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Tolin —
News of her brother was...intermittent, but Hypatia was at least glad to get something on occasion. It was a bit of a challenge coordinating things between a negaverser and a senshi, so in the end, she simply turned up at Milo's favorite painting spot once a week at a specific time.

Maybe the captain would be there, maybe not. It varied...although she did at least know Milo was still around, and she knew Fettelite was working on a way to let him think again, since, well, everything she'd learned said that someone had to choose to purify, which was...unlikely for a Youma.

Still. anything was possible, so she held out hope, and waited, sitting on a park bench causally like some kind of aura beacon just waiting for someone to find her.

Kapoodles —
The first week after finally getting Shoal to speak, Fettelite might have been incredibly distracted. The idea of showing him off didn't quite reach his mind then. He could only focus on reassuring his own self that Shoal was still his own friend. That they were close. That he was loved and meant more to him than just some ordinary, unknown Youma out there.

After all, he could speak and laugh with him, and tease him. It was all just... So much. Not being alone for the first time in who knows how long. Well, no, he wasn't exactly alone before, just, the fact that he could now speak with his companion. That was all new. And at first, he wanted to be selfish with it.

But then that selfishness came and went, and the day arrived where he knew he had to bring Shoal to see that one Senshi. Hypatia, right? The one who knew him when he was still Milo...

Here he was now, carrying Shoal in his arms, not having activated his sensory device just yet. After all, he wanted to have the effect last as long as possible.

"Alright, Shoal... We're gonna meet a friend now, okay? You are not allowed to attack her, okay?" He quietly, preemptively scolded his youma, pressing his forehead against theirs. "Just this once. No biting."

Tolin —
Since Shoal was in wriggle and not talk mode, he just chomped the air a bit. Perhaps that was an understanding...? With any luck.

Their approach was not missed by Hypatia, who stood slowly. She didn't want to seem threatening...but, of course, she knew good and well she seemed quite threatening to a negaverser and a youma. Lots of experience in that department... And, sure enough, once in actual sight of her, the youma that once was her brother clearly decided he needed to protect his captain, and with an abrupt show of force (for the surprise factor more than actual ability to overpower), popped out of Fettelite's grasp and leaped in to bite her.

True to her desire to not make any sort of threatening moves, Hypatia only blocked the strike, and was rewarded for it by youma teeth clamped on her arm. She grunted, and leaned forward some. "G-get off, would you..."

Kapoodles —
"Shoal!!" Fettelite had known it was a possibility that his Youma wouldn't be able to resist the primal urge to attack, but neglected to account for the fact that Shoal wasn't the same without his device activated. Reasoning with a youma that was unable to think properly wouldn't have worked, no matter how much wanted it to. And you'd think by now that he'd remember that but nope. It completely slipped his mind.

So when Shoal did manage to squirm away and head off to attack Hypatia, there was a moment where he froze and seemed genuinely surprised it happened. The next moment, he bolted into action, chasing after his youma and grabbing him around his legs.

"Hey, what did I say?!" He scolded, panicked, but not quite willing to fight to get Shoal off. He didn't want to hurt his friend after all..

But then those teeth sunk into Hypatia's arm, and he panicked further, putting his foot on Hypatia's shoulder without thinking to kick her away from Shoal, and whacking Shoal a few times on his snout.

"Let her go! Drop her! Now!" Fettelite demanded trying hard to be gentle, even if his whaps were form. "Drop it now!"

Tolin —
"What do you think you're doing?" Hypatia demanded after a brief moment's shock at how Fettelite decided to handle the situation, reflexively knocking his foot away. Luckily for her, after a moment of extra painful teeth, the youma did let go on command, and she was able to step back and hold her now bloodied arm.

As the senshi summoned a basketball sized wad of water in one hand, and shoved the blooded opposite arm into it, Shoal looked back up at his captain. He practically vibrated with anticipation of attacking again, although for the moment he just looked up, waiting for a new order--a forceful command like that was a surprisingly effective way to get him to stop, at least.

