#astergothitelle

I stop approaching them. From what I’m seeing the group hasn’t noticed me yet, so perhaps I can simply turn back and pretend I was never here.

As I’m contemplating my next course of action, I notice Chimera approaching the group. My train of thought grinds to a halt as I watch the robed individual interrupt whatever conversation they were having, and after a few words with Bladesong she and him then walk away.

Now although this isn’t quite something I’d raise a metaphorical eyebrow at, what DID raise my suspicions is how quickly Delilah started ushering the Floral Triad to get close to her. She started talking in a more hushed tone, meaning that I can’t hear what she’s saying.

At this point my suspicions are running high, since the only reason she would talk about something in secret is when she’s either up to something, or that she did something that she doesn’t want others to know about.

It’s rather unremarkable that I haven’t been detected at this point, however if I wish to listen in...I’d have to get even closer. This however risks Delilah or any of the Floral Triad seeing me, which makes things complicated...

My gaze wanders to the furniture they’re standing next to...

Actually, there’s my solution.

Making sure that their gazes are looking anywhere but my direction, I quickly move from the crowd. Keeping my body low I practically dive towards the sofa, using it to block my body from view.

This isn’t my...most dignified moment, to say the least.

Thankfully most of them have their back turned to me, so that combined with the fact that I’m behind a large piece of furniture...I shouldn’t be detected.

Although their voices are hushed, my close proximity to them allows me to barely hear what Delilah is saying...

...and the more I listen, the more my mouth begins to scowl.

If I’m hearing things correctly, Delilah has been doing a lot of things she shouldn’t be doing. The biggest of all is going behind Chimera’s back to make these ‘visits’ even happen, because he’s one of the leading members of the GoT. It is forbidden to interact with a person or area when they’re restricted from lower-ranking members, and since Delilah has apparently been keeping up these visits for a while...

...she could get in incredibly serious trouble, especially if Chimera were to find out.

A combination of emotions stir in my chest. Frustration, anger, disappointment...

...worry...

If Delilah were to be found out, then there’s a strong possibility that she could be expelled from the guild. If that were to happen, where would she go? What would she do? The Guardians of Twilight are her only source of income, and she constantly spends it on trivial things the moment she gets her hands on her paycheck. If she were to be suddenly cut off, she wouldn’t even have anything to keep her afloat.

I grit my teeth, silently cursing her for her foolishness. Despite the fact that she brought this upon herself, I still can’t help but think of the consequences.

Breathing out a quiet frustrated breath I peer from my hiding spot, glaring at Delilah. She’s still talking to the Floral Triad, excitedly telling them about the games she played with the cyborg.

As my gaze tries to burn a hole into the back of her neck, I notice that one particular member of the Floral Triad isn’t paying attention to her story.

No, this member is Jubei. And the Gothitelle is looking straight at me. When our gazes meet, she raises an eyebrow.

I feel myself pause, my breath catching in my throat. How did she know? Did I somehow give myself away?!

She slightly nods her head upwards, as if gesturing for me to look up. So I did so, and within the peripheral of my vision I see...the tips of my wings.

...Oh...

I’ve forgotten that there’s a reason on why Scyther’s aren’t very stealthy, since we can’t fold the wings on our back. So even though my body is hidden behind the sofa, my wings are still poking out.

...Now I’M the real fool.

At this point it’s a miracle that Jubei is the only one that spotted me, since if any of the others were to just glance behind them...they’d see my wings sticking out, clear as day.

The Gothitelle suddenly clears her throat, making my eyes widen. Is she going to reveal my location to the others?

No, instead she tells them that it’s time for her and her team to leave.

So...she chose to not reveal my presence.

As their conversation is being wrapped up, I start to ponder the situation at hand - or sword, in my case. What should I do now? Should I approach Delilah on this subject? Or...should I ignore it?

No...I can’t ignore it. What she did was a very...very bad thing, something that could effectively cost her her livelihood.

This can’t be brushed aside, she needs to be confronted on the matter so that she realizes how grave of a mistake she made. I won’t tell Chimera or anyone on the matter, but Delilah needs to know.

And I will make sure she knows it.

As the Floral Triad takes their leave, I immediately stand up from my hiding place and approach the Salazzle with my scowl returning.

Delilah lets out a breath and chose the right time to turn towards my direction, and the look of sheer shock and surprise overtakes her face.

“R-Ren’Gul!” She stutters. “What brings you here?”

"Delilah.” I growl, my eyes narrowing. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

She takes a step back, her eyes nervously glancing at anything but me. “Explaining? A-About what?”

I’m going to cut straight to the point, so she doesn’t further make a fool of herself. “About your ‘secret visits’.” I say tensely.

Her eyes widen further, her voice growing quiet. “You heard that?”

“All of it.” I respond darkly.

Yeah, Delilah. You’re in deep trouble.

Thankfully, you’re dealing with me...

