//------------------------------//
// Chapter 21 : Troublesome Syndrome 
// Story: A New World, A New Dawn 
// by Uber Reaper 
//------------------------------//

What would any of us do....once we've given the life of someone in our hands...would we save them, or would we condemn them? In the end, whether we save them or not, is up to the holder of that life or whether if that life  in our hands belongs...to a monster of society.  But, sadly, it isn't our place to play judge on people for what they've done. Life is the most precious thing that you can find in this world of ours, it's the one thing that allows our world to grow and prosper through the years. It is irreplaceable and can't be bought. That is why all lives...must be preserved....even those of a monster, those that corrupt society - Eric Angelo

Play this as the second opening theme






“What are we going to do once we reach the dockyard?” Helen inquired with a tilt of her head.

They had soon left the hotel they were staying in, and was on their way to the Manehattan Dockyards on the easternmost side of the city. It is where Eric had suspicions regarding the suspicious activity as said by the officer this day afternoon. He had gone to check it, unwillingly brought Helen into the danger as she insisted.

But he had hoped the simple purpose would ward off the danger. “....we’re just going to investigate, in and out. Nothing more. After that, we can discuss our next move.”

Investigate was a word that is alien to Helen’s ears. It wasn’t what she expected to hear once he had set his eyes on something. “Investigate, you say?”

“....yeah, just investigate for once…” Eric sighed before continuing. “...at least before we plan our next move.”

Helen frowned at this unusuality, but nodded to her trainer nonetheless. “As you say, dear.”

In the nightfall, trekking the city through the streets of the suburbs were much easier than it was in the downtown area where even at this time, it would still be crowded, as it wasn’t the city that never sleeps for nothing. There were only a few ponies, Pokemon or any other species that didn’t even pay the two attention as they went toward their goal.

A few minutes later, they had stood before the dockyard. Of course, it was a docks, but with containers after containers dotting the background of the area on the other side of the fence blocking entry, with a few cranes visible on said background as a plus. Otherwise, the city behind the two would be much more entertaining than the dreary docks.

After the few seconds of survey, the fence that blocked their entry was guarded. But they seemed nonplussed due to the fact that the guard was currently off into dreamland just beside the guard post.

“Want me to deal with him?” The vixen smile overtook her face again, coupled with a lick of her lips.

“....I’ll deal with this.” Eric floated forward as silent as he could until he was right in front of the guard.

Just as he was about to raise his fist to ‘tap’ the napping guards in the face, he reigned it back in once he imagined the nagging voice of his mother chiding him for his behaviour and use of unnecessary violence.

With his mother’s voice to guide him, he let his arm slacken, something that caught Helen’s eye.

“Eric?“ Her voice lost all the flirt in it, replaced. This wasn’t his usual behavior when making an entrance, that much she knows.

He floated up the guard, sizing him up, then he tapped the guards shoulder to jolt him out of his daydream. As per the expected reaction, he woke up, only to feel something snaked around his neck as his breath went out his throat when pressure applied onto it. He gagged on for breath, helplessly flailing his hooves to smack his attacker off, but the arm held secure.

As the pressure continued, so does his consciousness simultaneously went away. Before that happen, a serpentine figure approached across his now blurred vision. Something soft was placed over his mouth.

“Sweetie, please do us a favor, go to sleep.” Helen blew a kiss on his forehead just as the pony left the waking world.

With the form went slack in his arms, Eric laid him down gently before checking on his pulse. He was relieved, both by the pony that was still breathing and he could remember the proper chokehold technique.

“That was….certainly unlike you.” Helen remembered all the entrances her trainer made, none of it included stealthy one like this just now.

“.....I know,” He sighed, when he floated over to the wheeled fence. “....Helen, let’s try to keep this under wrap this time. Avoid unnecessary fights unless necessary, if you have to knock one out, do it quick and efficiently, alright?”

Helen’s eyebrow raised at the odd order, now she questions whether this is the real Eric. After looking him over, to spot any peculiarities, none she could spot immediately. He still acted the same, all the way, minor the odd command just now.

In the end, she shrugged. “As you wish.”

With a nod of approval, Eric heaved as he dragged the fence to the side a few feet, allowing a gap to reveal itself. Eric slinked inside, followed by Helen slithering in. He shut it back up again, to ensure that no one would try funny business when they’re inside.

“....alright, we’re inside.” Looking around, all he spotted were just containers after containers. No way forward, but he spotted two ways. “....we’re in some kind of storage area. I saw two ways, left and right. How about we split up and get a grip on the situation?”

“Excellent, I propose I take the right side and I shall….re-educate the ones there with your new method, yes?” She winked suggestively at the last part.

“....then go. I’ll take the left.” Before Helen, could slither away, he called her once more. “ And remember what I told you before, avoid unnecessary fights if you can. Only fight back when there is no other choice. I don’t want a repeat of what happened before, so please, be careful, Helen.” Eric’s face was still carefully blank, yet his eyes says otherwise.

Helen saw it and nodded. “Oh, you say the sweetest things. Don’t worry about me, dear, because they should fear me more if they scar your face.” She winked. “Do be careful, Eric.” Finally, Helen slithered off.

Eric decided not to disappoint and took his side as well.



  

Quickly, he had split up with Helen as they focused on their respective task. He would go left and Helen would go to the right. He knew it was better than to enter the maze and lost themselves in it.

His train of thoughts halted itself when he heard several voices around the corner. Flattened himself against a container, he peeked around, spotting just two guards. 

“....how should I do this? Avoid unnecessary fights...but how?” Looking all over for additional options, he spotted the edge of the second containers just above him. “....I could skim over them. I could fly after all and avoid all those troubles.”

Deciding to take the chance, he floated up. Once high enough to peer over the container, he quickly dropped low again. His heart nearly leaped out when he saw how close the guard was over the edge, but he was lucky enough he was looking the other way. Peering over again, there on the containers, guards trotted around on top of the containers, eyes strangely...vigilant.

“....how? I just got here…..the security is quite tight…..either someone else is causing trouble….or they’re hiding something.” He sighed at his, yet another unfortunate moment and lowered himself down. “....looks like flying on top is out of option.”

As soon as his altitude reached ground level, he heard hoof steps and flattened himself against the wall again. Peeking out, a guard was heading his way. Just as the guard turned around the corner, a pair of arms seized him and something smacked onto the back of his head, turning out his lights for the night.

Eric peeked out again, spotting one guard, heading the opposite direction. Unconsciously picking up the baton held by the guard he knocked out, he flew out as fast as he could toward the other one.

