By day, two of the best friends. By night, two of the fiercest rivals. Something is going to give, and when it does, something else might spring forth.
This was written with tdnpony's permission.
Alice Maximilion is a scientist by day and the Phantom Thief Fox by night. However, after Arceus transferred all of the Pokemon as well as some of the humans over to Equestria, she lost her day job. Since then, she's been busy putting corrupt ponies in their places as well as trying to meet up with her childhood friend, Johnathan. However, with more down time than she's used to, she may be forced to confront some feelings she never really knew she had.
Johnathan Trace is a police officer dedicated to catching the Phantom Thief Fox. Even after being thrown into a different world, he is still pursuing that goal. Chasing down a thief who has over 500 years of knowledge is not an easy task, but he's the only one who's gotten close. However, they say opposites attract, and some of the actions by Fox have left him confused to say the least. At least he finally found out his best friend Alice was sent to Equestria as well.
With both of them taking a necessary break after a busy month, Alice begins to confront her feelings, but will her double life as both his best friend and worst enemy get in the way of what she wants?
Not if the Phantom Thief Fox has anything to say about it.
This story is a non-canon spinoff to tdnpony's A New World, A New Stage, which itself is a spinoff to zeusdemigod131's A New World, A New Way. You will definitely want to read the former if you want to have any idea what's happening, while the latter includes some key worldbuilding. The whole A New World universe is filled with fabulous stories that you should check out. If you like Pokemon, like crossovers, or just like some of the best writers on the site, then you should check it out.
Written as several chapters because that's how I roll. I probably will publish chapters every day until I publish them all. Once I do, this story will likely never be touched again, unless I get enough popularity to continue.
The carriage parked near the office of the Baltimare Guard wasn’t in any sort of trouble. It happened to be housing some of it’s most crucial members. Right now, though, those members of the guard were sleeping in peace. At least until one set of blue eyes opened from it’s bed.
Johnathan was a bit confused as to why he woke up. The former human, current Lucario, was a pretty heavy sleeper when he wasn’t working. As he yawned and started really waking up, he started glancing around to see what the cause of his interrupted sleep was.
The Great and Powerful Trixie’s door was still closed, so it probably wasn’t her. The blue unicorn was the owner of the wagon they were staying in, and once you got past the showmare appearance she maintained almost all the time, she was a fun mare to be with, if a little bit snooty at times.
Looking to the side, he saw that his team was still asleep. Howl the Mightyena was on the bottom of the pile, Heat the Combusken was in the middle, while Echo the Noibat was on the top of the pile. None of them had budged.
Johnathan glanced out the window he was sleeping next to. The moon was full, and tonight would have been a perfect night for Fox to perform another heist. However, there hadn't been a calling card, which meant there was no heist. Pity, it was a nice night. Of course, bright moonlight does make it rather hard to make a getaway, and Fox was a master at getaways.
It was just then that he noticed a card on the front step of the stairway leading into the carriage. The card shone in the moonlight, probably laminated, and the pattern was eerily familiar.
It was Fox’s calling card.
There would be a heist soon.
Quietly, so as not to wake up his sleeping friends, he edged over to the front door and opened it up. Climbing down the stairs and closing the door behind him, quietly, he reached down and picked up the card.
Usually, the card would be outlining what Fox would steal, when, and from who. However, this time there was only one word.
Gotcha
“Clever girl.” Johnathan muttered, before feeling something cover his mouth.
Having tried (and failed) to catch Fox for the past five years, even back in the human world, he knew from experience that when Fox wanted to steal something, she stole it, and usually made a Hollywood production out of it. So when Johnathan realized that he was what Fox was planning on stealing, he figured there were two options.
One, try to escape, fail, and probably get hurt in the process.
Two, go with it, hope Fox was in a good mood, and maybe once her guard was down, attempt to arrest her.
No contest. Not that he could have resisted anyways. The webbing covering his mouth had also grabbed him by the shoulders and was slowly lifting him off the ground. He looked up, seeing a couple of familiar Spinirak that he was always having to deal with on Fox’s heists. Johnathan looked back down, seeing the sidewalk and carriage disappear below him. He was too far up to escape uninjured if he tried to break free.
Resigned to his fate, he realized that he was already at the top of the building. There, standing with her full heist outfit, was the Phantom Thief he had been trying to catch for most of his life.
Except, in an ironic twist of fate, she caught him.
Earlier that day
Alice Maximilion was tired of relaxing. She knew that she had had a busy month, but she was a woman on action. She liked jumping on buildings, robbing the evil, dodging the police, that sort of thing. Not sitting around the house reading the local paper day after day hoping for news of an evil pony to show up.
The Zoroark was busy reading one of the many books that filled the bookshelf. She was in one of the many living rooms in her benefactor's mansion. The owners, Sleight Hoof, an earth pony magician, and Quick Storm, a former weather pony, were some of the sweetest ponies she had had the honor of meeting over the past month, after Arceus decided that the human world was too far gone and moved a couple billion Pokemon as well as several 'worthy' humans to the land of Equus. The initial panic had died down, but the integration was going fairly slowly, seeing as right now Pokemon can't directly communicate with ponies without a unicorn's help.
Right now, though, Alice was wishing that a couple of Pokemon had been left behind.
