are you talking about milk for?" Kyn was confused again, not exactly remembering much of what he had said in the past few minutes that would have given a hint as to what she was talking about."

{Well, thank you I guess. Now, I think I might be able to possess you when you sleep.} Marlow said, letting that thought muddle around in Serena's head for a while.

{Buh?} She turned her head to the point where the link was strongest, her way of knowing where Marlow was. "Whole point of this was to get you milk, and to incapacitate a couple to take home with us." She said, rather matter-of-factly. "Since Heji bit his, it might be wise to get the milk from that one first...Oh yes, MooMoo milk sells well here too, suppose I should have mentioned that as well." She was thinking out loud, rather than letting her thoughts linger on what he had said, if she thought on it too much, she would get upset, and she was TIRED of getting upset.

"You've got to be kidding! But.... I don't have anything to store the milk in, Serena. No bucket, or anything. I hate to suggest this but, maybe just maybe, you'd be willing to sort of... look the other way, if I were to use some of my Poké Balls on them....?" Kyn suggested lightly. One could tell that his tone was very hesitant, considering what her views on Poké Balls were, though he didn't know if she had changed them yet.

Marlow chuckled maniacally, upon hearing Serena's reaction, living up to his nature.

"Striker, if you don't mind, hit Marlow upside the head? He's about level with your shoulder and near the tip of your wing." she sighed and slid herself down off of the Miltank. "I don't care what you do Kyn, these are just animals, there's no reason to try to treat them like people." The thought nagged at her though, hadn't she once been Non-sentient?

No...She was just uncivilized...but at that point she didn't even know how to talk...She was thinking too much, it was starting to make her head hurt again. "Besides, you've already done that with the Tauros you caught earlier."

"Yes, and I still wonder if I should have. I mean leaving it there would just be asking for predators and scavengers to have a party. But this is different."

"Marlow is a Ghost, Serena. If you announce that type of thing, he will definitely have moved." Striker said back. He moved closer to the Tauros, ready to knock it out if it decided to find a way to get up.

"This is the same, you think that they'll think twice about coming in, following the scent of that Miltank in heat, and tearing the ones we leave behind to bits?" She spoke to him, but even as she did, she was producing from her pack clay bottles with cork stoppers. "I promised to take you TO Gambitville, so that's where we'll be going, need to sell of the skin and the bones anyway, so I figure selling some MooMoo milk will only boost the profits." As she spoke she put the claw into the stoppers and popped them out, milking 'Bertha' much to her displeasure. It wasn't as if she could move, but it was in her eyes. "So, by all means." She put the stopper back in and slipped those into the pack where they would be kept at a moderate temperature for the rest of the trip. "And with the spoils, if you would like, you can spend some time in the bay." She flicked out her tongue.

"Hm, alright then. Are you going to want that Miltank to become cattle for you as well? Or are we just leaving her?" Kyn then took out two Great Balls and threw one at the first Tauros, and one at the second Tauros.

Once more her tongue flicked out, her nose twitching as she thought, much like a rabbit's would do, but likely not considered anywhere near as cute. "Ovaltine said she could use some help at the ranch since Malt keeps claiming that she's a male...It would probably be a good idea, even if I don't have enough space to keep them for myself at the cave..." She nibbled on her claw. "In short, yes, probably would be a good idea..." She chuckled. "Now if only humans could be put in Poké Balls, then Marlow would be able to transport all of us through walls." Everything in her voice conveyed that it was a joke, she wouldn't use Marlow as a pack mule...at least not knowingly.

"Alright, so, since that Miltank is essentially fully aware of you right now, could you please make it so that she is unconscious?" The two Great Balls had then indicated the the Tauros had been caught, and then the rest of the group moved from their positions and back over to Serena.

"What?!" She turned her head, and sure enough the Miltank had come to, she hissed at it and whacked it upside the head with her tail. "Probably the shock Marlow put on it that brought it back to consciousness." She muttered, more to herself than to Kyn again, and the use of her tail, well, she didn't really want to have to pull another punch and verify that it was still breathing again. She was keeping an eye on Marlow now, clearly the thought was getting to her, but not for the reasons that he might be able to possess her, but the things that he might DO with that ability while she was asleep...she knew while conscious she wouldn't have any problems locking him out.