His plan was to get close enough, and give one good smack behind the guards head. His hope was dashed when to his right, a container door opened. Acting quickly, he threw the baton over the head of the new guard and hit the ground. Just as he wanted, the guard’s head snapped toward the sound.

Not wanting to waste opportunity, he backhanded the back of the guard’s head and he dropped like a sack of brick. However, the other guard heard all the noises generated and swiveled around. Too late does he realize that a big, three-headed hydra is close enough to wrap an arm around his neck and squeezed.

Once the form limped, he let go, making sure to check his breathing. Satisfied, he is okay, Eric shook his head free from the momentary adrenaline.

“....I really need to get used to this whole stealth thing. I haven’t done it...not since Joe taught me that is.” With a sigh of resignation, he advanced carefully.

On Helen’s side, she slithered forward at the speed of a speeding car, easily covering several distances at once. Then her ears registered the sound of several ponies speaking.

Her vixen smile had returned. “Ah, our first batch of fools for the night.” 

Just like Eric, a group of guardstallion emerged from the maze of containers to patrol it’s edges. They consist of at least four of them and slowly turned toward her direction.

Helen quickly slittered forward, they stallions realize too late as something big slithered between their legs. This resulted in them tripping over and landing on each other, resulting in a heap of legs and limbs.

“Hello boys.” The sultry female voice had gained their attention, they all looked over their shoulder and saw the Serperior.

With the sight of a giant snake, they all scrambled off the ground and onto their hooves. For some reason, the look on the Serperior’s face made them shiver.

“Well, let’s have some fun, shall we?” Helen licked her lips suggestively.

For Helen, it was much simple, for her physics allowed her to do things her trainer couldn’t. The guards were too terrified to react, that a giant snake was inside with them. This allows Helen to slither around them, and coiled them within the confines of her body.

They wanted to scream if they could, if not for the vines wrapped around their muzzle. “Do be quiet, yes?” Satisfied her quarry won’t be struggling, she squeezed once just hard enough and keep at it.

The result was just as predicted, they all went limp in a few moments without much struggle. She lets them go, giving one last kiss of goodbye on one’s stallion’s muzzle….directly.

Helen looked toward the downed stallion with a disgusted expression. “My trainer tasted better than this.” She grunted.

The Serperior heard a whimper, turning her head toward the source to witness the stallion she had backhanded before had leaned his back on the fence. It is obvious the stallion is scared half to death with how he was shaking.

The Serperior smiled before slowly slithering forward to meet the stallion face to face.

“S-s-stay back! I’m warning you!” Helen still moved forward regardless.

Helen coiled her tail around the hoof held out to placate the snake from advancing, a touch so delicate that it would feel like a mother embracing their sons. She slowly set it down aside, before slowly lowered her head beside his head.

“Sleep…” And sleep he did. The stallion’s eyes rolled up to the back of his head and slumped before promptly wet himself on the ground. 

With a disgusted face, she left to resume her task.





As the night goes on, both Hydreigon and Serperior was gracefully slid their way through the heavily guarded docks toward the inner area. It wasn’t long until their path converges and they came face-to-face with each other once more. 

Straight to the point, the Hydreigon asked. “....how was things on your end, Helen?”

“Oh, nothing much, just that I’ve found out that they weren’t quite delicious as they are comparred to you.” The snake slipped her forked tongue over her lips at the last moment in a flirting gesture.

Much to Helen’s displeasure, Eric simply nodded. “....same here, then. Let’s go onward.”

“Uhh, I think we have a problem, dear.” Helen look toward the source of the trouble to her right.

The moment he laid eyes on what Helen is currently seeing, Eric already didn’t like where this is going. “.....it’s an open area.” 

Helen nodded in agreement. “Yes, quite wide.” Looking around, there are no enemies, but she wasn’t convinced. “What shall we do, Eric?”

Eric quickly pondered his options. “....I could fly upward, but if I do that, I would leave Helen behind. No, that’s not the way I wanted it to be. Best I could do is to do some recon first like I would command Sally or Larry to do before.”

Eric fluttered his wings in prepartion for takeoff. “....wait here a moment.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” Helen winked suggestively, which Eric ignored once more.

Eric took off just enough to quickly duck below the containers if necessary. Poking his head out, he couldn’t see anyone over the container’s horizon that is waiting for them. He was still suspicious, but he had no choice so he quickly fluttered down to Helen’s level. “....I guess we have no choice, but to push through.” Eric replied, with discomfort present in his tone. “....alright, follow me and watch everything carefully. If there’s anything wrong tell me quickly.”

Helen giggled at her trainer’s courage as she was flattered. She rewarded him with brush of a vine on his cheek. “Of course, I shall be right behind you.”

The trainer and his Serperior nodded to each other before going into the danger zone that is the open area. So after entering it proper, the two made sure to put their eyes and and ears on a swivel for incoming threats because they are like a sitting Swanna out in the open. So far, nothing had happened and they were halfway across toward the otherside.

“....keep a lookout, we’re almost there.” Eric said at the lowliest of whispers just as they reached the end.

As soon as he finished the command, a noise of straining metal meet their ears.

They glanced at each other in puzzlement, so they glanced upward at the origin. There it was, a container dangling precariously by the crane was right above them. More noise of straining metal and snapping of it later, the gravity took the container straight toward them.

Reflexes took over, wings pushed backward and he dove forward. The container grazed the edge of his athropied legs just as it met the ground, kicking up dust.

Shaking his head, he coughed to get the dust out of his lungs before assessing the situation. “....Helen?” Looking around,  

“.....HELEN!” He banged at the container that serve as the obstacle between him and his Serperior, to no avail. However, his eyes quickly scanned it’s height, which weren’t that high. 

“Don’t worry, I’m here and unharmed!” Helen’s voice quickly brought relief onto the Hydreigon.

However, he is not one to stand around. “...hold on, Helen.” Straining his wings, he started to flutter upward toward the top of the container.

He would have, if not for the fact that a knife had managed to stick itself right beside his head. The action had startled the daylights out of the Hydreigon and quickly turned around to asses his attackers.

It was just two ponies, one with a sledgehammer, the other with a knife dangerously floating around the air with the intention to slice him a new one. But what drew his attention was that the two ponies eyes, they seems to lack life as their pupils were dilated almost to the point of overtaking the irises.

“.....what?” He didn’t have a chance to question them, because both ponies threw themselves at him. 

And all he could do was sigh. “....dammit.”





“Helen!”

She didn’t know what just happened, only that her body reflexes overtook all action and quickly she jumped backward out of what would have been the object that would crush her.

Shaking her head to get her wits together again, the Serperior had heard the voice of her trainer calling out. However, the container was in the way.

“Don’t worry, I’m here and unharmed!” She called out and hoped her trainer would caught on.

