#we're finishing this dungeon in one day no matter what. its just. going to be a while.

[bengallemon]

.... theres 6 moths i can kill. for 6mp. then I do this repeatedly. until everyone has full mp again. help.

[dravid-writes]

Despite the numerous nasty rumors surrounding Alice the Marowak (most of which are true), these days Alice is a kindhearted rescuer, with such skill in combat that they never harm opponents any more than necessary. However, while Alice is very empathetic to others, they're not always patient or nice.

With the day's mission completed and reported, Alice and Compass the Quilava walk back home. "See?" Alice says. "Everything worked out fine."

"No, it didn't! Thorn, we need to go back and apologize to them."

"They should be the ones to apologize, picking up someone else's stuff and refusing to give it back."

"That's just how their rules work!"

"Exactly, which is why we had to steal it back. They never would've given it up."

"You don't know that. You barely even tried to talk to them, and you were really rude!"

"Idiots like them with stupid rules like that aren't worth talking to." The pair reach the team base and start putting away their supplies. "The lost item is back with its rightful owner, and no one got hurt, so why does it matter whether we convinced them or stole it?"

"Because we're rescuers! We need to hold ourselves to a high standard and treat others with respect, especially when we're intruding on their territory! You know how much easier it is to work WITH wild pokemon instead of AGAINST them. Stealing an item back is a last resort, just like fighting, and there's never an excuse for disrespectful-"

Alice tosses an old power band into Compass's face to shut them up. "Yeah, yeah, we should just roll over and do whatever anyone tells us to, got it." Alice returns their focus to sorting through their supply box.

"You-... I-... MMMMMPH!!" Compass, literally fuming, stomps off toward their own box.

With all the noisy nagging finally over, Alice finally has some peace and quiet to-

*ZZAAAAAAAPP!*

When the sudden light fades, Alice is wearing a perfectly-fitting maid outfit, while Compass stands a few feet away holding a wonder orb.

Alice looks their new clothes up and down. They tug and pull at the outfit, but stuck like magic, it refuses to come off. They turn to Compass. "What did you do."

"I punished you."

"What did you do!?"

"This is a punishment orb. It locks you in a maid outfit and limits your strength to a harmless level until undone. Mom gave it to me way back when you first arrived, to use in case of bad behavior."

"UNDO IT!!" Alice lunges toward Compass, grasping for the orb, but Compass extends one hand to hold them back; true to the explanation, Alice can't muster any meaningful strength, and slaps uselessly against Compass's arm.

Compass looks at Alice with a firm gaze. "In order to teach you respect, you're going to follow my orders for the rest of the day. If you behave, I'll undo it in the morning." Compass puts the orb back in their box and locks it. "Now, are you going to cooperate? Or do I need to get mom involved?"

Alice sweeps back and forth across the team base, doing the weekly cleaning early while Compass supervises. Or at least, Compass was supervising them at first. Now, they kick back and relax with a smile and a glass of juice. Alice empties the dustpan into the bin and walks over to Compass. They cross their arms and huff. "I finished the sweeping."

Compass scans over the floor and nods. "Mhm, looks good." They reach over and give Alice a quick pat on the head. "Great work! Now fetch me another plate of crackers."

Alice blushes, yet is unable to protest their treatment. "Again? You know I could just get you the whole cracker bag, right?"

"Yeah, but I like ordering you around. I feel so powerful and authoritative! Is this what it's like to be mom..?"

"Seriously?! This is abuse of power, exploiting me for your own selfish desires!"

"No, I'm teaching you respect and obedience to the rules. I'm just doing it in a way that benefits me! So, go fetch me that plate of crackers, please~ Oh, and some more juice too."

Alice sighs and picks up the plate and glass-

"Alice?"

Alice freezes.

Standing in the doorway is Rose, looking at the pair in confusion. "... Why are you wearing a maid outfit?"

Compass sits up, greeting Rose with a polite smile. "Hi Rose! Alice is being punished for disrespectful behavior. If you'd like to, you can give them orders and they're legally obligated to obey under penalty of telling mom."

"Ah, I see." Rose turns to Alice, and for a moment, hope flashes in Alice's eyes- "Get some grapes for me, please, I'm hungry after that last mission."

Later, Compass leaves the base, asking Rose to supervise Alice while they're gone, to which she agrees.

"You're a traitor, you know that?" Alice says as they give Rose a back massage.

Rose shrugs. "What did you do to be 'punished' anyways?"

"Some people found a lost item and used a dumb rule to justify not giving it back so I called them dumb and stole it back."

"Ah, broke a rule. Figures. So, are you planning to tell Compass that you're enjoying this?"

"Wha- Huh?? Excuse me???"

Rose rolls her eyes. "I've known you for our whole lives, Alice, don't play dumb. Besides, if you wanted to get out of this you would've started discussing the escape plan the moment Compass left the room."

"That's- But I- No, what are you talking about!?"

"... Did you... not notice? How you're feeling?"

"What, of course I- I-... I'm feeling a lot of things right now, okay!? This is a VERY new situation and I have no idea what's going on!"

Rose giggles. "That's pretty ironic, for someone so 'great at reading people' to not see your own cues." She flips around and sits up, putting a hand on Alice's shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

... Alice sits down beside her. "I... I've never followed orders before. It always seemed like such an awful position to be in, having my freedom taken away, but... It's all so easy. So simple. Everything is out of my control, but it feels... good? To have them be the one in control? And you know Compass, they're too nice for their own good. It's how I got into this, heh. I don't really mind taking orders from my friend."

Rose nods. "And they pat you on the head."

"That. May or may not be a factor."

"I think I get what you mean, though. Control means responsibility, and responsibility means pressure. If you're not responsible for deciding what to do, and just have to perform simple tasks, then there isn't any reason to worry about anything. You can just trust someone else to take care of everything. And I've seen how much you trust Compass."

"... Yeah. Yeah, that sounds right. Yeah. I deserve a break from being in control. And heck, with that orb limiting my strength, I'm not even strong enough to do anything important! This rocks!"

"Great!" Rose pats them on the head and lies back down. "Now go make me a sandwich, chop chop."

"You know what? I think I will. I'm in #MaidMode today." Alice stands and gives a curtsy. "What kind of sandwich can I get for you, Ms. Rose~?"

The next day, as promised, Compass uses the orb again to undo the effects. Though it wasn't all that necessary; Alice could feel their strength returning, and the outfit had started slipping off.

And now, Alice trudges along behind Compass through the wilds. "Is this really necessary?"

"Yes. You were very rude, and if we don't apologize, we risk those wild pokemon holding resentment toward rescuers. Just be polite like you were yesterday!"

"Oh, um, about... yesterday...... Um... Could we... do that again later?"

Several questions flooded into Compass's mind, the most prominent being 'why?' But as their thoughts raced in the sudden confusion, they realized they wanted something else even more than an explanation. "... Yes."