Act 81: Old and New Friends

After one more search of their surroundings, it looks like there is nothing else of note here on this island. Their mysterious foe left them very little on the leads they could get. So it was back to the dropship so they could go back to the Black Isle to give their debriefing. When they get there, all of the ghost bear pack sans Spark ,who needs to restock the ship's weapons and explosives that were used up, went to meet Ralaka and Ranala in the briefing room with the holographic map.
"Ah, so the Ghost Bears return." Ralaka said as she saw them coming in, the Avali with yellow and blue feathers waited for her packmate to come over as well.
Ranala was on the other side of the room using a computer terminal, but she turned her head to look their way when the other Avali started speaking. She went over to talk with them as well. "That's very good."
"We have been monitoring the movement of your ship since you left."
"You went to the Island of Anchor as asked, and remained there for a time...but then went to one of the many ever shifting islands that dot the Oracle Sea."
"Which was slightly unexpected. What prompted you to go there?"

"Well, our contact did." Eilumi explains. "He told us there were a bunch of pirates causing trouble for Anchor. Pirate raids, kidnappings, the works. We traced them back to that island we went to."
"It just turns out they were somehow better armed than we initially thought." Loona adds in.

Both of the female Avali seemed to have gotten a bit more serious when it was mentioned that they pirates were armed. "...Can you tell us more about that?" Ranala asked.
"It looks like those pirates had a 'benefactor', they were given poor quality firearms, but also some very heavier automatic weapons that shot explosive rounds. They even had a mech to throw at us." Shia explains. "They seemed to have some sort of laboratory underground. Where they were making some sort of...bio weapon, pink crystals that attached themselves to pokémon to twist them into monstrous things."
"You mean those crystals commonly found on moons?" Ralaka asked, slightly concerned with what she is hearing.
Shia shakes his head. "No, didn't felt like it at all. The mad scientist we dealt with there said they were 'pieces of a god'. Hopefully we saw the last of that." Though with that guy being at larger, he figures that it's likely it is something they might have to face again.
"And what happened to this 'mad scientist'?"
He shakes his head again. "Likely escaped. Last we heard of him over the lab's intercom he was taunting us before the power went out and we had to escape from a huge mass of meat and crystals. He's probably responsible for the lab-self destruction too to cover his tracks."
The two Avali nod to that and look to each other, seemingly pondering on the information given to them before Ranala speaks again. "Anything else transpired while you were in there?"
Veera thinks it's her turn to speak up now. "We found prisoners in there, in a section of the lab where it looked like other forms of spliced pokémon were being made. They must have been the crew and other civilians the pirates captured and handed over to be experimented on. We got them out of there and dropped them back on Anchor, near Ember."

"Spliced pokemon you say?" Rhaun asks with part indignancy, part fear, and part curiosity. "Could you describe them?"
"Well..." Loona recalls, even though she doesn't want to. "One of them looked like some sort of fish attached to an upside-down lizard's tail with legs.
"And another seemed to be a shark with seal feet mixed in with some sort of small yellow dinosaur's head. There was snow covering the part where the neck met the body, and its arms were way too small to be of any practical value." Khaun adds in. "As a purely medical professional, I must say that these creatures seemed highly impractical for even the most menial of tasks, and seem to be made out of pure sadism."
"Are you sure this isn't the Miniknog?" Nezami asks. "Because that sounds almost exactly like what they'd do."
"That was my first thought too." Eilumi replied. "But the guy on the loudspeakers fervently denied having any connection with them. Even seemed agitated that we'd even make the connection."

"And...about those 'bio weapons' you mentioned, the ones connected to those crystals. The way you said that it affects pokémon sounds like it could spread through exposure..." Ralaka said, looking at the Ghost Bear Pack's pokémon members as if she was wondering if they could be in danger after dealing with those things.
"It...tried to spread to me when I got hit by them one time, but my packmate was able to remove it. Nanites helped too." Shia says to her.
"Hhhmmm...i see. In any case, this is not something we saw before so we would like you to go to medical for a quick check up, after that you are dismissed until we get a bead on these armed pirates."
Ranala is the next one to speak. "And before you go...With conjunction with our 'foreign' human allies we created a software that can provide full data on a multitude of pokémon species to help identify them, based on a hand-held device they call a 'Pokédex'. They said it has information on more than 1000 pokémon with updates for more pending." Just thinking about such a high number of different, yet sentient species all having their origins in a single planet makes her pause for a moment. "It could prove useful. If you so wish you can connect to the Black Isle's nexus network and download it."

"We will do that, thank you." Eilumi takes a bow, as do the rest of the pack. He and the rest of the pack take the time to download the aforementioned 'Pokedex' app to their onboard OSes. Afterward, they go to the medical wing, formerly the dissection lab after the Avali bots gave it the scrubbing down of a lifetime, for their medical checkup.

After the scrubbing it was time for their physical checkup, which wouldn't have taken a lot of time. However it turned out to be something. Though it's only very few of them, there were very small shards of those pink crystals, not just in Shia, but also on Veera and Loona. The rest of the pack seems to be entirely crystal-free though, and since Spark wasn't there to be exposed to it then he is certainly fine too. The protogen doctor checking up on them noted that while the nanites in their bodies were dealing with these foreign bodies, it's as if the crystal shards got wise that the nanites were dangerous and started avoiding them at all costs. Regardless, getting rid of these intrusive elements in their bodies wasn't a hard task, they couldn't hide from a deep scan that helped point the the nanites in their bodies where they would need to go to pick off any stragglers that would break off as the shards were removed from their bodies. After one more deep scan to make sure the Protogen doctor gives them the all clear and let's them go on their way.
With that out of the way, the Ghost Bear Pack is free to make it back to their dropship to enjoy the free time they got.

"Well, that was a lot closer than I thought it was." Eilumi remarks at the results.
"Yeah, I'd originally thought the crystals had been completely eliminated." Khaun adds in. "I would have hated to see what might have happened had they been allowed to stay in there any further."
They soon reach the outside, and with a beam of light, beam back to the familiar teleporter room of their ship.
"So anyway, now that we're free, what do you suggest we do now?" Loona asks. "Anyone got some ideas?"
Her eyes lay upon Veera.
"You look like you have something on your mind." She comments.

There has been something that Veera has been thinking about going for the moment they arrived back on this planet. She nodded to Loona before responding. "I...want to go visit the Sands if we can, i want to see how things are. And see a friend that lives there too."
Shia guessed that Veera would have said something like that. He does wonder if the Sands got better since they last were there, he knows that Avali has something going there since the time they left but he wonders how much they were able to accomplish.

"Friends you have there?" Loona asks curiously.
"Ah, you must be referring to that 'Ara' person we talked to right before we left, right?" Khaun takes an educated guess.
"Actually, now that you guys mention it, I'm a bit curious as to what if anything happened there since our departure." Eilumi rubs his chin in a curious gesture.
"Can't really say the same." Says Loona.
"Yeah, your experiences with the place weren't the greatest, from what I remember." Eilumi elaborates.
"Understatement of the year." Loona huffs. "Still, I guess I'll tag along just for curiosity's sake. Though, if I see that pignite again, I'm going to give him another beating."

"If he is still even alive after what Nine did to him." Shia comments on the Pignite that Loona mentioned, remembering that he heard that the Protogen of the pack had broken that pig's back. "I will go too, just to have a quick look at things."
There is still one member of the pack Veera hasn't asked if they wanna come or not. "Let me ask Spark in case he wants in on this too." He is still piloting the drop ship, so she will just use the 'chat' to talk with him.
Veera: Spark, can you set course to Sandstone? Me and Loona are going to go visit it.
Spark: Okay, got it.
Veera: You wanna come along too?
That question was met with spark typing for almost half a minute, and it is still going. It is clear that he is feeling apprehensive on how to say 'no' to this. Like Shia and Loona, his negative experience with the place makes him averse to wanting to go there, enough so that he wouldn't want to go there unless he really really must.
Veera: It's okay, forget I asked that.
The Jolteon then looks to her other packmates. "I guess it's just us minus Spark then."