“Well...that does clear up Bladesong’s familiarity with you.” Kendra says, scratching the back of her neck before grinning, her eyes twinkling. “Not to mention on why you never introduced yourself to her~”

This makes me pause, my eyes widening. “Shit, you’re right.” I say breathlessly before quickly looking over to the direction where Chimera and Bladesong went. “It’s a good thing he wasn’t around when that happened.”

Venya crosses her arms, a pout on her face. “Regardless, it does explain why you’ve been vanishing so much.”

I smile sheepishly at the Mienshao. “Yeeeah... Sorry about that, Venya.”

She shrugs her shoulders, her face breaking into a smile. “Oh it’s fine, Delilah.” Venya chuckles. “If anything, I feel somewhat relieved to see that you weren’t avoiding me.”

Kendra eyes Venya oddly, more perhaps due to her rather ‘odd’ behavior. At the same time I don’t blame the Medicham hybrid, since she doesn’t often see Venya’s ‘nicer’ side since she pretty much only shows it towards me.

Jubei clears her throat, drawing our attention to her. “Although we will remain silent on this matter, this shouldn’t be something that should be kept for too long. If Chimera were to discover this, to say he won’t be happy will most likely be an understatement.”

I shrug my shoulders, nodding my head with a shaky smile. “Heh, no kidding. I have no intention of him finding out about this, like...at all.” I cross my arms behind my head. “And I doubt it’ll happen either, since the only people who know about this won’t tell him.” I pause, looking at them questioningly. “...Right?”

Kendra grins. “Of course not, we said we won’t. And we don’t go back on our word either!” She wraps an arm around Venya and pulls her in, smirking at her. “Right Venya~?”

The Mienshao glares at the Medicham who had just completely invaded her personal space. With a hiss she pushes the Medicham away, breaking herself free from her grip. “Quite.” She grumbles.

“Regardless...” Jubei cuts in, her brows furrowing. “We must go, since we have yet to begin our training. We have taken enough time off already.”

I wave her off before smiling. “Yup! I won’t keep you three here any longer! Go have fun, ya here?”

The Gothitelle nods her head before walking away. Kendra merely grins before grabbing Venya by the sleeve of her dress, dragging the Mienshao off with her.

I shake my head in amusement, well aware of the Medicham’s attempts at pushing ALL of Venya’s buttons. My friend had been very clear when she told me of her disdain towards Kendra, in fact almost every conversation with her at least includes around thirty seconds of ranting about said hybrid.

Not that I blame her, since I’d be very irritated if I were in the same situation too.

Heh, when I think about it...Ren’Gul and I technically ARE in the same situation. Except Ren’Gul is Venya and I’m Kendra.

Regardless, I’ve kinda been missing out on my game time. As much as I like hanging with people, I still have that new game of mine that I’m trying to enjoy.

Letting out a relaxed breath I turn and prepare to head down the path that’ll lead me to my room, but I freeze just before I take the first step...

...because now standing in front of me is no other than Ren’Gul.

And he doesn’t look happy either.

“R-Ren’Gul!” I stutter, putting on a nervous smile. “What brings you here?”

When did he get there?? How long was he even standing there without anyone noticing?!

The Scyther’s eyes narrow dangerously, his scowl intensifying. “Delilah.” He growls. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

I take a step back, my eyes darting from left to right. “Explaining? A-About what?”

“About your ‘secret visits’.” He says tensely.

I feel my heart drop. “You heard that?” I say quietly.

“All of it.” He growls.

Oh.

“Bounty hunters.” She corrects me. “But yeah, together we all took on that Bisharp hybrid.” Kendra chuckles, smirking. “Nine versus one, it was pretty awesome.”

I snort. “That sounds kinda overkill.”

“Hardly.” Venya sniffs. “That ruffian still proved to be rather difficult.” She catches herself before quickly adding, “For the others at least, I had no issue handling him.”

The Medicham hybrid rolls her eyes. “Yeah sure. Let’s be honest, you didn’t do that much to him that entire fight.”

And just like that the two started bickering again. Is it the seventh time now? Or is it the eighth? I’ve kinda lost track at this point.

Turning my eyes away from them, I look at Delilah and Jubei with a curious look. “So what happened when you took him down?”

“We detained him.” Jubei says in a matter-of-fact tone, her gaze looking at her fellow teammates with irritation. “Due to his situation as an artificial hybrid, it was the only proper course of action. He has suffered greatly at the hands of the HWDP, so his aggression was...also expected and not entirely his fault.”

“I...see...” I say slowly, nodding. “And where did you take him to?”

“I’ll answer that.” Delilah pitches in. “The GoT has its own ‘detainment place’, basically cells designed to hold the real mean guys. This ‘Rook’ fella got his very own cell.” She crosses her arms. “Not that he’s meant to be held here for all eternity, since we kinda want him to get...” She pauses, contemplating on what word to use. “...better?”