Kapoodles —
"Sorry, sorry!" Fettelite squeaked, dropping his foot and finally wrangling Shoal away from the Senshi. "I thought he'd behave! He's doing so much better these days. I guess it's because you're a senshi, he just can't help it." Guilt was plain on his face for having made the mistake, but what more could he do?

... How could he be angry when his dear Shoal was just so cute, looking up at him with those big ol' eyes? If anything, he just murmured another apology, giving his youma a gentle nuzzle, before finally hitting that switch on his collar like he should have done before they even got close to Hypatia.

"Are you okay, Miss?" he asked, making sure he stood a good way away from her, and held on tight to Shoal so he had no chance to try to attack again.

Tolin —
"I'll be fine," she replied, gritting her teeth a bit as some little ethereal fish swam around her arm still held in the ball of water, nipping at the bite marks. "What do you mean by 'so much better'? Have you made progress?" Although her arm hurt, the possibility of being closer to purifying Milo was enough to get hopefulness back in her tone.

Shoal looked like he wanted to fight, but was tolerating this pause...for the moment.

Kapoodles —
"... I don't know about that part but... I know that he can... Like... he can talk, Miss Hypatia!" Fettelite held up Shoal under his legs, much like one would hold up a cat, and gave him a little wiggle.

"Go on, Shoal, Say something. And be good. She's a senshi, but she also KNOWS you. So be good!"

Tolin —
"How would she know me?" Shoal asked. "I don't know h..." he trailed off as he inspected her. She looked astounded beyond words, and Shoal continued. "Wait, yes I do. You're the sea sister! Water, swim..." his head turned to the side, thinking. "Something? I can't remember..."

Hypatia snapped both her hands to her face as tears welled up in her eyes. Of course, there was the slight problem of still holding her healing ball of water, which splashed down her dress (that seemed wholly unaffected by the water, interestingly enough). "M-my god," she finally managed, "I don't...I can't believe...I mean... you did it."

Kapoodles —
"Sea sister?" Fettelite looked down to Shoal, Curious. And despite the memories there, somewhere, floating about Shoal's mind, he couldn't risk sitting him down, only to have him go by instinct and try to attack the Senshi once again. Rather than have him dangle like that, he slipped his arm right under his tail, now holding him up properly and supporting his weight.

".... I don't know how close we are but... I'm trying. I can't look too hard into purification I think... Not anymore. There's something that's frightening about it, especially after all that's happened recently." His mind wandered to the thoughts of that crazy rebellion he heard about, holes being blasted in places, and so many people both leaving and joining the Negaverse. The eyes on his world were watching those that remained much more closely these days. And if he were honest with himself, he had no desire to purify. Not anymore. Not when there were people to still protect.

"But I am trying. I'll find a way to get him to be more like how he once was. I'm working with this Mauvian to do more... He's the one who came up with this collar thing that clears his mind, kinda like... Uh.... Taking some coffee to wake up. It doesn't last long, but it's something, right?"

Tolin —
"Sea sister," Shoal affirmed. "I like the sea, so does she!" There was more there, but Shoal couldn't quite put the pieces together, so he offered nothing more on the topic.

"Will you...let me touch you?" Hypatia asked Shoal, a hand out, like cautiously approaching a suspicious dog.

He sniffed once, a big glare on his face. Then he said, "Yes. As long as you give me one of those water balls. I want to bite it."

She sniffed, wiped an eye, and then nodded. "Sure," she replied, and formed a much smaller ball of water in her hand, which she then extended out toward him, while also very cautiously patting his head. Shoal tolerated the pat and clamped his entire mouth around the ball of water...and her hand. Somewhat amazingly, he didn't bite her, he just let her pull her hand back, a bit of salty water flowing out the sides of his mouth.

