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Told in present tense. 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This can only end well...\n\nFor those who don't mind reading ahead, the rest of part 5 can be found [url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HebAcAyu4N_KXwcx8vdm81fOnVSE7xUOm5Wkk5Cq3jM/edit#]here[/url]. \n\n[url=https://inkbunny.net/submissionsviewall.php?rid=c6a9fd4348&mode=pool&pool_id=59838&page=1&orderby=pool_order&random=no&success=]Also, obligatory link to the comic itself to which this is a fanfiction of.[/url]", "description_bbcode_parsed": "Oh boy. This can only end well...

For those who don't mind reading ahead, the rest of part 5 can be found here.

Also, obligatory link to the comic itself to which this is a fanfiction of.", "writing": "[center][b]Act 27: Negotiations[/b][/center]\n\nThis is a little urgent so both of them make their ways out of the mansion and into Sandstone. On the way there though when they were passing by a familiar place, a voice called to them.\n\"Luca, Ranii!\" It's Ara, she is standing by the entrance of her brothel. \"Are you guys too busy right now?\"\n\"Yes, Actually.\" Luca says.\n\"Oh, I see.\" She sighs, frowning for a moment but smiling again shortly afterwards. \"Can you two swing by later today?\"\n\n\"I'm afraid so, Ara.\" Ranii signs in response to Ara's query as to whether or not they're busy. \"As for dropping by later,... is... SHE still there?\" She asks a bit bitterly.\n\n\"Yes, actually this is kind of about her...\" The Abra says, crossing her arms and looking away a little.\nLuca is not quite sure what to make of this. \"Huh...?\"\n\n\"Oh?\" Ranii inquires. She is likewise not really sure of what to make of this.\n\nThis is not something Ara wants to talk about out loud here, so decides to use telepathy instead. [i]\"She told me what she did to you last night, me and her had...a rough talk. I want you two to give her you two pokes too so i can figure out what to do with her.\"[/i] \n\n\"I... uh... ummm... well...\" Ranii is not sure what to make of all of this. On one hand, she hates that bunny with a passion. On the other hand, the fact that she came clean with what she did...\nRanii sighs sadly.\n\"As we said, we don't really have time to deal with this right now. We have very important business to deal with. Very important, very annoying business to deal with. Annoying business that bad things will happen if we keep it waiting. But... I guess we'll try to think about it during this time?\" She offers. \nTruth be told, she doesn't know how much 'thinking' about this situation she'll be allowed to do with this Grove representative present and no doubt making demands.\n\nAra nods to that. \"It's alright, I understand. You can come around later when you are free.\"\n\"Yeah, we can.\" Luca looks down at Ranii and gives her a pat on the head for comfort. \"Come on now, we gotta go.\"\n\nRanii nods, giving one last sad look back at Ara, before following Luca again.\n\nLuca and Ranii eventually arrive at the gate, they can see that the place is in some high alert...up there on the walls there are mons armed with crossbows taking aim at a lone individual standing some distance away from the gate, it's a Decidueye, at the moment she is just standing there...waiting.\nThe Lucario approaches an Ampharos guard. \"Hey. I'm with the Four Eyes, what is the situation? Has that pokémon done anything?\"\nThe electric type looks to him. \"Ah, finally you are here. That pokémon showed up alone and declared that she is with the Grove, she is alone and hasn't made a move since we told her that her request to talk with the new leader of sandstone has been acknowledged. We got our weapons trained on her too, so if you want us to fire just say the word...\"\nHe shakes his head. \"No, that won't be necessary...\"\n\nRanii looks out and sees the figure. \"... Yup, just as I thought. It's her.\" She looks over to Luca and groans. \"Well, no point in dragging this out. Let's get this over with.\"\n\n\"Yes I agree.\" The Lucario says to her before addressing the guard in front of him once more. \"Open the gates, we are going to speak with her...\"\nThe Ampharos nods and runs over to the gate, telling the other guards what they have been instructed to do, then they all pull the gates open for Ranii and Luca to go through.\nThe owl sees the gates open, and spots the two familiar individuals she saw that day. It appears that they are going to receive her with words instead of crossbow bolts, so far so good for her. \"Well well...it seems you two still draw breath.\"\n\"Yes, yes we did.\" Luca says to her with disdain in his voice. \"And you...why are you here? You are well aware that you are not welcome here, and despite that fact you came here alone to 'talk' with us...i can't help but be suspicious of you.\"\n\"Yes, i am suspicious to you, that can not be helped, can it?\" The Ducidueye smiled for a moment. \"But let's get to what matters...i am here to talk with your superior, you are here to allow me that honor, right?\"\n\n\"Yes yes. Come with us.\" Ranii grumbles. She motions the Ducidueye to follow her and Luca. \"And yes, we are very much alive. Thanks for noticing.\"\n\nLuca follows behind the owl, to make sure she has less chance of trying anything, like running, if they got her sorounded on both sides. When they go past the gates again a couple guards follow them too. Some of the citizens look at the Grove member being escorted, some wonder what's up with her, some are looking at her with anger and displeasure.\nDuci slows down a little to look around the place, like she is sizing it up. She gets pushed by the Lucario behind her for slowing down though. \"Rude...\"\n\"Just keep walking.\" Luca said, almost scoffing at her.\n\n\"You aren't here to sightsee, [i]Duci[/i].\" Ranii adds with a small growl.\n\nThey get to the mansion's entrance, there are more guards waiting there... including Aceo.\n\"Hold it.\" The Glaceon raises a paw, telling them to stop. \"We gotta see if she isn't carrying anything dangerous before coming in...\" To that end he begins frisking her, looking under her wings in case she has something like an iron blade hidden there.\nDuci remains still and just lets him touch her around her chest and wings as he searches for anything.\n\"Hhhhmmm...\" Aceo narrows his eyes... could he have found something just now?\n\n\"To be honest, I really should have thought of that before even bringing her this far into the city.\" Ranii sighs. as Aeco searches her.\n\"... You're not just using this as an opportunity to feel up a hot mon, are you?\" Ranii chuckles, trying to make the most of this situation by slightly teasing him. \"You know we have a bordello for that, right?\"\nShe shuts up though once Aceo narrows his eyes. But only for a moment.\n\"What, did you find something?\" Ranii asks.\n\nThe first thing Aceo got was her arrows, ALL of her arrows...these aren't made of Iron so they must be natural. However he found a small iron blade too. \"Well then...care to elaborate why you brought this?\" He waves it in front of her face.\nShe seems almost insuted by what he is insinuating. \"You know a female has to have a way to defend herself in a place like this.\"\n\"Yeah? Well I'm gonna be holding on to these for now then...you wouldn't mind that, would you?\"\nShe looks away from the ice type. \"No, of course not...\"\nAfter a moment of silence as he looked over the weapon, the Glaceon looks to Luca and Ranii. \"Alright, you can bring her in now.\"\n\n\"Suuure... 'defend' yourself.\" Ranii groans. \"In all honesty, given how you people act, you're probably safer here than you are in your own camp.\" She quips.\nOnce the Glaceon has confiscated all her weapons, she stands behind Duci while she follows Luca.\n\nDuci doesn't say anything to what the Avali said just now... but looks like she was considering for a moment there.\nThey escort her in, up to the second floor and straight to the war room. In there it's only Stic waiting, standing behind his table. \"Hello. I trust that you came here for a reason, right?