"Great Ball, Go!" Kyn said, in a dramatic imitation of a series that he once say about a boy named Red. He then went into a pose, and threw the ball at the Miltank.

Serena nearly jumped away from the ball, she knew that it wouldn't hurt her, but still, she didn't exactly want to be in the way either. She flicked her tail as she took her place (though she would never admit that she even had that thought, let alone that wording) next to Heji to watch the ball tick and turn red. "So...what was the final body count? Two Tauros and...three Miltank?" She glanced around to be sure of what she was saying.

"Yes. So, Serena, I find it just a little unnerving that a fully maximized Poké Ball is about a sixth your height. Serena, would you do me a favor and see how well you're able to hold a Poké Ball?" Kyn said, taking out another regular Poké Ball, minimized and handing it to her.

Serena all but snorted at the ball as it was handed to her. "You would think that between holding Heji's ball, the one you tossed to me, and now this one, you would have seen me holding enough balls for you to gauge it without this time..." She muttered, but it was already between her claws. Thankfully it was rather quite night time, and that alone would hide the red that seeped into her cheeks as an alternate meaning hit her, she ignored it.

"I guess I forgot. So the next thing I'm going to ask you is... would you go ahead and use that ball on one of the other cows? I was remembering one of those things that you said, about... how the alphas would treat their subordinates and, well, I know you don't like technology that much, but I think it would have been fitting if YOU had used the ball on this first Miltank."

Serena wrinkled her nose at the statement, but sighed and walked, rather by use of her nose, over to where the closest Miltank was laying, this of course by chance, would have been the one Heji took down...While she pressed the ball to the Miltank's side, she kept her eyes on it until it disappeared into the light. "You know, there is one thing about that, Kyn...A pack has two Alphas...even if you tried to put me in my place, I'm a female, and since there are no other females here with us...It still puts me at the top." When this ball too clicked off, she walked back over to him and handed him the ball.

"Then, for all intents and purposes, Tensa would have to be pretty much the Alpha as well. I do realize that you are the only female. Which is why I was glad when I at least managed to acquire a female Pidove, who is now an Unfezant by the way." Kyn took the Poké Ball with the Miltank Serena put in the ball, in one of his overcoat pockets.

"...Perhaps...but he still answers to you, when the days over." she waved her claws in a 'I really don't want to know this sort of thing' gesture, and figured she would be given another Poké Ball to be used on the other Miltank that was still laying around, yet if not, that was fine with her as well. "So with what you've told me about the league, I'm guessing that Poké Balls are registered via your Identification card, right? I wonder if it's registered any of them that you've caught here."

"Well, actually... it's a bit complicated. Y'know how you've met most of my team on the other side? Well, the League only allows a total party of six, as has been probably explained to you. You've seen me with way more than that... and the reason for that is that is because.... I have two Pokédexs." He took out his as of yet unseen Sinnoh Pokédex, and held it in such a way that it would be able to be examined.

Her nose twitched again as she looked at the other scanner, which now had a name. "You're right, it is complicated...and yes, Liru did the honors of that...but that would allow for twelve, not 22...and yes, I did count." her tongue flicked out as she stepped forward, rather than taking a better look, she used what he had essentially -just- shown her to attempt to take another, unassigned Poké Ball from it's place on his person. If that was successful, she would step back and take a few steps from him. "For the last Miltank." She explained, since he was off track again. It may as well have been showing her hand, or at least her memory, as to how she was capable of being considered a rogue when she couldn't tell any lies.

"Heh... so then.... I suppose that means that I either have two more unseen ones, or that I just... managed to circumvent the Pokédex's party limit. Take you pick," He said with a chuckle, then after seeing that there was yet another Poké Ball being used for storage purposes, he thought about whether or not he would invest more into buying Poké Balls. They were still going to be used for their original intended purpose, but altered in a way.

Serena returned within just a moment, and handed it back. It wasn't as if she had pockets to keep it, or she would have held onto it herself. "Neither option is regulation." She guessed, figuring the only reason he was telling her this was because she couldn't tell anyone else without being called crazy anyway. She expected them to follow as she brushed past him, starting, yet again, towards Gambitville, but this time she didn't bother avoiding any herds of Pokémon, they either would get out of the way, or be blasted with a dragon pulse...most of them got out of the way, and soon they were looking on the slumbering town of Gambitville. They had long since been surrounded by sand, but as the sun first touched the horizon, the said sand glittered like glass. Town was the proper word, it had maybe five buildings, one of which being the General store, the other largest the Tavern and inn, the others...well, there was what passed as a library, and a hospital...anything other than that wasn't important, at least not to her.

