Pokemon Umbral Intermission: The Ensnaring Conspiracies

[Bard The 5th LW]

Charlotte

After her meeting with Irene, Charlotte was all too ready to get out of her funeral clothes. It was a somewhat short notice meeting, so she was still in the damn black dress. Jeremy was off wandering around the agency, probably making sure everything was in order for his transfer. She was his ride home, but he probably wouldn't notice if she took the moment to drive home and change into more casual attire.

With a goal in mind, she strode outside to the parking lot, searching for her car.

[Dracorion]

Day of the funeral

Liz gave a tired sigh as she stepped into the parking lot. Well, at least now she was acquainted with HQ. She briefly wondered how Pierce was doing at Shevetson's funeral, as she looked around for her car.

Then, another person stepped into the parking lot. Interesting... It was the current leader of the Watchmen, Charlotte Beaufort. The stories she had heard about her had been interesting, to say the least. She wanted to see for herself, and find out if Charlotte had any buttons could be pushed.

"Hello!" She greeted amicably, playful smile ever on her lips. "You're Charlotte, right? I'm Elizabeth. Just joined the Watchmen." She extended her hand.

-------------------------

One month later

As she walked through HQ's hallways, Elizabeth had the fortune of running across someone she hadn't talked to yet. Matthias Sona, AKA Oberon, was currently walking in the opposite direction from her.

She hadn't really heard anything about him. The Venomoth Pokebrid was a complete mystery. Which made him look boring on the surface. But she knew, sometimes those kinds of people turned out to be the most fun deep down.

"Hello." She greeted him. "You must be the enigmatic Matthias. I'm Elizabeth."

[DanteFalcon]

Work was doldrum as usual. He avoided most people, did what was necessary, and was just heading to hand over some paperwork when...

"Hello." She greeted him. "You must be the enigmatic Matthias. I'm Elizabeth."

Matt raised an eyebrow. Someone was talking to him. This was a bit....new. And unexpected. He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement before responding.

"Pleasure is mine Elizabeth. I'm not really sure if enigmatic is the correct term. Introverted seems more appropriate. Can I help you with something or are you just tracking down people you haven't met before?

He had stopped walking, watching her reaction. A break in the daily routine couldn't hurt anything. Probably.

[Astral Harmony]

Pierce & Irene...the following morning

Irene sat up in bed and stretched. "Man, I always forget how therapeutic sex can be. I think it's because doctors never prescribe it for anything at all. Of course, I can't imagine patients taking them seriously if they did."

She reached over and found her purse, fishing her scouter out from inside. A quick glance was all she needed to know what time it was. "We should probably get back in a few hours...separately, of course. Otherwise, someone'll catch on to what we did four times last night and twice this morning."

Then she had a little fun playing with Pierce's hair. "Pierce? Thanks. What you did for me really helped me out. I needed this more than anything. It helped me clear my head, get my priorities straight, and I think I'm able to see things a lot more clearly now. Plus, you helped me get over this 'got my ass kicked by Sexy' funk I've been feeling as of late. I owe you a great deal."

-----
Pierce & Mio...might be getting somewhere?

"I...will try some of it," Mio said, then excused herself and stood up.

It was hard to look at her. Ruin Pokemon were pretty hideous, and Mio's body was warped in places to incorporate the features she gained from being processed with their DNA.

-----
Riolu & Catherine...things that make you go "awwww"

Frisbee didn't last long. Catherine couldn't take Riolu's cuteness and the two were then rolling in the grass together.

But that time unfortunately didn't last long, either. "Who are you, exactly?" Catherine demanded to know.
"My name is Calisto," the woman said. "I would like to play with that Riolu as well."
"Oh really now?" Catherine asked her new rival.
"Yes, really now," Calisto said.
"I'm afraid Riolu is preoccupied at the moment," Catherine said, cracking her knuckles and neck. "Perhaps you could get to play with him next week?"
Calisto loaded a fresh clip into her sniper rifle and chambered the first round. "I will play with him now."

Riolu could only watch in terror as the two women literally collided in mid-air, Catherine trying to punch Calisto in the face while Calisto's rifle shots went wide. They fell together, rolled on the ground, and came up.
"My rifle holds five rounds," Calisto said. "I know what you're thinking. 'Did she fire five shots or only four?' Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is the most powerful sniper rifle in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"

Sometimes, cuteness could be a curse when women were willing to kill each other over you.

