Another morning

First topic message reminder :

North of town, in a small, cozy room at the bottom floor of the Grassveil Guild, a Skitty was curled up in her bed...  Though she wasn't asleep at the moment.  The Skitty had woken up a little early, so she had decided to spend a while studying...  She knew better than anyone that she had a lot to learn if she was going to continue working at the guild.  The day outside was overcast, perhaps promising rain later on, but the coming of morning cast the gardens behind the guild in a soft blue light and just enough leaked through her window to read by.  At the moment she was browsing through a book about first-aid.  Among the books her father had picked out for her, this seemed like one that she should prioritize...

But now the sounds of other Pokémon outside her door had grown louder, and it seemed that the rest of the guild was starting to wake up and go about their morning routines.  Now seemed like a good time to see if her new teammate was ready for the day.  With a smile, the Skitty closed her book and climbed out from the shallow basket full of blankets and pillows that served as her bed, taking a long moment to stretch her body before she trotted towards her bag and scarf hanging on the wall next to the door.  She put them both on, ensuring that her badge was visible on the blue scarf around her neck, then pushed her way out the door and into the hallway.

She came to a stop at the room right next to hers...  The door was still shut.  She briefly wished that her teammate hadn't asked to have her own room.  She didn't want to accidentally awaken her if she was still sleeping, but it didn't seem like there were many options.  "Um...  Excuse me, Yooka, are you there?" she called while softly scratching at the door with her claws.  She wished she could just knock, but her body didn't lend itself well to that...  Hopefully this would be enough to get her friend's attention.

"It's no problem!  Don't mention it," Darcy said as she laid down in a grassy little clearing near the door.  It was nice to be outside, especially in such a beautiful place, where the air smelled like flowers...  But more than anything, Darcy was just happy to see Alki smile.  The Skitty let out a little yawn, then smiled too.  "...I'm proud of you, by the way.  I think it was really brave that you came with me even though you were scared."

It truly was good to see Alki survive a brush with one of her fears, even if it was a fear that Darcy didn't quite understand...  The Skitty loved how crowded the guild was, herself.  It meant that there was never a shortage of things to do or interesting Pokemon to talk to!  Maybe if Alki could get used to it, she could start enjoying the company a little, too.  It would be great to see her make a few new friends.

Darcy was snapped out of her thoughts by an earthshaking thwump coming from right behind her.  Darcy jumped to her feet and turned around with surprise...  To see that a Snorlax had just slumped over in front of the door.  She must have been so distracted that she hadn't noticed it while coming outside.  Those things were big enough to hide in plain sight sometimes...

...Well, it seemed that they wouldn't be going back inside anytime soon.  And before Darcy could say anything, she heard Yooka calling to her from the center of the field.

"Oh, umm...  Do you really need me?  I just wanted to eat breakfast with Alki for now..." she called back.  She didn't like serious fights...  And while friendly roughhousing could be okay, she didn't think she would be much of an opponent for another set of guild members...

...Though she doubted that Yooka would take 'no' for an answer here.  The Kecleon had clearly planned all of this ahead of time, and she'd sounded almost gleeful that the only way back inside was blocked.  Darcy's ears flattened and she sighed inwardly, expecting to be dragged along one way or another...

ooc:

Spoiler:

"T-Thanks, Darcy..." But I had my eyes closed the whole time! I didn't even move... She thought to herself, and was about to tell Darcy, but decided against it. It's a compliment, I'll take it... She sat back down, but jumped as a Snorlax sat down right next to her. She bounced away as fast as she could, shocked at how tall the Snorlax was. She looked up at it, her eyes wide. But... he was blocking the door, and they couldn't go back inside. Oh well, I don't mind. The more time out here the better, there's less Pokemon!

So she sat down and continued to eat, until she heard Yooka calling Darcy and waving them both over. Alki hesitated, but decided to join her. She bounced over to Yooka, and turned pale as she saw the Pokemon in front of her, and they saw Alki too. There was a Jigglypuff, one Alki had seen quite often already. She turned pale and felt faint, and stole a quick glance at the door, but no, the Snorlax was still there and she couldn't escape. Yooka, why did you do this? She thought to herself, feeling betrayed already. It hadn't even been a day and there was no way she could escape or hide from her sister now...

"H-Hi Melanie..." She said to the Jigglypuff. Her sister. She gave a small, fake smile at the Igglybuff. Alki shied away, quivering as she stood a few feet away from the Jigglypuff. "I-I didn't... d-didn't expect t-to see y-you here..." She mumbled, stealing a quick, desperate glance at Darcy. Yooka had brought them! They were going to make her go home! She broke her promise...