"I do stay within regulation.... when they are watching at least. Speaking of watching, I was wondering if you'd be willing to learn a little bit more about the league via watching me and others compete. Though, not exactly in a directly you being there type situation." Kyn said, taking the Poké Ball and moving it to one of his urgent pockets. The rest of the group followed close behind, renaming in that specific pattern that they had earlier, essentially forming a security group around Kyn.

"...actually if it was possible to slow down the time distortion...well, I probably could go there personally." She let the thought go for a moment. "Okay boys, find yourself an accessory in that bag of Kyn's, I know I saw a few previously, but remember, those who don't have one are to be considered fair game here, hell, even if you do, and you step out of line you're still fair game, and you can break the form too, it wont matter so much here." Her tail twitched. She both loved and hated this town, it was the one place that she could be herself aside from at the cave, yet it was also a very dangerous place if you didn't know what you were doing. She herself untied her scarf and turned it into a rather convincing bow behind her head. Innocence, that was what it was supposed to portray, it was the color, however, that told the true story...and only the keen eyes of hunters would be able to see the variation of the color that marked the blood stains...that being said, with both tails of it at the back, and only the middle at the front, all of the blood stains were behind her.

"Well... I'm not exactly sure how to explain video photography to you but erm, yeah the distortion can definitely be controlled. Now, an interesting thing how accessories hold that particular value here. I literally gave every single one of my Pokémon an accessory. Not for the purpose of doing that silly dress up that some other Trainers do. So, I'll be able to help with that." Kyn said, waiting for her response.

"Did you bother to take into account the meaning behind the color or did you just throw something together?" Came the return, She knew, because she had seen Inferno with his earlier, that he had one for most of his Pokémon, so all of his Pokémon was not that much of a surprise. "And you'll have to find one for yourself as well."

"Not sure what you mean by just thrown together, but, there are things that I took into account; various aspects of their personality, and there are some other things too." Kyn took out Tensa's Focus Band, and handed it to him.

He promptly tied it around his head, and then look back down at Serena. "It has been years since I have worn this," Tensa said.

Kyn then went over to Striker and tied on his Choice Band for him. The next Pokémon was Lacu, who he gave Tensa's old Focus Band.

Serena looked at the colors, more than the types of accessories. "Mmmph, I keep forgetting that you guys don't do things like we do...Everything we have here is made by tailors, everything...It's custom made and fits perfectly with who you are." She felt like she was repeating what Chrys had said to her, but she ignored the feeling. "If it doesn't fit with who you are, then you have no business wearing it...and what I mean is like taking scraps of cloth and stitching them together haphazardly." Her tail flicked. "You really...learn what colors stand for when you look at it from Chrys' point of view...he's the tailor in Tao."

"These items are also special in their own way, that you'll find out later. But I can understand what you have said, and what this Chrys... says. I don't know what'd he'd think of my human form but, I've told you before that these clothes that I am wearing, were custom tailored to me. Oh dear. Accessories... Pokémon Contests erm... heh... the things I see, I think I've only seen one or two that actually match what you've said. Would you be able to... give me a sort of tailored down... no pun intended, explanation?"

"Of what, colors or things that fit personalities?" She spoke, but rather hoped that he would continue placing accessories, as he only had himself left to place. She knew the bow didn't fit her, but it was easier to pass off the color distortions as the dye running in some places rather than blood. Still, she could pass off the innocent look well enough.

"Interesting feats of endurance have been observed by me, as well as increase in defense, speed, attack, or other traits, depending on the item. It's almost supernatural...," Kyn then mumbled lowly, "like certain aspects of me...," before, digging into his pack and tacking out his red Go-Goggles. and putting them over his head.

"Heh, sure that's not just what they want you to think?" She looked over at him. "The whole 'this water is special.' thing and then the water isn't really special, but because you thought it was special, it had a desired effect." She turned her head back, and slid down the bank of sand, just as she had the hill four days ago, and headed for the Tavern and Inn, pushing open the wooden door and slipping inside.