-----
Renny & Lola...whereas Lola wants to be the very best that no one ever was

Lola thought back to what Harliette had said.

I got Renny into this. I shall accept responsibility for my mistakes.

"Sure, Renny, I'd love to take care of your Pokemon and learn how to use them. I think we still have some time before the next mission. I hear we're commensing an operation during a bikini photoshoot at Cardinal Beach. I hope you don't mind, but I actually kind of signed up myself. Peer pressure, y'know? Pretty much every girl has."

To Renny surprise, Lola raised her right hand and clenched it into a fist. "Even Chizuru. I won't lose to her!"

-----
Renny Vs Kurika...and Renny draws first blood

Kurika assumed her stance, left fist close, right fist farther out, left leg slightly bent, right leg bent nearly ninety degrees. Renny's deception caught Kurika offguard as she swung with a vicious left backfist punch. Renny was able to get underneath the attack and where he needed to be, inside Kurika's range.

Which is where he encountered his first, and hopefully only problem. Kurika was stacked, and we're not talking about breasts here. Punching her was very much like trying to punch a mountain. He had to back away before his head was taken clean off by a combination knee from below and elbow from above which probably could've shattered his lower jaw and sent the fragments stabbing into his brain.

"Knock it off, Kurika," Irene admonished the girl. "You're trying to help Renny get used to fighting the enemy directly, not forcing me to go apologize to Lola because her boyfriend got compacted."
"I am sorry, Irene and Renny," Kurika said. "Most of my attacks are being fueled entirely by my indominable spirit at this point."
"That was kind of the idea," Irene told her gently. "If you were at full power, Renny would be learning things about his body in ways he's not supposed to outside of viewing an anatomical dummy."

[Dracorion]

Pierce and Irene

When Pierce awoke, he was quite comfortable in the position he was in, with Irene's warm buttocks nestling in his groin.

Unfortunately, that didn't last as long as he would've liked. Irene sat up and checked the time, which prompted him to reach for his scouter on his bedside table and do the same.

Pierce looked up at her as Irene started playing with his hair. "Pierce? Thanks. What you did for me really helped me out. I needed this more than anything. It helped me clear my head, get my priorities straight, and I think I'm able to see things a lot more clearly now. Plus, you helped me get over this 'got my ass kicked by Sexy' funk I've been feeling as of late. I owe you a great deal."

"You're quite welcome." He said smiling playfully as he sat up and put his arms around her, kissing her neck. After what she just said... well, he knew what he wanted to do. "Actually... I'm just going to put this out there: we should go out together again sometime."

-------------------------

Pierce and his Pokemon

Mio walking off gave Pierce a good look at her form changed by Ruin Pokemon DNA, and he gave her a sad look. She was far too young to have to go through all that.

----

"Hey Granger!"
Pierce was looking forward to relaxing at home after a long day, only to get harrassed by his landlord as soon as he reached his apartment building. "What?"
"Been getting complaints about your Pokemon again. Loud noises, and Mrs. Clearwater says her ceiling's dripping."
"Sorry about that. I'll put a stop to it right now."
"Y'damn well better."

As he stepped out of the elevator Pierce could definitely hear a ruckus coming out of his apartment. Unfortunately, he couldn't have imagined how bad things would be when he stepped in. "What the hell?"

It was like a hurricane had swept through. The couch had been split in half, with the overturned bookcase resting on top of it. The lamp was lying on the floor, the TV was lying broken on the floor and the glass coffee table was shattered. A lot of the furniture had chunks missing, like it had been pecked. A rapidly growing pool of water was flowing out of the bathroom.

Skarmory, Dialga, Palkia froze when Pierce entered, and Kingdra hopped out of the bathroom. "Jesus... Jesus Christ, you guys!"

"Skarmory, you're supposed to be out hunting! What the hell are you doing biting chunks off the furniture!" Pierce yelled at her, then turned to Dialga and Palkia. "And you two, why the hell were you two fighting? Come on, you guys!" Then he rounded on the last one. "Kingdra, what the hell did you do in the bathroom?"

"I fucking told you guys you can't wreck shit anymore because we can't afford to fix them now!" That was true. The renovations on the dojo had already started and all of Pierce's money was being funneled to that. "You knew that! So why the hell?!"