"The feeling's mutual, Alki. What are YOU doing here? I doubt Mom and Dad let you come here." Melanie said, smirking at Alki. "It's not safe here. You don't belong here, you're not strong enough, Alki. I'll have to take you home." She stepped forward to pick up Alki, but she bounced away to hide behind Darcy, whimpering. I'm going to get sent back...

Melanie sighed and looked at Yooka. "Look. How about a bet? If my team, Team Sterling, wins this match, I get to take Alki home." Alki closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. She's always confident, she'd only make a bet like that if she's sure she can win... A fight. They'd have to fight. She had to fight... But I can't fight... "If YOU three win, Alki can stay." She said, her words showing just how unlikely she believed this scenario to be.

Alki continued to take deep breaths, she looked pale and was shaking like a leaf, too afraid to speak. Melanie saw this and giggled. "C'mon Alki, it's just a sparring match." She said, only making Alki shake more. I feel faint... but she had to focus! Or else she'd get sent back and she'd get yelled at and they'd hate her even more and she'd never matter at all... She only managed to look up at Darcy, desperately hoping that she'd say something, anything, to get Alki out of this... but what could Darcy do? Alki's only hope was that they win this match. Or else she'd tell whoever was in charge of this guild and then she'd be sent back home and she wouldn't have a hope at all. Alki looked at her Sister's team. A growlithe and an abra, both expressing their agreement with Melanie's bet.

((

ooc:

Seeing the igglybuff act the way it did wasn't a surprise to Yooka, the kecleon thought the igglybuff would of tried to leave so she made a snorlax block the way back, and she knew that the igglybuff would possibly freak-out and her sister would probably get mad. so Yooka got a meganium to be close by. wether it was a random meganium or the guildmaster she didn't check, and just incase the injuries somehow managed to get out of hand, she got someone skilled at healing, two actually, both the audino's specialized in medical care. Yooka did all that in less than fifteen minutes.

Yooka laughed out loud, then looked down on the jigglypuff, "so, seeing your sister makes you think that, that's how you want it? so be it. You do realize what that means, yes? I know your team is ranked bronze, but now I want to see just how far you'd go." Yooka shrugged and tilted her head to the right a bit... "There's no chance I'm letting that happen. I made a promise to Alki that I wont give her back, but I'd rather just get promises over with, rather than hide them. So if it means beating you to keep her here, then so be it. I was actually planning on beating you alone for the same reason, but... I guess I won't be doing that alone now does it? heheheheh."

Whis walked over towards the jigglypuff to whisper something, yes walked, it was surprisingly awake, eyes open and everything, but even with them open they still looked closed. "Miss, that's a Kecleon. If we were to hit it, it would change type. Shall I handle it alone? My teleport will be able to keep me away from the pokemon."

Yooka turned towards the skitty, and also whispered "Think you can handle the growlithe, I'd rather take on the abra... Most psychic pokemon usually don't see that my shadow can attack too, till it's too late. heheheh"

Then she looked at the igglybuff, who looked like she wanted to melt into the ground. Great, she took it well. but still..."psst, Alki, just help darcy... I can handle myself this time. heheh, don't worry about your sister, she needs to learn you've gotten better. Just focus your attention on darcy. She'll protect you." Looking back at the three pokemon infront of her, she took a couple steps away to the side, trying to lure the abra, "If I got my facts right, you like to attack at range. I'd like to see how I'd do against that."

Whis tensed up as it was astonished by the Kecleon's knowledge. She knows me? Well, she did say we were bronze, so perhaps she knows more then just how I take my battles. This is bad... Pulling out a twistedspoon from her backpack, whis then started to concentrate on it, making it float slightly behind her. She then started to floating only a foot off the ground as she looked at the Kecleon with a green and a purple sphere individually floating above each hand, ready to send them flying.

Yooka watched as the abra pulled a spoon from it's bag. what? I didn't think abra's had those till they evolved. Where did you get that? Wait! Dont tell me, that'll ruin the fun." When Yooka saw the orbs she only smiled more, and also laughed again. energy ball and shadow ball. so you can dual wield. That's an interesting talent you have there... wait is it the spoon? no, that only increases the psychic power of moves... oh... so the abra is using it to increase her own psychic power so she can dual wield. that's a bit clever, but that cant be the reason for the spoon. Ah, who cares anyway.

