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_ - - - (Un)Just Punishment - - - _

***

The story so far...

After a troublemaking outing to the Café (which left a few unpaid drinks, one rather large and expensive window and the relaxation of a certain Lucario all as casualties), October was pursued and whisked back to make him pay off his debt. With his partner in agreement, his means of escape cut off and stuck in the form of a crimson Ninetales, October had no choice but to agree.

And so he stayed... and he cleaned... and he made more messes, some of which he was able to even sort out. He's made friends in the rogue-like Umbreon Chai and the hyper-enthusiastic Sylveon Colin; he's made enemies in the form of three very dark-looking Mightyena, and over it all watches a pair of red eyes that seem to be analysing his every move.

After a while, things even start to go well for him. His tricks start to work, he even starts getting paying customers. But when a new bounty poster on the waiter's notice board...

...well. He never really had an overabundance of luck, did he...?

***

"October~ October~ OCTOBER!"

The cheery, patient voice of a Sylveon was spinning through the Ninetales head, slowly setting to work the anachronism of mental cogs, winches and pistons within.

"Good morning, October!"

There it was again, that kind, yet annoying voice. October groaned and whined, rolling over to face away from the source of the noise. he felt a small lump near his footpaws and tails when he did so, and another shape stirring. "Nooo, Colin. I will not say good morning. I will sleep. Sleep is good~"

He said that, though October knew that having been able to make a sensible response meant he was doomed to wake up fully, despite his best intentions. It was always like this on morning shift. October would try to sleep, October would try to get some more, Colin would spoil the plan every time. Last time had been a case of tickling, kept mercifully short by October's quick thinking in hopping out of bed and waking up on his feet. He didn't even bother blushing and stammering over his commonplace bit of 'morning ache', opting to nip at the Sylveon's butt to distract him into walking so he could wrest his mind (and his arousal) back into place.

So long as he didn't stare at Colin's butt on the way to the morning meetings, anyways.

Today was not that day, however. Today was a newfound resolution to sleep and brood, however futile the cause. October just didn't _feel_like working today. It was his mood and it had sadly become a common one lately. Ever since the _Tragedy_that was a week ago, it was very hard to be his usual cranky, impish self based off what was going on around him.

Each day, October would strain to find a new distraction to help motivate him through the day. Each day, it would be a little harder to find one...

The lump at his tails started moving. October heard the sound of a large yawn, then the press of not-so-careful claw pricks on his flank. His recently acquired roommate was not pleased with this distraction to his own slumber, apparently. "October, don't ignore Colin." Chai spoke up in a sleepy and annoyed voice. "I know he's a pain, but we can't shirk any work today. You can't at least. Come on. I'll be out there too."

Colin made a whine at being called 'a pain'. "Hey~ That's not nice to say about someone when they're in front of you."

Much as part of his mind muttered about 'mutiny', October couldn't argue that fact. The Cafe was his home-slash-prison-slash-home right now, and some part of him was _responsible_enough to not want to disappoint Chai or Colin...or Pouncer. Pouncer had been very generous in letting him be lazy the first few days since Silver had disappeared, but he had told October that "As much as it may hurt, life goes on, October. Brooding and doing nothing will be worse than doing something boring and familiar before long."

Yup, he was definitely awake if he was recalling quotes. "Fine, fine. I'm up~" The Ninetales finally began his morning rise to four paws, yawning loudly as he stretched himself on the bed. He must have not been in a very amorous dream state last night, for he was only peeking out a little this time, but he did think enough to not display himself lewdly towards Colin...then he recalled Chai being behind him.

"What were you doing sleeping on my tails anyways?" he asked, looking back at the Umbreon with an arched brow. Dreadful, worried thoughts about Chai plotting to secretly take his rump as he slept crept into mind. Top Fox he was, October had done such a thing before, but he did it on _his_terms. "Are you conspiring on my ass? I know you moved in with me, but that doesn't mean you can just make use of it whenever you please."

Chai hopped down to the floor with a smirk as he did his own little stretches, Colin giggling at the side. "No - your butt end is cleaner than your front end, and your tails are more comfortable than when you try and suck on my ears at night. Although the view is kind of nice when your leg twitches or you're having a good dream..."

October could usually tell when Chai was joking - but only when his ego wasn't threatened in the process. "S-Sucking!? That was just one time, and I was -nibbling-! It's an affectionate-yet-dominant technique for expressing friendship - and it never leaves this room!" The Ninetales looked indignant, trying to sort out something to say about the rest of the comments. "Just for that, you can sleep in the socks again, if you can't handle my affections at night."

Colin was really giggling now as he lead the way in front of the two out into the hallway. "That's so cute! I am going to see if I can find an Umbreon plushie later for just that. Chai can learn to use 'substitute' and everything!" Happy with the group teasing going on, the Sylveon was in high spirits once more. He was completely oblivious to the look of embarrassed dismay on October's face, or Chai's nonplussed look about a plush version of him. "Now don't dawdle you two. You might actually make the meeting on time! I'll see you later~ I got a morning client today to wait for. Special order and everything!"

"How nice for you..." Chai said with only moderate sarcasm as the skipping Colin slipped back into his room to prepare. Once the door was shut Chai looked behind him to the following October with an eye roll and a smile. "Come on, Red Rocket. The faster we get this over with, the faster we get to nap before there's more work to do."

October sighed heavily at that, but resisted the urge to whine. "It's not red rocket, it's _black_rocket. Can't we get in a smoke break first?"

"It's more fun to say Red Rocket, and as much as I hate saying it, we should show up on time at least _once_this week before we do that. Or have Colin wake us up a little earlier to get it in."

His growing melancholy must have been very bad, if even Chai was trying to get him to work. Granted, his own job depended on him working enough to satisfy Clarice about not firing him outright, so perhaps he had ulterior motives.

"A lose-lose proposition. Ah well." October tried to puff himself up a bit to distract from the broody mood still lingering in the back of his head. "Onward into glorious, apron-covered battle."

* * *

The morning meeting was as dull as usual. Pouncer welcomed everyone with a little more enthusiasm than usual, which did not surprise October much. The Grovyle seemed determined to help bolster his spirits a bit with the 'distraction' of work and positive reinforcement. It was that, or having a few days to not worry about October making a mess had given his own nerves a break.

"This morning should be a very slow morning," Pouncer was explaining to the slowly waking group, "According to Omen, there is going to be rain almost the entire day, from drizzle to a small downpour later. That doesn't mean we shouldn't do our best to prepare. Every customer is that much more important with less distractions, and there are those who stayed last night too, so I expect everyone to make me proud."

That did not actually mean they would be doing less work, October couldn't help but notice. All the chairs still needed to be flipped, napkins set out, plants double checked for discarded items, and so on. At least with less customers, however, there wouldn't be as much to clean up after. That prospect of a nap or an extra long smoke break gave Chai and October a little more incentive to flip the chairs with more diligence. The rain was no deterrent to smoking in their room with the smoke alarm disabled, but smoking there while on the clock was a bit riskier.

In fact, in a very unusual turn of events, They had somehow completed their usual morning ritual almost perfectly. it was still slower than what Colin could accomplish, but the look the Ninetales and Umbreon gave each other that said 'totally worth a smoke break' was completely worth that.

"October!"

Opportunity went cackling past, for the Ninetales at least. "Yes, Mister Pouncer?" October restrained his disappointment as he could. Surely he wasn't about to give them another task because they had been 'diligent'? That was a horrible motivational tactic - diligence should inspire breaks, or rewards!

"Coco would like to see you in her office, if you'd please," He gestured towards the Lobby doors, where the shortest path to the offices resided. "She also said to mention you're not in trouble, so don't try hiding again." The small tone of disapproval at the 'hiding' was very evident.

Well, it could have been worse. At least Clarice hadn't called for him. "Really? Oh, all right." With a sigh, October looked to Chai and gave the Umbreon a head ruffle with a paw before heading off. Chai muttered something rude as he tried to fix his fur, then called after before he went through the doors, "See you later, October!"

October made a polite nod to Cheryl the Lopunny as he passed through the lobby, receiving an energetic wave in return. "Good morning, October!" The Gardevoir at the desk was the only other occupant, busy with a crossword puzzle, but a tell-tale glance suggested she 'heard' his notice. Not wanting to risk some unseen slight this early in the day, October hurried himself up the side stairs and through the waiter's lounge to the offices and knocked on Coco's door. "Come in."

Pressing the handle with a paw, he let himself inside the nicely decorated office. He didn't bother to say hello - Coco already knew he was there, and given the usual topics they went over, he probably wasn't going to care much for this visit, even if he wasn't in trouble.

Once the door was shut and he was settled in front of her desk, Coco spoke up again. "Good Morning October. I hope today is going alright for you?" She was dressed up with her little white-on-black blouse and gold rimmed glasses outfit today. In contrast from his red-and-black colors and large size, she looked positively tiny in her pale cream and chocolate.

A shiny variant of Vulpix, Coco 's namesake came from the fact her colors were similar to chocolate. Six tails of light chocolate brown and matched to her little 'fluff' of mane on her head gave a strong but pleasant contrast to the pale cream of the rest of her fur coat. She even had 'stockings' of a slightly richer cream shade on all four legs and paws. Even her red eyes seemed faintly cocoa hued.

If it weren't for the look of authority she had in that getup, October might have entertained some dirty notions in his head with the comparing. It had worked with Tiny and she was only his size; the tails made her look even bigger.

Her question was polite as always, though the tone to it was more on a personal level than professional. She was just as aware of the events that had happened recently as Pouncer or Chai.

For all October had a natural dislike towards anyone in management (or a superior office setting position in general), He had been rather surprised with her kindness to the circumstances. She had stopped bugging him about getting a bath (for now), didn't tease him about his sock piles in his room (He did _not_have a sock fetish), and he had a nagging suspicion she had interfered with one or two other things along the way.

For now, it worked to his convenience. He didn't think about the ulterior motives. "I am doing...better, considering the circumstances. What did you want to see me about?" He asked with new curiosity. It just occurred to him that without her usual list of things to try and talk him into doing, there wasn't much else he could be summoned about. Unless she suddenly wanted to be 'chummy', she had to have something new to bring up.

"Well, it's about Clarice," Coco began with a sigh. October's ears perked up a bit at this, and the Vulpix continued. "Given your continued resistance towards doing what she wants, she has been getting more, persistent, in trying to get your attention."

October didn't care for the sound of that at all. "Well, I should hope that she'll be most understanding when I kindly tell her to 'fuck off'. I'm not giving that sample, and I'm certainly not doing anything the Ice Bitch Queen says to make up for it." His tone was matter-of-fact. Thus far he had no reason to suspect Coco of outright treachery, but she still worked with the Glaceon.

"I had a feeling you would be of such a mind," The little Vulpix nudged a sheet she had on her desk forward. He couldn't see it from his angle unless he propped himself on the edge of the desk, but that didn't matter. "She's made a few requests with the system to try and take away your days off and potential vacation to help you accelerate your debt payments. She apparently tried to find some way to put a GPS on you too, but that paperwork is for convicts, and didn't apply to the situation."

GPS!? CONVICTS!? No more days OFF!? "What the bloody hell is with that woman!? She's out of control!" October was beside himself. "I demand someone wrap her in a pillowcase and whop her into the side Snorlax until some sense is knocked into her brain! Why the hell is there even paperwork for those kinds of actions?" He approached the desk and hopped his front onto it, staring Coco straight in the face as his tails twitched with agitation. "Surely you're not actually going to allow these deliberate forms of harassment to stand? I have rights as a waiter-in-debt, and you've told me so yourself!"

He had gotten a bit closer than he had meant to, as demonstrated when Coco gently pressed a paw to his nose and pushed back to make a little room. "Please don't set my office on fire - it's not all fireproof. I should think you at least know me enough to know I wouldn't approve of such things if I could help it."

The Ninetales realized he was breathing heat vapors as the surprisingly cool pawpads pressed against his snout. October stepped back and settled back onto all fours, still watching Coco with some worry. "If you could help it. You make it sound like it's already in effect?" Oooh no. No no no. That would not be doable at all...

But Coco shook her head. "There is no GPS or cutting of time off, October. You may be a bit of a troublemaker, but hardly the worst by Pokemon standards." The sheet she had gestured with was pushed to the side. "Although I will point out the fact you came dangerously close to charges of terrorism with that exploding sample pot if Clarice hadn't been so surprised by it. If that had gone off at the labs, it could have been all our heads."

A good week ago (perhaps a week and a half), October had booby trapped a sample pot that had been sent to his room by Clarice. In addition to the usual 'sample' expected of such a pot, he had triggered it to explode. Twice. Although October didn't forget the situation at hand, learning that it had in fact gone off in Clarice's office got a sudden snort of amusement from the Ninetales. Looking the straight faced Coco in the eye and knowing it had gotten her as well made him break down into a series of snickers.

Coco said nothing but raised an eyebrow. This only made the snickers worse as he settled on his belly to try and hold out laughing outright. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it at least..." Coco finally said with resignation, pushing another sheet forward and ignored the shaking vulpine.

"S-Sorry. I know it's serious but...ha! Hahaha...heh...it's..." He gave up trying to answer, and both waited a minute for October to gather his senses again.

Finally, October was able to keep a straight enough face for things to continue. "As I was going to say," Coco started, "None of those restrictions were applied, but it only shows she is going to get worse about this if we don't try for some sort of placebo. Apparently the GPS request was because she had gone looking for you during some of your off hours and couldn't find any trace of you inside the building, or out." Coco arched her brow again at this. "I can only presume she asked a psychic type to try and ping you for it to be that thorough."

A placebo? What sort of placebo could possibly work on Clarice to make her less crazy? "Knowing you, I imagine you have a few suggestions for these 'sugar pills' for the Bitch Queen?" October asked with a token dash of seriousness. He was not surprised to get a nod from Coco.

"I do have a few. They should be more or less harmless to implement, but satisfy her enough to settle her down. I need your input to know if they're possible to arrange, however." Coco began reading down her list. "One: arrange for a pre-warning before shifts so you are aware of them 'while on vacation'. Two: Restrict the use of your Planar room to pre-approved areas only. Three: Take some of our optional classes, such as CPR training and expanded education."

Apparently Coco was very serious about this. "Did you just say 'CPR training?' October was nonplussed, slowly grinning as the urge to laugh built again. "Me? Give CPR? With fire breath! Even I'm not that nuts!"

"It's just an example. There are other courses, which if you pass, technically raise your pay, which help pay off your debt." Coco replied smoothly. "Well go over those options later. The first two are the more relevant projects at the moment."

The urge to giggle died off quickly after that. October considered Coco carefully as he thought over the first two 'placebos' on the Vulpix list. It was possible to set the Planar room to restrict where it could be used, but as the only one who really used it, there wasn't any real point to actually applying such a restriction.

"Fine, fine. Where do you want me to show up if I have to go? The Roof? It's usually quiet up there, and I can always check where I'm landing first." October huffed at the idea, "I suppose I can behave myself and not use it for short cutting about."

That, and the current password made him cringe a little...

"The Roof would be fine," Coco nodded her head and smiled, " My primary request is that you don't use it in front of guests or others who don't know about your real origins. While we do get 'international' guests here now and then, it's not something we advertise to the world. No sense inviting trouble."

"Done." Now, October just had to deal with the first request. "What is this about vacation time? I wasn't aware I got any."

Coco shook her head on that. "You don't, but you were given 'bereavement leave' of a sorts to deal with your personal life earlier on, which I'll note you used to take some days off, and also disappeared for a few days, I presume traveling to somewhere else. I imagine Clarice is worried you will skip out with enough temptation, and she wants to lock you down so you have to come back."

Indignant was putting the growing sensation in October's chest mildly. "What!?" The nerve of that frosted bitch! "That is absurd! I'm here on my word and I have stuck throu-"

"October!" Coco's voice was loud and clear, but not angry. October glared at her, but settled the rest of his outburst into a rumbling growl with twitching tails...and several plots that involved Joltik in beds and other traps.

The Vulpix sighed a bit, but brought her voice back down to normal. "I don't agree with that intent, but as it is her primary concern, it will have the best result if dealt with. That is why I suggest a 'pre warning' system. Is there any way we can send you a message when you are away to remind you to come back so you're not late for you shift?"

Redirecting his thoughts, October considered the suggestion over. A message was a damn sight better than a lockdown - he could just ignore a message outright if he wanted. Not that he would actually let them lock him out of his own home. "There isn't a message system attached to it, but technically you can leave announcements with a timer or even a warning when using it. It could be used in that capacity I suppose...but that will only work for someone with the right authority.

Coco hopped down from her desk and came around the edge. "Then it is a good thing I am on duty today as one of Plaisir's HR managers. Shall we go get it set up properly?"

October blinked at this. "Wait, you want to go there now? What about my shift?"

"It is a slow day," Coco reasoned, "Chai's delivery list is short, and if something happens, Pouncer will wake someone up if he is in serious need of help. He is a competent manager; He can handle it. I don't know how long fiddling with your 'planar room' will take, which is why I wish to deal with it now."

With a huff, October rose up as well. "Alright, alright, though there isn't much to go over. It's mostly 'think and click.' Come here so I can touch you."

Coco complied, slipping about between the Ninetales front paws and looking up at him. As he put a paw between the 'shoulders' of her front legs and felt her six tails brush along his midriff, October thought of something and blushed. Coco noticed the hesitation and canted her head. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing! I was just reminded of...nevermind. You wouldn't know about that." Before Coco could pry further into his vault of dirty voyeurism, He spoke out. "Self-Introspection."

Coco watched with fascination as the room around them faded out, superimposed upon the face of something else she could not quite make out at first. It only took a matter of seconds before the mysterious imagery overcame that of her office, showing ancient stone walls and something below at her paws.

October was used to the way the phasing effect felt, going from one world back to the Tower. It was actually quite soothing - a slow ripple of 'not-water' floating over your form before everything went back to its normal feel again. he felt the surprise and tension in Coco's shoulders when it passed over her as well, but it eased off once they arrived.

The Planar room was a beautiful and terrifying place at all once. The ceiling reached quite high - certainly from a Vulpix' perspective - but the floor was what drew the eye. A vast number of sliding brass plates, all lit with assorted arcane runes, slowly moved about in the room. They looked a bit like circular rings, but here and there you could spot a distinct curve as the path being taken shifted. All without ever actually breaking the whole circle that was the shape of the room. Only the middle point they were standing on was stationary.

Coco was definitely impressed. "Oh my..." She could feel the faint hum of _potential_in the floor beneath her. October couldn't help but grin as she stepped forward and carefully tested a paw on the moving panels.She could feel them alright, but despite their shifting, her paw did not move with them. "How very strange! How do they move about like that? This, room, takes you wherever you want?"

"Yup!" October couldn't help but say with a little pride. he was more than proud to be the owner of such a marvelous device "Not even I have messed it up yet. I think there's a weird combination of spatial expansion and compression going on to do that. It's actually very simple to use, however, and-" Belatedly, October caught up with why there were here, in the Tower. His brief elation of being back was squashed beneath sad memories and the nature of their visit. "...that's not the point though. Shall we see about setting up your pesky message system?"

Brought back to focus on their objection, Coco fixed her gaze on October. "Yes. Let us see how this shall work..."

* * *

Some time later (which was about 1:47pm by the clock on Coco's desk), October appeared inside the office with a slow fade in. Like a ghost suddenly becoming a living creature of flesh once more, the red-and-black Ninetales gave his body a great shake as he finished his entry. "Bah! That took bloody forever..."

Glancing about, October looked 'up' at the invisible window to where Coco should have been watching him. "You next. Don't make me drag you back out." After several seconds, he watched as Coco reappeared, in her chair, with a smug look. "A very interesting room, you have there." She replied conversationally. "So that is it? We can come and go here as we like, and to send a message, I simply have to think the command words?"

October gave a nod of his head. "It is set. Until you're dead or opt to unlock it with me, I can't even remove you from the list of privileges. To prevent the place becoming useless." That was a complete lie, if only technically. All October would have to do was 'reset' the entire thing to make it work again. It would delete all of his saved locations and their trigger words, but if he was determined, it wouldn't take that long to jot them all down and put them back in later.

Coco became thoughtful at that. "I see. Firenze or I can now send you a prompt when needed, and to go there all we have to do is say-"

"Don't-say-it-now!"October yelped, then tucked his ears in embarrassment. "It will teleport you as long as you say it, regardless of intention. That was the whole point of changing it in the first place. You kept saying 'self introspection' so many times while we were there..."

Coco blinked in surprise at this, and smirked. October sensed a sudden mood of mischief from her. "Well, such _self-introspection_is an important part of improving one's character. If we do not learn from our surroundings and actions, or question the _self-introspection_of those we might read in a story or see on a TV show..." The Vulpix actually gave a small, girlish giggle at the way October was suddenly banging his head against the front of her desk. "Are you quite alright? Should I call for Firenze to check on you? I'm sure he'd like to help you out with any _self-introspection_you may be needing right now."

"You are being absolutely evil, after the indecency I just let you put on me..." October growled from below the desk.

October paused, but muttered something rude. Coco opted not to hear it for now, but held back on her teasing. "My apologies, October. I did take a bit of privilege there. I take it I can at least _write_the new password to show it to Firenze, yes?"

October's head came back up, glaring. he nodded. "Burn it afterwards. It's no good to anyone that has not been there, but I don't want Eclipse to find out. Bad enough he stalks me here."

With her nod of assent, October suddenly turned and made for the door. "It's about time for my shift to end now. I'm off to have a smoke, and coffee, or a coffee and smoke! Tata-cheers-don't-call-me-back-for-a-week!"

Coco watched as the red-and-black Ninetales made his way swiftly from her office. She couldn't help but shake her head and smile as she looked down at the various papers across her desk. "Oh October, you'd make a very fine addition here, even with the mischief, if you learned to adapt to it...Oh well. Perhaps that will happen after the debt is paid."

Content with the way things were going for now, Coco nudged through a pile of notices and mail that had arrive while she was out with October. A particular notice made her blink in surprise before she dragged it out into full view. It was a focused shot of October, designed in a rather old fashion, wild west style script...

She glanced up at the corner where a note was attached. It had come from Clarice. "Oh bother..."

* * *

It was with typical single-mindedness that October proceded down the corridors under Plaisir. That meeting with Coco had been long and not a bit aggravating; the call of cigarettes was strong. He passed the hanging washing without a second thought, and barely glanced at the Pokémon currently busy cleaning out the sheets from last night - though, he did focus his thoughts just long enough to give a quick, taunting grin at the pair of Unfezants. They weren't amused, but October let himself be.

But with a dart out of the doors, he was back on track for his room.. He wondered idly about Chai - the Umbreon would surely be craving one too, after all that shiftwork. Hell, it was gone noon, after all. Ah, but he shouldn't be such a bad influence on the poor guy... such a terrible habit, after all.

October snorted as thoughts along the lines of "sucking in" and "nice, hot rod" wisped through his mind like smoke. Ah well... he'd take a few regardless, for a friend after all. Hm. Curious - was there anyone else that smoked at Plaisir? Perhaps something a little bittersweet, like the stuff that Torterra had provided. He'd not seen anyone do it. Surely there must be a few, and... why was he thinking about this? He-

"Yo."

October gave a little jump where he stood, giving his mane a shake as he stopped abruptly. He blinked a few times - blast! He'd been caught in surprise so easily! He'd have to watch himself for that...

The Ninetales found himself looking up at a Zoroark, who leaned back against a blank, unobtrusive door set into the wall. The anthro fox was taller than October was on his own four Ninetales feet, and his large mass of deep red and black hair cascaded down to the floor behind him. Piercings housed a few slowly dying glowsticks which dangled from the Zoroark's large and pointed ears, and in one hand, he twirled a bulky e-cigarette. The bittersweet flavour from before caught October's nose again.

Zoroarks. October's mind turned over the situation quickly. He'd never been overly trusting of the species - that illusory ability just meant they had something to hide, after all - and after his experience with a number of Dark types he'd learnt to be a little... wary.

It was a little more than that too - this one seemed a little familiar. October had seen him before... yes, he was sure of it. It had been down in Dark Pulse, the Café's nightclub. There had been something a little ominous about him then.

Ah, but then - he was a fox. Wasn't that to be expected?

After just a moment's internal deliberation, October decided to take the chance, and treat him as the fellow vulpine he was.

"Aha! Greetings and good afternoon!" he said, giving him a fresh Ninetales smile. Ah yes. Someone to really talk to."Shirking from shiftwork as well, are we?"

"Shift hasn't started for me, so unless I find a reason to, I think I should be on time." The Zoroark responded. His words carried a distinctly mid-American accent - rather typical, given the Café's location - and were well-annunciated and assured. "Though announcing your failings is a rather interesting way to start a conversation."

"Ahhh..." October said, trailing a little, letting his gaze wander over the Zoroark's expression. Oooh. Banter. He liked this. "Well, aha. To pursue the finer things in life, one must have to shake off the shackles of responsibility now and again, you see?"

The Zoroark regarded him for a little while, pausing with the e-cig just past his lips. His eyes, one red and one blue, seemed to search as they gazed at October, who stared straight back with his own green ones. Yes, yes, he was quite sure this was the same Zoroark from before. It was rather refreshing to have him so calm and nonchalant. Perhaps the stalking before had just been a playful game after all?

Eventually, the Zoroark gave a shrug. "Ravage." He said, taking in a small drag of the e-cig whilst extending a clawed paw.

October gave a smirk as he took it in a black-tipped tail. "October. I'm assuming Ravage is another of these self-adopted "Bed Names" I've been hearing about?"

"Seems suitable enough, I feel." Ravage responded. "Sets people in the right mindsets."

October showed a few teeth with his next grin. It wasn't bad. Perhaps he could have used it himself. A little on the nose, true, but...

"I've seen you around on my shift." The Zoroark continued, tracing the claws of his free paw through his black chest-fur. "You're the new guy who broke that window, right?"

This time, the grin was a little sheepish. October tried to hide the modicum of pride at the recognition, too. "That'd be me! October, slayer of monsters, wrecker of glass, and foe to a few choice air-vents!"

Ravage gave a grunt of amusement, twirling the e-cig back for another puff as the Ninetales struck a little pose. "I'd say public nuisance is another failing."

"I'd say it's simple fun." October said, his tails dancing. "C'mon. I'm sure you've done the same in your time."

"Bedframes count, right?" Ravage asked stoically.

There was a pause. A smirk crept across the Zoroark's face. They both gave a short snort of laughter. _Yes. This is what I needed! Another fox._October thought gleefully. He had to admit, he was warming to the guy. If he had actually gotten to talk to him sooner, he might have made a great addition to his little group of trouble-makers. Better late than never.

"So what has you up so early?" October asked, settling down on the floor of the corridor. "I'd be asleep if my shift wasn't until afternoon like you lot. Even now!"

Ravage shrugged. "I never slept last night. Spent most of it in there," - he pointed his e-cig above October's room, to the infernally loud dancefloor - "and a little help out in here." He waved it back to the door behind him.

The dance floor... as hated as it was, he supposed he could pardon a fellow vulpine for the indulgement! As for the door he was leaning against, October was stumped. What was in there...? Ah - the Café had plenty of function rooms for all numbers of miscellaneous events. A little private party, most likely.

"A fun-filled night of daring, dark escapades and twilight butts, huzzah!" October said with a large grin. He had to engage an upbeat attitude anyway, establish a little rapport with the guy. Ravage just shrugged.

"No, actually. A quiet night. Which brings me onto you, as a matter of fact."

The Ninetales blinked as Ravage puffed on his e-cig. The smoke of the artificial flavouring wafted through the air.

"Well, at the risk of sounding like a cliché... me?"

"Mmhmm." Ravage replied, tapping the e-cig against his lips as he looked down at the Ninetales with a blank, nonplussed expression. "I said I saw you around. Some new guys can always be a bit of fun. I was wondering if, tonight, you'd like to join me in there." He waved at the room behind him. "A fellow Pokémon in the Plaisir night."

October tilted his head. A fellow Pokémon? Well... that was sufficiently vague.

"You strike me as the kind of guy to hold his own." the Zoroark continued. "Come on, you and me, could have plenty of fun working together..."

Ravage continued watching as October worked this through. Hold his own, working together? Well, with that sort of talk, this seemed more and more like some kind of partnership...

A smile crept across his muzzle anew. A vulpine partnership.

"Together?"

"Think you'll be good enough?" He said teasingly.

"Aha!" October laughed, his tails brandishing behind him. "You don't_know_what a Ninetales can do!"

Ravage let out another smirk now to join October's. "Hah. You think I don't?"

"It'd be hard to keep up with this species, I'm just saying..." The Ninetales flashed his teeth again.

The Zoroark snorted in amusement, unzipping and reaching into a small pouch dangling from a chain around his waist. October half watched him fish a mobile phone from it, and lingered with his gaze just long enough just to appreciate the vulpine's hips. This particular Pokémon didn't seem to have been around when a sense of modesty was being handed out.

"I'll hold you to that. Think you can be the best Ninetales?"

"Who'd be better than the great October as a partner?" Another flourish of the tails.

Ravage smiled. "Have a little competition then", he said offhandedly, and flipped the phone around.

October looked at the picture displayed.

At first, he did nothing. Even the grin stayed on his face, though less because the feeling was there and more in the way a computer screen freezes when confronted with something unexpected. And this... this was unexpected.

His mind began to slowly take in was displayed behind the cracked glass of the screen.

It was the bondage equipment he was forced to acknowledge first; the glinting chains clasped around those legs, the zip-ties taut around the muzzle, the tube stretching from the cock to a large cylinder labelled "CUM CONTAINER" in large, unfriendly letters, laying on the dark stone floor. The collar stood out too, nestled in that golden neck fur. It _had_to be the bondage equipment that stood out first, of course. It was, comparatively, the nicer thing about the picture. He was working his way up to the next fact.

October felt the fires inside him flicker. The air felt cold and icy.

The poor soul, trapped and bound, in the picture...

It was Firenze.

"He's good. Ooooh, is he good." Ravage said. The words washed into October's ears, settling gently on the pile of realisation. "Came to me and everything. Tested him out a little. Got a few more pictures in here too..."

October watched the cavalcade of horror unfolding before him as the images slipped past, one by one...

"That's..."

"Mister Firenze, yes. Well, I like to know him as my big dog." Ravage pulled the phone back up. October's eyes didn't move.

"So go on then. You've got a challenge. Try and see if you can do better, all bound up and trapped. Hah... I'd sure like to see you shake off these shackles of responsibility when I'm around. C'mon boy. Don't think you can do it, that it?"

"I think..." October found himself saying, "I'm going... to... be going. Right about now. Yes. Going."

Ravage paused. "What's up? I didn't..."

The Zoroark's words trailed off, fading quickly. Though, thinking about it later, October realised that it could have been because he was already half way down the corridor and still accelerating.

* * *

Millions of thoughts whirled about through October's mind as he found himself doubling back through the laundry room, absentmindedly pushing past someone on his way. What the hell had he just seen? The fact that the Zoroark had offered for him to take Firenze's place in that mess hadn't really bothered him as much as the sight itself of the usually-magnificent Ninetales - indeed, that fact didn't even occur to him.

Even the idea of bondage wouldn't have bothered him (much), had it been anyone but Firenze. Honestly, he was surprised he'd kept it together when he'd seen it. Sure, he was all but sprinting up the set of stairs before him, but that was about as calm as he would expect to be. Images of the collar, the shackles, the muzzle ties, all flanked by that ever-lustrous golden fur flashed through his mind again, unbidden. The look of those red, gleaming eyes staring at the camera...

October began to notice his breathing had sped up. The air around him became distorted by waves of heat rising off of him, the aura intensified by raging emotions. His tails were fanned out to express his presence as he trotted briskly. October didn't really care that he would risk setting things on fire if he let it rise too much. What did it matter if his reckless barging through doors meant bumping into someone and knocking them aside?

Nevermind them. What did it matter if he was a little rough with the scenery?

He found himself reevaluating his opinion of the Ninetales he'd looked up to since they'd met. Was he not as regal as he'd seemed? Had he imagined his majestic appearance in the golden one's sheer size?

Had his secret admirations become nothing but _another_embarrassing mistake on his list of troubles at Cafe Plaisir? Fuming anger suddenly changed course into depressing dismay. Why was he angry? Was he angry with Ravage for doing that to Firenze? At Firenze for supposedly asking for it? At himself for basically falling head-over-tail for someone? Was this the real reason Silver left him? Did he somehow think that he had found someone 'else'?

He stumbled as he walked straight into a passer-by on the corridor, and mumbled a quiet apology as he continued on his way without even looking at them. As quickly as it had risen, the heat wave around him had vanished with the change of his thoughts.

He came to realize he had absolutely no idea where he was going. He guessed he needed some place to wind down, but now that he thought about it, where was there to go that was quiet enough? Outside, probably, but he'd already ascended a flight of stairs. He was sure there was another reason he couldn't go outside he was forgetting. He needed a chance to collect himself, to think this out rationally...

Firenze had looked exhausted. Ravage's words echoed in his mind, bringing to his thoughts the idea that perhaps Firenze had been forced into it. Surely he'd never bow down before anyone of his own free will, right? October would have been ready to say that Firenze was the top Fox to beat all top Foxes. That had to be why he was having a hard time wrapping his head around this - he had misunderstood something.

Typical of him, he decided to act before considering the possibility of being incorrect. He stopped and looked around briefly. Right in front of him was the waiter's lounge, and... wasn't Firenze's room or office just past there? He figured he was about to find out, either way, as he pushed through the doors.

It only really clicked that there'd been voices coming from behind those doors when they suddenly stopped, with every waiter in the lounge turning to look at him. Everything paused, even October was struck by the strangeness of the situation.

He probably would have basked in their rapt attention had he not been on official October business. As it was, he ignored their stares and continued towards the door on the right. Yes, he was sure of it, Firenze's room was just past here...

"You should probably go."

October turned around to find Chai standing right behind him. He definitely wasn't there before, and October was surprised to see him here.

"What're you doing here?" October asked, watching him with a calm stare, trying to look like nothing was wrong. It was starting to occur to him he might need directions, and Chai would be the least awkward to ask.

"I followed you here," Chai replied simply, matter-of-factly. "You looked pretty shaken, and I was gonna ask what the hell happened, but..."

October sat down and looked away with a nervous chuckle, trying to play it off. "Well, I wouldn't say 'shaken', per se..."

"...right now, pretty much everyone here's after the bounty on your head," Chai continued, completely ignoring him.

"Uh. Bounty?" October's stare snapped right back to the nonchalant Umbreon. "Hey, just because I embark on plenty of adventures doesn't mean they're _all_illegal!"

"Nah, the adventures you've been on ain't the problem." Chai watched him with an almost cautious look. October noticed he was still standing, poised to move at a moment's notice. He cast a quick glance around at the other occupants of the room. "More like... Clarice has an adventure of her own in mind, since she's the one who put that bounty out in the first place. Look, point is, we gotta go."

"Oh, that bitch... I hesitate to think what Clarice considers an 'adventure." October mumbled. Slowly, he stood up again, ears pricked up for any signs of movement from around him. Everyone was still staring at him, as if waiting for their chance. He lowered his voice, pointless though it was due to the silence in the room, and continued. "So, for the sake of my own ass, I'll follow you for now. But I need to find Firenze as soon as we have a chance."

Chai's ears perked up at his, a look of disbelief on his face. "You kidding? You need to stay away from Firenze right now." Chai said, stepping backwards towards the door October had just come in from.

"I... oh? What for?" October frowned as he turned to followed Chai. The moment he did he heard a sudden shuffling as a strong-looking female Raichu leaped at him with a victorious cry of "Now!" Chai, still alert, swiftly pulled October out of the way by the scruff of his neck; the Raichu landing flat and getting piled on by her henchmen.

October couldn't help but look back briefly at the pile of Pokemon that had tried to catch him. "Well, I suppose it's time for another great Fox hunt: the hunt for Red October. Let's get this over with!"

Chai just sighed as he shoulder-barged the door open with a loud slam.

"We need to move," Chai growled, side by side with October only for a brief moment longer before the ever-eager fox dashed off on his own. "Hey, What the hell!? I thought I was leading?"

Already, October was down the hall and around the corner, following along through the private rooms and down the nearby set of stairs, Chai sprinting madly after him to keep up. He was fast, yes, but not quite as fast as October, so he had to keep him in his line of sight as much as possible to see where to follow. The faint sound of talking was coming from one of the side rooms, but Chai didn't pick up any of the words as he whisked by.

The bar that was 'Captivate' stood before them both as they came down from the second floor seating. The room was unsurprisingly empty at this time of the day, only truly active during busy days or the more common inhibitions that the nightlife brought. The lights were currently untinted, giving the normally blue-hued room a deceptive sense of normalcy; it looked more like a cozy little restaurant with a deliberate attempt at not using a single table, but plenty of comfortable seats to lounge about.

The stage was bare and almost innocent-looking, from curtain to catwalk to the pole left out in the middle of the floor. There were two other stripper poles set up on the floor a little further off from the stage pole, allowing a mixture of alluring sights to the indecisive patron. All the seats were strategically set so that at least one pole was always in sight, and the path around the room gave easy access wherever you came along.

Even the bar was unattended, though a small grill was pulled over to protect the stock from unwanted pilfering.

October was dashing down the last set of steps that put him on the floor itself and promptly turned to burst out the main doors into the guest hallway. Chai leaped the last few steps down to try and gain a little headway, even leaping across the small stage that was a booth pole situated near the swinging doors, but upon darting through he only figured out that the Ninetales had gone into the main bar by the grace of the still swinging side door.

What the hell was he doing there, Chai wondered? Did he intend to blend in with a crowd or something? There was no way that was going to work, he was certain. October, blend in? You needed an actual crowd to even try!

Chai pushed his way into the main bar. The place was almost completely barren, with no one there but Chai, October and Jack, the seemingly ever-present barman. October had taken refuge behind the bar, with his tails poking out above it. He seemed to be having a small hissing argument with the incensed Typhlosion. With a sigh, Chai quickly made his way towards him and calmly lifted a paw over the base of his tails, pushing them down out of sight.

"I_really_hope you don't smash all my fine liquors back here. That is going to cost more than a pretty penny... or a window, for that matter." Jack's words were light hearted - even if it was only his Irish accent that made them so - but his face was expressionless.. He ignored Chai's presence for the moment. "Why do you got to hide in here anyways?" Thankfully, Jack didn't seem interested in getting physically unhelpful, but if he kept talking to them when the others caught up...

"We'll get a better hiding spot, I promise," Chai intervened before October could pipe in, looking just as aggravated, "but they'll be here any minute, Jack. Just don't mention we're here and-"

Just then, they heard movement from where they'd come from. Even Jack turned to look as Chai peeked over the abandoned bar to see that the doors were still slightly swaying. Thinking quickly, Chai hissed at October to stay still, gave Jack a look to plead for him to utter not a word and burst from his hiding spot, sprinting towards the doors on the opposite side. He slammed through them with a loud bang and didn't bother making sure they were undamaged before beginning to rush back towards the bar. The sounds of their pursuers grew louder faster than he'd expected, leaving him right out in the open...

Several Pokémon entered the room in search of them, but all they saw was Jack looking annoyed at the commotion. October's ears perked from his hiding place behind the bar His was holding his breath...

"Where'd they go?" a female voice asked. It sounded like the Raichu from earlier. "Jack - did you see October and that Umbreon run through here?"

Jack didn't glance down at his stowaway, but instead gestured off to the side. "The doors are still swinging. " he replied, offhand. "Try not to chase them too hard, would you? That Ninetales is clumsy enough as it is, I don't want him breaking anything else."

The footsteps picked back up one at a time. A smaller, softer set followed by heavy footsteps. Judging by the delay between thuds, the second one was a biped, and a heavy one at that. "Move! Maybe we can cut them off at one of the corners." said a new voice, masculine and determined. "Thanks, Jack."

"Just keep 'em away from the guests, you three..."Jack brushed off the thanks and went back to polishing glasses. His muzzle gave the hint of a smirk.

October listened to the fading sounds as the group of hunters passed them by and exited through the doors Chai had slammed open. He was surprised the feint had worked, but what happened to Chai? He peeked up from the bar to scan the room.

The Umbreon appeared from behind one of the couch seats near a table - he had barely managed to squeeze behind it when the others had shown up. "I don't think they'll fall for it twice." he said once the sounds of their pursuers were gone. October finally let go of the breath he'd been holding. "Where to hide...Oh, Thanks Jack. I guess I owe you one."

"You can thank me by keeping _him_away from anything either valuable or fragile, though I keep saying that like some broken record" Jack replied pointedly, not looking at them as he focused on the glass he was cleaning "And anyway - if I'd have just gave him away and got this over with, I can just see it now - glass and booze everywhere, and Nurse Boora hovering over all of us with a pair of tweezers trying to find every sliver that stuck us."

October gave a shudder at the thought of being trapped with Nurse Boora more than the potential injuries of glass shrapnel. It did, however, spark an idea. "What about back where we were?" he suggested. "Would they think to search the place it all began?"

"The waiter's lounge?" Chai paused, frowning thoughtfully. "That's... fucking stupid. But that's why it might work, and it's better than staying here. Try to think of another hiding spot on the way, the lounge won't hold as one for long."

"Will we need to hide? I'd rather not have to." October slowly stood up straight and emerged from behind the bar, heading for the door they'd come from, followed by Chai. "And isn't Firenze's room on the way? I need to speak with him."

Jack gave a snerk of amusement, catching October's attention. "You walked right past it," Chai muttered, smirking faintly at the quiet sigh drawn from the fox, ashamed of his own obliviousness. Jack gave them both a wave of farewell as they fled.

They left the main bar and re-entered the hallway to Captivate. It was still as empty as before. "Seriously? I walked right by it?" October sighed as they went back into the empty lounge. They made their way up the stairs they'd just dashed down, now at a much more relaxed pace. "Well, if we can get in there, maybe I can ask him about the bounty, after I clear up a couple of other things."

"No reason to ask him about the Bounty - Clarice wants your ass, or I guess she wants your balls. Maybe she's getting desperate and wants to fuck you obedient. And why do you need to talk to Lord Fire Breath so badly?" Chai asked. "He might just turn you in for the bounty himself. Something happen? You got a crush on him? Or what?"

"Oh, it's nothing like that...!" October replied, a little too quickly, with a nervous chuckle. He said nothing to the possibility of Firenze actually trying to capture him. "It's just, ah... I heard a rumour, and I wanted to be sure it wasn't true. Or rather, I know it's true, I just want to be sure I'm misunderstanding." Memories were being stirred once more, reminding him what he had been up to before this merry chase.

Ironically, it had been giving him the peace of mind he had been looking for to think - he just neglected to use that time to do that. Now it was slowly unraveling once more as he consider what he had seen...

"A rumour, huh...? I'm guessing you're not gonna tell me?" Chai gained a renewed interest now. Cafe Plaisir was as gossipy as any place of work could be, and it was not the first time he and October had 'talked smack' about the more successful employees. This was a first time October had hinted at something on Firenze, however.

"Oh, no, of course not." He glanced away, ears pricked up, alert for any remaining pursuers. He hoped it covered up the look of guilt. "I have no intention of spreading false rumours."

"You just said it was true." Chai's smirk widened slowly as he watched and gauged October's response. Seeing his apparent nervousness, he grinned. "So what's the dirt, huh? Must be good if it's got you on edge."

"It's..."

Just then, a sudden shuffling sound shut them up and froze them in their tracks. Further ahead, just past the turn of the hallway and a small AC grill, someone was making their way towards them! Was it another hunter?

There was no way they could hide in the small hallway. Chai quickly looked around for an alternate route. A parted curtain presented itself like a divine favor.

As the sound came closer, Chai quietly hissed at October to follow, since he didn't seem to spot the opportunity behind them. Why was he so unobservant today? Walking past Firenze's room, forgetting to hide his tails, and now this. He didn't seem like he was all there.

There wasn't much time to worry about it, but as they took refuge in the booth, Chai watched him in silence. He actually looked worried, or scared... Chai wondered what was going on in his mind. He didn't think the bounty was something serious, did he? Did it have something to do with the rumour about Firenze? If he was afraid of getting fired...nah. October wasn't afraid of getting fired. He might have been afraid of having nowhere to go, on the other hand...

Briefly lost in his own thoughts, Chai did not realize October was staring at something behind them in the room. They had planted themselves at both sides of the entryway curtain, pressed tightly against the wall to minimize the chance of them being spotted.

They had not taken the time to check if the room was occupied.

Before them both, frozen in place and staring at them with a wide eye and a faint blush, a Keldeo was positioned over a naked human. The human was unmistakably female, given she was bent over on all fours, rump in the air, but the most telling detail was the massive equine shaft that was stretching her feminine lips wide. She was panting heavily, clearly enjoying herself, and apparently unaware of their new audience.

Chai froze and displayed absolute silence when footsteps passed near the entryway. Too late to close the curtain now, they just hid out of sight and waited for the sound to pass. October was staring, with a raised eyebrow, at the obscene bulge that was showing in the tilted belly of the woman, causing the Keldeo to blush harder. The blush gained another step as the woman moaned out, "More, give me more, please~ Aquarius you stud."

That's right - there was a Keldeo - Aquarius - who sometimes came by the Cafe as a part time waiter. Chai wanted to smack himself for forgetting that, but he hadn't expected to run into the 'Legendary' waiter during their chase, let alone run into him shoved almost balls-deep in some human.

Not wanting to alert his 'client' to their discovery, Aquarius gave them both a look and silently mouthed 'Not a word. Get out!' as he started rocking his hips again. The stretched lips of the woman seemed to stretch a little more as the equine pressed forward, then started pulling out nearly all the way. October made a small noise as the resumed movements showed other details they had missed, like the rivulets of liquid that had drenched the woman's thighs and legs.

The Keldeo was making slow, deep strokes, made apparent when he then slid himself right back in, releasing a fresh moan from beneath as that belly grew its abnormal bulge once more. Aquarius's heavy, black sac glistened with sweat. They must have been at this for a good while, if such slow, deep movements had caused all that seeping mess of pre and had the Pokemon sweating with anticipation. Aquarius still watching them both, flushed, as he kept making gesturing movements to the entryway.

October made another sound. Chai looked over to see him holding a paw over his muzzle, watching the action with what looked like a mixture of shock, awe and horror. His ears told him their hallway hunter was still close, and he could hear the faint sound of sniffing. There was a low grumble he couldn't make out, but the sound of pawsteps moved onward - away.

The coast likely clear now, Chai was about to signal October they could leave when a gasp came from the coupling duo. Aquarius was no longer glaring at them as his hips suddenly gave a hard buck. The woman moaned out in pleasure and pain, then did so each time the Keldeo pulled back and firmly jabbed her insides again with his 'Phallic Sword.' He was paying them no attention now as his balls pulled upward, working. Despite the modest lighting of the room, both voyeur Pokemon watched with amazement as the impaled shaft pulsed and throbbed with orgasm. The belly bulge below got bigger, and the woman's toes curled as she shuddered in ecstasy.

Chai gained enough of his wits back when Aquarius had pulled back again for another thrust. It was too much of an invitation not to let some of his load to suddenly seep out around the stretched vulva and drip messily to the floor. October was clearly about to say something at the sight of it, but instead gave out a small yelp when Chai bit him by the scruff again and dragged him out.

Aquarius and his client didn't even notice.

The snuffling Pokemon was gone - apparently having headed down into Captivate. Chai had let October go as they crept quietly but quickly towards the waiter's lounge again. "How the hell does he _fit_all that in there!?" October whispered loudly, apparently scandalized by the scene. "That thing could have stretched her so loose she would have never walked straight again!"

Chair looked at October with some disbelief. He knew the Ninetales had a bit of an issue with humans, and he could accept that, but it sounded like he had just as much issue with Aquarius, which seemed very odd. "What are you going on about? Sure, it's big on someone's Aquarius size, but that's normal for horse types. Don't tell me you got penis envy now? There are even bigger ones if you don't mind getting split in half." They paused briefly for him to peer carefully into the waiter's lounge - it was still empty. They stayed outside in the hallway between the doors separating them from the stairs. "You're acting like you've never seen sex before, October. Sheesh. I mean, look what you did to Tiny!"

October sighed with disgust, then put his head down shamefully. "I'm not_racist_against horse types, really. I'm just...we don't get along. They make me nervous with how they get nervous and it sort of spins about. Maybe it's a tiny bit of penis envy too, after seeing _that_in action. I don't exactly go looking for them."

Chai seemed to be briefly lost in thought. Without anyone else there, they could at least relax enough to let their hearts settle a bit from the skulking and accidental voyeurism. A free show was a free show, though Aquarius had some misgivings about it, apparently.

"Well, shit happens. If you got some bad history with horse types, I can't really say you're being stupid, but it doesn't sound like something you should let spoil your fun." Chai finally shrugged, indulging the moment to preach at October for once. "It's not like Aquarius is gonna try and stomp you into the ground on purpose...not if you apologize later anyways. I think he shoots water out of his hooves. He's a lot nicer than Rain Flower, at least."

October did a double take at that last bit of information, and Chai couldn't help but grin evilly at him. "W-What!? He shoots water from his-?" Chai nodded at the worried look the Ninetales gave. "Oh Fortuna...why are there so many bloody water types here? Can't the next surprise be a ground type or something? I'm okay with ground types, I think. I'm pretty sure I'm okay with them..."

Chai indulged himself in a snicker at October's expense, then nudged him with his head. "Come on. Firenze's room is this way. If you're so determined to ruin His Majesty's beauty sleep for your rumour, now's as good a time as any to get it over with."

October nodded with a huff, pausing briefly to stare at the doors leading back to the stairwell. and the few rooms just past it, where something else caught his focus...

Chai actually started feeling hopeful about his chances here, until he pushed through the door to see a burly-looking Machoke blocking Firenze's doorway across the room, with a stoic posture and his arms crossed in front of him. He grinned at both of them now that they were aware of each other. Chai, unimpressed, approached with a cruel glare.

"What, Firenze's got his own personal bouncer now?" Chai growled sarcastically. "What're you doing here?"

"Cashin' in on the bounty," the Machoke replied with a slow shrug. "Figured someone'd eventually bring'em by here, thought the easiest thing'd be to wait." The Machoke took a step forward as he tilted his head to the side. A series of popping noises ensued and repeated as he tilted it the other way. "Looks like i was right. You two didn't even notice me until you looked this way. Now be a good bad dog and lemme take you to Clarice so you can-"

"Abso-fucking-lutely not!" The words burst out of October so loudly that Chai jumped in surprise. Even the Machoke was startled at the reaction, which worked perfectly for October.

Seizing Chai by the scruff this time, the Ninetales barged back through both doors into the waiter's lounge and darted for the other door of the room. Chai flailed for a moment before October dropped him. He needed his head to butt the door open, and Chai was too squirmy. "What the fuck, October! That hurt!"

"Sorry - I'll make it up to you later, now run faster!" October was already on the other side, holding the door open to the fuming Umbreon. Chai was about to say 'Why?' when a sudden thump made him look back.

There was the Machoke, no longer staking out a room, but chasing after them with every intention of tackling them to the ground.

"Holy Shit! Run!" Chai's claws gouged the floor as he suddenly leaped through the open door and forward. It slammed shut behind him. Chai had been expecting to hear October following him down the hall, but instead he heard an odd noise that sounded like...hacking?

October was making a will-o-wisp, his mouth open and his breath exhaling in a controlled fashion. The green fireball actually came on the first try, which pleased the Ninetales to no end as he rested it on the doorknob. the metal quickly gained a rosy orange hue, which was just in time for the door to buckle. October gave an indignant yelp at the noise and fell backwards, the will-o-wisp sputtering out, but the deed was done. A loud series of swear words issues from the other side of the door as Chai watched in surprise. The sound of feet running away quickly followed.

"The fuck did you just do?" Chai couldn't help himself - he knew what had happened now that he saw it in action, but he couldn't believe October - the flaming failure - had pulled it off. "That was...fucking brilliant! I think you ruined the door, but brilliant!"

October gave him a proud look as he trotted over to join him, looking around at their options. "I was inspired by a movie, and Jack - though I don't think that door is gonna open again for awhile. Everyone else is going to be concerned with not breaking things, but all's fair in bounty hunts. We really do need a new hiding spot now before he catches up to us. He's faster than I expected for a rack of muscles. Still a slowpoke, but he might actually grab us if he catches us off guard."

He was right, of course. Chai knew well enough the stairs by the management was an easy way to get around, and they were right next to the other set of stairs that would lead the Machoke right to them. "Okay then. A spot to hide...follow me."

October followed along with a renew bounce to his step as Chai lead him into the central point of the hallway. Chai gestured towards a nice, pleasant curtained entryway to their left - a golden plaque sat above it:

Plaisir Bathing Facilities

• Showers, Massage, sauna, and hot tub are available!
• Your very own attendant for your pleasure!
• Whether by appointment or a simple call from nature, we got it (un)covered!

"Is...that seriously a bathroom?" October asked with a hint of worry. "Who thought up that sign? It's like they're asking you to just walk in, whip it out and, well, you know, pee on something. And you already know my rule on water and showers!"

"Hey, I don't pick out the signs," Chai snapped with a little annoyance, glancing back at the stairs. His twitching ears suggested he could hear noises below, "and if you'd just man up a little, you'd recall we're trying to hide - they wouldn't expect you in there, would they? We can hide in the supply closet if you're that afraid the faucets are going to turn on by themselves."

"I believe anything is possible in this place if it means my doom," the Ninetales said in a comical voice of darkness, "but I don't trust supply closets anymore than showers right now. Chances are_those_two will be in there... We'll save it as a 'last resort'. First, we need to figure out how to get back now that the door is-"

The sound of pounding feet suddenly hitting the stairs made both of them start. "Door to right!" Chai hissed, realizing the Machoke was almost on them again. He rushed forward ahead of October this time. Half hidden behind one of the pillars decorating the area was a wood-and-glass door. He popped it open with with a quick tug on the handle. October followed suit, and they managed to get it shut with barely a sound. They ducked down low and to the sides, minimizing their visibility despite the glass panes of the door.

The Machoke still hadn't shown up, but it was only a matter of time. Recalling his last foray into the guest section of the Cafe, October suddenly acquired another grin. "Time to do something _right_this time around." He gave a little chuckle as he focused his power, twitching his tails while Chai watched with some confusion.

The confusion did not last as 'October' suddenly popped into view, along with Chai. They were pretty convincing imitations that began to 'trot' down the hallway obscured by another wall, heading towards the guest rooms. It was just in time too, for they must had gotten about halfway down when the Machoke suddenly appeared at the stairs. "Ah ha! Found you!, sneaky lil' firestarter!"

Both Chai and October had pulled back from the door's panes when the muscled brute had shown up, but the deed was done. "It won't last once it rounds the corner, so let's get...gah!" October had just started forward to cross the room when he felt it - and looked up to see the sky! Rain was drizzling lightly down into what would be the inner garden, dim from the apparent gloom of clouds above. it was light enough that even October hadn't noticed it falling on him - his heat neatly sizzling it away before it could wet his fur. "You didn't tell me it was raining!"

The room they had ducked into was just outside the balcony rest area - an area intended for those wanting to sit back a bit with a bit of fresh air to boot. A mixed assortment of soft chairs, lounge seats, and a few pillows allows just about anyone an excuse to sit back and relax inside, or to peer over the balcony half-wall to take a look up at the sky outside, where they were. The ivy-bedecked wall of the garden gave it a pleasant backdrop as well.

"Of course it's raining. Omen said it was going to rain all day. I thought you knew this already?" Chai shook his head as he started forward, but paused. His ears went into high alert again. "Wait, I hear...seriously?" Distracted briefly from their escape plan, the Umbreon went over to the barrier and propped himself up, peering_down_. "Oh, of course he would be here..."

October's curiosity got the better of him. Despite the 'mist' of rain, he wanted to know what had caught Chai's attention so easily. "What do you mean he would be here. Who's..."

"Gotcha!"

Both Pokemon turned and spotted a Jigglypuff to their left, balanced on top of the barrier separating them from a staircase down.. Though it was hard to tell from the body, the voice suggested it was male. 'He' was pointing at them both dramatically with a triumphant look. "The bounty is all mine! Now suffer the wrath...of music!"

Jigglypuff were notorious enough about their singing skills, and Chai and October were not surprised when he took in a breath and started singing, "Where have all the good men gone..." but it was October who sprang into action. He leaped forward at the stationary song-spinner and twisted his body about in a great twirl, "and where are all the-ACK!?" A giant scoop of red-and-black tails picked the Jigglypuff up and promptly tossed him over the balcony edge. "Nope! No singing from you!" October chimed in as the little puffball soared neatly into the rain - and down.

"October, don't!" Chai cried out in shock, trying to reach out to catch the Jigglypuff before he went over, but it was too late. The Umbreon watched in horror as he fell as October came over to the edge with a confused look. "What? He's a Jigglypuff - they can friggin _float_when they suck in air, and he was so light..."

"That wasn't why I didn't want you to do it." Chai replied darkly, and both watched as the Jigglypuff floated down into the tree in the middle of the garden, then down through the branches with a few muffled curses...then down right right into the soggy display that was the inner garden. In particular was the human and the Lucario openly fornicating.

Nature was on his back in the grass, fur quit damp, with his paws brushing over his large endowment in steady strokes. As feminine as the male acted all the time, the impressive length was displayed fully across his belly, throbbing and knot bulging. behind him, a human had the Lucario's legs propped on his shoulders as he rammed an appreciable length between those fluffy cheeks. The human looked pretty soaked as well, not wearing a stitch of clothing. They must have been out there awhile, or the rain had been heavier not long ago.

Chai muttered something about 'a show off' that October nearly missed as they watched the Jigglypuff land straight on the head of the rutting human. The human had paused to look up at the sudden scream of the falling Pokemon, and sheer surprise made him reflexively catch the Jigglypuff. The Jigglypuff flailed and panicked when he realized he had landed on a guest, which in turn made the guest panic and fall back in surprise at the large face screaming at him.

Nature had stopped his self pleasure to sit up and look up at where the Jigglypuff had come from. He looked at October and Chai with surprise and confusion. He rose quickly to his feet. "October!?"

"Oh - Hi there, Nature!" October called out with a pleasant smile, only a little sheepish. "It's nice to see you again without falling on top of you. Ah, sorry about the surprise gift though. I didn't know you were down there. Don't mind us! We'll just let you, ah, continue!"

Nature looked like he wanted to ask what was going on, but a yelp from his guest and the Jigglypuff pulled his attention back to them. The guest was Nature's first priority. "Sir, sir! Please calm down! He's just startled!" The scene was rather comical, with the Lucario's shaft bouncing around awkwardly as he tried to get closer without getting hit by the flailing human, but managed he did. "Really, it's okay! It was just an accident, sir..."

The door back to the hallway burst open beside Chai and October, interrupting the scene. Everyone looked over to see a rather angry looking Raichu glare at them both; It was the same one from earlier. "Give us the run around, will you!?" Apparently she was not happy about the misdirection.

Seeing the chase was once again in action, October looked back over the wall at the confused Lucario. "Sorrywillexplainlaterwasnicetoseeyoucumagainlater!" Chai was already rushing for the other door past the stairs as October followed, both neatly jumping the barrier in their way. The Raichu and her companions were close on his tails and there was a sound of something electrical building up. "You're not getting away again! Stop right the-"

October darted through the open door, left open by the Jigglypuff, Chai slammed it shut behind him. They covered their eyes briefly as a bright flash of lightning hit the door and wall. Thankfully, nothing exploded, though the lights in the hallway flickered and the doorframe shudder ominously.

The Cafe apparently invested in some very sturdy glass and wood doors...

They didn't wait to watch the Raichu's reaction, however, and were running down the guest hallway nearby. "Got any more ideas, cause we're starting to run out of places here." Chai asked. He was looking about for any signs of another ambush as October caught up beside him. This particular hallway, however lacked guestrooms - it was the opposite side of the massage area. "It feels like more of the staff got in on this once they realized what was going on."

"It must be one hell of a bounty then. I'm surprised you didn't try to lure me in-" October was cut off with a yelp as a flurry of needles flew past his ear and into the wall ahead of them. Both glanced back to see a Jolteon staring their way from down the hall, wearing what looked like a headset.

"Missed. Targets approaching lift and northeast staircase. Close in!" The voice was feminine, and excited. The Jolteon started forward after them, showing off a bit of that speed as she took aim at them again or supposedly did.. Somehow, another flurry of 'Pin missile' shot at them without her swinging her body into it. Chai leaped against the wall and pushed upward as the volley shot past where he was this time.

"Hey! What was that for!?" Chai shouted back indignantly. A quick glance down the other hall showed another group heading their way - the Machoke was now accompanied by a Pignite and a Poochyena.

October, however, looked quite shocked. "Neon!? You're chasing me too? How could you do something so...traitory!?" The Ninetales had paused in his moment of questioning only to be nipped by Chai into movement again.

"Sorry, October! It's nothing personal - I'll buy you a dozen drinks if I catch you first to make it up to you." Although Neon's voice was apologetic, the next volley of pin missile was not. It was October's turn to narrowly dodge the sharp tines.

"I think you were right about others noticing the bounty." October huffed as they bounded up the stairs. For now, Neon and the rest were out of sight, but they were far too close for them to stop now. "Isn't there a balcony up this way?"

"There is - but how come you remember that out of everything here?" Chai led them straight for the door of the top floor balcony. the rain was falling more heavily now, hard enough for October to wince as he felt each drop trying to pierce his fur to reach skin. Even after they slipped in, trying to shut the door quietly, they scurried as quickly as they could to another door - Someone could very easily see a glimpse of them if they weren't careful - the entire floor was full of windows out the outside here.

"I noticed during one of the morning breakfast runs, and wondered if it would be a good view down below from there-" October explained in a quieter voice, jumping the barrier of the balcony to the slanted roof after Chai, but bumped into his backside when the Umbreon stopped suddenly and turned to glare at him.

"You were thinking about Nature while you were with me delivering trays!?" he sounded angry and sad all at once. He paid no notice to October nearly slipping down the water-slickened roof from the sudden stop. "Of course, you like the pre-"

Despite the tongue lashing he had been about to deliver, both Chai and October ducked down, tails included this time, when the door across from them opened. The balcony ledge looking over the garden was just high enough to keep a human from falling over easily, which worked to conceal them. "Not out here - check!" The door shut and Chai peeked over cautiously. October picked up the conversation from there. "I wasn't thinking about spying on Nature - not by myself anyways. I just was curious about watching him with you, since you say he's such a good bedroom waiter. We could make little commentary for ourselves or see just what it is that makes him so good at this job." he explained calmly as he got back up, resuming the push towards another door. "I gave up on that idea awhile ago. It wasn't what you needed and I figured you'd get upset about it, like you just did."

Chai muttered a bit, a few choice words of rudeness, but the rest of it undecipherable. "Right... Well, thanks for not actually suggesting it, anyway. It looks like it paid off for the moment."

October gave a sad smile to the Umbreon as he started them moving again this time. "It's awkward enough Neon is in cahoots with Clarice right now. I swear, that Jolteon is too invested in her first person shooter obsessions. I had only joked about her hunting us all down..."

Out the south of the southeast doors, Chai and October slipped back into the cafe hallways. October's fur sizzled lightly as it let off a bit of steam. No one was around, but they could hear the pitter patter of various moving bodies in the distance. It seemed they had slowed down a bit to focus on spotting them.

"They're gonna find us if we don't figure out how to hide here. The stairs are probably guarded below. There's another balcony that way, but it's a dead end." Chai observed. they had stopped, but were running out of time quickly.

"What about in one of the guest rooms?" October perked up as he looked towards the doors near them. "Can you pick the lock?"

"Not unless I want to break my claws off failing. They use slide cards on this floor...except the balcony door sides. Someone might have left that unlocked." Chai gestured to a hallway partway down. "But if they didn't, we're screwed."

"Worth a shot." October aimed for the hallway with a bounding lope, followed quickly by Chai. They were down the hall without another witness, though they could hear them getting closer. With a nervous anticipation they pushed on the pair of glass doors that lead to the balcony space and found them unlocked. They both stopped at the intersection of the balcony as the doors quietly fell shut once more, peering over the landscape of the Cafe parking lot and the fields and plains beyond the road.

The rain had picked up during their running around - it was coming down more heavily than ever, October couldn't help but whimper nervously at the evil water. if it kept getting worse like this, it really would soak him to the bone - like acid!

"Suck it up, October. It'll be worse if they catch us." Chai hissed quietly as hopped the barrier separating the room balconies. "You try those two, I'll check these."

"But..but...fine. It's just a few, painful, acidic drops. That's all. I can survive a few seconds..." Taking a moment to brace himself, the Ninetales took the east side doors while Chai passed the first west one to try the farthest. All three doors proved soundly locked, however. The inner contents of the room were shielded neatly by closed window curtains behind the uncaring glass.

His coat was hissing obscenely from the rain drops hitting it. In a belated idea for a temporary shelter, he raised his tails over his head to make an improvised umbrella. At least now the painful spots and hissing were localized.

Worry starting to build up again, October slipped over to Chai's side and looked at the first door. "I didn't see you try this one." He reached a paw up to press the handle down...

"No!" Chai hissed out, headbutting the paw away. "Are you crazy!? That's Omen's room! Even if it is unlocked, do you have any idea what she might do to us if we snuck in there?"

The sound of investigation was getting closer, despite the rain. October could faintly hear one of them talking.. "That's assuming she is in there now, though I must admit I haven't met this 'Omen' yet. What's she like? Maybe we can plead our case?"

"An Absol, which is why she checks the weather for us, and rumor has it when she gets pissed she can be just as mean as Eclipse if you do it just right. I'd rather not find out if it's true." Chai was starting to reconsider the risk, however, as the noises of pursuit got louder. He carefully peaked around the edge to the glass door, and not seeing anyone, stalked up and pressed his ear to it.

"Do you think they went up to the roof?" Spoke one deep, glass-echoed voice. It was one of the Pokemon searching for them.

"No - it's raining still. I hear he's a real wuss when it comes to water of any sort. Be funny though, save us a lot of trouble I guess! Did you check the side balcony yet?" Another voice, louder and lighter, echoed through.

"Shit, shit, shit, what do we do..." Chai looked to the hallway, to Omen's door, then back to October. "It's your ass - you pick."

"Oh sure, leave me and my luck to saving our asses..." Still, now that he had the choice, October reached for the handle again. He did not know Omen, but it sounded like she would at least listen to an excuse before getting upset. If he was properly apologetic and suave about it, he could probably get away with the temporary intrusion....so long as she didn't have a guest with her, or was in the middle of anything personal.

Dark types really were a hassle and a half to predict at times. Why couldn't Omen just be a psychic-type overhearing the situation and open the door-

Before October's paw could push the handle down, the door swung open on its own. From within, a Pokemon face dark blue in color and surrounded by white fur peered at them both. Hir eyes seemed to see beyond October, looking him over as if evaluating a choice bit of meat as he tried not to shudder. There was something, different, about the Absol. Something that made him nervous. Hir eyes were more disturbing than the sharp blade of her horn, curved along as it was.

"Ah, haha, hello there! I am so terribly sorry to intrude but-" October managed to belatedly start with his half-assembled plan. He hoped he didn't look too ridiculous, half twitching from endured pain of sizzling tails. He could swear some of the water was going to somehow find a crack and slip through to drop on his head any moment.

Omen didn't give him a chance to try it. "Inside quietly, please." She stepped aside, one paw holding the door open. Chai didn't need another prompting as he stepped in quickly, tail a bit low as he watched Omen with some apprehension. October followed suit, and before he could so much as turn about to express his thanks, Omen had shut the door quietly and turned the lock.

"You are quite the little trouble-maker, October Flixard." shi said, cutting him off once more. October's eyes widen in surprise at the use of his full name, tails finally pulled back and steaming themselves dry.. "And I see you have brought Chai along as well." Shi eyed the Umbreon with what might have been curiosity, but Chai was too busy worrying about other things. He gulped nervously, trying not to blink as he peered back.

The sound of the bounty hunters could be heard outside the room, though faintly. Shi might have heard them talking earlier, which would explain her opening the door, but it was hard to tell. "We're terribly sorry for bothering you, Omen," October finally managed to say with as much formality as he could, "We thank you for your assistance, and shall be out of your way very shortly."

Omen smiled to him and bowed hir head. "It was no trouble. perhaps we shall have another chance to speak in the near future." Hir gaze turned to Chai as well, those piercing eyes burrowing into the Umbreon's head now. "You should consider visiting, sometime. Chai. If you had some questions you wanted to ask."

Chai started at that, looking to October guiltily as the Ninetales peered back with curiosity. Before he could respond, however, Omen was opening the balcony door again. "They have moved back now. This is probably your best chance to sneak away. Good luck. You shall both need it."

"R-Right. Thanks..." Chai slipped back out first, followed by a very reluctant October. Just as she had done when they first stepped in, the door was shut again, leaving them no chance to look back at her. "That was creepy, but at least she helped us..." Chai said with a sigh of relief. "Come on, let's try and get back to Firenze's room..."

"Ow! Curse this rain! Those eyes bugged me out a bit, like she could see everything I had ever done. Is that what it feels like to have a teacher stare at you like they know you didn't do your homework?" October tugged open the glass doors to let them both back in, steaming along the hall. No one was in sight.

Chai gave a snort at the question, smirking up at the Ninetales as they started forward again. "At what point in our time together have you_ever_gotten the impression I ever went to any sort of school?"

"There they are!"

Both of them had stepped into the main hallway without looking around the corners. Unfortunately, that meant they had walked into plain view of the Machoke group that had just come around the far corner. "Ah shit," Chai tensed up and nudged October to the right. "Cheese it!"

He didn't need telling twice. Both set off at full pace down the hall as the Machoke, Emboar, Poochyena gave chase after them again. The Machoke was behind his compatriots, serving as an impenetrable wall. There was no way they were going to get past all of them in that small hallway - not with him there.

"They're gonna catch us, shit shit shit~" Chai was taking quick glances behind them as they skidded around the corner. "Think fast think fast-"

"Door!" October prompted as they came about, quickly pushing out onto the central balcony once more. They didn't bother to shut it this time, instead leaping the boundary barrier to run on the slippery slant October had almost fallen down on their first time through. Without Chai's butt to run into, it was much easier to keep his balance as they hopped the second barrier on the other side. Out of the corner of his eye, October watched their pursuers pause in surprise as they stared dumbly out the window at them, then scramble to turn around.

"Out that one - maybe this will trip them up a little!" October barked at Chai. The Umbreon snapped smartly as he snagged the door handle and pulled it open, letting them both back in.

It was the same door they had exited from last time, but looking back, they saw the Poochyena hesitate to climb and jump the barrier of the balcony, while the other two were still in the hallway. they had lost some momentum from the turn around, thanks to that stunt.

Chai and October felt the rush of impending doom looming over them again. They didn't bother shutting the door as they turned around the corner once more. Both heard the sound of others coming up the southwest staircase. "That's just fucking great - we were on this floor too long. They're corralling us!" Chai was panting again, trying to run faster. "They're probably gonna jump us at the other staircase!"

"Hold on, I got a crazy idea!" October slowed down briefly as he gave his tails a swish. Right now, they were out of sight of all the hunters, which meant they wouldn't have time to see him...

As the Machoke rounded the corner and a unfamiliar Lucario came up the staircase with her own posse, both groups practically fell over each other as they skidded to a stop. Standing before them, glaring with those deep, piercing eyes, was Omen. Her face was neither angry or calm, but she seemed to stare at them all, blocking the way as the Ninetales got away.

Chai and October got to round the hallway's next turn before they realized what had happened. Chai seemed a bit confused about what happened. "Was that an illusion of-!?"

"Omen? Yup! I figured that stare had to creep out more than just us." October practically floated as they made their way to the staircase. "If there is one thing I seem to have a real knack for, it's the illusion stuff."

"They're gonna catch onto that pretty quick though. You've already used it twice." Chai replied with a frown. His ear twitched as sound came from ahead. "We got company!"

Indeed, just as Chai had predicted, there was an ambush waiting for them at the northeast staircase. Their pursuer was the least expected Pokemon of all.

"Fluffy Pup! Fluffy Pup. I'm gonna catch a fluffy pup!" A Skitty was waiting there patiently, batting at a bit of lint on the floor. They could have put off Skitter's presence as coincidence, except when the little Pokemon looked up at them, she seemed to light up. "Fluffy Pup! I'm gonna getcha!" The Skitty forgot her lint and started hopping towards them as they ran for each other.

"Seriously!? Even Skitter is trying to catch me?" The indignity in October's voice was priceless. Even Chai has to give a snort of laughter at the thought of it, which earned him an insulted glare from the Ninetales. "I am _not_being taken in by the trash committee. I would rather risk falling in a tub full of soapy water than that!"

They were quickly approaching Skitter now, who had not lost her enthusiasm for the hunt. "You'd take a bath than be caught by Skitter?" Chai responded with obvious humor. "Fun priorities you got there."

"I said risk, not actually take one. Now watch out for the others a moment, I got another idea." October focused his gaze on Skitter, who stopped in place and began to backpedal. Whether it was the lack of slowing down or the sudden stare, the Skitty finally realized the absurdity of her plan. "Wait wait I changed my mind don't eat me Fluffy Pup! Aiiiee!"

Skitter dropped to the ground and curled up. October deftly leaped over her. The Skitty peered up after nothing happened to find Chai there, smirking. There was a chuckle behind her-

A flurry of red and black enveloped Skitter, tickling at her mercilessly. October had dropped all his tails on top of the little Pokemon, squirming them about to overwhelm the little Skitty. There was sounds of gasping and laughter from within the bundle. "No! Staaahp! I'm ticklish nuuuuhehehahaha stop stop I'm gonna pee!"

October pulled his tails back at that point, leaving a confused Skitter prone on the ground. Chai was staring with what looked like amazement, then a grin. "Nice. Here's hoping it works though. We need to hide."

October nodded, ears suddenly flat on his head as he looked towards the stairs. "Already thought of a spot, hraf...."

* * *

The Machoke had October draped over his shoulder, tails behind him, as the cluster of Pokemon argued over who would get the bounty. They had all found him dazed and confused on the floor near the stairs and had promptly made a Pokemon pile to make sure he couldn't get away.

The Ninetales was apparently a weakling, the Machoke thought, for he had been winded by the sudden pileup. It had made binding his muzzle and legs very easy, however.

"It's not much of a bounty if it's split between all of us. there's like a good dozen here!" The Poochyena griped as they all made their way down the stairs and towards Clarice's office.

"Well it's not like we can just play Voltorb flip to see who gets it," The Jolteon replied smartly from the rear guard. She was watching the fluffy tails twitch erratically. "And I don't think Garric is going to really share with us at this point, especially as he was waiting to take him off our hands earlier."

The Machoke, now named, glanced back to the Jolteon, Neon, with a smirk. "Hey - a strategy's a strategy. Ain't my fault if you can't keep tabs on the prize."

Truth be told, Garric had expected the Ninetales to be a bit heavier. he felt deceptively light when Garric had picked him up. He had even muttered something nonsensical about 'litter' while he was being bound up. "I hope we didn't flatten the sense out of him though, Clarice won't like it if all he can do is burn litter with Skitter."

* * *

October groaned and whined as quietly as he could as they snuck across the roof, rain drops sizzling off his fur and stinging his paws. As much as he wanted to just run across to the other staircase, he needed to concentrate to keep the illusion solid until they got to Firenze's room. "I really _hate_rain."

"Suck it up." Chai said from ahead, sniggering from the latest stunt. "It's barely getting through your fur - it's a drizzle now!"

"Not the water on my paws! It's like walking across...nevermind." October whined. Saying it was like walking across hot water would just seem odd, and possibly demeaning in some way to the Ninetales. "At least we got a break from it all, now."

"Even if they figure out that's Skitter, they probably won't figure you coming up here." Chai opened the door to the stair well and listened carefully before leading the way back in. October pushed the door shut with a foot as he steamed and limped. "At least now we can get to Firenze's room without all the fanfare, though I still want to know what this scoop of yours is."

"Depending on the answers I get, maybe I'll tell you afterwards..." October said as politely as he could. The rush of the chase was still with him, but the reminder of what had started the whole mess was quickly beginning to counter it. "Just another floor to go and a few doors."

Even as they carefully made their way down, they heard no noise from the bounty hunters with their decoy prize. That had come as a bit of a surprise to October - had they gone all the way down to the ground floor from the other stairwell to head for Clarice's office? If so, that worked in their favor, since they would walk right past them from above.

They had reached the middle floor without any signs still. All they had to do was get past the door that...October had jammed shut with a will-o-wisp. "Ah, right. You think we can pry that door open, or will we have to take the lobby stairs?" He looked to Chai as the realization came to him.

Chai shrugged. "You only set the handle to be red hot - you didn't keep the heat on. If it's not a crap door handle, it may still be working and cooled off. No harm in trying it first."

It was a good point, and one that made October perk up a bit as he took the lead. "Well, I guess I won't have to add damaged doorknobs to my list of-oof~"

October walked face first into something fluffy, warm, and most definitely masculine. It wasn't just the scent of a male canine - it was the sturdy chest his nose had rammed into. The Ninetales backpedaled a step to get his face out of the fur and look up at the surprised, grinning face of an Arcanine.

Or rather, a hybrid of an Arcanine. What would normally be wild fur was sleeker and more behaved, familiar in style. The muzzle was longer, and the frame more lithe (despite the bundle of muscle he had bumped into). Behind him was three tails, one of which was distinctly fox-like, but the other two the scruffier style of an Arcanine.

It was Prometheus - a Pokemon of both Growlithe and Vulpix descent. Course, in this case, it was Arcanine and Ninetales.

"Well well! I found myself an October!" The big guy said cheerily as he wrapped a paw about the Ninetales neck, pulling him in for a jovial hug. He even gave October a face lick, though he exaggerated the apparent distaste of assorted grit on his tongue afterwards. "Pah! And as dirty as ever I see! You're going to make those pretty tails of yours turn into sludge and evolve into a Muk if you keep neglecting yourself like that. What are you up to, eh?"

October was whining from the faint sizzle the saliva was causing. Thankfully, it was hardly painful, but the drying effect of his heat trying to remove it was a bit disconcerting. "P-Prometheus! I'm fine, quite fine, really, and I'm actually off to see Firenze, as it would happen. Chai! Tell him where we're going, won't you?"

Chai, who was crouched in a battle stance, was watching with a mixture of confusion and amusement. "Huh? Oh, yeah. October wanted to ask Firenze something important, apparently. What are you doing though, Prometheus? You're not, ah, looking, for October too?"

If Prometheus was on the hunt, he was being quite laid back about it. "Looking?" The Arcanine repeated, looking thoughtful. "Oh! You're talking about that 'bounty' thing the others are prancing on about? Of course not - why would I risk getting this sexy fella's ire by chasing his tails for the Ice Bitch? I'd much_rather help hide him, and earn his thanks instead." Prometheus gave October a sly look as he smiled down at him, turning him about and walking slowly on three paws - the other still with a friendly hold over his shoulders, "You, me, a nice _hot bath, some privacy...although I'm not against Chai coming along! The water might be a bit too scalding for him, unless we saved the fun stuff for after the hot water."

What had been a merry chase to avoid certain doom had suddenly evolved into a sudden flirtation of deadly portents instead. October registered 'bath' and 'privacy' with 'fun stuff', and found himself conflicted. On the one hand, a good time was always welcome with proper warning, and he was not adverse to Prometheus per se...but not with being under him! It had been Chai who had told him that the Arcanine was the 'Top of the tops', and would likely set his eyes on him once he took enough interest. October found out just how true that was awhile ago in a thoroughly awkward close encounter.

Prometheus was definitely still interested, enough to even pull Chai into it if that was what it took. The amount of confidence and cunning that seemed to be wrapped up in the hybrid made october's backside twitch nervously. "W-W-Well, Prometheus, that is a very nice offer, but me and water, we don't get along at all, you should know that!"

"Come now, October! We both know that some hot water is nothing like a cold rinse - and the hot tub can get very hot indeed If you turn it up! I know you Ninetales don't always look your sexiest when you're soaked, but I'll be right there with you, happy to compliment your sleek form, those clean, luscious tails, and that fine ass you have, and make a proper mess of you to clean up afterwards." Prometheus gave a teasing growl as he leaned his head in closer and nipped the edge of an ear. "You'll be screaming in ecstasy, I promise~"

They were heading towards the entrance of the Bathing Facilities, October realized too late. He was flustered and panicking. He did not want to go into that room, but he didn't want to be outright rude to Prometheus either! He might change his mind and drag him in for the bounty! "Perhaps a, oh, drat the irony of the words, a rain check and I can get back to you on-"

"That's_Rain Flower_!" a new voice declared, full of excitement and determination. Everyone stopped in place, from Chai following the courting Prometheus to the briefly grateful October. The look of hope instantly switched to one of absolute horror as he saw who the voice belonged to. It was the Vaporeon, of course. First he got caught by someone that wanted his tail for fun; it only made sense the next Pokemon to show up would be the one that wanted it for punishment too!

Rain Flower was watching them from the dining area situated around the Inner Garden, separated by nothing but a pair of decorative pillars. Her eyes were focused primarily on October, however. "That bounty is mine, and I'm going to make sure you get the punishment of a life-time, Redtales!"

She puffed up with ego and water as she began to swell with power. October realized immediately what was about to happen, but Prometheus was caught off guard by the sudden entrance. "Rain Flower? Hey, this is-"

Prometheus never got to finish his complaint. What was possibly her strongest water move, Rain Flower let out a massive gush of water for them both. October felt Prometheus' grip loosen as the sudden deluge of water came their way, and in a rare moment of perfect reflexes, rolled out of the way to end up next to Chai.

Prometheus was lifted off his feet and slammed into the doors beside the bathing facilities. There was the slam of of doors hitting walls, sticking open. The rush of water had been fierce but short - probably Rain Flowers way of 'holding back'. The Arcanine was prone on the ground, unmoving, as everyone stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Oh shit..." Chai finally said.

"Oh Fortuna..." October managed faintly, fearing the worst.

"Oh shit!" Rain Flower ran over to Prometheus, ignoring October, expecting the worst. "Prometheus!? Prometheus! Speak up! I've never gotten you to fuck me yet! Don't be dead or somethin' 'cause so many different people would have my ass if you are!"

Contrary to her priorities, Rain Flower did seem genuinely concerned about Prometheus - which did not seem to mollify the great beast in the slightest when one of his paws suddenly rose up and slammed down on the Vaporeon from above, pinning her to the floor with a squeak of surprise. "You shot_me with _water. A lot of it." A growing noise was coming from the prone form, which slowly rose up. The deluge of water still clinging to the soggy fur quickly began to steam as the heat around rose quickly. "I think you and I are going to have a _discussion_about why we don't go randomly shooting folks with water, Rain Flower..."

Amidst the cries of mercy from Rain Flower (and several choice swear words) Chai and October discreetly slunk to the entryway closest to them and slipped inside. The sight of Rain Flower nearly hosing them, the spectacle of Prometheus' anger, and the expectation of a very messy incident forming spoke to their sense of survival like nothing else. October didn't care where he was going, so long as it was away from there. He followed Chai's hurried steps as they walked around a counter and a couple doors, this time into darkness. Wherever they were now was pitch black. They could hear the noise of Prometheus and Rain Flower fading into the distance.

* * *

Eventually, those sounds faded into nothing as they left, leaving Chai alone in silence with October. A faint glow of light appeared around the Umbreon from his rings. He let out a relieved sigh and sat back, glancing around the room without saying a word. The light from his rings began to intensify as he examined the area, lighting the place up just enough to see. The gold-amber glow shimmered against the walls of what looked like a supply closet, illuminating the wooden shafts of brooms and the plastic mop buckets and the like. There wasn't a whole lot of space here since most of it was taken up by shelves and tools, the two were practically pressed up against each other in here. Still, it was enough room.

Chai idly watched October as he considered his options, the Ninetales peeking out the door carefully to check for signs of life. It seemed that heading straight for Firenze's place wasn't working out at all, to say the least. So what else could he do? The reverse, probably - bring Firenze to him. After October's little trick earlier with Skitter, he wasn't likely to be hunted again for a little while at least. He had a good chance right here, but... how was he going to do this?

October seemed shifty, ducking back at the slightest sound of anything approaching. There was no way he'd be able to relax on his own here while Chai went off to get Firenze, so telling him to wait here wasn't going to work... There was a high chance he just wouldn't be there by the time he got back, knowing October, especially the way he was now. Chai's sinking feeling of worry about him returned as he wondered why he was acting so nervous and skittish.

Still, what to do... He needed some way to be certain he'd still be here. It'd be best if October could be kept in this place for a long time with no way for him to get out and no way for anyone else to get in. Chai peered at the lock on the door, grateful for once for the light from his rings. It looked like there might have been a key for it, but that was all, and he had no idea where he'd find it. He probably wouldn't be able to get anyone to force it locked with some kind of magical bullshit, since he'd have to explain why, and he certainly couldn't do it himself. He sighed, more restless this time. What to do... What to do...

"What's wrong, Chai?" October asked. Chai looked up at him to see he was staring right at him, frowning slightly with concern, so he looked away again, remembering this time to conceal what he was thinking. As he willed his tail to stop moving, he spotted a spool of rope in the corner. He stared at it for a second, thoughtfully... before remembering he'd been asked something.

"Nothing," he replied simply. Glancing back at him, the Ninetales looked very skeptical, so he grimaced and continued. "I'm just thinking of how to get out of this mess. I have an idea, but..."

"But?" he prompted hopefully. He was watching him very closely, eager to hear whatever his plan might have been.

Chai found himself reminded about something that caused him to wince... but something that might work here, if he could imitate it well enough from memory. "I'm gonna need you to hold still." His gaze at October became a focused glare as the eerie light from his rings brightened slowly, the ghostly gold glow illuminating more and more of the room.

"Well, now that plan's already a lost cause then, isn't it?" October let out a short, sharp laugh, clearly forced, as he glanced away. Then, he turned back, a worried look on his face. "What are you doing...?"

Chai knew that this had to end now. Every second they were being chased was no good to anyone, especially if October got sick of it and started fighting back. He dreaded to think what might happen then. Chai, perhaps alone, realised that October wasn't as harmless as he could seem - even out of sorts as he was, he was giving the Café the runaround. Chai couldn't tell just what was bothering him, but he knew enough to say he was in a bad state; maybe not quite unstable, but something was wrong. If no one else could do it... it had to be him, and it had to be now. For October's sake.

Taking October down by sheer physical force would be a tough thing to do even with the element of surprise, and it would be noisy as hell, apart from that. Drawing attention was not what he needed. He'd probably feel bad about it later, too. His best chance was to disable him for just long enough for this to work, but he was so unused to this method...

"Chai...!?"

He took a deep breath and growled, unleashing a blinding flash of amber light. The moment October recoiled, Chai focused the light in a sloppy attempt at a Confuse Ray: a sinister, ghostly beam of dark light to muddle the mind. October stumbled away with a yelp, a lost and bewildered look in his eyes as it struck him, the entire room heating up almost instantly.

Realizing his mistake too late, Chai stopped short of advancing and attempting to pin him down, and leaped to the side with eyes wide as October coughed up a wave of white-hot fire. He smashed through a shelf in his brief desperation, sending everything on it, and the shelf itself, crashing to the floor around him, burying him under debris. The sudden flare blasted the door right off its hinges, and before Chai could rise and extract himself from shattered tools, spilled bottles of soap, cleanser and the mop that landed on his head, October had already staggered out the door, leaving loud and vicious expletives in his wake.

Chai gazed fuzzily out the open door, suddenly very dizzy and very, very annoyed at himself for not having a proper plan. "Fuck..."

* * *

As he made his way away from the closet with no real sense of direction or destination in mind, October struggled to form coherent thoughts. He slowed down briefly, shaking his head, feeling incredibly warm. His fur stood on end, seemingly waving in heat-distorted air, looking much like a deep crimson flame. A flame that, once again, sped through the halls in his desperate escape.

As the bewildering fog in his mind began to settle and his thoughts slowly calmed, he started trying to get a hold of them. Was Chai trying to help him by confusing him? If so, why did he just run away? Or... had he been betrayed? Was the ever-helpful Umbreon actually one of the bounty-hunters too? Everyone seriously was after his head, he thought. It was one thing after another today...

It wasn't the first time he'd been so eager to reach the end of the day, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd wished for it so sullenly. Maybe it would be better to leave after all, but then again, he at least wanted to know why he was being hunted, and why Chai had done what he did. His pride wouldn't let him just run away, after all...

...not without answers, that is.

* * *

"Aha, found ya!" The cry went, calling from behind one of the tables. The voice was familiar. Oh Fortuna, October thought; please let it not be who he thought it was...

But his luck seemed to be running out in droves as Sinister leapt onto one of the nearby unoccupied tables. "C'mere, you red fairy!" The young Mightyena shouted happily, sighting the Ninetales. "Time for me to fuck you for a change!"

"Er..." October hesitated, before finally finding his balance and scrambling to his paws. His flourishing tails caught the table again, sending chairs clattering over the varnished planked floor. "I appreciate the offer, but I really must decline!" October shouted as he sped away, watching in his periphery as she began to leap recklessly after him.

Ahead of him, another set of double doors loomed. As he ran, they were pushed open by a proud-looking Zebstrika, who was smiling in a blissfully unaware fashion. October quickly spotted his escape route.

The red Ninetales raced straight at the towering equine - and with a leap and a coiling and compressing of tails, he shot through the Zebstrika's legs with all the dexterity and accuracy of a loosed arrow.

Well, that had been the intention, anyway. Truthfully, his numerous vulpine tails had far more points in fluffiness than in fletching. The Zebstrika was caught on them, and went skittering to the floor with a loud "Wumph!", and October stumbled into the area beyond, almost falling spread-eagled before he managed to get to his feet again. He was through the door though, which helpfully slammed close with a bang behind him - so the manoeuvre was successful in purpose, if not in vision.

He allowed himself half a second to take in the surroundings. Like a few others today, this was a new place to him. When it came to speedy introductions of Plaisir, it seemed, a guided tour had nothing on a manic chase.

He was in a large, recessed alcove, with two other doors his left and right. Ahead of him, the room opened out. Bright and spacious, it was covered wall and floor in vivid orange-brown wood planking, though where he stood was a fine, smooth marble. Around the walls were lined a few pots of large, leafy plants, and between them lay a number of long massage tables, none of which appeared to be currently occupied. Where there weren't wooden panelled walls, there were a series of large ceiling-to-floor windows of patterned glass, giving a distorted view of the Café's gardens in the rain. Ah, yes - this was the Café's Massage area.

The air was warm here, almost steamy. Of course, there was that spring-fed water, wasn't there? He spun his head around to the right; behind a screen entangled with vines, a small pool steamed.

In the mist stood another Mightyena.

October's was moving again the moment the door he'd come through was flung open, and Sinister's growl joined that of the Mightyena already present. "Sorrycan'tstopmyapologies!" He called behind him, leaping to his left towards the door that lay there. No time to read the sign...

He just heard Sinister's voice shout as he grabbed the door handle with his maw, yanking it open. "Fucking bitch! Dex, I told you to stop him! Don't let him get out!"

October let himself grin at the apparent annoyance of his pursuers as he rounded the door and leapt through, feeling the air currents from a leaping Mightyena just miss his tails. His mind, though, was already working fast - a little, niggling problem was preying on a small part of his mind. After all, he'd just seen two Mightyena. Somewhat anxiously, October began to wonder where the third one was, as he skidded through the doorframe and immediately to some steps to his left.

Oh.

At the other end of the new room was the dark, looming shape of Eclipse. October felt that shudder of misfortune as he sighted the bulky Pokémon. The fact that he was on the far side of the new room meant nothing; Eclipse was the kind of Pokémon who, if you were standing astride a mountain peak, could loom over you from the bottom of a nearby valley. He could commit assault with just his smile. He sat now in front of the far door; he might as well have been a brick wall. With teeth.

And because it could get worse, it did. The room itself was not like the one October had just come from - the walls gleamed white with artificial lighting, outlining ceramic tiles which coated floor and ceiling. Looming before him was that corridor of... showers. Showers meant water.

Oh, hell.

Okay, thought October. He could still do this. There seemed to be a path through to his right, just leap here-

His paws disappeared from under him. The Ninetales could only suppress a yelp as he felt himself sliding, carried along by his momentum, heading straight down the line of showers. Something had been spilt on the floor, and judging by a frantic glance at the rapidly approaching Mightyena, something told him it wasn't accidental.

It was a thorough spill too. He began to spin as his paws and tails failed any purchase, catching a brief view of the Mightyena twins standing in the doorway and laughing. A trick! He'd been funnelled into this area, his mind thought rapidly, and now he was going to slide right into the grasp of the _last_person in this Café he'd want to be at the whim of.

...Unless...

No-one was in the showers, he realised in an instant. In the next instant, he realised there hadn't been anyone in the previous room either, or behind Eclipse. No - it was just the three Mightyena.

They all knew...

As October span around into view again, his body rapidly closing the last few metres towards the slowly opening mouth of Eclipse ...

"SaturdaymorNINGRAP_EKITCHEN!!!"_

...and with a bite that could cleave rock in two, Eclipse's jaws snapped shut on empty air.

* * *

October materialised back in the portal room, and immediately flew forwards into the nearest wall, which he hit his head on with a loud thunk. His vision span with large flickering blotches as he sat up slowly, disoriented. Ah yes, he recalled as his mind resumed work from its brief hiatus. Momentum carried through portals..

He blinked away the effects as the pain began to settle to a dull throb. Hang on, his mind went. Something significant just happened.

His lips began to curl into a slow smile as he realised. He'd just beaten Eclipse.

"Aha! Ahahaha!" He shouted in pleasure, grinning wildly to himself. Oh, a battle maybe, but Eclipse had been more cunning than usual. All three of them had. And he'd just shown then what a cornered Fox can do - outwit and get out without a scratch.

Almost on instinct now, he trotted out of the portal room, prancing happily up the long, winding staircases of the tower. The idea of a beaten Eclipse kept him entertained as he easily mounted the steep steps. Heck - a whole Café had been out for his hide, and he'd escaped the lot!

"Yes, indeed!" He grinned, as he finally padded across the threshold into his room, slowing to a stop. "Oh, Sil..."

He looked around the half-empty room. It still wasn't familiar.

"...ver..."

He paused, and sat back on his haunches. With that emotional sledgehammer caving his chest in, his mind began to work past his victory and into the murky realms of the future. In short - what now?

He couldn't just abandon Plaisir. No... that was unthinkable, of course. Not for the responsibilities, true, but for Chai and Colin and all the rest.

Oh, Chai, he thought suddenly. You too?

Of course, with everyone - yes, indeed everyone it had seemed - out for the bounty, it would be hard to continue normal work. Perhaps he could figure out some compromise? Perhaps some-

And suddenly, he was against the floor. His muscles screamed in pain as he collapsed, barely able to open his eyes to stare forwards blearily into the room.

"I did wonder if you would do that."

Oh, no. Anger rose in his chest anew at the sound of _his_voice...

Golden-furred paws moved slowly into view, each step slow and deliberate - calculated, almost.

"Really, October..." Firenze mused, stepping around the red Ninetales. "I thought Coco had made it clear that you were not to use your teleportation."

October tried to open his mouth, but quickly found himself unable to. His jaw ached at the very effort of the attempt. A stifled grunt slipped past his lips as he watched Firenze glance back at something towards the doorway. October felt another presence there.

"It's a Thunder Wave, by the way, which has currently incapacitated you." He continued. "I'm not sure if you have encountered it before. As you can see, it has its uses."

Another growl. Firenze turned to face him.

"Quite. Anyway, I'm sorry, but escaping isn't an issue this time." The golden Ninetales looked up again, addressing whoever was currently invisible. "Okay, Minka. Take him back. I'll return shortly."

It just had to be _him_that caught him in the end, didn't it? October's chest burned. He felt flames lick at his lips. He could just about move his jaws - if he...

Suddenly, his vision was pulled upwards towards the stern face of a Gardevoir, and the last thing he saw before unconsciousness swallowed him was a flash of yellow-tinged light.

* * *

Firenze watched impassively as the Gardevoir removed the limp body of the smaller Ninetales. When they were both out of sight down the stairs, he looked around at the room he was in. His eyes inspected every piece of furniture. In particular, they lingered on the empty spots.

Not much had changed since Firenze had last been in the tower. It had the look of general use, true, but the stationery items told more of the story. The empty space above the bow and rapier, the empty armour stand beside the other, the empty rifle rack beside the other...

His gaze eventually came to rest on a piece of paper lying against the bed.

After a moment's hesitation, Firenze stood up, and went to read it.

* * *

...to be continued