"Tastes like...energy," he remarked.

Kapoodles —
This very much seemed like a moment he shouldn't intrude on, so Fettelite remained quiet while they interacted. If anything, he couldn't help himself from rocking back and forth a little bit, much like one would do to soothe an angry child. Not that Shoal was an angry child, he was way more dangerous, but instinct was hard to snuff out.

A smile came to his otherwise stressed face when they started talking about balls, and he outright chuckled at the biting thing, though he was ready to pull away again the moment that Hypatia seemed to be in pain.

When she wasn't, well, he let out a breath of relief and relaxed.

"Most senshi magic is made out of energy. It wouldn't be real water though... That would be nice. You like the sea though? Maybe one day we can go to the beach when you're all better. That'd be nice, I think."

Tolin —
"It's real enough while it's around," Hypatia offered, "But yeah, it's just energy...Youma eat energy, though, right? So that means it probably tastes good...?"

"Yes!" Shoal agreed. "More!"

She obliged him with another smaller orb, and said to Fettelite, "Aside from flirting mercilessly with everyone while making a show of being a painter, Milo's favorite things were all on and in the water, so, I suppose that's not surprising that...Shoal would feel the same."

Not to mention Shoal was some kind of semi-aquatic creature as a youma. He, of course, would've objected to the description of 'flirting mercilessly with everyone', had he any idea what she meant. He didn't, though, so relished the tiny energy ball and then opened his mouth as if demanding another.

Kapoodles —
"Oh, was that how he was like? And here I thought I was special." He teased back, giving a little tighter of a squeeze to Shoal. In his memories though, he couldn't recall someone so... Flirtatious. He only remembered his friend who had helped him out in a really tough time of his life. There was a debt he had towards Shoal AND Milo.... Even now, Shoal tried to protect him.

Ah well, what could he even do about it?

"Don't drain yourself too much, Hypatia... You still need to get home safe, don't you?"

Tolin —
"I'll be fine, but thank you," Hypatia said, and patted Shoal on the nose instead of giving him another ball of water. He closed his mouth and looked disappointed, but also didn't try to bite her.

"Sometimes I wonder if it makes sense to fight at all," she said sadly. "Unchecked youma and the like are a problem, of course, but...there are definitely things out there that aren't youma or associated with you guys at all. And the earth's been here for what? A thousand years with the negaverse around?" She sighed. "Endless cycles of betrayal and hatred, it seems like to me..."

Kapoodles —
"... Honestly, I don't think it is. But there are problems everywhere, you know? Here in the city, The Negaverse, beyond the stars. All of it is troubling and hard to deal with, but that's why we have to be strong. I can't leave the Negaverse... Not if I find a way to save Shoal. Because what if there are others like him I can help, only from this side? ... And for those who got hurt before, like I did, I need to stay to save them too." Fettelite shifted Shoal in his arms, keeping the hand supporting his legs, but now allowed his front paws to rest on his shoulders. The newly freed hand reached out and carefully, and gently, squeezed Hypatia's shoulder, hoping it was enough to give her a little bit of reassurance.

"I don't think there's ever gonna be a winner or a loser of this war. But we've got people we want to protect, you know? Like both of us wanting Shoal, Milo to still be safe. And to get better. War or not, we gotta keep going on for them."

Tolin —
"That makes sense to me," Hypatia replied, nodding, and gently patting Fettelite's arm. I think it would do you good to get out of that place, but...that is a noble aim. I'm sure we can get Milo back, and if we can do it for Milo...we can do it for others, too. Eventually." She sighed again, and shook her head. Then sniffed. "But he can talk. And remembers...uh, something. That's incredible progress. Almost more than I could've hoped for. Thank you."

Kapoodles —
"Eventually." Fettelite echoed back, nodding as if he was reaffirming it to himself rather than to her.

It was true though! Chip made it so that Shoal could speak, and remember. Though that did make him wonder, what else could his youma recall?

