{With Ash}
Ash was sitting on a chair with a brush in his hand. He was currently helping Dawn brush her hair after Pachirisu inevitably ended up shocking Dawn, and her hair got spiky like a hedgehog.
Needless to say, Dawn was embarrassed, especially when she saw Verity trying her hardest not to laugh. She was failing, and Dawn could only helplessly cover her face and let Ash guide her to the table.
Now, thankfully, Ash was kind of an expert at fixing hair after a good shock, so slowly, Dawn's hair was starting to straighten out. Meanwhile, while he was doing this, Dawn slightly looked over to where Pachirisu was.
The little energetic squirrel was jumping around, chasing after Pikachu, jumping from tree to tree, and just laughing as it played around.
Dawn had her hair down slightly. She was quiet and listless, then she let out a small sigh and looked up at Ash, "Ash, do you think...that Pachirisu doesn't like me?"
Ash paused for a moment, the brush hovering over Dawn's hair. He glanced toward Pachirisu, then back at Dawn, "Hmm…" Ash hummed thoughtfully, "Nope."
Dawn blinked, "Nope?"
"Nope." Ash continued brushing her hair, slowly working through one of the more stubborn spikes, "If Pachirisu didn't like you, I think you'd know."
"But it keeps shocking me," Dawn mumbled.
Ash snorted, "You think that's it? Remember how much Pikachu used to shock me? That's the only reason I can fix your hair right now," Ash said, brushing down one spike.
Dawn glanced at him through the corner of her eye, "Yeah, but Pikachu shocked you because you deserved it."
Verity snorted, while Ash slowly looked at Dawn, "...Excuse me?"
Dawn's lips twitched into a tiny smile, "You heard me."
"There she is." Ash grinned, "I was starting to wonder where you went."
Dawn blinked, "What?"
"The sass." Ash continued brushing her hair, "For a second there, I thought Pachirisu shocked it out of you."
Verity finally burst out laughing, "I knew she was still in there!"
Dawn puffed her cheeks, "I am not that sassy."
Ash and Verity both stared at her.
Dawn looked between them, "...What?"
Ash raised an eyebrow, "You want us to answer that?"
"Even I know the answer to that," Verity said.
Dawn crossed her arms, "Never mind."
Ash chuckled and went back to brushing her hair, "Anyway, Pachirisu doesn't hate you. It's just...Pachirisu."
Dawn glanced toward the little squirrel again, "But it seems to like everyone else more."
"That's because it has the attention span of a toaster," Ash said.
Dawn sputtered, "Ash!"
"What? I'm not wrong."
"I dunno, I'd say more like a toddler," Verity rubbed her chin.
Dawn quickly turned to her, "Verity!"
Pachirisu suddenly jumped off a tree branch, landed on Pikachu's back, and hugged him from behind as Pikachu ran around trying to escape.
Ash pointed at them with the brush, "See?"
Dawn couldn't help but smile a little.
Ash noticed and smiled too before gently brushing another section of her hair, "Besides, you just caught Pachirisu. You haven't even had much time to figure each other out yet," he said, finally getting her hair back to normal.
Dawn's smile faded slightly as she looked down, "I dunno...maybe...maybe I should release her." But before she could continue, she felt a small sting on her head.
When she quickly brought her hand up and rubbed the spot, she looked up and saw that Ash had flicked her head, "Ow! What was that for?!"
"That," Ash said matter-of-factly, "was for saying something that doesn't sound like you."
Dawn stared at him.
Ash leaned down slightly, giving her an exaggeratedly serious look, "Where's the Dawn I know?"
"I'm right here!"
"No, no, no." Ash shook his head, "The Dawn I know would be demanding answers, complaining about Pachirisu's terrible manners, and probably threatening to make it regret shocking her hair."
Dawn's eyebrow twitched, "I would not threaten my Pokémon."
"Really?" Ash and Verity both asked in unison.
Dawn sheepishly looked away, "...Okay, maybe a little."
Ash grinned, "There she is, our resident sass queen~."
Dawn's face immediately turned pink, "D-Don't call me that!"
"I dunno, it's fitting and it's a cute name," Verity nodded.
Dawn buried her face in her hands, "You two are horrible."
Ash laughed as he put the brush down on the table, "Come on, you know we're right."
Dawn peeked through her fingers, "I'm surrounded by bullies."
"Yep," Ash said cheerfully, "And we're very proud of it."
Verity nodded seriously, "It's an important skill." No wonder Ash and Dawn did this to her, this was fun.
Dawn slowly lowered her hands, looking between the two of them before letting out another sigh, "Still...I don't know what I'm supposed to do with Pachirisu."
Ash leaned back in his chair, "You could start by not trying to figure everything out in one day."
Dawn still looked down at her lap as her hand slightly tightened at the edge of her skirt.
"Pachirisu is energetic, easily distracted, and apparently enjoys using you as a lightning rod," Ash said, counting each point off on his fingers, "That doesn't mean it hates you. It just means you're still getting used to each other."
"But what if it never listens to me?"
"Then you work on it."
"What if it doesn't like battling with me?"
"Then you find something it does like."
"And what if—"
"Dawn." Ash cut in, making Dawn stop and look up at him.
"You're worrying too much."
Dawn frowned, "But I want to be a good Trainer."
"You will be."
"How do you know?"
"Because I know what kind of person you are," Ash said simply. Then he gave her a big toothy smile, "So I know you're gonna be incredible, because you are an incredible person."
Dawn blushed at how Ash said that, and for a bit, she didn't really know what to say. Then Pachirisu waddled over. When Dawn looked down, it looked like Pachirisu had finally tuckered herself out and was getting ready for a nap. But instead of going to find a tree, she jumped up, landing on Dawn's shoulder and wrapping herself around Dawn's neck before slowly drifting to sleep.
Ash smiled, "See, you guys are getting better already."
Dawn reached her hand up and slowly used one finger to rub Pachirisu's head, letting the squirrel let out a happy little snore, and Dawn got a small smile, "Yeah...I guess we are, huh?"
"Yep, so are we ready to keep moving?" Ash said as he got up and walked over so that they could pack their stuff.
Verity quickly ran after him, "Oh, can we pass through someplace on the bay? I know a place that apparently makes great honey!" she said excitedly, explaining where she wanted to go.
And meanwhile, Dawn was still rubbing Pachirisu's head, and her small smile grew to a much bigger one as she got excited. She stood and ran to join Ash and Verity, "You know, if we're doing suggestions, I have a few!"
—
{Back at the Valley Windworks}
Mars came to the Valley Windworks on Cyrus' order. Her order was to come and start to collect a large amount of energy for the Galactic Bomb, so that's why she came here. She's been here for two days, having her Electivire collect the electricity.
Meanwhile, on the chair, Karsten was held down. Well, technically, no one was really holding him down, so you might wonder why he just isn't getting up. Well, that's because there was Mars' Crobat looming over him, and if he tried anything, Crobat had orders to bite down on his neck.
And next to him, in the next room over, there was another man, the security guard Benjamin, who, unlike Karsten, had no value, so he was just tied up on the floor.
As for Mars, however, after she told Electivire to start collecting energy, she really hasn't been doing much. She just sat down and was waiting. All the grunts were dealing with all the other things, including keeping the Windworks going so that none of the nearby towns got suspicious.
At the moment, she's just kind of been on a swirly chair, spinning around slightly, and she had been sitting in that chair for what felt like forever, lazily spinning herself around in circles as the humming of the Windworks filled the room.
She pushed herself around once more with her foot, letting the chair slowly spin, "Ugh...This is boring," she muttered.
She stopped herself with one foot and glanced over at Electivire, who was standing near one of the large generators with its hands plugged into the machinery, electricity constantly flowing into the device Team Galactic had set up.
"Are you sure that's enough?" Mars asked.
Electivire gave her an annoyed look, "Electivire!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You're doing your best." Mars sighed and leaned back in her chair, "Master Cyrus said we need a lot of energy for the Galactic Bomb, so that's what we're gonna get."
She spun around again.
Meanwhile, Karsten remained completely still in his chair, still working by force, as his eyes followed Mars, who was rolling across the room.
And he couldn't even think about trying to escape. For one, Crobat was over him at any given time, and another was that he couldn't just leave Benjamin behind even if he could get out on his own.
Karsten swallowed, "Just...how long are you planning on keeping me here?" Karsten finally asked.
Mars stopped spinning. She looked at him slowly, "Until we're finished."
"And how long is that going to take?"
Mars blinked twice, then shrugged, "Dunno."
Karsten stared at her, "You don't know?"
"Nope."
"Could you at least give me some idea?"
Mars thought about it for a moment, "Hmm...Probably a while."
"That's not…" Karsten started, but he didn't get to finish.
Mars shrugged, "Well, you're still alive, so that's something."
Karsten frowned, but before he could say anything else, the large doors to the Windworks suddenly swung open.
A Team Galactic Grunt came rushing inside, nearly tripping over himself as he hurried toward Mars, "Commander Mars!"
Mars looked over, clearly annoyed at being interrupted, "What?"
The Grunt stopped in front of her, breathing heavily, "W-We have a problem!"
Mars raised an eyebrow, "What kind of problem?"
"Hunter J is here!"
Mars's expression immediately changed, "Hunter J?" Mars slowly stood up from the chair, "What is she doing here?"
"I-I don't know! She just showed up with her men! They're outside!"
Mars clicked her tongue, "Tch. Of all the times..." She glanced toward the doors, "Get everyone ready. I'll go and see what she wants."
"Yes, Commander!" The Grunt quickly turned and ran off.
Mars looked toward Karsten, then toward Crobat, "You. Keep an eye on him."
Crobat gave a low hiss, and Karsten swallowed.
Mars started walking toward the entrance, and the moment Mars reached the main room, several Galactic Grunts were already gathering, pulling out their Poké Balls as they prepared themselves.
But then the massive doors suddenly exploded inward, and several Grunts jumped back as pieces of metal and wood flew across the floor.
Through the smoke came several figures. At the front was a tall woman with silver hair, dressed in her usual black outfit, and a visor over her eyes. Hunter J casually stepped over the broken remains of the door.
Behind her, several of her henchmen marched inside, each carrying Poké Balls and looking ready for a fight.
Mars narrowed her eyes, "Hunter J..."
Hunter J stopped and looked directly at her, "Well, well," she said with a smirk, "If it isn't Team Galactic."
Mars crossed her arms, "What do you want?"
Hunter J's smirk widened, "I think that's obvious."
She looked around the room, taking in the generators, the equipment, and the numerous Pokémon belonging to Team Galactic.
Then she raised one hand, "I will now accept your unconditional surrender. Hand over all your Pokémon, and you can all walk out of here in one piece."
Mars stared at her, then she slowly reached for one of her Poké Balls, "You really think we're going to do that?"
Hunter J shrugged, "I was hoping you'd say no."
Mars pulled out her Poké Ball, "Then you've made your choice."
The Galactic Grunts immediately followed suit, sending out their own Pokémon as Hunter J's henchmen released theirs, and around them, Pokémon began battling each other.
Hunter J smiled, "Good. I was getting bored."
Mars glared at her, "Let's see how tough you really are."
They both threw out their Pokémon. On Hunter J's side, her Drapion scuttled up, and on Mars' side, her Purugly landed with a stomp. Both Pokémon charged at each other.
And outside was where D was, right next to Marnie and Paige. He did the smart thing and did nothing. He just sat down on the nice, soft ground and watched the battle on his tablet, because realistically, why would he? If he could make them tire themselves out and then go in at the end to take them all out, why wouldn't he do that?
The only downside to waiting was that since D wasn't running in like a hero immediately, Paige was getting more and more scared, thinking her dad might get hurt or worse. She only slightly calmed down when Marnie pulled her into a hug and wrapped her with their dad's coat.
Being held like that, Paige eventually fell asleep in her sister's arms. That meant it was D and Marnie for a bit while D waited.
"So, why are you two still here? Sure, your dad's in there, but what about your mom?" D asked, a question that had been in the back of his head the whole time.
Marnie glared at him. She, at the moment, didn't know how to feel about him, but he hadn't done anything to make her think he was a good person. And if you say pulling them away, D did do that for himself, and Marnie was old enough to know the difference. Still, she also knew he wasn't outright evil.
"Our mom works the night shift tonight, so she won't be home. Not that it matters to you," Marnie said. She tried not to raise her voice so as not to wake up her younger sister.
D looked at her for a moment before shrugging, "Fair enough."
Marnie frowned at him, "That's it?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know! Maybe something about the fact that our dad is in there!"
D glanced toward the Windworks, where the sounds of battling Pokémon could still be heard even from outside.
"Yeah, I noticed."
"And you're just sitting here!"
"Yep."
Marnie clenched her fists, "How can you just sit there?!"
D looked down at his tablet, calmly tapping the screen before answering, "Because right now, running in there would be stupid."
"Stupid?!"
"Very."
Marnie stared at him in disbelief, "Our dad could be getting hurt!"
D finally looked up at her, "And what exactly do you think you're going to do about it?"
Marnie opened her mouth, but nothing immediately came out, "I..." She looked down at her sleeping sister. As she did, her pink hair fell in front of her face, "I don't know."
"Exactly."
"That doesn't mean I should just sit here!"
"No, it means you should stay here and keep your sister safe."
Marnie frowned, "You really don't care, do you?"
D didn't answer immediately because right as she said that, a window of the Windworks shattered from a Pokémon getting sent flying, and the sounds of more fighting continued.
Marnie's expression tightened, then she looked down, still holding her sister.
D sighed, "Okay."
Marnie blinked, "Okay?"
D slowly stood up from the ground, putting his tablet away, and dusted his pants off, "Seems like as good a time as any."
Marnie stared at him, "What are you…"
"I'm gonna go stomp on some heads. I've been watching long enough to actually do something."
D glanced down at Paige, who was still sleeping peacefully in Marnie's arms, completely unaware of everything happening around her.
D then looked back at Marnie, "Your dad's going to be fine."
Marnie frowned, "You don't know that."
"I do."
"How?"
D just turned and started walking back towards the building casually, "You don't have to believe me, but know that your dad is getting out of there without a single scratch on his body."
Marnie looked at him suspiciously, "You promise?"
"I promise," D said, still not looking back at her, "You just keep your sister here. This won't last long."
Back inside the building, Team Galactic Grunts and Hunter J's men were fighting all across the Windworks. Pokémon were attacking from every direction, sending sparks, flames, and chunks of machinery flying through the air.
At the center of it all, Mars and Hunter J were still battling.
"Purugly, [Slash]!"
"Drapion, [Cross Poison]!"
Purugly charged forward, claws glowing as Drapion met it head-on. The two Pokémon collided with enough force to shake the floor, then they ran back towards each other to keep fighting.
All around them, the battle continued. Galactic Grunts were struggling against Hunter J's men, while Pokémon chased each other between the generators and machinery. Nobody seemed to notice the small shape quietly slipping through the chaos.
A Shedinja flew in through the broken window. It was D's Shedinja, one that evolved from that Nincada he had. And as for that Ninjask, well, let's just say D isn't the one that has that one.
But right now, Shedinja flew through, barely making a sound as it drifted toward the massive generator at the far end of the room.
Around it, all the grunts were too busy fighting to pay attention, so as Pokémon went flying, it just flew right in. When it got to the generator, it saw a lever connected to the generator, where Mars' Electivire was still absorbing energy.
Shedinja just flew right into the lever and pulled it down. With that, all the power shut off, and the lights in the factory went out.
Everyone was taken by surprise, including J and Mars, but Hunter J at least had her visor that did have night vision, so she quickly raised her hand up to activate the night vision. But when she turned it on, the only thing she saw was a purplish hand flying right towards her before she could react.
J fell to the ground as her visor and gauntlet both got ripped off of her and pulled back. The only light that was coming in was the little light from the moon. Now people could barely see anything.
Hunter J slowly pushed herself up from the floor, one hand going to where her visor had been, "My visor..." she muttered. Then she looked around, trying to make out anything through the darkness, "What happened?"
Mars was just as confused. She could barely see her own Purugly standing a few feet away.
"Electivire!" she shouted, "What happened to the power?!"
The big Electric-type stumbled around, charging some electricity in its hands to make just a little bit of light. Since Mars, or more accurately, Cyrus never taught Electivire [Flash], it couldn't light up the darkness.
Mars narrowed her eyes, "J."
"What?"
"Was that you?"
Hunter J immediately snapped her head toward Mars, "Excuse me?"
"You shut off the power, didn't you?"
"I didn't do anything!"
Mars gritted her teeth, "Then who did?"
As soon as she said that, a Galactic Grunt somewhere behind them suddenly collapsed.
"What was that?" one of the other grunts asked.
"I-I don't know!"
"Who's there?!"
Another voice shouted from somewhere across the room, "Show yourself!"
But before he finished, that same grunt fell onto the ground unconscious.
Hunter J's eyes widened, "...What?"
Mars looked around, "Everyone, stay together!"
The grunts immediately began scrambling toward each other, trying to form a group near the little spot of moonlight entering the room.
But when they thought they were safe, one group of Grunts were under an open window. Something moved like sludge, covering the window and closing off the light. Then the sounds of a struggle were heard before the thing covering the window moved, and all that was left was the grunts on the ground.
Another grunt screamed, "Something's attacking us!"
"Where?!"
"I can't see it!"
A loud thud echoed through the room, then another, and another. One by one, the Galactic Grunts started dropping.
Some tried sending out their Pokémon, but the moment they did, something would rush through the darkness and knock either the Trainer or their Pokémon unconscious before they could even figure out what was happening.
"Everyone, stay together!" Mars shouted.
"That's easier said than done!" one of the grunts yelled.
Mars looked around, trying to make out anything in the darkness. Her Purugly stood beside her, fur raised as it growled at every little noise.
"Purugly, stay close!"
A metallic clang came from behind her. Mars spun around, but she saw nothing.
"Crobat?" Mars tried to call out for her bat, but there was no response.
She slowly turned toward the sound, her eyes narrowing as she tried to see through the darkness.
Another grunt suddenly shouted from across the room, "Commander!"
Mars looked toward the voice, "What?!"
"I think something's—"
The grunt was cut off by a heavy impact.
Mars gritted her teeth, "Enough!"
She grabbed another Poké Ball from her belt and threw it forward, "Golbat, [Air Cutter]!"
The Pokémon emerged and immediately fired a wave of sharp blades through the darkness.
And they heard the sounds of something hitting the wall, and the sharp air blades cut through the wall, making another opening where moonlight entered.
Meanwhile, the room was becoming quieter by the second. The grunts and J's men were falling like flies.
Mars could hear the heavy breathing of the remaining Galactic members around her.
"Commander..." one of them whispered.
"Don't panic."
"But we're being picked off!"
"I said don't panic!" Mars' voice echoed through the Windworks.
Then something moved behind her.
Mars spun around and pointed, "Purugly!"
Purugly whipped around and slashed at the darkness. Its claws struck something, but then Purugly was suddenly thrown backward.
"Purugly!"
The Pokémon crashed into a machine and slid down unconscious.
Hunter J's eyes widened, "What the—?!"
A shadow moved past her. As soon as it started, she tried to swing her arm to hit it, but she hit nothing.
Then one of Hunter J's men suddenly ran past them, "I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE!"
Mars turned, "Get back here!"
The grunt reached the doorway, but a purple blur dropped from above and grabbed him, pulling him into the darkness.
Hunter J slowly sighed, "This is becoming more trouble than it's worth."
Mars glanced at her, "You're giving up?"
"I didn't come here to play hide-and-seek with some invisible Pokémon."
Mars clicked her tongue, but she had a point, "Everyone!" Mars shouted, "Fall back!"
Nobody answered.
Mars blinked, "...Everyone?"
There was no response. There was only the humming of the machines, and her Electivire in the corner.
Then, from somewhere behind her, came a quiet metallic click. Mars slowly turned, and a small red light appeared in the darkness.
Mars' eyes widened, "Uh-oh."
The lights suddenly flickered, then the entire Windworks suddenly came back to life, and Mars and Hunter J could see again.
Mars blinked from the sudden brightness.
Hunter J immediately raised an arm to shield her eyes.
Then both women looked around and froze. Every single Galactic Grunt and henchman was lying unconscious across the floor. Some were sprawled beside the machines, others were face-down on the ground.
A few were still clutching their Poké Balls, but not one of them was standing.
Mars slowly looked around, "...What happened?"
Hunter J didn't answer. She quickly looked around for the culprit, but her eyes stopped, and she pointed over, "I think I found your Crobat."
Mars looked over. Her Crobat was lying unconscious on the floor, completely out cold.
Mars' eyes widened, "Crobat!"
She quickly ran over and knelt beside it, "Crobat! Wake up!"
No response. Mars checked it over and confirmed that it was just injured. She quickly returned it to its ball.
Meanwhile, J looked around and found her Drapion on the ground as well, so she quickly returned her Pokémon too.
Mars stood up and looked around and saw that the spot where Karsten was tied up was now empty. Karsten was gone, and so was Benjamin.
Mars immediately looked around the room, but she didn't see anything.
Hunter J looked around at her henchmen and turned, "I'm not staying to see what attacked us," she said. With no shame at all, she immediately ran out of the hole in the wall to get to her airship.
Mars' eye twitched as she looked around quickly, but cursed under her breath before returning her Pokémon, "I got what I came here for," she said, also running out.
By the time she got out, she saw Hunter J's airship flying away, and in the distance, she heard the siren of the International Police approaching quickly.
Mars clicked her tongue, then saw one of the windmills. She went to a specific one that could be opened and entered. Then she opened a ball, bringing out Electivire. She called out, "Electivire, get us in the air!"
Electivire raised its arm and broke the ground under the windmill. Then, using its strength, it grabbed the base and threw it in the air as Mars, at the same time, returned Electivire to its ball.
And once the windmill was in the air, the head with the fan-like blades tilted, turning its strength up and becoming a makeshift helicopter rotor blade, and she took off into the sky, leaving behind the Windworks.
Meanwhile, as the International Police pulled up, away from this, over in the forest, D was watching J and Mars fly off. You might be wondering why they even got the chance. Couldn't D have taken them down now? And sure, he could have.
But why would he do that when he can make things so much easier for himself? Because on his tablet, two new dots appeared. In the darkness, D slipped some trackers on them. Did you really think they got away? They only escaped because D allowed them to.
Besides, Ash's only job was to catalog the people he saw here. He got some pictures, plus, he looked down on his wrist where Hunter J's gauntlet was now securely on it. It was a bit bulky for his liking, but hey, he can modify it. This could come in useful, not to mention her visor too.
The game has only just started, and oh, D is having so much fun.
—
Back on the ground, Anabel, Looker, and Miruto were now in the middle of the scene. Other officers were around doing some investigation and questioning Karsten and Benjamin after they were found nearby, and they were questioned to learn what happened. Meanwhile, the three of them were talking.
Well, more accurately, after Looker saw that Hunter J wasn't here, he immediately got on the phone and called headquarters to get them to search the area. She couldn't have gotten far.
And meanwhile, Anabel and Miruto were joining in the investigation. Miruto had her notebook out and was looking at everything, including all the knocked-out grunts.
Miruto walked through the Windworks, her notebook held firmly in one hand as she looked over the aftermath. She checked all the grunts who were tied up, and their Poké Balls were all set aside neatly.
Miruto slowly stood back up, looking around the room with growing interest.
"...This is convenient."
Anabel glanced over at her, "What is?"
Miruto pointed toward the unconscious criminals, "Whoever did this went through the trouble of making sure they couldn't escape after knocking them unconscious."
Anabel smiled awkwardly, "Yeah...very efficient."
Miruto began writing, "Didn't damage them excessively, either. Most of them appear to have suffered only enough injuries to incapacitate them."
Anabel's smile became a little more strained.
Miruto continued writing, "And they apparently freed the hostages."
"Yeah, it's strange," Anabel said through gritted teeth. She could tell full well this had D's handwriting all over it.
She closed it and looked at Anabel, "This only means one thing."
Anabel gulped, "Yeah?"
Miruto looked at her seriously before clapping her hands and looking excited, "We must actually have had someone working undercover, and they did this for us! Now I understand why you didn't want to talk about it."
"I um, well, that's not—" Anabel tried to think about what she was going to say, but Miruto nodded and leaned in to a whisper.
"Oh, I get it. We have to keep it a secret. We never know if any of our own members are also moles. Understood." Miruto winked, "I won't say anything. If anyone asks, it was just your secret boyfriend that messaged you."
At the moment, Miruto assumed that the 'Darling' message was a codename for their undercover mission. I mean, obviously, why would someone as professional as Anabel act like some maiden in love? This must be the only explanation. The person that sent the message must use that as a secret code or something.
Anabel sputtered, but she couldn't tell her that she was wrong. If she did, she might get the wrong idea or even start asking questions about D, so she had to bite her tongue, which did not help her case.
She took a breath and thankfully, Looker called them over, so she could get out of this awkward conversation, she was just glad D didn't hear all of this, otherwise she would never live this down,
And about now might be a good time to say that they didn't notice a small camera on the roof recording the scene