\" He asks.\nShe raised a brow when she saw a cat instead of a Garchomp. \"What is this now? I said I wanted to speak to your leader...\"\nThe Meowstic calmly nods. \"Exactly, and your request is being honored...but if you are looking for Gar, then he is obviously not here...in fact I'm afraid he has perished recently.\"\n\"What...?\"\n\n\"You mean you didn't know?\" Ranii asks. \"I'm honestly surprised this is the first you've heard of this. After all, it was your soldiers that killed them.\"\n\n\"What? No!\" The owl doesn't look like she was expecting this turn of events at all, without the nobles Sandstone would be left headless without leadership, so she expected the nobles to still be alive in the first place but that is not the case. \"They weren't supposed to...\"\nStic was listening to what she was saying. \"They weren't supposed to...what? You gonna finish that sentence?\" He asks. Now he is aware of how little she knows of what is going on.\nShe says nothing about it anymore, having regained her composure. She decides to change the subject \"...What really happened to the nobles then? The ones we sent behind your lines into this mansion either didn't come back or reported the failure of their mission of capturing the nobles.\"\n\n\"We tried to find the Nobles, to escort them to safety. However, when we arrived, we found them dead in Gaben's bedroom, along with the corpses of several Grove soldiers. We could tell they were grove soldiers by the ... erm... capes... you all wear, add to the fact that they were all plant types. Gar had apparently been trying to defend his son against them, but even he couldn't stand up against Iron. His son was found dead under the bed, apparently having bled to death in his hiding place.\" \nRanii hopes that 'Duci' buys it.\n\n\"That is irrelevant!\" She suddenly shouted at the Avali.\nLuca steps between his partner and the owl, just in case she decides to do more than get loud.\n\"Even if they died, sandstone would have begun to crumble all the same. In fact there was no way for you to even be able to win!\" She leans down to look at the meowstic in the eyes. \"Do not take me for a fool, the nobles died yet sandstone managed to repel an attack that, by our estimates, it would be unable to win against with all the odds stacked against it. We also managed to get some of the devices you used against us, those heavy bows and the explosive spheres...\"\nStic is just looking up at her, remaining absolutely stoic. \"...\"\n\n\"You asked what happened to the Nobles, and we gave you an answer.\" Ranii shouts back Duci in response to her answer being called \"Irrelevant.\"\nOnce Duci is done with her rant. she smirks, and simply says...\n\"That is irrelevant.\" Spitting back Duci's own words against her.\nStill somewhat smirking from her comment, she continues.\n\"Look, we can argue about would-haves, should-have-beens, what is and isn't relevant, and other junk until we all grow old and die of a heart attack. But since I'm sure we'd all rather not spend the rest of our natural lives in this room, why don't you do us all a favor and get to the point?\"\n\n\"I will get to the point when I know what is going on around here!\" She growls. She closes eyes and steps back, seemingly realizing that she is letting Ranii rile her up, so she decides to calm down. \".....You, cat, what is your name?\"\n\"Stic.\" He replied.\n\"Alright, Stic. These...devices, what is their origin? I do not believe you could have made them yourselves, not unless...\" The owl tilts her head 90 degrees. \"Someone did it for you, tell me...did you had help? And why are you the leader of the Sandstone now? Please do be honest, i am trying to have peaceful negotiation with you.\"\n\"Is that so?\" The Moewstic has his doubts about that, but for now he will play along. \"The truth is...you are right about one thing, i guess there is no denying that and in the end of the day it does not matter to you...the nobles, their deaths are the results of my scheming, i worked to liberate this town from their grasp, the Grove's attack was unexpected but we worked with that.\"\nDuci's eyes are wide, she stared at him in silence for a moment before laughing a little. \"Is that so?\"\n\n\"Why are you telling [i]her[/i] that?!\" Ranii protests.\n\nLuca is starting to feel a little nervous about this, but he still has faith in Stic, he always had...\nStic can not answer Ranii right now, truth be told he is doing his best to avoid Duci pushing the topic of them having being 'helped', so he had to move to another one. \"There, now you know...you know what is going on around here, now what do you wish to negotiate exactly?\"\n\"Alright then, Stic, I will make this easy for all of us.\" She begins pacing back and forth in front of his table. \"You shall surrender this town to the grove, I promise you that you will still be in charge of it, comparatively speaking...you will just have to do what will tell you to, with that we shall establish a supply route and this place can truly start growing, what do you say?\"\nThe Meowstic narrows his eyes. \"Do not fool me by hiding your intentions behind false reassurance, if I give this town to you it will just be in control of different nobles that were no better than the last, with me as a puppet.\"\n\n\"Yeah, and let the soldiers we bled hard to stop from raping every single person in the streets run ramshod all over the place. Like hell we'll turn this place over to you.\" Ranii yells. \n\"I knew this was going to be a waste of time.\" She says under her breath.\n\nDuci still looks like she still wants to try to convince him though. \"Princess Ivy wishes to bring a better world to the sands, you can be a part of it.\"\n\"After what I saw, I'm afraid I want no part in that.\" Stic now is trying to be the one trying for peace here. \"Please respectfully tell Princess Ivy we do not wish to be part of the Grove, but also do tell her that she must see the error of her ways, the tides are turning...\"\nThe owl doesn't understand very well what he means by that last part, but she understands that he is refusing her deal. \"Please, be sensible...this town is no longer part of the Sands, nor part of the Grove, do you realize what this can mean to you? to your people? Just look around, this land of Sand is a waste...nothing grows in it, how do you plan to grow if you can't even produce anything independently?!\"\n\"That is a problem that I shall find a solution to...\"\nThe Ducidueye is starting to get unhappy again. \"You can't be serious. It was impossible for you to do ANY of this alone, those weapons, the fact that the town is still standing perfectly...who is helping you? It can't be the Wallbreakers.\"\n\"Please, if you have nothing more useful to talk about, I will ask you to leave and tell the news to your superiors: Sandstone will not be part of the Grove.\"\n\n\"Look\" Ranii speaks up again. She knows she risks going over Stic's head, but she has a good feeling that he would agree to it. Or that Khaako would have suggested it anyway. \"Here's the best we can offer you: Neutrality. We do not ally with the sands, we do not ally with the grove. You cease any and all hostile activity towards Sandstone, and hand over the slaves you have illegally stolen from this campaign of yours belonging to Sandstone. In exchange, we will release any grove soldiers back to you. After that, you go on with your little war, and we go on with our business. As I've said, this is the best offer you're going to get. And believe me...\"\nHer eyes narrow threateningly. \n\"... I do suggest you take it.\"\nRanii is, of course, under no delusions that she'll take that offer. But, for the sake of peace, it had to be attempted at least.\n\nDuci turns to Ranii. \"Who do you think you are...?!\"\n\"That is a good deal if I say so myself.\" Ranii couldn't have said it better, and Stic is going along with it............although he does see the possibility of her not honoring this deal by the end, but getting more people back...that alone makes this trade worth it. \"You want your people back, and I want mine back...