Shipping Contest Omake: AdrianxPhoenixia - Shades of Violet Skies

Consciousness came back to him in increments. He was warm, he wasn't too sore, and he was comfortable where he was laying… Oh yeah, he'd spent the last night with Phoenixia for some comfort after that battle with Silver. He had had no idea whatsoever that that Stu would be so strong. For once he had underestimated his opponent.

"Morning, handsome." A voice came from above him.

"Mn… mornin'…" Hands came down onto tense muscles and worked into them. "Phoenixia, you keep doing that and you'll put me back to sleep."

"Well, you need it. You're always tense after a battle and this is one of the few ways to get you to relax."

A thump and a yell came from the hallway outside Adrian's room. Footsteps ran past, screaming bloody murder, "I'll get you for that comment, Blake!"

"And oh yeah, the other thing." Phoenixia snickered. "The British Society Agents are up, along with a few American ones. Thought you should know." She sighed, putting a hand to her cheek in thought. "You lost a bit more of your mind by letting them in, didn't you?"

"Yeah. But the Library was too quiet for too long. Much too quiet…" Adrian tensed up again, to which Phoenixia growled at and worked at his shoulders that much more enthusiastically.

"How long do you think you'll let them stay?"

Adrian paused for a moment to ponder it. "I really don't know. They're…refreshing. And entertaining. Can't forget that. I mean what kind of person, in the middle of a mission, will drop everything and glomp a character, forgetting everything and everyone around them, including the target Sue? I'm not sure if I should be completely exasperated with them or laugh until I drop with them around. I like the change."

He snuggled into the sheets as Phoenixia giggled and worked her way down his back, and then back up his spine, soothing the muscles, getting them to release their knots and relax.

Adrian 'hmm'ed and pushed his face into the pillow, like he was going to go back to sleep.

"Adrian, no, you can't go back to sleep. Stay in here too long and people will think something happened to you."

"Meeeh. Something did happen to me." His face was almost completely in the pillow, so it came out muffled.

Phoenixia narrowed her eyes, lifted one eyebrow wryly, smirked, and jabbed a finger into his side. He twitched, grumbled a bit, and stilled, ignoring the first offensive in Phoenixia's tickle war.

"Oh, you're not getting off that easily. You need to get up."

"Meeeeeeeh. Don' wanna." Other than the fact that Adrian was smiling, Phoenixia would have believed him. As it was, she wasn't stopping any time soon.

"Ah-huh. C'mon, mister 'Master of the Library,'" He voice was teasing, taunting, daring him to come after her. "Show me what you've got." And she attacked him on the back of his knees, his one weak spot. The Librarian immediately broke into shakes, trying his hardest to not break out into laughter.

"Oh, so you want to play it that way, huh?" Now wide-awake, Adrian leapt up from off the bed and counter-attacked, fingers dancing over Phoenixia's sides, just under her ribs.

She fell into giggles, curled around her middle, and smacked ineffectually at Adrian's tickling fingers. "All right! I give. For now."

Adrian smiled and stretched, no longer wanting to sleep and feeling good about the day so far.

"Ah! I guess the Society is good for you!" Phoenixia smiled warmly. "Had I tried that after a battle before they got here, you would have just ignored me and gone right back to sleep."

"Hrn. You're right."

-

Adrian paused, violet sword in hand, and reached out with his senses. The hard-light holograms were hard to sense in the training room, but they displaced air. A whisper here… a ghost of a breeze there… Adrian disappeared into a flurry of motion, striking at the opponent behind him before leaping up out of the strike range of the others in front of him.

He shot back down like a meteor and the other targets quickly fell under his sword. Adrian sighed, and watched the holographic training ground, a run-down part of a city; vanish in a fall of motes of light.

"Aww… but that was too easy! Phoenixia, next level please!"

"No," She appeared next to him, arms crossed in a disapproving glare. She was wearing a near exact copy of what Adrian was; a burgundy trench coat with red-gold embroidery at the edges, dark trousers, a forest green shirt and black boots. "Valerie said you have to take it easy, otherwise she would come down on you with all the healer-y wrath she could muster. You're still healing."

Adrian looked at her with a slightly petulant glare, and gave in, his shoulders slumped. "I hate it when you're right."

"Of course I'm right." Phoenixia smiled. "I'm a sentient computer program. I'm always right."

"Where did you get that ego?"

Phoenixia smirked. "From you, dearling."

Adrian rolled his eyes. "Of course." He sighed, and transformed Hoshikuzu back into its much smaller pendant form. "I have to admit, having a healer around is nice. And Valerie isn't even typical of a healer."

"You're telling me? I've seen the talks you've had with her."

"I haven't had any philosophical debates like that in two-hundred years! I mean, it's not like I can get the meaning of life, the universe, and everything from your local Joe-shmoe!"

Phoenixia laughed softly. "I see. Anyone else come to mind?"

"A couple." Adrian went into a couple of light stretches, favoring his injuries. "Michael is one. The man's a fighter through and through, and it shows. Introducing one's self as 'The Gary-Stu Gutter' pretty much says 'I have a sword, I know how to use it, and I like doing it, too.'" He laughed.

"So. Michael. And?" Phoenixia prompted.

"Aster." Adrian's head tilted in thought. "She…" He paused, thinking. "She reminds me of me, so long ago before I learned a hero isn't always welcomed with open arms."

Both paused as they knew exactly what Adrian meant.

Adrian smiled again as a happier thought occurred to him. "Tash." He let out a long, low whistle. "Those fire abilities of hers certainly fit her. It's almost scary. I don't think I want to get on her bad side. And if anyone can take on all the Sues in the Multiverse, it's her."

Phoenixia shrugged. "Weeeell, if you did, I guess all you'd have to do is give her some chocolate and she'd be happy again."

"True." Adrian laughed.

-

"Phoenixia, I need you to do me a favor." Adrian said to the air in front of him as he shelved some new books the Library had recently acquired.

"Sure. What?" She appeared next to him and picked up a book to put away herself.

"Keep an eye on the Society. What they do on their computers, who they talk to and such. As much as I've trusted them to let them into the Library on a permanent basis, I can't trust them so far as to leave them alone." He sighed. "I hate doing this, but it needs to be done. The Society…" He shook his head. "They've stepped into something far larger than they can imagine. There are worse things than Sues out there and they might piss the wrong people off…"

Adrian stopped, suddenly, and sucked in a breath. His face went whiter than a sheet and he shivered.

"Adrian?" Phoenixia put her hand on his shoulder, ready to rush him off to the medical ward.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He brushed her hand off and rubbed at his arms. "You know how people say that they just felt like someone walked over their grave?"

Phoenixia nodded. "Yeah."

"That was ten times worse." He breathed in again, deeply, to dispel the last of the crawling feeling going down his spine. "I think… I think something's coming. And it's big, and it has to do with me. That's the only way I could've felt it in advance."

"Do you want me to make preparations?"

"No." Adrian shook his head. "I think it'll be a while before anything happens. We just need to keep an eye out."

"Right."

"And Phoenixia?" The hologram turned back to look. "Keep yourself out of sight when you spy on everyone, ok? Can't let them know about out ace in the hole just yet."

She rolled her eyes. "What, do you think I'm new at this? Of course."

-

Omake scene: Because I can.

Adrian and Phoenixia sat behind a counter as Rhia looked at them, gobsmacked.

"You want to learn how to cook."

Adrian nodded. "Yep."

Phoenixia shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, I could just look it up, but there's no fun in that. So we'd thought we'd come in here and ask you for a couple lessons."

"Oooookaaaay." Rhia thought about it for a second, and shrugged. "Sure. You got a few minutes now?"

Both nodded.

"Right." The self-appointed (and frankly nobody argued with it unless they wanted to eat nothing but oatmeal for a week) Society chef started shuffling through her supplies. "You know, cooking is a lot like chemistry. Mix one part A with two parts B and you get the result, the same result, every time. I, however, got kicked out of my chem. club in high school." She turned to give them a wicked grin over her shoulder, bags of something in her arms.

Adrian had a feeling he'd regret asking the next question. "Why?"

"Ooooh," Rhia shrugged, and grabbed a small bottle of something off a shelf. "I had habit of blowing things up. I mean, fire plus chemical A equals a very nice boom. And I do like explosions. And fire. Ever put a grape in a microwave? It lights on fire. And those peep marshmallows? Stick two full of toothpicks and place them about an inch apart in the microwave. They'll expand until the toothpicks pierce each other. Then they explode into warm marshmallow goodness." Rhia had a look of absolute delight on her face.

Adrian and Phoenixia wondered what exactly they had just gotten themselves into.

Shipping Contest: RhiaxCristoph

The Library Arcanium had many rooms. In one of these rooms, three girls plotted together in an attempt to make a point.

"What are we going to do? I mean, whenever we give Rhia and Cristoph enough privacy to snog each other's faces off, they just stand there and metaphorically stammer." Tash slumped and let her forehead hit the table with a 'thump'.

Jess smirked. "Well. Shove them in a closet. Simple."

"Oooh! I know just the closet!" Phoenixia added. "It's that one just by your room, Jess, for whenever you can't wait to start the fun with whoever your next partner is."

"Mmmm… that one?" Jess closed her eyes in remembrance. "Yeah, that one could work…"

Tash put a hand up to her chin in thought. "No, no, I've got an idea…"

-

Rhia heard a knock on her door, and put down the Mediterranean recipe book she was flipping through to answer it. The door opened to reveal Michael, and a small crowd of people behind him.

Rhia blinked in surprise. "What… do you guys need?"

Michael backed away from the door and gestured at Rhia. "Ben, if you would."

Rhia got nervous and backed away a step. "Tash?" She called beyond the doorway. "What's going on?"

"Nothing too serious, dear. Just go with it!" Tash called back.

"What do you mean 'nothing too serious'?" It was at this point that Ben had grabbed Rhia around the waist, and hoisted her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "Hey! Put me down! What's going on here!" She started to beat her fits against Ben's back.

Ben grimaced. "Rhia, calm down. I'd put you down but you'd run away."

"True." She shrugged. "Still. Put me down! Ben!"

Ben kept walking.

-

"Om."

Cristoph was meditating. That was not new. What was new was the small sphere that had just rolled its way into his room.

"Om."

He peeked one eye open, determined that the sphere was not a threat, and closed the eye again.

"Om."

The sphere started spewing smoke. Unfortunately, Cristoph did not realize the sphere was spewing smoke until it had nearly filled the room. He got up from his meditation position, and his head spun. He took one step and flopped down to the ground, completely unconscious.

Cristoph's door opened and a vacuum nozzle sucked up all the smoke. Michael, Kyle and Ben walked in.

"That was… much easier than I thought it'd be." Ben picked the used smoke bomb off the ground and pocketed it.

"Yeah, well, he isn't going to be happy when he wakes up." Michael shrugged one of Cristoph's arms over his shoulder. "C'mon, we have to get him dressed."

Kyle grabbed Cristoph's other arm. "Man, he's heavier than he looks."

"It's the height. It's always deceiving." Ben tugged the cowl off Cristoph's face. "I'll get this to Tash and be back to help you out."

-

Rhia stood, surrounded by Phoenixia, Tash, and Jess, and felt just a little intimidated, as they all had slightly
manic smiles on their faces. Rhia's sinking feeling of doom in her stomach was proven true when Phoenixia opened her mouth.

"Strip." She demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Rhia's eyes got wide as saucers. "You want me to what?"

"You heard me. Strip." She got a sly smirk on her face. "Or I'll do it for you. You can't go on this trip in those clothes."

"What trip?"

The sly smirk on her face got bigger. "We're just trying to make a small point, dearling. So switch out of those clothes and Tash and I will help you into the outfit you need for where you're going."

Tash pulled out a bundle of cloth from out of nowhere. "This is going to be quite a lot of fun for you. Just get into this and let us do the rest. You're getting completely pampered tonight, hun."

"But…" Rhia poked at the bundle, very curious. "What's going on? I'm lost."

Phoenixia, Jess and Tash just looked at each other and grinned.

-

Cristoph's sight blurred into focus. First he noticed he was sitting in a chair. Second, he noticed he wasn't in the clothes he put on earlier in the day. Thirdly, he noticed that Michael, Ben, and Kyle were standing around him looking sheepish.

"Sorry about that Cristoph." Michael was rubbing the back of his head.

"We were forced to do it." Ben spoke up.

Kyle just shrugged. "They asked for a third set of hands."

"I'm in a yukata, Lord Michael. Why?" He arched one eyebrow.

Michael stammered. "Ehm… I uh, I can't tell you."

"What?"

"Let me put it this way, Cristoph," Ben broke in. "You have to look good for the part, and the ninja outfit just doesn't cut it. Admittedly, I'm sure she likes your ninja outfit, buuuuuuuttttt…"

"Ben!" Kyle facepalmed. "You're gonna ruin it!"

"She, Ben?"

"Uh… yeah." Ben was now looking anywhere but Cristoph. Cristoph, sensing weakness, turned his glare on Ben, who fidgeted even more. That steely glare was surprisingly unnerving.

"Ben. What's going on?"

Ben, at this point, had put a hand over his mouth to keep himself from speaking.

"Cristoph, look." Michael put his hands on his hips. "Can you trust us?"

The ninja narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't like my answer."

Michael twitched. "I'll ignore that. I promise that where you're going is relatively harmless. The plot hole is just across the hall. Your partner is already waiting for you."

Cristoph glared at Michael, thought about it for a moment, and realized it wasn't worth fighting over. He sighed. "Fine. But one more thing. Where's my cowl?"

"Uh…"Michael bit his lip and tried not to laugh. Ben failed completely and was clutching his sides. "Tash has it."

Cristoph walked up to the current Librarian, and loomed over her at much as was respectful, and as with as much intimidation as he could emit in a yukata. Tash was not phased.

"Lady Tash, where's my cowl?"

Tash crossed her arms, dangling the cowl from her fingers. "Oh, you mean this?" She blinked, got a wicked grin, and then stuffed it down her shirt.

Cristoph blinked once, twice, and on the third time the tops of his ears turned red.

"Now get into that fandom! Or I'll have you dust the World War II wing with Ben!"

"Yes, Lady Tash." And with that, he disappeared in a dark colored blur.

"Wow. I didn't know you could move that fast in a yukata." Tash shrugged, and grinned to herself. "Now to get to the monitor room to watch." She giggled.

-

Rhia waited on a small bridge, out of the way of most of the crowds. Tash, after a lot of teasing and giggling over a mysterious reason, had said earlier that most everyone was tired of how reluctant both Cristoph and Rhia were with their relationship, and was just going to shove them together in a date. With no warning. After the initial shock of that statement, in which turned Rhia red, nervousness took hold.

The butterflies were still going strong in her stomach as she waited for Cristoph to appear. 'Well, at least it's the Cardcaptor Sakura fandom, can't get much calmer than this…' Rhia turned from the cherry tree in front of her to look for Cristoph again. She saw his head above the crowd and went to call out to him when the crowd parted in front of him. The words froze in her throat.

His yukata was a deep, dark green, pin-striped with a slightly lighter green to add a pattern. The obi was a steel grey, matching his eyes and adding a neutral to his outfit.

'Oh… oh my. Wow. Um.' Rhia swallowed dryly. 'That's… oh wow.'
It helped that there was just a bit of chest peeking out from the overlap in Cristoph's yukata. After a moment she was able to call out his name.

Cristoph heard his name being called from the side. He turned his head, saw Rhia, and his jaw dropped.

"Oh, Kami, she's beautiful." He whispered, as he took in the sight of her. Rhia was in a light green spring yukata, with silver embroidery drawing the outlines of branches and leaves all up and down it. The obi itself was a forest green, complimenting the rest of the outfit nicely. Her hair was up in a simple twist with two green hair sticks, and a green gem dangled from a silver stud in each ear.

Cristoph went to Rhia, who was blushing lightly. "So this is what Lady Tash planned, Rhiannon? Is there a mission of some sort? I don't know all that many shoujo fandoms…"

"No, no mission, Cristoph." She looked up into his face and smiled, but looked away quickly. "Just… the other Society members got tired of us dancing around each other and our relationship and finally decided to shove us together on a… date." Rhia was now looking anywhere but Cristoph.

"Ah." He nodded once, and unconsciously copied Rhia by looking anywhere but at her.

Rhia grabbed his hand after a moment and tugged on it. "It is a nice day out. I wouldn't mind a walk."

Cristoph didn't quite smile, but the corners of his eyes crinkled, more than enough to get Rhia to beam. "All right, milady, this way?" And he gestured off towards a grove of trees.

They walked for a moment before Rhia asked, "Cristoph? Where's your cowl?"

Cristoph glowered. "Lady Tash… confiscated it."

"Ooooooh." Rhia had a small idea by what he meant as to 'confiscated'. She grinned at the thought. 'Must remember to thank her later.'

-

More than one agent in the monitor room facepalmed at Cristoph's inquiry.

"Misson? He thought that was a mission?" Michael shook his head. "We dress him up in a yukata and he thinks he's going on a mission? He's more hopeless than we thought!"

"Tash," Jess turned to the blonde. "What did you do with Cristoph's cowl?" By now everyone was wondering the exact same thing. Tash got the same wicked grin from earlier and patted her chest. The whole monitor room exploded with various levels of giggling.

-

Rhia bounced on the balls of her feet, and her head turned every which way as if she was looking for something.

"Rhiannon, milady? Is something supposed to happen? I don't know this fandom."

"Oh. This is Card Captor Sakura. One of the sweeter, less violent shoujo fandoms out there. Prob'ly why it was picked to send us here… they want us to get ideas…" Rhia shrugged. "It's the spring festival… one of the Clow Cards will make an appearance eventually. It'll be nice…"

"Clow Cards?"

Rhia closed her eyes and shook her head dismissively. "Oh, uh, this fandom's version of the magical artifact. Think of a slightly toned down version of Duel Monsters and you're close."

"One will be appearing here? Tonight?" Cristoph immediately tensed up and reached into his sleeve, pulling back a throwing knife. Where he had gotten one, Rhia did not know.

"Don't worry! It's only the Glow Card." She put a hand on his, and slowly the knife went back into its hiding place. "It just makes lots and lots of glowing orbs of light. Completely harmless."

"Ah." Cristoph nodded once, sagely.

"Where did you get your weapons from?" Rhia continued curiously. "Didn't the others confiscate them?"

"I'm a ninja," was the sly response. "I have my ways."

"Oh good," Rhia smiled. "It's just… I have a steak knife strapped to my leg at the moment." Cristoph didn't respond, but he looked vaguely amused at this.

-

Ben sputtered. "I know we stripped him clean of weapons, so how the heck does he still have any knives on him?"

"Better yet," Phoenixia frowned. "How does Rhia have a steak knife strapped to her leg?"

"Great." Harriet sighed. "Two more knife crazy agents…"

-

The sun was well into setting as the two walked through a path of cherry trees. Wind lightly blew through the cherry blossoms, making them shiver, and a few of them fall. Poor Cristoph had to duck at times to avoid a face full of blossoms in his face from a low hanging branch.

Small lanterns hung from arches off to the side, softly illuminating alcoves, some of which had couples cuddling close to each other, and others kissing—some discreetly, some not.

Rhia glimpsed a few of these couples and almost seemed to curl in on herself. She remembered her first kiss with Cristoph, and just how long ago that was. 'Now I know what Tash meant. I really do wish he would kiss me. This goes on much longer and I'll kiss him first.'

She sighed, and bit her lip. Getting ever so slightly frustrated, Rhia wrapped her arm around Cristoph's middle. Without missing a beat, he put his arm on her shoulders and started rubbing small circles on her back.

'But if he keeps doing that I might be able to wait a little bit longer. Oooh, that feels good…' Rhia shivered a bit and leaned into Cristoph. Unknown to Rhia, Cristoph smiled.

-

By this time, the Monitor room in the Library had expanded to fit all the agents peeking in on Cristoph and Rhia's date. And added a few, extra large screens.
 
"Awwwww….." Most of the Society agents sighed. Poor Emily had walked in a minute ago, taken one look at what was going on, and turned right back around.

"Damn it, Cristoph, kiss her already!" Jess yelled and pumped her fist at the screen.

-

Cristoph's stomach gurgled.

"I am not hungry." He said pointedly, looking at his stomach.

It gurgled again.

Rhia smirked, "I do believe your stomach says otherwise." She led him towards a food stand. "C'mon. I'm sure the food here isn't too bad."

The bento box the stall owner handed them was slightly larger than normal, and there was only one.

"Wait…" Rhia looked up at the stall owner in question. "There are two of us…."

He smiled and waved it off. "Couples deal. Have fun tonight!"

"Riiiight…." She picked up a miniature rice ball with her chopsticks and eyed it; looked up at Cristoph, and then back down at the rice ball. "Here…" She held the rice ball to his lips.

He took it, chewed it pensively, and then said, "Not nearly as good as yours."

Rhia beamed at the compliment, and took a bite of another rice ball. "Oooh, you're right. This is almost a crime…"

A piece of tempura appeared in Rhia's line of sight and she realized that he was feeding her. She happily took it.

-

"Oh, god," Jared groaned. "Are those carnival games I see coming up? I always hated those things."

"You may hate it," Chloe elbowed him in the ribs. "But it looks like Cristoph and Rhia are going to be in their element. Especially with that shooter game I see off to the side…"

"Oi! Quiet!" Michael threw a piece of popcorn at their heads. "I can't hear anything!"

-

Rhia settled down behind the gun to eye her target. Her breathing slowed until her shoulders barely moved up and down. To any outsider who didn't know her, Rhia looked almost like a statue. It was the only time she really did stop moving, to zero in on a target with her sniper rifle. Otherwise she couldn't stop moving in one way or another. Her eyes narrowed as they zeroed in on exactly where she wanted to, the bulls eye in the very back. Her finger moved on the trigger, and the target shattered a millisecond later.

Rhia exploded out of her still stance. In her joy, she leapt onto Cristoph and hugged him. He caught her around the waist. They found themselves looking at each other's eyes after a moment.

'Oh, screw waiting for him….' She pressed her lips against his and held. It worked after a moment when she felt Cristoph's arms encircle around her back and squeeze tighter.

A dry cough from behind them broke them out of their kiss, and they separated slightly breathless to see a vaguely amused stall owner. She motioned behind her to the prizes. "You get any one you want. That target was our hardest."

Rhia tilted her head as she looked over the choices. After a moment, she darted towards a corner and came back with something small in her hands. She waved a quick thanks to the stall owner and faced Cristoph.

"Yours." It was a small, brightly colored, stuffed hawk cradled in her hands.

Cristoph smiled softly and took it. "Thank you. But I don't know what Algazdun will say about it."

Rhia shrugged. "He'll live."

-

Algazdun chirped from his perch in the Monitor room.

The other agents looked from the hawk, to the screen, and then back to the hawk.

"That'll be an interesting conversation." Jared quipped.

-

A few stalls over had a specific type of ring toss. You could either toss a ring and get whatever it landed around, or pay full price for an item without taking a chance with the rings.

Cristoph had his sights on a specific item, and he wasn't going to let it go.

"Wait here," He leaned down to whisper in Rhia's ear. "I'm going to go get something, and I want it to be a surprise. I'll be back soon."

"All right." And the ninja was gone in a quick blur. Rhia sat down on a nearby bench and rubbed at the bottom of her feet. Standing and walking for long periods of time always made them hurt.

'Today's been nice. Actually, it's been wonderful. A whole day with absolutely nothing to worry about. That doesn't happen too often anymore. And I got to see Cristoph in something other than his normal ninja outfit. I doubt that'll happen much either. Unless I get to plotting…' Rhia tilted her head in thought.  
'Nah. I don't think I want to do that to him outside of a mission. Though if I ever get the chance to take the man swimming…' She bit her lip and groaned quietly at the image that thought gave her. 'That sounds good.'

Something touched her shoulders from behind.

Rhia jumped; her heart pounding as she twisted around to see what was behind her, only to catch a very chagrined Cristoph.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He murmured as he wrapped his arms around her and waited for her to calm down from the fright. "Didn't mean to scare you." He patted her hair as her breathing slowed to normal. "Shhhh…."

Rhia finally relaxed her tense muscles and melted into the embrace. "I'm okay."

"I'm sorry." He cupped her cheek with one hand and brought out a small, rectangular box with the other. "Open it."

The box in Rhia's hand was heavier than normal for a box its size. She lifted the lid and inside was a set of throwing knives. "Oooh…."

"I'll teach you how to throw them when we get back." He kissed her forehead and hugged her close.

-

Tash stood up and turned off the monitors.

"Hey! It's just getting good!" Willie yelled from the back.

"We've spied enough. They need their privacy, at least a little bit." She crossed her arms. "Now go on, I know you have things to do. And if I see anyone trying to get another peek, they'll be scrubbing toilets for a month!"
The agents filed out slowly, some of them taking their popcorn with them.

-

"Cristoph? Can we stay here for a bit? My feet are a bit sore." Rhia had a slightly sheepish grin on her face, like she didn't want to inconvenience Cristoph too much.

"That's not a problem, Rhia." He sat back down on a bench, and after a moment pulled Rhia onto his lap. She squeaked.

For a moment, the two just sat there, silent, looking at the surrounding cherry trees. The wind was slightly stronger now, making the branches weave just a bit. Rhia closed her eyes and put her face to the wind, just letting it brush across her cheeks.

"This place is beautiful. You know, I've only seen cherry blossoms in full bloom once before? And that was in D.C. so many years ago. That… pales in comparison to this…"

"I'm glad you like it, milady." He rubbed the back of his fingers against her cheek lightly. She turned to him and was mildly shocked to see complete awe on Cristoph's face.

"What's…wrong? Cristoph?"

He smiled, somewhat ruefully, and took her hand in his. His hand dwarfed hers, small and somewhat delicate, with a few old burn and cut scars here and there from her favorite hobby. "Nothing's wrong… it's just… I am so lucky to still have you." His thumb started rubbing over the back of her hand. "There must be some spirit or kami out there that likes me because I almost lost you. I could've lost you. I did lose you. And then I got you back. You were gone, and kami all that was left of you was one measly video will and then you were back in my arms, scared out of your mind but back, alive."

Rhia looked up into Cristoph's eyes and they gleamed bright silver. If it was from the light or something else, she didn't know but she had a hunch it was more of the latter. "Cristoph, I'm here. I never stopped hoping you would come."

He wrapped his arms around her tightly and buried his face into the crook of her neck. "The time that you were gone was an eternity." A small shudder wracked his frame. "What little reason I had to exist had died with you."

Rhia cupped his face with both hands, at a loss for what else to do or something to say.

"I swear this to you, Lady Rhiannon." His voice dropped an octave. "I will never forget you. Whatever happens, I will not forget you. You are my reason for existence. As your knight-errant, I swear this to you."

He was very close. She could feel his breath on her face. "And I shall stay with you then. No matter where your search for your memories takes you, I will be by your side. As your lady, I will never leave you."

"I love you." His eyes narrowed, just a bit. "My lady." Cristoph leaned in, and kissed Rhia, hard.

His lips were soft, and that's all Rhia registered when she remembered to breathe, when the dizziness got to be a bit much.

They had barely parted for a moment when Cristoph kissed her again, softly, sweetly. And then again on her forehead. By this point, Rhia had all but melted into a puddle. She sat there dazed, with her ear against his chest, listening to his heart.

The two sat there, holding each for the rest of the night until the plot hole back to the Library appeared next to them.

-

It was dark, and quiet, and Rhia couldn't see or hear a thing.

She opened her mouth to scream and felt the air rushing past her vocal cords, but no sound came out. She did it again with her hand at her throat and didn't even feel the vocal cords vibrating. She clapped her hands and she didn't hear anything. It was pitch black. Blinking didn't help.

'Oh god, not again, no, I can't be here I was saved Cristoph found me…no no no no no no…..'

A flick of something smooth caught her shoulder, sliding down. A sharp edge, touching the surface just enough to not cut through skin. Rhia froze. 'Roxelana… no…'

She tried to scream again. And again. Nothing. Not even a squeak.

'Cristoph! CRISTOPH!'

Rhia fell out of the bed screaming. Sweat drenched the sheets and her legs were tied up better than a Gordian knot. She struggled out of them and threw them away from her, sliding back till she hit the nearest wall with a thump.

It was dark, and too quiet even though she could her herself again. She stood up and dashed for the door, threw herself out of it and into the better lit hallway.

Her bare feet slapped the floor as she ran for the one person who might be up at this hour. Who had some idea of what was trapping her mind.

She opened the door to Cristoph's room and he looked up sharply, surprise and a little bit of something else in his eyes. The ninja outfit was back on, sans cowl. Seems Tash had not yet deemed it right to give back Cristoph's cowl yet.

Rhia walked into his room and saw the lit candles, and noticed that there was no incense burning. She furrowed her brows. "Is something wrong, Cristoph?"

"I am finding it hard to meditate, Lady Rhia."

She sat down next to him and crossed her legs. "Then we're in the same boat. Don't think I can sleep for a while." She nudged him. "Want to talk about it?"

He thought about it a moment, staring hard at the wall in front of him. "I'm… in some sort of liquid. Floating. There's a breathing mask attached to my face. By the time I realize all this is when it starts to go wrong."He shivered. "Coolant lines break… life support shuts down… the people outside the liquid start panicking… the air to my breathing mask stops." He went silent, and Rhia looked dawn and saw that Cristoph was clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles were white. She took his hand in both of hers and he relaxed. His hand opened and she saw four red half moons on his palm. She hugged him.

"I'm back in that crate with Roxelana… can't see, can't hear, can't speak. I try everything I can to scream but nothing happens. And then I feel something on my arm. And then again on my other arm. It's that knife… she didn't cut me but that made it all the more scary… I never knew when she was just going to come up behind me and cut my throat for real."

Cristoph heard a harsh breathing next to him and realized that it was Rhia, trying her hardest not to panic again.

"Shhhh…." He picked her up bridal style and brought her to the futon. She leaned against his shoulder, both for her comfort and for his own.

"Cristoph." Her voice was a whisper now. "I promise I'll be there. When your dreams finally catch up with you, I'll be there. Because," she swallowed. "Because they look like they're going to be bad." She hugged him again and didn't let go. "My nightmare's happened. They're just dreams now. Yours still have yet to come."

He put his face into her hair. "Thank you. What did I do to deserve you?"

She grinned. "You were yourself, Cristoph. That's all you ever needed to be."

They stayed like that. Rhia was the first to drop off, leaning on his shoulder, and Cristoph followed soon after, his head on hers. If Cristoph stirred from a disturbing memory, it was quickly quelled when Rhia moved in her sleep next to him.

Shipping Contest: MichaelxClaire

"What are you wearing?" Tash pulled a face, fanning herself with her stack load of paperwork. In the midst of the Library's sub-tropical temperatures, Michael looked completely uncomfortable and completely out of place in his current attire. A thick, dark red winter jacket covered him from neck to waist, puffing out his form somewhat with the extra layers. Fleece lined jeans covered his legs, and black snowboots elevated him by a couple of inches. His face, which peeked out from somewhere underneath a woollen hat, was flushed from the heat. He also carried a rucksack, which was bulging with who knew what.

"I'm taking Claire on a date," he explained. "To the coldest, most romantic place I can think of. In other words, as far away from the Library as I can possibly get."

Tash fanned herself harder, ignoring the creases developing in her mission reports. This was what happened when you denied Phoenixia the chance to "blow off some steam (and a few guys)" in a fandom. The ex-hologram in a fit of spite, had shut off the air conditioning, and was threatening to keep it off until Tash let her out, or until someone screwed her into submission – whichever happened first.

As both agents muttered various insults, grievances, and threats to Phoenixia's person under their breath, Claire appeared from her own room, dressed in a similar winter jacket of bright sparkly purple, and boots. Her hat was also purple, and had ear flaps, which she was playing with quite happily.

"All ready!" she announced, beaming. Tash grinned at them both as they linked hands, fingers intertwined. Claire's engagement ring was proudly displayed on her left hand.

"Aww, you're both so cute," she smiled, at the happy couple. "I'd hug you both, but I'm so hot and sweaty, I don't wanna touch anyone right now..."

"Yeah, thanks Aneki," Michael pulled a face. "We'll be leaving now. Have fun stewing in your own body fluids."

"Shut up," the leader muttered, wandering back to work. Bumping shoulders as they went, the couple opened a plothole and vanished through it.

OOO

Snowpoint City was a beautiful place, no matter what time of year you visited. In early January (as it was at the point of time where Michael and Claire arrived) snow topped the buildings like a layer of icing on fat cakes, with trees framing the entire city as it sat in the shadow of the mountain. A small flock of bird Pokemon soared overhead, and the occasional cries of Sneasel and Snover could be heard coming from Acuity Lakefront.

There was no snow falling when the couple arrived just outside the Pokemon Centre. The cold mountain air and the smell of winter were beautifully refreshing compared to the humidity and ever present smell of sweat that had been floating around the Library for the past few days. Michael threw back his head and inhaled deeply, removing his hat and unzipping his jacket to fully embrace the cold that now raced over his skin. Claire took the more direct approach and just fell backwards into the fluffy snow on the ground, giggling madly.

The sky above both their heads was punctuated by thick grey clouds. Michael grinned, knowing that his timing had been spot on. The trick was finding a good location from where to watch. Maybe they could head a bit further up the mountain...

He was snapped out of his thought process by Claire glomping him around the waist.

"This is the best place you could have picked!" she informed him, before turning around and pointing at the area of snow she had just been sprawled out on. "And look! Snow angel!"

"You're a snow angel," Michael told her. Claire grinned wider still, bending down to poke a pair of eyes and a mouth into her angel. Taking advantage of her back being turned, Michael scooped up a handful of snow, packed it lightly together and threw. It caught Claire in the shoulder, and she whirled around.

"Don't start a fight you can't win!" she told him, as both of them dropped to the ground for more ammunition.
Claire squeaked as a second snowball impacted in her chest and sent her tumbling backwards onto her rear.

"Who says I can't win?" Michael smirked, approaching with another snowball. Claire scrambled to her feet, but before she could go anywhere, Michael had seized her and began stuffing snow down the back of her jacket. Claire shrieked.

"Michael! That's cold!"

"That's the point!" her boyfriend retorted. "Told you you couldn't wi – GAH!"

He released her and recoiled, as one of Claire's magical sparkly pinecones caught him in the side of the head. He staggered back, rubbing the impact zone.

"Baby! That hurt!" he whined.

"Yeah, well now I'm cold and wet!" Claire replied. "We're square."

Michael pouted. "Fine... and before I forget," he rubbed the side of his head, before plucking four small round red and white balls from his belt. He tossed two to Claire.

"I had to borrow a few Plot Devices, but we have at least a little company." He rummaged in his pocket, and extracted two small red pills. "And I brought Oneshots so we can understand what they're saying."

Beaming, Claire took the offered pill and gulped it down, before enlarging the two Poke Balls and tossing them into the air. A flash of light later and two creatures stood beside her. First was her Squirtle, who gleefully began racing around in the snow like a happy child. The second was Cubone, who glanced around once, twice, and then a third time in curiosity, before picking up his bone and drawing in the snow.

Michael's own Poke Balls were released, and two more creatures appeared in the middle of the snow. The first was Infernape, who hopped around, hooting and screeching about the cold indignantly. The second was Combee, who wore a pink bow wrapped around her head, and who's three faces split into identical wide grins.

"DADDY! MUMMY!" she squealed in joy, tackling Michael in the chest, and nuzzling him through his jacket. "Ooo! We're in a cold place! This will be fun! Can I go play in the snow? Can I Daddy?"

Michael hugged Combee tightly, so as to prevent her from taking a dive into the slush that covered the ground. On instinct, Claire dove one hand into her jacket pocket and pulled out a Pecha Berry. Combee was instantly distracted, and devoured the berry.

"Mmm! Nom!" she giggled. "Thanks Mummy!"

Infernape sweatdropped, running a hand over his flaming head. "Oh boy...here we go again..." Out of everyone in Michael's party, Combee was probably best known for her seemingly endless state of curious hyperactivity.

"We should get further up the mountain," Michael suggested, zipping Combee up inside his jacket, as Infernape hitched a piggyback ride on his trainer. "We'll have a better view."

"Better view of what?" Claire enquired, as the two began their walk leisurely up the hill. Michael checked his watch again, before glancing up at the sky above them.

"Well its January twelfth," he explained. "Which means at some point today, Diamond Dust will start falling from those clouds. I thought we could sit up here, watch it, and cool off from the Library."

"Diamond Dust?" Claire tilted her head to one side, contemplating, before her eyes suddenly went wide with excitement. "Ooo! Sparkly!"

She yanked on his hand. "Come on! We'll miss the sparkles!"

And giggling evermore, she charged up the hill, pulling a surprised boyfriend with her.

OOO

The eyes watched the couple race up the hill, their feet leaving prints in the snow, deep and fresh.

"Two Society agents? They found me quickly. I haven't even been here that long."

A smirk, as cold as the ice around him, formed on a white face.

"Well... I'm sure I can deal with them. I don't plan on leaving this fandom just yet..."

OOO

"Daddy!" in Michael's arms, Combee wriggled and squirmed. "I want to get down now!"

"What do you say?" Claire asked automatically. Combee thought for a few seconds, then all three of her faces smiled imploringly up at Michael.

"Please?"

Half an hour after they had first arrived in the fandom, they had walked a fair distance, and Michael decided that this clearing would be as good a place to stop as any. Kissing her on the head, Michael released his charge, who immediately buzzed off to explore. She found the nearest tree, and flew straight into it, sending a downfall of snow from the branches above plummeting onto her.

"Weeee!" the bumblebee giggled, as she backed up for another try. "I wanna do it again!"

To the casual observer, this act may have appeared masochistic, but the other Pokemon knew that this was just a by-product of Combee's natural hyperactivity.

"Combee!" Michael called. "Stop that baby. You'll hurt yourself."

"Aww..." Combee pouted. "Kay Daddy..."

And she buzzed around the clearing, trying to find another tree. Cubone took it upon himself to keep a watchful eye on her, and began following at a slight distance.

Assured that Combee was being watched, Michael reached into his rucksack and pulled out a large, thick picnic blanket, which he spread on the ground. Claire plonked herself down on it, laying backwards to watch the clouds form above them. Still fishing in the rucksack, Michael extracted a sandwich box, two plastic mugs, and a thermos. He passed the bag to Claire, who pulled out two large subs stuffed full to bursting, and poured her a mug of chocolate.

"You thought of everything, didn't you?" Claire commented, accepting her drink. Michael just shrugged and poured himself a mug.

"I was going to bring champagne, but I thought something warm would be better. Plus Rhia would kill me if she caught me raiding her kitchen again...don't laugh!" he objected, as Claire giggled. "Those knives of hers are scary!"

They were both distracted as Combee's activities caused a small avalanche of snow to fall from a tree, burying poor Infernape completely.

"Cold, cold, COLD!" Infernape screamed, evaporating the snow on his head with a small burst of flames. He hopped around the clearing to exercise some warmth back into his limbs.

"Yay! Inferny is dancing!" Combee began bobbing in midair. Deciding to play along, Cubone began to beat out a rhythm with his bone on a nearby rock. Squirtle just fell over giggling, as Combee drew a deep breath and began to sing.

"La, la, la la laaa! Ha ha, ha ha haaa! Dah dah, dah dah daaah! Want your bad romance!"

Hearing this, Infernape made a mental note to inform Michael that Miriku and Tash had been teaching Combee inappropriate songs again.

OOO

"Its tractor baby. Trac-tor," Michael enunciated slowly.

"Trac-er," Claire poked him in the ribs, dropping her T on purpose this time. Her fiancée rolled his eyes.

"Farmer... crazy farmer with a strange accent..."

"I'm not a farmer!" Claire retorted. "I'm from Dorset! What's your excuse for speaking funny?"

"I'm American," Michael replied promptly.

"That's not an excuse."

"You use being British as an excuse all the time!"

"But being British is a status symbol!" Claire saluted as she spoke. "And besides, if I'm a farmer, then that means Harriet is too. She's a Dorset girl."

"Too bad you have no sheep any more since the Welsh girls left," Michael pointed out.

"We've still got our Guernsey Donkey's – Tash and Jess."

Michael was about to reply, when something warm burrowed against him.

"Daddy?" Combee appeared, snuggling against Michael's neck like a shy child.

"Yes sweetie?" Michael patted her on the head. The bumblebee sniffed.

"I'm cold!"

Unsurprised in the slightest, Michael unwrapped his own scarf and tied it around Combee, taking care to keep her wings free.

"Yay!" Combee nuzzled him and then buzzed off again. Faint snatches of song were cast to the wind as she left.

"She's singing now?" Claire asked, wondering if the peace was forever gone for their group. Michael shook his head.

"She didn't get it from me-" he paused as he saw Claire's shoulder shaking with laughter. "What?"

"Oh please! She so got it from you, Mr-I-Rickrolled-My-Opponent-In-A-Battle!"

"Hey! That was a good strategy!" Michael defended. "It won me the match!"

"Ah but you lost your dignity in the process," Claire reminded him sombrely. "And you taught the Darkness one of the most annoying songs ever!"

And just like that, the mood was broken, and the temperature around the couple seemed to drop by a few degrees. Michael's face turned dark and brooding, and Claire seemed to deflate, before putting both arms around over his shoulders.

"I'm sorry..."

"Its okay," Michael muttered. "I just... miss him, y'know?"

Claire didn't really know, but she could imagine fairly well. However much Michael had complained about the Darkness, and its annoying and hazardous presence in his mind, the parasite had become a constant in his life, not to mention a significant boost of strength.

"And... I suppose I'm annoyed too," Michael admitted. "It sucks not to even know the reason why he's gone..." He grumbled, throwing his head back to look at the sky. "All those months I wished he'd just shut up and leave me alone... not that I regretted getting him at the time." He quickly smiled at Claire, who squeezed his hand.

"You're a crazy man..." she told him. "Selling your soul just to save someone..."

Michael cut her off with a kiss, which seemed to linger a bit longer than normal, and Claire realised he was remembering that mission and everything that had come with it – the panic when he had realised that she had been kidnapped. The fear when his mind had tormented him with what could be happening to her. And the determination to rescue her whatever the costs. Neither of them noticed the clouds getting thicker above their heads, or the commotion Infernape made when Cubone smacked him over the head for pulling faces at them.

"You are worth it," Michael eventually said. "And if I had to give my body up to another parasitic demon to keep you safe, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"...well there's a promise most women don't get," Claire smiled, reaching for her hot chocolate. She sipped it for a second, thinking. "Since we don't know where the Darkness went, maybe it'll come back."

Despite the possibility, Michael did not feel very hopeful.

"Maybe... but until then..." he looked nervously at the ground. "I'm scared Claire... all these Sovereigns running around... and all these Sues that are stupidly powerful cropping up all the time... if another Alastor came up right now... I just don't know if..."

"You would," Claire put her cup down and folded her arms firmly. "You would be able to defeat him again. And anyone else." She tilted her head as she spoke. "Why do you think Tash and Harriet made you Chief Agent? Because they know you kick butt with or without the Darkness."

"...you think so?" her boyfriend asked with a smile.

"Duh..." Claire muttered. "The Darkness showed you that it is possible for you to be powerful – that you are powerful. Now its gone...its time you proved that, without its help. And you are." She smiled. "I've seen you training long after I've gone to bed, and not coming back until I'm getting up the next morning."

"Well if you will insist on being on crazy British time..."

"Hey!"

"Daddy?" Combee's voice interrupted.

"Yes sweetie?" Michael turned to his charge.

"The snow is tickling my nose!" Combee gave a giggle, which turned into a sneeze. Michael absently placed a tissue in front of her nose, which Combee blew into quickly.

"Yay! "

She buzzed off again.

"And aside from being kick ass," Claire continued. "You're adorable too."

"Combee is adorable," Michael blushed.

"Nuu, you're adorable," Claire poked him in the side.

"You are," Michael retorted, poking back.

"You are."

"You are!"

"You are, and I'm British so I'm always right!"

"Unless we take your tea."

"Daddy?"

Michael swung his head around to see Combee again, wearing her inquisitive face this time. "Yes sweetie?"

"What's a vertical stick?" Combee inquired, blinking at him imploringly. "Inferny is being mean, and won't tell me."

Michael's mouth fell somewhere around his collar, as Claire burst out laughing.

"Combee, who has been teaching you Lady Gaga songs?" he asked.

"Auntie Tashy and Auntie Miri," Combee smiled proudly. "They told me all the words... I don't remember them all though, so I make them up. But I do remember that one, because I don't know what it means..."

"I'll explain it when you're older," Michael promised, as Claire unwrapped one of the sandwiches. "Now go play."

"Yay!"

The Chief Agent shook his head in exasperation as the honey bee Pokemon buzzed off. Distraction arrived in the form of a sandwich, which Michael happily took. With so much paperwork to do, he hadn't eaten all day. He had tried to have waffles for breakfast, but when Miriku had bent down to give him a good morning hug, her hair had swept them clean off the plate and chomped them down. Evidently, she need it cut again.

"These subs are huge..." Claire stated, though from her tone she wasn't complaining at all, as she took her first bite. "Where on earth did you get them?"

Michael looked very nervous all of a sudden. "Well... I cornered Rhia a couple of days ago and asked her for a bread recipe. Took me four tries. She could probably have done them better..."

He trailed off as Claire leaned over and kissed him sweetly.

"They're awesome. And you made cheese and ham! My favourite! I wonder... did you make dessert?"

Michael smirked. "Oh I have dessert planned back at the Library. You just have to wait..."

"Daddy?" a familiar voice interjected behind the couple, at what was probably the most inappropriate moment thus far.

"Yes sweetie?" Michael sighed, swallowing the bite he had just taken. The bumblebee gave him very big, imploring eyes.

"Can I have a sandwich?" she asked, before opening all three of her mouths wide. "Aaaaahhh..."

"No Combee, you can't have Daddy's sandwich," Claire said firmly. As Combee's eyes began to water sadly, Claire reached into her pocket and pulled out a Watmel berry. "But you can have this instead."

Like a set of traffic lights, Combee's eyes switched back to wide and imploring. "Aaaaahhhh..." she opened her mouth again, and Claire parked the berry into it. Beaming as best she could with her mouth stuffed beyond capacity, Combee buzzed off with her prize.

"What do you say?" Michael called after her.

"'ankoo 'ummy!"

Rolling his eyes, Michael took a bite, pleased with himself for pulling off the food without a hitch, pleased with the company, and also pleased that so far everything was going without a problem...

As if to make things perfect, a tiny sparkling flake landed on the back of his gloved hand. It shimmered like a rainbow as he moved it back and forth against the dimming light.

"Its starting," he announced. Claire pulled her eyes away from her ham and cheese, just in time for a dust flake to land on her nose. She went cross eyed trying to see it. Michael leaned over and blew it off.

"You looked silly," he told her.

"You're a silly," Claire poked her tongue out, flicking diamond dust off his hair.

"You are."

"You are."

They continued muttering back and forth, watching as the dust began to fall heavier, scattering to the ground like glitter, and turning Snowpoint city, and the whole mountain top into something out of a fairytale. Trees sparkled as though covered in rain drops, and the buildings in the city below them looked as though they had been coated in diamonds.

Claire giggled abruptly, brushing a few flakes of dust away from where they had settled on Michael's cheek.

"You look like a Twilight vampire," she informed him. Michael paled, and immediately tried to bury his head in the snow in horror.

"Nuuu! I've committed the ultimate sin! I can never show my face again!"

Laughing helplessly, Claire pulled him upright by his shoulder, and rubbed his cheeks, which had turned pink from being pressed into the snow.

"You're no vampire," she told him. "I thought we established long ago that you're the grim reaper?"

Michael grinned as he remembered that particular nickname. "Yeah... but now my cheeks are cold..."

Rolling her eyes, Claire kissed one cheek, then the other, then kissed him full on the lips with a cheeky smile. Slipping his arms behind her back, Michael pulled her close and deepened the kiss – after all, he was very cold.

OOO

"Aww!" Squirtle cooed. "They're so cute!"

Squirtle and Cubone were spying on the couple from behind a nearby tree, having delegated the task of watching Combee, to Infernape, who was about to pull his fur out in frustration by this point. Combee had been thrown into throes of utter delight upon seeing the shiny snow fall from the sky, and was buzzing around in it at top speed, not caring who or what she ran into.

"Ooooh! Shiny!" she giggled, bouncing off another tree. "Inferny! Look at all the shiny!"

"Yes Combee..." Infernape said in a long, suffering voice. "Very shiny..."

"You're not listening to me," Combee pouted, coming to a hover, and bouncing on Infernape's head. "What do you think I am? Stupid?"

Infernape wisely decided not to answer.

Cubone and Squirtle giggled, the former sneezing as a sparkly flake landed on the end of his nose.

"It is pretty..." Squirtle nodded, holding out his hand to catch some of the flakes.

"Not as pretty as those two," Cubone nodded to the couple, who had now abandoned their sandwiches. Now perched on Infernape's head like some kind of headdress, Combee nodded in agreement.

"Yup yup!" she agreed, before tilting her head to the side curiously. "Why has Daddy got his hand in Mummy's shirt?"

Her eyes were immediately covered by Infernape's hand, while Squirtle and Cubone burst into more giggling.

"Hey!" the bumblebee Pokemon complained. "I want to see Mummy and Daddy's kissy time!"

"Combee, go play with the shiny again," the monkey Pokemon ordered. Combee's eyes lit up as they were uncovered, and she instantly forgot about watching the trainers make out.

"Yay! Shiny!" she dive bombed a tree in excitement. "Oooo..."

Cubone shook his head. "Oblivious."

"Very," Infernape agreed, as Combee began to barrel roll in mid air.

"Inferny!" Combee whined. "The world is spinning around..."

"That's just you," Infernape sighed, creeping closer to the clearing where the trainers were cuddling, in the hopes of getting a better view.

"Oh yeah..." Combee grinned sheepishly, before peering somewhere into the distance. Her eyes went wide in sudden excitement. "Stranger!"

"You're a stranger..." Infernape replied absently. Combee pulled a face.

"I'm not strange! Daddy says I'm special!"

"Yeah... special needs maybe..." Infernape muttered, before sitting up straight. Something was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "There's someone coming."

"Told you!" Combee declared proudly. "My bumblebee senses are jingling!"

"I think the phrase is 'tingling'," Squirtle corrected sweetly.

There was a man approaching up the hill, cutting a large, perfectly even trench through the snow, with his firm, strong looking body (which despite being covered in a thick jacket, was still easily noticeable). His dark eyes scanned everywhere, missing nothing, and as he spotted the Pokemon, his face broke into a pleasant smile, which showed perfectly even, white teeth, and inspired trust in every sane mind in the universe.

...fortunately for us then, that Michael and Claire's Pokemon, were not sane in the slightest. Infernape and Squirtle had both seen a Gary-Stu before, in the form of Alastor, and could remember quite clearly the effects that he had had upon them. Cubone was suspicious as he noticed his friends shift to battle stances, and he wisely gripped his bone club a little tighter.

And Combee... stopped grinning. This man had a smart face – but it wasn't a nice, funny smart, like Auntie Tashy's Thoth, or Auntie Miri's Tails. It was the same smartness that Team Rocket always had. The bad kind.

The man paused, observing the small party, before holding up his hands, in what was supposed to be a non-threatening gesture. "Hello there... are you all lost?"

Infernape rolled his eyes. "He is so stupid... does he really think he'll be able to understand us if we answer back?"

"But I can understand you," the man smiled. "My name is Jackson Carey Marlin Bryon-"

"You're hair is so shiny I could use it as a mirror," Squirtle muttered quietly.

"I heard that!" was the slightly ticked off response.

"You two are being rude," Combee informed her friends. "Mummy and Daddy always say to be polite."

"Except to fictional characters with God complexes," Squirtle added.

"I do not have a God complex! I am a Gary-Stu!" Jackson proclaimed, proudly.

Cubone blinked several times. "A... gary stew?"

"Mmm! Sounds tasty!" Combee declared, licking her lips.

The Stu was completely frustrated now. All Pokemon usually took to him wonderfully – heck he was only a few steps away from having a team strong enough to catch every legendary in the world, trample all the Pokemon Leagues, and defeat every evil mastermind in this fandom. And now this mishmash of Pokemon were standing here, on the mountains of Snowpoint, completely immune to his charms?

It had to be their trainers, Jackson thought to himself. These Pokemon belonged to the Society Agents who had shown up recently. He smirked. Maybe he could use this to his advantage...after all, he was sure they wouldn't want their precious Pokemon hurt...

"A Gary-Stu is the kind of people that Clairey and Michael hunt," Squirtle explained. Cubone narrowed his eyes through his mask at the man, and drew back his bone club threateningly.

"But I thought a stew was a kind of soup..." Combee blinked cutely. "I'm so confused..."

"Oh don't worry, I can enlighten you," the man before them smirked. "You see, if your trainers are Society Agents, then I'm afraid I can't let them leave here. They've been causing my friends a lot of trouble."

Infernape's hair and fists seemed to blaze with fire. "You won't get near our trainers! You'll have to go through us first!"

"Oh that won't be a problem..." Jackson smirked, fingering the Poke Balls in his belt. Before he could pull one out to use however, he was tackled full in the face.

...by Combee.

The Poke Ball landed in the snow, as Combee backed up and dive bombed the Stu again, all three of her faces registering rage of the most dangerous variety. She impacted painfully in his solar plexus, and the man doubled over howling in pain. Combee immediately shot like a rocket into his spine, sending him careening face first into the snow.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Jackson wheezed, once he had enough breath to speak.

"You are a bad man!" Combee declared, ploughing into the man's knees as he tried to stand. "A bad, stewy soupy man! No one interrupts Daddy and Mummy's kissy time! That's just RUDE!"

All three of her faces blew raspberries, before she tackled him in the shoulder.

"Gah!" the Stu ran around in circles, flapping his hands at his assailant. "Get away from me, you insane bumblebee!"

"I'm not insane!" Combee protested, giving him a particularly painful bruise in the neck. "And I have Nurse Joy's cyclematric reports to prove it!"

"Psychiatric," Infernape corrected wearily.

"Bless you!" Combee paused to smile sweetly at Infernape, who facepalmed in response.

"...do we actually need to do anything?" Cubone asked, scratching his head with his bone club.

"...Nah," Squirtle shrugged.

OOO

"I don't think his head is on straight baby..."

"Its artistic, Michael," Claire huffed, shoving her gloved hands under her arms in an attempt to keep them warm. She felt like she had icicles laced through her joints, but it was so worth the effort. Their snowman was four feet tall, and with the recent shower of diamond dust, he sparkled like he was encrusted with diamonds. Claire's scarf was wrapped around his waist, and Michael had fashioned one of the tinfoil wrappers from their eaten sandwiches into a hat for him. The hat was sliding off due to the tilted angle of the head.

Michael spotted her shivering, and hurried to her side, wrapping his hands around hers, and blowing on them. "Cold?"

"Mmm... not anymore," Claire muttered, resting her head on her fiancée's shoulder and yawning widely. "Tired though..." She leaned up to kiss him, warmth spreading right through her frozen limbs as he pulled her closer and kissed back. "Thank you Michael," she smiled, as they broke apart. "Today has been wonderful."

"Well, I try," he grinned back. "I got the location right, and the sandwiches right... and we made an awesome snowman..." he frowned suddenly. "But the Pokemon were strangely quiet. Where are they?"

Claire peered around, as though expecting them to come leaping out from behind the trees at any moment. "Maybe we should go look for them..."

No more prompting was needed, as Michael hastily repacked the blanket and remains of their food, and they set off. They did not have to look very far, as they entered the next clearing and were confronted with one of the most bizarre sights ever.

