FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Oklahoma in the early Spring. It was cold, freezing even, but it wasn't snowing. No, snow would have been nice! Instead Mary marched through a pitch-black midnight drizzle that soaked through her summer wear and made the already diminutive teenager look even more vulnerable.

There was no moon to light her way, and her Pokédex battery was critically low, so she was forced to rely on its dimmed screen instead of the more powerful built-in flashlight. More than once her feet had caught on roots or slipped on rocks leaving her with an ever-accumulating collection of cuts and bruises. Yet she pressed forward, arms hugging her sides in a vain effort to conserve heat.

A yellow eye watched her from the bushes.

He was an emancipated, desperate creature. Weakened by hunger born of months of winter scarcity. His black and grey fur was patchy and unkempt; without a family to help groom him or keep watch he'd hardly had time for cleaning. Scars from fighting and losing to newcomers encroaching on his territory crisscrossed his head and legs. But underneath the unkempt fur and scarred tissue was a layer of lean muscle more than capable of shredding the girl.

If he could just...

Get a little...

Closer...

He felt the bushes above him explode. A Pidgey, a damned bird, had been sheltering in the brambles above his head; unnoticed thanks to the scent-suppressing nature of the storm. And of course he had the misfortune to shift the branches it was sleeping on right as she was coming into range!

For a brief moment, angry yellow eyes tracked the Pidgey in its desperate bid for altitude. He even considered lunging after it: A smaller morsel, but an easy one. But as soon as the thought entered his head, the creature was out of reach among the canopy.

He looked back at his prey. She was staring directly at him.

He growled softly. The chance for a clean kill was gone! He'd have to fight the human head on. Could he take her? She was certainly weak enough. She was small, had no fat to protect her, she was shivering and hungry and exhausted and, in this weather, practically blind. But He was cautious; for all he knew, she was concealing a weapon.

As if to prove his point, the girl reached back and started slapping at her hip. Bright light and strange artificial ethereal noises disoriented him, and when his night vision finally returned the Girl was surrounded by numerous Pokémon.

But they were small Pokémon.

Weak Pokémon.

He could still beat her, he was sure of it!

The girl never took her eyes off the beast; she slapped her hip one more time. A fifth shape emerged, dwarfing all the others, and it let out a throaty roar into the darkness. It was unmistakably a Charizard, and an old one. He couldn't take that!

Then the roar was cut off in a fit of coughing and the mighty lizard collapsed to all fours. It was weak! They were all weak! He could take them!

But...

They were still dangerous. There was no guarantee he would come out uninjured. If he fought them and they managed even a glancing wound he would become prey himself, and without a pack he wouldn't stand a chance.

'...Dammit!' He had stalked that girl for a day and a half! She could have fed him for a week alone and it had all been lost thanks to a stupid bird! But...he was too smart to pursue a lost cause. They were on guard, they knew where he was, and they outnumbered him.

So, with a final rueful glance, he turned back towards his den. There would be other opportunities. Spring had arrived, and there would be no shortage of stupid mice and enfeebled hibernators crawling around soon enough. He just needed to be patient.

Mary watched as the Mightyena made his retreat.***

---

"Chai?"

"October."

"Why is there a little girl squatting in our bar?"

"Because Firenze is too nice and it's rubbing off on our Doormen, probably."

Umbreon and Ninetales sat side-by-side behind the bar, tending to their daily ritual of not doing their daily rituals until their friend Colin came along and did most of them himself. In all honesty, neither of the two had even noticed the intruder behind the forest of turned-over chairs until a snort from the corner of the room drew their attention. October turned and checked the clock.

"It's nearly 8:00. We should probably tell her to scram before the customers arrive."

Chai wrinkled his nose at the thought and shook his head. "Let her rest. I've spent enough time curled up under a dumpster to tell you a moment like this is a godsend for the homeless."

"But she isn't homeless; look closer, she's a trainer." October indicated the pokéballs clipped to her belt.

"She can't be sponsored if she's spending the night in the pub."

"Maybe she just got lost?"

Chai shot his friend a glare, "If you want her gone so badly, go pull the chairs off the tables. That'll wake her up real quick!"

October eyed the two dozen tables and laid his head back against the counter. For maybe ten minutes there was peace; three comrades in laziness content to let each other rest. Then the back door creaked open and the lump in the corner started to stir.

"Morning Coli-" October choked as Firenze sauntered through the door looking fresh and alert as ever.

"Good Morning October! Chai!" Firenze's voice was cheery as ever, but his face was telling a different story. He had come to judge their morning handiwork and found it lacking.

"Morning, Boss" Chai, shameless in his laziness as ever, didn't even bother raising his head. "We got company."

"The late shift manager already briefed me. She stumbled in last night and couldn't produce a valid ID, or any money for that matter."

"So why is she here?" October interjected.

"Because she's a young woman with no valid ID, no money, and no winter clothes? And because the doorman on duty didn't think he had the authority to override our policy on underage customers." As he spoke, Firenze started weaving his way towards the minor. "In light of recent events, I think it may be time to update our PR handbook a tad."

"She needs to leave."

Firenze looked back at October "Why? She's an honored guest, same as any other! I think we can afford to accommodate her for a couple of hours."

October dropped to the floor and followed his boss/master towards the girl, "She's too young for our 'Accommodations', Firenze!"

"Is this because she's a human?"

October clammed up for a moment.

"...Honestly, October, one of these days we're going to need to have a talk about your little prejudice."

October found his voice again. "She's a trainer, too! And if you had seen what I've seen you wouldn't be so keen to let one in your house either."

Ugh, what a racket! Mary carefully lifted herself off the hardwood floor and rubbed her eyes clear of sleepers. She truly wished she could dismiss the mystery man and his Pokémon for just a few more minutes but...he was right. It was time to move on. Although what he meant by being too young for accommodation, she wasn't sure. She looked up to see a pair of Ninetales, one a beautiful gold and the other dark crimson, marching towards her, and a freakishly large umbreon sitting by the bar. [i_]'Their master must be one hell of a breeder. Or maybe collector?'_[/i].

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. She was undoubtedly young, and probably still growing, but her face carried the lines of stress of a person far beyond her years. Her red-brown hair was cut short, crudely, likely with scissors in a mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and underlined by bags that spoke of days of sleeplessness.

Her clothes were simple: a long-sleeved yellow shirt and jeans still damp from the rain, a belt loaded with your typical trainer's gear, and boots tailored for long walks. A pendant around her neck was the only real distinct outerwear to her name.

Her equipment was old and patchwork, with numerous field repairs to both the sleeper beneath her feet and the extra-large backpack she carried it in. Various pieces of kit could be seen poking out of the overstuffed pack, and the straps that held it were fraying along the sides. Dried dirt and mud stained the cloth and entrenched itself in the seams, never to be removed.

She was the classic image of a failing trainer.

Firenze reached her corner of the room and sat down. With perfect posture and a welcoming smile, the Ninetales cleared his throat. "Greetings! My name is Firenze, head of Café Plaisir!" He raised a paw for a handshake and waited.

The girl blinked, then smiled and offered a closed fist to the Ninetales' face. "Hel-lo Foxy! Is your human around? I need to talk to him."

Firenze did not gape at the teens boldfaced racism. He was an educated mon', and perfectly capable of maintaining composure even in the face of a world filled with a shocking amount of ignorance. He may have looked bemused and insulted, and his jaw might, might have unhinged a little in surprise. But he definitely didn't spend several seconds gawking incredulously at the girl. Behind him, Chai tried and failed to stifle a snigger. October couldn't seem to decide if he should feel outraged or vindicated.

Firenze needed a moment before he could respond coherently. "I do not appreciate your condescension, ma'am. My name is Firenze, not 'Foxy', and if you wish to remain in this establishment any longer you will refer to us by our given names."

If Firenze's rage had any impact on the child, it didn't show in the slightest. In fact, she was barely even paying him any attention. Even before he finished, she was surveying the room and taking stock of her possessions. Then, she turned to Firenze and made things infinitely worse.

In the sweetest, most demeaning voice imaginable, Mary exclaimed "You're a chatty one, aren't you?"

Chai exploded into laughter, and October finally settled on "Furious". Such blatant disrespect towards Firenze was unheard of! Even his enemies would at least recognize his agency, but this girl was treating him like a mere pet!