There were a couple Pokémon appearing to be passed out at the tables, but Serena knew better, she could feel their eyes on her as she walked in, they were just good at hiding that they were looking. The Cacturne behind the counter was the only one who honestly looked shocked to see her again.

"Donahue." She regarded him with a bit of respect, and wasn't surprised when he stuttered.

"A-ah, Miss Serena, it is you. You have brought quite an entourage this time...expecting trouble?" his eyes swept over the group that had just, likely, entered behind her.

"No, just showing some FRIENDS the place, hoping to spend a couple hours in an actual bed before we head back home." She gave him an unnerving smile. "Would you happen to have a few rooms to spare for the night? I'm sure that we wont be too much of a hassle." she dropped the smile, and went back to her 'innocent' face, that only seemed to unnerve him more.

"Oh, of course, I have rooms to spare...You're just staying the night? Isn't that a long trip just for one night?" The Cacturne inquired, tipping his 'hat' back to look at her.

"Mmhn... this place is indeed interesting," Kyn said, speaking for the first time. He wasn't going to try to explore on his own, so he let Serena lead him everywhere, and the rest followed suit. He'd have a response to her statement the next day. He didn't set his alarm though, due to the general guess that if he did it in that place, the other Pokémon would react similar to the way Serena did when SHE first heard his alarm.

"A night, for as long as it lasts...and a few hours of the day, but we wont be needing you for that...we've some supplies to gather." She didn't like admitting it, but if someone was going to pick a fight, well...they would always pick a fight, for one reason or another. She pulled the coin pouch out of her bag without really looking back at the other tables, spilled out the coins, and motioned for the others to follow her upstairs to the rooms. When they were situated in the rooms, she stood between them with a sigh. Was she really going to keep up the innocent façade much longer? No, she decided as she pulled the bow out, and wrapped the scarf normally. The bag she set in her room, but she instead went to Kyn's to see about his response to what she had said, realizing that if he remembered what they were talking about, she would have a bit to listen to.

"No bow then Serena? These goggles don't look like Flygon eyes, like the ones I've seen. What do you think these look like?" He said, starting a new topic, but still remembering the other one she had mentioned, if she decided to bring it up again.

"Anyone who's up at this hour remembers what happened the last time I was here, I may as well stop pretending to be an innocent child." She blinked at the question. "Does it matter? I would say that they're similar to ones modeled after the eyes of Croagunk, personally." Her nose twitched. "For the record, the rooms are relatively...thick walled here...they tend to have to be, being used by travelers all the time...and I realize that we were cut off before, but the streets aren't exactly the safest place to talk in the town."

"So, do you have a story for ME then Serena? What DID happen the last time you were here? I am glad for the thick walls, yes. Hm, well I don't exactly think I've ever seen goggles like this before. I guess I can pull the whole, customized card or something."

"It's...not something that I'm proud of." she snorted, her claws clicking against the wood as she pulled out the wooden chair from the desk. "But...I can tell it...and yes...you can. Remember to thank Lacu for editing them to fit on a Sceptile's face properly." She climbed rather expertly up on the chair, and with him on the bed, she rubbed her claws over her headplates, waiting for...well, something before she began.

"I... keep forgetting that I'm supposed to be a Sceptile I guess. But, we all have things we're not proud of Serena. I probably have even more things than you but, that shouldn't stop you unless you believe that for some odd reason, I'd think less of you because of it." Kyn urged.

She sighed. "The first time I came here...I left Marlow behind. I had sufficiently learned to speak, to be civil...and the primitiveness of this place got to me, I will admit that. I had skins, feathers, hides of all sorts bound and packed, and I was still a novice with trading...There was a Seviper here at that point in time, he and his daughter...and I know now that I was on the wrong side of town." She paused. "He was ruthless to the point of stupidity, it got him in trouble, and for some reason his daughter kept bailing him out of it...but I defended him--he was the only one to have bothered with me, as young as I was, as -stupid- as I was...and yes, I killed for him." She looked at her claws, almost with disgust.

"The time in question, where I chose between him and his daughter was when he went up against a lady by the name of Syrup...who I now know to be Mike the Charmander's mother....I didn't protect him, and he died...I would have later, had Syrup not seen some good in me and brought me back to health. Called me a kid that didn't know what she'd gotten into, and rather quite set things straight...It was hard to believe that I had only known the snake for four days...but you see how quickly things can change in four days..."

