Chp 12

	They both awoke at around the same time. Mystic noticed that Ashley was gone. On the nightstand next to her was a slip of paper. "Mystic, have to go to work. New play next week. Hope you can stay for it." Below that was a sloppy smiley face. "See you later." 

	"So, where to first?" She asked.

	"I think we should go for the town hall. Maybe we can find an encyclopedia of berries or an expert. But first, time for a morning bath." He jumped off the bed and went into the bathroom. She laid there for a moment, until she heard the water start, then she went to join him. 

	When she got past the curtain, she was surprised. The bath was actually a shower. "Wow," Phantom said. "Baths are nice, but it's been too long since I had a hot shower." 

	"So, Ashley mentioned something. When are we gonna take our relationship further?"

	"Why do we always talk about serious stuff in the bath?"

	"Don't try and dodge the question. What happened to that loving Phantom from a while ago?"

	"We've just been so busy. I don't really feel like... you know. How about this? I promise, no matter what, after we finish this job, I'll do whatever you want." 

	"Alright. I know how stressful things have been recently too, but having each other makes it easier." She stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I may have told you sex is no big deal, but the relationship it causes is. It's a way for us to show how much we love each other, so don't be so worried about it. You can't really do anything wrong." 

	"Thanks for trying to make me feel better. Maybe I'll have to return the favor." He said, obviously forcing it. 

	She laughed and kissed him again in the same spot. "You're a cutie." She said teasingly. "We should get ready to go in that case." 

	A short while later, they were dried off, and headed out into the chilly morning air. They wandered the streets, heading north. The inn was on the edge of town, so there was really only one way to go. 

	"I think that's it." Mystic said, pointing over at the clock face situated in a large building. As they headed for it, they passed many other large buildings. Most of them were too big to be houses. "How many important places did Ashley mention?"

	"Like six."

	"So what are all these?" 

	"I have no idea. I really hope we don't have to go through the whole town. That'd take forever. It's kinda weird. In all the books I read, this place was always pictured as a quaint little mountain town. I guess business is booming." 

	"Yea, I know. I don't get why, but it kinda bugs me." She was about to continue, but a loud DONG rang out from the clock tower. It rang a few more times, Mystic counting aloud with it, to eleven. They reached the entrance just as the ringing stopped. Once inside, Phantom stopped to read the directions inside. 

	"Library, this way." He said, pointing to the right. They walked down the hall and enter the marked door. Just inside, they were met with an abra behind a desk. 

	"How can I help you?" He asked. 

	"We were looking for someone to help us identify something." Mystic explained. 

	"My father is the head librarian, and the main teacher for the school, but...Today's the reading fair, and he'll be busy all day. The library is open late, so if you come back later tonight, I'll tell him you stopped by."

	"In that case, is there an encyclopedia of berries around?" Mystic asked the abra. 

	"Yes, but once again, you are out of luck. It is located in the same place as the reading fair, and only students and parents are allowed in."

	"Oh, we'll come back later then. Thanks for the help." Mystic said. They turned and left. 

	"Well now what?" Phantom asked. "Wait, I know. Let's find a private place."

	Mystic raised an eyebrow. "What are you planning?" She asked.

	He led her down a hall, peeking in windows and doors until he found an empty classroom. He slipped in and shut the door behind her.

	"Doing it in a classroom? I never thought you would be so kinky." She mumbled while looking around the room. 

	"Huh?" He asked, genuinely confused. She turned around to find him taking an orb out of the box. He set it down and pressed his paw against it. It flashed dully and rhythmically for a few seconds, until it stayed solidly lit. 

	"Hello?" A voice came out of it.

	"Hunter, it's us. Are you ready for our report?" Phantom asked.

	"Yes, go ahead."

	"We arrived just fine, but we haven't found out anything conclusive. We've been looking into the berries but the owner of the general store is missing and the library is busy."

	"That sounds good. Find where the berries are going, and what they are being used for. The general store is on me. The other end of the tunnel is under there and I arrested the owner. You're welcome to go down there and look around. On our end, we've got people investigating. The place was definitely used to hold pokemon captive. And we identified several of the berries. Most of them were common berries, oran, leppa. There were a few painkillers and berries that induce unconsciousness, all fitting with keeping prisoners. There a few unidentified ones, including the one you have. I suspect them to be artificial. We did contact a specialist, but they are a few days away."

	"Artificial berries? Aren't all berries grown naturally?" Mystic asked.

