Opening theme:
Alice lay on the bed she was using during her stay, her team by her side. “You all ready?”
“Of course,” Shade nodded.
“We are ready,” Spinner and Charlotte agreed.
“Now if only Scep would get out of bed,” Rascal smirked, to which they all leveled a deadpan stare at him. “What?”
“At any rate, you know the plan right?” Alice said.
“Of course,” they all nodded.
“But that aside...can we trust them?” Shade asked.
“If you’re talking about Jonathan, you all know the answer to that,” Alice nodded with a small smile, one they all agreed to. If there was one thing they could count on it was Jonathan’s moral integrity, which is why they like working with him when the situation calls for it. He would never stab them in the back.
“But if you mean the Nurems…” Alice frowned. “Not in a million years,” she said bluntly. “Keep an eye on Vincent and Bit especially. I wouldn’t put it past them to turn on us the moment this is over, or if the opportunity presents itself.”
“Understood,” the four of them nodded dead serious. They were the latest in the long line of Pokemon who fought alongside and protected the Fox, and like their predecessors, they would not fail their friend and master.
Ironically, a similar conversation was taking place outside the building. “So this is it huh?” Howl mused.
“Yeah, we’re gonna stop PegasusAir before they can even get a foothold on the city,” Jonathan nodded.
“Been awhile since we were part of such a big alliance,” Heat nodded.
“But what do you think of our allies?” Echo asked.
Jonathan frowned at that. “Well, Ace is a bit hard to work with, but she’s clearly a professional so we can trust her. Fox, I don’t need to discuss, right?” he chuckled at the end, one they all shared. It was honestly ironic that the person they were supposed to arrest, is also the person they knew they could trust to not stab them in the back. “But as for Vincent…” Jonathan frowned. “I’d like to think we can trust him, but from what I’ve seen, he’s unstable, and a little too mentally centered on his family.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Echo blinked. “Focusing on family, I mean.”
“Not when it seems to me that he’d sooner turn on Fox just because of what she accidentally did rather than focus on PegasusAir that is the bigger threat. While I would be angry too if anyone hurt one of you, I would also look at the full picture. Vincent seems to be fixed on only the fact that she did it rather than the full picture. The fact he actually lumped her in with a psychopath for no real reason is pretty clear.”
“...good point…”
“As much as I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt, I can’t in good conscience trust Vincent and his family to not act on personal interest during the mission. That’s why…” Jonathan sighed. “If any of you see them, especially Vincent and that Porygon-Z, looking like they’ll turn on Fox, I want you to stop them,” Jonathan said.
“Roger,” the three of them nodded. They knew what Jonathan was thinking and they agreed. They would catch Fox, but they would do it on their own terms. Not by taking advantage of her acts of good. Doing anything less would leave a horrible taste in their mouths.
“I think now would be a good time for us to make our exit,” Sleight Hoof said to his gathered group.
“You got that right. Things are getting way too crazy for comfort,” Rascal nodded.
“Of course, we’d better get out of town before the fighting gets serious,” Quick Storm nodded in agreement. Of course, they all knew the plan. They would get out of Las Pegasus...but with Alice and her team ‘getting off’ sooner, with them coming back to play their role as the Fox Gang.
With that in mind, the party came down the stairs, their luggage packed and ready to go. Along the way, Scep came out of the room he’d been more or less confined to, followed by Christine, both of them looking a bit dazed…and reeking of what they’ve been doing.
“Seriously?” Shade deadpanned, but shook her head all the same as they made their way down. They soon saw Vincent at the base of the stairs.
“If you’re wondering what’s going on, Jonathan told me about what’s happening yesterday, and Sleight Hoof thinks that since our time in the city is up, it would be better if we cleared out,” Alice explained.
“Ah,” Vincent said. “Can’t blame you. How much did we charge you again? I think we can afford a small refund if you’re leaving a day early.”
“Now now, young man. None of that. You’ve been very hospitable to us for the last few days. Besides, my shows have turned over a decent profit, so we can afford to pay you in full. And with what’s going on, I can definitely afford to be a bit more charitable,” Sleight Hoof said, before giving Vincent a bag full of bits.
“We’re really sorry to just run like this, but none of us are really fighters. If we were to be here when everything goes down, we’d just be liabilities to you,” Alice said, bowing in apology. Of course, how sincere it was...she couldn’t say herself.
“Speak for yourself, dudette,” Scep snorted, not looking too happy about leaving so suddenly.
“Ya know, Scep, if you want, you CAN stay behind and fight. Heck, if you want to stay here, be my guest,” Rascal groused.
“Really, you two? Now?” Alice sighed in annoyance, but nodded all the same. “He’s right though. If you want to stay and help them, we’re not stopping you.”
“I’d certainly appreciate more time with you,” Christine purred into his ear. “But, no pressure.”
“I’m sold. I’m not leaving your group, but I’m not leaving my mate hanging like this. I’ll meet you guys down the path in a day. You already showed me the map and path you’re taking,” Scep said, nuzzling Christine.
“Alright then. If that’s everything, I guess we better get going,” Quick Storm said, to which the rest of the ponies, and most of the Pokemon went straight for the door, and quickly exited the building, leaving only Alice behind.
“Good luck. It was brief, but we had fun during our stay,” Alice smiled, inwardly chuckling at the fact she was trolling Vincent without him realizing it, as her one night of ‘fun’ was inadvertently the main cause of one of their issues, before she walked out the door.
“Take care, you guys,” Sam said. “And if Fox gets away from us and shows up on your path, sock ‘er one for us, will ya?”
Vincent nodded his agreement with the statement, while Lucy merely snorted. Bit, however, remained silent. Which was starting to get more than a touch eerie.
“We’ll keep that in mind,” Alice chuckled awkwardly...before scowling once she knew they couldn’t see her. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she’d never have to see them again.
“Okay, calm down. Yes they are annoying, yes you don’t like them, but you have a mission to take care of,” Fox said as she looked at her reflection. “You are calm, you are in control, you are the Fox,” she said with a deep breath, as her the cool mask of the Fox persona was slipped on. “Alright, let’s do this,” Fox said.
“You go make sure PegasusAir doesn’t get its second wind. We’ll standby a bit outside the city limits until you finish,” Sleight smiled. “Good luck Fox.”
The Pokemon nodded before they made their way back into the city.
Meanwhile, at the Police Station, Jonathan had just finished relaying the plans and the situation.
Vincent tilted his head following the explanation. “You’re sure?”
“Yes. I’m positive. We were able to get some info on the ships that dock in the area. Our best bet is in field 7, where most of the larger ships dock in, perfect for one hauling supplies, or a large number of items,” Jonathan said. The info hadn’t been easy to get, what with PegasusAir having eyes and ears nearly everywhere, but he hadn’t been chasing after Fox for 5 years without learning a thing or two about stealth.
Bit finally showed some semblance of emotion then. “If we have a location and a time, then we are ready for this play to end,” he stated, his eyes flickering quite quickly between their normal state and their red one.
Jonathan shot a quick suspicious look at the Porygon-Z, one that nobody noticed, before continuing. “Not that simple. Unfortunately, this mission is gonna need stealth as well as power. We need to keep the guards busy, while some of our guys will slip in. For that reason, while I’m supposed to keep an eye on Fox, I suggested that each of us send at least one person in to infiltrate the ship, and maybe the nearby offices. Captain Blackstone has already volunteered to be the representative of the town guard, and I was hoping you’d be willing to be part of the stealth team, Vincent. And of course, there’s Fox...yeah, this is gonna be REAL fun night,” he said, groaning at the end. As much as he trusted Fox to not stab them in the back, Fox was still...Fox…
“As we’ve had proven to me, I’m useless when it comes to Dark or Bug types...unless I really exert myself, I don’t think me being on stealth would do you much good. I could probably co-ordinate the thing, run comms for us all, but I can’t have it both ways,” he finished ruefully while keeping his recent lessons with Luke close to the chest. “Either I can go in, or I can sit back and help. Which would you prefer?”
“We’re going in blind anyway, so you may as well be on the front line. Only Dark-types are immune, and we’ve got plenty of Fighting-types on our side, so your level of psychic power would be too valuable to lose at this point,” Jonathan mused. “Again though, the plan hitches on one of us getting the documents that should be in the ship, as with that, we can get proof of Pegasus Air’s most recent illegal activities. Once we get that, and if possible, records of all of Pegasus Air’s activities, we can stop them cold for good this time.”
“Fine,” Vincent muttered with an eye roll, “but I don’t know any Fighting moves. Or really anything to help with Dark types. And sad to say,” he said, glancing at the rest of his family, “But Sam isn’t a stealthy ‘mon, Lucy would rather be on the offensive, and Bit...is a bit too unstable right now to trust to a sneaking mission.”
“Understood. As for Fighting moves, I’ll have Heat standby with you in case. As for stealth...as much as I hate to admit it, the fact we’ve got Fox on our side, as long as the distraction works, we’ve got a very high chance of success,” he shrugged.
“That ought to work,” Vincent said slowly. “So, when are we going? Cause some of us don’t do well with waiting too long.” Even as he said that, Bit’s arm’s twitched slightly.
The moment they saw that, Heat, Echo, and Howl tensed slightly, but relaxed when Bit did.
“Then I’m afraid to say, that the shipment is supposed to come in at around 8 PM tonight. Since the shipment will land in an area away from the main nightlife areas, even at that early hour the place will be all but deserted. If you want, meet us at the Guard Station at 7 tonight. In the meantime, I suggest you train a little, prepare yourselves for tonight, and get plenty of rest. We’re gonna need everything we’ve got for this,” the Lucario sighed.
Sam, Lucy, and Vincent nodded, moving to leave, but Bit merely closed his eyes...an act that garnered more suspicious looks from the four Police Pokemon present. So much so that when they were outside the room for a bit, Jonathan looked at his team and said, “Be ready.” To which they just nodded.
The day had crawled by for everyone involved. But at last, the time for the mission came, and everyone was gathered at the Guard Station. Everyone but a certain thief.
“...Why am I not surprised?...” Vincent muttered.
“Oh, she’ll come. She never breaks her promises, so she’ll come. We just have to wait. Knowing her, she’ll want to make a flashy entrance,” Jonathan sighed.
“Does she ever do anything normally?” Lucy questioned.
“She’s a Phantom Thief. Them and normal don’t mix,” Echo deadpanned.
“I think we went beyond abnormal when she went straight to us to offer/ask for help,” Howl commented.
“Though how much is out of a sense of obligation and a sense of guilt are up for grabs,” Sam muttered, rotating his joints and flexing his claws.
“She’s here, isn’t she? Considering she’s been on a thieving spree since she got here and Arceus, nor ANY of the Legendaries even did a thing about it must mean something,” Heat shrugged.
“Maybe the Legendaries just didn’t want to leave little old me behind. I’m flattered to be the center of your conversation, by the way,” Fox said, before appearing in a flurry of her cape that had suddenly appeared in thin air. “As they say in old Kanto, ‘Kaitou Fox, Sanjou!’” she joked, before giving a stage bow.
Her sudden appearance had the effect of galvanizing the small family of Nurem that had gathered with the Guard in the station. While previously the foursome had been looking around at everything and tapping or fidgeting nervously, none of them took their eyes off of her once she revealed herself. Or rather, none of them took both eyes off of her. Of course, because of that none of them noticed the four Police Pokemon keeping their eyes on the experiments, just in case they made any moves. This was too important to let petty grudges mess it all up.
“Looks like the party’s all here,” she mused, ignoring the stares. “So Blackstone, when shall we start? Oh, and before we begin, no hard feelings for last time, okay. Nothing personal.”
“Oh yeah, of course no hard feelings,” he said, giving her a lopsided smile. “See, I’m not a guard captain, I’m actually secretly an Alicorn Prince with a thing for BDSM so what you did was fun for me,” Blackstone deadpanned. “So, thanks to Jonathan and your efforts, we know where the shipment from Canterlot is coming in. Jon?”
“Right. As we know, the shipment seems to be a shipment from Canterlot. It should be scheduled to arrive in field 7 by around 8 PM tonight. We’ll divide into 2 teams, our main force will create a distraction via a head on assault, during which our stealth team consisting of Blackstone, Fox, and myself, will infiltrate the ship, and secure any and all documents and incriminating evidence,” Jonathan explained.
“Keep in mind, ponies, ‘mon, and others,” Ace commented from next to her husband, “We don’t know how many ‘mon there are going to be in there, or how powerful they are, considering some of the rumors we’ve heard. If you think you’re outmatched, there is no shame in running and living instead of dying some sort of ‘hero’s death.’ Your purpose is to keep their eyes on you while our small team gets what we need. But if you get the chance, don’t be afraid to knock some upstart down a peg, and remember, if it’s do or die, do whatever you have to not die.”
The roars of approval were deafening, and when they died down, Fox decided to add her last two cents. “Well, you all heard the mare. I hope everyone is ready, cause it's showtime,” she smiled from under her hat.
“So, how you enjoying your first night as thieves?” Fox joked as she, Jonathan, and Blackstone ran along the nearby rooftops, giving them a good view of the field, while also letting them plot potential routes.
“Bizarre,” Jonathan deadpanned. Of all the things he thought he would do in his life, spending a night as a thief of sorts was not one of them.
“While I enjoy the night,” Blackstone said before lightly jumping and gliding to the next roof, Noi flying silently a few yards above him, “This is a side of it I had hoped never to see.”
“Aww...you’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ll be sure to show you the glitz and glamour that is a night in the life of a Phantom Thief,” she chuckled, pulling out a rose from Arceus knew where.
“Why does that not fill me with confidence?” Jonathan deadpanned.
“Because you know her?” their thestral companion filled in.
“Probably,” the Lucario sighed. “Anyway, let’s get ready. The signal should come any minute now.”
With that, they got into position, ready to spring.
Bit watched his timer count down. Not far behind, Echo and Howl were keeping an eye on him. As it was now, Fox was in a spot Bit could easily snipe if he were so inclined to. As such, it was an unspoken agreement between the two mon that they were going to make sure he STUCK to the plan.
The members of the Guard, along with several ‘mon who they’d recruited over the last few weeks to their cause, were assembled on the other side of a tall chain link fence, beyond which they could see the faint outline of an airship and the building it had landed near. Or they could just be random blobs in the darkness. Which is what he was about to fix.
When it got to ten seconds, Bit turned his head to those behind him and warned them. “Shield your eyes.”
Every pony, ‘mon, and other followed his advice. Once the timer hit five seconds, he floated up to the gate and started to ascend. At zero, he was approximately twenty-five feet in the air. Perfect.
“Flash,” he said, and for a moment, there was a Bit-shaped star hovering in the air, blinding the workers that had been in the process of dragging in the large crates. Everything about the warehouse was thrown into the very stark light emanating from his form, revealing that the main doors had been open, along with the fact that Quick Notes employed ‘mon and ponies that just could not look away.
“THIS IS THE LAS PEGASUS GUARD!” Ace bellowed. “SURRENDER NOW OR BE TAKEN IN BY FORCE!”
Naturally, not a one of them followed her orders. Lucy gave the chain and padlock blocking them from entering the yard full of either fleeing or charging mobsters a quick Force Palm, and the Guard surged to meet their foes.
While the guards were providing the distraction, the stealth group had snuck into the building where Quick Notes made her office. “What is it with Equestrian Crime Lords and making it so easy for me to get in,” Fox chuckled as they entered undetected.
“Don’t jinx it,” Jonathan sighed as he noticed his body start to fade away, Fox cloaking them in an illusion.
“Stick close,” she said seemingly ignoring his statement and grabbing his paw. The moment she did though, he blushed slightly, one that was hidden by the illusion. Good thing too as he was wondering why something like this was having that reaction on him. Little did he know, Fox was thinking the same thing, only in regards to herself.
