“Clefable!” chanted Link as he twirled around, the small wings on his back fluttering like he was trying to take off.
I tilted my head as I just observed him, both visually and through the bond.
I felt at the way his emotions darted here and there, not so much like a Butterfree as a Beedrill perhaps. The adjustments were short, sharp and moderately intense with how quickly Link could change. He’d go from seriously to almost rolling on the floor with laughter faster than a blink of the eye.
His energy rolled through me while bubbling like a fizzy drink that made me want to burp and giggle a little the more I sampled it.
There was an energy to him that he must keep contained… or perhaps it was just that I’d never noticed the little twitch. An ear here, a foot tapping in time to a song that only he could hear before his flingers flexed and extended.
“Wow, I never realised he moved that much,” I muttered, feeling oddly out of touch with my pokemon.
Titan tilted his head. “Tyran?” he rumbled.
“Link,” I clarified. “He is twitchy and full of energy all the time, but he never actually does big movements, it’s all like… small adjustments.”
Titan shook his head and gestured around. “Ty ran, ty ty ty,” he explained.
“He burns off most of his energy from training and playing?” I repeated. “Huh, I wonder… perhaps instead of sitting here, I should be tapping into his feelings through our bond and playing games? That would put me more into a fairy-like state, no?”
Titan stared at me, only to shrug.
Right, rock-dark type.
I hummed. It was worth a shot. Fairy pokemon to me were whimsical and jolly. So just doing whatever I felt like that was energetic would probably be best.
If I did what I wanted, I’d just sit still, which I knew to be rock type energy with its steady state of being. Flying was floaty and freedom, and darkness was a void with emotional negativity.
Right! Time for action!
“Link! Let’s play tag!” I called out, causing him to whip around and beam at me, as if I’d just told him today was his birthday.
Holy heck, he was happy at just being told I was going to play with him!
I suddenly felt like I needed to find and drink like ten bottles of soda to keep up with Link’s energy levels.
Hang on… that was a great idea for getting in the headspace of a Fairy type!
“Let’s go drink all the Lemonade!” I announced, causing several pokemon to perk up.
Titan stared at me, opened his mouth only to shut it and nod slowly. I could feel his amusement. He knew this was probably going to end poorly, and to a degree so did I, but that didn’t matter. I was going to attempt it at the very least.
“To the refrigerator!” I roared and Link took up my battlecry.
We ran, or in Link’s case bounced, towards the nearby pokemon feed shed. Inside I found several feedbins with pokemon faces all over them along with several fridges with markings on them.
WE had the meat fridge, the poffin fridge, the ice cream fridge, and finally the drinks fridge.
Grabbing an armful of the delicacy I handed out a few to my pokemon with Link merrily sticking a bottle in his mouth and beginning to suckle like he was a babe with a milk bottle.
I tossed my own back and worked my jaw furiously, drinking as fast as I could only for the carbonation to catch me out.
Oh… this was a terrible idea.
I baulked, causing the drink to shoot back up my nose and from there I was a spluttering heaving mess.
“Oowwwww, it burns!”
“Clefable!” cried Link as he too messed up and shot lemonade out his nostrils.
We both twitched and writhed for a moment.
Nearby, Titan sat with his transceiver recording us with a huge grin. Damn his wisdom and foresight!
“You should have reminded me!” I joked, pretending to be more injured than I was.
Link sank to his knees, nodding and rubbing at his nostrils only to take another long drink from his bottle.
“Argh… really?” I groaned, glancing at the last thing I wanted to drink. Damn, was this going to be harder than Don’s training for mega evolution?
Well, harder was probably a misnomer, but still.
I raised the bottle back up.
“Harden up Brock,” I muttered as I began to choke back the fizzy, potentially painful drink.
I just needed to not screw up, stay in control of my pace and not lo— titan made a face at me, knowing precisely what I was trying to do, and what I needed to avoid.
I snorted and sent another spray of lemonade up my nose.
“It’s worse the second time!” I lamented.
Link laughed, causing him to fail as well and join me on the ground hissing.
Then as the bubbles announced themselves.
The pain vanished as an almighty burp rocketed out of me in such a way that it echoed throughout the reserve.
Around me, various pokemon stopped to look around at the powerful roar.
Titan began to laugh.
Link stared at me in awe and began to bounce around.