“One of the goals of the Guardians of Twilight is to reintroduce the artificial hybrids back into society, so that they won’t feel like outcasts.” Jubei further elaborates. “Rook however is a more special case due to him being very aggressive, so he needs to be kept in a more secluded area so that he can be watched, until he’s deemed ‘safe’ to be specific.”

Yeah, I can understand that. Hearing about the fact that he’s been attacking people on sight, it’s probably for the best to keep him imprisoned until he starts behaving himself.

“Sounds pretty fair.” I say. “If anything you guys are pretty forgiving, seeing how most other places would probably just lock him away and just be done with it.” I frown. “Or even kill him.”

“Killing is a last resort.” Jubei says resolutely, her expression becoming one of distaste. “Although we are heavily armed and are prepared to take down foes through lethal means, we prefer to not end conflict in such a ‘permanent’ fashion unless we are left no other choice.”

“Ferals though don’t really get that treatment.” Kendra speaks up, seemingly finished bickering with the Mienshao. “Sadly for those guys we have to put them down, since you can’t reason with Ferals.”

“I mean, they’re animals.” Delilah shrugs. “All Feral Pokemon think about is eat, sleep, fuck, and survive.”

“That...is a rather vulgar way of wording it.” Venya says in a disgruntled tone, also having finished her temporary spat with Kendra.

“She’s not wrong though.” The Medicham hybrid points out. “They don’t think, or at least on a level like us. If they get pissed off by something, the only way to deal with them is to either get away or kill them. Most cases though it tends to be the latter, since a good deal of hyper-aggressive Ferals are often the bigger kind.” She crosses her own arms. “Like Dragon-types.”

“I assume that taking down Feral Pokemon is a very common occurrence?” I ask, however it’s more along the lines of pointing out the fact than actually asking a legit question.

“That’s an understatement.” Delilah chuckles. “Most jobs involves taking care of troublesome Ferals, although those kind tend to be assigned to rookies due to their simplicity.”

“Yeah, and the bigger problems are left to the more experienced teams.” Kendra grins, pointing a thumb at herself. “The Floral Triad? We deal with the tougher stuff.”

“Like fighting a Hybrid with overwhelming odds on your side?” I snort.

The Medicham shrugs. “What can I say? It was an opportunity, so we took it.”

Through the corner of my eyes I see someone approaching, so when I turn my gaze slightly to get a better view of them I realize that it’s Chimera.

The others notice him too, their heads turning to see the concealed figure approaching them. His hood is fixated on me though, not them.

“Bladesong.” He says in a quiet yet urgent tone. “I need you to come with me. There is something very important that I need to tell you.”

I blink. “Uh, sure?”

The way his voice sounds, I don’t like it.

“You can’t avoid her forever, Valence.” Rodrigo speaks up, his single eye looking down at me. “You can’t use me as a shield forever either.”

I cross my arms over my chest and grit my teeth. “Just watch me.” I growl.

His eyebrows furrow. “I’m being serious, Valence. You two will need to work things out, since this sort of tension can’t stay here.” He shakes his head. “You WILL need to talk to her.”

“Like hell I will.” I respond back sharply. “I’ve had to deal with her enough, the last thing I need is to get into another lecture or scolding.” I look up at the Chesnaught, glaring at him. “Do you honestly think she’ll even listen to me? That she’ll give me a chance to properly explain myself?”

“Well-” He starts but stops himself, a contemplative look replacing his expression.

“Yeah...that’s what I thought.” I mutter, averting my gaze from him. “She’ll never give me a chance, and even if she did...it won’t last. She’ll always treat me like some kid, even though I’m anything but.” That and she’ll always be a complete psychopath, however I didn’t say that particular sentence out loud.

An uncomfortable silence falls over us as we walk, but for me...I feel my mood growing worse. Several nasty thoughts pass through my mind, consisting of hurtful words and sentences I would like to shout at Artemisia. But of course I’d never say them to her, out of fear of what she might do.

Thankfully...the thought-process is quickly shattered by Rinako speaking up.

“I’ve found something.” The Medicham hybrid says, walking over to one of the trees. On its bark lays a scorched slash mark, the wood around it blackened from what may have been intense heat. She feels its surface with her fingers, her expression thoughtful. “Although I haven’t  seen the hybrid with my own two eyes...” She turns her gaze to the rest of us. “...I believe this may be his work.”

Richmond snaps his book closed and tucks it under his arm, adjusting his glasses on his face he approaches the tree. He eyes it for a few moments before nodding. “This was certainly left by the hybrid.” He agrees.

Rinako looks back at the mark, her eyes narrowing. “It looks fresh, so the hybrid must be near.”

“Hey, I found more!” Another voice speaks up, and our eyes turn to the other Medicham hybrid that joined our group. The one dubbed ‘Dahlia’ is currently standing a good ways away, however near her are numerous trees showing the same marks. “It appears that ugly seems to have some anger issues.”

The Gothitelle named ‘Aster’ approaches Dahlia and examines the these markings. “These marks appear to contain no precision or thought, so my companion’s assumptions that these were delivered in a fit of anger may be correct.”