Darcy trotted towards the little group at the center of the clearing, hoping to get to know the other team a little before their match.  There was a Growlithe, an Abra and...

She recoiled with shock at the sight of their third member.  She shot Alki a panicked look...  Sure enough, this was her sister.

"Y-Yooka..." Darcy gasped as the Kecleon went ahead and accepted their challenge.  What on earth was she thinking?  These Pokémon were bronze rank!  Her own team wasn't even close to bronze!  How could she be betting Alki's fate like this?  If they did manage to win, somehow, then Alki would have one of her biggest worries out of her life, and maybe she and her sister could even start getting along...  But if they lost, Alki's worst nightmare would come to life!

Darcy stole another glance at the Igglybuff cowering behind her and the sight instantly reaffirmed that this was a bad, bad idea.  She kicked herself for not speaking up and stopping Yooka from accepting.  She had promised to protect Alki from exactly this sort of scenario.  The thought of failing to save her, and seeing her fall prey to the thing she was so horrified of...  Darcy just couldn't handle it.  It made her feel like her heart was going to shatter into pieces.

...Well...  Well, if this was the way things were going to be...  There was only one way to keep her promise now.  She nodded half-heartedly as Yooka gave her instructions, but most of her focus was spent taking deep breaths and trying not to cry.  "Alki, I...  I'm sorry Yooka did this," she murmured to the Igglybuff behind her.  "But you're...  You're not going home.  N-not if I can help it, okay?"

Speaking to Alki helped the Skitty calm down a little.  Maybe...  Maybe they really could do this.  Yooka was good at fighting, right?  And team rank wasn't everything.  Maybe they had a chance.  Gathering her courage, she looked up at the other team of Pokémon just in time to see the Growlithe nod to the Abra.  "I'll help you with the others then, Melanie.  Don't worry!  We'll get your sister back," he said before trotting towards Darcy and Alki.  "Hi!  My name's Ginger.  Let's have a good match, okay?" he said to Darcy with a friendly smile, as if trying to encourage her.

"I-I'm Darcy.  It's a pleasure..." the Skitty mumbled as she looked up at him.  He was intimidating, despite his gentle voice...  He was a good four inches taller than her, and clearly much more confident and experienced.  ...She couldn't help but think Yooka was overestimating her abilities by asking her to fight him...

She had no time to dwell on that, though, as the Growlithe continued speaking.  "If everyone's ready, then let's began on the count of three.  Could you count us off, Melanie?" he asked, cheerfully glancing towards the Jigglypuff.

Alki was leaning on Darcy, too terrified to move. But I have to, don't I? I have to at least try to fight... Yooka said I'm good at healing. Right? In her note... She could barely hear Darcy over her own thoughts. She closed her eyes, trying not to cry. I'm going back... when has she ever failed? She's the perfect child, their parents love her, not me for a reason... She failed to stop her tears, She could feel them start to form, even as Darcy tried to encourage her. There's no way around it, is there?

She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. She had a shot... a slim one, a very very very slim one. But a shot. Right? Maybe someone would stop the fight. Maybe someone would help Alki! But who? She sighed. I'll have to try and help myself. I have to try... "R-R-Ready..." She managed to say. I hope I won't regret them... "L-Let's get this over w-with..." She bounced out from behind Darcy, unsteady and pale. Why did Yooka do this to me? She thought, before taking a deep breath. She had to hope that Yooka hadn't just ruined her chances. She'd made a promise! And she had to believe that she hadn't just broken it...

Alki looked at the other team. The Growlithe was taller than Darcy by a pretty fair amount... and Darcy was almost a foot taller than Alki! He was scary, and the Abra... she didn't know what to think about it. It was kinda mysterious, but then most Pokemon of it's type were, weren't they? She shook her head. She had to have faith in Yooka and Darcy, but... at the same time. Could they really beat these three? She shook her head. She had to believe that they could.

Melanie looked at the Abra and nodded. "You think you can handle her alone? Alright. I believe in you. If you need help with her, though, don't be afraid to call for backup. We need to win this..." She said, before turning to look at the Growlithe.

"Thanks Ginger. Alki means a lot to me... Anyways. Good luck, and may the best team win." She said, smirking confidently at all three of them, especially Alki. She's crying... I hate seeing her cry. But it's for her own good. She's not strong enough for the guild, she won't ever be. I'm sorry, Alki... "Three... Two... One... GO!" She shouted. As soon as she did, she took a step back, keeping a strong, concentrated, steady Heal Pulse out to support her team.

She's practiced. She knows how to do these things... and it's better than mine... but I can't contribute in the actual fighting... Alki thought to herself. Everyone else was at least a foot taller than her. At least... even her sister seemed so much taller and stronger and better... so she had to try and compete with her sister. Again. But when had that ever worked out for her? And this time is going to be the same as all the other times... a win for her. She took a shaky, nervous step back, mimicking her sister, away from the action, hoping none of them would target her, and used Heal Pulse as well. She hoped she could support her team as well as Melanie was supporting hers. Darcy, Yooka, please don't let me down...

Melanie stole a glance at Alki, a pang of sympathy striking her. She's always so unconfident, and I know she hates me. But I have to keep her safe... She thought, reaffirming her belief, her goal. But she's trying her best. Let's see how this goes... She turned her attention to the other two Pokemon. They were more dangerous than Alki. She hadn't seen them before, she didn't know what they were capable of. I can't lose to this team, they're ranked so much lower than us? We can't lose... I'll make sure of that.

((

ooc:

Yooka noted that the other two were nervous about this, Looks like I will have to help darcy for a bit while distracting this abra, I have an idea. Hearing the countdown start, Yooka got down ready to sprint at the abra when it reappears. since, thats what most abra's do. OoOoOo... Read my mind and know that I can stall you all day buddy. heheheh... the countdown finished and just as she thought, the abra indeed vanished only to reappear a few meters away. Yooka shot a shadow at the growlithe in an attemt to giving it a nice couple slaps to its back or to distract it long enough for darcy to land the first blow, as she ran toward the abra ignoring the energy ball that hit her face. she nearly chuckled at how much it didn't effect her.
[yooka is now grass-type]

Whis frowned unable to read the kecleon's mind. I'd love to know what your thinking but I have to use the spoon to keep from straining myself. just a couple setbacks to its usefullness. hearing the countdown begin, whis watched as the kecleon got on its hands as if to charge at her. Uh, I can teleport faster then you can run... or did you think of that already? oh, are you getting into my head? you are, aren't you... the countdown finished and whis let her ability to teleport loose sending her a couple meters away, whis released the green ball at the kecleon as she prepaired to teleport again. the energy ball smashed into the kecleons face but the kecleon shrugged it off and continued to run straight at her. geezuz, that had to of taken something out of you...

As the countdown began, Darcy sank her claws into the ground and stared up at Ginger anxiously, her panicked mind trying to come up with some sort of plan.  There was no way she could beat this Growlithe head-on.  She had to...  She had to try something else.  

She had practiced a trick for situations like this, but all the same she was grateful that Yooka somehow hit Ginger in the back with her shadow, drawing his attention and earning a surprised bark.  Not wanting to let this chance go to waste, Darcy took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and began...  Singing.  A soothing lullaby, that her older sister used to sing to comfort her whenever she was sad or anxious.  Despite how on-edge she felt, it filled the Skitty's mind with happy memories of pollen and blankets and warm sunshine...

She nervously blinked one eye open while she sang, and though her voice was a little shaky, she was relieved to see that some of that peacefulness was getting through to the Growlithe looming in front of her.  "M-mnggh..?" he mumbled as he took a few confused steps forward, his eyes already drooping as if he was on the verge of flopping over and falling asleep...  Out of the corner of her eye Darcy saw the Abra teleport to the far right side of the clearing, so as long as Alki's sister didn't do anything, then maybe...  Maybe Ginger wouldn't be able to bother herself or any of her teammates for a while...  Especially Alki.  Darcy could feel the soothing waves of the Igglybuff's Heal Pulse emanating from behind her, but if she had been afraid of walking through the halls of the guild, she must have been abjectly terrified of fighting like this, especially against her sister's team...  All the more reason that Darcy couldn't let herself give up.

Alki stood, shaking and crying as she tried, and failed, to match her sister. She's better than me. Her Heal Pulse is stronger than mine... She suddenly heard a soft, but shaky voice singing. And it made her kinda sleepy. She looked at her sister, but she wasn't singing. In fact, she looked just as surprised as Alki. She looked at Darcy, she was the one who was singing! And both Alki and Melanie were caught off guard by it.

But she couldn't fall asleep! Any other time, she'd welcome it, but in the middle of a fight? That'd be giving up, and Alki couldn't give up. She shook her head, trying to filter out Darcy's song, even if it was pretty... she looked at the Jigglypuff, and her eyes were drooping. Now was her chance! She couldn't match the heal pulse that Melanie was using, could she? No... and if Melanie was off guard, then Alki could perhaps cause a distraction? Darcy seemed to be doing well against the Growlithe, and Yooka... well, Yooka could handle the Abra. Hopefully. So that only left Melanie, and Alki. She abruptly stopped using the Heal Pulse, and bounced forward towards Melanie, hoping that she wasn't making a mistake.  

She bounced onto the top of Melanie's head, earning an indignant yelp from her sister. But her gamble had payed off, Melanie had stopped using Heal Pulse. It was an even playing field now, she could only hope that Darcy and Yooka could win without Alki's heal pulse. They both were doing well, right? Alki gripped Melanie's ear tightly, trying not to fall off. Alki looked more white than Pink at this point, too terrified to say anything, only hoping that they'd win. Otherwise...

"Alki!" Melanie said, trying to reach up to get her off, but her arms were too stubby. "Get off of me!" Melanie shook her head, trying to get Alki off. She wedged herself between Melanie's ear and curl, and clutched Melanie's ear like a life-line. For a moment, it seemed to be working, but soon enough, Melanie dropped onto her back, and Alki let go as they both fell to the ground. She rolled clumsily away, falling onto her back.

I don't think I can reach the top of my head either... was all Alki could think, despite her situation. She couldn't think clearly at all...And I feel dizzy... She got up clumsily, looking up at her sister. She'd already recovered, but wasn't attacking Alki. She looks weird, almost... regretful?

"Alki, I have to do this, please, just let me take you home..." She said, taking a cautious step forward, but Alki stumbled away from her.

"D-Don't..." She said, before using Sing as well. As long as she could keep Melanie from helping her team, then maybe Yooka and Darcy could help Alki? She began to use Sing, her voice weak and quiet and tired. Melanie simply turned away, ignoring Alki, and waited for her to grow too tired to sing.

"M-Melanie, please, d-don't take me away, I-I want to b-be here..." She managed to say, coughing. She couldn't give up, she had to give Darcy and Yooka time to win their fights, even if she lost hers...

"I-I'm really sorry, Alki..." Melanie said, as she used Frustration on Alki. Alki put up a Defense Curl around herself, but she still felt the force of the blow. Ow...

((

ooc:

Knowing the abra would teleport before she got to it. Yooka shot out her tongue and bound the abra. "Ha! not this time!" the abra looked at Yooka and shoved the purple sphere into her stomach as she aproached. Feeling a bit weak from that Yooka grabbed the spoon, clonked the abra across the face with it, then threw it. Just as she let it go of the spoon, the abra teleported out of her grip. Success. without that, your power is weakened. probably. She didn't look for the abra, who now was laying on the ground, she turned towards the other pokemon. the igglybuff was being overrun by the jigglypuff, and the growlithe seems to be out. Oh, boy. what happened. sending her shadow ahead of time in an attempt to push the jigglypuff away, Yooka started to run towards the jigglypuff.
[Yooka is now ghost-type]

The teleport didn't go out well, for the kecleon was able to bind whis. what? fine, want to get close, then take this! sending the shadow ball, fist and everything, straight at the kecleon's mid section, made a direct hit. not only that but the kecleons color shifted a bit. However, just before she could think of teleporting out of the kecleon's grip, it grabbed her twistedspoon smacking her across the face with it. Whis Ignoring the fact she didnt have her spoon, I need to get out of this grip. forgetting that without the spoon, the strain on her head would be to much, especially after using so much kenetic and psychic energy... upon teleporting, without something to keep her power focused on Whis felt a massive migraine and blacked out.

ooc:

Darcy kept singing, her voice growing a little steadier with confidence as she saw that Ginger was beginning to nod off.  Sure enough, just as she finished a measure of her lullaby, the Growlithe's eyes closed and he slumped down on the ground, breathing softly as he curled up into a comfortable position...  The Skitty panted and couldn't help but flash a smile at the sight.  She'd spent so much time practicing that move, and it had really paid off...  Now she could go help her friends.

The first thing she saw as she looked around was Alki, standing at the far end of the clearing and begging her sister not to take her away.  ...The Jigglypuff apologized, and for a moment, Darcy thought that Melanie might have had a change of heart and called the whole fight off...  

But then she stepped forward while pulling an arm back.  "A-Alki!" Darcy shouted as she dashed towards them in a panic, but before she could get close, Melanie...  Attacked her little sister.

Darcy skidded to a halt, feeling like a lightning bolt had shocked its way through her body.  How...  Those two were sisters, weren't they..?  And Alki didn't want to fight...  Why, why, why would Melanie hurt her..?

...Some of Alki's bitter feelings towards her family started to make sense.  Tears welled up in Darcy's eyes, but she found herself charging forward to protect Alki even more urgently than before.  "Y-You!!" she shouted.  "She was begging you to stop!  Leave her alone!!"

The moment she got close, she leaped at Melanie with a desperate tackle.  She knew that she was clumsier and weaker than the Jigglypuff, but if Melanie insisted on fighting, Darcy couldn't possibly let it fall to Alki when the Igglybuff so strongly didn't want to.  Fighting like that was wrong, wrong, wrong!!  Surely Melanie could see that?

Alki looked up at Melanie, both shocked and hurt, and not just physically. She hit me... My sister hit me. She felt herself recoil, and tears began to fall, but she couldn't help but notice the expression on Melanie's face was... weird. It was just as shocked and surprised as Alki's, even disgusted, but Alki couldn't tell if it was because Alki hadn't fainted or because she'd lost or because she'd hit Alki.

The two sisters made eye contact, one still holding a flimsy and weak defense curl, too shocked to drop it, the other immobile, staring. Finally, the Jigglypuff looked around her and saw her teammates were down, and she looked down at her own hand that had just hit Alki. Were those... tears? Melanie was crying too...

"The.. I... d-didn't... I-I want to keep Alki s-safe, I-I'm..." She stammered, and Alki felt a pang of sympathy for her sister. They were family, and maybe she'd thought of her sister wrong... did Melanie hate Alki? Why would she be crying? Or maybe she was just upset she lost... but from the look on her face... she believed it, didn't she? Darcy began to run forward and tackle Melanie, but Melanie turned it around on her, side-stepping the tackle, and then pulling Darcy towards her, and used Double Slap on her.

"D-Darcy..." Alki said, bouncing forward towards her friend to try and help her. Do anything! But I can't... I'm too useless... she thought, pale, as she felt herself being picked up. "M-Melanie, p-please don't..." Alki said. This time it was Melanie who avoided making eye contact. She wasn't usually the shy one. She walked forward towards Alki. Alki turned to run away, but she was too tired...

"I-I'm sorry, Alki..." Melanie said, as she picked up her little sister and held her in one arm. Alki struggled to get away, kicking her sister, but Igglybuff weren't known for their strength, and she felt weak and hurt and upset to boot. Melanie turned to look at Darcy, holding a hand up to Alki, ready to strike her.

"I-I don't want to hurt Alki..." Melanie said, still crying. "She's my sister... But it's not safe for her here, she has to go home! I have to make sure of that. I have to win this fight. And I know you care about Alki too. You wouldn't charge at me so recklessly if you didn't." Alki whimpered, trying to squeeze out of her sister's grasp, ignoring what she was saying completely. "So make it easier on the both of us. Use Foresight on the Kecleon. I know Alki's scared of home, and I know she has a reason to be scared. They were my parents too... but it's better she be safe at home than hurt here, at the guild. Or worse..." Her ears flattening and eyes narrowing as she looked at Darcy, trying to look intimidating, but Alki felt a teardrop fall onto her head. "Please..." She took a step back to look at both the Kecleon and the Skitty. Alki must hate me more than ever... but I have to keep her safe! No matter what, and I can't let this novice team keep me from doing that. Mom and Dad will yell at her. A lot. And I just hit her, and she'll remember that... But she'll be safe...

Alki began to cry loudly, making her sister wince in pain. She's holding me and she's going to hit me and she's trying to make Darcy break her promise... She kicked at the Jigglypuff again, barely getting a reaction from her. She felt weaker than ever. She'd made a mistake. She shouldn't have fought her sister, of course she'd lose! Of course she would... there was no question about it... it was her sister! "I-I'm an idiot..." She muttered to herself, looking up at Darcy, and at Yooka, giving up any hope of escaping by herself. The fight, and what felt like Alki's whole future, was on them now.

As Yooka closed the gap, she watched as the skitty attempted a tackle but was dodged, grabbed, and slapped. Yooka's shadow just passed through the half normal-type jigglypuff completely unnoticed. I'm surprised the two can't handle the jigglypuff, then how's the growlithe down? she took a glance at the growlithe she was about a few feet away from the jigglypuff when she figured it out, noting that it's actually asleep. ah, I see.

Yooka didn't listen to the small talk, she only bound the jigglypuff by holding her down facing away from herself, it was a little too easy... growlithe's not out, but I can play it off. "Well, looks like we won. I'm not going to hurt you. Just admit defeat, before you pass out from this hold." As she said that she looked back at the growlithe as she calmed down and started to recover from the abra fight. Anything that knew about the shadowball and energyball attacks on Yooka can see the injuries had started to disappear, showing that she knew recover. she scanned the area for the abra. She didn't see the abra for the two audinos were blocking her view. confirming it's knock-out. However, she didn't like how it's taking them so long to heal some minor injuries. What's going on over there... "hey alki can you go check up on the abra?"

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Darcy leaped into the air to tackle Melanie as soon as she got close, but the Jigglypuff had seen it coming and effortlessly sidestepped out of the way, leaving the shocked Skitty to simply crash into the ground.  Before Darcy could even stand back up, the Jigglypuff yanked her close by the scarf and began thwacking her across the face with her free hand again and again and again and again.  Melanie let go with one last slap that sent the Skitty stumbling backwards until she collapsed onto her side, hurting and dizzy...

Reeling from surprise and pain, Darcy just wanted to stay there on the ground...  But Alki's pleading filled the Skitty with enough desperation to shakily force herself back to her feet.  She was about to hurl herself at Melanie with another tackle...  Until the Jigglypuff threatened to hit her sister again.

"W-Wait, please don't hurt her!  I-I..." Darcy stuttered as she raised a paw...  But...  But what choice did she have?  She couldn't bear to break her promise, but...  Looking into Melanie's eyes, it was clear that she would be willing to strike Alki again if she truly had to.  The Jigglypuff's fierceness was almost paralyzing.

...Though in her eyes, Darcy also noticed...  Tears..?

...The Skitty lowered her paw and fell silent.  As scary and selfish as she seemed... Melanie wasn't lying.  She really did care for Alki.  Darcy finally understood why the Jigglypuff was doing all of this, and more than ever, she wanted to just talk things through with both of them...  She could never be mad at someone for wanting to keep their family safe, but couldn't Melanie see how badly Alki didn't want to go back..?

She wanted to say something but had no time.  Without a moment's warning, Yooka made to charge straight towards Melanie, and the Jigglypuff looked ready to hit Alki in response. And so in a panic, Darcy...  Did what she had been told to do.  "O-okay!  Fine!!" she shouted while blinking tears out of her eyes, frantically staring at Yooka as the Kecleon grabbed Melanie.  It was hard to focus with so many conflicting emotions rushing through her, but the Skitty used Foresight, her gaze intensifying until she got a glimpse of the ghost-type Kecleon's body in its entirety.  If what her father had taught her was correct, then once a ghost-type was perceived by even a single Pokémon, their ability to pass through mundane attacks vanished until they could hide themselves again...  Melanie would have no reason to hurt Alki now.  Darcy just hoped that this had been the right decision...  That Alki would forgive her, and that Melanie would be willing to talk...

"I-I did it!  Now let her go, okay?  You promised, right?" Darcy shouted while stepping towards the scuffle in front of her, hoping with all her heart that Melanie had upheld her part of the bargain and left Alki unharmed...

Melanie nodded as she watched the Skitty attack her teammate. If she needed to, she'd fight dirty, and she was lucky that the Skitty cared so much about Alki. Now I don't have to hit her... Melanie dropped Alki, turning her attention back to the Kecleon. Alki wasn't a threat, not anymore, and after this whole exchange, and seeing how much the Skitty cared about Alki, Melanie wasn't sure if she could bring herself to hit Alki again.

And besides, she had more pressing matters to deal with. The Kecleon was holding her to the ground. She shut one eye tightly, as she watched her sister stumble away from the fighting. She didn't want to hurt Alki anymore than she had to, so she hoped that Alki wouldn't involve herself in the fighting any more. To her relief, she bounced away, towards... her teammate. Whis... lost? She thought to herself, but of course, it was obvious. The Kecleon wouldn't be in a position to attack her if Whis were still able to fight... I've just been out of it, I guess... I didn't want to hit Alki. Melanie turned to look at Ginger, he was sleeping... So someone used Sing on him, and I had my eye on Alki the whole time. I guess the Skitty won her fight too...

She began to cry even more. She'd never been a graceful loser anyways, and she'd bet so much on the fight! What feels like my sister's life, what if she gets hurt at the guild? It isn't a safe place, and looking at Alki now, crying and miserable and hurt, all because of me... I hit my sister, if I hadn't Alki would've been fine. And we lost anyways... my team lost. She kicked at the Kecleon in frustration, one last feeble attempt to do something, anything, to help her sister. But there was nothing she could do, her gamble with the Skitty hadn't payed off, two on one was too much for her...

"Ok. Y-You guys win..." She looked at Alki, small, tiny Alki, and could only hope she wasn't making a mistake. She couldn't protect her anymore. Alki must hate me more than ever... "J-Just... t-take care of her..." She said, crying. She was frustrated and angry and upset and sad and disgusted, especially at herself. I hit my sister... what right do I have to cry? She looked at her sister one more time, afraid to think of just how much more she'd ruined their already broken relationship...

Alki bounced to the Abra as fast as she could go, oblivious to what her sister was saying behind her. She was happy that she didn't have to fight anymore. She still felt hurt, her head was sore where Melanie had hit her, and she still felt like crying. No, she was crying. She bounced even faster, until she found the Abra, knocked out. She gave it a small kick, it's not like she could hurt him. Her feet were tiny and weak, and she didn't have much energy left anyways, but maybe it'd help the Abra wake up? "A-Are you O-Ok?" She asked, still crying. She thought about it, and took a careful step away. What if the Abra hit her when it woke up? She didn't want that. She stood out of arm's reach, and waited for the Abra to wake up, left with her thoughts. She turned back to look at Darcy and Yooka. They're winning. They beat Melanie. She thought, unable to get much emotion from herself. All she felt was upset that her sister had hit her. It didn't feel like she'd ever be able to forget it. Or forgive it. But at least she didn't have to go home...

Melanie was still staring at the ground as Alki looked at her. She felt too ashamed to talk to Alki anymore. So she could only try and convince herself that she was making the right choice. They beat us. And we're not a horrible team... they're capable. But Alki was so reckless... why would she attack me? She'll get herself hurt pulling off stunts like that... I have to trust her friends. They care about her too, at least, the Skitty does. I don't know about the Kecleon yet, I can't really get a good idea about her... I have to trust them. I can't help Alki anymore, not until I fix the things I messed up today. I got away from home to try and be better, without Mom and Dad, to grow... I guess it's Alki's turn now...  "Promise me you'll take care of her, you two... y-you have to believe me! I'm n-not h-horrible... I-I didn't enjoy h-hurting her, I-I j-just want h-her to be safe... w-what if she gets hurt here?" She paused, trying to collect herself, and she managed to stop her crying. She didn't want to be weak. She'd messed up, but maybe she could fix it? Maybe... "I r-really messed u-up today... I-I'm sorry... b-but if A-Alki's staying here... at the guild, I need to try and fix what I messed up..." She said, giving up any hope of sending Alki back home. Maybe it'd be better this way?

The skitty said something that confused yooka and for a few moments the Jigglypuff took some time to think. It did one last attack on Yooka, giving Yooka a little surprise. How'd she hit me? shadowball was ghost type. I should be one of them ghost types! is it from her fairy powers? I never did like fairies... no... what? Did Darcy...? Yooka was extremely confused about this, but then the jigglypuff said she admits defeat. Yooka shook the thought and just smiled but then immediately frowned, The fight is over, but at what cost... Releasing her grip on the jigglypuff, Yooka then realized that both the skitty and the jigglypuff were crying or on the verge.

Yooka took a deep breath. "You two are taking this too seriously. It was just a friendly fight." She paused for a second... "right...?" She then frowned even more. of course! So this is probably why Darcy lost so many missions. anything sentimental is devastating to her ego... yooka sighed even more but ever slightly annoyed. ...and that's why I stopped caring about that stuff. Note to self: dont take Darcy on quests that may have a bad history... argh, who am I kidding.

"Well, at least it's over... Now I should probably go check on the abra. They can't handle a physical beating like what I gave her, if you consider slapping her with her own spoon abit much." she turned to start walking. "I hope that spoon wasnt something important... Yooka froze, then looked down and remembered the two audinos and how long they took. Yooka gripped her frills and turned a nice shade of purple. "Gah! Was it serious!?" still purple, she started to run over.

The two audinos finished what they were doing. They saw a little igglybuff bouncing towards them and they just looked at her with a smile. "She's fine, just psychic feedback. It's quite common in overworked abra. She'll just need to rest a day." Just as one of the audinos was explaining itself the abra vanished. "must have teleported... Well then, how about you? We watched your little battle. You took quite the beating from the jigglypuff for someone of your status. You feeling faint?"

((

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