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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 2:37 pm
Z stared at the ball in his hand for a few seconds a tiny bit afraid that the drowzee would put him to sleep and give him nightmares. He took a deep breath and decided to face his fear of Drowzee. He pressed the small button twice and the pokeball expanded and opened. In a flash of red energy an odd yellow and brown creature appeared in front of him looking very calm and nowhere near as insane looking as Lyn had described earlier. “Um are you feeling better now?” Z asked feeling a little odd being face to face with something that he had feared all his life but now looked harmless. ’Yes.’ a girl’s voice said in Z’s head. Z looked all around him to try to find the source of the words before looking at the Drowzee with confusion. “Did you just talk to me?” Z asked pointing at her. ’Yes. As a psychic type I have telepathic powers. Now if you would excuse me I have important matters to look into.’ She said before turning around and standing over where Lyn lay on the cushions.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:19 pm
Breaking the kiss off a few moments later --but, wow, did it feel like a lot longer-- Nina had stepped back a little, half-smiling now, her face a tad bit red, looking to this boy. She'd known him since Sabrina was alive, but she rued the fact that she had never once attempted to contact him again; she was sort of irritated how serendipity was what brought the both of them together again, and not because of her own accord. Look at what I've been missing, she thought; he's got the caring and intellectual qualities of Sabrina, the humor of Whitney, the genuine interest in me like Kilik did, the appeal of Mike --well. Back when I was actually attracted to Mike. She chuckled softly, before taking Raimundo's hand and walking with him over to the bleachers, climbing up several steps and sitting with him.
"Is it like this every night? Like... how late do you go to bed?" she questioned. "Huh. Well," he said, "it depends, I guess. Some days I'm less tired than others, so I might not go to bed until... three-thirty in the morning? Four-thirty, maybe? And, that's not taking into account how long it actually takes me to fall asleep." Nina stared at him, her mouth hanging open a little bit. "Raimundo, are you kidding me? Th-that's... you should really see if you can get help!" He shook his head. "Been there, tried that. My mom's had me referred to so many specialists, ones at home in Johto, ones here, even a couple in Hoenn, but all they've done... it hasn't worked. My body's like a pharmacy now, I've been given so many medicines to combat this, but nothing's worked."
Nina couldn't help but to stare. "Nothing?" she asked. "No medicine's worked at all for you? Is that even possible?" "Yeah. I'm living proof that it's possible." "But, what about counseling, talking to a psychiatrist? Maybe the root of the problem's a mental thing?" "Talking to a shrink wouldn't do anything, Nina. I've gone over and over this thing in my mind a thousand and a half times. It can't be because of my dad; he's never been in my life to affect me. I didn't really have any traumatic childhood experiences-- I mean sure, just like every other kid I fell off my bike every now and then and stuff like that, but it's never been anything major..." "Still, Rai. If you went and got that checked out or something, maybe you'd be able to find out what was wrong." "Nina, it's fine, really. This is all I've known for almost half of my life now, so I'm used to it." "But... well, if you won't go to a psychiatrist, let me do something about it. I've got Sabrina's Hypno, and they specialize in dreams and things of that nature, so maybe--" "No, really! I'm fine! It doesn't interfere with my daily routine or anything, and I've still got the same personality that I always have, so you don't need to make such a big deal about it!" His response came out a bit more harsh than he had intended.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:22 pm
The blue-haired girl backed off of the subject a bit, a bit shocked; she'd never heard Raimundo raise his voice like that. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "I didn't mean to offend you." He shook his head again, lowering his tone of voice. "No, i-it's not you, it's me. I can just... I don't know, I can get defensive about it. It's so suffocating how people want to help me so much. I mean, I know that people are concerned for my well-being, and yeah I appreciate that, but..." A sigh. "I don't know. I don't mean to be sounding ungrateful." He smiled his trademark smile. "Please, don't worry yourself so much, Nina. If I felt I needed the aid, I'd have myself checked into a hospital immediately. Okay?"
She did feel a bit reassured, but wasn't sure if what he was saying was true or not, about checking himself into a hospital. "All right," she replied, smiling herself. "I know I worry more than I have to, but... I just want the best for you, for Whitney, Kasiya, Mike. I mean, I could never let anything happen to my friends."
He tilted his head. "I'm not your friend." Her happy expression was wiped off her face in an instance. "What are you talking about, Rai? Wh-what do you mean, you're not my friend?" The boy inched closer towards Nina. "What I mean is," he said, brushing some hairs behind her ear, "I don't want to be just... your friend." He let out a quick sigh. "Heh, wow. I said it." His comment wasn't what Nina was expecting-- well, not really, anyway. "S-so, are you saying what I think you're saying?" The light blush came back on her face. He nodded. "If you'd let me, Nina, I'd love to call you my girlfriend. You're smart, funny, determined, annoyingly headstrong and quite possibly insane-- all of which are qualities I adore in a woman." This got a laugh out of both of them, and it had died down after a few moments. Raimundo continued to speak, however. "I... was being serious-- at least on the former part of that."
Nina's mind was racing-- Oh my god, she thought, this is-- he's really asking me this? He really is... What could I say? What CAN I say? I don't want to feel like I'd only be saying yes to him as a way to feel validated after what Kilik had done to me-- Oh, shut up, brain.
"I would love to be your girlfriend." She tilted her head a little, smiling, and scooted a bit closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:41 pm
Mag anxiously awaited the rubble from the large rock throw to clear. He knew that Sunfire would be okay but he wanted to check up on Cagomarg, she had thrown a lot of energy into that attack. After a few moments he made out Sunfire, who was mostly unharmed by his fast reaction time. At least it was nothing a Wish wouldn't heal up. On the other side he found was he was waiting for, Cagomarg, and unfortunately for Linalee, she had fainted.
"Nice job girl." Linalee said as she returned her fallen comrade in a stream of red light. "Now onto the fun round!" Linalee cheered as she released Cisashwi to the stage... or makeshift arena. The water-mud pokemon was glad to be out and took a moment to familiarize itself with the surrounding area.
"Okay that is enough for now Sunfire!" Mag quickly interjected so his pokemon came over to the sidelines. His leftovers pendant sparkling as he went over. "Good job buddy, but I'll leave this water pokemon to Tsunami!" Mag said releasing his second pokemon to the field in a glimmer of light.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:24 pm
Geodude took adavantage of the moment, throwing a rock as hard as it could in Ratata's direction. The mouse pokemon squealed as it was hit, but it had concentrated long enough.
"Bite!" Train called out, and Ratata dashed at Geodude, biting it. Geodude reeled back again, the pain was worse. What Train had been hoping for, a critical hit.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:41 pm
“Can’t a girl have a little privacy, Leo?” Mai asked, turning her head slightly to see the tall man following at length behind her. She smirked a little when he said nothing, only chuckled a bit. “I guess not then.” The two continued walking, no words spoken between them until they arrived on the roof. Mai walked towards the railing, stopping and crossing her arms over her chest as she enjoyed the widespread scenery of Viridian City. Everything was very green here, and to her it wasn’t a welcoming feeling. The wind rustled in her ears, and she closed her eyes. For a moment, her imagination ran away with her as she could suddenly hear the sounds of the sea; the surf breaking on shore, various sea birds crying out into the vast expanse of blue water and sky. She breathed in deeply, expecting for a split second to feel the tang of the salty sea air in her nose, but frowned when all she could smell was the lingering scent of pine and other evergreen trees that were dotted throughout the small community.
“What are you thinking about?” Leo asked, coming up behind her. He slipped his arms around her waste and allowed his chin to rest gently on the top of her head.
Mai tensed up for a very quick moment, but relaxed. “I’m not sure,” she answered truthfully. “But I think for a moment I was at home again.”
“Where is your home?” he asked softly, not wanting to force her.
“By the sea,” she answered almost automatically, but sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t think those dunderheads will actually come up with any half-decent ideas,” she said, hoping to change the subject. “I’m just wasting my time with them.”
“Perhaps,” Leo said coyly, “but you never know when one of those so-called ‘dunderheads’ will surprise you.” He squeezed her lightly, and she smiled, closing her eyes once more.
“Just because it was you who gave me the tip on where to find the first Relic doesn’t mean I’m expecting great things from the others,” she retorted.
“I’m just saying that you shouldn’t give up on them too soon. Well, personally I wouldn’t listen to anything Ranes has to say, but that’s just my own professional opinion.”
Mai said nothing, only leaned up against him, breathing in his scent. She had grown much closer to Leo since he’d helped her uncover the Relic, and at the moment, he was the only one she felt she could truly confide in. A nagging feeling kept creeping up on her though, and it made her feel uneasy. She knew that Giovanni would disapprove; it was frowned upon for members of Team Rocket to have these sorts of relationships with one another. Another part of her, however, and a much larger part at that, didn’t really care what anyone else thought of it. She was happy with Leo, and a happy Mai meant that all those who worked for her were happy.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:49 pm
The Drowzee began to wave it's arms over Lyn's unconscious form and say something in it's language which was a combination of it's name and some words that Z didn't understand. "Stop! What are you doing to my sister?!" Z asked putting his finger on Shino's pokeball in case he had to fight. 'Please stop. Your emotions are giving me a headache.' The Drowzee mind spoke in an annoyed tone. Z's anger was making her a little testy as well. "Let's go Shino! Use silver wind!" Z said as he let the small pokemon loose from it's ball. Shino screeched as it emerged from the pokeball, the crack in its exo-skeleton repaired. He began flapping his wings at awe-inspiring speed creating a powerful gust of glittering wind. 'STOP!' The drowzee's voice echoed though Z's and Shino's mind as it turned around to face them. It's eyes shone purple and looked much more intense than before. As soon as Z and Shino made eye contact with the Drowzee they were knocked out.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:03 pm
But then again, Mai would also do anything to keep Giovanni from hurting those she cared for, including Leo. She grit her teeth and pushed herself from his embrace. “We really shouldn’t see each other anymore,” she said flatly, staring at the ground for a moment. “It’s against protocol.”
Leo scoffed. “I don’t really care about any protocol.”
“I know you don’t, and that’s what worries me,” Mai said sharply, looking up at him. “Do you have any idea what will happen if Giovanni catches us? What he’ll do to you? What he’ll do to me? I couldn’t bear it.”
“Then we won’t let him find out.”
“Impossible. The walls have eyes in this place. You know that as well as I do.”
Leo frowned at that, unable to think of anything to say in response. He shook his head, running his hand through his sandy hair. “Mai, please,” he started, but she raised a hand to silence him.
“Don’t make me have you reassigned,” she said, pumping as much authority into her voice as possible. Even though it was hurting her to say this to him, she knew she had to, in order to protect him. “Leo Sinclair, as your superior, I hereby order you to keep your distance from me, otherwise you’ll be removed from your position as Silver Squadron leader and relocated to the base in Mahogany Town, Johto. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” Leo replied quickly, saluting. “But no matter what you say, it won’t change my feelings for you. I’ve been watching you for a long time, Mai Masaki. Watching you since well before you had any sort of ranking within Team Rocket. And I’m going to continue watching and loving you, regardless of what anyone thinks about it.” He reached out swiftly and grabbed her by the shoulders, and stared into her icy blue eyes. “And that includes Giovanni himself.” At that, he leaned down and kissed her roughly but sweetly, then released her before he saluted once more and turned on a heel, disappearing through the door they’d entered only minutes before hand. Mai watched him go, her shoulders still trembling slightly from his touch. I had no choice, she repeated to herself, although it wasn’t really sinking in at all.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:08 pm
A bit more time had passed and the two continued to speak with eachother, of nothing and everything. Topics ranged from early childhood to least favorite Pokemon to future aspirations... and finally, to Maorde Menskr. This, obviously, wasn't the easiest topic for Nina to discuss.
"Apparently he's been popping in and out from hiding these past few days," Raimundo said, "from what I've heard on the news and stuff, you know? I wonder what he wants?"
Oh hell, Nina thought, how am I going to break this to him? And, heh, I can picture it now, me bringing Rai to meet him? 'Oh, hey Rai, this is my dad! He's a five hundred year old killer!' Yeah right. She shook her head a little. "He's out for blood," she replied, "and... well, I should know; he attacked me a few days ago." Raimundo nearly choked as he breathed. "Nina, are you kidding me? Oh my god, are you okay? Did-- is everything all checked out?" The girl chuckled and rolled her eyes a little. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. And, I thought you told me to not worry so much?" He gave her the strangest look for a second. "Nina, you're overworrying about me not sleeping! I've got a right to worry about you-- you were attacked by this psychopath with no conscience or sense for life whatsoever! He could have killed you!" Another head shake. "He could have, but he didn't get the chance. I guess I can thank Kilik for that-- that was probably the best thing he'd done for me. He got me transported to Celadon City's hospital, and I was t...aken care of." She recalled what Anna had told her about the blood transfusion mix-up.
She pecked his cheek, and slipped off the bleachers, whirling around once or twice. "And look! I'm still in just as good shape as I was after I was released from the hospital!" Raimundo sighed. "Just... don't stress yourself or anything, okay?" The girl tilted her head, putting her hands on her hips, smiling a tad. "Yes, sir. Anything else that you'd like for me to do?" She curtseyed exaggeratedly, before giggling like an idiot-- she was trying to break the present tension, and, well, it worked. Rai laughed a little bit at her gesture, slipping down off the bleachers and walking to her. Nina turned and started walking toward the door, looking outside to see an almost completely full moon. Well, that explains why people are acting so crazy, she thought idly to herself. Opening the door, she turned her head and smiled a little, walking outside, as Raimundo followed.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:17 pm
“Um, excuse me, ma’am?” a timid voice said from behind her. Mai, who had been looking out over Viridian City once again quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and wheeled around to face the intruder.
“What do you want?” she barked, her eyes narrowed into slits. She relaxed when she saw the hunched figure of a middle-aged man standing in the doorway that lead back down into the base. “Cress, isn’t it? Doctor Sheldon Cress, Team Rocket’s leading researcher in the field of paranormal studies?”
“Yes, that’s right, you remembered me,” he nodded, stepping forward into the light. He wore a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, bifocals at that, as well as a long white lab coat as well as standard issue Rocket-uniform pants and shoes. His hair was nothing but a greasy, tangled mop of salt and pepper brown, a sight that hardly matched the neatly groomed man shown in the ID badge pinned to the front of his coat.
“One could hardly forget you, Doctor,” Mai chuckled. “No one else in Team Rocket could match expertise in your particular…field.” She trailed off, choosing her last word carefully. Truth be told, Dr Cress had little credibility within the ranks of Team Rocket, as most viewed him to be nothing short of a raving lunatic, always claiming he’d made some sort of incredible discovery. It was rumored, however, that he had been a leading developer in the technology that lead to the creation of the first human-made Pokemon, Porygon.
“Thank you, ma’am, you flatter me,” Cress grinned through his glasses, eyeing the woman in front of him. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about…” He was cut off sharply by a glare from Mai, and he cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. “Your personal affairs,” he finished.
“I’ll repeat my earlier question,” Mai said, her tone irritated. “What do you want?”
Now cleaning his glasses on a handkerchief, the Doctor placed them back on the end of his nose and blinked a few times. “I believe I might have an answer to your problem. Monitoring those pesky children, that is.”
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:24 pm
Black. All she could see was black. She felt peacful but at the same time anxious. It was as if she knew something was wrong. But What!?!? She decided to do what she normally did and ignore it. Suddenly everything turned purple. "Lyn." A female voice said from somewhere and suddenly the pure darkness dissapeared and she could see a light from behind her closed eyelids. She opened her eyes to see a surreal world around her. The first odd thing about it was that it was a forest and a library at the same time. The next thing that was odd abut it was that It was only a forest library for about thirty seconds. Then it turned into a forest subway. Next it was a subway mountain and then a mountain hospital. The Last odd thing about it was that there was a Purple eyed drowzee staring her in the face.((sorry for the short post.))
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:42 pm
Mai raised an eyebrow at Cress, frowning slightly. Dr Sheldon Cress, head of Lunacy (and she wasn’t the only one who thought so) had a solution to her problem. She placed her hands on her hips, and tilted her head, waiting for him to start explaining. This ought to be good, she thought sadly.
“Well, all the conventional methods of tracking, observing and tracing have been unsuccessful in the past, correct?” Mai nodded slowly, trying not to dismiss Cress’s idea before he even said it. “I was thinking that perhaps we could try something a little different. And it’s worked before in the past, might I add. On Pokemon, that is.”
“What are you suggesting, Cress? Mind control? Because it has already failed, remember?”
“Yes, of course, Ma’am, but I wasn’t thinking of mind control, per se.” The twitchy little man rubbed his hands together and pulled a small notepad from one of the large pockets on the front of his coat.
“I’ve heard enough,” Mai growled, pushing past the Doctor and heading towards the door. “I have other lame ideas to turn down, and yours is giving me a splitting headache. Good day, Doctor.”
“Oh, Milady, there’s just one last thing I want to tell you,” Cress said, looking apologetically towards the retreating admin’s back.
“And what would that be?” Mai sighed, turning to look at the fidgety little man before her.
“I’m sorry,” Cress squeaked, closing his eyes as a large figure stepped out from the shadow of the stairs. Normally, Mai was very quick to react, but her recent interaction with Leo had left her defenses slightly weakened. The grunt struck hard and fast, much faster than Mai could respond, and with a slight whimper, the admin slumped to the ground, unconscious.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:24 pm
“Oh no! Ivan, you fool!” Cress practically squealed, fumbling to stuff his notepad back into his pocket as he dashed over to Mai’s side. He knelt beside the unconscious woman, feeling for a pulse and checking the gash on the back of her head. “You’re lucky she’s alive!” he hissed through clenched teeth up at the hulk of a man towering over them. “When I told you to knock her out, I didn’t mean for you to take her head off! Come on, Ivan, before she awakens. We must get her to the laboratory at once.”
The grunt said nothing, only nodded, and he carefully lifted Mai’s limp body from the ground, being sure to support her head against his powerful arm. Like a well-trained Growlithe, the grunt followed Cress down the stairs. It seemed that Cress had timed everything perfectly well, and a genius rarely breaches the realm of imperfect. The halls were abandoned at this time, due to an assembly in the main hall, and after calling in a favor to one of his good friends in the surveillance department, the cameras threading feedback to Giovanni had been temporarily shut down, leaving a small window of opportunity for the crafty doctor to initiate his plan. Since he knew there would be no way Mai would listen to his idea other than by sheer force, he did just that, although he hadn’t intended for Ivan to hit her so hard. Cress stepped into his deserted laboratory just as he received a text message on his cell phone from his friend up in surveillance, letting him know that the cameras were operational once again. It was of little consequence, as their decent into the basement lab had been undetected by the eyes of humans and computers alike.
“Now let me see here,” Cress mused, walking over to his computer and sitting down. “Put her there, Ivan. And do it gently! She’s going to be angry enough when she wakes up, we don’t want to give her any additional bumps and bruises, now do we?” The grunt shook his head slowly and did as told, placing Mai on a stretcher of sorts. “Get over there and stand by the door. You know what to do if there are any…intruders.”