	"Not exactly. There are hundreds of strains of berries, many used medically, but some are spliced together to create new mutant berries. Most of them are illegal due to the severe side effects. One of the common ones is a mix of oran, sitrus and several other healing berries. It causes temporary euphoria, but leads to addiction and organ damage. If you suspect any berries, do not eat them." 

	"We know. I remember all the lessons about drugs from school." Phantom said.

	"Good. As another area of interest, find out about any missing persons. If they are moving captives, it is likely they would move them away from the population centers. The mountain is isolated enough that a sizable base could be located there." 

	"You certainly sound like you know a lot about this." Mystic said.

	"I should. The organizational style is very similar to the Blade. The methods are very different though. The Blade robbed and killed, not kidnapping. I am certain Hearth is using the some of the same tactics as the Blade, but with a different goal. They used to have a base on Mt Throned, until we destroyed it, so it would not be a stretch to assume they built a similar facility there. It is the only other sizable mountain after all."

	"If you think all this, why don't you just go attack?" She asked.

	"You do not understand what it took to stop the Blade. The entire rescue federation had to work together to stomp them out. It took an army of hundreds of pokemon working together to destroy their fortress. To gather those forces, and then run into a dead end, would be a disaster. It was pokemon just like you that made it possible before, so I'm hoping you can do it again." 

	"We will." Phantom said. 
	
	"Wait!" Mystic said quickly when he reached for the orb. "What about Zys? How's he doing?" 

	"I do not know. He is difficult to read, but he seems sad. I found him sitting in the map room early this morning. Other than that, I have seen him out in the yard. He should be fine." Hunter reassured her. 

	The orb went dull and Phantom returned it to the box. "Well, we have quite a while so..."

	"We still have to go to dinner with my family tonight, so, hmm. We should wait for the teacher. He should know plenty about the town, then we can go from there. I guess we can just wait around till tonight. Oh, why don't we go see Ashley perform."

	"I can understand you wanting to reconnect with you family, but don't let it distract you from why we're here." He saw her face twist into a scowl. "I don't mean it like that. You heard what Hunter said, he's relying on us. We have to stop the Blade, or they will hurt tons of pokemon." 

	"Yea, I know... but that doesn't mean we have to suffer. And I don't wanna hurt her feelings. Let's go." 

	A short exploration later, they found the auditorium. "This place is a friggin maze." Mystic complained. 

	"It seems like it used to be like the town hall, until they changed it to a school. The building is completely different on this side."

	They entered the dark room, immediately hearing old timey music. The chairs were mostly empty, save for a small group of people at the front. On the stage were several pokemon, including Ashley. She was wearing a cape made to look like a gardevoir's dress and prancing around with a poochyena. The play was obviously a musical, though the speakers providing the instrumentals, located in the rear of the room and right next to the pair, were too loud for them to hear the pokemon on stage. 

	"Wow, this looks really stupid."

	"I think it looks beautiful." Mystic retorted. 

	"Just promise me you'll never do that." 

	She chuckled lightly. "Fine, as long as you never wear a bowtie like that." She said, pointing to the poochyena. 

	"What's wrong with it? It looks exactly like my ribbon." He said, pointing to the yellow ribbon on his ear. 

	"It matches your ears, firstly, but it's out of the way. And it doesn't make you look like a dork." 

	The conversation died down and they quietly watched the show. Phantom was amazed, not with the play, but with the performance. He had never seen a four legged pokemon try to do a dance meant for an upright one, but Ashley was making the most of it. Mystic was equally enthralled, for different reasons. She had never seen such a thing before, at least as far as she knew. The dancing, the singing (when she could hear it), the dresses, it was all some sort of magic, a window into another world. 

	While they watched, Mystic's tails took on a mind of their own, snaking around the chain and behind him to wrap around his back. He looked over to her, silently asking why. She looked back and just smiled. She would have leaned into him, but the arm rests that separated the seats prevented that. 

	After about an hour, the practice came to an end. The audino that was the instructor stood and clapped. "Great work, everyone. Just one more week to show time. Remember to rehearse your lines at home. See you all on Wednesday!" All the pokemon on stage went to either side and out of view to backstage. A few minutes later, Ashley came walking down the aisle towards the exit. 

	Mystic whistled as she passed. She looked over and squinted. "Mystic? Hey! Did you come to see me!?" She said, giddy with excitement. 

	"You were great!" Mystic said, mimicking her excitement. 

	"How about we go home? Dad won't be home for dinner for a while so we can just hang out."