"I want your cycle. Your vertical stick. Want your piano, and a big shiny brick! I want your lo – Daddy!" Combee squealed, from where she bounced happily on Jackson's back. She sounded very pleased with herself. "I caught the soup man!" In her glee, she began to spin around like a top.

The poor Stu lay face down on the ground, appearing to be in some kind of paralytic state. Infernape was anxiously keeping him warm with the occasional blasts of flame, but the tips of his fingers were starting to turn blue, even as the fire monkey worked. Cubone was prodding him in the side timidly, the Stu's occasional moans of pain, the only sign that he was in fact still conscious. And Squirtle was racing towards Claire, tackling her in a relieved hug as they entered the clearing.

"You... caught... a Gary-Stu," Michael stated slowly.

"Don't ask," Infernape suggested. "All you need to know, is that Combee was very upset with him...and thought she could get him to move again by singing..."

The bumblebee nodded, before frowning. "I tried singing a million green bottles, but he didn't like that..."

"Please..." Jackson finally spoke, lifting his head to stare pleadingly at Michael and Claire. "Lock me up...just get me away from her..."

OOO

"...so how's the Stu doing now?" Tash asked, folding her arms over her chest, and leaning back in her office chair. Beside Michael and Claire, Valerie sighed.

"He's stable, but he keeps muttering about bumblebees and Lady Gaga...I don't think he needs to go in the basement. Once he's sane again, we can put him on parole."

The Society leader nodded, before running a hand over her forehead. "I'm sorry your date got spoilt by this, guys. We should have spotted him sooner..."

"Are you kidding?" Claire grinned. "That was still an awesome date!" She gave her boyfriend a side look. "Though we did miss dessert to bring the Stu back here..."

By her side, Michael blushed, and Tash's face took on a knowing smirk.

"Ah I see... okay. Well you're all dismissed then. I have paroles to do..."

Outside the door, four figures were eavesdropping.

"What are they saying?" Squirtle asked, as Cubone pressed his ear against the door again.

"Something about putting the stew on a roll..." he frowned. "That can't be right..."

"Mmm! Stew on a roll!" Combee began to bounce hyperly. "Let's go find the kitchen!"

And she buzzed off down the corridor, with the other three in her wake.

Shipping Contest: PetexCharis

STRATEGY

The pictures taped haphazardly to the briefing room's front wall were all charming, in a way.

The back view of a girl as she watches a boy across the expanse of the Library floor.

Two blushing faces close together over hands reaching for the same book.

Matching expressions of peace on a couple of sleeping faces.

The boy waiting innocently outside a room as the tip of a shoe indicates someone's about to leave.

Two silhouettes stealing a kiss.

"I think this content is too mature for me. I'm not old enough to get past the mushiness of kissing."

"What? I swear you're 16. And I thought you liked romances – you're always swooning over the little boys in the fandoms you like."

"Correction. It's Lela who likes the little boys in that way. I just happen to develop a fondness for them that's only befitting the main characters of those series."

"Uh-huh." Chloe's tone made it clear that she didn't believe her companion.

"That's neither here nor there! Even if I were accustomed to flagrant PDA, that doesn't mean I have to enjoy seeing my sister caught in such compromising situations. This is uncomfortable!"

"I think you're just sore that you didn't get these pictures first, for blackmailing purposes."

"Look who's talking, Tyler," Karissa shot back. "These photos would have been worth a ton of chocolate for you – or in my case, a month off dishwashing duty for me. I also could have persuaded Charis to make a cool new gadget for me."

"Charis has said she's run out of ideas for more gadgets, actually. Either that's the truth for the moment or just an excuse to spend more time with Pete," Jared smirked.

Karissa spluttered in an attempt to come to her sister's defence; no one could tease her sister but her.

"Silence in the boardroom!" Out of the blue their leader Harriet's voice entered into the chatter. Harriet's voice preceded her as she walked into the room flanked by Emily. "Cease all your side conversations at once, and someone pinch whoever's making that unseemly noise!"

"Hey– ow!"

"Harriet, wait!" The late arrival of another Agent smoothed over the muffled laughter from Karissa glaring hurtfully at Jared while he nursed a sore hand that had been slapped trying to pinch her. Unlike Harriet, Marcus' voice arrived with him, panting but not too dishevelled from having chased her all the way from the Occult section.

"Have a seat, Marcus. You're just in time, we've barely begun. Alright everyone, we have gathered here to discuss–"

"What, exactly?" Marcus quickly interrupted Harriet before she could get much further. "You sent out invitations for this meeting to barely half our Agents, and you didn't issue an agenda beforehand. Forgive me for being curious, but what is this about? Adrian, Tash, Michael, Claire, Miri and Aster aren't even in the Library right now."

"I know that," Harriet said with a frown. "And I didn't want to trouble the Agents who aren't present now because this matter isn't that important – or I mean, no, this is a very important matter!" In the face of several confused faces she made the decision to contradict herself generously. One had to make your Agents feel like they were wanted for a purpose, after all.

"This is the reason we're here!" Harriet stabbed a finger dramatically at the picture nearest to her. Due to the angle at which she stood, nobody could see exactly which picture had earned the Society founder's ire. But Harriet kept on speaking so as to enlighten them. "A romance that started up most unexpectedly! It flourishes upon tired romantic techniques such as the Comedic First Meeting and Hey, It's YOU! Again! Its characteristic calling card is a blush seared into burning cheeks. We were all delighted to notice the appearance of this romance, but if asked beforehand none of us would have ever admitted to thinking that it would work out."

"You don't mean...we're speaking about Charis and Pete?" Karissa breathed out in horror. She was shocked despite the fact that she had been peeking at the incriminating evidence only moments before.

"Do I need to give you any more hints? Yes! As cute as the shipping is, it is so cliché! And we are the ANTI-Cliché and Mary-Sue Elimination Society. We CANNOT stand for this sort of thing happening inside of our ranks. For the sake of our reputation, we must split the offending couple apart!"

"Or we could just validate their relationship by asking the Author to go easy on the clichés in the future," Chloe suggested.

The shuddering of the Fourth Wall should have been expected, but Harriet's expression made the tremors seem like an extension of her outrage, and therefore infinitely more terrifying. "ABSOLUTELY NOT! What would be the fun in that?" She broke off with a small frown. "As of this time, 18:00 GMT, Operation 'Break Up Techshipping' is in effect. Get creative, people, and tell me how we can bring this thing to an end."

None of the five Agents on the receiving end of her speech made any moves to volunteer. "What exactly does she expect us to do?" Karissa wondered under her breath.

"What? Has nobody watched a romantic movie before, or at least picked up and skimmed a romantic novel? Think like the bitchy ex-girlfriend; think like the evil ex-wife. How do we go about destroying a relationship?"

To everyone's surprise, it was Emily who spoke up first. "Play them off against each other," she said firmly. "If there's anything Pete and Charis dislike about each other we should bring it out into the open and make them question why they put up with it."

"Oh, that's smart," Harriet admitted appreciatively.

"One of them has to cheat on the other," Jared added, contributing his part.

Chloe pragmatically recommended trying to convince the pair that they weren't right for each other – if it was true – in which case their bond would naturally, peacefully fall apart.

"If it's true? You're giving them the benefit of the doubt." Harriet again picked up on Chloe's strange reluctance to intervene in matters.

"Stranger things have happened than two seemingly random people falling truly in love."

"I'll believe that when I see it happen, in this case, before my very own eyes. Next! Back to the evil plans."

Tyler stuck a hand up. "Well, it's simple, really. Two words: Edward Cullen."

It took Harriet too long to control her laughter, while around the table other Agents twitched a little spasmodically at hearing the Twipire's name.

"The best way would be to make sure Charis has a lot more fun while she's away from Pete," Karissa said barely audibly, as if she were still thinking to herself. "If she didn't perceive any benefit from being in a relationship then maybe she wouldn't stick around with him."

"Spoken by the person who knows Charis best," Harriet mused meditatively. "I can't say that would be more effective than any of the others' methods, but it bears keeping in mind. Huh, this is a pretty nice set of strategies we've concocted. How improbable is it to say that we can finish carrying out all of these acts before midnight strikes?"

"It sounds doable," Jared replied, thinking what a shame it was that his little green army men weren't quite ready to be tested in terms of how much havoc they could wreak... yet.

"We'll definitely be done before midnight," Tyler affirmed, thinking of the doubtless booby-trapped cookies that he would be free to search out once this assignment from Harriet was over.

"Let's get this over with," both Chloe and Karissa sighed, for different reasons.

Emily returned to Harriet's side as they collectively prepared to leave but Marcus remained frozen in place at the back of the room. "Are you sure we should be doing this?" he asked a little nervously. "If you need someone to blame, strictly speaking it was one of my selves that caused Pete and Charis to be lumped together. The root of their affair isn't actually impossible to trace back to a source."

By now Harriet cared more for the effect rather than the cause of her little game. "You're blocking the exit, Marcus," she said, not unkindly. "What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger. If Charis and Pete are meant to be, nothing we do will ultimately change that."

"C-can't it?" Thought Marcus stuttered as he split in half to allow the rest of the group through. Emotion Marcus just sniffed in disdain at his more sensitive counterpart and followed the others out the door. "W-wait for me!"

T_T_T_T_T_T

PLAN ONE

"Charis, what exactly do you like about Pete?" For a good half hour Karissa had circuitously led the conversation round and round the topic of boys – feigning interest in one herself, and asking her sister for advice – before she finally broached the topic of her sister's own love life. "I've heard that opposites attract, of course, but just as many people say that 'When we fall in love, we're just falling in love with ourselves.'"

"That's not a quote, Karissa. That's a lyric from Keane's Spiralling song," Charis criticized absently.

"Well it could still be true, can it not? I'd always thought someone like Himuro might be more your type. Smart. Techno-savvy. Good with his hands."

Charis giggled. "How would you know if Pete is all of those things or not? In my honest opinion–"

Karissa gagged.

"Pete is more than capable, and that is that."

"Ahem. Well, to rephrase my question, if you can't answer me what you like about Pete then why don't you like Himuro also? Why don't you love him like you do Pete?"

"Himuro is nothing like Pete, even if he is his alter-ego."

"Is there anything you dislike about him – them – Pete, I mean?"

"No, not really."

"Oh, well that's good, I guess."

T_T_T_T_T_T

Tyler was direct and to the point, egged on by Jared while Chloe stood rolling her eyes from a distance away in the background.

"Hey Pete! How are you doing?" They had taken no care to lower their voices as they barged into his room as one. One quick glance had confirmed that they were speaking to the proper person, not Himuro's personality, and then Tyler had followed up with, "If there was anything about Charis that annoyed you, you would tell us, right? There's no harm in letting loose a little steam once in a while. Has she ever done something to make you mad?"

Pete blinked at them like they were all crazy. He might have been right. Chloe edged out of his line of vision.

"What do you say, Pete?"

"I'm not the sort of guy who would breathe a single word about Charis behind her back. But in any case, there's nothing to say."

"Oh."

"..."

"We'll just be going now."

"..."

T_T_T_T_T_T

PLAN TWO

The sound of laboured breathing was magnified by the loss of other senses – most importantly, sight – in the half-darkness of the room. "Straighten your spine...hold in your breath a bit longer...you'll get used to it soon."

"NO I WON'T! Get me out of here!"

"Come on, bear with it."

"I SAID NO! Argggghhhh!"

"This is not going to work, Harriet." Emily turned a chagrined face upon her mentor. "Thought Marcus is fighting back with all he can give, and we've barely gotten the corset laced halfway up."

"WHY DO I HAVE TO BE THE ONE TO DRESS UP AS A GIRL? WE HAVE REAL GIRLS!" When he was yelling at the top of his lungs Thought Marcus' stutter disappeared and he could almost be mistaken for his brash counterpart. Only, Emotion Marcus could be plainly seen, and he was currently laughing hysterically at the distress of his other self.

Harriet stepped up. "We can't ask Karissa or Chloe to seduce Pete in-character because that would ruin their relations with Charis. But if she walks in on an unknown female all snug against her man then she'll be furious! And confused. Her confusion should allow you just enough time to scarper and change out of your costume before you're discovered," Harriet explained patiently, and not for the first time.

"W-what about Emily?"

"I don't take Pete for a pedophile."

"W-what about–"

"What about me?" Harriet completed his sentence sweetly. "Surely you're not suggesting your Society founder and Leader should degrade herself?"

"NO, no, n-not at all. It would just be horribly convenient if there were a spare, mysterious, busty and beautiful woman kicking about the Library."

Emily thought immediately of her friend Phoenixia at these words, but not everyone knew – or was supposed to know – about her yet. Emily sighed as the laces grasped in her hands lost most of their tension. She had been distracted – no wonder Thought Marcus had the breath required to yell. "I vote we scrap this plan and move on to the next," she proposed reasonably. "Perhaps the others have had some better luck."

Harriet nodded slowly. "Maybe that would be for the best."

"THANK GOD! You heard her, someone give me back my coat and bandages!"

T_T_T_T_T_T

PLAN THREE

"Who will be our brave volunteer that will open a Plothole into the Twilight fandom and bring back Edward Cullen?" Plan Three was very nearly undone, because not one person raised their hand up. Yet Harriet was too sympathetic to order one of them through involuntarily.

"Why aren't those books on the Black List anyways? The descriptions of those sparkling Twipires certainly make me want to kill myself."

"Good question."

"Um, the fandom's not Blacklisted, but I do seem to recall that Adrian put some weird redirection spell on it. I don't know if we can get in with a conventional Plothole."

"No problem then." It was Tyler who announced this. "I just remembered, back in November of last year we had an invasion of Twipires. I don't know why. But they came from within the pages of the books. All we need to do is find some copies of any of the four books and I'm sure we can call the Cullen forth."

"But I thought Shirley ate all the copies of Twilight?"

"That's what we thought then. We were wrong," Karissa added darkly.

"How exactly do we lure the Cullen into our world?"

"We pretend we'd be glad to see him." Following Tyler's explanation all the Agents tried hard to twist their faces into some semblance of a smile. However, as soon as they imagined seeing the reviled Ed Cullen appear – whether he bore the semblance of Robert Pattinson or another – their faces crumbled and soon enough the only expression they all wore was loathing.

"I don't think this is going to work," Emily said at last.

"Haven't I heard that before?" Harriet wondered. "Our genius plans don't seem to be amounting to much."

"But we still have one more."

T_T_T_T_T_T

PLAN FOUR

They went shopping. All sorts of shopping – window shopping, shopping for CDs, clothes, jewellery and books. They saw a movie each – Karissa chose an animated feature for them first, and later Charis preferred to watch the latest action film complete with hunky male lead. Karissa treated her sister to dinner and dessert, and Charis bought bubble tea. They stayed in the mall for a full two hours longer than necessary so that – although the lights inside the food court remained bright – outside the black sky swept over all the buildings in its path until every window they looked through was dark.

Karissa thought it had been a fulfilling night. Charis was sure to have enjoyed herself. On the way back to the Library they walked companionably in silence, but somewhere between a Plothole and an Anachronism Charis stopped and looked as if she would speak.

"You asked me some awfully odd questions today, Karissa. Are you really that concerned about how things stand between me and Pete?"

"I just want you to be happy," Karissa responded lamely.

"Is that all? Because I am happy, you know." Charis smiled to herself. "I love him. We haven't said as much to each other, but I do think that this is more than a mere infatuation on my part now. My mind has finally caught up with my heart in order that I can admit that."

"Congratulations?" Karissa offered weakly.

Charis acted as if she hadn't heard. "Sometimes I think to that day when Pete and Joe asked us for a double date. When it was first suggested I slapped him, remember? But that was out of character for me. I don't normally do those kinds of things to strangers. I'd looked in on some of Pete's missions before, but I'd never formally met him. Why was I comfortable enough – embarrassed enough – to slap him? And then the next time I saw him I couldn't stop blushing, either. I think what I like most about Pete is that he can get a response from me whereas previously not many people could. I followed along with my instincts and ended up finding that it's not wrong to fall in love with someone after only being attracted to them at first."

"Pete was the first person I got to know well after joining the Society – discounting Doug, of course – and maybe first impressions are the most important because it didn't take him long to become pretty important to me." Charis put the weight of her whole earnest gaze on Karissa's face.

Mission be damned, she wasn't going to carry on this charade anymore. "Charis, I will support you in everything you do. You're my big sister, and–" Karissa's eyes started to tear up, to her great discomfort. "I want you to continue being with Pete in the future, if that's what it takes for you to never know regret."

"Aw, thanks Kris." Charis lapsed into her favourite nickname for her little sister, one that she hadn't been using so frequently since she'd started dating Pete.

T_T_T_T_T_T

When they stepped out onto the floor of the Library Pete was already there waiting, and Charis ran to put her arms around him without any hesitation.

But at least she wasn't hiding the display from Karissa anymore.

T_T_T_T_T_T

REPORT

The pictures were triple in number this time, almost as if they'd learnt to breed as frantically as the Society's ever-mounting paperwork. Whoever the anonymous photographer was, the quality and especially the composition of the shots remained stellar. Three of the most eye-catching were:

Charis laughingly ran ahead of Pete, daring him to catch up before they both missed the mission debriefing.

Pete held Charis' hand, allowing her to lean her head against his shoulder as he swung their linked arms.

Charis stood proudly next to a transformed Pete in the mirror, letting laughter overtake her as the unfortunate victim of the Genderbender looked abashed.

Karissa's mind was in a pleasant fog, seeing so many instances of her sister's most brilliant smile. She could just barely hear Harriet talking from across the table. "In conclusion, I suppose Techshipping isn't irreparably clichéd. Pete and Charis have plenty of time to develop a deeper relationship and then there will be reform. Just like an Author always has some chance to prevent his character from becoming a Sue or Stu, likewise there's hope left for our two Agents." Harriet tapped her cricket bat sharply on the wooden table. "I move to reconvene this meeting in two month's time and hear a full review of the couple's status."

Karissa's voice rode out quite firmly, "I move against that. We should just let them be from now on."

Chloe looked out at the group inscrutably before seconding Karissa's motion.

Harriet looked disappointed, but was secretly much relieved. "Alright, all in favour?" The vote came out unanimously. "Then it is my wish that Techshipping will thrive freely in the months to come. Though, if we can't interfere with Pete and Charis, can we still tease them?" She let the question slip before realizing that, as a Leader, no one here was suited to tell her what she could or couldn't do.

"I believe we shall," Karissa said anyways. She began to gather all the photographs pinned up, muttering, "An album full of these will be just the thing...we'll have loads of fun with this."

T_T_T_T_T_T

"Karissa? Where on earth did you get all these Polaroids?"