"Princess, you can't go in there!"

"I have to go in there. It's my duty."

"Princess, I refuse to let you go in there alone!"

"Let me go, Zan. I'll be fine. Go do something while I'm gone."

"PRINCESS! DO. NOT. GO. IN. THERE!!!"

"For the love of Mew, it's just detention, Jimmy!"

Hmmm...maybe I should've listened to Agent Zan... Renei Light sat in detention. Once again, the Teachers had caught her with Pokemon Cards in class. And so, as leader of the Contraband Elementary Division, it was her duty to sit through her punishment with honor, without sulking, for this was a message to the Teacher. Sitting up straight, with a proud look on her face, she was telling the Teachers "You will not break me."

Renei Light was the most devoted and skilled Pokemaniac in school. Therefore, the Contraband Leader, Lance, put her in charge of the Elementary Division. Her followers call her the Pixel Princess. Her two best friends, Agent Aquis and Agent Kadan, were her assistants and bodyguards. Aquis's two assistents, Agents Hex and Zan, did most of their dirty work. Kadan cannot be trusted not to abuse the power of having assistants.

"You may go now, Renei." The Teacher (the Contraband refuse to address Teachers by their names and simply call them 'Teachers') told her. There was fear in Teacher's eyes. She knew what power the Pixel Princess held.

Renei walked out of the classroom. Aquis and Kadan were waiting for her. "Hey, Sami. Elijah."

"Hi."

"Did they hurt you?! You didn't tell them anything, did you?!"

"They didn't interrogate me this time. I think they're planning something." Renei looked over at Samantha 'Agent Aquis' and Elijah 'Agent Kadan.' Although they were mere 5th graders they were in charge of all the Contrabanders in the Elementary grades. And she, Pixel Princess Renei, was in charge of them. It was sort of weird. "Kadan, have you been able to pick up anything?"

"Nothing. They're not having meetings anymore. Trying to catch us off guard." Kadan had some sort of creepy psychic power, which he used to spy on the Teachers.

"The moment you hear anything, tell me immediately."

"Right. So, we're going to meet Lance and Tima to work on the S.S. Merchandise, right?"

"Eeeeyep. You're test driving it, Kadan."

"Me?!"

"Mmm-hmm."

"I'm test driving the airship?!"

"Looks like it."

"COOL!!!"

"Of course, there's no guarantee that it'll fly."

"Aww..."

"It might crash."

"Whoo-hoo! Flaming explosions ROCK!!!"

"With you in it."

"Also whoo-hoo! Concussions ROCK!!!"

And so they went to Contraband HQ, hidden behind the seemingly innocent software store 'CB.' Much of the base was filled by their prototype airship, the S.S. Merchandise. Renei and her crew met with Lance and Tima there.

"Renei! Hello."

"Hi, Lance. Is it ready for testing yet?"

"Yep. Is our crash dummy ready?"

"WHOO-HOO!!!" Agent Kadan started jumping around.

"Yeah, he's ready."

The Teachers met in the school library to discuss the Contraband Rebels. They spoke quietly, for it was discovered that the rebels were somehow listening to their meetings.

"I overheard some students talking about a 'Princess Pixel.' I believe this is their leader."

"Hey, Princess?" Elijah said to Renei, as they piloted the airship (which was now deemed safe to fly) over the ocean (to avoid being spotted and mistaken for a UFO).

"What, Agent Kadan?"

"They're talking about you. I think they're on to Hex and Zan, too."

"Oh...I gots an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Let's test the airship defenses on the PTA."

"Whoo-hoo!" They steered the Merchandise towards the Elementary School.

The massive airship loomed over the school library. "Prepare the laser cannons!" Renei called out to Hex, a.k.a. Sally Tanner, who operated the projectile weapons. "Prepare the laserblades!" She ordered Zan, a.k.a. Jimmy Tanner, who operated the close combat weapons weilded by the Merchandise's 'grappler' arms. "Targeting the Teacher meeting! On my mark...1...2...3...ATTACK!!!"

Lasers of all kinds rained down on the building below! The Teachers were exposed! But in the corner of the now-roofless room was a small figure. What appeared to be an adult was tied and gagged and panicking. "Hey...is that Miss Yumi?"

"I think it is! Oh, man, we gotta do something!" They looked down on Miss Yumi in distress. Yumi was a second grade teacher...but not a 'Teacher.' She was kind to her students and always gave back confiscated items after class. However, she knew nothing about the Contraband. "Those jerks have her as a hostage! Should we shoot?"

"NO! We could hit Miss Yumi on accident."

"But if we--"

"No."

"How about I--"

"No."

"Fine then! You think of something!"

;Attention, rebels!; A Teacher's voice came in over the radio. ;We have a hostage! Bring your 'Princess Pixel' to us and Miss Yumi will be released! You have two days!;

"Now, there's an idea!"

"Renei, you can't possibly be thinking of turning yourself in! That's madness!"

"Don't be silly! I have a plan. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

The next day after school, the Teachers representative and several masked Contraband rebels met. The Contraband escorted a young girl, who was given to the Teachers. Her short brown hair was put up in braids, her brown eyes shined in defiance. Her clothes were obviously made especially for her; nobody normal would wear such a costume. Her facial features were obscured by decorative markings painted onto her skin. She looked like some sort of fairy-tale princess.

The Teacher untied the struggling woman next to her. "If I see her again, she won't be so lucky."

The Princess glared at her captor. "You may have captured me, but I am not the only one fighting you. We will take you down. Someday."

"Big words from such a little girl. You won't be so proud when you're sitting in permanent detention." The Teacher took the Pixel Princess away.

"Princess!" A masked escort called out to his leader. "Don't worry. We'll avenge you. Never give in."

"I know. I will continue to fight."

"That's enough, little girl! You, Contrabanders! Leave this place immediately!" The masked rebels retreated, and the Princess was taken away.

"Whoo! I'm glad that's not me down there!" Renei exclaimed from her cushy seat in the airship.

"Wha--but Renei! You were just...how did you..."

"Duh, that's a decoy down there. That's Agent Hex in my princess costume, remember?"

"Oooooooh. I never noticed, but she kinda looks like you."

"We just have similar hairstyles, that's all."

"Oh. So what do we do now?"

"Agent Hex has a communicator in her costume. She'll contact us soon. While we wait, we're going to get the team ready to infiltrate the Teacher base. Sami?"

"Yeah?"

"Take us back to HQ."

"Right away."

"Welcome back, Princess."

"Have you selected the soldiers for the team?"

"Of course. They're waiting for you." Lance of the High School guided Renei to a small room where four strangers lounged on various pieces of furniture. "Marina Fiori, codename 'Acid Armor.' Kitsunebot 2000, codename 'Flamethrower.' Chibi-Reneibot, codename 'Substitute.' Blake Star, codename 'Dragon Rage.' Of course, Agents Aquis, Kadan, and Zan will be with you as well."

"Wait, 'Kitsunebot?' 'Chibi-Reneibot?' Since when did we get androids?"

"Uh...I found them...on the internet. Someone with the screen name 'Duke_Red' sent them."

"My creator is totally trustworthy, I assure you. 'Duke Red' is simply a reference to a movie. My creator is simply interested in keeping the Teachers and others of their kind from succeeding in erasing your way of life." The red-haired, scantily clad Kitsunebot said with a smile.

"Cool, it talks. Whatsit do, Lance?" Renei pokes the plastic 'skin' of Kitsunebot.

"I am a combat droid designed to transform to and from an offensive 'Neo-Vulpix' form. I am equipped with a flamethrower and basic knowledge of self defense. I am not an 'it,' by the way. I am designed as a female to serve the second purpose of..."

"That's quite enough, Kitsunebot! She's only 9 years old!"

"Why does this girl look like me?" The Chibi-Reneibot poked Renei.

"Ah...um..." Lance looked slightly embarassed. "Could I see you outside, Renei?" Lance pulls Renei into the hall. "There's a little problem. The C-R thinks she's you. She's programmed to be the perfect decoy, but she thinks she's the real thing. I haven't been able to explain it to her."

"Don't worry, I'll handle it." They went back into the room. "Chibi-Reneibot?"

"Yes?" The robot duplicate looked at her with googly, lifeless eyes.

"Um...I...I'm your long-lost twin sister! That's why we look alike!" Renei laughed nervously. Out of the corner of her eye she could practically see Lance faceplant, anime-style. "Yeah, that's it! Heh."

"Oh...okay. Well, hi. I'm Renei Light."

This is too weird... Renei thought to herself. I didn't even know androids and stuff existed. Where did all this stuff come from?! "Well...everyone come with me to the training grounds. I wanna see what you can do."

The 'training grounds' was a small yard behind the base. There were several targets, both moving and stationary. Kitsunebot stepped into a square drawn onto the dirt with chalk. C-R stood on the opposite side of the 'arena.' C-R held up her right arm, and it transformed into a laser and shot towards Kitsunebot, who easily dodged it. Kitsunebot countered with flames shot out of her hands.

"Whoo-hoo! This is cool!" Kadan exclaimed with his usual enthusiasm.

"That's good," Renei told the combatants. "You other two, into the ring."

Marina and Blake, the human fighters, stepped into the arena. Marina's skin turned a shiny blue and she started...to...melt? She became a being of living water! I should've guessed it, Renei thought to herself, codename 'Acid Armor.' The Pokemon defensive move that liquifies the user. She must be the successful genetics experiment.

Marina's opponent Blake attacked immediately. His foot hit her watery, vaguely humanoid form, but simply made a splash. She covered his nose and mouth, an interesting way to defeat an opponent by drowning him. Of course, she released him, this was only a demonstration. Her opponent attacked with a flurry of martial arts moves that Renei couldn't identify. Very impressive.

"I think this team will work. What do you think, Aquis?"

"Very impressive. Better than I had hoped."

"What do you think, Kadan?"

"Whoo-hoo! Laser robots!"

"All right, let's plan our mission!"

The team met in the 'planning room,' which is basically a big room with a table. A map of the Elementary School was spread out on the table with several little toys on it. "Pay attention, team." Lance prodded Kadan with a pointer stick and he put down one of the little figurines. "This Pikachu represents the captured Agent Hex. We're pretty sure they imprisoned her here, in the janitor's closet. This Ash action figure represents Renei, who--"

"Why can't I be Ash?"

"You're the Kadabra."

"Cool!" Kadan picked up the Kadabra figurine only to be smacked with a stick.

"Now, Renei enters through the main entrance with Sami and Elijah, and--"

"So the Vaporeon is Sami?"

"Yes, now shut up! Okay, so you three go through the main entrance and fight off as many Teachers as possible, making your way towards Hex's prison. This Tentacool is Marina. You come in through the playground. Liquify and go through the vents and into the Teacher's Lounge, here. Fight off any Teachers and grab whatever documents you can. Evil plans, report cards, even lunch menus if they have them! Bring anything you find back here! Tima, she's this Nidoqueen here, she'll be waiting to bring back anything you find.

"Blake, Kitsunebot, and Zan come in through this window here--"

"Which toys are they?"

"*sigh* They're the Gyrados, Vulpix, and Machop. Are you happy now?!"

"Yes."

"All right, you three come through here, and work your way to Hex. Free her and join Renei and the others at the front. When you six are all together, retreat to the airship."

"Where's the airship?"

"It's here."

"The Articuno?"

"Yes! Are you quite finished?!"

"Yessir."

"As I was saying, you retreat to the airship. Pick up Marina and Tima with the tractor beam and head back to base with the cloaking device on."

"But we haven't been able to test the tractor beam or the cloaking device!" Renei exclaimed with a worried look on her face.

"We're going to have to take a chance. It was your idea to do this, anyway."

"Right. And what will Chibi-Reneibot do?"

"She'll be waiting in the airship in case you're hurt."

"All right. I think we can do this. Has there been any word from Hex?"

"Yes. They've identified her and are interrogating her. She hasn't told them anything and they're afraid to torture her. The Teachers may be powerful but they can't avoid the law. On the other hand, she hasn't found out anything useful either."

"That's okay. How about equipment for the mission?"

"I'm glad you asked." Lance placed several items on the table. "Each of you gets your own specialized weapon. For Renei we have the strap-on Scyther blades. For Aquis we have the Water Gun. This baby's about five times more powerful than those new Super Soakers on TV. When you're hit by it, it HURTS. For Kadan--"

"No, that's okay, I have my spoons."

"Spoons."

"Eeeyep."

"We're about to storm the base of our archenemy and you want to attack with spoons. Not knives, not forks, not even those spork thingies. You're going to attack with spoons. SPOONS?!!!"

"Yeeeeaaah...I saw an Alakazam in Pokemon Stadium holding these two spoons and it's s'posed to increase psychic power."

"Okaaaay...moving on, for Marina we have what is called the 'Sludge Bomb.' Use this only when absolutely necessary. Kitsunebot is already equipped with her flamethrowers, but we have this Confuse Ray Machine for you as well. Chibi-Reneibot gets this power amplifier attatchment for her laser. We call it 'Focus Energy.' For Blake...I believe the standard brass knuckles will do?"

"Heh heh heh...yeah."

"Well, that's all I have to say. Suit up and be ready to attack in one hour. Good luck."

"Thank you, Lance." Renei saluted her friend.

"Whoo-hoo! Suit up!" Kadan ran off towards the locker rooms. Everyone had cool battle outfits made by the cosplay division. Pulling his Elite Four Lance-style cape (not to be confused with Contraband's Lance) out from under a pile of dirty clothes and old issues of Nintendo Power, his face beamed with smileys. "WHERE ARE MY PANTS?!!!"

"Excuse me, but do you have some sort of problem in your brain?" Blake, who was a stranger to Elijah, snapped at him as he pulled a pure black shirt over his head. "You know, in the part that controls your mouth?"

"NO! Don't be a jerk. We're supposed to be a team."

"There's a lot of stuff I'm supposed to be. Let me get one thing straight, Spoon Boy, I don't take orders from you. My loyalty lies with the Pixel Princess and noone else!"

"Whattabout Lance and Tima?"

"Yeah, them too. But that's besides the point! You just don't think you're better than me, all right?!"

"Yeah, whatever." Whatever he's been eating, it sure wasn't fresh, Kadan thought to himself. He must be crazy or something, I didn't even say anything to him! He suddenly detected Blake's fist rushing towards the back of his head, and ducked.

"Dude, you have this weird habit of projecting your thoughts. Have you ever noticed that?" Zan, dressed in his DBZ-style red uniform (since nobody said that you have to be all about Pokemon), told him from across the room. "I wonder if all psychic weirdos do that."

"I dunno. But I do know... is that you really shouldn't attack someone who can see the future." He shoved an elbow into Blake's gut. "I don't wanna fight you. We're on the same team. Don't make me hurt you."

"What, you think you could beat me?!"

"I just said I don't want to fight you!"

"CHICKEN!!!"

"There is something wrong with you. I am going to walk away now." Agent Kadan left the room, hoping he wouldn't have to turn around and fight.

Renei buttoned up her Gym Leader Sabrina-style red shirt. She liked her costume, even the skirt. Normally, she would never wear a skirt, but it was a cool costume, and besides, she was wearing gym shorts under it. She always felt happy before a mission. "Hey Sally, I...oh." Sally/Hex wasn't here this time.

"Yeah, I miss her too. It's weird, not having her here." Sami smiled at her. Sami/Aquis always wears contacts on missions. It's weird to look at her without the usual glasses. "We're going to rescue her, though."

"No...this isn't a rescue mission. She's not some sort of Princess Toadstool. She's going to attack the Teachers' base from the inside out. We gotta stop thinking like she's a victim."

"Yeah, that's right!" The perky Marina patted her on the back. A broad smile was stamped onto the genetically altered face. "This isn't just a mission, it's an adventure, and I know we'll pull it off right, Princess!"

"Why are you talking to her? I am over here." Chibi-Reneibot sat on the opposite side of the room, in a suit identical to Renei's. There were subtle differences in their appearances, of course. A robot's eyes didn't have the same moist shine as a human's. Her hair, although convincing enough at a glance, was of some synthetic material. And her expressions...where Renei showed determination and fearlessness, the C-R showed childlike confusion.

"C-R, where do you come from? I mean...well...I don't really know how to put this..." Renei looked sympathetically at her android duplicate.

"I come from Duke Red. I know I come from somewhere before that, but...the memories are like lines in a textbook. I fell from a tree when I was five, but I can't remember where it was, or even how it felt to hit the ground. I know that it happened, but I don't remember it happening. Do you ever feel the same way?" C-R looked at her, her head tilted to one side.

"Oh, boy. Um...I guess I should explain...C-R, you aren't Renei Light. You're not the Pixel Princess. You're designed to be her decoy. By the way...it hurt. I fell on a rock." C-R stared blankly as the real Renei left the room.

"Malfunction..."

"Oooh. Should we step out of the way? I saw this in a movie once and I think her head's gonna blow up."

"Poor Chibi," The Kitsunebot stroked C-R's synthetic hair. "You weren't programmed for this sort of thing..."

"Has anyone noticed that the robots talk with underlines? Am I the only one who notices that? I think that's sorta weird--"

"Acid Armor?"

"Yes, Aquis?"

"Shut up."

The Pixel Princess and her two agents stormed the school. They quickly took down the guards and ran in. "BEWARE, FOUL CREATURES! WE HAVE COME FOR YOUR HOSTAGE!" Renei called out. Teachers ran out of the many classrooms.

"You're from Contraband, aren't you?! Have you come to join your friend in prison?"

"Shut up! If you don't get out of our way, we'll be happy to fight you, old man!"

And so a battle broke out in the halls. Renei twirled and slashed with her Scyther blades. They all had to be careful not to kill anyone, or else the police would surely get involved. Nobody but the teachers and students knew anything of this secret war. It the government were to find out, they would certainly side with the adults. They always do.

Agent Zan and Special Force Soldiers Dragon Rage and Flamethrower came in through an open window in the back of the school. The Teacher sitting at a desk in the room got up immediately and pulled the fire alarm.

"Hey, when I tried to do that, I got in trouble! No fair!" Zan kicked the lady's shin. They quickly tied her up and shoved her under a desk as more Teachers arrived to fight, having heard the alarm go off. "Dragon Rage, you take care of these guys. DO NOT KILL ANYONE. Flamethrower, come with me."

The two shoved their way through the crowd as the psychotic fighter Blake remained. The look in his eyes was terrifying. Zan only hoped he would follow orders. "Which way to where Hex is held?" Kitsunebot asked.

"This way." They ran as fast as they could to the janitor's closet where the decoy princess, Zan's twin sister, was held. They busted down the door to find Sally Tanner unconscious. Her hair was messy, her face was smeared with dirt, and she was tied so tight her hands were blue.

"Doo dee doo dee dooooo..." Acid Armor liquefied and slithered into an air vent. She came out into the Teacher's Lounge, where several cups of coffee were left on a table. Nobody was in here, they had all ran out when they heard the alarm go off. "Lesse here...hall passes...detenion slips...report cards...ooh, somebody's gonna flunk! Hmm, evil plans...where would they put something like that?" She looked around the room and found a file cabinet against the wall. Opening it, she searched for anything suspicious. "Here we go! 'Plans for Operation Brainwash,' that sounds important. Well, here we go." She stuffed all things paper into a sack, knocked over a few coffee cups just to annoy people, and exited the way she came.

She handed her sack to Tima, who waited behind the school, recieved an empty one from her, and went back in. Tima of the Middle School radioed the base to report that everything was going according to plan...so far.

Back and Contraband HQ, Lance entered a makeshift bedroom where the kindly Miss Yumi was staying. She sat on a cot and looked towards the door when Lance opened it. "You've grown quite a bit since you were in my class."

"Of course. Miss Yumi, what do you know about the Teachers Organization?"

"I honestly didn't know such a thing existed until they kidnapped me. It's such a horrible thing."

"Yeah, they must really hate kids."

"No...they didn't used to be like that. People decide to become teachers because they want to help children. But with so much stress and the meager salary, some of them grow bitter. I'll tell you a secret. They're scared. They see your Pokemon toys, see you paying more attention to them than your classwork, and believe that Pokemon is a more powerful force than they are. They watch the TV show and see 10-year-olds traveling the world on their own, without school or parents. They believe that it'll give children ideas, make them think that they can take care of themselves like adults. They're afraid that children will become independent, that children will start to think for themselves. If that were to happen, they would not be needed."

"So in other words, they're afraid that their slaves will revolt."

"In a way...yes."

"We live in one stupid world."

"I've seen children struggle to memorize dates and numbers and spellings, and ace the standardized tests. But when they graduated, they suddenly realized that the year 1973 will not help them get a job. But the public education system continues to teach this way because they are scared of what would happen if a child were to think for himself."

"Wow."

Hex awoke to a very familiar face. "Jimmy?"

"That's right, it's me. Sally, what did they do to you?! You're a mess!"

"It's nothing, really. Is the Princess here?"

"Yeah. She's here. You're going home."

"Mwahahahaha!" SFS Dragon Rage sauntered down the hall with a vicious grin on his face. "There're no more conscious Teachers on this side of the school! Let's go kick the rest of their collective butt!"

"Okay, let's go." They headed towards the main entrance. A crowd of Teachers gathered around the Princess, Aquis, and Kadan. They attacked only with blunt weapons. Rulers...window-opener stick thingys...etc. If someone were severely injured the police would surely find out. That would be disastrous for either side.

"They have the Princess! Stop them!" The Teachers grabbed Agent Hex. She laughed under her breath. "And what are you laughing at?"

"You're holding the wrong person." She punched her captor right in the forehead, knocking her out. "Long live the Contraband Rebels! All hail Pixel Princess Renei!" Soon, all the Contraband fighters were chanting this. "All hail Pixel Princess Renei!" They chanted as they fought, and the pride in their voices truly scared their opponents.

C-R sat in the S.S. Merchandise. Everything she had ever known belonged to a total stranger. She was not Renei Light and yet that was all she knew how to be. From her seat in the bridge, she could hear the battle cry of her companions. "All hail Pixel Princess Renei!"

"Error...error...error...this does not compute..." Chibi-Reneibot lost control of it's electronic brain.

Renei was getting tired. The Teachers' numbers were dwindling, but there were still too many for her to fight. Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind. "My name is Renei Serenathi Light. I am 9 years old and in 5th grade." The confused android jumped onto her and gnawed on her head.

"C-R, what are you doing?! Get off!" Renei fell backwards. "Kadan, help!" Agent Kadan cast a psychic shield around the two to keep the Teachers from attacking while she was down.

"You are an impostor and must be destroyed. I am Renei Serenathi Light."

"Hey, quit it! Ow! Urg...everyone, retreat! Hurry!" They all ran out to the airship, even as C-R tried to rip hair from Renei's scalp. They boarded the Merchandise and rose into the air. As she desperately tried to pry the robot off her head, Zan piloted the airship.

"Well, the cloaking device seems to be working. Let's pick up Tima and Marina." He picked up the radio. "Tima? Are you ready?"

;Yeah, we've been waiting for about five minutes. We're ready to board.; Zan switched on the tractor beam and pulled them up. Shortly after, they entered the bridge.

"Whoo! That was EASY!" Marina smiled her typical I-have-no-idea-what's-going-on smile.

"Marina?"

"Yes, Renei?"

"Shut up."

Later, at the base, after they had cleaned themselves up, they met in the planning room. Chibi-Reneibot had been locked in another room until she calmed down. The others gathered around Lance.

"Well, the mission was successful."

"What?! But we didn't beat all the Teachers!" Blake exclaimed.

"That wasn't the point. We rescued Hex, gained some documents, and weakened their forces. We found one important document. It's labeled 'Operation Brainwash' and may be very important."

"What's inside?"

"There are plans to capture and hypnotize parents of important Contraband Agens to use as hostages and soldiers. This could be big. I doubt this is the only copy of the plans. Be on your toes."

"What about Chibi-Reneibot?"

"I'm sending her back to Duke Red, where she'll be remodeled with a new face. Hopefully she'll be able to live normally. She has decided to change her name from C-R to Siarr. She wants to be more than a robotic decoy. We hope she'll return to fight with us."

"When are you going to tell them?!" A stranger's voice snapped. In the doorway stood a lady in an elaborate costume.

"Ah...everyone, this is Triumvrate Pyra of the Otaku Alliance of America. The OAA has decided to make Contraband a part of the Alliance."

"Is that good? I've never heard of this Otaku thing." Renei said.

"Yes, this is a very good thing! The OAA can give us tons of funding for our airships and our experiments! With their help we can defeat the Teachers for sure!"

"You can do more than that," Pyra said. "I have taken interest in you, Renei. You have great potential. I am a leader of the Dragonball clan. We have made many advances in the field of martial arts and energy. If you were willing to learn, I could teach you to really fight."

"That would be wonderful...but we have an enemy to fight."