Team Arlion - Main Task

Kaza frowned and clutched Zar'roc's head tightly as they left the prison. Their orders were clear. They were to take out the Sceptile and bring him into custody. Kaza had rather liked him though, even if he was just a pretender. He'd legitimately enjoyed the show, or was that another act? Kaza didn't know what to think. The whole city had been fooled, and they would have kept being fooled if the real Ambassador hadn't gotten to Andalusst with the Explorer lady's help. The bad guys almost got away with whatever they were going to do. What were they going to do anyway? Probably something horrible.

Zar'roc reached back to tap Kaza on the side, snapping him out of his thoughts. "There there Kaza, we'll be alright if thats what your worried about. I don't think it'll be too difficult if we pool our strengths again."

"Oh...yeah, your right." Kaza said and nodded softly. "We'll be alright..."

"I guess this doesn't help your opinion of strangers." Zar'roc said as he continued to walk, leaving his destination a mystery to Kaza for the moment. "Nobody likes being fooled like that. I can still hardly believe it, but the evidence is irrefutable. We do have some information on them, so we could use that to our advantage also."

"A cut off tail, and he can use berries as weapons..." Kaza murmured. "A bruise on his cheek, uses Substitute. His Ability is Unburden and he's aggressive as well. That means we should keep an eye on berry vendors. He'll probably be restocking whenever he can."

"Good summary." Zar'roc said with a nod. "We're heading towards the market street. It's our best chance if we scope out the berry vendors as soon as we can."

"Wait, we can't fight in public!" Kaza said. "That'd be a bad idea. He could run in the crowds to escape."

"Ahhh...well, what do you have in mind then?" Zar'roc asked.

"We lure him into a more secret place. He's fast, but if we can get him into an enclosed area, he won't be able to use it to it's fullest potential."

"Good...yes, thats a fine idea." Zar'roc said, nodding approvingly at the suggestion. "It's just be us."

"He's really strong though..." Kaza said, a slightly worried look coming back to his face. "It still makes me a little worried..."

"Well, I have you for support." Zar'roc said with a smile. "It'll be fine."

Kaza smiled, but didn't feel much better. Too many unknown things, and how strong did they mean by strong? Stronger than Zar'roc? No...but...could it be? It'd be hard to be stronger than Zar'roc, but there were people in town that definitely were, like that Charmander Makira. She was so strong, it didn't seem possible, but it was real. Very real.

It took a few minutes, but they made it to the Market Street, with vendors on both sides eager to peddle their goods. "Ahhhh...yup, just like always." Zar'roc said, surveying the street. "Their eager to sell to anyway, no questions asked. Kaza however looked tense, looking around in the crowd for someone or thing. "What’s up? Are we out of flour?" Zar'roc asked.

"No! Well, I mean...." Kaza paused and pondered their flour situation. "...No, we're okay on flour, but that isn't it. He could just be...anywhere. "

"Relax. We're sharper than he is." Zar'roc said reassuringly.

Kaza's eyes widened and he smiled in relief as he spotted someone, and then waved. "Makira! Renira!"

"Ahhhh, is that who you were really looking for?" Zar'roc asked, but he was happy to see them as well.

The two girls turned to face the oncoming pair of pokemon, recognizing them from before. "Ah, it's him!" Renira said happily.

Renira said nothing, but Zar'roc waved at them. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"We're looking for a Ninja. Apparently there's a Sceptile missing a tail around here...or at least, we're guessing he'd be here." She explained.

"What a coincidence, so are we. Might we partner up once again to protect the town?" Zar'roc offered with a warm smile.

Renira chuckled and nodded. "Well alrighty then, we'd love to!"

"I thank you." Zar'roc said with a bow. Makira seemed unimpressed.

"Now, we've come up with a plan to lure the sceptile into an alley so he can't use his speed to escape." Zar'roc said. "How we'll do this, I'm not too sure."

"We locate him...get into an alley, and I'll do the rest." Kaza murmured.

"Alright then...I'll count on you." Zar'roc said, getting an idea of what Kaza was thinking. He'd take one side, and the girls would take the other. A pincer attack. They'd destroy him before he knew what was happening if everything went without a hitch. "We just have to spot him..."

"The latest sighting was nearby here." Renira said. "They don't have any money with them, and he was trying to haggle for some berries."

"I guess that didn't go well." Zar'roc said. "Which means he may still be trying to nab some berries."

"Is that him over there....yes! Chopped up tail and all!" Renira said and pointed at a Sceptile who seemed to be in a rather heated debate with a Sunflora over a Lum berry.

"Right...there's an alley." Zar'roc said and lead the group into it.

Kaza hopped off Zar'roc's back. "I'll be...right back." Kaza said, trying his best to keep his terror of what he was about to do. He took a deep breath and walked off, making his way towards the Sceptile, trying his absolute best to keep his mind off the fact that there were strangers in all directions, focusing only on the trained combat specialist. Kaza could feel his willpower crumbling away the closer he got. He forced himself to keep walking, but he could feel tears starting to stream down his face. He was crying already? "A-almost there..."

The Sceptile spun around, ready to strike and saw Kaza. A small crying abra who has stopped two feet away from him, breaking down and covering his face as he cried. Everyone nearby seemed to stop and stare at the crying boy, many with looks of concern or worry. The Sceptile realized if he didn't do something, he might stand out for his lack of concern. He stepped forward and patted Kaza. "Are you...okay?" He asked, trying to sound concerned, but he was really just confused. Kaza looked up at him, and realized who was directly in front of him, started crying even louder, but clung to him. The crowd around him drew closer, checking to see if he was hurt anywhere. "P-please stop crying." The Sceptile pleaded. He realized he was stuck like this. There was no way out until the boy stopped crying.

Kaza looked up at the Sceptile again, and remembered through his fear the one task he had. He Summoned whatever bravado he had left and clapped his hands together, Teleporting himself and the Sceptile to the alley. Zar'roc, Renira, and Makira charged and attacked the ninja in unison, knocking him out before he even realized he was under attack. Kaza leaped at Zar'roc and buried his face in his fur and cried. Zar'roc hugged Kaza softly and turned to the girls. "Sorry to...put this on you, but do you think you could take care of that? I have something important to take care of."

"Sure." Renira said, and working with Makira, lifted him up and carried him off.

"I'm sorry...I forgot you were scared of strangers." Zar'roc whispered as Kaza's crying died down. "Shhhhh...it's alright now. You're safe. There is nobody but you and me."

They stayed like that for several minutes until Kaza's crying had stopped completely. "I...I love you daddy." Kaza croaked with a hoarse voice.

"I love you too." Zar'roc said softly.