Her Liepard, Shade, was trying, but failing, to take a nap. The cat-like Dark type had her paws over her ears, hoping that she could block out the noise, but it wasn't working, as evidenced by the growing snarl on her face.
The two Spinarak, Charlotte and Spinner, weren't the source of the noise. They were hiding in a corner, making designs out of their webbing. They didn't seem too bothered by the noise, but with how fast they were talking to each other, they probably couldn't make out whatever was being yelled.
The real problems were the last two Pokemon around.
Rascal the Weavile was one of Fox's partners in crime. He was very good at what he did, and he was proud of it. Scep the Sceptile was a former member of the Pokemon Liberation Army, and he was also very good and whatever he wanted to be good at, as well as being proud of it. Naturally, this left the two of them in opposition. Which often culminated in a shouting match.
That was the reason why most of the servants had left, and why Shade was in a very slashy mood.
"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP!!!!" Shade yelled over the two arguing Pokemon.
"ONLY WHEN HE RESPECTS ME!!!" The two opposing arguers yelled back in unison.
"So how long will that take? Because I'm tired of hearing you two yell at each other every single day!" Alice voiced her opinion.
"ASK HIM!" the two said in unison again, as if they had rehearsed this.
"Oh for the love of Arceus." Alice muttered. "I'm half tempted to turn the two of you in right now. Seriously! The only reason I'm not is because I don't want to ruin the Phantom Thief Fox's reputation."
"Are you sure that's the only reason?" Shade asks slyly.
Alice looks at the Liepard with a questioning look. "What else could there be?"
"A certain police officer that happens to also be a former human." Shade points out.
It takes a second, but Alice's face lights up bright red at the insinuation of the statement. "W-What?! NO! Not at all! No!"
Shade smirks. "The fact that you immediately went there only confirms my suspicions."
Rascal and Scep, realizing they weren't the center of attention anymore, look back at the Zoroark and Liepard.
"You cheeky cat! I do not have a fascination with Johnathan! He is a very good friend who just so happens to be an enemy of mine. NOTHING MORE!" Alice heatedly defends herself.
"I don't even know the whole story, and I can tell that's a lie." Scep adds in.
"Admit it, Alice. You love him." Rascal says flatly.
"I DO NOT LO-" Alice starts to yell out, before cutting herself off. She starts to think back. Meeting Johnathan in school, realizing that they would one day be enemies, but still knowing him anyways. Reuniting with him in Lumiose City, and all the days they spent together. All the flirting directed at him while as Fox, and his face when she flustered him was just the cutest dang thing...oh. Alice sighs in defeat. "Fiiiine, I guess I love him."
Spinner and Charlotte do a motion that looks suspiciously like pumping their fist.
"Okay, so what are you going to do about it?" Shade prompts.
"I can't do anything. I'm a fugitive of the law, and he's trying to catch me. I can't reveal myself, because he would just as soon arrest me without giving me a chance to talk. I can't try only being Alice around him, because while I'm a good actor, I'm not THAT good, and eventually something will slip. I can't stop being Fox, because then Johnathan will be stuck waiting for a foe that will never come back. There is no way that I can be with him." By the end of her tirade, Alice is in tears, and slowly curls up into a ball.
The next one to speak isn't a Pokemon. "So that's why the shouting stopped." Quick Storm said. The dark blue mare walked over to the sobbing Fox and wrapped her in a hug. "What's wrong, Alice?"
Alice, along with the other Pokemon, tell Quick Storm the full story.
"This sounds an awful lot like how Sleight described himself trying to confess his feelings. He was always afraid that he wouldn't be accepted. However, having this situation is very bad in your line of work." Quick points out.
"Now that I've confronted it, how can I keep doing this?" The Zoroark asked.
"I never had this much drama, so this is well out of my pay scale." Quick Storm quips. "Isn't there a Pokemon out there that can help you with this? Celestia knows there's a Pokemon for everything."
Alice reverts back to her scientist background, quickly trying to remember any Pokemon that would fit the bill. "Luvdisc are more for couples getting eternal love, but they are rare and may not be anywhere around here. Most Pokemon can learn Attract, but I don't want something dangerous to happen because of that. Hmmm..."
"What about Cresselia?" Shade asks.
"Possibly, but there is no way she'll bother with me. She has the whole world to roam, there is no reason for her to help me-"
Alice was cut off by a bright light in the room. When it disappears, there is a Pokemon floating behind her. With a dark blue body, not as dark as Quick's coat, with yellow and pink highlights up and down it's body, it just so happens to be the Pokemon that was being talked about.
Everyone in the room was left speechless. It isn't every day that a Legendary Pokemon shows up.
I could have sworn someone asked for my help. Was I mistaken? Cresselia asked.
"Umm...It was me." Alice raised her paw. "I'm the one that is having some relationship issues."
So, what's the problem?
It takes the better part of an hour to explain the situation to Cresselia, especially since she is asking for details to help her understanding.
Okay. So you're in love with your best friend, but he's also the one trying to arrest you for robbery, correct? Cresselia checks with Alice.
"Yup. I've been trying to think of something that could lead to my happily ever after, but I always am fearing the worst." Alice confirms with Cresselia.
Here's my advice for you. Fortune favors the bold. I've seen time and time again that the people who don't do anything about this always are left with regrets. You need to do something, or you'll spend the rest of your life hung up on this.