\"\nThe owl turns her head 180 degrees to look at him again. \".......Alright then, i shall agree with you.\" She sounds begrudging about this though.\n\"But I'm warning you.\" The Meowstic starts sounding very serious. \"If you try to attack Sandstone again despite this goodwill, your defeat with be swifter than in yesterday's battle, your forces won't even be able to get pass the gates.\"\n\"Are you challenging us?\"\n\"I am just stating the facts.\"\n\nRanii is surprised. She didn't think that they'd even take the deal. \n\nSo it appears that things are going smoothly? Luca wonders if Stic is planning something as they speak...\n\"So...\" The Meowstic places his paws together. \"What is your name exactly?\" He questions.\n\"...It's Duci.\"\n\"Hhmmhhmm...\" He nods. \"Duci, do you accept this offer? exchange the people of Sandstone that you took from us for the Grove soldiers we captured. Promise me the safe returned of your prisoners, and i will promise the safe return of mine. Is this all clear?\"\nThe owl nods. \"Yes, I shall bring back the Sand residents that we captured, and you will honor your end of the deal and free the soldiers you have...\"\n\"Yes of course, I have no intention of lying to you.\" He is skeptical about her having these same intentions though. \"Now if that will be all. Luca, Rani...escort Duci out of the Sandstone.\"\nDuci inhales deeply and exhales. Then she goes over to Ranii and Luca. \"Yes, that will be all...\"\nLuca looks down at his partner for a moment, kind of wondering what exactly just happened, did Stic really manage to negotiate with her? Is this owl really going to keep her end of the bargain...?\n\n\"Should... should we return here after we escort her out?\" Ranii asks.\n\nStic gives a nod to that. \"Of course, once you have escorted her out.\"\nDuci remains near them, waiting for them to begin taking her back the way they came.\n\n\"Yes sir.\" Ranii gives a small polite bow to her boss, then turns to Duci. \"Alright you, let's head back.\"\n\n\"Right then, let's go.\" Luca gets behind them so they can do that same scheme of escorting her out, going out of the war room.\nFrom there they go down to the first floor and out the entrance, Aceo was waiting there to give the Ducidueye her arrows and dagger back, then it was off to cross Sandstone again. Throughout this whole trip Duci is being pretty silent and just keeping her head forward, this doesn't sit very well with the Lucario.\n\nAll the while, an uneasy feeling creeps over Ranii. Her ears pick up nothing, and it seems Luca isn't picking up anything either, as he hasn't reacted to it yet. But she gets the feeling that they're being watched.\nHer in particular. By who, or for what reason, she can't tell. For a moment she thinks, she fears it's Slutbunny again. Though, she remembers that Ara found out about that, so she doubts it's her again. And besides, Luca would have picked it up.\nMaybe she's just being paranoid.\n\nNow they get to the gates of the town again, it might be time to say 'bye' to Duci.\n\"Open the gates!\" Luca ordered to the guards.\nComplying with him, the guards open the gates.\n\"There, you can go now...\"\n\"Right then, I guess this is...goodbye to the both of you, unless we see each other again\" Duci walks forward towards the gate, leaving through them. As soon as she was outside she figured it was a good time to spread her wings and take flight so she did just that.\nWell...that's that done. Luca lets out a sigh. \"Finally...\" Being around that Pokémon certainly wasn't pleasant.\n\n\"My thoughts exactly.\" Ranii sighs. \"Though, I'm surprised that went as well as it did.\"\nHer ears twitch as a sound enters them. Or at least she thinks it does. A small chuckle, right after she said that.\n\"D-Did you hear that?!\" She says looking around. She gives up eventually, after listening for a heartbeat, but finding nothing, and sighs.\n\"No, no. Guess it's just my ears playing tricks on me.\" She says. \"Must have been someone somewhere else.\"\n\n\"Huh?\" Luca looks around. \"What do you mean? Did you hear something just now?\" He didn't, his ears are not as good as hers, but he is wondering what got her so worked up just now. \n\n\"It's... it's nothing. Guess it's just the stress of everything getting to me.\" She sighs, while looking at Luca reassuringly.\n\n\"Okay, then...let's report back to Stic.\"\n\nThey walk back to Stic. Her ears are on the lookout for more sounds, but they pick up nothing...\n\nThey find themselves back in the war room Stic is still there, picking up the medallion from the chair and putting it upon the table so he can finally have a seat.\n\"Master Stic, do you think she will really honor that deal?\" The Lucario asks.\nThe Meowstic raises his head to look at him. \"That's not likely.\" He sighs. \"As it stands Sandstone looks like a very enticing target. But now that we have full control of the town and don't have to worry about hiding as much as we did, the Avali can support us more effectively I'm sure.\"\n\n\"Indeed it is...\" An unfamiliar sly, silky male voice rings out from inside the war room. \"Only a fool would think they're genuine. And you, sir, are no fool to have pulled this off...\"\n\"Who said that?\" Ranii asks as she looks around.\nA cloaked figure drops from the ceiling, its invisibility fading. \nA slender, lizard like creature with blue skin and a yellow, wavy crest running down its back, and black 'pants' and 'gloves' adorn its hands. It gives off an aura of cool, sly confidence, now that it's allowing itself to have an aura reading of any kind.\nAn Inteleon stands before them.\n\"Quite the interesting turn of events, no?\" The Inteleon addresses Stic. \"Very interesting.\"\n\nLuca is equally surprised to see this pokémon, he is sure this is someone he has never met before. He steps between Ranii and this stranger, ready to move a paw to his swords. \"Who are you?\"\nThe sudden appearance of this individual caught the Meowstic by surprise, he raises his ears and looks at him with all four of his eyes. \"I ask the exact same question. Who are you?\"\n\n\"Ah, yes. Where are my manners? A mon in my position uses many names and identities, so for this one you may call me... John. Paines John. At your service.\" he smiles warmly as he folds his arm across his chest, and folds his foot behind his other one as he gives a polite bow. \"Spymaster Extraordinaire, Secret Agent, Breaker of Walls, aaaand\" He shifts his gaze towards Ranii. \"Connoisseur of the female form, and collector of virginities.\" He finishes his bow as he stands up, his eyes still fixed on Ranii as he wears a sly, seductive grin. \"All consensual, of course. Sad that I have to add that note in these trying times.\"\n\"Erm... I'm not a virgin.\" Ranii returns indignantly with a blush. \"So don't get any funny ideas.\"\n\n\"Hhhhhhmmm...\" Luca raises a brow. \"Breaker of Walls? Then are you a...\" The way this guy said it, Luca thinks he might be a Wall Breaker.\n\"Do you have any particular business here, John?\" Stic asks. This type of name is not one he ever heard off before.\n\n\"Yes, yes I am.\" John says towards Luca. \"And yes, yes I do... 'Stic', was it?\" He says towards Stic.\n\"Or perhaps to be more accurate... I did. My mission, as it was with the others, was to take out the lords of Sandstone, who, I am sure you know by now, crimes against pokekind are innumerable. Imagine my shock when I learned that my mission has been accomplished for me...\"\nHis attention one again turns towards Ranii once again.\n\"... By such a fine lovely lass, no less.\" Before Ranii can really figure out how to react, she feels her hand being lifted up, and the back of it given a warm, yet very wet, kiss on the back of it. \n\"I.. .Uh.. umm...\" Ranii isn't really sure how to react. She's not used to being the center of attention like this. Finally, she works up the courage to say something. \"Are... are you the one that's been stalking me?\"\n\"'Stalking?'