"I know this doesn't last for too long, his uh.... Awareness. So if you want to ask him somethings before I take him back home, you should do it, I think. Before he starts being sassy again."

Tolin —
Hypatia's eyes widened slightly. That there was a time limit hadn't dawned on her yet, in spite of having witnessed how it worked. She nodded, and bent down slightly to be eye level with Shoal. "Milo...uh...Shoal. Tell me. Do you remember this place?" she gestured to the area around.

Shoal blinked once, regarding her a moment, then turned his attention to the area around. "We come here sometimes...pictures, I think?" The youma frowned, or something that approximated it. "And...worrying about fettel eating garbage."

She had her own moment of confused blinking, in which she looked up at Fettelite, but then returned her attention to Shoal. "I...see...and me? You said 'sea sister' before...why?" Admitting that she was Milo's sister was possibly too much information for a negaverser--even one she mostly trusted--to know...but then, it was probabably fine.

"I...don't know," Shoal replied truthfully. "Those two things are what you make me think of...a giant sea in the sky."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "I guess that would make some sense...we were talking about that when you..." she paused and shook her head. "Maybe I can still take you there some time."

Kapoodles —
Fettelite, again kept quiet as the two spoke. ... He did, however, quickly muttered a 'don't worry about it' when the garbage was mentioned. It wasn't something he liked thinking about, and was quite embarrassed by it.

His eyes widened though, wanting to make a connection to the term 'sea sister', and something more, but the dots just weren't connecting...

"What do you mean, a sea in the sky?"

Tolin —
"That I can explain," Hypatia replied, straightening up again. "You see, I wanted...his help to explore my planet," she pointed into the sky. "It's a giant ocean, and I'd brought some things there to have a bit of an expedition. Just needed...more than just me, you know? But, uhm...he probably remembers it because that's what we were talking about when...mm...this happened." She gently petted one of Shoal's 'ear' fins...which prompted a twitch of the fin, and a rock of his head, although the youma didn't complain.

Kapoodles —
"That sounds really frightening if I'm honest... Just ocean all the ways around?" Fettelite was not fond of it, but he was absolutely positive that Shoal would love it. He was made of the water. From the water, something like that anyway.

"We can all go together, maybe. Shoal's an incredible swimmer too. And I bet when he was still Milo, he was too, right? So when he changes back you're right, He'd love it."

Tolin —
"Well, there's at least a few islands," Hypatia replied. "When I first teleported there, I was standing on a little island. I've bought a few things that I left on that little island...and I can see in the distance signs that there's probably other islands far off. But...I really haven't brought myself to doing any more real exploring since, well...all this happened." She smiled then. "Milo was the best swimmer. He'd manage to stuff all that hair of his up into a swim cap and just go to town. Although we'd have done more sailing than swimming, I think."

"I am the greatest swimmer," Shoal announced, prompting a small laugh from Hypatia.

"That settles it," she said. "There's no doubt you're..." she very nearly said 'my brother,' but shifted quickly to, "Milo."

Kapoodles —
"... Okay, now that sounds pretty awesome. I just.. It sucks the Negaverse can't have cool things like that, but what can you do? I understand though. this whole thing with Milo... It's been alot, hasn't it? I hope you're handling it pretty well now."

Fettelite laughed too, pressing a small, affectionate kiss to the top of Shoal's head at the comment, much like one would do a very cute cat or dog.

"Of course you are. The absolute best." He'd coo at him, before nodding to Hypatia. "I think so too. I really, really do. He's our Super Sweet Milo, even if he looks a little different."

Tolin —
"Truthfully, he'd probably love this shape...if he could remember himself and probably also be able to change back," she mused. "He's weirdly cute...for a youma."

"Cute so I can sneak up and bite easier," Shoal declared at that.