“Link, don’t that will just—”
Like a shaken soda bottle Link bulged and a moment later another almighty belch echoed out over the preserve.
Titan collapsed onto his side.
Bertha chose that moment to march up from the plateau and find out what was going on. Behind her two Rhyhorn followed dutifully.
“Rhy?” she asked, glancing from Titan to Link and I.
Instead of answering her I just offered her a bottle of drink that she gladly drank in one long pull.
She then hopped from foot to foot before giving out a quite impressive belch.
Link and I offered her polite golf claps for her effort, causing her to glower at us and make another gimme gesture.
I shook my head in mock consternation. “Ah, I’m sorry Bertha but it’s not your turn.” I then handed a bottle to her son who gladly drank it down in long gulps.
“Cle, Cle, Cle!” “Perior! Perior, Perior!” “Belch, belch, belch!” Link, Bertha, and I then began to chant.
Rhyhorn, hopped and skipped around before buckling down, and like a sprinter about to explode from the blocks, only when it was time to act he rose up and opened his maw to unleash a powerful roar.
The burp caused everyone to lean back in awe as more heads appeared to stare at the spectacle as it continued for a full five seconds.
When he was done Rhyhorn collapsed like he’d expended all his energy.
Link, Bertha and I threw our arms up. “We have a new defending champion!” I shouted, feeling pretty good about just going with the flow and having fun.
Titan continued to laugh from his position on the ridgeline.
I shared a look with the others and laughed but when Izumi the Geodude rolled forward demanding her own attempt at the ‘record for loudest burp’ I fetched some more bottles of drink.
When I came back out my good mood faltered as I spotted Lola among my pokemon watching as others tried to topple Rhyhorn’s record.
My lips twitched downwards and I considered dumping the bottles and moving away only to pause as I spotted Link wiggling and dancing.
Ah…. hmmm that was the darkness within me speaking up.
To be like a Fairy I needed… what, to let it roll over me without letting it affect me?
I swallowed my initial desires and instead tried to slip back into a go with the flow sort of mentality. When I joined back up with the others I even offered Lola a bottle.
“Gonna have a go?” I asked.
She blinked in surprise at me only for a huge grin to break out. “That record is as good as done!” she declared as she raised her bottle high only for Titan to choose that moment to steal it from her.
“Huh? Hey!” she shrieked in indignation only for Titan to throw his head back and drink it in one long pull.
Then he gave everyone a flat look, like he was unimpressed with them all.
Only for a tiny burp to escape him.
He blinked and shot his stomach a look like it had betrayed him.
Everyone else threw their heads back and roared with laughter at his antics.
I shot him a look and he smirked, winking at me. I replied with a nod, knowing he’d fudged it on purpose.
Lola got her own go after that and gave a good showing that was louder than mine but not nearly as loud as Rhyhorn’s effort.
Selene, Quirrina, and Regirock made appearances to watch the show, unable to partake beyond dipping their limbs into the fizzy drink to enjoy it in their own manner.
I liked to pretend that I saw Regirock tapping a little when it got the drink but I knew it was just a trick. Regirock was, as ever, stoic to the extreme.
Sabrina surprised us all by Teleporting in right as Gawain was trying his luck.
She took one look at almost the entire reserve of pokemon out with us along with the neat stack of bottles off to the side.
“Having fun?” she asked.
“Yup!” I replied shamelessly.
She nodded and gave us all another look. “Need me to get some more drinks?” she asked and when I nodded she vanished for a few minutes only to return with a larger pile of drinks.
The pokemon and people who’d been hanging back all stepped forward to try their luck, and while they didn’t get close it still made for a lot of fun for everyone.
Sabrina siddled up to me with her own drink. “What brought this spectacle one?”
“Uhmmmm….” I tilted my head, casting my mind back. What had this been about?
Link bounced past and I perked up. “Fairy type energy!” I announced as it came to me. “I was trying to align myself with it so I could attempt to Mega-evolve Link!”
“Hmmm, and how’s that going?” she asked, glancing around at the small-scale party that had broken out.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” I replied only to shake my head. “Can’t say how productive it’s been or even if I’m on the right path. Have you thought about it at all for when Kirlia evolves into Gardevoir?”
Said pokemon was currently attempting to drink from a bottle that looked roughly half her size. She took long pulls from it however, determined not to mess up like others had done.