Ivan stared at Cress stupidly for a moment, sincerely pondering what the smaller man meant. Cress rolled his eyes and made a fist, very slowly, and thrust it into his other, open palm. “Any further questions?”
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:45 pm
Some time later, Mai slowly opened her eyes, wondering why her head hurt as much as it did. As her eyes adjusted to the lighting in the room, the smiling face of Dr Cress came into focus. Her first instinct was to lash out and hit the bumbling doctor, but she found that both of her arms had been strapped to her sides, and she was lying somewhat upright, in a laboratory that she scarcely recognized. “Cress,” she groaned, wincing from the pain and effort it took to speak, “when I get out of here, I’m so going to kill you.”
“Ah, I’m sure you’ll think differently when we’re finished!” the twitchy doctor laughed excitedly. “You see Ma’am, I’m terribly sorry about that bump on the head, but this was the only way to be sure you would listen to my brilliant proposal.”
“You have my undivided attention, Cress, so start talking,” Mai growled through clenched teeth, her anger growing by the minute.
“Why, thank you, Milady,” Cress twittered, bowing slightly. “As you know, my research has been strongly focused on the paranormal. Unexplained sightings, UFOs, you know, nonsense like that,” he chuckled, emphasizing the word ‘nonsense’ purposefully. “But, for the past six months or so, I’ve narrowed my field of study to something a little more dependable; something I had more viable proof of.”
“And that would be…?” Mai asked irritably.
“Psychic influence,” the doctor replied fervently.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 9:11 pm
Was he for real?
“Seriously?” Mai asked, blinking. The doctor nodded, furrowing his brow and pacing on the spot. Now feeling more alert than before, Mai had a look around the lab, slowly starting to recognize it. It was indeed the lab of Dr Sheldon Cress, although it was far more cluttered than she remembered. Books were strewn haphazardly around the tables, countertops and floor, as well as more loose-leaf paper than one could possibly count. Mai made a mental note to force Cress to have his office cleaned as her attention turned to a large, bulky something that was concealed beneath an equally large, white sheet. She was just about to ask about it when something else caught her eye - a Pokemon that was sitting on a chair that looked strangely like the barstool that had gone missing from the officer’s lounge not too long ago. Its long legs were crossed neatly and it seemed to be meditating; it’s two long ears twitching now and then. Mai opened her mouth to speak, and the Pokemon’s eyes flashed open and it stared at her, a slight grin on its face. “Cress, your Abra…he’s evolved,” she said, feeling a little silly from stating the obvious, but it was true - the last time she’d seen Sheldon’s Psychic Pokemon, he was still a small, sleepy little Abra. Now, sitting before her was a fully-grown Alakazam.
“Yes, he has, hasn’t he?” Cress asked proudly, admiring the Psi Pokemon. It held two spoons in its hands, although on closer inspection the spoons weren’t being held at all; in fact, they were both glowing with a brilliant green hue and were slowly orbiting the Alakazam’s head.
Owning a Psychic Pokemon of her very own, Mai was fully aware of their abilities. She looked back over to Cress, and nodded. “So tell me, Cress. How are the influence of psychic powers going to help us keep an eye on Kilik and all the others?”
“It’s elementary, Milady,” Cress chuckled, turning to the machine hidden beneath the sheet. “My darling Alakazam has not one, but several amazing abilities. He can move objects with his mind, he can understand human speech perfectly, and he can also speak to us by means of telepathy. Alakazam can also predict the future, and has knowledge of every event that has occured within this world. Not only that, but his intelligence quotient is around the area of five-thousand which is-”
“-Old news, Cress,” Mai said dully, finishing the doctor's rambles. “Team Rocket’s database has information on nearly every Pokemon discovered in the world thus far, minus a few. If you want to continue living and breathing, you’d better impress me with something new.”
“Of course, Milady, right away,” Cress said fearfully, once again fumbling for his notepad. His panic made Mai smile darkly. Even though she was currently unable to move, and at the complete mercy of the fanatical doctor, it was comforting to know that she could still strike fear into his dark little heart.
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