Kapoodles —
"You'd think so? I don't remember myself if he spoke about the ocean alot, but I can believe it! I mean, I always believed that when someone became a youma, they turn into what they wished they could have been on the inside. Whatever their best traits where, amplified! So swimming and cuteness. Perfect." Another little pat was placed to the top of Shoal's head, not minding the little threat that was given. He knew that Shoal wouldn't bite like this unless he was in danger, or if he was hungry.

... He probably wasn't hungry now, after all that energy.

"I know it's been only a short amount of time, but... we're both a bit strong. We draw attention, don't we? Maybe next time you can bring a cat, and I can bring a cat, and we both can just not have to worry about being found out. Then we can spend the whole hour with Shoal being silly like this."

Tolin —
"Hmm...I guess it does make sense that a youma would reflect who they once were in some way," Hypatia mused.

She was still considering that when attention was mentioned. "Oh. That' s a good point...sooner or later someone's gonna notice and come see what's going on over here. If you've got a cat you trust with this, then I think that should be doable. I know a couple different cats that would be very interested, anyway." It helped for her in considering who to bring that nobody would really consider her to be doing anything 'against' the Order side of things. It was almost certainly more complex for Fettelite.

Kapoodles —
"The one little mercy chaos gives, you become the truest you you can be, no inhibitions, just... Chaos." There was a unique sort of freedom that came from being a youma, especially when they could think the way Shoal could.

But that was a pondering for another time. Another day.

"We'll figure it out, I'm sure. I know Chip would like to come, cuz he'll ramble on and on about how great his device was. And he's good at keeping secrets. But anyway, it was really nice seeing you again, Hypatia. I'm sorry about the bite.. We'll uh... Work on that."

Tolin —
She rubbed her arm, which wasn't bleeding anymore. In fact, it just looked like it had some red welts on it. "It's alright. Understandable, really. He was just trying to protect you from the scary senshi...I would like to meet this Chip, if he's the one that's enabled...Shoal to talk again. Some day, I'm sure."

Hypatia paused briefly. "But really. Thank you for looking after him, and letting me see his progress. It means a lot."

Kapoodles —
"As soon as I get a chance to pull him away from his lab, then we'll be right here!" He reassured her, somewhat soothed that her arm seemed to be doing much better.

Fettelite took a quick gaze down at Shoal, smiling warmly at him.

"Of course. And don't feel bad for crying either. I know I carried when he first spoke again. And he told me he liked me. It was... Really really nice... Ah! But uh, say goodbye, Shoal. We need to get back to the Negaverse. And remember, this is a secret. No telling anyone about our Friend here."

Tolin —
Shoal looked between Fettelite and Hypatia briefly. He might not have fully understood what all was going on here, although he knew at least they were talking about him a lot, and...when he could think about it, he didn't want to hurt this senshi, even though instincts said he should. "Goodbye," he said, and lifted a paw as a sort of wave. "No telling, got it..."

"Goodbye to you...Shoal. Take care," Hypatia replied, and petted him on the head again. He did seem to like it when Fettelite did it, at least. "And goodbye to you as well, Fettelite."

Kapoodles —
Good, good. It seemed like everything was just as it should be. And he was greatly thankful for that. Especially if it all meant they could go home without any worries of repercussions or punishment for being disloyal.

He wasn't being disloyal though. He just... Wanted to make someone whole again, that's all.

Fettelite gave a little wave of his own, and nodded. "Don't worry about a thing, Hypatia. I'll take good care of all of it. He'll be good as new soon enough. Have a good night, okay?"

With one last smile, he gave his little Shoal a squeeze, and then teleported away, back to the Negaverse. Maybe it was time to make a little visit to a certain Mauvian.

Tolin —
The abruptness with which negaversers could leave was...a bit jarring. Once they were gone, though, Hypatia let out a shuddering sigh. Things...things would be alright, eventually. With that in mind, she turned and left as well. Much more slowly, but still pretty swift for someone on foot, in high heels.