\" John says, almost insulted. \"'Stalking' is such a ... crass way of putting it. But, yes, I have been... observing you since that Grove woman came into the gate. You could say you have piqued my interest... 'Ranii', was it?\"\n\"Erm... yes?\"\n\"Lovely name. Strange. But lovely.\"\n\n\"Hhhmmm...\" Luca narrows his eyes, he doesn't trust a Wallbreaker. \"Please stop looking at my partner like that...\"\n\"Well...then.\" The Meowstic wonders why John is here in the first place. \"So your mission now...i hope it does not involve taking me out...\"\n\n\"Oh?\" He looks at Luca. \"I'm sorry? Are you two married?\"\n\"Well, uh... umm... No. But...\" Ranii answers him. \n\"Ah. Good. For a moment I feared you had been spoken for. That would have made things much more... Messy.\" \nHe looks to Stic again. \"And to answer your question, of course not. Had that been that case, I assure you that you would be quite dead by now. You could say I'm here instead to do roughly the same thing that ghostly girl was here to do... Negotiate. Well, that, and learn more about our lovely lass here.\"\n\"Learn what? I'm just your ordinary Hawlucha...\"\nJohn gives a light hearted laugh at that.\n\"My dear... I've seen plenty of Hawlucha in my time. Even had a... partner one once on a mission in Red Gulch. And I can safely say, madam, that you are no Hawlucha.\"\n\"Er... I....\" Ranii doesn't know what to say, whether she should try to keep up this facade, or admit to what she is to an unknown, possibly enemy that seems to have the hots for her for some odd reason, or come clean and risk everything, or make up some nonsense story about other parents?\n\"While you might certainly appear as one to the untrained, and uncaring eye, Hawulchas do not have these long, lovely tails with the feathers on the end\" He says while drawing attention to it. \"And even \"I uh... My parents-\" Ranii doesn't get the chance to finish her lie before he continues.\n\"And those beautiful colors. Hawluchas as a mix of green white, and red. And yet... you are cream white, like a hot latte, supplemented by a cold, yet exotic aqua. And that fine body shape... While the wings might certainly pass for a Hawlucha's, but those adorable ears of yours. Hawluchas have none. Yet, you not only have long ears, you have four of them to boot.\"\nHe leans in close and whispers into the closet set of ears.\n\"My dear, you are no Hawlucha. You are far more beautiful than any Hawlucha I have ever seen.\"\nRanii is now blushing like absolute mad as John points out her 'features'. \n\"I.. uh.. ummm...\" \n\nLuca just stares at him, unamused, he even rolls his eyes. This guy having the hots for Ranii out of nowhere certainly feels...weird.\n\"Okay, negotiations...\" He can only hope this one will go as good as the last one. The Meowstic takes in a breath before asking. \"Might ask you to enlighten me on what exactly do you wish to negotiate for the Wallbreakers, John?\"\n\n\"Alright my good sir Stic. Here's our terms.\" The Inteleon's grin suddenly turns into as serious of a frown as he can manage. \"You will surrender the whole town, and everyone in it, to the indomitable will and might of the Wallbreakers. Step down, and let our glorious leader run the whole town, and all that good stuff, you'll give us twenty thousand pokes, and one thousand tons of iron...\"\nHe holds his frown for a few moments, before it suddenly curls back into a barely contained smirk, followed by a hearty chuckle.\n\"Hehahehahehah... Just kidding! Gehahehahehaheha\" He laughs a bit more. \"Sorry, sorry... I had you going there for a moment, though, didn't I?\"\nHe gives a few more chuckles before chortling and continuing, his face turning serious again.\n\"But seriously. Your interference with our operation here has cost us quite a few good mons lives. Mons who wanted nothing more than to be free of the nobles of this place. There's quite a few Wallbreakers that would like your own heads in retaliation. But, I think that's a failing. I know my own 'boss' might disagree with me here, but I'm sure they'll see my reasons for what I'm about to propose. After all, if we'd known you were going to do this, we might not have even bothered. Maybe.\"\nHe gives a small throat clearing cough before continuing. \n\"We want neutrality. Like I said, Gar and Gaben are both gone. The Sandstone guild is outed as traitors, and... sucking up to the nobles aside, we really don't have that much against you. Especially now that we know it's pretty much just a ruse. We cease any and all hostile activity against your guild , and you hand any wallbreakers back to us safe and sound. Good, no?\"\n\"You just took my idea.\" Ranii says indignantly.\n\"You could say I was... inspired by you, yes.\" He says with a wink. \"Oh, and speaking of, I'm going to throw one more condition in there...\"\nHe takes a breath. Before continuing.\n\"I want... a Date.\"\n\nLuca can tell where this is going, and he is starting to find this a bit problematic...like, does Ranii really wants this in the first place?\nThese demands do seem par for the course but the last one makes Stic raise a brow. \"A date you say? I assume you mean a date with Ranii?\" This 'john' fellow has been looking at her quite a bit since he showed up after all.\n\n\"But of course.\" 'John' replies. \"I certainly didn't mean yourself, my dear guildleader. No offense.\"\n\"You can't be serious...\" Ranii grumbles under her breath, a blush clearly visible.\n\"Oh, but I am.\" 'John' replies.\n\n\"You can't be serious...\" Luca pretty much said that in unison with his partner. \nStic closes his eyes for a moment as he thinks about this, such an unusual demand. \"Forgive me for acting like a concerned parent, but I would like some guarantee that Ranii is going to be alright. So can you tell me where exactly you plan on taking her for this date?\"\n\n\"Around town, perhaps off to a lovely dinner. If you are worried that I am going to drag such a fine young lady off and have my way with her against her will, or use a cheap 'attract' move on her, I assure you I will do no such thing. I have far more class than that.\" He sounds genuine, yet there is a twinkle in his eye.\nRanii signs in defeat.\n\"Fine, if it means less people having to die. I'll go on one date.\"\nShe looks at him sternly, however.\n\"[u]One[/u]. Date.\"\n\"My dear Ranii, I only request one. Anything further than that, I'd leave to you, of course.\"\n\n\"So everyone is in agreement?\" The Meowstic asks.\nThe Lucario closes his eyes for a moment and nods. He does really wish there was another way around this, personally, but if this is what it's needed to get this Wallbreaker to agree to neutrality, so be it. Everything's going to be fine, him and Ranii are going on another date someday, one that is going to work out well... \"Alright. But you seriously better treat her right, you hear?\"\n\"Yes, it seems everyone's in agreement.\"\n\n\"Quite so.\" John says to Stic.\nHe turns to Luca.\n\"Do not worry. I'm a mon of my word... at least when it comes to women.\" He gives a wink.\n\n\"If i may ask, when are you going to take her out for the date exactly, right now?\" The Meowstic questions.\nLuca pays attention to what John's response is going to be.\n\n\"I see no reason not to start now.\" John replies. \"Unless you needed her for something else yet?\"\n\"The sooner, the better.\" Ranii replies. \n\"Eager to get started, I see?\" John comments with a saucy grin.\n\"Er, I meant...\" Ranii replies with an indignant blush. \"... Yeah. Let's just go with that. Why not?\"\n\n\"Right then don't let me keep you then.\" Stic says. \"Luca, you are dismissed.\"\nThe Lucario silently nods to that and gazes at the Inteleon once more. \"You be careful, okay Ranii?\" And with that said he begins walking out of this room. He is acting like he is just going to go off to do something else but he has other plans...\n\n\"Shall we be going, then, my dear Ranii?\" 'John' puts a hand on her back. Ranii simply nods, and walks off with John. 'ready' to begin this 'date.'", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
Act 27: Negotiations