“I have, and I’m not sure we’re after the same goal,” she replied, patting my hand. “But that doesn’t mean this was a bad idea.”
Kirlia burped loudly and proudled. When she was done she tossed her head happily only to scoff when Bertha, Link, and Sanchez raised paddles with sevens on them.
When had they gotten those?
Jormungandr chose that moment to slither forward, eying the tiny bottles. He waved his tail towards the stack and Kirlia nodded, understanding his predicament.
Ten bottles rose with their caps unscrewing themselves before being upended in Jormungandr’s mouth.
He swallowed quickly, then began to wiggle back and forth.
When he opened his mouth, I had a flash of foresight and clapped my hands over Sabrina’s ears, only for her to do the same for me.
Jorm’s burp ripped through the air and caused several Geodude to roll onto their backs while others braced.
Part of the plateau even crumpled and started a small landslide.
Link, Bertha, and Sanchez shared a look with a ten, a nine, and a ten making appearances only for Link and Sanchez to inspect Bertha’s paddle and began smacking her with theirs.
She cackled and ran off while the others chased her. Rhyhorn approached Jorm and bowed his head in acknowledgement.
Sbarina’s hands came off my ears. “Well it’s memorable if nothing else,” Sabrina commented as she watched Her Hypno being prodded into making an attempt by Shin.
“Yeah, it is at that,” I replied as I dropped my hands from her ears, only to keep one wrapped around her shoulder.
“I didn’t forget something for wedding planning did I?” I asked as a sinking sensation grabbed at me.
Sabrina giggled, turning her head and pecking me on the cheek. “You didn’t. I just came over to hang out.”
“Ah, good,” I said as I relaxed back into our cuddle.
“Dawwww! You two are just the cutest couple!” gushed Lola from nearby. She cupped her hands together in a loveheart and aimed them at us like she was framing a shot. “You’re going to have such beautiful babies! Eeeeei! They’re going to be my grandbabies and I’ll spoil them rotten!”
Sabrina tensed up slightly only to shoot me a look when I didn’t.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“Yeah, just going with the flow right now,” I replied.
“Hmmm, alright then.” Sabrina leaned back in, ignoring Lola and instead watching as our pokemon made fools of themselves.
“So are you going to—”
“Not a chance,” she stated firmly, cutting me off before I could even ask.
“Also, we’re looking for another house to live in so when we have kids she isn’t there.”
“Absolutely,” I replied with a chuckle.
_______________________
The next day saw me booked out to face all of the trainers that I’d sponsored. I made sure to pull one of them aside after their match and give them a warning about how quickly they’d collected their pokemon but they outlined a plan to get eight pokemon in their team and focus on just them unless something amazing presented itself.
After lunch I had the chance to test one more challenger and this time it was a little more personal.
“Xander of Pewter step forward!” announced Rachel as a young teenager stepped out of the tunnel.
Xander looked around like he still couldn’t believe he was here. His hand darted to his belt only to pause on the three pokeballs there and a smile to flicker over his face.
Then he caught me watching him with a stern expression.
“I’ve been waiting for this day Xander,” I announced sternly.
Xander’s eyes darted past me, and if this were any other situation I’d be annoyed that he wasn’t intimidated by my glower.
But I knew that Titan and Bertha were sitting behind my podium, silently watching the trainer that had won the right to their egg.
Xander swallowed and stepped forward. “I-I’ve come to take your badge! I’m challenging at the second tier level!” he announced.
“Hmmm, but only a straight challenge?” I demanded. I almost would prefer if more people fought gauntlets to truly test themselves, especially at the lowest level but I also knew there were certain constraints.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t nudge them along.
Xander considered me, and more importantly, he considered Titan and Bertha.
“... you’re right, can I challenge the gauntlet?” he asked.
Nodding slightly I offered a faint smile. “You can,” I replied, turning and stepping away as Rocko sauntered down from the trainer’s lounge.
He palmed a pokeball and locked eyes with Xander.
“Got some big expectations on your shoulders there kid, give it your best,” he said before sending out Geodude.
In response Xander sent out his starter, a Rhyhorn.
Instantly my eyes began cataloguing the sheen of its metal hide, along with how much dust swirled outward. It was slightly underweight for a normal pokemon, but that was to be expected considering it had… hatched just recently.