	"We do need to meet with the librarian..." Phantom said. 

	"Oh yea, the reading fair. It doesn't end till around five, and the library stays open till midnight sometimes. You'll make it fine." She led the way outside and into the streets. They followed her to a small cottage like house on the edges of town. "Here we are, home sweet home." She said, wiping off her paws on the door mat as she stepped inside. "So what do you wanna do?" She was met with blank gazes. "How about some video games?" She guided them into the living room. 

	"Wow, it's been so long since I've seen a TV." Phantom said when he saw it. 

	"This one's kinda old." Ashley said, going over to it and turning it on. She reached beside it and turned on the game console next to it. "The newer ones are flat." 

	"What is all this?" Mystic asked.

	Ashley looked back and raised an eyebrow. "I guess you wouldn't know... check this out." She said. She took a controller from the floor and sat down, her white tails fanning out behind her on the floor. The room was plenty large enough to seat all of them comfortably. 

	Mystic turned her head to examine the room while Ashley set up. It was mostly bare, save for the TV, a fireplace, some mats on the floor, and a few pictures on the wall. Most of the pictures featured two ninetales, a vulpix, and a white one, obviously Ashley. There was even a single picture of each vulpix, each with a name banner across the bottom: Amber and Ashley. "Mind if I start the fire?" Mystic asked. 

	"Yeah, go ahead. I can't anymore, cuz all I can do it ice." Ashley mentioned. 

	Mystic crossed the room and spat a small ember into the logs, which quickly grew into a crackling flame. She swung the grate closed and basked in the radiant warmth for a moment before returning. The TV screen was quickly filled with vibrant colors and motion. "What is this?" Mystic asked, staring in awe at the TV.

	"It's Laira Lopunny: Dungeon Raider. Probably not as cool as actually doing it." 

	"That's awesome!" Mystic said, smiling wildly. 

	"It's not that impressive. Besides dat butt. I mean look at that thing. I wish I had an ass like that." Ashley said, spinning the camera around the virtual lopunny.

	Phantom wasn't too impressed by the game. He had played them back when he was little, but hadn't since he moved out. The ones he had were a lot more primitive, but still fun. Mystic was in the exact opposite boat. She was amazed by what she saw. 

	They were content to enjoy each other's company for about an hour. Eventually, the door behind them opened. Ashley hopped up immediately, leaving the game running, and hurried over to the door. "Hey Dad!" She cheered.

	"Well hello to you to." A masculine voice said. It sounded weathered and a bit gruff, but had kindness behind it. 

	"Guess who's here!" 

	"Is she really?!" A ninetales came around the corner and into the room. His mouth dropped open. "Am...Amber..." He said quietly. Tears began to well up in his eyes and he rushed forward, nuzzling her neck. "It's really you..." He whispered. She could feel wetness on her fur. "I can't believe this... Do you really not remember me?" He asked desperately. 

	"No, I'm sorry." She said. "Are you my father?" 

	"Yes. Yes, I'm your daddy." He took a hitching breath. "I wish your mom could be here." He drew back. "I'm sorry. This must be making you really uncomfortable."

	"No, it's fine. I understand how you must feel." Mystic reassured him. 

	He stopped for a moment to regain his composure. "And who's this?" He asked, a tail pointing at Phantom. 

	He opened his mouth to talk, but it was dry and only a small noise came out. 

	Mystic covered for him. "That's Phantom. He's my friend." 

	"Oh, that's nice. Phantom, I'm Day." He said, extending a tail in place of a paw. "Would you help me put the pizza in the oven?" 

	Phantom tapped the tail and followed Day around the corner, through the dining room and into the kitchen. "It's in the freezer, could you grab it while I warm the oven?"

	"Sure." Phantom said nervously. He reached in, found the frozen pizza box and took it out. When he turned he was face to face with a ninetales, teeth bared. 

	"I swear to Arceus if you hurt my daughter-" He growled. 

	"Dad! We can still hear you. Phantom's a nice guy! Lay off." Ashley yelled from the living room.

	"Sorry." He called to her. "She may not remember me, but I still love her. You treat her right, or deal with me." He threatened, a tail pointing at himself. 

	"DAD!" Ashley snapped at him. 

	His tails came out from behind him, took the pizza, deftly unwrapped it and popped it into the warmed oven, all without leaving a hair on it. 

	He walked back into the dining room and sat down on one of mats, next to the low table, leaving the stunned Phantom in the kitchen. A little bit later, he left out the other door, and into the main hall. Towards the rear of the house were a few more rooms, but he turned the other way, and turned into the living room. He did a double take when he found Mystic and Ashley missing. He turned the other way and joined them in the dining room.

	Ashley had taken the seat next to her father, allowing Phantom to sit next to Mystic. 

	"Dad, you really need to chill out with boys." Ashley said. She turned back to Mystic. "He scared my last boyfriend away with that." 

	"I worry about you girls. Boys are nothing but trouble." He grumbled. "Now Amber-"

	"She goes by Mystic now." Ashley interrupted. 

	"Mystic. I'm sorry to have to bring up heavy stuff like this, but I need to get to the bottom of things. Do you remember anything at all?"

	"No. Nothing." She shook her head.

	"The last time I saw you, was two months ago. You just vanished one day. No idea what happened, none at all?" 

	"I woke up in Journey town, and Phantom rescued me. That's my earliest memory."

	He closed his eyes and sighed. "Two months might not seem like a lot, but it has been..." He shook his head. "If your mother was still..."

	Ashley smacked him with a fluffy tail. "Dad, relax. We're supposed to be happy! She's home!"

	"I know, she's alive!" He cried out, tears beginning to flow again as he was beaming with happiness. The oven beeped loudly, causing him to get up and leave the room. The sound of sniffling and throat clearing could be heard from the kitchen, until he came back, carrying the pizza on the pan, and with several paper plates, all held in his tails. "I'm sorry for being so emotional. It must be weird for you to see a grown man cry like that." 

	"I should be sorry for making you feel like that." Mystic said, sounding downtrodden.

	"Oh dear... Don't say that. You were always a good girl. I'm sure whatever happened, it wasn't your fault. That's enough of that. Let's eat like a family again." He said, brandishing a knife and cutting the pizza into slices. He passed them out on plates and everyone dug in. "So Mystic, what have you been up to?"

	"Well, Phantom and I are working for a botanist as his apprentices. He sent us here to learn about berries in cold weather."

	"That sounds like fun. Speaking of cold, why don't you stay here tonight? It's supposed to snow." Day said, licking the pizza sauce off his lips.

	"We can't... After this we have to go to the library, and we already paid for our hotel room." Mystic explained.

	"Oh, that's fine, I understand. Just make sure you be careful out in the storm. It was already starting to snow when I got home."

	Dinner continued on with idle conversation until the large pizza was completely gone. 

	"That was delicious. Thanks for the food." Phantom said. 

	Mystic agreed and they got up. "We've got work to do, so we'll see you later." 

	"Now hold on just a second." Day said, getting up and circling the table around to them. "I understand you have your own life now, so I won't ask you to stay. But I will ask you to remember you have a father that loves you." He lowered his head and kissed her cheek. "I'll always be here if you need me." 

	"Thanks, dad." She said, kissing him back. 

	"You're gonna make me cry again." He whined. He stepped away and walked into the hall, towards the back of the house. 

	"Thanks for coming Mystic." Ashley said. "You just made his day. I'll let you two get back to work now. Make sure to stop by if you need anything else. The door's always open."

	Phantom nodded. "C'mon, we need to go." 

	"Careful out in the snowstorm!" Ashley shouted after them as they headed for the door. 

	A cold blast of wind immediately hit them once the door was open. Along with it came a puff of snow. They both exchanged a look of worry, before heading out. 

	They dashed through the snow as quickly as possible at first, but the resulting heavy breathing was freezing their lungs. They slowed down, trudging through the building snow, and huddling close together. Mystic stepped away from him for a moment, and he felt a tinge of jealousy when he saw what she was doing. She had curled her tails backwards, wrapping them around herself in a makeshift cloak. She came back in, providing her fire type warmth to him, but they were both still shivering. 

	Up ahead, through the dark night, they saw a lit building. "C'mon, let's go!" Phantom shouted through the howling wind. He sped up, leaving her side to reach the door of the building. She hurried to catch up and they both made it out of the wind, protected by the building. 

	"Wait, what's that noise?" She asked. Phantom perked an ear, hearing only the wind. The whistling sound died down for a moment, and then he heard it: a thumping sound, almost like music. 

	"I dunno, somebody must be doing something inside." He said, pushing open the door. Loud music blasted out along with some welcome heat. They stepped inside to an unfamiliar entry room, lit with purple lighting. "What the..."

	"Uhh, we're in the wrong place." She said, pointing to the sign. "Tempting Vixens" It read. On the logo was a voluptuous delphox, pressing her covered breasts together. "Looks like a strip club."

	"How do you know what a strip club looks like? Or even what that is?" Phantom asked suspiciously.

	"I have no idea. I just kinda do." She folded her tails back again. "Back out into the cold!" She said sarcastically, stepping back outside. 

	"What does it feel like for you?" He asked. 

	"What, the strip club?"

	"No, the snow!" He said quickly. "Your body should be hot enough to melt it on contact, but melted ice is water, so..."

	"It kinda... itches? It feels kinda like when you leg falls asleep, that tingling feeling. It's pretty uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt too bad. Let's just get to the damn library." The light of the large clock that adorned the front of the school city hall combo came into view. They both picked up the pace and made it shortly. 

	Once inside, they both ended up shaking the snow and water out of their fur. All they really succeeded in doing was getting it all over each other. 

	"Gimme a second." Phantom said, shivering violently. He lowered his head and breathed hot air onto his paws. 

	"Hold still." She said. He turned his head to see her just in time to spot her breathing out a small bit of flame and holding it near his fur. 

	"Uhh, you should probably stop." He said. 

	"Shush, I'm helping you out, just hold still. I don't wanna burn you." She boosted the flame and heat, moving it around just shy of his fur. 

	"No, seriously, you need to stop!" He said, whapping the side of her face with his tail.

	"OW! What the hell!?" 

	"Sorry, but... look." He said, pointing up at the ceiling. There was a dome shaped device, with a light on it. 

	"What is that?" 

	"I thought so. It's a smoke detector. If you set it off, with smoke for example, it sounds an alarm and the sprinklers would go off." 

	"That sounds bad, but why couldn't you just say that?" She said, rubbing the side of her face. 

	"I don't know... Sorry." 

	"It's fine I guess. It didn't really hurt." She turned away and began walking down the hall, followed shortly after Phantom. She turned at the right door and entered the library. 

	"Hello." An aged voice said. She turned her head to find an alakazam behind the desk. "You're out quite late. How can I help you?"

	"So we were in here earlier and asked about some berries. We got told to wait until later to see someone. Is that you?" 

	"Yes, I know quite a bit about berries. Let me see it." 

	Phantom stepped past her, took out the berry and set it on the desk. 

	"Hmm, let me see." He said, putting down the spoon in his hand and picking up the berry. He turned it over a few times before standing up and looking down at them. "How old are you both?" 

	"I'll be seven in a few months." Phantom said. 

	"Same for me." Mystic said, obviously lying. 

	"Alright then. This is an Avos berry. It is artificially created for sexual encounters. It heightens pleasure and stamina, and serves as a contraceptive for both genders. I would not recommend using it. Young love should be pure, wait until you're both adults to experiment. However, I am here to educate, not judge." He handed the berry back down to Phantom. "Be careful with that." He sat back down. "Anything else you need?"

	"Yea, could you tell us about any crime or stuff, like missing people?" Mystic asked. 

	"That's an odd combination of interests. Yes, I do remember a few. A few months ago, a vulpix girl went missing. There were several more cases before that, but it seems to have tapered off in recent times. The authorities were never able to track any of them down sadly. I believe there were about twenty cases in the past thirty years. Does that answer your question?" 

	"Mostly. Is there like a database or something we could look at? Something with more details?" 

	"Yes, but the access to that is restricted." 

	Phantom looked back at her and she nodded. "Here," He took his badge out and put it on the desk. 

	"Is this real?" Alakazam picked it up and examined it closely. "I see. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask. And I will assume you would like this kept between us." He stood and stepped out from behind the desk. "Follow me." He guided them through the short shelves of books to one of the rear walls. He took a key ring off of his belt, slipped off one of the keys, and gave it to Phantom. "This will let you into the police section. You'll find all the records of crime inside."

	"Why is this place in a library?" Mystic asked.

	"This building used to be the town hall, until the original school burned down. We then converted this building into it, expanding while still keeping the original design. Now it serves as both." He closed his eyes in contemplation briefly. "If you need anything, I'll be at the front desk." He departed, quickly darting between the rows to return to the entrance as quickly as possible. 

	"Well, this is good." Phantom said, sounding a bit nervous. 

	"It's perfect! We can get everything we need in here!" She stepped forward, took the key from his paw and opened the door. "Best get comfortable, we're gonna be up late tonight!" She said, excitement clearly in her voice. "Think of everything we could learn!"