Dahlia rolls her eyes. “Come on, girl. I know my stuff.”

The Gothitelle turns to her, her eyes narrowing just a tad. “Most cases...you do.”

This makes Dahlia take a step back, her expression growing sheepish. The Gothitelle holds her gaze on the Medicham before walking away. The Mienshao called ‘Carnation’ that’s with them shakes her head, giving Dahlia a look that pretty much says ‘really?’.

I eye them with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. What the hell was that about?

“There is a disturbance...” Vedika mutters, but just loud enough for us to hear. Her blue eyes slowly lift up, her lips twitching. “An annoying...disturbance.”

All of us look at the Gothitelle/Jynx hybrid, several of us with expressions of wariness. I’m definitely in the whole ‘put-off’ category, since Vedika...definitely has several screws loose.

“What is it, Vedika?” Rodrigo asks, the Chesnaught looking at her with rapt attention.

She doesn’t respond however, instead her eyes turning from left to right.

“Wait...disturbance...” Rinako mutters, but her eyes slowly widen. “Hold on, I hear something! Quiet everyone!”

In utter silence we all listen with rapt attention, trying to pick something out. After a few moments of straining my ears I pick it up.

“...Shouting...” I say aloud, my voice quiet. My ears swivel towards the direction and I turn towards it, my eyes narrowing. “I hear shouting...”

The more I listen the more clear it becomes, whoever’s shouting sounds...angry. They sound very angry, and...they sound...

...familiar...

My eyes widen.

“It’s the hybrid!” I immediately say. “And it seems like they’re with someone, and it doesn’t sound good.”

“Then we must hurry!” Rodrigo says resolutely. “From what you’ve all described about this hybrid, if he is within the company of others then they are likely in danger!”

My claws slide out of the slits in my arms, my teeth bared. “Then what are we waiting for?! Let’s go!”

[PoV: Charlie]

I have to say, the anger on the fella’s face is kinda putting me off. I shuffle my feet, my smile becoming sheepish. “So...uh...” I start, chuckling nervously. “...do ya think ya’ll will let me int’a ya group?”

The Bisharp’s eyes narrow dangerously. “...Excuse me?!” He hisses.

I lean my head back slightly, tugging at the collar of my shirt. “Ya know...ya actin’ group?” I grin again, but seeing the confusion and frustration building on his face makes it waver. “Like...tha’ reason why ya are in this here forest?”

The Pokemon’s talons dig into the earth, creating deep grooves. “You think...I am an actor?” He growls.

I nod my head uncertainly. “...Yeah?”

“I AM NOT AN ACTOR!” He roars loudly, making me take a step back.

“Ya...aren’t?” I say nervously. “But what about earlier? Were ya actually tryin’ ta’-” I stop, noticing that the Pokemon’s mouth is widening. Inside his maw is a bright blue glow, and it gets brighter and brighter by the second.

“What are ya-” I start to ask only for him to unleash a powerful beam of raw blue energy. My eyes widen, my body standing frozen in fear as it approaches me at high speed.

And just before it hit...something tackles me out of the way.

I land on the ground roughly, the air being knocked right out of my lungs. Coughing violently I turn my head to look at who was it that saved my rear end, and to my surprise it’s an odd-looking Zangoose.

“Thank...Arceus...I got here in time.” He wheezes, his face sweating.

The loud sounds of footsteps hit my ears and I whip my head around, only to see eight more Pokemon arrive to the place.

Are they actors too?

No, the other fella said that he’s not an actor.

So...then this must be the real deal...?

“So you all followed me.” The hybrid growls, glaring at the group with open malice. “And you brought even more numbers with you.”

“This ends here.” The pure-bred Gothitelle says calmly, approaching the Bisharp with a closed umbrella in her hands. “This is your last chance. If you do not come along calmly, then you will leave us no choice but to use force to bring you in.”

The Bisharp clenches his fists, the...real blades on his arms glowing a bright blue. “Calmly?” He repeats, venom dripping from his voice. “You wish for me...to come with you...calmly?!”

The Gothitelle’s brows furrow, her grip tightening on her weapon. Behind her the numerous Pokemon also ready themselves, either drawing their weapons, channeling whatever power they have, or simply bringing up their fists.

“No...” The Bisharp says, shaking his head. “No...I’ve come too far for this to end.” He raises one of his arms, pointing the humming blades at the group. “I need to grow stronger, to end the ones who have destroyed my life.” The gaze from his eyes intensify, his lips twisting into a malicious grin. “And I will not let ANYONE stop me.”

He lets out a loud, primal roar. “I WILL TAKE YOU ALL ON!”

With that, he charges straight at the group.

“Hey buddy...” The Zangoose whispers to me. “I recommend staying on the sides, because things are about to get really ugly.” With that he leaps into the fray to aid his comrades, not waiting for my response.

Even with him already out of ear-shot, I still feel myself nodding numbly. “S-Sure thing...”

With adrenaline pumping through my veins I feel my mind enter a bloodthirsty haze, my movements growing swifter and stronger.

My blue blades hum with plasma, their edges causing the air around them to shimmer and boil. I care less if my opponent’s flesh burns off their body if I strike them with these superheated weapons of mine, my only desire is to win at any cost.

The battle begins with the Zangoose, the axe-wielding Bisharp and the Medicham/Bisharp hybrid entering the fray. The purple-haired barbarian swings her mighty weapon at my front while the two flank both my sides, I respond by bringing my plasma-infused claws to deflect the blade before grabbing its handle.

Using my enhanced strength I manage to tear the weapon out of her grip and throw it at the Zangoose, forcing him to cease approaching me and dive back in order to avoid it. I then turn to the Medicham hybrid and dodge one of her incoming strikes before lashing out with a clawed hand, which she nimbly dodges. She then follows up with a swift kick to my stomach that sends me stumbling back, which then is joined by the other Bisharp hybrid slamming into me with her shoulder that sends me right on my back.

The fight has barely started and already it’s not looking good...

The Delphox unleashes a spray of fire from his hand while the Gothitelle/Jynx hybrid fires a laser of bubbling black energy, without missing a beat I roll to the side to avoid both of the attacks before kicking up with my legs, using the momentum to launch myself off the ground and land back on my feet.

Turning my gaze to the two nearby Bisharp hybrids I draw my power from within my body and unleash it from my maw in the form of an intense laser, however the Chesnaught leaps between the attack and them and brings up his arms. The attack strikes true, yet the Chesnaught’s armor manages to withhold the intense beam, when I cease the attack the only thing I get is a black scorch mark on his armor.

Three forms leap over him and dash towards me, revealing to be the three Pokemon garbed in dark blues. The Gothitelle opens up her umbrella and the spring-loaded blades shoot out on its side, with a stone-like expression she swings the light weapon at me all the while twirling it, making the parasol become something akin to a buzzsaw. I bring up my blades to block the attack and sparks begin flying as the blades repeatedly strike it, forcing me to backpedal.

From the side the other Medicham hybrid dashes at me, the blades of her Fuuma Shuriken separated and spinning with her fingers inside the ring. With a smirk she starts slashing at me from various angles, in which I have to respond by blocking her attacks as well.

With my attention focused on the first two, the Mienshao then enters the fray. With her bladed fans she leaps over the Gothitelle, still mid-leap she spins her body with her arms outstretched as she flies over me. With my arms completely focused on dealing with her other two companions I couldn’t block her attack, yet thankfully the blades met with my shoulder-plates...causing sparks to bounce off as it leaves a deep scratch into the red metal.

I let out a roar of anger and unleash another beam from my mouth, intending to force the Gothitelle and Medicham to back off. In response they do just that, however the Gothitelle brings up her umbrella and uses the fabric to absorb the attack like that of a shield. To my great surprise my attack only leaves a scorch mark on it, any other umbrella would’ve been burned completely through.

What...is it made of?!

Another beam of black energy streaks towards me, in which I snap out of my stupor and sidestep it. I turn my angry gaze to the Gothijynx, who’s looking at me with a sadistic smile.

Yet this ends up being a grave mistake on my part, for during that brief second the Chesnaught slams into me with the force of a freight train. I feel my body launched through the air like a ragdoll and slam into one of the numerous trees, the bark shattering from the impact as I land on the ground roughly.

I...most definitely felt that.

As I quickly get back up a loud battlecry makes my gaze flick towards the source, in which I see the purple-haired Bisharp charging me with her retrieved axe. Her pink eyes burn with open fury, her expression showing her eagerness to spill my blood.

She strikes down again with her axe, in which I bring both of my blades up to block. This attack contains far more force compared to the last one, nearly catching me off guard as I tense my arms to keep the blade from getting close to me. The two of us press our weapons together, the metal of the axe slowly turning red as my superheated blades continue to stay in contact with it.

“I will make you suffer.” She hisses through gritted teeth, saliva dripping from the corners of her mouth. “You hurt my Vency, so you will pay.”

My eyes narrow slightly as the fire of my own anger intensifies. I don’t respond to her with words, instead I let out a draconic-like growl from my throat.

Pressing my legs into the ground to give myself leverage I shove my arms up, my strength overpowering her and sending her stumbling back. With her temporarily open I slash forward with my claws, intending to slice open her stomach.

However instead my claws merely slide across her armor without puncturing through, but it didn’t mean that there was no consequences for her. My blades leave thin, red-hot streaks on her armor that immediately start burning her. She lets out a howl of pain, the smell of cooked flesh filling my nostrils.

She grabs her armor and undoes the clasps before tearing it off her body, fully exposing herself. Her stomach shows two red lines across her skin, the thin yet long burns already forming blisters. Even with her armor off her she doesn’t back off, instead her anger increases tenfold.

“I WILL TEAR YOU APART!” She shrieks before swinging wildly with her axe, forcing me on the defensive.

Without her armor around her body all I need is to deliver one blow to kill her, yet with how she keeps swinging at me with reckless abandon I can’t seem to find a proper opening.

To the sides I see the Zangoose running around, as if trying to flank me from behind. However with how hard-pressed I am because of the Bisharp, I can’t do anything about it.

I block another swing from her axe, my teeth gritting so hard that my jaw starts to ache. I need to act, before the other warriors come to take advantage of my occupied self.

As I deflect another attack I open my mouth, utilizing the reserves inside my form I fire a third beam of energy. Thankfully this actually gets her to back away as she dodges, slightly singeing her hair.

I heard a shout behind me as I feel something land on my back, this soon follows with a pair of claws penetrating the thin gap between my shoulder plates and neck and dig into the flesh of my shoulders.

Even though my skin is very thick and tough, the blades manage to sink deep enough to draw blood. I roar loudly and reach behind me and grab the Zangoose by the hair, and with a hard pull I tear him off my back and slam him into the ground.

With his hair still in hand I lift him back up, the Zangoose’s face contorted in pure agony as I raise him up to my face. I turn my gaze from him to the other members, who cease their charging and look at the scene before them with intense apprehensiveness.

It occurs to me that I essentially have the Zangoose at my complete mercy now, thus giving me an advantage.

The Chesnaught starts talking to me, but I ignore his words as I let my gaze focus on the struggling Zangoose. His struggles however cease immediately when I point the glowing blades of my other hand at him, making the pupils of his eyes turn to pinpricks as sheer terror overtakes his face.

I grin.

I have no intention of playing out the ‘hostage scenario’, my goal is to win a battle through strength and power. To use him as a bartering chip goes against this, since I would be winning through treachery instead of power.

No... I need to kill him in order to cement my superiority.

Before I could plunge my blade into his neck, I feel something strike the back of my head...hard.

Even though my head is encased in the ‘natural’ helmet, the force was enough to disorient me.

The Zangoose reacts as quickly as he could, using this to his advantage. He wraps his hands around my arm and tears his hair out of my grip, he grunts in pain as several of the orange strands are torn from his scalp as he yanks himself free. He leaps off my form and rolls away, his head starting to bleed.

Who...struck me?!

I whip my form around, my eyes still trying to focus. Standing with his hoe in hand is the Magmar, the tool shakes in his hands as he looks at me with fear.

YOU!

Sheer fury overtakes me as my vision turns red, the desire to gut this fucker becoming overwhelming. With a howl I leap at him, my blades aimed straight for his chest.

However the purple-haired Bisharp slams into me, sending us both to the ground..

The two of us roll across the earth, wrestling for control. She presses her body against mine and delivers a powerful punch with her free hand, landing right on my unarmored snout. I feel the bone crack as it hits square on, causing a sharp pain to spike on my face.

We stop our rolling with her ending on top of me, and with an angry snarl she stares down at me with fury that rivals even mine. She doesn’t speak, instead she throws another punch at my now broken snout.

I bring up one of my claws and grab her fist, my burning blades on my arm just inches away from touching her. She takes her axe in her other hand and swings down at me, in which I quickly catch it by the handle.

The two of us struggle in a power play, her fist and axe pushing down as I tense my arms and push up. Both of us have strained expressions, our teeth bared as we glare at each other with great intensity.

“I...will...win...” I hiss at her. “I will...grow...stronger...”

Ever so slowly I start to push her hands up, steadily overpowering her. My snarl slowly shifts into a grin.

But said grin quickly vanishes when I see the Chesnaught suddenly get in my vision, and with one of his massive fists he strikes me right on the forehead...

“Happy Giving Day Ren’Gul! This is from me to you!”

“You...got me a gift?”

“Of course! Sure we’re still getting used to each other, but I thought that since we’re going to be working with each other for a long time...perhaps I should give you something! Because...why not?”

“I’m not sure if I should accept this, I don’t have a gift for you in exchange...”

“Oh come on, just take it already. I much prefer giving out gifts than receiving them anyways!”

“If you insist...”

...

“Is this a...?”

“Yep! It’s one of those audiobooks that you listen to! I know that you’re a big fan of this series and after looking through your collection-”

“Wait, you broke into my room?!”

“-Not that it matters, but yeah! I saw that you were missing this one so I went out and got it for you!”

“...”

“You alright Ren’Gul?”

“Delilah...”

“Yessssss?”

“Never break into my room again.”

“...Oh.”

“But besides that, thank you. I greatly appreciate your gift.”

“Yes! Woo!”

“...”

“If you wish for me to leave, I will do as you wish Asmund. However since this land celebrates this ‘Day of Giving’, I thought to give you a gift as a way to participate in it. You do not have to accept it, but I thought that perhaps-”

“Why...do...you...keep...insisting...”

“...Excuse me?”

“Have I not made it clear that I care nothing about you, Minato? Your attempts at ‘befriending’ me will continue to go nowhere, I couldn’t give a flat fuck for anyone...and that...includes...you.”

“I s-see, in that case...I will just leave this here...”

“...”

"My greatest apologies, I won’t bother you again.”

...

...

“That freak finally got the message, it was only going to get to the point where I would have to beat it into him...”

...

“Of course he left the box here... He expects me to open it, hell...fucking...no.”

...

“God damnit... Fuck it, fine. I’ll check his fucking gift.”

...

“What the fuck is inside here? Is that a-” 

...

“...God...fucking...damnit. Why won’t he just leave me be like I fucking want?!”

...

“...Fuck...”

“Oh Vency~”

“AHHHHH!"

“Oh come now, no need to scream like that! It’s only lil’ ol’ me!”

“THAT’S THE ENTIRE POINT! GET AWAY FROM ME ARTEMISIA!”

“Aww, careful Vency, you might hurt my feelings. It would be a very rude and ungrateful thing to do, especially since I have a gift for you.”

“...A gift?”

“Mmhmm~”

“...And it’s not...a trap is it? To get me close to you so you can imprison me again?”

“My hugs aren’t meant to ‘imprison’ you, Vency. But yes, it’s not a...trap.”

“...”

“Sigh Please come here, Valence. Just this once I promise I will not touch a single hair on your head.”

“Okay then... But you better keep your word!”

“Yes I promise, now come here! Open it!”

...

...

“Is this all...candy?”

“Mmhmm! And not just any kind, but candy canes shipped directly from that one store that you love so much. I made sure to give you a large amount so that you won’t run out anytime soon~”

“I...”

“Hmm? Valence, is something wrong?”

“Okay, now I feel bad.”

“Oh? That’s perfectly fi- OH!”

“Okay, first of all...this is the ONLY time I will hug you with no problem. Just don’t start thinking that I will be doing this again in the future!”

“Alright Vency~”

“HEY HEY HEY! DIDN’T YOU JUST PROMISE NOT TO TOUCH ME?!”

“Oh come now, I’ve promised not to touch a single hair on your HEAD. Not to mention that I’ve already given you my gift, so I see no reason as to why I shouldn’t hug you~”

“LET GO OF ME! HELP! I CAN’T BREATH!”

“Hush, stop being dwamatic my widdle Vency~”

“Greetings, your majesty.”

“Hmm? Oh! Teti, come now. You know that there’s no need to be so formal when we’re not in the public’s eye, you’re a very good friend of mine after all.”

“Hee, force of habit Nefi. It’s ingrained into me to show respect to the Queen of Venhara after all~”

“Yes yes, but we’re in private. Nevertheless, what brought you here? Is it something important?”

“Why yes, yes it is important~”

“...And what is it? There’s no need to be so vague, Teti.”

“But I enjoy riling up your interest, Nefi~”

“Do NOT think I will not command you to tell me, but for the goddess’ sake don’t force me too because I’m currently not in the mood to give out orders.”

“HA! Fine fine, Nefi. I’ll tell you.”

...

“What...did you just pull out from behind you?”

“Firstly before I tell you, let me explain the reason why I have it. I thought that I’d partake in a holiday that’s celebrated in Separatia. It’s called the Day of Giving, so to have fun with the festivities I have a gift to give to you~”

“Oh my- Wait, is that...one of those portable electronic devices? The one where you play games on?”

“Why yes it is~ A particular Lopunny gave it to me, but since I don’t find any interest 'gaming’ AND that you’ve been wanting one for a while...I thought that I’d give it to you.”

...

“AHHH! THANK YOU SO MUCH TETI I LOVE IT!”

“Grk Careful Nefi, if you squeeze any harder we might accidentally impale each other with our chest spikes.”

“Yes yes, sorry. But YES! I’ve been wanting one of these for a while but could never manage to getting one for myself. Teti, I could kiss you right now.”

“Oh my, imagine the scandal if someone were to hear this right~”

“Quiet. Now...I must see how I turn this thing on...”

“It’s actually quite adorable seeing you like this. First you were the Queen of Venhara, now you’re an energetic pup~”

“Ohh, that’s how you turn it on! And look at the screens, look how they light up! Is this how I start a game?”

“I’m not too sure, Nefi. But I’ll leave you be to figure it out, I’ll take over whatever remaining duties you have so you can have all the personal time you need.”

“Yes! Christmas sweaters! Thanks Jubei”

“Oh my, it even goes well with my luscious coat~”

“I’m glad that you both are enjoying your gift, I’ve decided to go with sweaters since they both go well with your coats...and that it would be nice to have something warm to wear during the winter.”

“Yeah, and even though I’ve got Fire-type genes it can get rather chilly. So yeah, thanks a ton Jubei!”

“Indeed, as much as my black coat is beautiful...it doesn’t do too well when it comes to fending off the chilling air. So I greatly appreciate your gift as well.”

“Hey Venya~”

“Groan What, Kendra?”

“Mine looks much better than yours.”

“Did you just-”

“Can you two NOT do this?”

“Ooooh, I wish to geeve my geeft next~ Tis one to Chevalier~”

“M-Me?”

“Why of course! Eet ees te Day of Geeving after all! Right, Alicia?”

“Indeed! Everyone receives a gift, and zat includes you, Chevalier.”

“Yes, and I steell love the rum you have geeven me. I never would ‘ave tought of te shy Chevalier to geeve me such potent speereets~”

“W-Well, I know t-that you love it...s-so...”

...

“Yessssss?”

“Komm jetzt, Elisabeth. He is obviously nervous, so give him your gift.”

“Very well! Now Chevalier, my geeft to you...is tat I shall take away your virgeeneety~”

...

“W-W-W-What??”

“Oui, monsieur~ Just you and me, een the bedroom, weeth soft lighting and te rum for us to share~”

“I-I-I-I-I-”

“Hör jetzt auf, Elisabeth! You are terrivying him! Cease with your teasing and give him your actual gift!”

“Fine fine, I weell stop playing. Cheval- Huh? Where deed he go?”

...

“Elisabeth...?”

“Yes, Alicia?”

“Zat was too var.”

You have witnessed numerous events that have transpired on the Day of Giving, whether in the past...present...or future.

“You know someone who might know about these rumors?” I ask her with a bit of surprise.

She nods with me. “Yeah, if you’re looking for rumors and stories then I recommend heading to the Sweetened Nectar.” The Fire-type gestures down the road with a hand. “It’s a bar run by a Lopunny named Nixon, if there’s something going on...he’ll know about it.”

I bow my head in thanks. “Thank you, this helps me immensely.” I flash her an appreciative grin. “Now even though I’d love to chat more, I gotta go since I’m a man on a mission. Don’t be a stranger, alright?”

She chuckles in response. “It’s no problem at all, go do whatever it is you need to do.” She waves me off. “And I'll say the same to you, take care~”

I give her a wave of my tail before quickly bounding off towards the direction of this ‘Sweetened Nectar’.

Come to think of it, bars are actually a nice play to find out about rumors and gossip. So if anyone were to know something that’s brewing, then the one running it should know it all.

Heh, I’ll keep this in mind for future reference.

[PoV: Jubei]

“So, what are we doing?” Kendra asks, crossing her arms.

After having got off the call with Jezebel to discuss this, I close my eyes and sigh. “As for now, we need to remain here for at least a few more days as she figures out our next move.” I glance over to the window of our hotel room. “Even though the attacks have stopped, we still need to be on guard just in case he returns. However it’s also dangerous to chase after him, due to the possibility of a trap.” I have a good reason as to why she decided this, since Ashen Blade were left in terrible shape due to pursuing that one Scizor.

“So we need to stay cooped up in this stuffy room?” Venya moans, currently laying on the coach with her limbs hanging off.

The Medicham leans back in her chair, folding her arms behind her head. “I gotta agree with Venya there, surprisingly enough.” She chuckles. “I don’t like staying around doing nothing, and patrols aren’t really cutting it either.” Her eyes join mine at the window. “Honestly? I think we should meet up with those bounty hunters, maybe ask them some questions.”

I blink at this. “Meet up? What made you come up with this?”

She looks back at me lazily. “I dunno, get to know them better?” She shrugs her shoulders. “Honestly, I think we’ll be able to take this guy down much faster if we team up with them. Sure they’re bounty hunters, but we all share a common goal.” She looks up to the ceiling. “I mean sure they want to claim this bounty, but we don’t. So I’m sure we can easily work something out if we let them get the money.”

I rub my chin thoughtfully. “That is...a possibility...” I say slowly, entertaining the thought. “Numbers are always helpful, not to mention since they’re an outside force that means that Jezebel doesn’t have to send in more members to assist us.”

“So we’re going to work with...outsiders?” Venya asks uncertainly, raising her head to look at us with a doubtful gaze. “Please, when was the last time we heard of the GoT working with non-members?” She flops her head back down onto the cushions. “Nothing! The Guardians of Twilight has yet to work with non-members!”

Kendra rolls her eyes. “There’s a first time for everything, girl.” She pauses. “...Actually, we have. Remember Venhara? Kagetochi? Those are two lands that works with the GoT.” Her grins widens. “Sure we have an alliance with them, but still.”

Venya huffs at this. “Nevertheless, I doubt that we’ll get the go ahead to work with a bunch of ruffians.”

The more I think about this, the more appealing it is. “I will start another call with Jezebel.” I tell him, standing up from my chair. “This is certainly something that I need to discuss with her, since it would benefit us greatly if we can work out a sort of alliance with these bounty hunters.”

The Medicham gives me a thumbs up, sporting a grin. “I doubt Jezebel will say no, since an advantage is always appealing to her.” She glances over at Venya. “Even if they are ‘ruffians’.” The Mienshao lets out another huff at this.