"But what can I do? I don't know if he'd buy Alice just showing up, and it isn't like Fox can just wander over to-" Alice suddenly cuts herself off, and one could almost see the lightbulb over her head.
I'm sensing that you have a plan. Cresselia says.
"Oh, I have a plan, all right. A very Fox-like plan, if I do say so myself. Now, I'm going to need all of your help to pull this off."
Even me?
"Especially you. I want to be able to prove that Alice and Fox are one and the same, and I know just the way to do it. The Phantom Thief Fox's next heist will be tonight!" Alice cheers, and the rest of the room cheers with her.
Back to the present
Johnathan was just surprised it happened so fast. It was certainly without it's usual flair and extravagance, so he knew that Fox meant serious business. Not to mention that this was the first kidnapping in the history of the Phantom Thief.
He just hoped that like all of her other heists, she returned what she borrowed.
It had been a short walk to a carriage that was waiting for them, and now the two of them were riding through the night. The windows were blacked out, so he couldn't see where they had passed. The two Spinarak that were responsible for him being tied up were sitting in the corner, leaving the two former humans to sit there in awkward silence.
Of course, he couldn't have talked if he wanted to. His mouth was still covered, and he was thoroughly tied up. He wasn't going anywhere.
After about a half hour, the carriage stopped, and Fox carried Johnathan into the forest they had stopped next to. After another fifteen minutes, the pair reached a clearing. The two Spinarak attached him to a tree, before saluting to Fox and scuttling back the way they came.
Fox waited a few seconds before slowly peeling off his mouth cover. "If we're going to have a conversation, you're going to need your mouth. Just remember I can put this back on, so be careful."
Fox knew that John would respond, but she was a professional. She could handle anything he said. No matter what he would spit out, she would not lose her composure.
"That webbing tasted like mozzarella."
That almost broke through. Just barely reigning back the guffaw that was building in her throat, she managed to choke out a reply. "I'll pass it on to them. They're quite the artists."
There was a couple seconds of awkward silence before Fox got back on track. "We've been competing for about five years now, and through it all, you're still the one person I trust the most. Just hear me out while I rant here, because believe it or not, I didn't write this speech down."
Johnathan, while puzzled before, was very confused now. At least he was tied up so he couldn't hurt himself.
Fox sighed, trying to get herself psyched up for what she was about to do. "For the last five years, I've been stealing, and you've been trying to catch me. During that time, I've really gotten to know you. How courageous you are, how protective you are of your friends, how noble you are. Not to mention you were pretty good looking, if I do say so myself. And then, just to experiment, I flirted, I flaunted, I did all of those things that maybe weren't necessary, and you reacted. Your face was so cute when I did some of those poses. That, I suppose, is where this began.
"That Luxray that shouted for us to get a room? After he did that, I nearly did it. I nearly grabbed you then and there, and took you away. I had trouble sleeping for days after that one."
"So that's what the kiss was for." Johnathan says, mostly to himself.
"Officially, I'll say it was a tactic to get away. Unofficially, I didn't hate it. The problem is that you're the forbidden fruit. I can't have you, because you'd jail me right away. But that just makes you all the more desirable. I've never been one for romance, usually a Fox waits until they retire. However, what I feel for you doesn't feel like romance, it feels like an obsession. However, it isn't just Fox that feels this way. I have a life outside of crime too, you know. But this is where it gets a little wild. Let's see, five years ago, didn't you have a friend who showed up?"
Johnathan snarled. "Were you stalking me?"
"Answer the question, or I'll cover your mouth and leave you here."
Johnathan sighs in defeat. "Yes. I had an old childhood friend show up."
"Alice, right? Alice Maximilion?"
"Alright, you've been stalking me. Yes, that's her name." Johnathan's irritation is rising.
"Did you ever think of it as more than a coincidence that she showed up at the same time I started my work?"
"...Alice is not Fox."
"I'd like to think I know myself quite well, thank you." Fox says with an air if dignity.
The cop stared at the thief. "Tauros crap. You're saying this just to mess with me. I met Alice here in Equestria. She isn't you."
"She's a Zoroark, though. I'm a Zoroark." Fox points out.
"You're shiny."
"It's an illusion. Here." Immediately, Fox drops her illusion, showing that her once blue highlights are actually the more common red.
"...Okay, that may prove that, but you're nothing like her. We've been together since we were kids. She was always a little bit restless in school, she liked to prank others, but she never got caught, and would stand up for what she believed in. She was passionate about her research as an adult, but still made time for me." Johnathan lists off all the positive qualities he can remember off the top of his head about Alice.
"Restless, prank-prone, never got caught, stands up for what she wants, passionate about what she does...You do realize that could very well be describing Fox, right?" Fox says back.
Johnathan thinks back, and realizes what she's talking about. "Okay, you may have turned into the same species, and you may have similar characteristics, but Alice can't be Fox."
"Even though you met Alice in the same town that I was pulling a heist in?" Fox says cheekily.
"STOP IT! STOP MESSING WITH ME! YOU ARE NOT ALICE! You have no proof."
"Will this work as proof?" Fox puts up an illusion, and John drops his jaw.
It's a perfect replica of what Alice looked like as a human. Right down to her chocolate brown hair, her usual sweater, and her reading glasses. Even some of the little details, such as the hairstyle (long and straight, halfway down her back) and that bright smile, were spot on.