All of them, even the normally dignified Dialga and Palkia, looked rather ashamed of themselves. Pierce rubbed his temple. "Just... just help me clean up." He said as he stepped over the bookcase to deal with the bathroom.

Yeah, none of this was getting fixed any time soon.

-------------------------

Pierce and Chizuru

Pierce approached Chizuru at headquaters casually, if perhaps a little nervously. He still hadn't quite gotten the hang of that. "Hi, Chizuru." He greeted her happily. "How've you been?"

-------------------------

Catherine, Calisto and Riolu

"Olu! Ri, Riolu!" Riolu barked worriedly as Calisto and Catherine fought. When they ended up landing on the grass with Calisto's rifle pointed at Irene, he quickly trotted up between them.

He playfully licked both their faces, then turned and moved away a few paces. "Ri olu ri!" He barked, turning to face them and hiding his eyes underneath his paws.

Then Riolu waited calmly. Was he trying to get them to play Hide and Seek?

-------------------------

Elizabeth and Matthias

Liz giggled. "No, I just happened to run into you." Then she continued. "And, whether you're introverted or enigmatic, no one really knows anything about you. Why is that?"

[Bard The 5th LW]

"Hello!" A cheerful voice came from behind.. "You're Charlotte, right? I'm Elizabeth. Just joined the Watchmen." The girl reached out her hand, an odd smile on her face. Well, it may have been odd. Not many people smiled to Charlotte.

Charlotte slowly extended a hand and shook hers in response, but she still kept her trademarked scowl on her face. "Yeah I'm Charlotte. Good to meet you I guess." She eyed the genral direction of her car on the other side of the parking lot. "So anything else to this introduction, uh, Elizabeth."

Another name to remember, wonderful.

[Menarker]

Renny - Lola
--------------

"Sure, Renny, I'd love to take care of your Pokemon and learn how to use them. I think we still have some time before the next mission. I hear we're commencing an operation during a bikini photoshoot at Cardinal Beach. I hope you don't mind, but I actually kind of signed up myself. Peer pressure, y'know? Pretty much every girl has."

Renny smiled as he voiced his approval.

"No, I don't mind at all! It's your choice and it sounds like fun..."

"Even Chizuru. I won't lose to her!"
Renny approval faded in his mouth, slightly worried that Lola would turn depressive if she didn't felt she was good enough, especially after the last time. He decided to take the initiative to change the topic entirely.

"Anyhow, why don't you come with me tomorrow! I'll introduce you to Snorlax and Latias again, and then we'll think of what other pokemon you'll like. For that matter, let's go fishing. For a beach trip like the photoshoot you mentioned, water pokemon will be a lot of fun and they'll be useful if something happens during the operation!"

Renny was all smile as he thought of the things to do tomorrow. And the beach operation in the future sounded like fun. He needed something like a vacation badly. He went to his closet and pulled out a sporty tank-top and a matching pair of very comfortable tropical shorts and shirt.

"I wonder if my swimming clothes still fit me! It's been a while since I went swimming just to relax! "
He called out to Lola,
"Have you thought about anything specific for the photoshoot?"


-------------------------------
Renny - Lola *The Day After*
-------------------------------

Renny got dressed with tear-away pants, t-shirt, windblazers and runners and gelled his hair until it was slightly spiky but the hairs nearest his forehead drooped down and curled despite all other attempts (not that it disappointed him). Gathering several types of pokeballs and pokemon equipment, including his super rod, he waited for Lola as he fed his pokemon. He called out to her conversationally.

"Normally, trainers need a test to get their license to owe pokemon. But you are already so well-versed in caring for pokemon in the first place, I think you would be allowed to skip the test and just get your license. But even then, we need to convert my spare pokeballs so they are in your name."

Renny passed the time as he read up on the mission details on his scouter for whatever public information was available. He was pleasantly surprised.

"OH! It's Rachel's birthday the same day as the photoshoot. I should get her something nice. She was the first friendly face I had when joining the Watchmen. I wonder what she would like..." Renny thought a bit about what to get her and then thought of something else.
"Hey, Lola? When is your birthday?"