Helen had such method to deal with obstacles. “Should not be a problem.” She smiled a vixen smile as her tail end glowed dangerously green, signaling a Leaf Blade.

The sounds of falling containers had drew her attention away from the offending container to the fact that a container was dropped into this empty wide space she is in. No warning was given when the container blasted open but what seems to be an explosion from the inside, startling the Serperior.

So now, she turned her Leaf Blade toward container, awaiting the threat that lies within. 

“Oh, Darmanitans? But they don’t seem quite themselves.” True enough, the Darmanitan’s eyes were almost completely dilated as if their actions were not quite themselves.

Her musing was cut off when two stares stacked up onto her, therefore acknowledging her presence. Lumbering in her direction, Helen noticed that the right Darmanitan quickly gained speed….until it was the living version of a fireball.

The Serperior quickly slithered around the Darmanitan using a Flame Charge before she countered with a Dragon Pulse that sent him blasting toward the wall. His buddy followed, beating his chest like a gorilla and charged at the Serperior with a maddened gaze.

A barrage of Fire Punches is initiated, for all the good it does to the Darmanitan, it was useless against his opponent. Helen danced between the strikes with the grace of a pigeon, yet she knew the next attack was almost unavoidable with how close she is and with the Darmanitan opened his mouth as a sign. She lowered herself as low as she could and slithered between the Darmanitan’s leg.

She emerged to the other side with her foe turning around to face her with a snort. With another deep breath, he prepared a Flamethrower. Unknown to him, Helen smirked and jerked her tail back, thus the Darmanitan soon landed on his face, turns out she coiled her tail around his legs the moment she slithered between the limbs. He is helpless as the Serperior blasted him with another Dragon Pulse.

Both foes got their bearings back and soon resolved to charge together with Flame Charges. Yet, the Serperior stood there, not giving any reaction whatsoever.

Inches away from the impact, the Regal Pokemon bend herself backward and the meteor-like objects collided with each other followed by a thud. 

They were recoiling from the collision with each other, and the snake saw an opportunity. The Serperior allowed her tail to glow green and spun. The Darmanitan got their legs sweeped underneath them and both crashed onto their backs, but their foe was far from done. Seeing them both on the ground, she did yet another spin, colliding her Leaf Blade to the Darmanitan and send him flying like a golf ball and the second Darmanitan wasn’t spared from such a fate either.

“Do me a favor, dears. Be asleep!” Jamming her tail into the ground, she unleashed plant roots after roots with spikes toward the Darmanitan couple.

They got up just in time to witness their impending defeat. The roots collided with their targets due to the close proximity of the other and they were sent flying ways away.

Unjamming her tail, she stayed in her spot to ensure that her quarry wouldn’t let out a surprise attack the moment her guard was down. A few moments later, confirmed that they were, indeed, unconscious.

But she was the careful one, so she double-checking to make sure that her foe would not be standing up again, she held her head up high as a sign of victory. “Quite pathetic bunch, you two are.” The snake slithered away toward the container that was blocking access toward her trainer.

Then she felt it, something that gazes down on her. But she couldn’t retaliate, due to the after effect of Frenzy Plant and before she even realized what happen, something collided against her back and she was sent flying.

Helen’s world rolled over and over again before it came to a stop. The pain that had been unleashed upon her back was above well what she had thought. She knew Darmanitan were powerful, but she never imagined getting hit by a super-effective Flamethrower point-blank would be devastating from them.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself off the ground to glance at her opponents. Helen noticed one anomaly, however. “Where’s the other one?” Her question was soon answered when she felt a presence behind her, yet she reacted too late as a pair of muscular arm wrapped around and pressed her against the chest of a Darmanitan who had gotten behind her.

Try as she might, the grasp of her captor wouldn’t budge as she was bear hugged from behind. Not even when the vine she had wailed onto the captor could release her. “Release me!” And then a punishing heat had covered her entire being that sent her onto labored breaths. Her captor had increased the heat around him and therefore, blanketing them both within punishing temperatures.

Her breath was labored, black soot all over her body, but she trashed even more. The Darmanitan tightened it’s grip in the process, sending air out of her lungs and sapping her strength.

Instead of giving up, however, she prepared herself to unleash another attack that will surely broke herself free. The attack was evident by the shiny glow that overtook her tail.

Then a flash caught her attention, the other Darmanitan, now in front of her had positioned himself for another attack. All signs lead toward the flame licking his lips.

“Oh, dear.” She mouthed as the Darmanitan let out the build up heat at her.





This was officially, not what Eric wanted to go through again. Behind him, he could hear the raging battle between Helen and something else. He wanted to help if he could via giving her commands, but not with two seemingly crazy ponies swinging tools of death at him.

He quickly floated aside and dodged the first vertical swing of the hammer. Unexpectedly, he swung it to the side, causing the Hydreigon to hit the floor and rolled aside when the hammer hit the spot where he was before.

Eric got up quickly and began analyzing the situation. “...I can’t let that hammer, hit me, it might ended up breaking more than a few bones if it did.” He muttered as he ducked beneath a diagonal swing.

He floated backward, dodging each swing as he did so by a hair’s breath. In doing so, he had spotted upon a metal sheet that are a few inches thick at least. Knowing the need for a deterrent, Eric quickly picked it up, just in time to put it between him and the hammer swing that would’ve crushed his neck or skull. The force of the blow reverberated through his arm.

Eric charged forward, ignoring the second blow that had smashed into the sheet and made a dent on it. The stallion was helpless as his face was bashed by the metal sheet, sending him  onto the ground. It didn’t help his matter when Eric dumped the sheet on him.

His eyes widened by a few inches when he realized he’s missing another potential sort who wanted him dead. He turned around too late as he received a cut onto his back. Eric jerked his elbow backward as a retaliation toward his sneak attacker before stumbling forward.

“Son of a...” He cursed. The Hydreigon groaned as he put a head over the wound, before bringing it up to his face. The trainer is relieved it was merely a shallow cut, evident by the small amount of blood. “....well, lucky that I managed to react in time.”

Eric wasn’t given any chance to finish thoughts as the mare whom he had elbowed charged accompanied by a madmare scream. The Hydreigon tried to dodge as best as he could away from the knife in telekinetic grip, but the flailing knife strikes makes it pretty much unpredictable. Eric had managed to do it anyway, albeit with a few close calls regarding the knife hovering too close for comfort toward his neck.

The former human quickly retaliated, grabbing the stabbing leg, he punched and slamming his elbow two times into the mare’s face then he introduced her face into the floor.