"That sounds about right." Eilumi confirms. "We wouldn't miss out on this after all."
"Me neither." Khaun adds in.
"Affirmative." Nine also adds in.
"Well then it's settled." Loona remarks as she gives her little avali packmate and veera a small hug. "Sandstone here we come!"

After a short trip, the Ghost Bear Pack's dropship is flying well over Sandstone, high enough so that no one down on the ground is going to notice it.
Spark: Alright, we are here. Pretty sure we are high enough that none's gonna notice us. You guys can beam down whenever you want.

Loona gives a long sigh. "Well, here we go again."
Khaun puts a talon on her back softly in concern. "If it bothers you, you could refrain from-"
"No." Loona  quickly cuts him off. "I'm okay. I'm still coming. Besides, I'm a little curious anyway. I never met Veera's friends at all."
Khaun gives a nod.
"Well, if we're all set, let's beam down.-"
Before they can though, a radio message makes itself known in the cockpit via audio.
"Unidentified avali dropship, this is Sandgun base. Come in?"

"Oh...!" Spark almost jumped in surprise when he heard that, as he was mostly relaxing and getting ready just to wait on the ship until the radio sounded off. He will respond to it so the Sandgun base knows who they are.
"Yes, we hear you. This is the Ghost Bear Pack."

"Ghost Bear Pack?! Thee Ghost Bear Pack?" The radio goes quiet for a couple of seconds. "If that really is you, then wow. What an honor." There's a some chattering on the radio. "Oh, uh right. Far be it from us to tell you what to do, but do you mind telling us what you're doing over there?"
"Sandgun... whatever that is... we were called back for a mission. Though we had some off time and were getting ready to drop." Eilumi responds.
"In the middle of the city?"
"Well, umm, not in the middle of the city, but somewhere out of sight-"
"Why not just use the teleporter at the mansion?"
The group goes quiet.
"What teleporter at what mansion?"
There is a one second silence at the other end, they swear they could hear a sigh on the other end.
"Did command not tell you anything?"
"About the Sands? Not really. We're actually based at Black Isle."
"Ugh. Figures that the pack over at the Rust-Bucket wouldn't tell you anything. Well, long story short, there's a teleporter at the mansion now, where the nobles used to roost. You might want to use that. 'Sides, if you're that in the dark of what's been going on around here since you left, the staff over there can fill you in. I'm sure Stic would like to see you."
"I see..." So Eilumi turns to the group. "Well, guys. What say you?"
"Makes little difference to me, but I am rather curious now..." Loona admits.

"I didn't expect there to be a teleporter down there..." Shia admits. 
"They must be working rather closely with the Illuminate if they are allowed something like that." Veera is also a bit surprised by this fact. 
"Alright understood." Spark confirms over the radio before pinging the teleporter's location, giving his packmates the option to beam down to it. 
Spark: Yup, there's a teleporter down there just like they said. Marked it for you. 

"Alright. Slight change of plans, but nothing unpleasant."

The Ghost Bear Pack would then beam down to the mansion, showing up at the teleporter located in the center of the building. The teleporter seems to have been put behind a secret passage behind a wall, as the Ghost Bears find out when they arrive, once they stepped out of the teleporter they found themselves in the mansion's main hall, and the secret passage closed behind them to hide the teleporter.
Veera can attest that this place feels a bit different than the last time she was here, the changing in the decor making this place look less like the home of nobility, more form over substance. Fitting given the new government in place.
There are few mons passing by as they can see. One of them comes to greet them, a familiar face to Veera, a particular Sandshrew.
"Oh, hello. Are you here from the Sandgun base?" He would ask them, noticing that they are a group composed of not just Pokémon but also Avali and a tall furry creature with a peculiar face.
Seeing him brings a smile to the Jolteon's face. "Hey Shrewn, it's been a while."
It takes a moment for him to put two-and-two together to know who he is talking to. "Veera...?" He looked slightly surprised for a moment but got happy right after. "Hah, it really is you huh? I almost didn't recognize you."
"Do I really look that different? How?"
He shakes his head. "No, not really. It's just that now you are different than the 'mon I once knew you as. You look very confident now."
"Ah, I suppose so!" Veera has changed compared to what she once was before, she used to be scared and not capable of handling duress. "So how have things been?"
"Oh." Shrewn chuckles slightly. "I wonder where I should start with that."

"So this is 'Shrewn.'" Eilumi comments. Veera had told her whole story in due time of course, once she was safely comfortable in doing so. But none of the other pack members had ever met him personally.
"Pleased to meet you." Loona bends down and offers to shake his hand.
"From the beginning?" Nine suggests an answer to Shrewn's question, trying to sound as un-intimidating as he possibly can for the little sandshrew. "That might be the best place to start."

He shakes Loona's hand and nods to her before starting to recount what happened. "After you and Veera left, things remained the same for a time. The Four Eyes Guild, as they were known at the time, were working to prepare for a change in government. Apparently Stic was trying to come up with a plan to assassinate the nobles quietly, but he could never figure out how to perfect it...nor would he have the time to as something unexpected occurred: The Grove launched its invasion into the Sands."
"The Grove? You mean one of the other continents?" Shia would voice a question to the ground type.
He nods. "Indeed, they invaded the sands, including Sandstone. The Four Eyes Guild sprung into action to defend it, and Stic improvised a new plan to get rid of the nobles. With Grove soldiers infesting the town, it was clear that the Nobles would have nowhere to run and would try to hide in the mansion. Even the Wallbreakers seemed to have gotten involved, but they didn't look like they were on anyone's side and were hunting the Nobles on their own. Stic sent two of his best guild members to find the nobles and kill them, which they did." He remembers some of those details very well, for the most part. "With the nobles pretty much gone, and most importantly the Sands becoming destabilized because of the Grove's movement, there was no finer opportunity for the Four Eyes Guild to take the Noble's place to begin shaping Sandstone into a better place...although those plans would have to wait until things were calmer."
Veera waited for him to finish before saying something. "Hmmm, I remember Eilumi mentioning the name of this "Four Eyes" guild. So they were the ones who got in contact with a 'benefactor' that helped them liberate the sands, huh? Speaking of guilds...do they still operate under the new government?"
Shwen rubs his chin. "I heard that a new small-time guild has formed in Sandstone, but i do not know what their name is as of yet. They mainly explore Mystery Dungeons. The guilds that were once active during the Noble's reign more often than not dissolved. Most of their business and conducts being branded illegal under the new laws put in place by the New Sands Republic, you see?"

"So the nobles are dead?" Loona asks curiously. She somehow guessed that they weren't in charge any more. But she wasn't quite expecting this. She'd heard about them from Veera. about how that particular one abused her best friend. Though something else Shrewn just said.... "You also said the guild that was here was disbanded? Well... that's good." On one hand she was not looking forward to seeing that pignite again, on the other hand, she is going to miss the opportunity to rip him a new asshole.