----------------
Renny - Kurika
----------------

"Knock it off, Kurika. You're trying to help Renny get used to fighting the enemy directly, not forcing me to go apologize to Lola because her boyfriend got compacted."
"I am sorry, Irene and Renny. Most of my attacks are being fueled entirely by my indomitable spirit at this point."
"That was kind of the idea. If you were at full power, Renny would be learning things about his body in ways he's not supposed to outside of viewing an anatomical dummy."

Hearing those words would probably make a grown man shrink in his boots. A particular young man was sweating bullets.

"Oh man... I wonder if I can just excuse myself?"

Renny turned around somewhat and his pokemon were watching the fight with particular interest. Swampert couldn't seem to sit still as he pumped up and down on his feet, easily the most excited from Renny scoring a hit although Shaymin and Umbreon jumped once with a short cheer when they saw him looking at them.

"... On second thought, I'd just embarress myself in front of everyone if I don't at least try a little harder. Kurika's incredibly sturdy, so I guess I can't use light blows to throw her off... Should I use some of the other moves like Teleport...?"

Erecting his battle stance to alert his sparring partner that he was ready to commence, the pokebrid's blade arm was harden but not sharped as he led off with a short leap toward the Muay Thai practitioner. The left arm swung overhead toward Kurika antipicating slamming against her guard, with the right sent toward Kurika's side as he landed following through with his body weight. Renny observed Kurika's feet whenever she lifted either off the floor as he continued to attempt to dodge blows sent toward them in a particular invasive infighting. Once she lurched forward to move, Renny slid his own feet right in the spot he estimated her trying to put her foot down to render her off balance and immediately following with a tackle and swinging with the largest body blow he could manage.


--------------------------
Renny - Darcelle/Jeanette (Different day)
--------------------------

Renny stepped into Ricewood's Masterwork for a short visit. Ever since he read up on the details of the photoshoot mission, he thought he should visit Jeanette and Darcelle to mention something that was possibly important. He made his way to the receptionist desk.

"Good afternoon. I was wondering if it would be at all possible if I could see Professor Jeanette? If you could let her know it's Renny Tresserhorn asking, I'd very much appreciate it."

--------------
Renny - Aster
--------------

One particular mid-day when Renny was inside PATCA's HQ, he noticed Aster across the hallway.

"Oh right, I had something I needed to ask him ever since Pierce and I chatted."

"Aster, can you spare a moment?" Renny then ran toward him for a more conversational distance.
"I hope you're having a good afternoon. I was wondering if I could ask you a question or two. It's about your psychic ability. Ever since that fight with Sexy and after that Millennium House, it occurred to me that several of the things we don't know, your ability would come in handy in discovering. Or I thought it would. I believe that if you would ever foresee something important, you would have warned us. I was curious to why there was a reason why you couldn't foresee Sexy's arrival before she attacked. Or if there is any way you could detect any of the things we're looking for. Pierce's lost sister, Professor Ricewood's kidnapped daughter, or the place we suppose she's being held, Black Cradle."
Renny took a breath as he finally got to the point of it.
"I was wondering if you yourself are aware of any limitations or requirements of your ability or if it is just pure randomness. If there is a viable way to improve your control over your visions, I think it would important for us to at least try it."

After Renny listened to all that Aster had to say, he then chuckled to himself for a moment.
"I'm sorry, something amusing just crossed my mind. You know that Darling Agent title that Rachel put up on her website. When Irene told me that I was one of the contestants I couldn't believe it, and I still can hardly believe it now even when I see it. Did you ever predict that you'd be one of the highest voted nominations for it?"


------------------
Renny - Whitney
------------------

Soon afterwards, Renny noticed Whitney. His last attempt to talk with her did not go over very well. She had been terse with him, brushing off his attempt to ask how she was feeling. The fact the group were pressed for time did not help any. Now that the mission was over and Faynoc was actually dead, he wondered if she was feeling alright.

"Hi! Whitney, are you busy?" Renny waved hi. "I didn't get the chance to talk with you after that mission. How are you feeling now?"

[DanteFalcon]

"Because its not terribly important and no one has asked. I don't deliberately hide things I just don't feel the need to go around and profess my not very interesting background to the world."

This was quite strange Matt decided. He didn't really know what to think about Elizabeth yet.

[Dracorion]

Elizabeth and Charlotte

"Yeah I'm Charlotte. Good to meet you I guess." Her team leader said, eyeing a something behind Elizabeth. Seemed like she was in a hurry to leave. "So anything else to this introduction, uh, Elizabeth."