He interposed himself between Firenze and the girl. "Who the hell do you think you are? Talking to Firenze like that?"

Suddenly October had the trainer's undivided attention. "That was you? You can speak?"

"What was me?"

Her eyes widened in shock. Mary's crossed her legs and leaned forward. "I didn't realize Ninetales were smart enough to speak! When did you learn? How?"

"What do you mean 'I can speak'? We're_all_ speaking! Am I-" October took a moment to confirm he hadn't switched languages mid-conversation. "Are you selectively deaf? Chai! Say something to her!"

Chai, still sniggering, called out from the counter "Show me your tits!"

The girl glanced at the Umbreon. But she only looked confused, not insulted or angered in the slightest, before she turned back to watch October.

"Interesting..." October started pacing around the girl's spot on the floor. "We're all speaking plain English, but you can only understand me. Where are you from, Ms..."

"Mary! Mary Shepard!" The girl stuck out a hand. "From Johto."

"Johto...you mean like the Kansai region?" October had a feeling he knew the answer.

"Cansaywhatnow?"

October smiled triumphantly "Ah, now it makes sense! You're an interdimensional traveler, just like me!"

"Another..." Mary's expression suddenly hardened, "Hold on! Who are you? How can you talk? Where am I and why is the bartender a dog?"

"An odd last question, but okay!" October smiled. "In no particular order, you are in an Oklahoma, Chai over there is my fellow morning shift floor staff, my name is October and I am a traveling shapeshifting master of chaos born from an explosion in an interdimensional castle who can speak any language he hears!"

"..."

"..."

Mary gave October a skeptical look, "Is there perhaps someone else here I can talk to? Someone less sarcastic, maybe?"

October's smile widened. He said "I'm sorry. But I'm it as far as the staff are concerned. You'll have to wait until some of our human customers wake up if you want to talk to someone you can understand."

"Great..." Mary pulled herself off the ground and started repacking her gear.

"Ahem!"

All parties turned to look at Firenze, catching an eyeful of very agitated Ninetales. October decided to move the conversation forward before his friend's pride was wounded any further.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Mary, this is Firenze, my boss!"

"Your boss? I'd thought the Ninetales smart enough to talk would be the one in charge-Is he okay?" Mary gave Firenze a nervous glance. The Ninetales was giving her a glare that could wilt flowers.

"He's just a little cranky" Narrowed eyes promised October he would pay for that insolence. In a low voice Firenze grumbled something to him.

"What'd he say?"

"Firenze wants to know why you are here."

"The doorma-"

"He means why are you wandering Oklahoma in the middle of the freezing rain in a T-shirt and jeans." October Interrupted.

Mary hesitated at the Ninetales' passive-aggression. "...One of my Pokémon brought me here. We were being hunted by gangs of pokéthieves and they brought us here to hide."

The blond Ninetales murmured some more into his compatriot's ear and flicked a tale towards Mary.

"Firenze wants to know about your Pokémon."

"Of course!" The trainer's mood instantly brightened. [i_]'no doubt_,'[/i] thought October, 'at the prospect of showing off her latest catches!' Fingers danced across the colored balls hanging from her belt and everyone present made room for the impending arrivals.

The first flash of light resolved itself into a low-crouching linoone, Hoenn breed, with short, dull claws and thick coarse fur. He was larger than October expected, though that may have been because he was used to Quippie, who came from a smaller breed. This one was probably typical of the thirty-two-odd kilogram weight detailed in pokédexes. When he looked up, a pair of sunken cavities covered by the clumsy stitchwork of a nurse greeted them in place of eyes. For all the severity of his scars, the creature's face bore a genuine smile as he settled on the floor next to his Master.

"This is Cinnamon..."

The Linoone briefly tasted the air before giving a rather airy, "Hello~!"

The second flash of light revealed what, for a moment, October almost took for perfectly normal Chikorita, but for the fact that she coalesced awkwardly sprawled on the floor. Then he noticed the surgical scar running the length of her back, and the leaf on her head that looked as if it had been chewed constantly until its texture resembled that of paper dried after a good soak. Her hind legs had an atrophied look about them, and as she moved with the assistance of her vines they were bent and dragged into awkward positions. As the starter scrambled to pick herself off the floor, a pair of intense cherry-red eyes darted from stranger to stranger; watching, analyzing, and daring them to say what they were thinking of her out loud.

"Pepper..."

Pepper jerked her head in acknowledgement.

Third and smallest came an emolga. Typical in all respects, save his cheeks which had been shaved and covered with medical stickers from which metal wires emerged. Said wires were emitting a flurry of sparks, giving him the appearance of a living sparkler as he rushed behind Mary to fiddle around inside her backpack.

"That would be Sugar..."

"Hey!" The mouse emerged from the front of the pack, now adorned with a satchel filled with batteries. As he spoke, he carefully plugged the wires on his cheeks into a matching pair running into the top of the satchel, the sparks rapidly subsiding. He scanned the room, then did a double-take when he saw October "Ho-ly hell that's awesome! How much hairdye did you need to-?"

"-And this is Honey!"

The final flash revealed not a Pokémon, but a pile of seemingly random objects arranged into the visage of one. A colander wrapped in an old sweatshirt and covered in wool, with an old gas mask glued to the front and painted blue. Two glowing red eyes, so small as to be nearly pinpricks, shone through the lenses. If one happened to be terribly nearsighted, they might mistake the amalgamation for a baby Mareep. The colander suddenly shifted and a ribbonlike arm briefly peeked out the side to shyly wave at the natives. His voice was flat, and devoid of inflection or tone. " hastur, please...to you."

October watched the proceedings with growing disbelief. This was her team? It looked more like a...like a menagerie of disabilities! With the exception of the Chikorita and maybe the Mimikyu, none of them looked like fighters. She didn't even have a full team!

Firenze pointed at the 5th ball on her belt, an ominous black orb with a blocky 'M' on the front. "What's in that ball?"

Mary spoke up before October could translate "What's in the masterball? That's just for emergencies. If it's too big to fight and too fast to escape, I can capture and release it later."

October scowled. "So you casually walk into a Pokémon's territory and when they confront you, you force-capture them? That doesn't seem very fair!"

Mary shrugged, "Beats carrying a gun, or relying on my bare fists! I rarely leave the paths anyways."

October looked from the arrivals to Firenze. The other Ninetales was staring at Mary's Pokémon, looking conflicted.

"Firenze?" October asked, "What do you think?"

"Keep her talking." He muttered.

October nodded. "So I take it Honey-"

" hastur"

"-was the one who brought you here?"

Mary nodded her head. "We were hiding out in an old apartment and they just tore this big-old black hole in the wall. They said it would be safer here."

"You can understand him? Her? Them?"

" yes. can speak."

From back at the bar, Chai observed the Pokémon milling around the trainer. Eyes wandered from the Emolga idly playing with its cords, over the Linoone sticking to his trainer's side like glue to the strange thing in the disguise, then back to the Chikorita who dragged herself about by the vines inspecting the tables. This was supposed to be a trainer's team?

'No. She's not a trainer at all. These aren't fighters; they're pets!'

Chai did his best not to let the instinctive envy and self-righteousness that came with the realization overtake him. Pets. Pokémon who willingly sacrificed their autonomy for health; their dignity for comfort; their freedom for security. To choose such a life was to surrender any potential for personal accomplishment or legacy for immediate gratification and guaranteed love. It was an easy, empty lifestyle. He had to admit that for most of his childhood he had truly envied it. But now that he sat among trusted friends of his own making with a job that he had earned himself, such a lifestyle appeared not only lazy but pathetic.

He tried to push those thoughts away. 'What right do you have to judge these pokémon?'

The feelings remained. Just because he knew he shouldn't judge didn't mean he _felt_he shouldn't. Wouldn't mean he wouldn't!

He turned his attention to Mary, who continued to interrogate October. The latter having taken to giving each question a suitably passive-aggressive response.

"So if Humans and Pokémon are equals under the law, do trainers still exist?"

"Yes, humans still commit home invasion and kidnap Pokémon in slavery balls, just like you!"

"What about pets? Or farms?"

"Don't worry ma'am, all your humancentric power structures remain intact, even here!"

"What about pests? How do you deal with a Rattata infestation?"

"You start by asking them nicely to leave like any decent person would. I know, so strange!"

"What about overpopulation? Do cityfolk still neuter their pets?"

"WHAT!?"

Just then the back door opened to reveal the tiny out-of-shape figure of Plaisir's head of HR, Clarice, no doubt on her way to take advantage of the few remaining days of cool weather before spring and it's horrid heat arrived. The Café's head of employment took one look at the room and adopted an expression of disgust. Then she surveyed the room again and her disgust morphed into confusion...and more disgust.

"Firenze," She asked, "Why hasn't the bar been prepared for visitors, and who is this sleeping on the floor?"

Firenze ignored the new arrival for a moment. But then he came to a decision and he smiled.

"Good morning to you too, Clarice. These, I believe, are our newest prospective hires!"

"What?"

"What?"

"What?"

"What'd he say?" Mary turned to her Mimikyu "What did he say?"

" he said. hire...us?"

"What?"

"Firenze," October hissed under his breath "What are you doing?"

"Look at her, October!" Firenze whispered back. He gestured towards the girl, who sat nonplussed surrounded by her Pokémon. "She has no idea where she is, no idea where she's going, no money, no legal identification...if we leave them-"

"Then they can just rip open a portal and go home, like I would!"

"Home where they're being pursued by kidnappers? No, I don't think so." Firenze's voice dropped to a whisper. "Plus, think about her Pokémon."

October arched an eyebrow and gestured with a paw for him to continue.

"They're all perfectly functional adults rotting away in pokéballs. This is our chance to give them a life outside of following a child around! Show them the benefits of independence! Who knows...maybe we could convince them to stay?"

"You want to offer her aid in acclimating to our world and then steal all her Pokémon out from under her nose?" Firenze cringed slightly at October's phrasing. "I like it!"

"Not steal, just...give them a chance to do something more! A chance to try something new! My offer to help her is genuine. I just also want to help those Pokémon, in a...slightly different way!"

October felt a smile creeping onto his face, "Now you're speaking more my language!"

Firenze's expression grew cautious "Don't try to confront them about it, though! Just, give them a taste of freedom and we'll see what happens."

"You don't like her either, do you?" October's smile widened and he pressed on, "You didn't like how she spoke to you, her attitude, her occupation!"

Firenze looked away, "It's not our place to judge how other Pokémon live. I just want to give them the chance."

He turned to Clarice, "I don't suppose you could find a place for four new employees, could you?"

"Easily!" Came the chipper reply. October peeked around Firenze at the Glaceon. Who was this and what did they do with the real Clarice? More importantly, was it permanent, or could they make it permanent?

"Applicants for the janitorial duties have drastically dropped the past two months," Clarice explained, "I was starting to worry we'd need to conscript some of the... less lucrative waiters into cleaning duties."

"Why is that? And didn't you say employee turnover had also decreased, as of late?" Firenze asked, concerned.

Clarice shook her head. "We haven't terminated any employees recently, but janitorial duties are hardly the most glamorous. A lot of Pokémon are looking to become full-time waiters, and those that can't make the cut or think they're above janitorial duties have been looking elsewhere. We need more paws cleaning the grounds." She shot a glare at Chai "Capable, paws, to be precise."

'But where are all the applicants?' October wondered. He'd never heard of applications to Plaisir drying up before. It had actually been the reason why he and Chai had been reassigned, albeit temporarily, to the morning shift again to cover for Errol and Ellen. A matter that they had promised would definitely be resolved by the end of the week...about two weeks ago.

"More importantly, three of them are disabled." Clarice continued. "Per the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers cannot discriminate against employees based on their disabilities, nor can they disclose those disabilities to anyone. Due to the nature of our work, competitive applicants with disabilities are exceedingly rare. But THESE folks are all very clearly disabled! So if they apply as janitors, and we hire them as janitors, nobody can claim we're being discriminatory!"

Firenze looked at her, aghast, though Clarice didn't seem to notice.

October smacked a paw over his face. 'Leave it to Clarice to do the right thing for the wrong reasons purely to meet a quota!'

"We can hear you, you know!" The Chikorita, Pepper, was giving Clarice a rather venomous glare. From the look of apprehension on Mary's face, her Mimikyu had relayed everything Clarice had said directly to her as well.

The Glaceon didn't miss a beat. "Excellent! Would you like a job, starting today?"

"Clarice...a word, please?" Firenze's tone made it more a command than a request and the Glaceon was quickly herded away from the crowd. Mary frowned, and looked back at her Pokémon. None of them looked particularly happy with the idea of being hired based purely on demographics.

"I won't make you do anything" She told the team, "We can go find money somewhere else if we have to, or Honey could try and rip us a portal somewhere else..."

Hastur spoke up from the floor, " desperate though. need money."

Mary groaned and looked at her wallet. Filled with plenty of now-worthless Poké and adorned with a meaningless ID. These people had given her shelter and were offering aid on a silver platter. But...she didn't know any of them, and one of their own just admitted to ulterior motives for hiring her team "We do need the money..."

Sugar spoke first, more to the other Pokémon than Mary. "I say we take it. It could be fun! And I'm sick of hiking or hiding in the Pokéball."

"Uh, October?" Mary called.

"Sugar votes to stay" October relayed.

Pepper stamped a foot against the floor. "Fuck her, fuck them, fuck their pity, Fuck this place!"

"Pepper...votes no."

Cinnamon leaned his head against his trainer's leg. "We'll do whatever you feel is best, or whatever Sugar wants, I guess? I trust you."

"Cinnamon abstains."

All eyes turned to Hastur and were greeted with silence. The little ghost did not take kindly to the sudden pressure, retreating further into its shell until their eyes all but disappeared.

"...Excuse us for a moment." Mary picked up Honey and brought them to the entrance to the Café, away from either the Plaisir Employees or the rest of the team.

Mary whispered as they walked "There's nothing wrong with abstaining, but if you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it. Don't worry, they can't hear us, and I won't tell them what you say if you don't want."

" thank you..." The Mimikyu couldn't speak in front of crowds, and only ever spoke in awkward two or three word dialogues, but they were also the only Pokémon Mary had ever known to speak human tongues until today. " ripping dangerous. safety uncertain. this world...safe."

Mary considered the implications. If_this_, including the unexpected two-day hike, was Honey's idea of safe, she really didn't want to witness what they called 'dangerous'. "Okay, can I tell the others what you just said?"

" ...no."

Mary walked back to their little corner and sat the Mimikyu on the floor.

"We're staying." Mary looked at Pepper, "But if you don't want to work, you can stay in your pokéball or-"

The Chikorita waved dismissively. "If we're doing this, we do it together."

"Pepper says-"

"I got the gist of it, thank you." Mary looked over to the cream-colored Ninetales bickering with the Glaceon, "They say anything else I should know about?"

October shook his head, "Nah! Firenze is just trying to explain the concept of compassion to the Ice Queen of Excel."

"Who?"

"Clarice, the Glaceon. She's head of HR...unfortunately."

Mary sighed. "Well I've worked for far worse in my time."

"Err..." October looked over towards Firenze. The whole point of his plan was to keep the Pokémon away from their trainer; to become more independent. They couldn't do that with Mary dictating their off-duty hours to them. Plus, there was the matter of a fourteen-year-old working in an adult entertainment resort... "Uh, actually, when Clarice offered to hire 'you', what she meant was 'Your Pokémon'."

"What?"

"We can't hire you."

Uncertainty crossed Mary's face. "Why not?"

"Uh, we only hire Pokémon here. It's...part of our gimmick! A...hotel resort run exclusively by Pokémon!"

"...oh." Mary suddenly looked very nervous. "Really?"

"But that's okay, right? Your Pokémon can take care of themselves!" October took a step forward, pitching his voice to make it clear his question was rhetorical.

"I'm uh..." She gripped her own forearm and looked away, "...uncomfortable with leaving them alone."

'Because you're worried, they'll leave you!' October thought. "Because you're worried they'll get hurt?" October asked.

"Because...It's nothing. I'm being stupid!" Mary smiled and turned back to look him in the eye. It was a very fake smile, one rendered all the less convincing by how naturally the girl wore the pain of a mother worried about her children. 'A mother...' October suddenly had his doubts.

"So!" Firenze returned with a scowling Clarice in tow, "Have you reached a decision?"

"Honey said they would be working entry-level jobs, right?"

Firenze nodded.

"And October said I'm not invited to work here because you don't like humans?"

Firenze sputtered and started, in Mary's eyes, babbling incoherently.

"He says 'Yes.'"

Firenze's incoherent babbling turned into angry incoherent babbling at October.

"Alright..." Mary pinched her forehead and closed her eyes to focus, "We'll...do it. We'll do it! I'll go to town and get supplies, everyone else can stay here and work for your...resort?"

If Mary could read Ninetales faces slightly better, she may never have trusted the mischievous smile October gave her. "'Resort' is a good term for it, yes."

"Alright..." Mary sat down and started pulling items out of her backpack: A tangled bundle of colorful nylon straps and fabric she handed to Cinnamon, a ziplock bag full of electronics for Sugar, a small sewing kit for Hastur, and a finally a rubber-banded bundle of potions that she handed off to Pepper.

She looked at Firenze, "Can we get an advance for supplies in town?"

Firenze nodded.

"Okay then. Pepper, your first task is t-" Was as far as Clarice got before the unassuming paraplegic suddenly transformed into a whirlwind of plant matter. The Plaisir crew scattered as Pepper launched herself into the air and began yanking and shoving and pulling furniture in all directions. To the natives, it was like a tornado: dust and debris flying about and nearly colliding with the ground-bound unfortunates.

But for those who were used to the Pepper's antics it was a choreographed dance of limbs. A trio of vines wrapping and unwrapping themselves about the vertical supports of the hanging lights scattered around the room provided locomotion, while Pepper's five remaining vines set about pulling and flipping and shoving and slamming the chairs off their tables and into position. It was loud, it was chaotic, and it was fast! In under half a minute the entire room was prepared for customers.

Pepper finished her little display with an aerial somersault onto one of the tables at the center of the room. All at once, her vines rapidly retracted into her collar like measuring tapes, leaving the room in perfect order. She gave the group a smug little smile.

"...is to report to the morning shift supervisor and collect dusting supplies so you can clean the halls!" Clarice finished. "Chai, show our new hires where Pouncer is and get back to manning the desk! Pepper, please try not to disturb the guests with your...acrobatics."

Pepper's stance sagged ever so slightly, but then she shrugged and dragged herself off the table and made for the hallway. The grumpy Umbreon sniggered and followed, having enjoyed the little ego contest between the ladies even more than he detested being bossed around by the pompous Glaceon.

"Sugar, Cinnamon, go introduce yourselves, and tell Pouncer you'll handle litter duty.

"C'mon, C'!."

"Honey-"

" hastur"

"-go to the kitchens and let them know you're their new morning-shift dishwasher."

" okay."

Mary watched with arms folded as her adopted family filed off at the direction of the Glaceon. She hadn't understood a word of what was said, but the tones of the Ice-Type were unmistakable. Annoyance, Dismissal and Commands. She was not going to like this creature.

Firenze spoke next. "October, since your responsibilities appear to have been completed for you, why don't you accompany Clarice and Ms. Shepard here to her office so we can get that advance squared away? Don't worry, I'll man the desk in your absence."

October cursed under his breath, then raised his voice. "Follow us, please, and we'll get you some cash to spend in town."

"One last thing..." Mary lunged forward and grabbed her Linoone around the waist, pulling him backwards into her lap. Cinnamon didn't resist or even seem surprised when the girl wrapped him into a tight hug and began whispering into his ear.

"Be careful please."

"Yes."

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I know."

"If anything happens, take Sugar, come find me."

"Okay."

"I love you."

"See you soon."

And with that she released the Linoone, though not before quickly stroking his back a couple times as he steadied himself on the floor. Then she repeated the process with Sugar, then Pepper, before grabbing Hastur's ribbon and stroking it as well. October felt that doubt weaseling its way into his mind. For all his distaste for humans and trainers in particular, Mary's affection certainly seemed genuine. Was it really their place to try and pull them apart?

Firenze caught his eye. "Just because she loves them doesn't mean she isn't hurting them. For all we know, those wounds are her fault!"

October blinked in surprise and looked back at where Mary had stooped down to pack her belongings. The dishevelled look, the poor hygiene and lack of preparedness, supervising a team of pokémon with permanent injuries? It was suspicious...but then why did they stay with her? Were they really so brainwashed? October sighed and motioned with his tales for Mary to follow him through the back door.

Taking one last look at the retreating forms of her Pokémon, Mary sighed and turned to follow the red fox through a door marked 'Employees Only'.

She took a moment to consider the consequences of stepping through Hastur's portal. It was almost surreal. In two days, she had gone from sitting comfortably in her hometown to running herself ragged, getting stalked through the woods in freezing weather in nothing but a T-shirt and jeans. She had no idea where she was, what or how the local cultures operated, or how to get home. Her money, equipment, and paperwork were all apparently useless, and a resort run entirely by Pokémon had just taken her family and thrown her into debt...and it hadn't even been a week.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?

* * *

They, or rather Chai, found Pouncer waist-deep in cleaning supplies in one of the upstairs storage rooms. Literally! From the looks of things, someone (probably crimson with multiple tails, but no proof was forthcoming) had tried removing something from the top shelf and failed catastrophically, then went and left the resultant mess unattended for a fortnight or more. The Grovyle seemed almost relieved when he turned to see Chai and the newcomers sitting outside the door. At least until he folded his arms and put on his stern face. "Chai, who are these, and why aren't you manning the bar?"

Chai took a moment to yawn and said "New meat! That trainer girl from this morning? These are her Pokemon. Firenze convinced them to join us."

"Are they now?" Pouncer leaned out of the closet to appraise the new hires, "Shouldn't you report to Coco for orientation, then?"

"Clarice said to take them to you. She wants them..." Chai flicked an ear towards Sugar and Cinnamon, "on litter duty, the Chikorita for dusting and after this I'm taking Casper here to the kitchens."

" hastur please."

Pouncer smiled. "Excellent timing! We've been looking for some new hires to assist the cleaning staff."

"Yea, Clarice mentioned that." A hint of anger crept into Pepper's words, "she also mentioned we'd perfectly fill her disability quota!"

Pouncer's smile disappeared. "Ugh, I'm sorry about that. Clarice isn't exactly known for her tact." He rubbed the bridge of his snout with one hand.

"Naw, you don't say!" Chai said, sarcastically.

Pouncer frowned at him, and looked for a moment like he was about to chastise him...but only a moment. Instead he gestured to the mess inside the closet. "Help me with this mess, and we'll see about getting you all situated."

"And with that," Chai said with a mischievous smile, "I'll take my leave!" He turned and slowly padded back towards the kitchens with the Mimikyu in tow.

Pepper quickly took point, vines reaching in and grabbing bottles, boxes and baskets to hand off to Cinnamon and Sugar, who quickly started sorting the items in the hallway, while Pouncer went about cleaning up the various spills and leaks on the floor.

"Sooo," Cinnamon said nervously between bottles, "I have a question..."

Pouncer briefly leaned back out of the closet. "Yes?"

"Please don't take this the wrong way, I don't mean any offense, but..."

"Better to ask me, now, than somebody more easily offended later."

Cinnamon briefly bulged his cheeks, as if trying to physically stop the words from leaving his mouth. Then he said, "Why does everything and everyone in this building smell like a Salandit Den in the spring?"

Everyone stopped to look at the Linoone in confusion.

"It does?" Sugar gave the air a few sniffs.

Pepper followed suit, "...huh, now that you mention it, it does smell a bit weird around here!"

Pouncer gave the team a bemused look. "Wait? You don't know?" He called out to Chai down the hall, "They don't know?"

"Know what?" Pepper asked, suspicious.

Chai turned around and feigned innocence, "Oh wow, you know what? I don't think anyone told them!" He sat back on his haunches and spread his arms wide, "Welcome to Café Plaisir: The greatest Whorehouse in all the Midwest!"

And with that he turned and skipped around the corner, closely pursued by Hastur, leaving three gobsmacked pokémon and one very awkward looking manager.