Heh, sometimes it still amused me no end to think about how pokemon like Rhyhorn and Onix could hatch from tiny eggs. Unlike the anime or games they took a while to grow to full size but it was usually a very rapid growth.
Huh, one small detail stood out to me. Xander’s Rhyhorn’s armour plating around its spine and rear legs was thicker… that was an indication that his pokemon was a girl. Well look at that. Bertha and Titan have a daughter.
Xander’s fight got underway quickly with him sending rhyhorn on the attack with Bulldoze, which was a good move to start things off.
Rocko dragged things out a little with Rollout but Xander and his pokemon were up to the challenge, as they were against the second geodude Rocko sent out.
When it was time for the next trainer to step forward Xander replaced his pokemon and instead sent out a Bellsprout.
Hmmm, good option.
It quickly smashed its way through the second group of pokemon with Vine Whip after Vine Whip.
Then I stepped back in, allowing my aura to begin spiking as I stood on the podium. “Ready to show me what you’ve got?” I demanded, fully immersed in my Gym Leader persona.
Xander nodded firmly, his earlier nerves gone as he sent back out Rhyhorn, only to blink when I matched him with another Rhyhorn.
“You didn’t think I was going to let you walk in here with that pokemon and not test you, did you?” I stated.
Xander swallowed, eying the much larger pokemon. I could all but feel Bertha breathing down my neck to not hurt her baby… too badly but I ignored her and instead watched as the flags dropped and Xander locked in.
“Bulldoze!” he commanded.
“Bulldoze!” I countered, more than happy to match him.
Both pokemon charged straight at each other only for them to come together headfirst.
Xander’s Rhyhorn was thrown back and Xander grimaced. “Damn it! Sorry little bud!”
Rhyhorn kicked up onto her feet and snorted heavily, eyeing her foe but nodding to her trainer.
Xander considered the rocky field. “Rhyhorn, I want you to start running around the various boulders, don’t go through them and trust me on this.”
Rhyhorn nodded and did as ordered while I raised an eyebrow. Alright, interesting what trick were you going to try for here?
“Bulldoze,” I ordered once again and my Rhyhorn surged after his opponent who quickly darted his way and that. We on the other hand plowed through several boulders, quickly closing in.
“On the next boulder jump onto it and come straight back with your own Bulldoze!” ordered Xander causing me to blink.
Sure enough on the next boulder Xander’s Rhyhorn did just that.
They timed it perfectly. My Rhyhorn had just emerged from smashing his way through another boulder and his momentum was gone.
Xander’s pokemon hit like a truck and this time it was my Rhyhorn that was sent soaring.
My Rhyhorn rolled back onto his feet and barked in frustration.
“Rhyhorn!” he roared, causing Xander’s pokemon to back up slightly.
Xander clenched his fist. “Don’t back down girl! Let’s try that new move we worked on before!”
Hmm, another trick? Why not use it earlier? I could only assume that it hadn’t learned the move properly which might imply an egg move that it had learned… from… its… parents…
I stiffened.
Shit! Had that Rhyhorn inherited a Fissure or Horn Drill from Bertha?
“Go Bite it!” Xander called.
I blinked, then relaxed. Oh, it had picked up Crunch from Titan.
That was… well actually a terrible call.
“Bulldoze,” I said with a flick of my wrist. Poor kid should know that it was only normally effective and wasn’—
Instead of dark energy building up over his Rhyhorn’s jaw, ice built up causing me to blink. Huh? Was this possible?
Darting to the side and leaping off a rock, Xander’s Rhyhorn bit into my pokemon’s flank with an Ice Fang.
“Huh?” I muttered, stunned that Xander had gotten that of all moves.
My pokemon went down this time and when I returned him I gave Xander and his Rhyhorn a considering look. “That was impressive,” I offered, unable to keep up my tough guy persona.
“What made you realise she was capable of Ice Fang?”
“Oh! I noticed her teeth were longer than usual. I did a bit of reading wit the pokedex you gave me and sometimes that can be an indicator of pokemon that can learn specialised biting moves!”
“Like Bite, Crunch, and Ice Fang,” I murmured, impressed with his research. “Good job.”
Xander blinked before smiling. “Thanks, that means I got my badge?” he asked.
