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"Yeah, it was kinda bad," Mikey said. "Not as bad as it could have been if I wasn't part Vulpix though. But yeah, unless you're wearing weighted clothes, a normal person is like a buoy. Mercury's really heavy."

Mikey laughed despite himself. "No, no, nothing like that," he said. "It was at a house party. And I got tackled in. Alex was the one invited, but she said she wouldn't go without me. Soooo."

"Basically," Mikey confirmed, in such a tone that suggested he would not be convinced otherwise. "So learn from my mistake. Stay out of pools of mercury. It's not even gooey."

Tails' ears perked. Blizz's making breakfast meant Blizz's fluffy pancakes. Which meant lots of syrup to get absorbed in said pancakes. "I like that idea. Mikey, you should tell Miles."

Mikey grinned, and he pulled out a cell phone which was, by modern standards, primitive. For instance, its screen wasn't even the size of a credit card. He dialed a number and waited.

"They still make things like that?" Tails asked.

"Yes, I'll see you later. I love you, too. Yeah. Goodbye. Yeah, same to you. Uh, huh. Yeah. Alright. Goodbye."

I plopped down on the couch in the main lobby, sighing in relief after that fiasco. Seeing as how I had been in the academy the last nine years, my parents demanded I spend my first Christmas as a graduate with them. I just now got back from that, and as you can probably guess, they miss me already.

"You've been gone a fair while," Chaos, who was chilling on the couch this morning, was happy to say. "Heine's got you that scared, huh?"

"No, it's not like that," I told him. "I've stood up to that girl before, and I'll do it again if I have to. It's just that my parents wanted me to spend Christmas with them, so I left to be with them for a bit."

"Huh," is all Chaos could say as he rose to his feet. "Well, welcome back, and all that."

"Thanks," I said with a bit of a sigh. "Wonder where everyone else is at."

"~/~ if i know," Chaos shrugged as he walked away, probably heading toward the kitchen. That was about the response I expected from him, although I didn't tell him that.

"I know I'm glad it's over," I said with a sigh as I entered HQ with Samurai at my side. "Those people were more trouble than they were worth."

"I share both of your sentiments." Sub said to Embry and Ter as he walked over to the couch and sat down, turning the TV on in the process. "In other news." The news reporter on the TV would say. "Cinnabar Island police were given a warrant from the Kanto High Court to search the premises of the infamous group called the Pyre Cult. Police had believed they were in possession of many stolen goods missing from the Pokemon Laboratory also on the island. Police later were able to confirm that items identical to those stolen from the lab were found at the facility owned by the Pyre Cult. Members of the cult are currently in police custody, being charged for crimes against the environment and Pokemon." The reporter cleared her throat.

"Furthermore, rival group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Water, or PETW for short, also faced criminal charges today as a smaller group of its members were apprehended after an eyewitness confirmed them to be those behind the raids on Olivine City. The group's hideout, if you will, was discovered today and the majority of the members have been arrested. We'll bring you more as the events develop." And with that, the reporter signed off.

"Er...you guys don't think, that the Unown had anything to do with this? I mean, doesn't it seem too...coincidental that both groups were arrested so suddenly?" Sub said as he was slightly shocked to see this news so suddenly.