For a second, John couldn't even breathe. He recognized that woman. It tends to happen when you see each other nearly every day for about five years and were best friends before that. Fortunately, John recovers enough to continue the conversation, as much as he just wants to sit there and admire the perfect beauty in front of him. "You've been stalking me more than I thought, it seems. That is a fairly accurate representation, right down to her perfect figure and beautiful eyes."
Alice-Fox's face lights up bright red. Okay, she never quite knew he liked how she looked THAT much. She knew she was attractive, since she was hit on all the time, but for him to go and say THAT to her while looking like his knees would have given out had he been supporting his own weight was enough to break her focus for a moment. "Heh heh...okay, back to work. What will it take for you to believe that Fox and me are one and the same." Alice says, switching from Fox to Alice to try and drive the point home.
"Any sort of conclusive evidence. Something only the REAL Alice would know." Johnathan says.
Alice puts her hands on her hips, thinking for a second. "Let's see. We first met when you fell out of a tree when trying to rescue a Tailow, and landed on top of me. You assisted me on my first heist of stealing from your father's cookie jar. Recess always turned into you chasing me around the playground for 20 minutes. You would always insist on paying for our meals even though I made more money from my job than you did. You darn near choked on your collar when we went to that parade and I wore my best dress. Does that prove enough, or do you need me to go into more excruciating detail?"
John could almost see his life falling apart. He started to hyperventilate, and he would have fallen down if he hadn't been pinned to the tree still. "D-Did you know? All that time ago, that we would be enemies, but still, you stayed with me? Why? Why wou-" John stopped mid-sentence. His eyes narrowed dangerously. "You were toying with me."
"Wha-NO! No I wasn't! Here I am pouring out my heart to you, and you think I'm toying with you?"
"STOP LYING TO ME! YOU'RE ONLY HERE SO YOU COULD CONTROL THE ONLY PERSON ABLE TO CAPTURE YOU! WELL I WON'T LISTEN!!"
Alice was on the verge of tears. However, she wasn't done yet. she still had an ace up her sleeve. "FINE! If I can't prove it to you, then maybe SHE can!" She cried.
There was a bright flash, and Cresselia appeared in the clearing with the two of them. You're name's John, right? John nodded dumbly, awestruck that there was a legendary Pokemon in front of him. Good. Listen, Alice over there has probably spent the last about fifteen minutes showing that she loves you. I am here to tell you that that is all true. She isn't toying with you. She is genuinely in love with you, John. John's face immediately softens.
"Thank you, Cresselia." Alice says, now nearly crying in joy seeing John not wanting to kill her.
I'm just doing my job. Now you two have to make it work. Cresselia then disappears in a flash, leaving the two former humans alone once again.
Alice and Johnathan stood in the clearing, staring at each other. Alice had freed Johnathan from his webbing prison, and the two were now trying to figure out what to say now that Cresselia left.
John spoke first. "I am so sorry, Alice. I was desperate to not believe you simply because I had it in my head that you were just a no good crook that deserved jail time."
"I'm sorry too, John. I never really thought about having to do this. I always assumed that we could keep doing what we were doing. Then this whole moving to another world thing happened, and our whole thing was destroyed. I wasn't going to tell you about being Fox until I retired as Fox." Alice slumps over slightly.
John walks over and hugs Alice. Alice freezes for a moment, then hugs back. "Let's just agree that mistakes were made, and now we can start over." Johnathan says.
"Agreed." Alice replies, before backing out of the hug. "Hello there, my name is Alice Maximilion. I'm a scientist in Lumiose City attempting to prove that people are a kind of Pokemon. I am also a wanted criminal known as the Phantom Thief Fox, whose name I inherited from my entire family tree. It's a pleasure to meet you." She then cheekily sticks out her paw, as if to shake.
Johnathan, deciding to play along with 'starting over', replies. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Johnathan Trace. I'm a police officer dedicated to catching a certain thief. My family has been chasing said thief for generations, and while we've never succeeded, I'm the closest anyone has ever come to catching her."
Both of them immediately break out laughing, and laugh for several minutes. On the verge of tears by the end of their laughing fit, both of them sit in the grass. Johnathan then starts to finally relax, but he first thinks of something.
"What now?"
"Huh?" Alice asks back.
"What do we do now?" Johnathan says. "I can't arrest you now, because now I have a conflict of interest. However, I can't just let you walk away."
"Well, what do you propose I do?" Alice asks.
"The way I see it, there are several ways we could go about this. One, we continue doing what we were doing, with you doing your thing and stealing, and me trying to catch you."
"Won't work. Somebody will notice something is wrong if you aren't trying your hardest."
"Good point." John says. "Two, you stop being Fox."
"HAIL NO!! Fox is my life here. Plus, how would you arrest all of those crime bosses without me guiding you?" Alice screams.
"Okay, okay! It was just a suggestion!" Johnathan manages to calm down the now irritated Zoroark. "Three, I retire as a cop in order to help you."
"Don't do that to yourself, John. You make a terrible criminal." Alice points out.
Johnathan huffs. "What can we do, then? I want this to work, but it can't work right now."
"Plead for amnesty from the crown?" Alice suggests.
"Oh yes. Because pleading for amnesty after having stolen the crown jewels of Equestria, among other things, is definitely going to end up with you not behind bars. I know this country's thing is weaponized friendship, but you cannot be serious." John dryly replies.
About then, the two former humans notice the sun starting to peek over the horizon. "Please tell me you left some sort of note for my Pokemon, or else Baltimare is going to be a madhouse."
Alice chuckles sheepishly. "Whoops?"
Back in the city
"It doesn't take a genius to conclude that Fox literally stole Johnathan!"
A Combusken, a Mightyena, and a Noibat, joined by a light blue showmare, all stood in front of the guard chief's desk, presenting the card that Fox had left on their doorstep. Said guard chief was also sipping her third cup of coffee that morning, and was probably going to need several more before breakfast at the rate this day was going.
"I get your worry, but this card is not nearly enough to start an investigation. Besides, do you even know where to start looking?" the chief asked the group.
The group all looked at each other, before sighing. "No, ma'am."
"Go look for him before you start your patrol. Dismissed."
As the four walked out of the guard station, Trixie started to formulate a plan. "Okay, Echo, search all over the place, see if you can find anything. Heat, Howl, we'll split up and search on the ground for him. If he's in the city, we'll find him. Meet up here in an hour, and if we haven't found him, then we start to panic. Got it?" Trixie received three nods in response. "Good. Let's go!"
The four burst out of the door, and standing right there was a certain Lucario, with a smug grin on his face. "Worried, were we?"
That was clearly not the right thing to say, as Heat proceeded to High Jump Kick him and send John sprawling down the sidewalk. "Don't just say that! You were kidnapped by Fox! KIDNAPPED! Of course we were worried!"
John coughed, trying to catch his breath. He may have been a Pokemon for a month, but he sure wasn't used to getting hit. "Sorry. I was trying to calm you guys down before you accidentally burned the city to the ground."
"Fair enough." Howl conceded. "So, what happened?"
"Can we talk about this after duty? I need to figure out how exactly to explain it." John asked.
"We can talk and patrol at the same time. Spill." Echo said.
A few hours later
The four Pokemon guards were eating lunch at a cafe. Well, one of them was eating. The others were trying to comprehend what the first had said.
"So you were kidnapped by Fox..." Started Heat.
"...who dragged you into the woods..." Howl continued.
"...and tied you to a tree..." Echo carried on.
"...before confessing her love to you..."
"...and revealing that she was also Alice..."
"...and then you had a freak attack..."
"...that was calmed down by Cresselia..."
"...before you finally accepted it..."
"...and then she let you go..."
"...and you DIDN'T arrest her?" Heat finished.
John nodded. "What else could I do? I wasn't about to arrest Alice."
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!!!" Howl howled.
"So now I need your guys' help." John said.
"Huh?" All three asked at once.
"I need to figure out a way to make this work. I want your help to figure out how we can be a couple that doesn't involve retirement or jail time."
The four Pokemon all went silent for a couple of minutes. Until..."Wait, I just thought of something!" Echo cried out.
"Well, spill. What's your plan to save my relationship?" John asked.
A half hour later
The wagon pulled up in front of the mansion. The four Pokemon, plus Trixie, all piled out of the wagon and walked up to the front door. Johnathan, being the only one who knew what they were doing, rang the doorbell.
A mare opened up the door. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, I'm looking for an Alice Maximilion. Is she here?"
"One minute." The mare then closed the door.
A muffled shout of "Alice!!" and a few hushed words later, and a now familiar Zoroark opened the door. "JOHNNY!!!" The two hugged, being very careful to avoid John's chest spike. "How good to see you! And you brought your partners! Come in, come in!" She ushered everyone inside and to the living room.
In the living room, there was already quite a party. All of the members of Alice's team, as well as Sleight Hoof and Quick Storm, were waiting for them.
As soon as the newcomers walked into the room, however, there was a less than friendly introduction.
All of the Pokemon, save the former humans, growled at each other and looked ready to go at it.
John and Alice quickly got in between the nearly fighting groups. "I just told you this morning what we were going to be seeing, you idiots." John said.
"We've been over this, Pokemon, no fighting inside!!!" Alice reprimanded her team.
The two groups blinked, and managed to calm down enough to be considered civil. The servants sighed in relief, not wanting to rebuild the room again.
Trixie, meanwhile, had frozen up upon going in the room and seeing her idol sitting there. "S-S-Sleight H-H-Hoof?"
After hearing his name, Sleight looked at the blue showmare standing in the room. "The Great and Powerful Trixie, I presume?"
"You know who Trixie is?!" Trixie had slipped into the third person again.
"Your advertisements were all over the city. And your shows are some of the greatest of this time."
Trixie fainted after hearing the praise. "Oh dear, it's happened again." Quick said, before a couple of servants carried the giddy mare off to another room.
"Alright, Echo." John said to the Noibat hovering around him. "What's your big idea to make this work."
"I still can't believe we're trying to make this work." Rascal muttered.
"I still can't believe we never recognized you in all the time we spent together outside of thievery." Heat muttered back. "I mean seriously, how stupid were we?"
Echo, clearing his throat, proceeded to say his plan. "We go to the Princesses."
Everybody fell over, unable to comprehend that THAT was his big plan.
"Are you KIDDING me?!" John shouted at the bat. "I thought you had an actual plan, you bat crazy Pokemon!"
"SERIOUSLY?!" Alice shouted as well. "Are you TRYING to get us thrown in jail for life?!"
Heat and Howl just laid on the floor, unable to comprehend the sheer stupidity that would probably cost Echo his dessert for the next few weeks. Rascal, Shade, Spinner, and Charlotte, on the other hand, were trying to refrain from doing something irrationally stupid in order to punish the Noibat. Scep, meanwhile, was laughing so hard he nearly passed out.
Even Quick and Sleight were amazed at just how unbelievably unimaginative that plan was.
"Hear me out, okay?" Echo regained everyone's attention, but had to wait for Scep to stop laughing before continuing. It took a few minutes, but eventually, "I know that sounded incredibly stupid and likely to go wrong, but hear me out. John is already in favor of the princesses after helping her deal with some corruption after the crown jewels' heist. He could vouch for Alice using that angle.
"That probably wouldn't work alone, though. So, all John would need to do is list how many thieves that Fox has aided in apprehending and uses that as evidence that she is not a bad person, and that she is on the correct side. He needs to show the princesses that Fox is not only not a villain, but she is also providing a tremendous service by being able to expose all manner of evildoers.
"If THAT doesn't work, then we would need to have Cresselia show up and vouch for their love and hope that we can get the pity angle. I've heard that the princesses are lenient on some villains if that happens.
"Between John's record, Fox's ability, and a love story told by the Pokemon equivalent of their Princess Cadence, I don't see how the princesses could possibly throw the two of you in jail. After that, we focus on how we get this all to work. But we need to make sure we are in the good graces of the princesses before something stupid happens and we all become fugitives. Does everybody understand?"
The room was silent once again, this time in awe. "How did you come up with that?" John asked.
"I have the highest brain size to body weight ratio. I'm probably the smartest one in the room. When we retire from being police officers here, I was going to become a lawyer." Echo says nonchalantly.
You could almost hear the Kricketot chirping in the background for a few seconds.
"ANYWAYS!" Alice says loudly to break the silence, "That could work. The problems that could arise are nowhere near as bad as I'd thought, and the potential is a lot better than anything I've ever come up with."
"However," John speaks up. "this relies on you revealing yourself and your whole squad to the leaders of the nation, and thereby breaking nearly every rule that Fox has. Are you sure that you can do this?"
"I've faced down underhanded crime bosses that had my team outnumbered ten to one with the type advantage before I could shoot Shadow Balls out of my hands. I can handle this."
Alice was starting to hyperventilate. The train ride from Baltimare to Canterlot had provided ample time for her bravado to slowly crumble, leaving only the nervousness behind. It had started with slowly pacing during the first hour. Followed by muttering to herself in the second hour. The third hour was highlighted by an upset stomach. The fourth hour involved her huddling into a corner and driving away John so she could attempt to disappear from the world. Now it was the fifth hour, and it involved a small amount of panicking as well as a little screaming.
"I can't do it, John!"
"Yes you can!" John said back.
The rest of the Pokemon were staying as far away as possible in the train car from the arguing/panicking new couple.
John finally raised a point that he thought would console his new girlfriend. "You have to remember, you are the Phantom Thief Fox, and you could probably just escape if everything goes wrong."
"I don't do improv, John. I would have no knowledge of escape routes, which would make actually escaping even harder. In addition, I'd be trying to escape from ponies who LITERALLY CONTROL THE SUN AND MOON! There's no way out of this."
"I can vouch that this is nowhere near the usual amount of preparation for a heist. Usually, it would be a day or three just for setup. It was once a week when we were stealing from that Team Flare hideout in Lumiose." Rascal added to his trainer's cause. "Asking Fox to do anything without preparation is like asking a Magikarp to be anything besides food."
"Love you too, Rascal." Alice sarcastically replied.
That was the extent of the excitement on the train, as after that, Alice and John fell asleep in each other's arms all romantically and stuff. The rest of the Pokemon tried and failed to contain their squee's at the adorableness they were witnessing.
Shade turned and asked Howl a question. "What happened to that mare you were travelling with? Trixie, right?"
"We let her dreams come true." Was all Howl said in response.
Meanwhile, Back in Baltimare
Trixie sat in the living room of the mansion that was owned by her idol, trying not to embarrass herself any further. She honestly didn't care that she was left behind, she was getting to spend time with THE Sleight Hoof. The world could end and she probably wouldn't care.
A Couple Hours Later, in Canterlot
The group of ten Pokemon stood in front of the gates, checking to make sure that one of the members would be ready.
"We don't have to do this today, Alice. We could come back tomorrow." Shade said.
"No, if we wait until tomorrow, I will just be panicking about it all day. I just need to rip the bandage off and not delay it any longer." Alice said, trying to Psych herself Up for the meeting with the princesses.
The two former humans went entered the castle and requested a time to meet with the princesses. The rest of the Pokemon would be staying in a nearby park, not wanting to intimidate the princesses. The secretary for the princesses, Raven Inkwell, had to go through proper procedure.
"Names." Raven asked.
"Johnathan Trace and Alice Maximilion."
"Occupation."
"Baltimare Guard and...are you still a scientist?" John asked.
"I mean, I haven't exactly been able to continue my research, but it's not like I had any other job." Alice replied. She really should get in contact with some sort of university in order to continue her research.
"Scientist, then." John said.
"Reason for visiting?"
"I have crucial information about the Phantom Thief Fox that I would like to share with the princesses." John replied.
"And what about Ms. Maximilion?" Raven asked.
"I was promised a day with him, and he has to go and schedule an appointment with the princesses. I'm not letting this one out of my sight." Alice says, feigning irritation.
"Fair enough. Ponies have seen the princesses for more trivial reasons." Raven replies. "All set. Let me deliver this to the princesses, and we'll see what happens. The waiting room is just over there," Raven points her hoof to a door on the left side of the room. "please try not to give the nobles any reason to hate the Pokemon, I have enough paperwork as is, thank you. The princesses will likely see you within an hour depending on what exactly the others want to discuss." Raven then turns around and walks through the employee access door right behind her desk.
"She seemed nice, if a little uptight." John said as they walked through the door into the waiting room.
"I'd love to see what she's like outside of work, when she doesn't have to deal with nobles and other irritations. I bet she's be fun to hang out with." Alice replied back.
"And can't do improv, my paw. That was amazing." John points out.
"That was acting, not improv." Alice says back.
"Princess, I have another request, from a Johnathan Trace and Alice Maximilion. They say to have critical information on the Phantom Thief Fox."
"Bring them in right away. They are priority." Princess Celestia replies.
"Yes ma'am."
The two former humans looked up when the door leading to the throne room opened. "Johnathan Trace and Alice Maximilion, the princesses will see you now." Raven called out.
The two of them looked at each other, before calmly walking through the door.
The long red carpet in the middle of the corridor lead to the two thrones sitting perched above the rest of the room. On either side of the room, stained glass windows depicting the many feats of the kingdom and it's citizens were evenly spaced across the wall. At the end of the room, sitting in their respective thrones, were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The two sisters were looking as regal as they ever could. On either side, several guards were standing there, protecting the princesses. As John and Alice walked up, they bowed to the throne.
"Rise, citizens. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Celestia asked.
"Princess, could you please have the guards leave the room? This information is highly sensitive." John asks.
"Of course. You heard the 'mon, guards. Leave us." Celestia ordered to the guards.
"But, your highness, we are supposed to protect you. We can't do that if-" A guard on the left started, before being interrupted by Luna.
"Does thou think we cannot take care of ourselves? I would like to think that we can defend ourselves against two Pokemon. Plus, one of them is a faithful guard from Baltimare. We will be fine."
"Yes, your highness." The guard replied, before filing their way out of the room.
Once the door closed, and the sound echoed around the room, John continued. "As I said, I have key information about the Phantom Thief Fox that I have been tracking down."
"Well? Don't leave us hanging. That's Tia's job." Luna throws a quick barb at her sister.
"Oh ha ha ha. Just because I'm cryptic doesn't mean I never say anything." Celestia defends herself.
"I fail to see the difference." Luna says bluntly.
"ANYWAYS!" Celestia says a little bit louder, "What information did you have?"
John nods to Alice, and then Alice takes a deep breath, before throwing up her Fox illusion. "I believe you were looking for me?" Fox says, not saying 'your highness' because Fox doesn't care about authority.
Both princesses don't even bat an eyelash.
"I would have thought we would get some sort of response." John says.
"This is a little weird, admittedly. Of course, I'm used to people either running in fear or attempting to capture me, so nearly anything is weird." Fox replies.
"Apologies about the lack of response, but we had a visitor last night. She said her name was Cresselia, and she already explained everything about this situation." Celestia said. "She also defended Fox with one point. There is a reason Arceus brought her here."
The two former humans looked at each other, before both face-palming. Arceus didn't bring anyone who he didn't think deserved to continue interacting with Pokemon.
"And this meeting has already gone sideways compared to what we thought would happen." John says. "So did you make a decision about amnesty, your majesty?"
"We did one better." Luna replied. "We made a job offer."
It took a couple seconds for the two Pokemon to process what exactly was said to them. "WAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAIT WHAT!!!!" Alice screamed.
"Tia, do you want to explain?" Luna asked.
"It was your idea, go ahead." Celestia defers.
"Okay. Ms. Maximilion, or should I say Ms. Fox, in the short time you have been here, you have already helped dismantle several gangs, several sources of corruption, and have lead to an increase in security, all by yourself, acting as a vigilante. I started thinking last night, after Cresselia's visit, about what to do about you. I had an epiphany then. If I could hire you, I would not only make sure a vigilante continues her work on the right side of the law, but also would help bring even more peace to the land. Plus, I could make sure you keep doing what you're doing by keeping this off the record." Luna then brings out a big stack of papers and starts sorting through them. "I could have sworn it was in here somewhere...THERE!" She then pulls out a piece of paper and hands it to Alice. "That would be the contract."
Alice reads it over, and her eyes nearly Bug out of her head. "That's a lot of money for being a thief."
"I needed to pay you like a thief, or else you would just continue thieving." Luna points out.
"Fair enough, but this is absurd!" Alice shows John the paper, particularly the salary. John falls backwards, twitching on the floor and muttering something that sounded like "Why do the villains have all the money?"
"I already have a sort of intelligence network set up around the country. You will become a part of that network, and will act on whatever tips you think need to be acted upon. It is your job to make sure the evil in the world is taken down." Luna then sorts through the stack of papers again, pulls one out, and gives it to John. "This is your job offer. You will also be introduced into the network I have set up, and your job is to make it so when Fox decides to act on something, you are there to make sure the local guard are ready to move in and apprehend, by having Fox do her thing and you do the normal response and guard the place until Fox reveals the true culprit. The key is making sure that no one knows that you two are working together. Alice has her disguise, so you can see each other outside of work, but you must make sure you are all attempting to capture her to the best of your ability."
John looked over his paper, and his eyebrows tried to Fly away. "That's QUITE a raise."
"I can't have you feeling shafted in this arrangement, can I?" Luna says.
"You know, for only thinking this over in one night, you sure have put a lot of thought into this." John says.
"There's a reason I rule the night. It's because I'm smart enough to not deal with the nobles all day." Luna says, throwing another barb at her sister.
"At least I don't threaten to banish anypony that irritates me, my dear sister." Celestia says with a false sweetness.
John and Fox ignored the two arguing sisters and looked at each other. "What do you think, Fox?" John asked.
"I think this will work perfectly. With all this money, I can afford to restock my heist supplies. Fully funded Fox is back in business!" Fox cheers, before going to sign the paper and realizing that she didn't have anything to sign it with.
"When you put it that way, I guess I can't refuse. So now we're partners in, well, not crime, but totally legal burglary. This is going to mess with my head for weeks." John mimes being confused.
"I can think of other ways to mess with your head." Fox says slyly, before seeming to realize that she said that out loud. Both Pokemon's faces turn beet red, and a certain Princess of the Night coughs politely.
"As the pony who watches over dreams, I know what you just said. However, I ask that you please refrain from doing anything in the throne room." She grabs a quill and ink and gives it to Fox. "Now, I do believe you needed to sign these, correct?"
The rest of the Pokemon were hanging out in the nearby park, waiting to see if they needed to bust someone out of jail or not. They were told at most three hours, and it had only been one, so there wasn't panic yet.
That didn't stop them from planning, though.
"Okay, so the royal prison is laid out like this," Rascal says, pulling out a piece of paper and showing it to the rest of the crew, thief and cop alike. "If they get arrested, they will probably be taken into the deepest part, where all the life sentences are served. Now, if we-yes, Heat." Rascal stopped himself at the Combusken's raised talon.
"How did you get this map? We've only been in Canterlot an hour."
"Fair question, but Alice always makes sure to inspect the prisons first, because if someone gets caught, we need to be able to bust them out. This map is actually from a little after the crown jewels heist." Rascal explains.
"Makes sense. Carry on."
"Okay, so there is a ventilation shaft on the east side of the building," Rascal points to the spot on the map where it is, "and that will be our way in. Myself, Shade, Heat, and Echo will go in there. We'll need Echo to be able to sneak into the deepest part, as the vents are small enough to keep ponies out, but not tiny bats. Me, Shade, and Heat will have to wait outside the entrance while Echo busts out John and Fox. We will be in charge of making sure nopony gets inside there. We are stalling for time.
"However, to increase our chances of success, we will need a distraction. That's where Howl, Scep, Spinner, and Charlotte come in. You will be in charge of going through the front door, making as big a mess as possible. Nothing lethal, Scep-" the Sceptile frowned at this "-we just need you to make as big a ruckus as possible. Trap them, knock them out, scare them, whatever. Just keep their attention as best as you can. Myself, Shade, and Heat will the the last line of defense.
"Echo, you will need the lock picks. This will be quite a challenge with the magical natures of the locks, but if you take your time, you should be able to get in. There is a small window, so check to make sure you don't let out anyone dangerous."
"But aren't John and Fox dangerous?" Echo points out.
"Dangerous to the mission, you dumb bat." Rascal replies irritably. "If something goes wrong, retreat to this rendezvous point-" Rascal points to a spot in the middle of a plain at the bottom of the mountain. "-and wait for everyone else. If the mission is successful, we will go to this point anyways, so wait there. If everything goes according to plan, we will be done with this within an hour, got it?" Rascal asks, and seven heads nod. "Okay, if they are arrested, we wait a couple days to let the heat die down before we go. Any questions?"
"Should I leave planning heists to you, Rascal? That was good."
All of the Pokemon turn around to see Alice and John standing there. "How long were you standing there?" Howl asks.
"Since Rascal started planning." John said. "I'm not a thief, but that sounded like it would work."
Rascal, meanwhile, looked as smug as a Weavile possibly could. "I learned from the best. Unilke Mr. Stabby over there." Rascal says.
"Oh no." Alice, Shade, Spinner, and Charlotte say in unison.
John looks puzzled, before the Sceptile retaliated to that comment with an expletive laced retort. It only escalated from there.
John, Alice, and the rest of the Pokemon walk away, leaving the two rivals to their spat. As they walked, the former humans explained to their team members what had happened in the throne room.
And as the eight Pokemon walked away from the now fighting Pokemon, they looked ahead to the future. A future of busting gangs, eliminating corruption, acting like enemies, but really being friends, and heists that looked so glamorous they belonged in Las Pegasus. But, most importantly, it was a future with Johnathan Trace and Alice Maximilion, lifelong friends, lifelong enemies, holding each other's paws in love. And isn't that the most important part?