"Between the Grove's, the rising NSR and the opportunistic Wallbreakers all posing a threat to the live of the nobles at once...it would say that in the sands the nobles are most certainly 'dead' in all meanings of the word." Shrewn says and nods to Loona.
Now that she thinks about it, Veera does hope that Ara is okay considering that the Grove attacked Sandstone. "Has the Grove's attack hurt Sandstone a lot?"
"The first attack was repelled successfully, but Grove wasn't ready to give up. Some citizens were captured, but so were some Grove soldiers...so Stic negotiated a prisoner exchange to free the citizens that were captured and so that Sandstone were to be left in peace. But..." Shrewd pauses for a moment, seemingly getting a little reluctant about talking about the next part. "Well...The Grove did not keep their word. Amongst the citizens that were freed there were also some Grove infiltrators who destroyed the gates and left it wide open for the Grove to just come in in bigger numbers. And that's...when it happened." He pauses once more.
Shia raises a brow. "What exactly happened? They didn't manage to get into Sandstone right...?"
The Sandshrewn sighs and shakes his head. "No, they did not. I wasn't there to see it, so I can only recount what some of the horrified defenders had to say about it. Apparently death rained down from the very heavens, there were loud noises...and the Grove invaders were torn to shreds before they could even get close to the walls. I heard there were...pieces of them everywhere, most of it got buried under the sand though. I do not know what that was and i am not sure i wish to know...but what i do know is that it was the work of the NSR's secret 'benefactors' located at the nearby mystery dungeon."
"Hhhmmmm..." Shia can guess that what Shrewn means is that the Grove was bombed from afar. Just imagining a large group of pokémon armed with little to no weapons getting shelled gives him a clear idea of just how one-sided that whole 'battle' must have been.

"Yikes. They must have been desperate to resort to that." Eliumi comments on the mention of the bombardment.
"Benefactors... in the mystery dungeon?" Loona questions.
"That must have been what that 'Sandgun' we heard over the radio must be." Khaun extrapolates.
"Hmmm, and I am to assume that Stic is still around and in charge these days, right?" Eilumi guesses.

Shrewn nods. "Yes, he is still the leader of the New Sands Republic, he is its President." He rubs his chin in thought. "When I first heard those words I was puzzled to say the least. Stic did away with "Kingdom of the Sands" and renamed it the "New Sands Republic", and I thought he would have picked a moniker like 'king' but instead he chose 'president'. I always asked myself where these words might have come from...I suppose it is also something the 'benefactors' brought along?" He asks the Ghost Bear Pack.
"You know what the current form of government is, right?" Shia asked, to make sure he knows how much Shrewn is on the know-how of this.
"Yes. Power is held by the people and their elected representatives. Stic said that sometime in the future when times are more stable, we might hold 'elections' to nominate new people in power. It's...certainly different then what we had before, I really hope it all works out okay when it is time to cross that bridge." The Sandshrewn said. "Why do you ask?"
"That sounds about what a Republic is, yes." Veera nods. "If you have been wondering about it, they probably gave the concept of it so Stic could set it in place of the nobility as it fell. As for 'President', that's what the leader of the republic is called."
"Hhmm, I see. So they are both...'foreign' concepts. You could say? Don't worry, I will keep it to myself."
Veera decided to ask something else now. "Is Stic available to talk with right now?"
Shrewn shakes his head. "Unless it is really urgent, I'd advise not bothering him at the current hour. He is doing his best to keep the republic going as well as it is but it is really time consuming. But...I do appreciate that he is doing it, I just hope he is able to catch a break."

"Sounds like a bad time for a catch-up meeting right now." Eilumi nods. "Very well, we can come back later."
"We kinda have to in order to use the 'porter again." Khaun adds.
"Right. Well, in the meantime, perhaps you can just tell him that we're here?" Eilumi suggests. "Tell him he'll most likely find us in the Barthol. It's where Veera here wishes to go to catch up on some other old friends of hers."

The Sandshrew nods. "Yes, I can do that. Your business here is just a visit, is that right?"
"Yeah, pretty much, we want to see how much things have changed around here." Shia affirms to him.
"Well in that case, don't let me keep you, you have plenty to see."
Veera decides to try that new thing they got in the Black Isle, that 'dex' feature that they downloaded to analyze pokémon. She is curious about it, so decides to make use of it now real quick. She looks to Shrewn from an angle that just has him in her field of vision and the information is quick to show up on her hud.
------------------------------------
Sandshrew#0027
Gender ratio: 50%/50%
Type:Ground
Weak to: Water, Grass, Ice
Immune to: Electric
Resistant to: Poison, Rock
Sandshrew spends much of its time hidden underground in deep burrows. Sandshrew can quickly curl into a tight ball to protect itself from great falls and opponents, but may also throw sand at attackers. While its body can efficiently absorb water to facilitate life in the desert, Sandshrew has been found in caves as well. It also lives deep underground in nests it has created from digging tunnels. Should hard rocks get in the way of digging, Sandshrew will use its sharp claws to remove them before continuing to dig. If it is too wet, its skin becomes wrinkled. It dries itself out by using the geothermal heat near a volcano. It is also known to bathe in sand, which helps remove dirt and moisture from its body.
------------------------------------
Shrewn looks to the side and sees that Veera is looking his way, but strangely not saying anything. "...Veera? Is something wrong?"
The Jolteon blinks and quickly shakes her head. "Oh, no. Nothing. Sorry I didn't like it, meant to stare like that."
"Alright, I suppose we will be going now then." Shia says to the others.

It appears that Veera was not the only one who decided to try that during that moment of time. The others, specifically Loona, Elumi, and Khaun, had also decided to try it, earlier or later than veera did.
"Ah, so that's what that does." Eilumi comments to himself as they turn to walk out of the Manson.
Khaun doesn't comment. He just thinks to himself, giving a small 'hmmm' to himself in agreement to Eilumi as they head out the Manson doors.
"The top part is mostly accurate. The bottom part... well, given that this is the only sandshrew I've met in my life, kinda off." Loona comments.
"But then again this did come from another world, so I'm guessing they act a bit different there." Khaun offers.
The others have no better explanation as they leave Manson. It is not long before they are back in the town proper.
"Ah, good old Sandstone, here we are." Eilumi says with outstretched arms as they all look around.
"It looks mostly the same, but..." Loona comments. "... I can definitely feel something's different here."
"Yeah, some of the buildings are different than before." Khaun notes.

"That part which said that he can curl up into a ball though, you think it would be possible?" Veera imagines it in her head, would this mean Shrewn has a natural form of the 'distortion sphere' tech? Other than that the idea is kinda cute. Now this got her curious about other pokémon, but maybe she will use it again when they aren't on the move.
"I haven't been around here much to know how it used to be...Hey Veera,  you spent some time here right? Does it feel any different to you?" Shia asks his packmate.
"Yeah, definitively to be honest. Not only does it look like there are new buildings, but the place feels more lively, you know?" It certainly feels pretty different from what she used to know it as, perhaps the Illuminate's hand has indeed been able to steer things towards a better direction. "Ara's place should be nearby."
They pass by a place that is familiar to Veera, she is quick to recognize that this is her friend's brothel. She is glad it didn't take them very long to find it.

"Is that the place?" Loona asks, though it's more of a retorical question than genuinely asking since the sign very clearly says 'Barthol' right on the front.
"Yeah." Khaun, the only other person in their group to have gone there in person besides Veera, confirms. "This is the place."
"It doesn't look like much." Loona remarks...

They head in, inside they see the place is decently active. Business here still seems to be going as usual, but the place seems to be a bit more packed compared to last time, Veera can notice that. Seems like this place still provides the usual service of drinks and girls for whoever has the money to pay for them. Another notable sight is a Vaporeon surrounded by many girls, he seems to be pretty plastered too. Judging by how he looks, mostly going out of his clothes, he must have quite a bit of money to spend if he is enjoying the company of more than just one girl and is as drunk as he is.
The Ghost Bear Pack would approach the counter, at first not seeing any sign of the Abra around there. They do spot some small pink sparks flashing a little above the counter, a light humming noise being audible...before Ara 'poofs' into view, having teleported. She now seats on top of the counter.
"Excuse me, i was a little busy-" She said before stopping herself as she saw a familiar face amongst the pack that she recognized immediately. And she is happy to see her. "Veera? Hah! How have you been? I didn't expect to see you again so soon, but I'm happy to see you again." She looks to the others to acknowledge them too. "I see you brought your new family along too! Hello."
"It's good to see you too, Ara." Veera said to her, glad that she could get the chance to come here and see her friend again. "A lot has happened since I left hasn't it?"
"Yeah I figured you would have noticed by now. Plenty of things have changed for the better."