This is a little urgent so both of them make their ways out of the mansion and into Sandstone. On the way there though when they were passing by a familiar place, a voice called to them.
"Luca, Ranii!" It's Ara, she is standing by the entrance of her brothel. "Are you guys too busy right now?"
"Yes, Actually." Luca says.
"Oh, I see." She sighs, frowning for a moment but smiling again shortly afterwards. "Can you two swing by later today?"

"I'm afraid so, Ara." Ranii signs in response to Ara's query as to whether or not they're busy. "As for dropping by later,... is... SHE still there?" She asks a bit bitterly.

"Yes, actually this is kind of about her..." The Abra says, crossing her arms and looking away a little.
Luca is not quite sure what to make of this. "Huh...?"

"Oh?" Ranii inquires. She is likewise not really sure of what to make of this.

This is not something Ara wants to talk about out loud here, so decides to use telepathy instead. "She told me what she did to you last night, me and her had...a rough talk. I want you two to give her you two pokes too so i can figure out what to do with her."

"I... uh... ummm... well..." Ranii is not sure what to make of all of this. On one hand, she hates that bunny with a passion. On the other hand, the fact that she came clean with what she did...
Ranii sighs sadly.
"As we said, we don't really have time to deal with this right now. We have very important business to deal with. Very important, very annoying business to deal with. Annoying business that bad things will happen if we keep it waiting. But... I guess we'll try to think about it during this time?" She offers.
Truth be told, she doesn't know how much 'thinking' about this situation she'll be allowed to do with this Grove representative present and no doubt making demands.

Ara nods to that. "It's alright, I understand. You can come around later when you are free."
"Yeah, we can." Luca looks down at Ranii and gives her a pat on the head for comfort. "Come on now, we gotta go."

Ranii nods, giving one last sad look back at Ara, before following Luca again.

Luca and Ranii eventually arrive at the gate, they can see that the place is in some high alert...up there on the walls there are mons armed with crossbows taking aim at a lone individual standing some distance away from the gate, it's a Decidueye, at the moment she is just standing there...waiting.
The Lucario approaches an Ampharos guard. "Hey. I'm with the Four Eyes, what is the situation? Has that pokémon done anything?"
The electric type looks to him. "Ah, finally you are here. That pokémon showed up alone and declared that she is with the Grove, she is alone and hasn't made a move since we told her that her request to talk with the new leader of sandstone has been acknowledged. We got our weapons trained on her too, so if you want us to fire just say the word..."
He shakes his head. "No, that won't be necessary..."

Ranii looks out and sees the figure. "... Yup, just as I thought. It's her." She looks over to Luca and groans. "Well, no point in dragging this out. Let's get this over with."

"Yes I agree." The Lucario says to her before addressing the guard in front of him once more. "Open the gates, we are going to speak with her..."
The Ampharos nods and runs over to the gate, telling the other guards what they have been instructed to do, then they all pull the gates open for Ranii and Luca to go through.
The owl sees the gates open, and spots the two familiar individuals she saw that day. It appears that they are going to receive her with words instead of crossbow bolts, so far so good for her. "Well well...it seems you two still draw breath."
"Yes, yes we did." Luca says to her with disdain in his voice. "And you...why are you here? You are well aware that you are not welcome here, and despite that fact you came here alone to 'talk' with us...i can't help but be suspicious of you."
"Yes, i am suspicious to you, that can not be helped, can it?" The Ducidueye smiled for a moment. "But let's get to what matters...i am here to talk with your superior, you are here to allow me that honor, right?"

"Yes yes. Come with us." Ranii grumbles. She motions the Ducidueye to follow her and Luca. "And yes, we are very much alive. Thanks for noticing."

Luca follows behind the owl, to make sure she has less chance of trying anything, like running, if they got her sorounded on both sides. When they go past the gates again a couple guards follow them too. Some of the citizens look at the Grove member being escorted, some wonder what's up with her, some are looking at her with anger and displeasure.
Duci slows down a little to look around the place, like she is sizing it up. She gets pushed by the Lucario behind her for slowing down though. "Rude..."
"Just keep walking." Luca said, almost scoffing at her.

"You aren't here to sightsee, Duci." Ranii adds with a small growl.

They get to the mansion's entrance, there are more guards waiting there... including Aceo.
"Hold it." The Glaceon raises a paw, telling them to stop. "We gotta see if she isn't carrying anything dangerous before coming in..." To that end he begins frisking her, looking under her wings in case she has something like an iron blade hidden there.
Duci remains still and just lets him touch her around her chest and wings as he searches for anything.
"Hhhhmmm..." Aceo narrows his eyes... could he have found something just now?

"To be honest, I really should have thought of that before even bringing her this far into the city." Ranii sighs. as Aeco searches her.
"... You're not just using this as an opportunity to feel up a hot mon, are you?" Ranii chuckles, trying to make the most of this situation by slightly teasing him. "You know we have a bordello for that, right?"
She shuts up though once Aceo narrows his eyes. But only for a moment.
"What, did you find something?" Ranii asks.

The first thing Aceo got was her arrows, ALL of her arrows...these aren't made of Iron so they must be natural. However he found a small iron blade too. "Well then...care to elaborate why you brought this?" He waves it in front of her face.
She seems almost insuted by what he is insinuating. "You know a female has to have a way to defend herself in a place like this."
"Yeah? Well I'm gonna be holding on to these for now then...you wouldn't mind that, would you?"
She looks away from the ice type. "No, of course not..."
After a moment of silence as he looked over the weapon, the Glaceon looks  to Luca and Ranii. "Alright, you can bring her in now."

"Suuure... 'defend' yourself." Ranii groans. "In all honesty, given how you people act, you're probably safer here than you are in your own camp." She quips.
Once the Glaceon has confiscated all her weapons, she stands behind Duci while she follows Luca.

Duci doesn't say anything to what the Avali said just now... but looks like she was considering for a moment there.
They escort her in, up to the second floor and straight to the war room. In there it's only Stic waiting, standing behind his table. "Hello. I trust that you came here for a reason, right?" He asks.
She raised a brow when she saw a cat instead of a Garchomp. "What is this now? I said I wanted to speak to your leader..."
The Meowstic calmly nods. "Exactly, and your request is being honored...but if you are looking for Gar, then he is obviously not here...in fact I'm afraid he has perished recently."
"What...?"

"You mean you didn't know?" Ranii asks. "I'm honestly surprised this is the first you've heard of this. After all, it was your soldiers that killed them."

"What? No!" The owl doesn't look like she was expecting this turn of events at all, without the nobles Sandstone would be left headless without leadership, so she expected the nobles to still be alive in the first place but that is not the case. "They weren't supposed to..."
Stic was listening to what she was saying. "They weren't supposed to...what? You gonna finish that sentence?" He asks. Now he is aware of how little she knows of what is going on.
She says nothing about it anymore, having regained her composure. She decides to change the subject "...What really happened to the nobles then? The ones we sent behind your lines into this mansion either didn't come back or reported the failure of their mission of capturing the nobles."

"We tried to find the Nobles, to escort them to safety. However, when we arrived, we found them dead in Gaben's bedroom, along with the corpses of several Grove soldiers. We could tell they were grove soldiers by the ... erm... capes... you all wear, add to the fact that they were all plant types. Gar had apparently been trying to defend his son against them, but even he couldn't stand up against Iron. His son was found dead under the bed, apparently having bled to death in his hiding place."
Ranii hopes that 'Duci' buys it.

"That is irrelevant!" She suddenly shouted at the Avali.
Luca steps between his partner and the owl, just in case she decides to do more than get loud.
"Even if they died, sandstone would have begun to crumble all the same. In fact there was no way for you to even be able to win!" She leans down to look at the meowstic in the eyes. "Do not take me for a fool, the nobles died yet sandstone managed to repel an attack that, by our estimates, it would be unable to win against with all the odds stacked against it. We also managed to get some of the devices you used against us, those heavy bows and the explosive spheres..."
Stic is just looking up at her, remaining absolutely stoic. "..."

"You asked what happened to the Nobles, and we gave you an answer."  Ranii shouts back Duci in response to her answer being called "Irrelevant."
Once Duci is done with her rant. she smirks, and simply says...
"That is irrelevant." Spitting back Duci's own words against her.
Still somewhat smirking from her comment, she continues.
"Look, we can argue about would-haves, should-have-beens, what is and isn't relevant, and other junk until we all grow old and die of a heart attack. But since I'm sure we'd all rather not spend the rest of our natural lives in this room, why don't you do us all a favor and get to the point?"

"I will get to the point when I know what is going on around here!" She growls. She closes eyes and steps back, seemingly realizing that she is letting Ranii rile her up, so she decides to calm down. ".....You, cat, what is your name?"
"Stic." He replied.
"Alright, Stic. These...devices, what is their origin? I do not believe you could have made them yourselves, not unless..." The owl tilts her head 90 degrees. "Someone did it for you, tell me...did you had help? And why are you the leader of the Sandstone now? Please do be honest, i am trying to have peaceful negotiation with you."
"Is that so?" The Moewstic has his doubts about that, but for now he will play along. "The truth is...you are right about one thing, i guess there is no denying that and in the end of the day it does not matter to you...the nobles, their deaths are the results of my scheming, i worked to liberate this town from their grasp, the Grove's attack was unexpected but we worked with that."
Duci's eyes are wide, she stared at him in silence for a moment before laughing a little. "Is that so?"

"Why are you telling her that?!" Ranii protests.

Luca is starting to feel a little nervous about this, but he still has faith in Stic, he always had...
Stic can not answer Ranii right now, truth be told he is doing his best to avoid Duci pushing the topic of them having being 'helped', so he had to move to another one. "There, now you know...you know what is going on around here, now what do you wish to negotiate exactly?"
"Alright then, Stic, I will make this easy for all of us." She begins pacing back and forth in front of his table. "You shall surrender this town to the grove, I promise you that you will still be in charge of it, comparatively speaking...you will just have to do what will tell you to, with that we shall establish a supply route and this place can truly start growing, what do you say?"
The Meowstic narrows his eyes. "Do not fool me by hiding your intentions behind false reassurance, if I give this town to you it will just be in control of different nobles that were no better than the last, with me as a puppet."

"Yeah, and let the soldiers we bled hard to stop from raping every single person in the streets run ramshod all over the place. Like hell we'll turn this place over to you." Ranii yells.
"I knew this was going to be a waste of time." She says under her breath.

Duci still looks like she still wants to try to convince him though. "Princess Ivy wishes to bring a better world to the sands, you can be a part of it."
"After what I saw, I'm afraid I want no part in that." Stic now is trying to be the one trying for peace here. "Please respectfully tell Princess Ivy we do not wish to be part of the Grove, but also do tell her that she must see the error of her ways, the tides are turning..."
The owl doesn't understand very well what he means by that last part, but she understands that he is refusing her deal. "Please, be sensible...this town is no longer part of the Sands, nor part of the Grove, do you realize what this can mean to you? to your people? Just look around, this land of Sand is a waste...nothing grows in it, how do you plan to grow if you can't even produce anything independently?!"
"That is a problem that I shall find a solution to..."
The Ducidueye is starting to get unhappy again. "You can't be serious. It was impossible for you to do ANY of this alone, those weapons, the fact that the town is still standing perfectly...who is helping you? It can't be the Wallbreakers."
"Please, if you have nothing more useful to talk about, I will ask you to leave and tell the news to your superiors: Sandstone will not be part of the Grove."

"Look" Ranii speaks up again. She knows she risks going over Stic's head, but she has a good feeling that he would agree to it. Or that Khaako would have suggested it anyway. "Here's the best we can offer you: Neutrality. We do not ally with the sands, we do not ally with the grove. You cease any and all hostile activity towards Sandstone, and hand over the slaves you have illegally stolen from this campaign of yours belonging to Sandstone. In exchange, we will release any grove soldiers back to you. After that, you go on with your little war, and we go on with our business. As I've said, this is the best offer you're going to get. And believe me..."
Her eyes narrow threateningly.
"... I do suggest you take it."
Ranii is, of course, under no delusions that she'll take that offer. But, for the sake of peace, it had to be attempted at least.

Duci turns to Ranii. "Who do you think you are...?!"
"That is a good deal if I say so myself." Ranii couldn't have said it better, and Stic is going along with it............although he does see the possibility of her not honoring this deal by the end, but getting more people back...that alone makes this trade worth it. "You want your people back, and I want mine back..."
The owl turns her head 180 degrees to look at him again. ".......Alright then, i shall agree with you." She sounds begrudging about this though.
"But I'm warning you." The Meowstic starts sounding very serious. "If you try to attack Sandstone again despite this goodwill, your defeat with be swifter than in yesterday's battle, your forces won't even be able to get pass the gates."
"Are you challenging us?"
"I am just stating the facts."