I considered him and his pokemon before glancing down to my belt. I did have a Geodude and an Onix still to send out… but with what he’d demonstrated along with having a Bellsprout ready to use…
“Yes, yes you have,” I remarked. Signalling that the fight was over.
Behind me Bertha and titan rose to begin cheering for their child who stiffened in surprise only to grin happily at them.
They then jumped down and congratulated her like proud parents would normally, causing a small earthquake and sending her bouncing off the ground.
I let them have their moment and instead focussed on giving Xander his first badge.
“You’re doing well with her,” I offered, after awarding him the boulder badge.
“Thanks, that means a lot coming from you. I have her on the diet you recommended but she keeps sneaking berries.”
“Yeah, that’ll happen. Limit it, but don’t try to restrict it too much,” I suggested.
When it was time for Xander to depart Bertha and Titan waved them off and I chuckled only for a chime to sound out, reminding me that today wasn’t all going to be about fun and games.
I sadly had to handle other tasks as a Gym Leader.
I met Jennifer, my political proxy for the local council in my office. “So what’s the situation this year?” I asked.
“There are some zoning changes that might impact you that we’ll need to curry some favour for. The issue is that with you having so much land certain blocks are going to be rezoned and you’ll either be paying fees for them, or you’ll have to sell them off.”
“Can’t we claim it under the Heritage Law with it being Gym land?”
“We could but you’re going to have to demolish the old Gym and have it recognised that there is no other facility, so a pretty easy fix.”
“Huh, considering the old gym is pretty run down, that should be easy enough.”
Jennifer grimaced and I raised an eyebrow. “What’s the issue?”
“Some of the council members want to keep it around. So we’re going to get push back.”
“They want their cake and to eat it as well,” I mused. “Are they being malicious in wanting to trap me in fees or selling land or—”
“No, they just really like the idea of the old gym. Literally just that.”
“Hmmm,” I considered the issue for a moment. “We could break it down and move it onto a patch of land, maybe upgrade it while keeping the aesthic.”
Jennifer snorted at that. “Aesthetic? It’s literally a rock on top of a building with metal girders. Urgh if it wasn’t locally sourced and a ‘symbol of postwar buildings’ we’d be able to just knock it down. It’s a shame you didn’t do it right away. It would have been easier to get away with it then than let it linger like it has been.”
To that I could only offer a shrug. “It had some sentimental value to it,” I replied.
“I’m sure. Well it’s an issue now. One that is going to cost you.”
“I think we’ll bring it over to our current Gym, we can rework a few things and I already have Flint working with a team of fossil pokemon that he should be able to manage so he can run a Fossil specific challenge in the older gym.”
“Seems like a bit of overkill,” Jennifer murmured.
Again I shrugged. “The other idea is that with the extra arena facility we can run events while keeping Gym challenges open to the public.”
“Like your Magical trainer audition?” teased Jennifer. “I’m still seeing little girls running aorund with bubble wands in the parks from that event you know? Did you have to sell the wands with eight resupply bottles for bubbles?”
I smirked. “Bubble wands are an amazing method of distracting young children for hours on end with little to no mess when they’re done.”
Jennifer stared at me.
I coughed. “Well, there are some issues getting the things off the kids when it’s time for dinner or other activities but… they’re still a good toy!”
“Not saying they’re not, more commenting that they were highly successful. You’ll need to get some personalised ones for next time with any Gym pokemon that can perform Bubble.”
I shook my head. “Corsola might be the only pokemon that can do that, whereas Bubble Beam? Lots of my pokemon have the potential for that move.”
“Semantics,” Jennifer grumbled as she rolled her eyes. “Right, well I’ll inform the council as to your decision. If they get snippy I’ll tell them it’s that or it accidentally falls down when a wild pack of Dugtrio and Onix go through the place.”
“Subtle,” I stated.
“Subtely has it’s place, but sometimes you gotta beat people over the head with the stick to get your message through,” Jennifer grumbled as she drew a line through the first item we had to discuss.
“Mayoral Ball, that’s a non-negotiable. You need to attend, and you’re also going to need to consider which of Pewter’s social Elite you will be inviting to Yours and Sabrina’s wedding. Everyone, and I mean everyone is holding their breaths for the invites to appear any day now.”
“The list is pretty big,” I commented, recalling the system Sabrina and I had set up to have our signatures printed out while hand writing people’s names in.