"Ah, hi again..." Khaun says awkwardly. He was never much on the social side of things, all things considered. "We meet again. You're looking a little better than the last time."
Eilumi and Loona are looking around elsewhere however, both of them getting entirely different reactions to what's going on around them.
"Tch." Is all Loona has to say.
"Say, uh, someone wouldn't happen to have a gold bar on them, would they?" Eilumi says with a smirk while eyeing down one of the girls, an umbreon who is in between clients.
This remark earns him a back hand from Loona.
"Whaat?" Eilumi whines while rubbing the back of his head. "I was joking!"
"Sure you were." Nine grumbles. "We all know you can't go into a whorehouse without-"
"That was then. This is now." Eilumi argues back.
"Sure." Nine retorts.
"Eh, sorry about that." Khaun apologetically sighs as he continues his conversation with Ara. "He can be a bit of a hornball."
"Not that it's a bad thing." Loona adds in. ".... normally."

Ara does notice that a few of them, such as Loona and Shia, aren't too happy with their surroundings. She isn't going to judge them though, lately she has seen more people around who don't like the line of work she associates with.
Veera thinks that if there is someone to ask how things have been around the town, it's probably Ara given that she lives in it. "So how have things been since the New Sands Republic came into power? It seems like the town has a lot of people now."
"Hhmhmmm...yeah it is true that the place looks almost unrecognizable of what it once was yes?" The Abra chuckles. "Stic presented a solution to the lack of monpower we had by putting in place a system that let mons from the dungeon come here to work with rebuilding the town, perhaps even live here too. Most of them came from Dynamo Sands."
Most of those in the Ghost Bear Pack would remember Dynamon Sands, that was the dungeon where Veera, Shia, Loona and Spark once lived in, and it's the closest Mystery Dungeon to Sandstone.
"Has everything been okay under the NSR's leadership? Is everything holding steady around here?" Shia asked, figuring that all this change that happened might not have been all sunshine and rainbows.
"There is still talk of bandit activity...despite Stic's best efforts to deal with the issue. People thought that it would be an easy problem to deal with, and that Stic would have crushed them already but..." She looks to the side a little bit, frowning. She decides to lean in to whisper to them the rest, she doesn't want to say this next part out loud. "But they are still out there persisting despite all odds, i do not know how. This is starting to make some think that Stic might not be as effective of a leader as he is...or that he might be purposely letting the bandits roam about because of some hidden agenda or deal they might have together."

"Sounds like people might just be a little impatient." Khaun says.
"Yeah, in our experience, bandits take a while to dislodge, even if they've been there for a while." Nine agrees. "But then again... if our last adventure was anything to go by, there might be something more to it than that."
Before anyone can respond to that however, another Avali enters through the doorway. A white and cyan colored one. Upon seeing the Abra sitting on her desk, she lets out a loud female greeting:
"Heya Ara, what's..." She pauses mid sentence as she notices the other avali sitting at the bar, all of which turn to notice her. "... Up?"
"Huh." She says. "This is new. Normally we don't get more of us around here."
"Oh hello!" Eilumi says half excitedly, half flirtily to this newcomer. "Who have we here?!"

"Ah, Ranii!" Ara waves to the Avali who just arrived. "Got a few newcomers here, I figured some of em' looked a little bit familiar."
A Lucario also comes over, following behind Ranii. The presence of these familiar faces surprises him. He very much remembers the Ghost Bear Pack and everything that happened that fateful day. "Oh, long time no see huh?"
"Another Avali here I see? I guess this shouldn't be much of a surprise, eh?" Veera says. "So...Sandstone has improved a lot from what it once was huh? What about the rest of the sands?"
The Lucario crosses his arms and looks to the Ghost Bear Pack's Luxray, narrowing his eyes as he looks him over.
Shia raises a brow. "What's it to you?" He asked, not liking much how he is just being stared at for no reason.
"You are...were that kid that your friends wanted to save that day, huh? How have you been holding up?" Luca asks, his expression relaxing as he does so.
Shia thinks back to his past for a moment because of the question, then he nods. "Yeah, that's me...I'm certainly better than when I was before, as you can see."
"Yeah, you don't look like you will have anyone rule over you with their dick...cuz you would break it if they tried." He said as he took a seat on a stool by the counter. Luca goes ahead and places some gold coins on the counter too. "Ara, I would like something to drink, you know, the usual."
The Abra nods and begins telekinetically bringing over a bottle and cup from the back bar, she grasps it with her hands to pull out the cork before pouring some beverage into the cup until it is full.

"Luca." Nine steps forward and extends a paw to the lucario. "You seem to be doing quite well for yourself now since we last seen you."
Ranii however hasn't quite figured out yet what's going on. She looks at Luca questioningly.
"Wait, Luca, you know these guys?"
"Yeah." Khaun turns to her and replies. "He gave us quite a bit of trouble back in the dungeon that one day. Though it all turned out for the best."
"Back in... the dungeon?" Ranii questions. "You mean sandgun?"
"No no. This was before 'sand-gun' got put up." Khaun corrects her.
"Before... sandgun?" Ranii asks. Now the wheels start to turn in her head.  She's tarting to add two and two together. "Wait, that means... You're..."
"Eilumi." He steps forward to introduce himself. "Of the Ghost Bear Pack. Pleased to meet you."
"Ghost Bear?" She almost has a fangasm. "THE Ghost Bear?!"
"The one and only." Eilumi responds.

Luca would move a paw of his own over to Nine`s to shake it. "Yeah, quite a lot changed...even me I guess. But I have gotten better." He looks at Ranii. "Yeah. Before we met and I was a high ranking guilder, i met them. They bested me and combat and I got them in touch with the Four Eyes Guild."
Ranii's reaction upon knowing who the Ghost Bear Pack is getting some curious gazes from Luca and Ara. Luca more so, as he was never aware of how famous the Ghost Bears are.
"Hahaha, Ranii i never saw you acting this adorable before." The Abra comment on Ranii fangasming.
Veera laughs. "Yes, it is us. It is nice to meet you Ranii, I didn't expect to see an Avali out here."
The Lucario rubs his chin before asking the Ghost Bears. "You are famous?"
Shia nods. "Yeah, I was kind of surprised when I found out too. Turns out even before I was part of it my pack was well known for getting things done." He says to the Lucario.
"Really?" The Lucario raises a brow, now more curious about them. He drinks the alcoholic beverage in his cup before continuing. "What sort of things do you get then?"

"Yeah we might have done a thing or two to get some attention somewhere." Eilumi laughs a bit at the whole 'being famous' thing. "Like be the thing that got the Avali out of their xenophobic funk they'd been in for years."
"Oh come on." Khaun chides him. "It's not like we did that all by ourselves. That was just the tipping point to something that had happened for a while."
"Still though." Eilumi retorts. He doesn't finish the sentence.
"Yeah, I was actually referring to Kayos like myself." Ranii informs him.
"You're a kayo?" Eilumi asks, shocked. "Though come to think of it..." He looks around. "I guess that explains the lack of a pack."
"Well, actually, former Kayo." Ranii corrects him. "I made a pack recently with myself and Pixie."
"Who?" Eilumi asks.
"Hay there hun." A sultry voice that has a rather novakid-ish accent with a hint of fenerox pops in. Eilumi turns his gaze to see what at first glance appears to be a fenerox or brown fennix with nine fluffy tails. A combination that the already horny avali finds to be absolutely hot. He wonders how he managed not to notice her coming in along with the rest of them. Or maybe she was the first one here and they just didn't notice till now?
A mystery that will have to wait 'till never.
"Oh hello. And who might you be?" Eilumi says with the best non-threatening smile he can muster, as it is known that an avali with a full smile full of sharp teeth can be rather off-putting to other species. While he asks her this basic question, he decides to use that 'pokedex' thing on her to see what shows up.

The data shows up on Eilumi's vision.
-----------------------------
Vulpix#0037
Gender: 25%/75%
Type: Fire
Egg Group: Field
Weak to: Ground, Rock, Water.
Resistant to: Bug, Steel, Fire, Grass, Ice, Fairy.
It is most commonly seen with six tails. However, Vulpix is born with only a single, white tail that splits as Vulpix grows. Vulpix is capable of manipulating fire to such precision as to create floating wisps of flame. These wisps are sometimes mistaken for ghosts, but Vulpix uses them to assist in catching prey. Inside its body is a flame that never goes out. When the temperature outside increases, it will expel flames from its mouth to prevent its body from overheating.
-----------------------------
Luca watched as Pixie came in "And I'm part of the pack too. How big do packs usually tend to get? Just curious."
"It's usually around the same numbers both mine and your pack have." Shia tells him. "Wait...now you are part of a pack now?" He did not expect this out of Lucas, from the short time they had together he seemed like a die-hard guilder, not the sort of people he can imagine wanting to leave.
"Yeah I am." The Lucario nods to the Luxray. "I am aware that this means that one day I will have to leave, but that is alright with me."
Shia sits down next to the Lucario and looks him in the eyes before asking. "And you were sure about that?" He imagines that for some, becoming part of the Avali illuminate and having to leave their home behind for a long time might be difficult to some. He himself had little difficulty making that decision because he was in a hurry to leave, and his friends were coming along with him, they all left for a better life together.
"Yeah, I am. I am happy for the Sands, I am happy to have helped making it better. But I wish to see what is out there, you know?" He looks to Ranii momentarily. "Besides...i also found something i never thought i would have ever found."
While that is happening, Veera decided to make use of the 'pokedex' to satisfy her curiosity, particularly about Ara.
-----------------------------
Abra#0063
Gender: 75%/25%
Type: Psychic
Egg Group: Humanoid
Weak to: Bug, Ghost, Dark
Resistant to: Fighting, Psychic
Abra can sense danger through a telepathic radar. When it does, it teleports to a safe location. By hypnotizing itself, Abra is able to teleport itself even while sleeping. It can use other extrasensory abilities while sleeping as well. The deeper Abra sleeps, the farther it teleports. Due to the strain of its telepathic powers, however, Abra sleeps 18 hours each day. If it fails to rest long enough, it will become unable to use its powers. The contents in Abra's dream can affect its powers.
-----------------------------
...Okay, these entries are starting to feel a little bit hard to swallow, sleeping 18 hours a day? Is that even true? "Uuuhh...hey Ara, can i ask you something?"
The Abra turns to her. "Hhmmm? Yes, Veera?"
She thinks for a moment about how she can go about asking this. "I heard someone say that Abras sleep alot, but that's not true right?" She asks with a chuckle.
"Huh, well we actually do sleep a whole lot." She said,
This answer perplexes Veera. "You...sleep through more than half the day though? How are you always up and about?"
Ara chuckles at that. "Well...have you ever seen me moving a lot or opening my eyes?"
Well, telling if Abra's eyes are open or not is not easy most of the time, but Veera can attest that she has never seen Ara doing a lot of physical movement besides teleporting, she remembers seeing her walking one time but that's it. She is quick to put two and two together. "Wait...are you telling me that you're..."
"Sleeping as we speak? Yes."
"Huh..." Veera looks on in surprise after learning of this fact. "So...do you ever like, sleep-sleep?"
"At night you mean? Yeah I do. Sure I might be mostly asleep right now, but nothing beats actually lying down in bed and relaxing."

"So does that mean you're also asleep when you fuck?"
Everyone in the Ghost Bear pack stares at the one who asked that question.
"Khaun." Nine responds to that question quite flabbergasted. "I would have expected that question out of Eilumi, but not you!"
"Well, I was going to ask the same thing," Eilumi tilts his head over from where he is, chatting it up with Pixie. "But I'm a little preoccupied over here. Still though..."  He gives a nod then returns to his conversation with the hot vul-pix girl and white and sky blue avali in front of him.
"What?!" Khaun whines irritably at being pointed out for asking that question. "We're in a bordello, it's what they do here, right? 'Sides, I'm asking out of medical curiosity."
"Suuurreee." Loona says teasingly. "I'm still not letting you live that down."

Veera and Shia were surprised that it was Khaun who said that. The sentence was so in line with what the other Avali in their pack would say that it took them a second to register that it was another's voice who said it.
Ara laughs at the question. "Haha. Well it depends if i'm top or not. I can just sleep if the other person is going to be doing all the movement."
"So, what about you?" Shia asks Lucas. "What's been going out with you since the last time I saw you?"
"Other than what i told you, i don't think there are many people out there that can admit that they had their penises restored." The Lucario says to him, and then snickers. "I mean, I know two people that can at least. Myself and Shrewn."
At the mention of Shrewn Veera looked over to the Lucario. She kind of remembers that the Sandshrew was a 'pruned', pokémon that had their genitalia removed by the nobles under the notion of not letting them spread their progeny. She wonders why Shrewn didn't talked about that, but then again being as polite as he is there is little chance that he would mention something of this sort just like that. "Huh, i can sort of guess how. your Packmate Ranii had something to do with that, right?"
Luca nods. "Yeah, I still fail to wrap my head around the 'how' of many things you and her make use of. Hopefully I can get the hang of it easily. Getting it, and using it, was quite an experience."

Upon mentioning the restoration of Luca's cock, Nine's facial lights shift to that of a qutie guilty look.
"I probably should have offered to do that last time we met." Nine says apologetically. "But ..." He pauses, thinking of some sort of excuse to say.
"We had a lot on our minds." Khaun finishes for him. "A lot happened, and, well, it must have slipped his mind. Ah well, perhaps it's four the better." Khaun says. "After all, it gave your packmate something to connect with. No pun intended." He's watching his words a little more carefully now since his awkward question to Ara.
Eilumi on the other hand is not, apparently. He's still chatting it up with the two girls over there, who are giggling and chatting it back, both with a small but growing blush on their faces. It seems like he's somewhat intent on getting in between their legs. And... while it might be difficult to tell right now, it looks like it might be working.
"So, about what you said earlier." Khaun decides to change the subject with Ara. "About the bandits." He leans in close and quiets his voice somewhat. "You didn't hear it from us, but there's some weird shit going on there. I can tell you straight up, it's not Stic power playing.  We just came back from a mission on the sea doing some pirate-hunting, and... well, I won't go into too much detail, but there was some weird shit going on with them. Like them having a bunch of things they should really not have. Things that make iron look quaint." He takes a breath. "And if these bandits are getting their stuff from the same source, then yeah, I can see where Stic's having a real problem with them.

"That's okay, at the time there was a lot going on in my head too, I was...very lost." Luca says to the Protogen, sounding understanding. "Sometime after you left, I met Ranii and we have been sticking together since before the war." Luca feels that there is something...odd come to think of it, it's too quiet in here, usually SHE is here. "Hey Ara." He calls her.
"Hhhmmm?"
"You know that very eager employee you had? That big one? I was kind expecting to hear her making noise as usual, you know?" He asks about Ms. Fluffybun's whereabouts.
"Oh, I know who you mean." She nods. "I didn't expect her to stop all of a sudden, but she said her uncle showed up and she needs to go take care of a few things. I didn't think much of it so decided to let her go get a little vacation."
Luca raises a brow at that. But he figures that maybe this is for the best, some peace and quiet around here, he still never learned to like her after...THAT night.
The Abra listens to what Khaun says and looks in concern, when he is done she lets out a sigh. "That's just what we needed...heavily armed bandits." She keeps her tone low so no one but those nearby hear it.
"Excuse me." Someone behind Shia said, causing the Luxray to turn around and look down at a smaller figure in a brown cloak. Now would this be? Shia just steps a little to the side to give him space to pass on to the counter.
Luca looked at this figure who just sat beside him, recognizing him instantly. His eyes go a little wide in surprise before saying something. "Dad..."
Yes, this cloaked figure is indeed Stic. "Yes, it's me." He says to the Lucario before turning to the Ghost Bear Pack. "Apologies for not coming to greet you sooner, I was very busy you see? Anyways, welcome to the New Sands Republic."
"Should you really be here?" The blue jackal asked, showing some concern.
"If anything would have happened, Seer would have told me." He reassures the Lucario. "I just needed to take a break from all the work."
"Huh, would you look at that? I haven't seen you step in here a while ever since you and Seer got together, are you sure she would be okay with you being here?" Ara asks the Meowstic.
"I assured her that my presence here is not for a need of your more 'explicit' services." He explains to her. "I would like a drink though."
Veera does notice that the cat looks...spent, somewhat, like he hasn't rested in a while. "Work too stressful? You aren't doing everything yourself, are you?"
"If that were the case I think I would have been overwhelmed trying to manage it all long ago. Current events have me, and others, working more than usual to keep things running smooth." He says to her.

The Ghost Bear crew are more than a little confused as to who they are talking about.  Ranii however, is not.
"Probably for the better." She comments. "She'd be all over Eilumi here. And then the two of us wouldn't get to talk to him at all."
Eilumi still doesn't know who they are talking about, but decides not to press the issue for the moment before they resume their chatting, which is mixed in with some flirting on both sides and the occasional giggle.
Nine and the rest meanwhile turn their attention to Stic.

Stic leans in closer before speaking to them. "So, why have you returned? I do hope your presence here does not herald anything serious."
Veera shakes her head. "No, no...we just came here to visit, see what changed after the last time we were here. And visit a few friends."
"I see. I'm not sure how long you must have been within Sandstone previously, but you must have noticed the difference."
"Yeah, I'm glad things here have changed for the better." She says to him. "Who is this Seer you mentioned?"
The Meowstic points to the drink he wants, and while the Abra brings it over, he will keep talking until his drink is ready. "She's one of my councilors, an Espeon."
Shia steps forward next with a question. "While you were launching your campaign, did you happen to have met the Sand King? I could never figure out if he was real or just a figure out the nobles thought up."
Stic responded after taking a sip of rum Ara poured for him. "The Sand King was very real, his name was Gron. If you are wondering what happened to him after the fact...he was imprisoned, we had him stand before a court to sentence him for his crimes."
"Hhmmm, Judge him huh? Half-expect him to have died one way or another. But a court and everything? That must have taken some restraint."
The feline pokémon closes his eyes before inhaling and exhaling, then responding to that. "It wasn't an easy judgment to pass. Part of me was wondering if it would be best to have him executed or have him live the rest of his life behind bars knowing that his kingdom was no longer his. But the other part of me was trying to keep these feelings of personal validation aside so I could think of a positive example to set to those that were present, to show them that our rule would be different."

"Actually we're technically not even assigned to this side of the planet." Khaun adds into Veera's response. "We're actually assigned over to the Sea, at least for now. Like she said, this is just us taking a small bit of off-time while we wait for our next mission."
"Ah, so it wasn't another 'Big Ape' situation." Loona remarks in response to Stic's recollection of Gron. "For a moment I thought that might have been the case."
"Good upon you for choosing that path." Nine comments. "It won't always work, granted. But in this case, I'll defer to your judgment on it."
"You must hold this 'Seer' in high regard." Khaun says, also taking a drink while also coming back to . "You guys... uh... doing stuff? If you know what I mean?"
Unknown to everyone else, Eilumi and the two girls seem to have vanished. Though given their behavior earlier, it doesn't take a Miniknog scientist to tell everyone where they might have gone, and for what reason...

"Oh so you guys are working over the Oracle Sea?" Ara says, being reminded of her past with that being brought up. "How are things around there? Ember's still the same-old place."
"Well, if you mean a city where everyone lives in a hexagon and the authorities there are always on high alert, yeah." Shia says to her. "Is that 'same-old' enough?"
"Huh, so they haven't changed one bit, huh?" Ara scratches the back of her head.
"I do hold her in high regards, yes." Stic says to the Avali in his own conversation with them. "She is able to peer into the future, the far future even...I heard tales of psychic types being able to do so, but never thought of meeting one that sees into the future with such clarity and distance. And yes, we have grown very close together..." He looks down at his drink and stirs the cup a bit before continuing. "We have been mates for some time now."
Veera would look around for Eilumi, noticing that her Avali packmate is gone, the girls too. She is not worried though, she knows what's up and finds it chuckle-worthy. "Heh. Can't stop that hornball when he sees something he likes."

"I don't have a frame of reference, so I'm just going to say 'na.'" Khaun replies back to Ara with a shrug.
"Oh wow, we really did miss a lot." Loona replies to Stic. "Between all the stuff that's happened and you getting mated. That's good to hear though."

"And how were things for pokémon that live in the dungeon? Has the change in government affected them in anyway?" Given how the system was so against dungeon dwellers, Veera wonders if Stic did some positive change on that as well.
"Taking the advice that 'they' provided, we made strides to allow pokémon from the dungeon to be accepted in the towns throughout the sands. The Dungeon Dwellers are allowed entry into a town for a work visa. And from there, if they so wish, they can work towards acquiring citizenship and leave the dungeon life behind." The Meowstic explains to her. "This was really helpful when we were rebuilding after the Grove's invasion. We needed many hands, willing ones."
The Jolteon nods. Feels like the Avali had a little something to do with that. "How did everyone feel about it? The pokémon that live in the towns and the ones that live in the dungeon I mean."
"The citizens were slightly on edge, everyone thinking that the dungeon dwellers weren't to be trusted. We have the old nobility to thank for ingraining that idea in people's heads. It took some time, but that idea has been dying down as of late. Perhaps one day that old 'civilized and savage' difference will be gone entirely."

"So how did you meet your fiance-"
"Mate." Loona corrects Nine. "There's a big bit of difference there."
"Right. When did you meet your mate and how exactly did you get to that point?" Nine asks stic.
Khaun meanwhile looks around, and takes a sip of a drink. The nanites inside of him prevent him from becoming drunk properly, so there's no real point when it comes right down to it, but it's something to do in the meantime. He looks around, at all the mons enjoying themselves, the girls sighing and groaning with their fake moans, and their customers too drunk or horny to care.
"Ya know..." Khaun suddenly says to no one in particular. "Seeing this place like this... it almost reminds me of our trips to Lustia."
"Lustia?" Loona asks him. "Do... I even want to know?"
"Not really, but I suppose I'll reminisce anyway." He takes another drink. "Think of it as a place like this, but the size of a whole colony."
"Wow, that's... really big. And two parts arousing, and two parts disgusting." Loona remarks. "How did something like that even start?"
"When they first colonized the world, it was just a regular colony. Like the ones we sometimes visit. And like the ones we sometimes visit, sometimes they have... quirks they don't know about."
"Usually in the form of erchius monsters." Loona adds in. "But those are always more interested in outright killing things than fucking them, so I'm guessing that's not what happened there?"
"Not even close." Khaun chuckles. "It just so happened that the planet has a very... peculiar atmosphere. One that has an aphrodisiac effect."
"Oh boy, I can already see where that's going." Loona rolls her eyes.
"Yup. The colony, which was at the time, a mining colony, saw its miners slack off to jerk off, or go visit the local prostitutes, that business really boomed. Not a lot of actual work got done though. It got so bad that it actually started to lose money. Of course, corporate wasn't amused. At first they tried layoffs, firings, reprimands, the usual. But they quickly realized that wasn't working. The new guys they brought in were just as 'lazy and horny' as the ones they replaced. Even guys that before had no history of such 'bad behavior'. Even bringing in harsh foremen didn't work, as they'd just end up spending more time in the bedroom than in the mines. So, corporate had to actually come down and look into it. Once they found out the cause though, things changed. At first they thought about abandoning the colony, or issuing gas masks, or even terraforming.
But ultimately, they instead decided to take the much simpler route. One of them must have realized they were sitting on a platinum mine, just not the one they intended. They said 'you know what? Fuck it. This is a space bordello now.' And they ran away with it, abandoning the whole 'mining' thing and turning the whole colony into one giant bordello and everything else on the planet revolving around sex in some way. So now, they make sex toys, aphrodisiacs, you name it. And prostitutes of course. Any kink, minus snuff of course, could be fulfilled there. If a species in the known universe exists, odds are you can fuck it there."
"Could you find-"
"Before you ask. No. No pokemon... Yet. No one knows this place exists. At least not since the last time I checked. Give it about 10-20 years and you'll probably see it full of mons though." Khaun interrupts Loona's half-joking question before continuing. "Now, as I probably mentioned, back before we met the four of you guys, and right after Renali's death we were... not really all there, so to speak. So we'd go to that world on and off to... well, you know."
"Nine too?" Loona asks.
"Well, not Nine. He'd always stay behind." Khaun explains. "Ever since that whole Miniknog thing he was always really.. hesitant to stick his cock in anything. So he never joined us." He takes another drink. "It was fun, of course. Doing that. But... well..."
"You ever feel like going back there?" Loona asks. This gets a chuckle from Khaun.
"Heck no. I can't really speak for Eilumi, especially considering the empty stool next to us, but.." He grins at Loona. "Why would I ever need to go back to the universe's largest whore house when we have packmates far more beautiful than anything Lustia could ever hope to have?"
This remark earns him a playful punch in the arm and a giggle from the Linoone next to him.

Luca and Stic just listened in silence, unsure of what to comment about this 'Lustia' place.
Ara has something to say about it though. "Huh, well glad I'm not competing with them."
Shia looked on with a raised eyebrow as Khaun told everyone about Lustia. "And we are sure that  'aphrodisiacs atmosphere' didn't have any long term effects on Eilumi?" He's half-joking with this question, but he does wonder if it COULD be the reason his packmate is such a horny little feathered raptor.
Veera doesn't think it's a place she would like to go to. Sure she likes having fun with her packmates, but a whole planet dedicated to the pleasure of the flesh? Sounds a bit too much for her. "It sounds like quite the place."
Now the Meowstic has a question to answer. "I met Seer when I was hiring Pokémon for the effort of rebuilding and improving Sandstone. It was there that I met her, she was one of the applicants. She demonstrated what she was capable of by having knowledge of things that should have been impossible. She knew Khaako was watching, and called him by name." He tells them. "It certainly caught me off guard, it lends credibility to her claims of seeing the future as well. I was cautious and decided to hire her in order to keep an eye on her. I wanted to see more so I could have been absolutely sure her ability to see the future was real and not...something else. It didn't take very long until I was absolutely certain that she did indeed see the future as well as she said. She became very important to me then, we worked closely, and became closer too until we eventually became mates."

"I'm sure it didn't help matters any" Khaun answers Shia's question. "But no. He was a hornball even before those days. In fact, if we have anyone to blame for that, it'd have to be Renali."
"I hear about her every now and then, but don't know much about her when it comes right down to it." Loona remarks.
"Yeah. If you think Eliumi is a hornball now, you didn't see anything. Renali was even more of one." Khaun chuckles. "She was the one who turned Eilumi into the little ball of cock we know and love today."
Nine has thus far ignored the conversation with Khaun, and continues his conversation with Stic.
"So where is the lucky girl right now?" He asks him.

"Huh, hornier than Eilumi? I didn't knew something like that was possible." Shia admits with a small chuckle. "In any case, let's allow him to have a little fun. We are on break after all."
"Seer is back in the town hall, she is always by my side in my office." Stic tells the Protogen. "If you wish to meet her, swing by the town hall later and ask to come see me. I can always set aside some time for you, Ghost Bear Pack."

"That will not be necessary."
Everyone turns to find the source of the new voice: a new figure that has just appeared in the doorway. A fairly normal looking female espeon by all accounts. But given what everyone has just heard about her...
"Miss Seer, I presume?" Nine asks, and receives a nod in return.
"Quite so." She responds with a smile as she goes over to Stic, and gives him a small peck on the cheek before pulling over the stool that Eilumi was previously sitting on over to her mate and sitting next to him.
"Heh, Eilumi's going to find himself without a seat when he gets back." Loona jokes. "IF he gets back before we leaves-"
"He will." Seer cuts her off. "In fact, I predict he'll return in about 27 seconds. Starting now."
"Oh yeah?" Loona responds. "You're on." She watches the door while counting in her head.
Sure enough, only 27 later, on the dot, a familiar pair of avali and a vulpix come through the door, the pair of girls a bit wobbly from the obvious fun they had aboard, their fur and down a bit matted.
"Oh wow. You're good." Loona whispers to Seer, who nods in return.
"Man, you guys missed out." Eilumi huffs. "These two were almost too much for me! ... Almost."
"Mmmph..." Ranii confirms with a shaky nod as they look for a place to sit down.  The two girls manage to find a pair of stools, and they sit down. Although it looks like the two took measures to clean themselves up, telltale signs of their activities are still present in between both of their legs.
Unfortunately, Eilumi finds no stools left to sit on.
"Aww, no stool for me."

Stic was not expecting Seer to come make an appearance here. That little peck she gave him made him smile a little bit, in fact he returns the favor after she sat next to him, a small peck on the cheek. "Yes, this is Seer."
"Ah, don't worry Stic is just here to grab a drink and nothing else. But I guess you probably already knew that huh?" The Abra sitting on the counter chuckles lightly.
Shia and Veera are likewise impressed by Seer demonstrating her ability to see the future by predicting when their packmate would return.
"Wow, that was...extremely accurate." Veera wonders if this is some ability Espeons have, and decides to consult the 'dex'.
----------------------------------------
Espeon#0196
Gender ratio: 87.5%/12.5%
Type: Psychic
Egg group: Field
Weak to: Bug, Ghost, Dark
Resistant to: Fighting, Psychic
Espeon's velvety fur is so sensitive that it can sense minuscule shifts in the air, allowing it to predict the weather and its enemies' thoughts and movements. By doing so, the tip of its tail quivers. The gem on Espeon's forehead glows when it unleashes psychic energy from the gem and darkens when all of the built-up energy has been exhausted. Espeon builds up its psychic power by bathing in the sunlight. As such, it does not handle battles at night well. Espeon shows extreme loyalty to anyone that it considers worthy, even being said to have awakened its psychic powers from its desire to protect someone; some sources, however, theorize that its powers were born from its need to keep itself safe.
----------------------------------------
Veera 'hmm's in thought. It doesn't quite point to anything exact regarding Seer's unique ability but it is not wrong about her having psychic powers.
Luca would look over to the Espeon. "Hey, Seer. Didn't expect to see you here. I take it that everything's okay."
Shia meanwhile, looks over to Eilumi. "And there you are, Eilumi. I think we are going to be leaving soon. That's up to Veera though."
Veera perked up and stopped reading the dex info on her hud when the name was mentioned, looking over to her Luxray packmate. "Oh, hang on there is another place I want to swing by. Hey Ara, is Igon still around?"
"Igon huh? Yeah he still lives here in Sandstone, but his store is somewhere else now." Ara tells her.
This makes Shia raise a brow. "Wait, did something happen?"
"Okay, might be a bit of a long one, but i can tell you." The Abra warns her before continuing. "You see, that little invasion we had to endure, courtesy of the Grove, left his store in less than an ideal state. Most of the things there got taken by some Grove pokémon who were more than happy to loot the place at the time...and make a real mess of it on top of that. So when the rebuilding started, Stic made it so those that lost their homes were to be given some compensation to get them back on their feet. Igon took it of course, and decided it was a good opportunity to move his store somewhere else with more traffic and was able to get a spot for himself closer to Sandtone's entrance. He's been doing better since then."
Veera listens to the story and nods. "Alright then, thanks for telling me, Ara. I will see if we can see each other again before I have to go."
"No need to worry about it." The Abra said while waving her hand a little bit. "It was nice to see you again though."
And with that Veera is ready to get going from here, so is Shia. What about the rest of the Ghost Bears?

The others are likewise ready to go, as they have no further business here. They nod to the psychic mod, and bid their last farewells before they as a group head out the door, and make thier way to the place that the abra described.

After leaving the brothol, the Ghost Bear Pack makes their way through Sandstone, having to get through a bit of a busy part as they get to the town's main gate. From where they are they would be able to see the checkpoint where processing with those that wish to enter or leave. It took a bit to find it, but the ghost bear pack finds the store of the Flygon that Veera has been looking for.
The place looks more spacious, with quite a bit of customers about examining the wines in the secure shelves.
Veera decided to approach the counter and go greet the 'mon on the other side. "Hey."
The Flygon seemed briefly distracted with something under the counter before he looked up and saw Veera, having recognized her voice when he heard it just now. "Veera? You here in Sandstone again?" He sounds slightly surprised, it has been a long time since he saw her and he just assumed she would have just moved on.
"Yeah, I was around so I decided to swing by for a little visit. I heard from Ara that things got worse for you, they got better."
"Yeah they sure did, if it wasn't for Stic i wouldn't be in business anymore because of those Grove thieves." He says before looking to the rest of Veera's pack, including Shia. "So you...found someone, I see?"
"Who's that, boss?" A female voice speaks from under the counter, seconds later a Krokorok comes out from under there, right beside Igon. With how close to the Flygon she seemed to be while crawling down there one can easily assume what might have been going on, Veera's thoughts seem to go there given her previous experience with him.
The Jolteon blinks as her gaze goes back to the insectoid, bipedal dragon. "Well, did you?" She throws the question right back at him, with a bit of a joking tone.
A bit surprised by reptilian pokémon popping up from under the counter, Igon gets caught unprepared by Veera's remark. "No, no, no! This is just my assistant, Dile. She was just cleaning under the counter."

Eilumi gives a little flick of the tongue before smirking.
"Uh huh. 'Just cleaning under the counter'." Eilumi chuckles. "Sure. You aren't fooling me, big guy."
Khaun just rolls his eyes.
Apart from them, the rest of the pack doesn't have much to say. None of them really have any experience with Igon. Only Khaun has, and only for a fleeting moment. They decide to just let Veera have her visit.

Whether Igon and Dile where doing something lewd or not, but Veera has the feeling that that is the case, it was kind of amusing to her if nothing else. The Krokorok seems alright, she wonders if she is from the dungeon and came here looking for work. "I won't stick around Sandstone for very long though, just saying."
The Flygon hums and nods. "I understands, i couldn't fault you for wanting to leave when you wanted. I didn't expect you to even consider coming back at all." He eyes the Luxray standing there with his arms crossed. "So...is this like, your man?"
Shia took note that he was talking about him now. "Huh?"
"Oh, that? It's a bit complicated." Avalian Pack relationships are not quite the same something like a monogamous relationship which she can safely assume must be what Igon is assuming.
"When is it ever not complicated, right?" The Flygon says in a joking manner.
Before she get's going, Veera decides to make use of the dex feature once more, she has to admit the more she uses it, the more curious she is getting about pokémon species. What would it have to say about Igon?
-------------------------------
Name: Flygon#0330
Gender: 50%/50%
Type: Ground/Dragon
Egg Group: Bug/Dragon
Weak to: ICE, Dragon, Fairy
Immune to: Ground, Electric
Resistant to: Poison, Rock, Fire
Its eyes have red covers that prevent sand from getting into them. With its wings, it kicks up sandstorms to hide itself. Its wings make a "singing" sound when they are flapped, earning Flygon the name "The Desert Spirit". It uses this unique ability to attract prey, stranding them before it attacks.
-------------------------------------
...Oh, so that's what those things over his eyes are for? Natural eye protection? Well it does make sense. She never thought much about pokémon anatomy until she got this pokedex software.
"So, is there anything else...?" Igon asked, noticing that Veera has been standing there for a bit now.
Veera moves makes the HUD with the app go away before responding to him. "No, everything's okay. It's been nice to catch up with you, but i'm going to be going now, okay?" And with that done, Veera bits him farewell and leaves.
Igon's assistant blinks as she watches the Jolteon and the others leave before looking to her boss. "Sooo want me to get back down there and...you know."
"shhhh...!" Igon shushes her, seems like there is someone else stepping up to the counter so there is no time for that. "Not now, we got a costumer!"

The group really has nothing else to see. Just out of curiosity, Loona takes a quick trip over to the old guild, and sees what it has become. There is of course no sign of the pignite or any guild hall there, it's something else altogether now.
With that last itch of curiosity scratched, she returns to the group, and they find a quiet, out of the way spot in a back alley to beam out of and return to the ship.

After all coming back to the ship, the Ghost Bear pack had some time for themselves as night began coming over the Sands region. Veera thought back to her time in the Sands, before she met her pack, the whole region looks like it's on a fast track to a better future...It was nice to see some of her old friends again too. Shia meanwhile, didn't quite wanted to be there even if the place feels different, he was happy to leave this place behind so he only went there because it was Veera's idea.
After a little bit, their down time would have come to and end as Spark would come to inform them of something. "Guys, we got word from the Black Isle. Pirates seem to be gathering around a single spot, think they might be up to something."
It seems that they are needed again, which is fine by Shia. "Any other intel? How many we are talking?
"Perhaps 5 ships at least? They weren't able to get eyes on their current location, there is unusual weather covering the skies so there is no way to get a look a it from orbit. The Black Isle did send a few drones, they were able to get close to what might have been an island but as soon as they went above water their connection would break up and they would shut down." The Raichu explained to him. Then he tries to take a guess a what might have been the cause of that. "Electronic counter measures, maybe?"
An enemy that anticipated that the Avali could have used drones and seem to be taking measures to hide their own location? Makes Veera wonder could they be up against. "Could be the Miniknog, or possibly those 'Novel' again..."

"More than likely." Khaun comments, as Eilumi gives a long sigh.
Whatever the case, it looks like the break time is now over, and it will be back to work soon...