"Serena, I don't think I've quite got anything that compares to that. But, you were young. This world does not seem to allow you to make very many mistakes so it is good that you are making them now, and then, so that later you will have the experience necessary to survive. It is the reason why I myself now, can be considered one of the best. Because of all the mistakes I made and learned from when I was younger."

"No, this world doesn't allow you to make mistakes...A lot of my training actually comes from that point in my life...four days, and I trained the hardest I had ever trained in my life...Anyway...Syrup set the record straight...actually I ate my old...friend, I suppose you could say, she had made him into a stew, you see...but yes, those here hold grudges...I have absolutely no doubt that some of them will try to kill me while I'm here...and because I claimed you...ugh, but if I hadn't those two goons would have tried something right there." She pulled one leg up to her chest. "The funny thing I suppose, would be that I don't fear for my life while I'm here. Even if I haven't made a good impression on you...any of you, these past four days, I've enjoyed them." She chuckled, if a bit hollowly.

"It seems, every time I come here, there will be changes made to my personality, to my very being...I will tell you this Kyn. What happened here before, was the reason I set the rule. If they are sentient, they are not to be killed." She stood up from the chair. "I didn't tell you this so you would try to stop what will likely happen, Kyn, and I would like to think that I've grown to know you well enough by now, that I know you're going to try...Don't. It's not about honor, its not about my pride...I made a debt to families of Pokémon when I was here last, it's something that every fiber of my being agrees on, it needs to be paid..." She frowned. "Maybe when this is over...I'll finally be able to get rid of the scarf I wear."

"You sure have had a rather turbulent life. However, what is in your past is of no concern to me in regards to the way I see you presently other than the fact that it it has shaped who you are. You may think that you've known me enough to be able to have some level of predictability, but, it isn't. Tensa has known me for eleven to twelve years, and he still sometimes can't tell what I'm thinking in regards to some things. Humans are just generally unpredictable. But you should not be concerned about me in the manner. I've... spent most of my adult life trying to avoid a situation like what happened with you. In my world... like I've said, most of the Pokémon are sentient, but that's not the main issue. The main issue is whether or not they were attached to a human or not. I strive to not kill anything that belongs to a Trainer... and it's hard to tell without some identifying accessory, or their behavior sometimes."

"Life...gives you trials to show you who you really are." She answered back, pushing the chair back up against the desk. "...but if I had to bet...I would bet on my claws that Guld was the one who killed Marlow." Her mouth twitched a little.

"Goodnight Kyn." She said as she grabbed the door handle, and closed the door behind her as she walked out. She didn't fear being here, quite the opposite actually...but she did have one thing that she wanted to do, if she was going to hand herself over...she was going to give herself to someone else first...and in that case, she only had one 'mon in mind.

It was cliche, of course...but she wasn't about to give them /that/ satisfaction; the mind's punishment is always worse than the actual, and she could only guess at these Pokémon's minds. It was possible, more than possible, that she would come back bloody, beaten and bruised; possible that they might try to kill her as well--hangings were typical here, but her neck muscles were too strong for that. She was in fact half way to Heji's door when a familiar shadow darkened the hall.

"Morning, Syrup." She said.

"Com'on down stairs, Little bit. Hav' a drink with me."

Serena chuckled. "No, Syrup, not tonight, tomorrow maybe, if I survive it."

The Skuntank had at some point moved, and she knew what was coming, just barely avoiding the crushing jaws as they tried to grab her. "They're not going to kill you, y'hear?"

"Perhaps not, but I'm here to pay that debt back to them."

The next words were a hiss. "You didn't make that debt, Guld did."

"They won't see it that way, will they?"

"Prolly not..."

"Then stop trying to protect me, Syrup, I'm not a kid anymore."

" 'Course ya are. Kheh, anyone who's younger than me is still a kid, and ya haven't evolved yet."

"...Syrup...Go home."

"Nope, a good friend is here 'n' I'm gonna show 'er what's changed."

She lost it, the handle on her tears, if only one slipped down each cheek. "I'm not a good friend...and nothing's changed."

" 'Course they have...you can cry now."