Ranii is surprised. She didn't think that they'd even take the deal.

So it appears that things are going smoothly? Luca wonders if Stic is planning something as they speak...
"So..." The Meowstic places his paws together. "What is your name exactly?" He questions.
"...It's Duci."
"Hhmmhhmm..." He nods. "Duci, do you accept this offer? exchange the people of Sandstone that you took from us for the Grove soldiers we captured. Promise me the safe returned of your prisoners, and i will promise the safe return of mine. Is this all clear?"
The owl nods. "Yes, I shall bring back the Sand residents that we captured, and you will honor your end of the deal and free the soldiers you have..."
"Yes of course, I have no intention of lying to you." He is skeptical about her having these same intentions though. "Now if that will be all. Luca, Rani...escort Duci out of the Sandstone."
Duci inhales deeply and exhales. Then she goes over to Ranii and Luca. "Yes, that will be all..."
Luca looks down at his partner for a moment, kind of wondering what exactly just happened, did Stic really manage to negotiate with her? Is this owl really going to keep her end of the bargain...?

"Should... should we return here after we escort her out?" Ranii asks.

Stic gives a nod to that. "Of course, once you have escorted her out."
Duci remains near them, waiting for them to begin taking her back the way they came.

"Yes sir." Ranii gives a small polite bow to her boss, then turns to Duci. "Alright you, let's head back."

"Right then, let's go." Luca gets behind them so they can do that same scheme of escorting her out, going out of the war room.
From there they go down to the first floor and out the entrance, Aceo was waiting there to give the Ducidueye her arrows and dagger back, then it was off to cross Sandstone again. Throughout this whole trip Duci is being pretty silent and just keeping her head forward, this doesn't sit very well with the Lucario.

All the while, an uneasy feeling creeps over Ranii. Her ears pick up nothing, and it seems Luca isn't picking up anything either, as he hasn't reacted to it yet. But she gets the feeling that they're being watched.
Her in particular. By who, or for what reason, she can't tell. For a moment she thinks, she fears it's Slutbunny again. Though, she remembers that Ara found out about that, so she doubts it's her again. And besides, Luca would have picked it up.
Maybe she's just being paranoid.

Now they get to the gates of the town again, it might be time to say 'bye' to Duci.
"Open the gates!" Luca ordered to the guards.
Complying with him, the guards open the gates.
"There, you can go now..."
"Right then, I guess this is...goodbye to the both of you, unless we see each other again" Duci walks forward towards the gate, leaving through them. As soon as she was outside she figured it was a good time to spread her wings and take flight so she did just that.
Well...that's that done. Luca lets out a sigh. "Finally..." Being around that Pokémon certainly wasn't pleasant.

"My thoughts exactly." Ranii sighs. "Though, I'm surprised that went as well as it did."
Her ears twitch as a sound enters them. Or at least she thinks it does. A small chuckle, right after she said that.
"D-Did you hear that?!" She says looking around. She gives up eventually, after listening for a heartbeat, but finding nothing, and sighs.
"No, no. Guess it's just my ears playing tricks on me." She says. "Must have been someone somewhere else."

"Huh?" Luca looks around. "What do you mean? Did you hear something just now?" He didn't, his ears are not as good as hers, but he is wondering what got her so worked up just now.

"It's... it's nothing. Guess it's just the stress of everything getting to me." She sighs, while looking at Luca reassuringly.

"Okay, then...let's report back to Stic."

They walk back to Stic. Her ears are on the lookout for more sounds, but they pick up nothing...

They find themselves back in the war room Stic is still there, picking up the medallion from the chair and putting it upon the table so he can finally have a seat.
"Master Stic, do you think she will really honor that deal?" The Lucario asks.
The Meowstic raises his head to look at him. "That's not likely." He sighs. "As it stands Sandstone looks like a very enticing target. But now that we have full control of the town and don't have to worry about hiding as much as we did, the Avali can support us more effectively I'm sure."

"Indeed it is..." An unfamiliar sly, silky male voice rings out from inside the war room. "Only a fool would think they're genuine. And you, sir, are no fool to have pulled this off..."
"Who said that?" Ranii asks as she looks around.
A cloaked  figure drops from the ceiling, its invisibility fading.
A slender, lizard like creature with blue skin and a yellow, wavy crest running down its back, and black 'pants' and 'gloves' adorn its hands.  It gives off an aura of cool, sly confidence, now that it's allowing itself to have an aura reading of any kind.
An Inteleon stands before them.
"Quite the interesting turn of events, no?" The Inteleon addresses Stic. "Very interesting."

Luca is equally surprised to see this pokémon, he is sure this is someone he has never met before. He steps between Ranii and this stranger, ready to move a paw to his swords. "Who are you?"
The sudden appearance of this individual caught the Meowstic by surprise, he raises his ears and looks at him with all four of his eyes. "I ask the exact same question. Who are you?"

"Ah, yes. Where are my manners?  A mon in my position uses many names and identities, so for this one you may call me... John. Paines John. At your service." he smiles warmly as he folds his arm across his chest, and folds his foot behind his other one as he gives a polite bow. "Spymaster Extraordinaire, Secret Agent, Breaker of Walls, aaaand" He shifts his gaze towards Ranii. "Connoisseur of the female form, and collector of virginities." He finishes his bow as he stands up, his eyes still fixed on Ranii as he wears a sly, seductive grin. "All consensual, of course. Sad that I have to add that note in these trying times."
"Erm... I'm not a virgin." Ranii returns indignantly with a blush. "So don't get any funny ideas."

"Hhhhhhmmm..." Luca raises a brow. "Breaker of Walls? Then are you a..." The way this guy said it, Luca thinks he might be a Wall Breaker.
"Do you have any particular business here, John?" Stic asks. This type of name is not one he ever heard off before.

"Yes, yes I am." John says towards Luca. "And yes, yes I do... 'Stic', was it?" He says towards Stic.
"Or perhaps to be more accurate... I did.  My mission, as it was with the others, was to take out the lords of Sandstone, who, I am sure you know by now, crimes against pokekind are innumerable. Imagine my shock when I learned that my mission has been accomplished for me..."
His attention one again turns towards Ranii once again.
"... By such a fine lovely lass, no less." Before Ranii can really figure out how to react, she feels her hand being lifted up, and the back of it given a warm, yet very wet, kiss on the back of it.
"I.. .Uh.. umm..." Ranii isn't really sure how to react. She's not used to being the center of attention like this. Finally, she works up the courage to say something. "Are... are you the one that's been stalking me?"
"'Stalking?'" John says, almost insulted. "'Stalking' is such a ... crass way of putting it. But, yes, I have been... observing you since that Grove woman came into the gate. You could say you have piqued my interest... 'Ranii', was it?"
"Erm... yes?"
"Lovely name. Strange. But lovely."

"Hhhmmm..." Luca narrows his eyes, he doesn't trust a Wallbreaker. "Please stop looking at my partner like that..."
"Well...then." The Meowstic wonders why John is here in the first place. "So your mission now...i hope it does not involve taking me out..."

"Oh?" He looks at Luca. "I'm sorry? Are you two married?"
"Well, uh... umm... No. But..." Ranii answers him.
"Ah. Good. For a moment I feared you had been spoken for. That would have made things much more... Messy."
He looks to Stic again. "And to answer your question, of course not. Had that been that case, I assure you that you would be quite dead by now. You could say I'm here instead to do roughly the same thing that ghostly girl was here to do... Negotiate. Well, that, and learn more about our lovely lass here."
"Learn what? I'm just your ordinary Hawlucha..."
John gives a light hearted laugh at that.
"My dear... I've seen plenty of Hawlucha in my time. Even had a... partner one once on a mission in Red Gulch. And I can safely say, madam, that you are no Hawlucha."
"Er... I...." Ranii doesn't know what to say, whether she should try to keep up this facade, or admit to what she is to an unknown, possibly enemy that seems to have the hots for her for some odd reason, or come clean and risk everything, or make up some nonsense story about other parents?
"While you might certainly appear as one to the untrained, and uncaring eye, Hawulchas do not have these long, lovely tails with the feathers on the end" He says while drawing attention to it. "And even "I uh... My parents-" Ranii doesn't get the chance to finish her lie before he continues.
"And those beautiful colors. Hawluchas as a mix of green white, and red. And yet... you are cream white, like a hot latte, supplemented by a cold, yet exotic aqua. And that fine body shape... While the wings might certainly pass for a Hawlucha's, but those adorable ears of yours. Hawluchas have none. Yet, you not only have long ears, you have four of them to boot."
He leans in close and whispers into the closet set of ears.
"My dear, you are no Hawlucha. You are far more beautiful than any Hawlucha I have ever seen."
Ranii is now blushing like absolute mad as John points out her 'features'.
"I.. uh.. ummm..."

Luca just stares at him, unamused, he even rolls his eyes. This guy having the hots for Ranii out of nowhere certainly feels...weird.
"Okay, negotiations..." He can only hope this one will go as good as the last one. The Meowstic takes in a breath before asking. "Might ask you to enlighten me on what exactly do you wish to negotiate for the Wallbreakers, John?"

"Alright my good sir Stic. Here's our terms." The Inteleon's grin suddenly turns into as serious of a frown as he can manage. "You will surrender the whole town, and everyone in it, to the indomitable will and might of the Wallbreakers. Step down, and let our glorious leader run the whole town, and all that good stuff, you'll give us twenty thousand pokes, and one thousand tons of iron..."
He holds his frown for a few moments, before it suddenly curls back into a barely contained smirk, followed by a hearty chuckle.
"Hehahehahehah... Just kidding! Gehahehahehaheha" He laughs a bit more. "Sorry, sorry... I had you going there for a moment, though, didn't I?"
He gives a few more chuckles before chortling and continuing, his face turning serious again.
"But seriously. Your interference with our operation here has cost us quite a few good mons lives. Mons who wanted nothing more than to be free of the nobles of this place. There's quite a few Wallbreakers that would like your own heads in retaliation. But, I think that's a failing. I know my own 'boss' might disagree with me here, but I'm sure they'll see my reasons for what I'm about to propose. After all, if we'd known you were going to do this, we might not have even bothered. Maybe."
He gives a small throat clearing cough before continuing.
"We want neutrality. Like I said, Gar and Gaben are both gone. The Sandstone guild is outed as traitors, and... sucking up to the nobles aside, we really don't have that much against you. Especially now that we know it's pretty much just a ruse. We cease any and all hostile activity against your guild , and you hand any wallbreakers back to us safe and sound. Good, no?"
"You just took my idea." Ranii says indignantly.
"You could say I was... inspired by you, yes." He says with a wink. "Oh, and speaking of, I'm going to throw one more condition in there..."
He takes a breath. Before continuing.
"I want... a Date."

Luca can tell where this is going, and he is starting to find this a bit problematic...like, does Ranii really wants this in the first place?
These demands do seem par for the course but the last one makes Stic raise a brow. "A date you say? I assume you mean a date with Ranii?" This 'john' fellow has been looking at her quite a bit since he showed up after all.

"But of course." 'John' replies. "I certainly didn't mean yourself, my dear guildleader. No offense."
"You can't be serious..." Ranii grumbles under her breath, a blush clearly visible.
"Oh, but I am." 'John' replies.

"You can't be serious..." Luca pretty much said that in unison with his partner.
Stic closes his eyes for a moment as he thinks about this, such an unusual demand. "Forgive me for acting like a concerned parent, but I would like some guarantee that Ranii is going to be alright. So can you tell me where exactly you plan on taking her for this date?"

"Around town, perhaps off to a lovely dinner. If you are worried that I am going to drag such a fine young lady off and have my way with her against her will, or use a cheap 'attract' move on her, I assure you I will do no such thing. I have far more class than that." He sounds genuine, yet there is a twinkle in his eye.
Ranii signs in defeat.
"Fine, if it means less people having to die. I'll go on one date."
She looks at him sternly, however.
"One. Date."
"My dear Ranii, I only request one. Anything further than that, I'd leave to you, of course."

"So everyone is in agreement?" The Meowstic asks.
The Lucario closes his eyes for a moment and nods. He does really wish there was another way around this, personally, but if this is what it's needed to get this Wallbreaker to agree to neutrality, so be it. Everything's going to be fine, him and Ranii are going on another date someday, one that is going to work out well... "Alright. But you seriously better treat her right, you hear?"
"Yes, it seems everyone's in agreement."

"Quite so." John says to Stic.
He turns to Luca.
"Do not worry. I'm a mon of my word... at least when it comes to women." He gives a wink.

"If i may ask, when are you going to take her out for the date exactly, right now?" The Meowstic questions.
Luca pays attention to what John's response is going to be.

"I see no reason not to start now." John replies. "Unless you needed her for something else yet?"
"The sooner, the better." Ranii replies.
"Eager to get started, I see?" John comments with a saucy grin.
"Er, I meant..." Ranii replies with an indignant blush. "... Yeah. Let's just go with that. Why not?"

"Right then don't let me keep you then." Stic says. "Luca, you are dismissed."
The Lucario silently nods to that and gazes at the Inteleon once more. "You be careful, okay Ranii?" And with that said he begins walking out of this room. He is acting like he is just going to go off to do something else but he has other plans...

"Shall we be going, then, my dear Ranii?" 'John' puts a hand on her back. Ranii simply nods, and walks off with John. 'ready' to begin this 'date.'", "pools_count": 1, "title": "Stars of Iron P5A4: Negotiations", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "text/rtf", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "2", "rating_name": "Adult", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "4", "name": "Sexual Themes", "description": "Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal", "rating_id": "2" }, { "content_tag_id": "5", "name": "Strong Violence", "description": "Strong violence, blood, serious injury or death", "rating_id": "2" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "37" }