"Oh, not much. I just wanted to get acquainted with my new boss." She replied casually. Should she...? Yeah, why the hell not? "I know being in charge can be tough, so if you ever need to relieve stress, I'm available to help you out." Liz said innocently, thought he wink she gave Charlotte said more than that.

----------------------------

Elizabeth and Matthias

Yeah, Liz wasn't going to just take that. She drilled Matthias some more. "Oh, I hardly think so. Everyone has an interesting story, they just have to say it. Why don't we start with why you joined PATCA?" She said pleasantly.

----------------------------

Pierce and Aria - two weeks later

Pierce was about dead on his feet when he finally got home late at night. He slumped past his still-wrecked living room toward his bedroom. The day had been particularly horrible. PATCA was fine, but his new part time job was a nightmare.

Having a Cacturne explode on your face was not pleasant. Who the hell wanted them groomed anyway? He was plucking needles for the better part of two hours.

When he finally got to his bed after what seemed like forever, he immediately threw himself on it.

"OW! OW! SON OF A BITCH!" He yelled, jumping up and reaching under his shirt to pluck the needle that he missed and had painfully stabbed into his abdomen. He groaned and threw himself back on the bed.

"Welcome home Master." Said a sultry voice
Pierce didn't say anything as Aria slunk into the bedroom.
"Did you have a bad day Master?"
"... Yeah." He answered groggily.
"Well maybe I can cheer you up." She said, climbing on top of him and placing her hands on his back. Pierce didn't stop her as she started giving him a backrub. In fact, he groaned relaxedly.
"Ooooohhhhh thanks..."
"You're welcome Master." She replied happily, plucking another needle from his back before continuing.

Aria kept rubbing Pierce's back lovingly. "So does Master want a happy ending massage for his birthday?"
"... No thanks."

This caused her to stop and climb off him. "Seriously Master, why not?"
Pierce rolled over on the bed so he could look up at her. "You know why."
"No." She said angrily. "You told me what. Even if you don't love me, why can't you just let me be there for you?"
"That's not wise, Aria."
"But it's okay when you're sleeping around with those whores from the Agency? Get them to rub your back!" She yelled, then ran out of the room. As Pierce got up, he heard a window opening. When he left the bedroom, he saw one of the windows in the living room was open and Aria was outside flying away.

Pierce quickly made his way to the ground floor in a worry. He had never seen Aria act like this. When he exited the building into the street, he could barely make her out in the night sky, flying in the distance.

He ran after her for several blocks, until he saw her losing altitude. He ran even faster to catch up, until he saw her land outside a fancy-looking hotel. "Aria!" As she entered.

He followed her inside and saw her running in the gigantic lobby and enter an empty elevator. Pierce couldn't catch her before the elevator doors closed, so he pushed the button and watched the indicator above stop on the first floor. The elevator came down, and Pierce rode it to the first floor.

When the doors opened, he saw Aria run into some double doors at the end of the hallway in front of him. He ran as fast as he could after her, pushing open the doors and-

"SURPRISE!"

[Astral Harmony]

Pierce & Irene in the morning

Irene laughed for a good while when Pierce asked to go out with her again. "I didn't think I was all that good. I'm not one of those experienced older women. Don't tell me you've fallen in love at first fuck?"

One of the scouters rang. The ringtone was Hoobastank's "Out of Control". "I hope this doesn't mean our time together is over," Irene said as she answered it. "Irene Crosswald here...huh? Is that you, Harliette? You sound disturbed. Are you alright? Well, I suppose I'm available but could it wait? I'm doing some...special therapy."

Then she sat up. "You did what to your sister?!"

If this was Metal Gear Solid, Pierce would have a large red exclamation mark above his head.
"Okay, look, just relax. Could you go to my office and wait around there? I'll be there as soon as I can."
The call ended there. Irene dressed up quickly and did what little she could with her hair. "Damn, I was planning on just one more time," Irene apologized to Pierce. "But if you're serious about going out with me again, I'd love to. We can even set a date later today. I'll go ahead and leave first. I can't believe that girl."

Pierce noticed something that he had seen before but more or less dismissed. Irene had a strange pendant that didn't look like the kind one would find in jewelry stores. There was a beautiful ruby centered in a silver pendant that included a large sword, one angel wing and one dragon wing with wavy spikes spreading outward. A bizarre design to be sure.

-----
Pierce & Chizuru

"Mister Granger, you look good. Better than me after what had happened, anyways."

Pierce couldn't tell. Wherever Chizuru's beautiful, pure skin was exposed, there wasn't a scratch on her. The demonic power in her body, perhaps?

"By the way, I heard a certain man has a birthday coming up. I'm not really good at picking presents for guys. It'd be my first time, but you can definitely expect me to cook something that will help your body recover from Gaea. I wish I could've stayed and continued to help. To use Rio's vernacular, "shit be wack, yo". But with us working side by side from now on, we'll get to spend a lot more time together. Hell, perhaps you can come by the dojo once we've settled in. After what you've done for us, you can consider our services free for your use anytime."

She didn't seem to be reacting to Pierce's aura like last time. Maybe she was just ignoring it, or...

-----
Catherine, Calisto and Riolu

"The doggie has a point," Catherine said. "Let's try friendlier competition."
"Yes," Calisto said, setting aside her rifle. "I would have felt slightly bad about having to had kill you."

Catherine and Calisto then turned towards Riolu and kneeled. "Okay, we'll settle this without violence. Riolu? Go hide yourself and we'll count to thirty and come looking for you."
"Feel free to hide right in my arms," Calisto offered with a wink, though it was hard to tell because Calisto's other eye was hidden by her black hair. "Now bounce to it!"

Then the two women turned away from Riolu and started to count.

-----
Renny & Lola Part One

"Well, I'll need to go and buy a new swimsuit. The previous one is...uhh, a little tight in a couple areas. But I imagine the people who will be doing the photoshoot will have a number of pretty and expensive ones for me to model."

-----
Renny & Lola Part Two

Lola was wearing sandals, hot pants, a button-up sleeveless vest and a pair of sunglasses. She would have completed the outfit with a hat of some kind, but her Lopunny ears got in the way.

"Knowing Rachel, she'd probably kiss you into submission if you got her a bunch of candy," Lola said, looking into the water. "I dunno why her teeth haven't fallen out from all the candy she consumes."

"My birthday is this winter. I imagine it'll be sometime after we come back from the Corpsemire," Lola said, looking a little sick. "What a horrid nightmare that place must be. Bodies from the war locked in cold, wet mud. Poor people."

Then Lola blinked once. She had just realized it. She and Renny were out somewhere all by themselves.

Was this...

Was this...?!

A date?!

Now Lola felt a little foolish for not dressing better for the occasion. Yes, she and Renny were out on a date. Just enjoying each other's presense and putting aside all the other things, even Shevenston and Sexy. "You know, I always kind of wondered why you joined PATCA in the first place? Granted, I'm very glad you did, but you seem more like the type of person who would be a great Pokemon Rancher."

Pokemon Rancher, eh? That brought up a vision of Milsha. They lived off the land and were the kind of people who worked hard for their gains and were thankful for everything they got, much different from the people of the city.

-----
Renny Vs Kurika

Kurika's gaze sharpened. She stepped back out of range as Renny's first attack went wide, then threw her fist into Renny's right arm swing. The only thing keeping Renny from holding his hand in agony was the adrenaline that simply told him he was only going to feel a dull ache now, and hell tomorrow.

Kurika's right foot came up, and Renny slid his to attempt to knock her off balance whenever she brought it down. Only she didn't bring it down except in the spot where her left foot was planted a split second ago. Where did her left foot go?!

Renny's tackle was stopped cold. His vision was suddenly gone as something with a lot of force and with no warning collided with his head. His body struggled subconsciously to remain standing as he spun on his feet, staggered by what could only have been one of Kurika's devastating roundhouse kicks that impacted on the right side of his head.
"Hold!" Irene said, apparently telling Kurika not to follow up on that attack. "God, I hope Renny doesn't have memory loss from that."

Renny felt the soft and comforting arms of who he was certain was Lola steadying him. "If he did, the first question I think he would ask is 'did anyone get the license plate number of that tidal wave'?"
Lola held Renny's head still a little bit. "No bleeding or cerebrospinal fluid, praise the lord. Maybe just a light concussion. I think he's had enough, Kurika. Right now he needs an ice pack and an hour or two on a sick bay bed, not another boot to the head."
"Still, that was pretty impressive," Irene said. "He lasted a good two minutes. Kurika could probably tear the Rig apart piece by piece in less time."
"Not as I feel right now," Kurika said, her left leg still in the air where it struck Renny.

-----
Renny, Jeanette & Darcelle

"Sure, I'll pass the message up," said the receptionist, then picked up the phone, pressed two buttons, and replaced the reciever.
"Ha! Darcelle heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!" came a very cheerful voice out of the speaker.
"Ah, Miss Darcelle. Would you be a sweetheart and put the professor on the line, please? There's an adorable Gallade Pokebrid by the name of Renny Tressorhorn here to speak to her about something."
"Ha! Nope! Rezonscape! Ren-Ren can come here! He comes here now!"
"I...guess I'll take your word for it, Miss Darcelle," the receptionist said and pressed a button. She turned back to Renny with a wry smile. "Professor Ricewood is currently attempting to access and explore the Rezonscape, but you seem alright to Darcelle so I suppose I can let you through. Just hop on that elevator and the whole lab is on the twenty-third floor."

-----
Renny & Aster

"Unfortunately, I regret to say that I do not have the ability all of the time. It kind of comes and goes, and usually is little more than a surge of a feeling like dread. I felt strong dread that fateful night, but I thought it was only because Millenium House was going to be a very dangerous, yet unavoidable operation. I had no knowledge as to the nature of this terror I felt. I guess in a way my power is such that it doesn't allow me to interfere with the true destiny of this world, only sense major changes in this destiny. I could provide warning in some way, possibly, but it may be too late to change the outcome."

"Actually, this is why I joined PATCA in the first place. Irene Crosswald. She had, at some point in her life, gotten hold of an artifact of incredible power, the White Catseye Gem. It's a dangerous and hidden artifact that can foretell the entire destiny of this world, even to the exact moment in time when it ends."

Aster smiled bashfully when Renny told her about Rachel's website. "So that's what that was all about. To be honest, Rachel...had me try on a lot of women's clothes. And put pictures of me in said attire on her website. Apparently there's a lot of women out there who are into guys that are more beautiful than they are. Even if I could predict the fate of the universe, I would come nowhere near close to understanding the nature of girls."

-----
Renny & Whitney

"I...am fine," Whitney said.

This set off a couple alarms. Whitney sounded like she was searching for something to say but settled on a basic answer instead. She couldn't even look at him. It was like something about Renny was repulsing her.

-----
Pierce's Birthday Party

Before Pierce could react to the surprise, there were dozens of people, nearly all of them holding glasses with Mollesk wine in them.

"Ready, everybody?!" Chizuru shouted. "A one an' a two an' a three!"

Pierce was then treated to a lot of people singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" at all once, not a few of them already sloshed.
"Sorry about this," Chizuru said, being the first to speak with Pierce. "But most people decided that the usual Happy Birthday song was kind of gay."

"Talent competition, motherfuckers!" Harliette shouted, drawing most of the attention to her. If her red cheeks were any indication, she had definitely already had her fill. "I am David Copperfield and for my first trick, I'm going to make this whole bottle of wine disappear!"
"Including the bottle of wine itself?" Lola asked her.
"Go fuck yourself, you D-cup'd...something or other!" Harliette snapped, then upended the contents of the bottle down her throat...or at least about half of it. "Ugh...I'm gonna go...make the rest disappear in the bathroom. 'Scuse me."
Mouse shrugged. "And once again, I assume my unending duty of holding her hair up."

Elizabeth had made sure that every single girl was not only invited, but she probably even went so far as to blackmail some of them into attending. A few of them looked sort of uncomfortable here. Pierce even saw a small number of girls he had never seen before. For instance, there were two Kimono girls he hadn't met, one wearing a silver kimono (Fujiko in human form) and one wearing an orange kimono (Nyoka the catgirl android).

And then there was one woman he had seen often but never met in real life. Her pale blond ass was pretty much in every magazine that used models for just about any reason and in not a few movies. The blue-eyed beach girl bombshell Alphonsine Dionne was mingling with her comrades from the old Thirteen Eevee Threat including Shannon, Evangaleen, and Bretton. How did Elizabeth get her in here?!

Even Darcelle was in attendance, escorted by Jeanette who seemed to be much better since the incident in Millenium House. Irene wore the dress that Pierce recognized as the one she had worn on their date. That was probably intentional.