Chapter Twenty-three- Finally Off
~*~ Same day, a few hours later ~*~

"Hey there."

The experimenter glanced up from her work. "Oh, hello, Logan."

"How's it going?"

"Pretty good, actually."

She returned her gaze to the computer screen. A complicated set of equations chased each other around the screen in an unending maze that made it hard for Logan to look at, even for a second. He wondered how she'd ever even gotten used to looking at it, much less understanding any of it. Then again, she was the mathematics genius, not him.

"I found another trainer and her Bishonen and brought them here today."

Logan sighed. "You shouldn't capture so many people so quickly, you know," he said. "We'll get found and caught. And, as uncertain about this new development of yours as I am, I don't want you to get in trouble."

The experimenter turned to smile at him. "You've no idea how happy I am that you said that, Logan-kun. But don't worry; you DO want to take care of the half-bloods, right? This is the only way. And as for me getting in trouble, well, my Hiei will protect me from anyone who tries to hurt me. Or you."

The other trainer couldn't help but smile back; he'd always found that smile infectious. "I guess you're right. But try to be careful anyway, all right?"

"I will. To be honest, though, we may not have to do this much longer. I think I've finally found out how to make a half-blood Bishonen catch-able."

"Is that even a word?" Logan asked, amused. He leaned against a nearby desk and crossed his arms.

"What?"

"Catch-able."

"Oh. I don't know." The experimenter shrugged. "If it's not, then I've made up a new word, ne?"

"True."

Logan watched her type on her computer for a while. For a moment, he got the image of a Heero Yuy doing the same thing. Then he shook his head. The experimenter didn't even like Gundam Wing. Why would he think of a Heero Yuy? Oh, well. "So what exactly have you discovered?"

"Hmm?" She glanced up. "Oh, I've found what I hope to be a correct formula. It's complicated, though." She frowned. "You'd have to create special Bish-balls, for one thing. For another, you'd have to get close enough to a half-blood to give him the injection, and if he's wandering around in the wild that could be hard. But if you inject them, the only result- as far as I can tell from this- would be that you could catch them like any other full-blood."

"Well, that's definitely better than having to dispose of the mad ones," Logan remarked. "I sort of empathized with the full-bloods in the wild for having to deal with them."

"Yes, but there was no way for us to get rid of them," the experimenter said. "It would have pushed all of the trainers here to madness themselves, and we don't need that. After all, the more reasonable they are when we let them out, the less memory we'll have to erase and the less we'll have to worry about them blabbing to everyone else about this." She yawned.

"Am I boring you?"

"It's just the conversation. No offence, but it's not the most interesting when I'm trying to work on something this hard. How about something inspiring?"

Now Logan felt a twinge of irritation. "As you wish, my Lady," he said mockingly.

She smiled. "I wish."

Hiei walked in suddenly, with two glasses of soda. He handed one to his trainer, then after a moment of hesitation gave the other to Logan. The Bishoujo trainer nodded once in response. Without a word, the demon Bishonen left.

The experimenter watched him go with wide eyes. Then she opened a new document on the computer and began typing frantically, as though afraid something might be forgotten.

Surprised by this sudden flurry of activity, Logan walked over and peered at the screen. "What? What is it?" he asked, worried.

"I've found it, Logan-kun! Isn't that great?"

"Uh, yeah, wonderful. What have you found?"

The experimenter turned around to face him, eyes wide and shining. "The full-bloods! That's it!"

Logan blinked. "I don't follow."

She stared at him, then hung her head. "Sometimes, Logan, I think that you really ought to go back to school for a while. Lemme put it this way- we don't like half-bloods, right?"

"Yeah..."

"The FULL-bloods generally don't like half-bloods, right?" she continued.

"Okay..."

"So, what if we call on the wild Bishonen to hunt down the halfling? We can send them copies of this injection- once we've tested it, of course- and have THEM do our work FOR us. Then we can just sell the special Bish-balls- once they're tested too, anyway. Then we get the profits, the full-bloods feel happy they got rid of what they think are nuisances, and the trainers catch new species of their favorite characters! It all fits!"

Logan blinked again. Then one more time. Finally, he grinned. "You ARE a genius. We get to be lazy AND rich."

She smiled back. "I knew you'd like it. Now, I just need to figure out how to convince these full-bloods..."

Her eyes went back to the computer.

"This'll be all taken care of before we know it, Logan-kun. I just know it..."

~*~

Bryanna stalked down the hallway. She was unable to hold down her anger at how she was treated; then again, she didn't particularly want to. Yami Yugi walked along beside her, having left his Bish-ball after listening to his trainer yell expletives at the walls for five minutes. He watched her worriedly. The Bishonen seemed to want to put a hand on her shoulder to calm her, but also looked like he knew he'd probably lose his arm if he did so.

Finally, the redhead stopped and took a deep breath.

"Ano... Bry?" Yami asked quietly. "Are you feeling better?"

His trainer punched a nearby wall, nearly rocking the entire place on its foundation, as an answer.

"Eep! Guess not..."

"She has no right," she growled. "I'm sick of this. I am so outta here, the minute I get back Lina-chan and her Ball we are all GONE, Yami. So stick close to me, and keep an eye on your ball. Got it?"

"Um, okay Bry-chan... no problem."

"But first... I gotta create a distraction." For the first time in a half-hour, Yami saw his trainer smile. However, instead of sighing in relief, he cringed. This was not a very cheerful smile. "What say you we do some sabotage before we leave, Yami-kun?"

"I don't know, Bry, that's not exactly right.. I'd just say we-" he stopped when she began to glower at him, her eyes flashing a dangerous red. "Ano, never mind. I agree completely! Let's sabotage the entire place!" he said quickly.

"That's my Yami-kun. But how...?" she mused, tapping her chin with an index finger. Then she snapped her fingers and smirked in triumph. "Of course. When we leave, we take a trainer and their Bishonen with us!"

"All right..."

"How about that new one she wants me to check up on? Yeah, that's perfect! We'll talk to her, sneak her stuff back to her, then you can cause a distraction for her precious Hiei to look at. Then we can use her transporting thingy and get outta here. Maybe we can come back later to destroy that, too! Heh, heh..." Bryanna's eyes glittered in the dim lighting of the hallway. "But first things first, let's go see that new trainer and see if she'll go along..."

Yami swallowed and nodded when her eyes fell on him again. The two began walking again. Yami couldn't help but wonder if his trainer had been around Bakura just a bit too long...

~*~

Miya-chan blinked and glanced up as the door to the small room opened. After a moment, Jessica did the same thing. "What do you want?" Jessica asked in a flat voice.

A figure came into the room- a young woman, possibly another trainer- with a Yami Yugi in tow. The figure took a look at the two trainers, who sat on Miya-chan's bed, then moved over to the other bed instead of taking the usual plush chair. Yami took up the spot on the bed next to her, looking at her worriedly.

"You're the newest trainers here, right?" the girl asked.

Both trainers glanced at each other before answering. "Yeah, why do you care?" Miya-chan asked cautiously. She eyed the Yami, a bit nervous; hadn't Jessica mentioned that a Yami guarded this place?

"Good." The girl looked satisfied. "How would you like to get outta here?"

Miya-chan blinked. "Huh?"

"What are you trying to pull?" Jessica asked, frowning. "You're one of the people who caught us, aren't you?"

The redhead girl waved a hand in dismissal. "Please. I leave that to the others. I just come around and make sure everything operates the way it's supposed to. Only I don't want things to operate correctly anymore."

"What are you getting at?" Miya-chan asked.

"Miya-chan," Jessica warned.

"Let's just hear her out, okay?"

Jessica shook her head. "Okay, then..." She settled back, crossing her arms. "So what've you got to say?" she asked the girl.

The redhead cleared her throat. "I'm Bryanna, in case you had any desire to know. I've just been treated like... something very nasty... by the person in charge around here. So I want out. Only thing is, she's got my Lina-chan in her hands. I'd free her and get her back later, only she has the Bish-ball too. So I need help. If you help me get my Lina back, I'll help you and your Bishies get outta here."

Miya-chan took in a deep breath of air, staring at Bryanna. She glanced at Jessica to see her new friend's reaction.

The other trainer was still suspicious. "Why should we trust you?"

"Look, I got a Bishoujo in trouble and I can just as easily go find someone else to help me and free themselves," Bryanna snapped. "Do you want out or not? Last time I checked you guys weren't that interested in becoming guinea pigs."

The two trainers considered this for a few minutes, mulling over the ideas in their respective minds. Yami put a hand on Bryanna's shoulder, gently rubbing it. Bryanna, however, didn't relax; she kept her gaze on the two trainers.

Miya-chan broke the tense silence. "I'm in."

"Good." Bryanna nodded. Then she glanced at Jessica. "How about you?"

The other trainer considered it. After a moment, she shrugged. "What've we got to lose? I'd rather go home than stay here, that's for sure. I'm in."

Bryanna smiled. "Great. Thanks. Look, I can't stay here for too long; I gotta start mapping out our plans. But I'll put off our friends upstairs from coming in after you by saying you're sick or something. All right, first things first, who are your Bishies?"

She listened intently as both trainers listed their respective Bishies, then nodded. "I'll come by again when everything's planned. Until then, don't draw attention to yourselves." She stood; Yami followed, then the two trainers. "Thanks again. Until I return..."

The redhead left the room as briskly as she had entered, with her Yami closely behind. The door closed, the lock clicked, and everything was quiet again.

"Wow," Miya-chan said. "Talk about a break!"

"Still, we gotta be careful," Jessica said. She frowned. "I hate this, not being able to trust a fellow trainer. But we have to be cautious, you know? Otherwise we might end up worse off than here, though I can't think of a single worse situation right now."

"Me neither," Miya-chan. "Yeah, we'll be careful. Definitely. I don't want any harm to come to my Bishies."

~*~ The next day ~*~

"Aah, on the road again," Anya said, stretching her arms in front of her. "It actually feels good. I guess I really am a drifter."

"Nothing wrong with that, no da," Chichiri said. He walked on her left side, his staff jingling softly as they made their way down the path.

"Nope, nothin' wrong at all with that," Miroku said. He was walking in front of Chichiri beside Jacky, staff also in hand (though his didn't jingle at all). "It's so peaceful, walking out in the wilderness."

"Wow, Miroku's acting like a monk," Jacky teased. He gave her a slightly annoyed look.

"Uggghh," came two moans from behind.

Kimiko turned around and waved at Sano and Tasuki. "C'mon, you guys, let's move it!" she sang cheerfully.

Tasuki groaned. "Have pity, woman..."

"No chance! We got places to go, things to do! Let's move it!"

Sano clutched his head. "Let me die in peace!"

Anya shook her head. "You said one hour, and you stayed out for four. You deserve every headache you get from all that sake you drank last night," she told the two.

"Aw, Anya," Sano complained.

"No aw's," she said. "It's your own fault."

"Saith the prude ones," Tasuki muttered. Then he yelped when Kimiko took his tessen and hit him on the head with it. He immediately fell to the ground. "Iiiittaaaaiii..."

"You WILL be polite to our new travelling companions," Kimiko told him firmly.

"Alright, alright..."

Kurama shook his head. "Poor, poor souls," he murmured, touching Tasuki's head in a sympathetic manner.

"Hey, ge' off!" Tasuki shoved the other redhead's hand off of his hand.

"They really should just stick to sugar," Paul commented.

"Yeah, totally," Abby replied. She and Paul were walking along a little ways ahead of Kimiko, Tasuki, Kurama and Sano, but behind the rest of the party. For once, Abby had had pity for her Bishonen and let him escape to his Bish-ball. "Sugar never gives you hangovers."

"And it's sweet!" Paul ^^ed.

"And it works all the time!" Abby said. "And it's GOOD. Great, now I want pocky..."

"Me too, actually... let's buy some at the next town!"

"Yeah!" Abby grinned. "Then we'll buy all the pocky, and maybe then we'll get some soda?"

"Yup, yup!"

"Kami save us," Jacky whispered to Anya, who nodded and laughed a little.

"Suzaku save us," Chichiri corrected, then added, "no da."

"Whatever," Sano said, shrugging. "SOMEONE save us."

"Maybe if we pray to the sugar god, they'll have pity on us and hide all of their stuff away from those two," Anya suggested.

The group all stopped and turned to stare at her. Chichiri put a hand on her forehead, while Sano began to check her pulse. Chibi Kenshin stood there blinking, not quite sure he understood what his trainer had said. Heero merely "Hnn"-ed and turned away to watch the woods nearby.

Anya -_-ed. "Guys... I was just joking, jeez."

"Oh, okay." Everyone pulled away and continued walking.

The trainer rolled her eyes. Then she turned a little to see Kimiko hurry up to her. "Hey, Kimiko."

"Hey." Kimiko chuckled. "You know, it seems mean but I find Tasuki with a hangover hilarious."

"Oh, don't feel bad. I think Sano's funny as anything, too." Anya grinned. "It's what they do, after all. Pulling Sano OR Tasuki away from sake is like losing your arm to you."

"True..." Kimiko's smile then faded. "Anya..."

Anya blinked.

"Is what you told me about.. Bishonen and all getting caught really true? I mean, you think that MorTae's really been caught like that?"

"I could almost guarantee it, but there's always a chance I'm wrong," Anya said. "I'm hoping I'm wrong, on that score at least."

"Me too."

Chichiri suddenly put his arms around both trainers and went SD, making them both blink. "Don't worry! Trainers are wrong more often than they admit! I'll bet Anya was wrong, no da!" he said cheerfully.

Anya blinked again, then her eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"

"I said- uh, daaa. That wasn't the best thing to say, was it no da?" Chichiri asked. He was still SD, but was now edging behind Heero, peeking out at the two trainers.

"No, it really wasn't," Anya replied, giving him a glare.

"Sorry! I was just trying to cheer you up! Daa!" Chichiri jumped into his hat when she continued to glare at him, and the hat went on Heero's head.

The Gundam pilot blinked, and slowly reached up a hand to touch the hat that now rested on his head.

The trainers paused to see this new happening, and had to laugh at how the hat looked on Heero. The Bishonen in question gave them annoyed looks in answer, but let the hat stay.

"Ne, Heero, you should try that look more often," Jacky teased.

Heero rolled his eyes and continued on.

Anya smiled, shaking her head. Then she had to pause for just one minute and looked up at the sky. /I really hope I am wrong about Kimiko's friend. Just this once, let me be wrong, whoever's out there..."

"Anya, you coming or not?"

The trainer blinked, then grinned again. "Of course!" She scampered off to join the rest of the group.