"...If you're not going home, get yourself a room and stay the night." She wiped the tears with the end of her scarf, and stepped into the room that wasn't hers, clicking the lock behind her. For once, she too was thankful for the thick walls of the place, even if they weren't quite as smell proof as they were sound proofed.

Of course, after hearing what Serena had to say, he simply said 'Goodnight' to her, but of course he had every intent to find out more, and do almost exactly what she thought he would do. He asked Lacu, to forgo the illusion for a while, and go find Marlow and ask him to in essence spy on Serena since he was concerned about her.

"If she ever finds out I did this, it will be worse than that first time," he said. Both Marlow and Lacu understood, and so Marlow made sure to mask his presence from Serena, and at the same time made himself invisible. He went to find Serena, and then overheard an exchange that quite frankly, surprised him.

Heji had just about fallen asleep, curled up into his usual ball, after having circled around his bed a few times, when the sound of claws on the floor, as well as the smell of tears filled his nose. He didn't know who had entered the room at first since he'd has his eyes closed, but then after a few seconds he knew immediately who it was. He didn't respond to her though, and decided that if she was going to stay with him that he would just let her, considering that she was, or had been crying.

Serena waited until the smell had dissipated for her to bother to move. The locking of the door could have told him that she was at least aiming to stay, but seeing that he was almost asleep, she was careful about her claws against the wood of the floor, and padded her way over to the bed where he was laying, easing herself up onto the bed to lay beside him, satisfied with that even if she had been aiming to offer herself to him. her forelimbs folded in front of her, she hadn't bothered to remove the scarf.

Marlow went back to Kyn after seeing that Serena was finally settling in for the night and reported what he'd heard.

Heji felt Serena near him, and like he mostly usually does, he put his paw over her, and went to sleep.

Serena might have smiled, it was a little hard to tell, but she let herself fall asleep. Come what may...well, it would be tomorrow at the very least.

"Hm, that is a bit troubling... but, I can't act any differently or she'll begin to suspect something. It's a bit of a catch twenty-two. Well, unless you decide to become my scapegoat and take the blame for overhearing, and don't mention me. But I couldn't ask you to do something like that."

"Relax... I will be able to. I can just say that her memories bled through to me due to her emotional state, and I'd be able to ask her 'accidentally'," he did air quotes with his arms like he had seen someone else do, "While you are nearby and able to hear. I am concerned about her to. But, she will handle this in the way she believes is necessary. I don't really understand all that honor stuff that she appears to have, but maybe you'll be able to have a sort of understanding."

"Well, we'll wait and see tomorrow. It's our day back, and when we sell all the stuff, I'll visit the bay, before we then head back from the bay to the portal. I'm just glad Serena's alive for now though. Goodnight Marlow..." Kyn said, with a wave, getting into the bed and pulling over the covers.

"Goodnight Kyn, see you tomorrow." Marlow floated to the room where Striker was sleeping, and situated himself in a corner nearby where he wouldn't be in the way if Striker decided to sleepwalk during the night.

The next morning, Kyn woke up via his internal synchronization being off, though it woke it up at a convenient time. Normally he didn't get this much sleep due to having to his alarm set for odd hours of the day. "Today... is my last set of days in this world then..." Kyn said to himself.

Marlow actually woke up by himself this time, and managed to wake up before Striker and the rest of the parry. His first move was to go back into the room where Kyn was staying to meet up with him.

Heji gave a big yawn, not exactly knowing whether or not his yawn would rouse Serena, and if it had, well, he'd had plenty of sleep, so she probably had plenty of sleep as well. "Serena, are you ready to go?" He asked, removing his paw from over her.

When her eyes finally opened for the next time, she checked her internal clock, about noon. Well...considering that she had laid down about five...7 hours of sleep? Hmmm. Serena had been well enough awake before, but the yawn made her open her eyes, as always, she answered honestly.

"No...not really, but we may as well..." She stretched as she sat up, wondering if the walk of shame felt any more embarrassing than what she predicted would happen later on. She slid off the bed, and stood there for a moment, fixing her scarf back up into that stupid bow. Pretenses...did not telling them what she had gotten into last time she was here count as a lie? She didn't know, but telling them would almost be as bad.

When the bow was tied, she flicked the lock back over and opened the door, only to find a wall of cream and purple fur. She rather quite slammed the door in Syrup's face, let her wait.

"Syrup...." The way she said it it might have been a expletive.