“Which means that if they miss out, it’s going to be an even bigger snub.” She lay a list in front of me. “Who from this list?” she asked.
I tapped about half the names and Jennifer hummed in consideration. “That’s a good number. You’re close with the older representatives so I can ease the rejection.”
Rolling my eyes I scoffed. “It’s not a rejection. They’re just not being included.”
Jennifer gave me another flat look. “That’s not how politics works at all, especially if they can change the perception.”
I made to sigh only for an alarm to begin blaring through the facility. The room turned red and blue and I straightened. That alarm.
That wasn’t a fire alarm, or a perimeter breach, so what did that leave?
“Is there an infiltrator?” Jennifer barked as the Arcanine that had been lounging on the ground next to her began wrapping itself around her, inspecting the door and myself carefully as he bared his fangs.
I tapped my computer expecting to see an update of some kind only for a large set of text to reveal itself.
‘Cyber attack in progress! Systems locking down!’
“Oh shit, someone’s trying to hack into our systems!” I announced as I shot out of my seat and made for the security room that was known as the duckpond.
“Doesn’t the Gym use Porygon as active defenses, become the anti-virus system?” Jennifer asked as she rode her Arcanine after me. Arcane had to work to keep up with me as I poured on the speed.
When I reached the security room I smashed in my code only for it to be unresponsive. Overhead lights began to flicker.
Shit, that wasn’t good.
Without second guessing myself I drew on my rock aura and that of my closest pokemon who were all beginning to search the skies or the fields for danger.
I smashed my hand into the metal and it dented.
Fuck! That hurt! I smashed it again and again and within a few seconds I was through only to face an irate Magneton and my security guard defiantly glaring at me.
WAs he also a tria—
The thought died quickly as he sagged in relief. “Thank Arceus, you’re hear that Gym Leader! I thought we were under attack just now!” the way his entire body almost collapsed in on itself made me disregard my earlier thought.
“What’s happening here?”
“The porygon are fighting… something in cyberspace! I’m not sure it seems to be like them but more advanced! There are also other Porygon that I don’t recognise in there but Cypher and the others are fighting back well!”
I inspected the screen attached to the Gym’s computer servers and grimaced.
Shit. I wasn’t sure what was going on but if we were being spammed with Porygon from outside then the best option would be to limit the oncoming tide.
“Rip out the pokenet cable! Block all outward connections! Turn off the Wi-fi and also rip it out of the wall!” I ordered as I set about doing just that.
This was going to cause me so many headaches later on, but right now it was the only thing I could think to do.
Within seconds our outward connections were shut down, or in the process of being cut off. This seemed to trigger a retreat with what few porygon remained.
I caught Cypher and my other two Porygon fighting something in cyberspace and I could only stare.
I’d known they were marketing the Upgrade package for Porygon to Porygon2, but it appeared someone had access to a Dubious Disc, as a Porygon-Z was fighting three of my pokemon right now!
It vanished right before the final cable got yanked and I had to bark out a warning for my Porygon not to follow.
They did so and when the cable came out they emerged from Cyberspace. They looked worked over and exhausted.
“You did great team,” I said as I offered them berries and potion spray downs.
This… this was a complete out of left field style of attack I’d never encountered before. What were they trying to achieve?
“Brroooooooooooooock!” screamed Rachel from down the hallway. “The pokenet is out!” she called.
I huffed. Of course that would be her priorities right now. “It’s cause we disconnected the Gym’s cables and wi-fi Rachel! And we just got hacked.”
Rachel skidded to a stop, her eyes wild. “No! I mean the entire pokenet is down! Someone has shut everything down! They left a message and everything! It’s playing on everyone’s transceivers!”
I glanced down, and sure enough there was a message on mine.
‘To whom it may concern, I have shut down the Pokenet and will not relent until I am granted five hundred million pokedollars! Each hour that my demands are not met will result in a further fifty million being added to the total. For directions on how to deposit the money, follow this link. Your move Indigo League! - Hack3rman!’
I stared.
This… this was an event that never happened in the pokemon series… at least I don’t think it did.
Someone had taken the Indigo League’s pokenet hostage.
This was going to light so many bums on fire within the League it wasn’t funny.
What was I supposed to do for this?
____________________
A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support!
It also goes to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter.