[attr="class","mon"]

[attr="class","monbody"]Absorbed in the task of sketching out a design for a dive knife—which would need to be forged from stainless steel with one sharp edge for cutting and one serrated edge for sawing—within her forge, Aurelie heard the loud ringing of the call bell at the front desk. A second later, a bright blue light flashed on and off repeatedly, part of the alert system she'd rigged up in case there was too much noise or activity inside the forge to hear the bell. The red-haired smith had to shake herself out of the near-trance she often fell into working, before grumbling and standing up to go answer the bell.

I bet it's some tourist wanting to use the bathroom, she groused internally. Or a family of tourists whose little kids will bang on the display cases and demand to play with the knives. Or some random idiot who thinks he can come in and order 500 brand-new knives to be delivered in half an hour. Ugh.

When Aurelie came into the shop, though, she saw that it was none of the above, much to her relief. Her face broke into a broad smile when she recognized the familiar figure of Ruby Garcia, whom she remembered encountering during a short-lived excursion to Route 111. The woman had genuinely impressed Aurelie with her quick thinking and impressively efficient deployment of her Pokemon against the Silicobras. While Aurelie knew she herself had gotten one snake from sheer luck, Ruby hadn't needed luck at all to acquire the snakeskins that Rocket wanted. When she'd admired Aurelie's skinning knife, Aurelie had impulsively lent it to her out of respect for her skills and hope for a new customer. To be honest, she wasn't sure she would ever see Ruby or the skinning knife again.

But here she was, waiting at the counter with a look on her face that made Aurelie fairly sure that she wasn't about to ask to use the bathroom.

"Well, if it isn't Snake Slayer from the desert," Aurelie quipped by way of greeting, clearly much more relaxed and at ease in the familiar confines of her own business than she had looked at their first meeting. "I hope the knife that I lent you back then has been performing well for you. Hopefully, you were able to use it on more snakes than I did that day."

She tilted her head to one side inquisitively. "So, what brings you here today? Just returning the knife? Or—" She met Ruby's eyes and lowered her voice conspiratorially, even though there was clearly no one else in the austerely furnished shop. "Are you here looking for something a little...sharper? Something a bit more...aggressive?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby wasn't used to her presence being something to smile about, so seeing Aurelie's broad smile caught her a bit off guard. Yet the Snake Slayer nickname gave her more than enough motivation to wipe away her brief dumbfounded look with a cocky smirk. Aurelie, meanwhile, looked completely comfortable now that she was on her home turf. In the desert, she'd looked like... well, pretty much anyone that Ruby would make fun of for underestimating that environment. But here, she seemed a lot more confident. It was a good look on her.

[break][break]"It's a damn good knife, yeah," Ruby said. "Made the rest of my job smoother. I almost didn't wanna give it back, but I wanted to see what else you could do." She held out the knife handle-first for Aurelie to take back. She'd even bothered to wipe it off when she was done! Wasn't that just thoughtful of her?

[break][break]Ruby glanced around, but the shop was still as empty as it had been when she'd entered. "Something like that, yeah," she said, finding her voice lowering a bit to match Aurelie's tone even though it didn't need to. "I've got a nail bat I use if I really need to send a message, but it's not exactly subtle. Was thinking a good knife or some knuckle dusters for those stealthy jobs."

[attr="class","mon"]

[attr="class","monbody"]After Ruby Garcia also lowered her voice—perhaps unconsciously—at the mention of weapons, Aurelie flushed slightly pink at how ridiculous it all looked and cleared her throat, reminding herself to just use her normal voice and stop acting like they were characters in a spy movie. Flashing Ruby a grateful smile, she accepted the skinning knife and turned it in her hands for a moment, noting with pleasure that it had evidently been well-cared-for. The problem with a high-carbon steel knife was that it was more likely to rust than stainless steel would be, but it seemed like Ruby had been careful to wipe the blade clean after using it.

"Glad you liked this knife," she said, her smile deepening at Ruby's cocky smirk. She nodded along thoughtfully as she listened to Ruby's description. "But I'd be happy to make something much better and more suited to you in particular."

Aurelie hastened to add, "Not that I doubt the effectiveness of your Skorupi and your..." The red-haired smith furrowed her brow as she tried to recall the Pokemon that had accompanied Ruby in the desert. "Your Scyther, right? Or your nail bat, for that matter. Arceus, I bet that nail bat really does send a message," she remarked with a rueful shake of her head. "But it never hurts to get a knife into something—or someone—too, before you get too close, right?"

Tilting her head to one side, she went on, "For you, I would think maybe a paired set of knives? Their primary use would be for fighting, but they'd be handy for regular work too." She drifted off for a moment as she pictured both blades in her mind, already caught up in the excitement of planning their design and construction. "I'm thinking...one tanto-style knife for stabbing, but with serrations on its back for sawing through ropes or cloth, and then one kukri-style knife for slashing, but also good for chopping stuff, clearing away foliage, or even digging. How does that sound?"

Then with a sinking feeling, Aurelie caught herself and shook her head again, this time with regret instead of humor. "At least, that is what I'd make for you, if I could. But...well, I'm sure you've heard the news about that crazy impenetrable dome around the entire Region, right? It's stopped all international trade to and from the Region, and all that."

With a dissatisfied grumble, she continued, "Well, one of the things it's stopped is my regular shipments of high-grade carbon and stainless steel from Johto. All the materials I have on hand are already spoken for, and I didn't have much to begin with. I was counting on that shipment for more, and I bet it's stuck outside the damn dome. I don't think I'd have enough left to make you the knife, or knives, you deserve."

Putting her hands on her hips, she joked wryly, "Well, unless I had a magic key to that League-run foundry near the harbor! Their warehouse never seems to run out. Hey, a girl can dream, right?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Okay, cool, they were going back to their normal voices. Ruby was used to being secretive, but it seemed excessive in an empty shop. "They're strong, yeah, but I'm not always gonna have 'em out," she said about Skorpios and Grimm. "Especially now that Skorpios is evolved. And the bat's too, what's the word... conspicuous." Though she did feel pride at how Aurelie reacted to just the mention of the bat.

[break][break]She listened as Aurelie described her ideas for a pair of knives for Ruby. Ruby didn't know what "tanto" and "kukri" meant, though the words at least sounded familiar. She liked the descriptions Aurelie was giving, though, and nodded along. The blacksmith almost seemed off in her own little world as she described the serrations on one knife, how one would be used for stabbing and the other for slicing, how they could double as work knives... Not only did she know her stuff, but she was clearly passionate about her work.

[break][break]But then Aurelie's face fell, and she brought up the dome around Hoenn. Ruby frowned. "Hard to miss it, yeah. You'd have to be living under a rock."

[break][break]Well, it turned out that dome was stopping Aurelie from getting more supplies. "Ugh, seriously? After all that, you can't even make them?" And she'd actually been getting excited, too...

[break][break]But Aurelie's little joke actually had Ruby perking back up. The grin returned to her face. "Who says we need a key? Why don't we just break in and, you know, 'borrow' some?"

[attr="class","mon"]

[attr="class","monbody"]Aurelie nodded slowly in understanding as Ruby described with admirable succinctness why her nail bat (fearsome though it sounded) and her Pokemon (as skillfully as she had deployed them in a fight) might not always be the best tool or weapon in every situation. The red-haired smith was pleased to see that Ruby seemed to approve of her initial ideas for her knives. Unfortunately, that made Ruby's all-too-understandable reaction of frustration and exasperation hit even harder after hearing about Aurelie's personal shortage of usable metals. I wish it didn't feel like I'd just raised her hopes up, only to smack them down harshly out of the blue like that, Aurelie reflected regretfully.

But then the grin returned to Ruby's face when she suggested breaking into the well-stocked League warehouse. Aurelie gasped in shock at the thought. "You mean, steal the steel we need?" she exclaimed hesitantly. "But is that really...I mean, isn't that...well..."

She trailed off, realizing that she was about to ask, "Isn't that illegal?" A foolish question for any Rocket member to ask, especially to another Rocket member, considering that the whole faction operated through sabotage, deception, and thievery. Aurelie was still so new to Rocket in general, though, that the idea of personally stealing from the League still felt wrong somehow to her.

Yet, she knew that Rocket of all organizations shouldn't care about following the rules—or the law—set by the League. Besides, with that impenetrable dome cutting off trade to all of Hoenn, she really could use that steel. The League could handle restocking it afterward, surely—and besides, it wasn't like those supplies were being used to feed orphans or something, right?

"Isn't that dangerous?" Aurelie asked instead, as if finishing her thought. Rubbing her chin pensively, she mused, "I mean, I suppose I've only ever seen a couple night watchmen patrolling around the warehouse in the evening, so maybe it wouldn't be that hard to slip past them once we study their routes and blind spots. There are some security cameras, but I'm pretty sure my Magneton could fry the electronics in them easily...

Oh Arceus," she interrupted herself, throwing her hands up in the air, "why am I talking like I'm even considering this? This is crazy, right? I've never pulled off a heist before!"

But she saw the glint of excitement in Ruby's eyes and couldn't help grinning back. "On the other hand, you seem like someone who knows more than I do about breaking in and 'borrowing' some supplies. And Arceus knows, even a small crate of steel bars would be more than enough to make you a pair of fantastic knives and keep my forge going for a while."

Aurelie leaned forward, elbows on the counter, and pulled a piece of paper and pen toward her to start drawing out a simple outline of the building, as she'd seen it from the outside. "Let's say—hypothetically—we're going to do this. Here's what I know of the entrances and exits to the warehouse. What do you think we'd need? Balaclavas, to hide our faces? Lockpicks? A crowbar?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","rubyw"]

"Yeah? Wait, did you do that on purpose?" Ruby asked about Aurelie's steal/steel pun. She still didn't really get the blacksmith. She clearly had knowledge, passion, and even some grit, but she still seemed... almost timid in some areas. Like she still wasn't used to the whole "doing crimes" thing. It left Ruby with a lot of questions.

[break][break]"Yeah, it's dangerous," Ruby replied, "but that's why you plan." Not that Ruby was an expert in heist planning, but even she knew that just waltzing in with metaphorical guns blazing was a bad idea.

[break][break]And plan Aurelie did. Ruby's grin grew more confident as the smith described what she'd seen of the warehouse's security and even gave some ideas for dealing with it. Ruby felt strangely proud as she listened. She'd never pulled off a heist before? "Heh, could have fooled me. I like the way you think." She flashed an impressed and appreciative smirk at Aurelie's foresight.

[break][break]She looked down at the outline Aurelie had drawn. "'Hypothetically,' yeah, masks are a must. We'll need some way to get in, like through a window or picking a lock. Your Magneton can take care of the cameras; that'll just leave the guards. You said there's just a couple of them, right? Should be pretty easy to get past them, grab a crate, and get out of there. If it's too heavy, I've got an Incineroar that should be able to carry it." She tapped her fingers against the desk a few times as she thought. "There might be alarms, too. Think your Magneton can handle those?"[break][break]

---

[break]There was only so much planning they could do at the forge without knowing the guards' routes, where the camera feed went, and what kind of security system was in place. So as Aurelie had suggested, under the cover of night, Ruby watched the outside of the warehouse. The guards outside seemed more focused on guarding the back and side entrances, leaving the front door relatively unguarded. There was still the issue of the cameras and possible alarms, though.

[break][break]"I think the front door's our best bet," Ruby whispered. "We've just gotta make sure the cameras and alarms are down."

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]During their planning session, Aurelie had felt deeply grateful to Ruby for never once scoffing at either her unintentional steel/steal pun or her lack of criminal aptitude and experience. If anything, Ruby had been both extremely encouraging and even appreciative of her contributions of intel—of which Aurelie had accumulated more than she'd realized, almost as if she'd been unconsciously planning to rob the warehouse this whole time—and Pokemon. At the end of it all, they had their masks, a simple plan, better photos of the warehouse downloaded from the Internet, and an agreement that the metal would belong to Aurelie and any money or other valuables they could easily grab would go to Ruby, who would also get her two knives for free from the bladesmith as reward for this night's partnership.

After all, Aurelie would never have even thought of doing this on her own. Nor would she have dared without someone like Ruby, who seemed far more comfortable with carrying out crimes and thefts, alongside her. Even now, the blunt-spoken, quick-thinking, level-headed redhead alongside her was analyzing the security guards' patrol patterns with ease and thinking of ways to exploit their blind spots.

When Ruby pointed out the front door's vulnerability, Aurelie nodded in agreement. "Who would've thought we could just stroll in through the front door?" she whispered back jokingly, pulling out the Pokeball that contained her Magneton. "Let's hope this really is all there is to the warehouse's security."

She released her Magneton—really three Magnemites linked together by a powerful magnetic force—in the direction of the front doors. Supposedly, that magnetic force was absolutely fatal to electronic equipment, to the point where some towns forbade taking a Magneton out of its Pokeball, though Aurelie had never tested it out before. Now, she found herself holding her breath as the Magneton whirred toward the front entrance where two security cameras were almost-but-not-quite perfectly hidden at cunning angles to watch the front of the building.

For a moment, it seemed as though nothing was happening. Then the little red light on the security cameras started blinking and flickering erratically on and off, rather reminiscent of a sleepy person's eyelids repeatedly drooping and rising while trying desperately to stay awake. A few small sparks flew from the lenses of both cameras, and they both swiveled a few times from side to side, before falling still, the little red recording light going dark.

"I think that does it," Aurelie whispered, hiding her disappointment that the disabling process wasn't more visually dramatic. She tugged at the thick black balaclava covering her face and crept forward toward the front doors. "Come on, let's get in there before the guards come back around."

Somewhat to her surprise, the warehouse's front doors were secured with a large, sturdy, but ultimately rather simple-looking padlock. While it definitely looked heavy-duty and tough, Aurelie hadn't expected such a low-tech solution to warehouse security. She'd been hoping for something more complicated and advanced, more electronic—something that could've been conveniently shorted out by a RISING VOLTAGE surge or two.

She glanced apprehensively toward Ruby. "Um, I don't suppose you know how to pick a lock, do you?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Though the pun hadn't earned Aurelie any scorn, it'd definitely gotten her a confused look. But that was quickly forgotten in the midst of their planning, especially when Aurelie said she'd give Ruby the knives for free if this worked out. Hell yeah!

[break][break]She chuckled under her breath at Aurelie's comment about just strolling in through the front door. "They probably don't think anyone would use it to break in. Dumbasses."

[break][break]She watched the Magneton do its thing. She wasn't totally sure what that "thing" was, but it eventually made the camera lights flicker and die and the cameras themselves fall still like fainted Pokémon. "Perfect." She crept to the front door alongside her partner in crime, aaaaand it was a padlock. Great. She'd been hoping the lock was electronic so it could be shorted out, too.

[break][break]And then Aurelie asked the million-dollar question.

[break][break]"You don't?" Ruby asked. Shit, she'd assumed that since Aurelie had suggested bringing along the lockpicks that she'd know how to use them. "Fuck it, lemme see."

[break][break]Picking locks hadn't ever been Ruby's area of expertise. She'd always been the muscle, the lookout, the person who took out the guards if things got hairy. But she knew the basics and had watched plenty of locks be picked in her life, so how hard could it be? She grabbed the lockpicking kit they'd brought along and pulled out the tension wrench. Step one was to slide that into the lock and put on a bit of tension, like turning a key. Next... Shit, which one of these tools was she supposed to use? The city rake tool kind of looked like a key, so she'd start there.

[break][break]"Watch for the guards," she whispered before getting to work. She pushed the rake tool into the lock and began to wiggle it back and forth. When she felt the pins start to set, she smirked. Amateur lockpicking 1, League security 0. The lock began to turn, and Ruby nudged the tension wrench to finish the job... but then it stopped turning partway. "Fuck," she hissed before wiggling the rake tool again. "Come on...!" Strike that, League security was actually winning. Crap.

[break][break]As Ruby struggled with the lock, the guards in the back muttered amongst themselves about the call they'd just received. Apparently, the cameras at the front door had shorted out. Naturally, that was a problem. One of the guards agreed to head around to the front to check it out, his trusty Arcanine at his side. As they moved closer, the Arcanine picked up an unfamiliar scent in the air and began to growl.

[break][break]"What is it, girl?" the guard asked. After another low growl, the Arcanine picked up her pace, leaving the guard to jog after her.

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]"Ack, sorry, no, I don't know how to pick locks," Aurelie whispered apologetically when Ruby realized that, for all that the bladesmith had been the one to suggest bringing the lockpicking kit, she had no idea how to use it. "Thank you," she added sincerely as Ruby calmly and unflappably, if not necessarily expertly, took over the task of picking the heavy padlock.

Feeling embarrassed, Aurelie beckoned her Magneton back into its Pokeball and obediently went to peek around the corner of the building and watch for any approaching guards. The last time she'd been on anything that remotely resembled a heist, the other person had brought lockpicks and a crowbar, and he'd been the one who'd used them to break into a building, not her. They'd seemed like natural things to bring to this particular heist, and so Aurelie had brought them, without pausing to think about how to use them. Oops.

As Ruby inserted various tiny metal tools into the lock and turned them about, muttering under her breath, though, Aurelie felt confident that her skills would extend from snake slaying to lock conquering. Then the red-haired smith tensed when she heard voices approaching from the back of the building, where the guards should have been patrolling. Her stomach dropped when she heard an even more ominous noise: a canine Pokemon—her frazzled mind couldn't identify which one it was—snuffling about and starting to growl deep in its throat.

Even more worryingly, she heard sounds of frustration coming from Ruby as she struggled with the lock. Hearing the guard and his canine Pokemon coming closer, she began rummaging in her backpack full of random tools she'd decided would make sense for a heist. "C'mon, c'mon, there has to be something in here that can help," she mumbled, her hands trembling with worry.

Right on top, she found her trusty hammer. A little more rummaging turned up the crowbar. Surprisingly, at the bottom, she found a granola bar, an empty plastic water bottle, and a beef jerky package, probably left over from the motley supplies she'd brought for her snakeskin-seeking desert venture. Aurelie pursed her lips.

After a second's thought, she tore open the beef jerky package and tossed it to the side of the building, as far as she could throw. The empty water bottle followed soon after. Hopefully, the beef jerky would prove irresistible to the canine Pokemon and buy them a little time, while also maybe making the guard think some random trespassers had just thrown their trash on the ground and left. With hammer and crowbar in hand, she hurried toward Ruby and the front doors of the warehouse.

"Trade you? There's a guard coming, and I think we have to hurry," she whispered urgently, handing Ruby the hammer and kneeling in front of the doors. "Let's try brute force instead of skill and subtlety. I'll hold the crowbar here," and she fitted the curved, pointed prong ends into the U-shaped bar that secured the padlock to the door handles, "and you bang the top of the crowbar with the hammer. A firm tap, but not too hard. As the saying goes, 'With the right leverage and the proper application of strength' and all that..."

This had better work, she thought, and fast. Holding the crowbar steadily in place, she hissed, Okay, one, two, three, go!"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","rubyw"]

And here Ruby had thought that Aurelie was secretly some expert burglar. Not like Ruby was much better with the actual "breaking" part of breaking and entering. It was a shame they couldn't just smash a window or something, but with a well-guarded facility like this, that'd just be asking to get caught. Ruby may have been more hot-headed than Aurelie gave her credit for, but she wasn't an idiot.

[break][break]She glanced back at Aurelie as she muttered to herself and dug through her bag. Then, Ruby also heard the sounds of a guard and their Pokémon approaching. Fuck. She packed the picks away and reached for Cerberus's Poké Ball, but it seemed Aurelie had a different idea. The smith tossed the beef jerky and empty water bottle to the side of the building. There was a silent pause, then an excited "ruff" from the Arcanine as it spotted the jerky.

[break][break]"What the—hey, come on, girl, we're working!" the guard exclaimed as his partner grabbed the jerky in her mouth. He noticed the discarded water bottle, as well, and picked it up with a sigh. "Damn kids leaving their trash everywhere... Do we look like a dump?"

[break][break]Ruby took the offered hammer, a bit confused at first, but when Aurelie mentioned using brute force, she grinned. "Now you're talkin'," she whispered. The bit about leverage was a bit out of her league, but she got the concept well enough to nod in understanding. On Aurelie's signal, she tapped the top of the crowbar with the hammer. Still locked, but it felt like she was making progress. She gave it a couple of more hits, and with a noisy clack, the lock popped open.

[break][break]"Got it. Let's hurry; they probably heard that."

[break][break]She yanked the lock off and pulled the door open. For a moment, she froze, worried that she'd just carelessly tripped an alarm, yet there were no shrill sounds greeting her. A silent alarm, maybe? Screw it, she didn't have time to worry about that. She hurried inside and closed the door behind her once she and Aurelie were past the threshold.

[break][break]Only a few dim lights shone down like spotlights on an otherwise-darkened stage. At least they wouldn't be fumbling around in the dark. Ruby had no idea what to look for, so she was going to have to rely on Aurelie to find the metal they needed. But then she heard footsteps. Shit. She crouched down and beckoned for Aurelie to follow. They needed a place to hide and figure out their next move.

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie almost let out a cheer when Ruby Garcia's third strike of the hammer against the crowbar caused the padlock to swing free from the U-shaped bar that held it secured to the door handle. Her idea had worked! Thankfully, she managed to smother her reaction into a muted sigh of relief. Before following Ruby inside, the red-haired smith took a quick moment to crush up her leftover half-eaten granola bar and throw the pieces toward the security cameras positioned overhead. She'd always heard about how notoriously rapacious and aggressive the Wingulls near the harbor could be, always diving down and stealing people's food right out of their hands. Maybe the granola crumbs would attract enough hungry Wingulls, with their flapping wings and snapping beaks, toward the security cameras to offer a plausible explanation for the cameras no longer working.

Then she hurried inside after Ruby before the approaching guard with the Arcanine, or anyone else, could spot them sneaking in. Inside the dim semi-darkness of the warehouse, she caught her breath at the wealth of wooden crates in all sizes and (generally cube-like) shapes, labeled with big black four-digit numbers. Before she could even reach a single hand toward a very appealing-looking crate labeled "1095", measuring about one foot square, though, Ruby was beckoning her to crouch and hide beside her.

Only then did Aurelie hear more footsteps approaching. She didn't see or hear any doors opening, so this must be yet another security guard stationed inside the warehouse. Dammit, she cursed internally, I didn't know there'd be a third person to worry about.

Peeking her single uncovered eye over the edge of the crate they were hiding behind, she stole a quick glimpse of the guard walking toward the front doors. His radio was still belted at his waist, and he was sipping slowly from a mug as he walked, which made her think he hadn't come prepared for a confrontation. He might have just heard the noise at the front door or noticed the security cameras cut out and came to check if there was a problem. She hastily ducked back down and gulped, her heart hammering when she heard his radio crackle with static.

Her mind whirred with ideas and emotions, just as if she'd pulled a badly warped blade out of the quench tank and had to act fast before the metal cooled. Aurelie tapped Ruby on the shoulder, drawing the other woman's attention to her, and indicated the guard with a quick jerk of her chin. They needed a plan.

"I...I'm not sure we can sneak past him," she whispered worriedly, in the softest tone she could manage. "So…" She paused and then mimed rolling a Pokeball toward the front doors. "When he bends over to look..." She then mimed using the crowbar to knock him out with a blow to the temple.

"Then we grab that," and she nodded toward the crate labeled "1095" across from them. If she guessed right, the labels on the crates told what grades of steel they contained, following the standard alloy numbering system used in Kalos and Hoenn alike, and 1095 steel was one of the most popular and commonly used forms of carbon steel. It was generally a favorite for most knife makers and bladesmiths. "And we leave!"

She held up her hand in a thumbs-up gesture and tilted her head questioningly at Ruby. Yes? she asked silently. Then she rotated her hand into the thumbs-down position. Or no?

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby quirked a brow at Aurelie's crumb tossing. As much as she wanted to ask why the smith had done it, though, they had other things to worry about. Like the guard poking around at the entrance. If he realized the door had been broken open, they were probably screwed. Ruby's eyes narrowed. They had to act fast. The quickest way to deal with this would be to incapacitate the guard. He'd know something had gone wrong when he woke up, but ideally, Ruby and Aurelie would be long gone by then.

[break][break]Ruby turned to Aurelie at the shoulder tap. As it turned out, her partner in crime had the same idea with a bit more strategy behind it. Ruby grinned and gave a thumbs-up. Finally, she could show off one of her actual skills: violence. She grabbed the crowbar and stood up a bit, ready to move once the guard was distracted.

[break][break]Aurelie rolled the Poké Ball; Ruby briefly wondered if it was empty or had one of her team in it. Predictably, the guard noticed it with a "Hmm?" and bent over to inspect it. Perfect. Ruby approached, her steps a bit louder than she would have liked in her hurry, but even if the guard did notice, there wasn't much he could do when Ruby swung the crowbar at his temple. He crumpled to the ground, dropping his coffee with a clatter. His radio continued to crackle; someone would definitely come to check on him if he didn't answer, but this was still better than him sending out a distress call.

[break][break]"Okay, let's go," Ruby hissed to Aurelie. She hurried over to the crate that the smith had pointed out to help her lift it. If it was too heavy for them to carry out easily, she would send out Draupadi to help.

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]For a moment, Aurelie regretted rolling the Poke Ball containing her Magneton toward the approaching guard as a distraction, but she hadn't anticipated a use for empty Poke Balls on a heist. Her regrets quickly fizzled when Ruby stalked forward out of their hiding spot and attacked the guard with the stealth and speed of a fox pouncing upon its unsuspecting prey. No stranger to the occasional fistfight or spar, Aurelie knew just enough to recognize that Ruby was clearly a veteran of various violent ventures, both valorous and villainous. She looked utterly at home with a crowbar in her hands, swinging it at the guard's temple with cool, calculated confidence and using just the right amount of power to knock him out instantly without risking permanent damage.

It was enough to make Aurelie catch her breath. The attack had only taken a few seconds, but it was enough to convince her to never get on the wrong side of Ruby's nail bat, if she could possibly help it. Any such confrontation would most likely end up with Aurelie being reduced to a fine pink mist.

Shaking her head to clear her mind, she took a moment to retrieve her Poke Ball before hurrying toward the crate she wanted. "Nice work!" she whispered admiringly to Ruby, before bending down to pick up the crate, careful to bend at the knees rather than her back. "Oof. Give me a hand with this, will you, please?"

It was just heavy enough that they should be able to heft it together using one hand each, without being weighed down too much. Aurelie looked around at the piles and piles of nearly identical wooden crates stacked all around them with an envious sigh. I wonder if the foundry has been hoarding metal and supplies too, since that dome first appeared, she thought. Even in the semi-darkness, the warehouse looked almost completely filled. It made her feel a little better about looting away just a little of their wealth and more hopeful that this small crate wouldn't be missed amidst so many other resources.

But now, for the getaway... As she straightened back up, her single eye swept their surroundings for likely exits. At that moment, they heard rattling noises and muffled cursing coming from the front door. "What the hell? The lock's been smashed!" With more rattling and clattering noises, the front door opened just a crack, enough for them to hear a sharp bark from the guard's Arcanine.

Aurelie sucked in her breath apprehensively. "The back door?" she whispered to Ruby. "Maybe we can get out before they see us. Shall we make a run for it?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT