A Journey across the Spectrum Chapter 22

Chapter 22; I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Hayden awoke to a pressure on his chest, and judging by the weight, it felt like Aurica.  The young Trainer slowly opened his eyes to bright Pokemon Center lights, meeting the worried gaze of Aurica and Jim, the other Trainer sitting in a chair beside him.  "What do you want?" Hayden asked.

Aurica hugged his neck tightly.  "Holy crap, Hayden!" she said.  "You aren't allowed to scare me like that!"

Hayden pried his Pokémon from around his neck, aiding in his breathing, then shoved her back a small distance.  "Wait, what are you talking about?" he asked.  "You dropped me off of that balcony.  Why would you be scared for me?"  Suddenly, Hayden realized where he was.  "And how did I get here?  The last thing I remember was looking for Jim in a sea of Popcorn..."

Jim stared at him, obviously confused by his statement.  "Hayden, you've been unconcious for days."

Hayden looked up at Jim, then back at his Pokémon, startled.  "What?  Since when?" he demanded.

Aurica sat down on his chest, her tails flicking lightly behind her.  "Well, we all took a pretty bad beating down in the Rocket Basement, but you took a little bit worse...  actually, a lot worse, of a beating than the rest of us.  As soon as we got back to the Pokemon Center, you passed out, and have been out since then."

Hayden rubbed his head, a small pain from confusion welling up in his forehead.  "Wait... so, Jim didn't Spartan Kick me off of a balcony into a gigantic vat of Orville Redenbacher popcorn kernels?"

Aurica's and Jim's eyebrows slowly raised, small grins steadily growing on their lips.  After a few failed attempts to speak over her chuckling, Aurica managed to squeak out, "What?"

Much to the entertainment of Jim and Aurica, Hayden began to explain.

***

Jim and Hayden coasted down the road, their Pokémon riding on their respective bicycles.  "Still," Jim said, "I can't beleive that you actually thought that dream was real, Hayden.  I mean, come on.   Panhandling hour?"

Hayden shrugged.  "Hey, man.  I'm telling you, it seemed so real!"

"Okay, Dorothy.  Why don't you call Auntie Emm, and tell her it's a Popcorn, it's a Popcorn!"

Klauss snickered at the reference, but neither Hayden nor Aurica had ever seen the movie being referenced, so the insult was horribly lost on them.  Hayden looked back up from Jim in time to see a very large and rotund white and dark green object blocking the road.  "Whoa!" he shouted, sliding his bike sideways and braking aggressively, small rocks flying up from his sliding tires.

Jim swerved and braked, his tires sliding forward, Klauss' face smashing against the front of the basket he was sitting in.  Hayden managed to recover and stood the bike back upright, staring at the flabby mound of flesh laying in the middle of the road with a disgusted look on his face.  He looked back at Jim, then back at the pile of flesh.  "What the fuck is this heresy?" he asked.

Jim shrugged.  "That looks like the remnants of the Slim-Fat diet."

The Pokédex beeped, catching Hayden's attention.  Quickly, Hayden fished out the Dex and pointed it at the pile of fat.  "Snorlax, the Sleeping Pokémon, very lazy.  Just eats and sleeps.  As its rotund bulk builds, it becomes steadily more slothful.  Particular specimen is low range C Rank Pokémon, wild."

Hayden picked up a stray stick and jabbed the slothful monstrosity in the side with enough force to snap the branch in two, but the Pokémon simply slumbered on.  He looked back down to his Dex and thought.  "Suggested actions?"

The Dex was silent for a moment.  "Use the Pokeflute, idiot."

Hayden pocketed the Dex and stepped off of his bike, swinging his bag out.  Aurica looked down into the bag from atop his head, eyeing the contents of the bag curiously.  "Holy crap," she muttered.  "How much junk do you have in there?"

Hayden shrugged.  "I really have no idea.  I mean, it's all the crap we found in Mount Moon, and the underground tunnel, and on the sides of the roads, not to mention Melody's poncho, plus my coin case, those three HMs, these cans of Repel, and... when did I get one of these?  No matter, there's the Pokeflute.  Now..."

Hayden stood and held up the Pokeflute over his head, shouting, "Hayden used the Pokeflute!"

Everyone was silent, staring at him.  Hayden held the Pokeflute overhead, staring up at it victoriously.  Aurica shook her head, looking down at her Trainer.  "You're an idiot.  Like this."

Aurica snatched the Pokeflute from Hayden's hand, holding the small ceramic flute to her mouth, pinned between her pads.  She inhaled deeply, prompting Hayden to look up at her.  "Oh, and how do intend to play that without any fingers, Miss Smarty-pants?" he asked.

"Like this."  With that, Aurica placed her lower lip on the mouthpeice and blew a shrill, screeching note reminiscent of the sound of a million screeching nails running across a million chalkboards, amplified by the horns of a million tortured Exploud from the tenth level of Hell.  Jim clamped his hands over his ears and Klauss fell over backwards as the horrible note screeched violently across the small road.  Hayden clamped his hands over his ears and fell to one knee, his skull filled with unbearable pain.  After what seemed like hours, Aurica ran out of breath and the note fell flat, then, finally, gloriously silent.

Hayden's head rung with the sound of a steam whistle, his vision blurred from the pain.  Swiftly, he reached up and violently snatched the flute from her pads, stuffing it into his backpack vigorously so as to prevent the horrible sounds from again occuring.

"Hey!" Aurica shouted.  "I'm not done!"

Melody popped out of her Pokeball.  "It's interesting that you have an opinion.  Too bad that Snorlax doesn't share it with you."

Hayden and Aurica turned around to find themselves face-to-face with stomach.  Their gazes slowly traced up to an oversized naval, then up to the face of a very grouchy looking Snorlax glaring angrily down at them.  Slowly, Hayden came to the dawning realization that he was much smaller than the Snorlax before him, and as such could very easily be mistaken for a small snack.

The Snorlax reached down, it's massive, chubby fingers extending to grab.  Hayden shouted and fell over, his bag falling from his hands.  As he commited his life to forfeiture, the massive, fat furry hand grabbed his bag and proceeded to reach down into it.  The Snorlax rummaged about for a few moments before removing the Pokeflute, glaring angrily at the small white instrument.  It held out the item and grabbed it with both chubby hands, then snapped the Pokeflute clean in two, dropping the halves onto the ground at Hayden's feet.

Slowly, the Pokémon turned and began to waddle away, its face still posessing a lok of groggy anger.  Hayden sat back upright, watching the morbidly obese Pokémon trek off, walking back into the woods to the north of the City.  Aurica looked down at the broken Pokeflute at her Trainer's feet and sighed.   "Aww, I had gotten so much better, too."

Melody snickered.  "But you will never play the Pokeflute with the skill that you play the skin flute.  

Face appeared out of his Pokeball in a flash of light.  "Wait, what's that?  I didn't think that Fire Types got burned!" he announced.

Face reached his taloned hand up and knocked it against Melody's outstretched hoof in what appeared to be a knuckle bump before returning to his Pokeball.  Hayden began to chuckle, much to Aurica's displeasure.

"I do not play the skin flute!"  Aurica paused, then turned to look down at Hayden.  "What's a skin flute?" she inquired.

"Well, obviously," Hayden answered, "It's a flute made of flesh.  Duh, it's in the name!"

Jim shook his head.  "Actually, I think that a skin flute is actually a reference to the bagpipes, which is kind of weird, considering that Aurica doesn't play that instrument either."

Klauss shrugged.  "I was told that the skin flute is actually a demeaning, derogitory slur to the phallis, insinuating that the insulted person provides quality fellatio during pre-coital interactions, referred to as fore-play."

Jim, Hayden and Aurica looked down at Klauss.  "That's dumb," Hayden said, causing the small Pokémon to look down.  "Besides that, I don't even know what half those words mean.  I mean, what the Hell even is a phallis?  Is that a Pokémon, or something?"

Jim tapped his chin.  "Might be by the time we hit Generation Six."

Hayden looked up at Jim.  "When we hit what?"

"Never mind.  Point is, there is no way that a skin flute is not a musical instrument.  Right, Melody?"

Melody snorted.  "Well, uh... sure.  We'll go with that."

Jim frowned, thinking about what she said.  "Wait, what did she say?"

Hayden looked up at him.  "Huh?"

Jim shrugged.  "Well, unlike the greater majority of those present, I do not speak Pokémon."

Melody shook her head.  "Tell him I said never mind.  On second thought, you guys are way too young to know about that.."

Hayden shrugged.  "No  sweat off my back.  Truth be told, I lost interest a while ago."

Jim nodded in agreement.  "Same.  Let's go, Hayden."

Melody sighed a whinny of releif and followed after Hayden and Jim as they walked towards the small guard shack that blocked the entrance to Bicycle path.  As they appoached, Hayden looked down at the sign outside of the building and stumbled over a few of the words.  "Uh... Bi-cycle... path.  One-lee beekes all... all... ow-wed?"

Jim shook his head.  "No, Hayden.  Close, but no.  That says, 'bicycle path.  Only bikes allowed.'"

Hayden sighed.  "Oh well.  I tried, and that's what's important, right?"

"...Sure. We'll go with that," Jim said, swinging his leg over his bicycle.  Hayden recalled Melody, then hopped onto his bike.  The doors slid open readily, and the dim interior of the small building welcomed them readily.  Hayden and Jim biked past the guard without a hitch, then pedalled up to the door on the other side of the building.  There was a hiss and the door slid open, revealing a gently sloping road that ran down most of the Western coast of the Kanto Region.

Standing tall on his bike pedals, Hayden squinted into the distance, looking for where the road terminated, but was unable to see the great distance that the road extended.  Slowly, he sat back onto his seat and looked at Jim.

"This really goes all the way to Fuschia City?" he asked.

Jim nodded.  "Sure does.  All ninety-five miles of it."

Hayden looked down the road.  "So... just how high up are we, if it's downhill the whole way?"

Jim thought.  "Uh, if I remember correctly, we're about two-hundred feet above sea level right now.  But don't quote me on it."

Hayden turned back to the road, then had an idea.  He reached into his pocket and fished out his Pokédex.  "Dex, what is our elevation?"

The Dex beeped.  "Not tall enough to get on this ride."

Hayden and Jim rolled their eyes.  "No," Hayden said.  "Elevation above sea level."

"Still not tall enough."

Hayden looked over the guard rail of the massive bridge, down to the water below.  "You know, I heard that the Pokédex is designed to work even underwater," he said.  "Care to test that?"

The Dex bipped in concern.  "That fall is two-hundred and twenty-three feet, plus or minus three inches.  Structural integrity would be comprimised upon impa..."

There was a brief silence.  "Ah," the Dex said.  "I see what you did there."

Hayden grinned and pocketed his Dex.  He felt great, and an easy day of coasting down to Fuschia City awaited him.  As he pocketed his Dex, he turned his bike downhill and pressed down on the pedal gently, allowing gravity to take over and begin to accelerate him along the route.  Hayden looked up into the clear blue sky overhead, a few fair-weather clouds rolling by in the sea breeze, and smiled into the sunlight.  The white, high-traction road below his tires rolled by at a slightly faster than running pace.  Not too fast, but a good enough clip so that they could make it to Fuschia within a scant few hours.

Suddenly, Hayden felt his bike come to a rough, jerking halt, nearly throwing him off the front of the small metal frame.  With a ssurprised shout, Aurica gripped his head tightly, her back claws digging into his shoulders and neck, her tails wrapping around either side of his head.  Jim went whizzing past, braking hard when he noticed that Hayden had come to a sudden, terrifyingly rapid halt.  As the older boy came pedaling back to him, Hayden began to try to make his bike move, but it seemed to be completely frozen.  The pedals were stuck in position, and the handlebar wouldn't turn either direction.  He couldn't even make it lean to one side or the other.

"Ah, what luck this is," came a vaguely familiar snooty voice.  "Not only do I catch a Trainer on the first try, but it happens to be you, who has before made a mockery of me."

Hayden looked to the source of the voice and saw a very expensively dressed, well-kempt boy of about Jim's age walking towards him.  "What are you talking about?" Hayden demanded.  "I have no idea who you are."

The boy glared at Hayden.  "Do not pretend that you forgot me, or my elegant battle style.  My grace is not so easily forgotten!"

Hayden looked the boy or from head to toe.  "Wait... oh, now I remember you!  You were the ridiculously lame Rich Boy from the S.S. Anne II!"

Jim looked the boy over.  "And you still look like a douche."

The boy frowned.  "You claim to be rich, yet you cannot even afford a good set of manners," he said.

Jim cocked an eyebrow.  "Wow, you even managed to retaliate to my insult.  Must've been taking lessons or something."

The Rich Boy scoffed proudly.  "As I can afford, unlike some of those prese-"

"What the Hell do you want?" Hayden interrupted.

The Boy looked at him rudely, then straightened his neckercheif.  "I have come for my vengeance, to defend my honor and return my dgnity as a Trainer."

Hayden rolled his eyes.  "So, you want to get scrubbed across the deck again, huh?  Meh, I am kinda busy, but I might be able to fit that into my day."

The boy reached down and removed a Luxury Ball from his waist.  "This time, however, it will be you who is scrubbed across the deck like the dirty little vagabond you are!  This time, I, Samuel Caldwell, have found the ultimate Pokémon!"

Hayden cocked his eyebrow demeaningly.  "Lemme guess.  A Zubat nicknamed Ho-Oh?"

The boy shook his head.  "No, I left him in the Pokémon box.  This one is even better than that.  Go, Therapist!"

The boy threw out the Luxury Ball, which sent a beam of white light out onto the bridge.  The light took form and solidified, forming a Smeargle.  Hayden, still being a new Trainer, did not comprehend the possible threat that this particular Pokémon could present, and proceeded to step off of his bike.  "All right, Aurica, let's make this quick.  I want to be at Fuschia tonight."

Aurica nodded and leapt off of Hayden's head, landing with a gentle thump on the metal bridge.  "Sure thing, Hayden."

"Wait wait wait," Jim said, waving his hand.  "Therapist?  What kind of name is that?"

Samuel Caldwell shrugged.  "You do, at least, know the rule about Original Trainer Nicknames, correct?"

Jim nodded.  "Ah.  Very well, proceed."

Hayden pointed at the Smeargle.  "All right, Aurica.  Use Flare Blitz!"

Samuel raised a piece of paper up in front of him.  "Therapist, use... Attract!"

Aurica was suddenly seated at a small dinner table, being stared at seductively by the Smeargle named Therapist.  Aurica looked about, surprised, then noticed the Smeargle across from her, staring into her eyes.  "What the hel..."

Aurica stared into the Smeargle's eyes, seemingly entranced.  Hayden began to feel a small tinge of unease, as if something was extremely, extremely wrong with the situation.  Nervously, he looked at Jim.  "Do you ever get the feeling that something is just... off?"

Jim cocked an eyebrow.  "I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that."

Samuel grinned.  "Haha!  Now, feel the wrath of my next move!  Uh..." he looked back down at the piece of paper.  "Therapist, use Sleep Powder!"

The Smeargle reached behind him and pulled out a champagne glass and a bottle of Don Perignon, then proceeded to drop a small, white pill into the glass, followed by a generous amount of the champagne.  Slowly, deliberately, he handed the glass to Aurica, who looked down into the liquid, licking her lips.

"Aurica, don't drink it!" Hayden shouted.  Something was very wrong with this situation.

Aurica gripped the glass between her pads and tossed the glass up, pouring the entire contents of the glass down her throat.  She licked the moisture off of her lips, then looked back at the Smeargle.  Instantly, her head smashed into the table, a deep, gutteral snore rising from her small body.

"Hayden, I now know what you meant by 'something wrong.'  What the Hell kind of Pokemon is this thing?" Jim demanded.

The Rich Boy looked slightly nervous.  "The... Ultimate... Therapist?" he answered.  "Point is, my Smeargle is better than your Vulpix, so ha!  Therapist, use..."

Samuel's face paled slightly as he read the next move.  "Use... Harden?"

A dark, devious grin came across the Smeargle's face, but nothing else changed about its appearance.  Hayden shook his head.  "Okay, what the fuck is going on."

Jim cocked an eyebrow, biking over to Samuel's side of the battle.  "Okay, I have to know, what in the name of Arceus is its last move?"

Samuel Caldwell gulped.  "Therapist, use... um... well, use..."

"Wait, its last move is Pound?!" Jim exclaimed.  "What the Hell kind of moveset is... oh, I think we need an adult."

Hayden suddenly realized what was going on and reached down to his belt, grabbing Face McPunchy's Pokéball.  "Okay, this is NOT happening right now.  Face, use Mach Punch!"

Face McPunchy lunged across the battlefield, arm pulled back at his waist, much to Therapist's surprise and alarm.  The Combusken swung, aimed directly at the Pokémon before him.  There was a sickening thump as the hit struck home, planted firmly between the Smeargle's legs.  Face held his fist out, a small, wispy trail of smoke rising from his hand in Therapist's crotch.  The Smeargle's eyes bugged out wide, its face growing green in nausea before slowly slumping downwards to its knees.

Hayden waved his hand.  "Now, Face, use Focus Punch!"

Face pulled back his arm and crouched, his arm quivering as he charged the attack.  He crouched deep, his fist glowing, then swung with incredible force, catching the Smeargle with a picturesque uppercut that sent the Pokémon hurtling into the sky.  The Pokémon sailed out of sight, followed by a small glimmer of white light.  Samuel looked upwards, watching as his Pokémon sailed out of view, obviously mortified.  Jim extended his hand out and took Samuel's Luxury Ball, examining the nickname on the side of the ball.

"Really?" he asked, holding out the ball.  "Therapist?"

Samuel seemed at odds for words.  "Well, I mean..."

"You seem to have forgotten a very gramatically important space in betweem the 'E' and the 'R' in your Pokémon's name."

Samuel Caldwell's face paled.  "Wait.  That would mean...!"

Hayden felt his arm begin to smolder in anger.  "Wait... You sicced a RAPIST on my Pokémon?!" he shouted.

The Rich Boy shook his hands, defensively.  "I didn't know, honest!  I really didn't!"

"LIAR!"

Jim placed his hand on Hayden's shoulder, preventing him from murdering the boy before him.  "Truth be told, I beleive him."

Hayden glared at Jim, his eyes blazing a shimmering, wildly flickering golden inferno.  "What?!"

Jim looked at Samuel.  "He isn't intellectually certified to know any better."

Hayden glared, then relaxed.  "Fine."

Hayden recalled Face and walked over to Aurica, stooping down to her and gently shaking her awake.  Aurica lifted her head and looked up at Hayden, her eyes heavily bloodshot and wide-pupiled.  "Ugh, what happened?"

Hayden hugged her.  "Face saved your ass.  Literally."

Jim hopped back onto his bike as Hayden stepped back onto his own and began to pedal, allowing the gentle slope of the path to accelerate him downwards and away from the inevitible impact site of The Rapist.  Aurica laid in Jim's basket, beside Klauss, delirious and still somewhat drowsy.  Hayden continued to pedal his bicycle downhill, still incredibly upset at the events that had just preceeded.  Slowly, he began to weave back and forth on the road, his bike tires gripping the ground gloriously well, a gentle, vibrating hum rising up as the tires ran over the ground.

Hayden looked up at the sky, the wild Wingull and Pelipper flying by overhead, typical Pokémon to see this close to the coast.  According to his Dex, coastal Pokémon like them weren't held back by oceanic borders like most Pokémon were, and as such could be found anywhere in the world.  Clouds drifted by calmly overhead, large bird Pokémon flying gracefully over them.  A few months ago, Hayden would have seen this scene and wished that he could have it, to be there, to be up in the sky with those Pokémon, to be free.  Now, here he was, riding his bicycle down the road, heading to Fuschia City on his way to get his fifth Indigo League Gym Badge.

A deep, giddily happy feeling began to rise up in his chest as he realized that everything that he had tried for, all that he had, as an orphan, tried to acheive, had finally come true.  Here he was, an official Pokémon Trainer, wearing a Badge Case with four Indigo League Badges, soon to be five, and here, in about four months, the Indigo League Championship Tournament would be held.

Four months.  In four months, Hayden would be standing before Lance, the Dragon Tamer, a Trainer of such reknown and prowess that even criminal terrorists like Exec. Hariman fleed in terror before him.  Four months.  Hayden stopped and thought.  That meant that he would soon be nine, almost a double-digit.  A smile creeped across his face as he realized that he had already had more interactions with the League Champions than most Trainers got to have in their lives.

Hayden looked up at the sky again and realized that they had been biking for quite some time now, as the Northern end of the Bicycle Path was no longer visible, and the ocean was considerably closer to them than it had been before.  He looked back at Aurica and saw that she was fully awake now, though her eyes were still slightly bloodshot.  He swung over beside Jim's bike and looked down at her.  "How you feel?" he inquired.

"Better, but still reminiscent of shit," she answered.  "How long am I gonna feel like this?"

Hayden shrugged.  "No idea.  Don't worry too much, though, as soon as we get to Fuschia City, it's straight to the Pokemon Center."

Aurica smiled and hung over the edge of the basket, facing backward and watching the ground shoot away.  "I don't know if it's the Sleep Powder or what, but this looks really trippy."

Hayden smiled and looked up.  The end of the Bicycle Path was in clear view now, and Hayden could see a ledge at the end, and it was very clear in his mind what the ledge was designed for.  With a childish grin, he began to pedal faster and faster, rapidly leaving Aurica, Jim and Klauss behind.  As he neared the end, the ground curved up slightly, giving him an upward angle for his jump.  At the very end of the ramp, he pulled back and pressed down hard, leaping high off of the ground, clearing the ground below the ledge by ten feet.  Hayden shouted in excitement at the distance he acheived.  Hayden watched the ground below pass by beneath him, then looked up at his bike's front tire.  Something about it seemed horribly off to him, but he couldn't quite place it.  Perhaps it was the fact that the tire was no longer attatched to the front of his bike and was slowly drifting downwards to the ground below him.

Hayden shouted as he realized that yes, this was in fact what was immediately wrong with his world.  Without a front tire, the metal bars on his yoke would bury into the dirt and send him catapaulting forward into the ground with full force, also possibly breaking bones as he hit various parts of the bike at that same force.  Acting quickly, Hayden kicked the bike away from him, preventing himself from being broken by the bike.  He then realized that now there was nothing between himself and the hardened dirt below him.

There was a bright flash from his belt as Melody appeared, directly beneath him.  Hayden grabbed her mane and held on for tightly as they fell.  His Ponyta whinnied as she landed, taking the impact with incredible grace.  She looked over her shoulder at her Trainer, then ducked as the bike came up behind them, looking for the back of its rider's head.

Hayden watched as the back part of his bike sailed over his head, spinning wildly before landing in the dirt, sliding sideways and disappearing over the edge of the bridge.  Hayden turned around and looked back at where his bike had landed, the front end still buried in the dirt where it hit.  "Oh, man," he muttered.  "My bike.."

Melody whinnied.  "Yes, your bike.  Thanks to me, not, 'oh, Arceus, my arm, leg, or ribs.'"

Hayden stroked her neck.  "Thanks, Melody."

She whinnied happily.  "You're very welcome, Master."

Jim rode down the gently sloping path between the ledges and coasted up beside Hayden.  He looked at the front of Hayden's bike, then at Hayden on Melody's back.  "Dude, what happened?  Where's the rest of your bike?"

Hayden gestured at the guard rail.  "That way, about forty feet down."

Jim grimaced.  "Well, that sucks."

The younger Trainer nodded in agreement.  "Yeah. Hope you like walking, 'cause I don't have anything to ride."

Melody snorted and flicked her mane.  "Ahem!"

Hayden looked down at her.  "What's up?" he asked.

"Well," she began, "You may not have anyTHING to ride, but..."

Hayden looked down at her, then at Jim, then back at Melody.  "Uh, I don't... wait, you're a horse.  People ride horses."  Hayden thought deeply, feeling brilliant.  "So, why don't I ride around on you?"

Aurica cocked her eyebrow.  "Really?  It took you that long to realize that one?"

Hayden glared at her as Melody bounced about happily.  "Yay!" she whinnied.  "Besides, I'm far more comfortable than any old bike seat."

Hayden stroked her fiery mane.  "And a lot warmer, too."

Melody snorted happily as she began to trot towards the Southern Guard House, Aurica glaring after the Pokemon her Trainer was now, for some reason, willingly riding upon.  Klauss looked from Aurica to Melody, then back at Aurica sitting beside him.  "Uh-oh," he whispered.  "I hear the ticking of a drama bomb."

Jim looked back at Aurica, who was still glaring daggers at Melody.  Jim turned around and began to pedal after Hayden.  "I don't know which part of this is going to be worse," Jim said.  "The fact that they're both Pokémon competing for one Trainer, or the fact that they're both girls competing for one Trainer."

Aurica's glare turned up to Jim.  "Hey, I'm right here, jack-ass.  Don't talk about me like I can't hear you."

Klauss looked back at Jim.  "Definitely that they're girls."