Unwilling to let his guard down again, he backhanded the stallion who had managed to sneak upon him to his left, Eric realized the consequences of such action too late. His lip opened it a silent scream, by backhanding the stallion, he had managed to divert the swing of the hammer away from his head and into his stomach instead. This in turn, sent him crashing hard onto his back.

He groaned, the hammer slamming into his stomach was much more painful than he realized.

“....are they...are they ignoring it?” His fears came true when the other pony got up when he just slammed her head into the cold, hard, floor. “....Dammit, they are ignoring it, she should have clutched her bleeding nose instead of advancing toward me. She should have been knocked out by that. That drug must’ve done more than just makes them more suggestable to commands.”

Eric floated back up awkwardly, shaking his head twice to get rid of any daze from before.

Sooner than later, he had another dance with death. He knew he couldn’t hold on forever on merely dodging alone. Eric survived thus far because he kept on backpedaling. The Hydreigon could deal with unarmed opponent just fine because he is still able to block with his arms, but not with opponent wielding all sorts of tools for murder. Blocking could possibly result in injury to his arms or worse.

Spotting a can of sauce, Eric bit his lip. “....any distraction will do.” He picked it up and chucked it toward the mare who received her present straight between the eyes.

Dodging a diagonal swing from the mad stallion, Eric slammed his arm into his chest before unleashing a right hook that sent the stallion stumbling back.

He felt a weight brought down onto his back. What’s worse is that his eyes found a knife hovering a few inches away from his vision with the sharp edge facing at him. Another scream caught his attention as the other crazy pony with the sledgehammer took the opportunity to let out a bellow and charged, intending to smash his skull in.

Sensing danger, his survival instincts kicked in once more. He felt the rising of a familiar urge to defend himself from the threat before him.

Eric’s eyes widened to a few degree. “....no, no, I can’t!” He mumbled.

The crazy pony closed in on him faster than Eric had anticipated. He knew he had only a few seconds to think of a way. Only a few inches away, the pony held the sledgehammer high up and brought it down.

“I have to stop him now!” He muttered.

With no other way he could think, he brought his arm forward. Surprisingly, the Hydreigon managed just in time to hit the stallion straight between the eyes, it disrupted his concentration, causing the hammer swing to change direction diagonally and grazed his skull before slamming into hard cement.

With one threat of impending death had been dealt with, Eric moved to take care of the second threat, mainly the other crazy pony who is clinging like death on his back. The knife that were hovering a few inches before is closing in to his neck.

Eric’s reflexes allowed him to act quickly by grabbing the offender’s left foreleg that are wrapped around his neck then he heaved the leg forward. The result of such maneuver is that the pony quickly sailed over his head and into the body of her recovering comrade, both falling into heap shortly afterwards.

“...now or never!” Eric mumbled and he floated forward quickly before the couple. He quickly moved onto the mare who had rolled off her comrade and onto her back, grabbing her head before slamming it into the hard cement as hard as he could for good measure.

Just in time once more, Eric backpedaled to avoid an upward swing that could crush his chin. The stallion got up, unfazed by the blow into his face from before or a weight crashing into him.

With another mad scream, the stallion charged. In his daze, he swung it horizontally, allowing Eric to duck beneath it. Before he could let another swing, Eric left head had grabbed onto the shaft and forcing it down.

“....this won’t be the wisest move I’ve made.” And brought his other arm down on the shaft as hard as he could. The resulting impact splintered the wooden shaft into two.

Eric shook his arm rapidly. “....I knew that would have happen and yet I went through with it.” Breaking the shaft proved much more painful than he first thought.

But the threat of the still conscious crazy stallion had brought his head up. Said pony was now unarmed, yet, his craziness drove him to even use his hooves as he sprinted toward the trainer.

Grabbing the lower half of the broken shaft, Eric smacked the stallion’s face that sent him stumbling back for more than a dozenth time this night. Unsatisfied that the stallion was still conscious, Eric moved forward to finish this once and for all.

The stallion felt a firm tug on his mane. The next thing he knew, his foe’s head crashed straight into his own forehead. As if that wasn’t enough, his foe’s skull crashed straight between his eyes next that sent him stumbling back.

The stallion is disoriented, the Hydreigon saw opportunity. Eric brought up the sledgehammer half-lower shaft as far back as he could. The pony was helpless as the shaft crashed into the right side of his head which also splintered upon impact, his body couldn’t take it anymore, he fell forward like a brick.

Glancing at his opponents warily like he did with the minotaur before, still tense whether or not they will get up again.

“....maybe I should check them. I didn’t want to accidentally harm them more than necessary.” Ultimately, he just resolved to roll, the stallion’s body around and checked his pulse. It was subdued, but the pulse was still there, regularly beating. “....looks like he’s still with me.”

The former human’s eyes fell upon the unicorn mare a short distance away. “....I should check the mare as well.” With him floating above the mare, he brought himself as low as he could and checked her pulse. He sighed with relief when she’s okay, he was worried he might have accidentally hurt her when he slammed her head down as hard as he could.

“....alright, then whe-“ Eric cut himself off when a slight draft of wind caught his attention. 

Glancing behind him, all he could spot was the same container that prevents him from helping Helen. This was not the case however, because half of the container….literally split in half, revealing a Serperior, tired, bruised with obvious burns all over.

“....Oh, no. Not again!” He floated over to her to check. Close enough, the Serperior was even more of a mess. “What happened?”

“Don’t worry, the buffoons just….startled me.” She lifted her head to peck him on the cheek. “But I’m okay now, thanks to you.”

Ignoring her advances, he looked over at the makeshift arena, spotting two unconscious Darmanitans on the grounds. Now he knew where the burns came from. “....dammit, this isn’t looking good…..what should I do? Continue on or pull out for now? ….I can’t….not after what happened with Sally, Will and Alex before. I might as well prevent it right now.”

“....alright, we should get out of here now.” Putting one arm under her chin, he lifted her head with him acting as a support.

But Helen pulled away, leaving Eric confused with her. “I’m fine, we should continue….onward.” She said with a strained voice before slithering onward with an obvious limp.

“.....are you sure?” Eric glanced over his shoulder at her. That last thing he needed was her condition getting worse for the night. “I think we should call this off for the night. We can continue on tomorrow because the security...is tighter than I thought.”

“After that kiss? I’m...fine, trust me on this.” She winked before slithering onward, begging him with a vine beside her.

“.....dammit, this is getting worse.” He muttered, before he could turn around fully to join up with his companion, his eyes were glued to what remains of the containers. What really caught his attention was the contents inside….it’s a crate cut in half. “....what the?” 

Before he could question it, the contents inside the crates poured out which is a white powder. He instantly connected the dots. “....just as the police pony told me. This is illegal drug smuggling business.” 

What remains of the obliterated crate he scanned, he could make out two words. “....Dodge City. Hmm, must be where it comes from….but how...and why?” He silently mused to himself.

“Eric, come, we don’t want to waste time.”

Trains of thought halted, he turned around and floated beside his companion to resume their investigation. 





“....Helen, are you sure you’re alright?” More and more, he was getting concerned if her labored breath was any condition.

Said Serperior was currently gathering air into her lungs to continue with their investigation. “Don’t...worry, dear. It’s just a scratch.” She looked up at Eric, before she frowned. “Eric?” 

“....hmmm?” He felt a presence behind him just as Helen called. So he gazed over his shoulder.

Out of nowhere, from the corner, a crowd of Pokemon had seemingly came out with a few ponies mixed into them. Graveller, Geodude, Tyranitar, Sudowodo, Ryhorn, etc.

Although, what caught their attention was the eyes. It was the same eyes that they had encountered a few minutes earlier, all the dilated almost to the point overtaking the entire iris.

“Those eyes…..it was the same as the Darmanitan I had fought.” Helen, for the calmness befitting a lady of war, she had shivered going up her serpentine form.

Eric quickly recalled what she had meant, the dilated pupils was what gone through his head. “.....yeah,” Remembering it had given him the chill. “....I fought two ponies with those eyes as well. It was as if, they were in the hands of a puppeteer….like a zombie. But they were obviously not one, as I felt the pulse of a pony I fought earlier, they were still alive.”

Helen slithered closer, coils tensing to shield her trainer should the moment come. “Undead or not, let us deal with them.” 

Before she could, Eric put up a hand. “....wait, let’s try to reason with them first. If not, then we’ll deal with them.” He doubted it would happen just from seeing their faces, but he was going to try.

Helen frowned again at her trainer’s unusual attitude, but complied anyway.

Eric took in deep breaths, and spoke. “....everyone, can you please move aside?” Only now, did he notice how dumb he had made the request. 

And to no avail, the crowd of Pokemon mixed with ponies were all pouncing like a stray cat toward their meal.

“....dammit, bring them down, but not too hard! Leaf Storm!” Eric emphasized the command by pointing at the direction of the horde.

“Understood!” Closing her yes, she summoned myriads of glowing leaves which slowly fluttered off into the ground. Her eyes shot open, and the leaves pointed toward the pouncing enemies and flew toward them.

The Pokemon were quickly peppered with leaves, the ponies weren’t spared either. Due to the majority of them was either Ground or Rock-type, they went down with a single Leaf Storm, the ponies not withstanding due to the fact they are not Pokemon, therefore, not as durable.

Soon, the ground was littered by unconscious bodies of both ponies and Pokemon mixed. Eric floated toward one of the ponies and looked down. “....Helen, did you...?” He hoped she got the implication.

And she did. “Of course not. As you had said, there will be no casualties.” Eric inwardly sighed at her unfounding his fears. But she had more to say. “Although, the more important matter is that the Pokemon and ponies. What made their eyes dilate to such extent?”

“....I don’t know. But there has to be a reason for it….what was it?” Eric put a head underneath his chin as he pondered the situation. Quickly enough, he recalled something important. “....I think….it was the drug.”

“Drugs?”  

“....I saw some in the container you cut before. It was a drug, I’m pretty sure about it.”

“What sort of drug would let out those kinds of….” Her vine sweeped across the area littered with unconscious ponies and Pokemon. “....bizarre undead reaction?”

“....must be a hallucinogenic properties for them to have those eyes.” Eric rubbed his head in irritation, this far and still no answers, just a simplistic clue instead. “......there seems to be more questions than answers…..I think we should call it quits while we still can, Helen. I don’t want to put anymore danger into our situation more than it already has.”

“Ah, sweetie, I appreciate the gesture.” Eric felt another vine brushed underneath his chin before the soul-stealing gaze was fixed onto his own. “But don’t let me hinder you. I will be fine.”

Hearing that, Eric was unconvinced. So he continued. “....are you sure?”

“Quite sure, can we please move on?” Helen gestured onward with a smile, despite her wounds.

With a sigh, the trainer complied with her wishes. “....alright, but be more careful from now on.”

Satisfied at the answer, Eric turned around to lead the way with Helen slithering closely behind him and avoiding the mass of unconscious bodies. They gingerly avoided disturbing the sleep the bodies were in. Soon, they had managed to set themselves free from the mass of sleeping figures and stood before the warehouse.

Eric slowly and carefully poked his head in and surveyed the inside of the warehouse. So far, there are no enemies or…..zombies, except more containers that are stacked inside waiting to be exported. “....I’ll go in first, stay behind me.”

Eric stepped into the warehouse proper, wary of any impending threat that might jump out from anywhere. Helen herself was wise enough to not make a sound as it might attract more of those zombie-like figures to their location.

“You again!?” The voice had startled them so much that they nearly jumped, but regained their wits sooner than later.

They turned to meet the sight of a Lucario, Combusken, Mightyena, and a Noibat.

Seeing the four alone brought back memories. “.....they seems familiar…..I think I’ve seen them somewhere...but where was it?” Eric strained his mind for the answers he needed.

“Eric, who are these people?” She asked as she retracted her vine. 

The moment Helen asked that, Eric analyzed the group with his observant eyes. “...he said, ‘you again’...did I know him from somewhere?” His eyes fell upon a simple silver band on the Lucario’s right wrist. He resisted the urge to rub his head. “....of course, I should have known.”

“Officer Jonathan.” Eric said out loud.

Helen nearly blanched. “A police? My, my....” The snake put up a vixen smile that seemed flirty.

“And what might you be up to this time, Eric?” Jonathan said sternly. “Not about to cause more property damage that could endanger lives, I hope.”

“Dear, we’re simply doing the community a service. Trust us in this handsome.” Helen winked, followed by heavy breathing.

“Oh that I don’t doubt. I do have to give you credit for delivering Grumble to us,” Jonathan said, acknowledging his previous actions. “However, like last time, its not the motive I’m concerned about. Its the method.”

“....let’s go, we’re wasting time. I don’t want to end up you hurting even more if we wait around.” Eric ignored him entirely and floated forward, unwilling to explain himself to a cop.

“I look forward to meeting you again, handsome.” With that the Serperior slithered away as well in a not-so-graceful way due to her earlier injuries.

“You really know how to get on people’s bad sides,” Eric felt something around his arm and glanced back to see the Lucario had his arm secure in his paw. “As an officer, I can’t allow someone as shady as you to run around...at least not until I have all the facts.”

“....even if I explain myself to you, I don’t think you would understand anyway. Please, let go of me, I’m trying to catch someone.” Eric tugged his arm, but the Lucario didn’t let go.

“I deal with one of the most whimsical thieves to have ever lived on a daily basis, and as it so happens, we have a truce to catch someone as well. Very likely, the same person you’re after. So try me. I doubt you could possibly top her,” Jonathan shrugged. 

“.....I don’t really care about anyone’s opinion on my methods. As long as I didn’t harm them more than necessary then it’s fine, a line which I already crossed when my cover was blown.” The Hydreigon answered calmly, then he tugged his arm free. “...like I said, I don’t want to bother you or fight you. The two of us had someone to catch. Let’s go.”

“I’d like to be able to do that, but as it is now, I can’t,” Jonathan sighed. “As I said, your motive may be right, but your methods are wholly questionable. If I let you walk away, then I’ll be turning my back on the oath I swore to uphold as a police officer,” he said, as Heat jumped in Eric’s way. “You say you didn’t harm them more than necessary, yet you still endangered the very criminals you say you try to apprehend within reason. Getting smashed repeatedly in the face and dragged through the ground definitely counts as excessive force. So do us a favor, and come quietly. I promise you’ll get off easy if you explain.”

Eric stopped himself in his tracks, carefully watching the crossed-armed Combusken in front of him. “......you’re not going to let this go, officer?”

“Not a chance. Not unless I see proof that I should,” Jonathan said, his voice hard as steel.

No way out as far as he could say. He sighed in surrender, willing himself to avoid trouble unlike last time, lest he wanted to get chewed out by his mother or even putting Helen into more danger zones. “.....what do you want to know that I know about?”

Helen stared at Eric, now she really wondered if this is even the real one. The Eric she knew was by far unwilling to share information to those he didn’t trust. Either this one is an impostor, or...he had changed...somehow.

“Eric? Are you sure about this?” Helen questioned as herself surveyed the situation. It was four against one, her current wounded situation wasn’t exactly helping either. It made sense her trainer would choose this path. 

“....I know that I’m acting out of place right now, but please Helen….” Looking at her straight in the eyes, he pleaded. “....trust me on this. The last thing I want is for us to get into more trouble.”

The voice that reached out to her was definitely his, it was unmistakable. She smiled and brushed a vine under his chin. “But of course, why wouldn’t I trust my dear trainer? Go get them, sweetie.”

With a nod, Eric turned to face the Lucario proper, fixing him with his best neutral look on his own. “...make it quick, I don’t want to waste time, not with my Serperior needing medical attention.”

“Alright then, let’s get started,” Jonathan nodded. 

“Mind if I join in?” Came another familiar voice as Fox suddenly appeared on a nearby ledge, her team behind her. 

“...one moment, please,” Jonathan sighed, before turning to Fox. “Did you find anything?”

“Our target? No. But I did manage to thrash more of Medicine Bits’ shipments. Nobody’s gonna be taking part in those drugs...not after what we did to them,” Fox chuckled. 

Eric wasn’t going to ask how, or why Fox was involved. He just resolved to let out an annoyed sigh while rubbing his head.

“Alright then,” Jonathan nodded, before turning back to Eric. “For starters, you can tell us what you’re doing here? Manehattan is pretty out of the way.”

That one….Eric couldn’t exactly answer straight, at least not the first part. “....I was here trying to look for something for my ailing dad. Then I got sidetracked momentarily when I rescued a police pony from some….’persuaders’. I learned this place from the cop then I wanted to check to see if it was as illegal as the pony said. It seems it was.” His mind was momentarily brought back to those crates inside the container Helen had cut in half with Leaf Blade.

“Alright. Fair enough,” Jonathan nodded. 

“You seem pretty cooperative this time,” Fox mused, just a little suspicious. “Any particular reason why?”

“.....let’s just say, someone chided me for my…..methods.” Eric said cryptically. Twisting the truth as far as he could to prevent them catching on.

“...fair enough I suppose,” Fox shrugged. “And you’re right about this place being suspicious. the owner of this place, Medicine Bits is another crime lord, only one specializing in drugs. You’ve already seen the Pokemon zombies wandering around here. Well, that’s the end result of an overdose of her drugs, to cut a long story short.”

“We’re here to take Medicine Bits down, so we’ve agreed to an alliance of convenience,” Jonathan explained. 

With that much knowledge on their fingertip, Eric connected the dots fast enough to send someone spinning. “....so that’s how the security was so tight…normally because to spend that much manpower guarding one place is inefficient. We were the bait for you two, huh?” His face was blank, carefully hiding his slight irritation.

“Nothing of the sort,” Fox waved off. “In my case, I just finished raiding the main factory when I found this secret passage to this place...right as you came barreling by. So yeah, call me opportunistic if you will,” she chuckled. 

“...we had nothing to do with it,” Jonathan sweat dropped. “We were on a raid of our own, and had to fight through security when we ran into Fox.”

“....anything else? If not, then I have to do things right now, then bring my Serperior back for some medical treatment. Use me as a bait again if you want, but leave Helen out of this.”

“My, what are you talking about, we’re in this together.” Helen leaned her face closer again and rubbed her cheek against his. Eric lightly pushed her away, Helen made a disappointed ‘awww’

“Oh don’t worry, I don’t plan on making a habit out of it. Sides, its not like I made you do anything you weren’t already planning to do,” Fox waved off, a small part of her enjoying this...though the rest of her quickly squashed it.  

“....then we’re done here. What I said is the truth, trust me or not is your call.” With one arm carefully hoisting Helen up, they made their way toward the crime lord’s perceived hold out : a cargo ship.





They exited the warehouse to witness that a cargo ship was within sight. Strangely, it was just a stretch of cement block between them and the ship, and only a few containers were visible.

Eric floated, supporting Helen all the way. “....there’s no one here.” Looking at Helen, he asked. “....you think it’s a trap again?”

“Judging from our situation so far? I’d say yes.” Helen sighed. One doesn’t need to be smart to be able to sense the general feel.

Eric sighed, knowing that anything never go easy. “....well, we just have to prepare ourselves. I don’t want anymore surprises right now.” 

“I (cough, cough) fully agreed on that, dear.” Helen smiled, not having the energy to argue either. This was partly her idea after all.





“...can you stand?” 

“I think (cough) I (cough) can.” 

Helen’s wound was sapping what remains of her strength, Eric could tell by simply hearing the presence of a cough that had appeared just now. He knew he had to speed things up and with the conversation earlier wasting what little time they have wasn’t helping.

They were at the deck of the ship now, they were expecting to meet all kinds of resistance on their way here, yet on the deck of the ship, they still saw nothing. Just metal floor that stretches out to their left and right.

Looking around, even Eric’s eyes couldn’t spot anything that seems out of place. His eyes found the ship’s bridge. His eyes widened. “...over there.”

Helen’s attention turned toward the section of the ship he pointed at. “...is that-”

Eric’s eyes were firmly glued toward the crime lord. “….who is…that mare? Is she the one….?”

“What is that fool (cough) doing?” Helen asked as she strained her eyes to see whatever it is their target is attempting to do.

“You!” The intercom had crackled to life. “...What do you think you’re doing?”

Eric didn’t as much as gave the crime lord an answer. 

“You come into my base, wrecked all of my and caused possibly hundreds thousands of its worth of property damage, then to add insult to injury….YOU DESTROYED MY STOCKS AND BONDS!” They could hear heavy breathing transmitted through the intercom.

“....I guess Fox really outdid herself again.” He sighed at the implication. “...honestly I have no idea what she said just now.”

“Eric, this is a trap. I could (cough) feel it.” Helen grunted.

“...I know.” Eric muttered. “Things were almost never easy after all.”

“So,” The mare at the intercom took a deep breath to calm his rage. “I think it’s high-time for me dispose of you personally.”

Just as he said that, a pony came out from the doorway into the bridge. “...it’s him!” Eric remembered the pony he had encountered, the one who had commanded the two crazed ponies to attack him.

“Now! Bring me their corpses!” The crime lord ordered.

The sadistic smile from the pony couldn’t be missed. “With pleasure!”

As if on cue, they heard something that sounded like footfalls on metal. They looked at the direction of the metal gangplank and realized that it some blank-eyed Pokemon were making their way up. Finally, a small bulkhead right beneath the bridge glass panes also opened up to reveal several ponies whose eyes seemed focused while holding a few Ursarings on leashes.

“....we’re surrounded,” Eric gritted his teeth. Glancing around, he couldn’t see anyway out. “...no choice, back-to-back now!”

“(cough) Eric, what do you need me to do?” Helen slithered closer as she faced the incoming blank-eyed Pokemon to the left side of the ship toward the direction of the bridge

“....” Eric sighed. “...for now? Defend ourselves the best as we can.”

“Well (cough)....I guess we get to fight together if this is to be our end.” Inwardly, she felt satisfied to be close to Eric one last time. 

Then the incoming brainwashed Pokemon jumped like a moth drawn to a flame.

However, before they could do anything, several attacks shot through the air, and hit them, knocking them all back. 

“Sorry we’re late. We took a wrong turn to where the party was,” came Fox’s voice. 

Turning to the source of the sound, they saw Fox and Jonathan (the Zoroark helping the Lucario stand due to the wound on his leg), and both their teams. 

“Looks like you guys could use a hand,” Jonathan chuckled as they eyed the assortment of zombie Pokemon and Ponies. 

The former human nodded. No one is getting in or out now. “...Helen, can you manage?”

“I (cough) might be able to.” Just seeing her head bowed low was enough to trigger Eric’s worry.

“Here’s a better idea. Take a breather,” Fox said as she and Jonathan’s team stepped forward. “Alright everyone, let’s do some crowd control. Area attacks again!”

“You got it!” they all grinned, before a wide array of attacks were fired, hitting a large number of opponents, blowing them all away. However, unsurprisingly they got back up.

“Tch. There’s got to be a way to stop them from constantly getting back up,” Jonathan grunted. “Do you think we can use those web bombs of yours?”

“I didn’t carry enough. And they can only hold so much before they break eventually,” Fox said, as both of them jumped out of the way of a few stray attacks. 

While this was going on, the rest of their team was wiping the floor with the zombies. “Sorry for the headache,” Howl said, before blasting several of the Pokemon with Dark Pulse.

“Just try to keep it to a minimum!” Heat added, before hitting several of them with Rock Smash on the head, knocking them out instantly. 

“They’ll feel this in the morning,” Echo chuckled as she fired a concentrated Supersonic, 

During the general chaos of the situation, Eric kept a solid survey of the situation with back planted close to Helen who assisted. So far, they have no need for act, because their impromptu allies had assisted them in their defense.

“Get down!” 

Duck he did, just close enough to let a Hyper Beam pass by and grazed his head by mere inches. Before he could celebrate his successful dodge, he traced the beam to a new target.

His entire world seems to slow down as he came to full realization where the beam headed towards. 

“Stupid Pokemon and stupid thief. Ruining everything I worked for.” Medicine Bits incessant grumbling was unheard in the chaos. She had made sure to slink away from the bridge and across the ship toward safety while her buffoons of pony power will keep them busy.

A flash to her right dashed the hope from her, turning toward the source, a bright beam was heading toward her. Nothing in her long line of preparation could prepare her for this. She decided to cover her face and braced.

A slight draft of wind, and an explosion is heard, kicking up dust. 

Was she dead? She could still feel her five senses, which means she’s still alive and kicking. Opening her eyes and uncovering her face from her own hooves, she nearly tripped backward when there is yet one of the more scarier Pokemon was in front of her. 

Before she could scream her heads off, he fell forward, smoke rising from a spot on his back.





Medicine Bits didn’t know how to react, here it is one Pokemon went into the way of the beam that was supposed to struck her. A groan caught her attention, looking at the downed Pokemon, he is still conscious.

Nonetheless, she wasn’t one to waste opportunity. She grinned at the Pokemon’s stupidity. “Idiot. But thanks for being my idiot for the moment!” 

However, when she turned to run, she suddenly found she couldn’t. Looking down, her eyes widened at the sight of the thick coating of webs now covering her hooves. 

“My my, got caught in a sticky situation, are we?” came a voice that purred dangerously close to her.

That voice caught the mare’s attention, her mind told her not to look, yet she did it anyway and looked up. That prove to be a mistake once her eyes made contact with a pair of blood-red slitted ones, her body, even with every effort she put into it, refused to follow the brain’s command to move.

“Care to repeat what you just said to my precious trainer, you ungrateful bitch?” The venom in Helen’s voice was enough to melt steel, all injuries forgotten momentarily. 

Likewise, the two other teams who were approaching backed off a bit, yet one thought was shared. “Dead mare in 10 seconds” they mentally gulped, and decided wisely to stay out of the way. 

“I will check my trainer, do keep yourself in place. If there is so much as a single hair is gone from his face….” Helen licked her lips to ensure the implication sink in. “....I’ll make sure that you will go through your worst fear!”

“....s...stop.” Eric’s voice surprised the Serperior.

Glancing behind her, she found herself relieved that her handsome trainer got back up although it was obvious he was in pain. She moved herself to help when he nearly doubled over.

Once a vine is secure around his shoulder, she asked. “Oh dear, are you okay?”

“.....I’m….fine, don’t worry about me. What about you?” 

“You’re still you as always, worrying about myself instead of yourself.” She made sure to peck his cheek as a token of gratefulness. “Thank you for caring.”

But their exchange was interrupted by the familiar voice of the Lucario addressing someone. “Medicine Bits. For production and sale of illegal substances, illegal use of said substance, and enslavement of sentient beings, you’re hereby under arrest,” Jonathan stated as he grabbed her hooves, and ripped them off the webbing, before looping them over her back, and cuffing her. “You have the right to remain silent, and everything you say will be used against you in court....and don’t bother denying it. We both have undeniable proof.” He added, looking towards Fox, who shrugged before handing over the evidence she had gathered.

“Make sure not only the local police get that, kay? If I were you, I’d send it to Fillydelphia, somewhere she DOESN’T have her hooks in.” Fox stated, but Eric had seen she was reaching toward something behind her back. 

“....where are you going?” Eric breathed in air that has been expelled from his lungs with discomfort.

“Don’t cha know? I’m not done yet,” Fox chuckled, before throwing down a smoke bomb, and when it cleared, her team and her were gone. 

“Gah! Dammit Fox! Come back here!” Jonathan growled as he chased after her...with a limp, but not before mashing Medicine Bits into the webs again, this time making her FACE get stuck in the webs. 

Seeing the mare was in need of help, he floated over and roughly pulled her out before looking over at the cop who is quick enough to chase down Fox alongside his team. Eric wanted to mention about the Dodge City clue, but kept it to himself anyway. They still didn’t give him much reason to trust them nor proof it otherwise.

“....let’s go….we’re done here, Helen. Be careful not to aggravate your injuries. If there’s anything wrong, tell me, alright?” The mare protested as the Hydreigon dragged her by the back of her shirt collar, shouting protest along the way.

The pain had returned once the adrenaline had worn off, but Helen had enough strength to slither. “But of course (cough), sweetie.”





After a little backtrack, they had re-reached the entrance to the mob’s dockyard, however, this time, they brought along a guest in the form of a trashing mare.

“....hmmm, bringing this mare along might not be the smartest thing to do. If anyone spots me either dragging or carrying a mare on my shoulder, they would think that something was up. So….it was either go through an entire city with millions of inhabitants….or just wait for the officer.” Eric quietly pondered his choice with eyelids closed. As soon as he opened them again, he had made it. “....I guess, we’re going to wait.” He quickly stopped where he is.

Helen noticed the action and stopped herself once she had noticed his silent brooding. “Eric, what are you (cough) thinking?”

“.....I’m thinking….we should wait for the cop to bring this mare in himself. If you get what I mean….” Eric trailed off, waiting for Helen to caught on.

Said Serperior eyes widened for a moment as realization hit her. “Ah, yes, quite the wise decision.” The snake decided to slither around Eric and put her face close to the mare he was dragging about. 

“....Helen?” Eric hoped that she wasn’t going to do whatever she wanted to do.

“Don’t worry, Eric. We’re just going to have (cough) (cough) a little fun, aren’t we little bitch?” The tone coupled with the Serperior’s gaze made the mare completely frozen on the spot once more.

Helen brushed a vine underneath the mare’s chin and on her cheek and Helen’s eyes became half-lidded. “So now that we are here….waiting for the officer to come and rescue the damsel in distress….how about we….” The half-lidded eyes quickly shot open for the mare to witness the soul-stealing gaze that made her nearly choke. “...have a little fun.” Helen let out her forked tongue in a hiss. 

Eric knew Helen didn’t even hiss that much, but if she did….that means you better start praying to Arceus. But he knows her like the back of his hand, so she wouldn’t take it that far

But before she could have her way with the mare, the sound of footsteps was there and approaching fast. “....Helen, they’re here.”

“Oh, that was quite fast. Consider yourself lucky, bitch.” The venom in her voice would match her own literal one before she retook her position beside Eric.

Mere seconds later, the officer and his team that they had awaited for quickly came running toward them before stopping with heaving breaths.

“....looking for her?” The Hydreigon nonchalantly asked, throwing the mare within his grasp onto Jonathan’s feet. “....you’re the cop. Take care of her.”

Jonathan just picked up Medicine Bits, completely ignoring her protests since frankly, he didn’t give a damn about what she had to say at this point. “Any particular reason you didn’t just do it like you did with Grumble?”

“.....because there weren’t any cops around the area. I’m not a cop, dragging around a mare in front of everyone in the city that never sleeps is bound to give me more trouble. You’re a cop, you can go drag an innocent-looking civilian and no one will bother you, simply saying it’s police business.” Eric explained in detail. 

“...I’m not THAT blunt normally, but fair enough,” Jonathan sighed, before hefting Medicine Bits over his shoulder. “And I’ve decided that we’re not turning her into the police...at least not in this city...” he sighed as he started walking away...but not before knocking Medicine Bits out with a quick strike to the back of her head. “The last thing I need right now is you making a scene,” Jonathan grumbled. This was why he hated playing vigilante. 

With his job is done, he turned. “....then we’re done here. Let’s go, Helen. I’m going to look that wound of yours.” He flicked his head toward the exit then made his way toward it.

Helen was in agreement, but not without a few parting words. “See you later handsome! Take (cough) care.” She slithered to join her trainer.

“...wait. You seem really interested in stopping criminals and the like,” Jonathan sighed, a small part of him wondering why he was bothering. “But why are you doing it this way? There are plenty of more legal ways to do what you do.”

“....do I need a reason to do the right thing?” Eric’s back was still onto them, not bothering to glance behind him.

“No, but I think it helps to do it in a way that doesn’t make you look crazy,” Heat deadpanned. 

“Oh, but that is just the part of his charm. Strong, silent type.” Helen pushed herself into Eric’s comfort zone again, only for him to gently push her away.

“.....what she mean to say, I always thought….cops are just either too incompetent or are just too much of a glory hound or…..too corrupt to care. So….I don’t really bother dealing with the law….sometimes they just got in the way. And there is only a few people you could trust who is working with the law.” Right now, Eric was staring at them over his shoulder to watch their reaction.

Unsurprisingly, the officer simply shrugged his shoulders and went his way followed by his team. Leaving them both to their lonesome.

Eric had sighed, before turning to Helen. “....c’mon, Helen. Let’s get you back to the hotel so I can patch you up.” The Hydreigon had slinked an arm around Helen, and one to lift her neck up so he could help ease her burden.

The snake, wasn’t at all in discomfort by the close proximity of her trainer. “Of course, dear.” Feeling flattered by the action, she pecked his head as they went their way back into the city.





Play this as the second closing theme