Blackstone didn’t say anything as he followed. Being unseen and due to the illusion and with the majority of the guards diverted, it made sneaking in easy enough. They slowly made their way through the building and eventually came to Quick Notes’ office. A fact that was obvious seeing as Quick Notes herself was in the room.
“Oh for the love of Luna, but how is this happening again?” they heard her groan as she put her saddlebags and briefcase on top of the desk, no doubt for her files.
Seeing her chance, Fox moved towards her. “Nighty night,” she said, giving Quick Notes only a split second to look...before Fox knocked her out with a sharp blow to the back of her head. With that done, she dispelled the illusion, revealing the three of them.
“Remind me again why you didn’t do that to us at the casino?” Blackstone said as he regained visible form.
“Cause then you wouldn’t have been awake for the show,” Fox simply said, a small part of her enjoying the annoyed look that got out of Blackstone. “That, and we kinda need to knock her out BEFORE she managed to destroy any documents.”
“Yes, but you could have waited until she picked out which documents she wanted,” Blackstone said. “Now we’re going to have to go through them all, and if there’s one thing Ace hates more than criminals, it’s paperwork.”
It took a second for Fox to process it, and in that single second she came up with one realization: She got trigger happey. “...whoops,” Fox had the decency to blush at this. “Well...how many could she possibly have? And even if she has a lot, a LOT of it must be incriminating in some way, right?” she tried to reason, though that didn’t stop the sweat drop from forming.
“And now we’re gonna have a hard time sorting through it. Thanks a bunch Fox, for tempting fate,” Jonathan deadpanned. A quick search of the mare’s knocked-out body revealed a small set of keys in her saddlebags, which opened up her desk on the first try.
“Or we could get incredibly lucky with this mare’s attention to detail,” Blackstone muttered as the first drawer revealed a slew of files, but some were tagged with a sticker of a campfire while others weren’t.
“So...should we sort through them while everyone is fighting outside, or should we just grab everything and run?” Fox commented.
“Let’s grab the ones she wants destroyed first,” Blackstone said. “If we have room after, we can take the rest. Let’s use her bags as well, more space the merrier.”
“Now you’re talking,” Fox grinned, as the proceeded to grab all the documents that had the campfire sticker on it, before packing up anything else they could get their hands on.
“Uhhh... what?” Quick Notes groaned as she started to come to, but Fox was fast, and in a second she had whacked the pony on the head again with one of the large paper weights on the desk.
Jonathan glared at her when she did that. An act that was mirrored by Blackstone.
“What? Last I checked we didn’t want her to wake up while we’re here,” Fox defended herself.
“We also want to take her alive, something a little hard to do if you keep hitting her on the head,” Jonathan deadpanned.
“Oh dear me, but this won’t do,” a voice said from everywhere and nowhere. “Someone pilfering boss’s desk? I’m going to have to deal with you…”
“Ghost-type?” Fox guessed.
“Ghost-type,” Jonathan groaned in annoyance. Of all the Pokemon the mare could have had, it HAD to be a Ghost-type, which he was completely useless against.
The briefcase snapped up the files that they’d been pulling out of her desk before clicking and locking shut. A soft ‘kekeke’ echoed around the room afterwards.
“Now that that’s out of the way...why don’t I have some fun with you three?”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Fox smirked, before yelling, “Duck!”
Hearing her, Jonathan and Blackstone immediately hit the ground, just as Fox let out a Dark Pulse from her body, the waves emanating through the room, and hitting the Ghost-type in the room.
The Gengar grunted as he faded into corporeality, sliding down the wall and glaring at Fox. He then drew one hand back, and it started to drip with a purple fluid. “Say goodnight!” he snarled before dashing at her with a Poison Jab.
“Curfews canceled,” Jonathan shot back as he got between Fox and the attack, the attack harmlessly hitting him in the chest, his Steel-type neutralizing the Poison.
“And once more,” Fox grinned, before throwing a Shadow Ball at the Gengar. The attack hit, causing the Gengar to drop the brief case with the files in it.
“Blackstone! Now!” Jonathan shouted, to which Blackstone dove for the briefcase, and snatched it up.
“Go! We’ll handle short and ugly here,” Fox ordered, to which the thestral nodded and flew out the door with the precious documents.
Now that they were alone, the two Pokemon focused their attention on the Ghost-type hovering there.
“You’re not leaving here alive,” the ghost proclaimed, before starting to sing an unearthly tune. “All who face me fail!”
“Too bad for you, nothing is impossible for Phantom Thief Fox,” Fox grinned, before several Shadow Balls appeared between her two paws, albeit smaller than a normal Shadow Ball. “Shadow Barrage!” she shouted, before the Gengar found himself pelted by the balls of super effective energy.
“Keh!” he hissed as his energy fled. “Oh no you don’t. You’re falling here.” His form wavered and vanished as he melted into the floor, casting a shadow where he’d been, before that, too, vanished.
“Alright, if that’s how you want to play...Johnny-boy,” she started, getting his attention. “Shield Quick Note,” she said as energy started building up around her.
Seeing what she was about to do, Jonatha quickly lunged for Quick Note, and used his body as a shield from the attack to come.
“Night Daze!” Fox declared, before the energy dispersed in a massive dome shaped shockwave, obliterating the room they were in, and devastating nearby rooms.
Outside, the room they had been in seemed to explode with energy, just as Jonathan came tumbling out, the unconscious mare in his arms. Nearby, Blackstone got off his flank, having been bowled over by the shockwave, though the documents were safe.
Likewise, even the ones on the battlefield saw that, causing several ‘mon and ponies to finally get in prone positions and allow themselves to be taken in. Bit took the blast in absently, and Lucy took advantage of the distraction to knock a few foes out. Sam blinked a few times and sighed at the thought of Fox being that strong.
Gengar rolled and huffed as he too hit the ground, but picked himself up and glared at Fox. “Oh you are going to regret that!” he spat. However, to his surprise...she was gone.
“...Oh fuck m-” he didn’t get to finish his sentiment, as his earlier attack finally took effect on him, and he fainted.
Back with the battle, Jonathan and Blackstone had rejoined the rest of the group, after Jonathan had secured Quick Notes
“Is everyone alright?” Jonathan asked.
“We’re great,” his Pokemon said.
Sam and Lucy looked around, clearly not seeing someone, and Bit was the one to voice the question.
“Where. Is. She?”
Even the tone was hostile, something that immediately put the Police Pokemon on guard.
Jonathan quickly regained his focuse and looked around and noticed that she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “She must hav-” his statement was cut off when he suddenly fell over. “Damn...Perish Song…” he managed to choke out before passing out.
“Jonathan!” came the worried voices of his Pokemon as they crowded around him. However, they all sighed in relief when they realized he was just knocked out.
What nobody noticed was during the chaos, Fox had snuck away, and got to the water. Dropping a few glow sticks, the water bubbled just as she lost consciousness, letting herself fall in. As she was in the water, a pair of claws caught her, pushing her back up for a moment, and when she was over the water, several webs covered her nose and mouth, making a makeshift face mask and keeping the water out, before she was pulled under again by her Pokemon, all of them having the same facemasks, with Rascal and Shade swimming her to safety, while Charlotte and Spinner clung on to them. As they swam, they could hear the sounds of searching, as well as a few of Bit’s angry beeps here and there, which only made them smirk.
“So close, yet so far. Sorry Vincent, but nobody is taking Fox in today,” the four of them thought as they continued unseen to the streams outside the city.
Several hours later, Alice sighed as she lay on the roof of the carriage. The recent heist had been a close one, but knowing Jonathan, he’d be sure that all the evidence they got was put to good use. However, despite a job well done, and once again evading the authorities, she still felt uneasy, and she knew why. “Maybe I was wrong to act like we were still on Earth. Maybe I just didn’t realize that ponies were so...fragile in comparison to humans. Sure, Bit breaking down might have been partly due to his own nature, but I should be more careful too,” she thought with a sigh. As she sat up, she smiled slightly at the next destination. They were going back to Baltimare. “Maybe its time Fox took a little break. After all, we’ve already hit Equestria. Maybe its time Fox took the world,” she grinned.
Ending theme:
