Chapter 6

Safe...For Now

Flint, Rose, and the others had finally made it to Bark Leaf town. It was about three miles away from the cave, all they could think about now was well deserved sleep.

The town was fairly larger than Grassroot, it even had its own walls. The walls were about ten feet tall, made from cobble and held up by wooden beams. The town had about three entrances, one at the south (which is where they were approaching from), another at the northeast, and the third located to the west. The interesting thing about the town was that most of it was built in the trees that sprouted everywhere, which seemed to make the wall seem useless. There were also dome shaped buildings along the ground, paths that drove through the town, and stairs that led up the trees. In the center of town was a thicker and much taller tree. It looked like an enlarged willow tree, it's leafs hanging down over the rest of the town. The central tree was also decorated with paper lanterns and white wisps flew around it.

"Wow!" Kindle mused, "Bark Leaf looks, well, amazing!"

"Yeah Yeah," Aurora said uninterested, "lets just find an inn so we can finally get some sleep."

"Aurora," Flint began, "do you think we could rest here tomorrow as well? I think Rose needs some time to recover."

Aurora looked back at him and Rose, she then glanced at the broken leg. As much as she wanted to get to Whitestone as soon as possible, she couldn't deny the fact that Rose still needed to heal and her injured leg was only slowing them down, "We'll stay for two days, then we'll head to Whitestone."

No one disagreed. Next, the group began walking through the town. Everyone, except for Aurora, seemed to be amazed with the nature of the town. They had never seen anything like it. Eventually, they found a dome shaped building with a tree sprouting out of it. Written on the dome read 'Rusty Wood Inn.' The dome was red in color and had bushes surrounding it. A downward slope lead to its front door.

Everyone walked into the red dome. The interior decor was simple. In the center was the base of the tree, an entranced carved into it that lead to a spiral staircase. There were two small tables in the done that had cushions for chairs surrounding them. In the back was a desk with a slowbro standing behind it. The slowbro was clearly male and was wearing glasses while reading a thick book. As the group approached him, he took notice and set is book and glasses aside.

"Yes, how may I help you..." He took a minute to count the group, which almost did take a minute due to his slow thinking, while everyone else stared awkwardly in silence "...you five this evening?"

"We'll be needing a couple of rooms for the next three nights, including tonight." Aurora informed.

"Alright, I can do that, just tell me what you're looking for."

"I'll be getting a room for myself."

"Alright, that'll be one pentra,"

Aurora grabbed the necessary coin from her bag and handed it to the slowbro who then handed her a key with a number engraved on it.

"See you all in a couple days," she said while walking off. Next, Tesla and Kindle approached the counter.

"We need a room for two," Kindle said.

"One bed?" The slowbro asked.

Kindle gave Tesla a sly smile, "No!" Tesla said angrily. "Two beds," he then said in a much calmer tone.

"That'll be two pentra,"

Tesla exchanged his coins for a key as he and Kindle headed upstairs to their room as well.

"We're also sharing a room," Flint began, "one bed is fine."

"Okay, that'll be one pentra and two silvin."

Flint wondered why the price was different but assumed it had to do something with the number of beds. He pulled out one of the golden pentagon-shaped coin and two silver triangular-shaped coins and handed it to the slowbro. Once he recieved his key, he saw the numbers '437' carved into the key. That meant they were in the thirty seventh room on the fourth floor, but the had to climb up to the branches before they reached the first floor.

Flint and Rose then entered throgh the base of the tree. After looking up the long spiral stairs, Flint decided he would carry Rose up them. Rose had fallen asleep while Flint worked his way up the tree, after a while, he entered into a lobby area. There were paths that went in different directions lined with rooms, Flint knew he had reached the first floor and has to go up three more. The second, third and fourth floors were all met with similar looking lobbies.

Once Flint was in the fourth floor lobby, he noticed four paths with signs next to them. One read '10-19,' while another read '20-29' and so on. Flint walked throgh the path labeled '30-39.' The paths were thick branches of the tree that were carved flat so it would be easier to walk on. Flint noticed the even number rooms were on his right side, while the odds were to his left. He continued walking until he found his room, '437.'

Flint grabbed the key from his bag and placed it in his maw, he then inserted the key into its hole and turned the lock. Once the door was unlocked, he pushed the door open and walked inside setting Rose down on the bed, which was in the back corner of the room. The entire room was made of wood to match the tree. There was a red circular carpet in the center of the room, a chest on the right side of the room used for storage. In the back left corner was a desk and chair, on top of the desk was a candle and a quill. The left side of the room had a tub and cleaning material. Up against the very back wall was a sliding door that led to a balcony, the doorway was covered by a curtain of leafs.

After setting his bag down, Flint shut the door to his room and ensured it was locked. He then walked over towards the bed and put a blanket over Rose. He then went to the other side and covered himself with the blanket and slowly drifted to sleep.


"Now poor 'ol Nixie is bout to die," the shiftry said to Nixie who was wrapped in the claws of a drapion.

"What do ya ave in mind?" The drapion asked.

"I say we make it slow," he said with a grin.

Nixie seemed to show no more emotion. She didn't feel like there really was anything to live for at this point. She just saw the last of her colony slaughtered by these strangers, and now she, the 'cursed buizel,' was the last alive.

"Hmm, we need to think this one out," the shiftry started.

"I know, we could slowly pull all o' er limbs off one by one."

"Seems a lil too boring. We could dissect er alive?"

"Ye, that's it. Aven't done that one in a long while."

The drapion then slammed Nixie against the log with his claws around her shoulders and dug into the log. The shiftry approached her with his leaf as sharp as a razor. He then slowly brought it down near her stomach.

Nixie tried squirming free, but it was no use under the drapion's claws. She then wanted to try stalling somehow, "What can you tell me about my curse?" She asked as it was still on her mind.

The shifty suddenly retracted his leaf blade, "The curse? Oh yeah, we lied bout it to scare the others. Might as well tell ya since yous about ta die."

"Wait, so I'm not cursed?" She asked with a bit of relief.

"Onestly, I don't know, nor care. Never seen a buizle wit different color eyes."

"Then why did you attack the colony?"

"Ya sure do ask a lot of questions don't ya?"

"You said you were going to kill me anyway, shouldn't I at least get the right to know why you were doing it in the first place?"

"I don't ave to tell ya anything. Now, let me continue what I was doin.'"

Before Nixie could protest, he brought his blade back down near her stomach and prepared to carve into her. Nixie's breaths began quickening, she could feel his cold blade against her and she couldn't do anything but brace for pain. The leaf then punctured right into the flesh, Nixie gasped in pain. Slowly, the shiftry carved upwards to her chest, leaving a fresh tail of blood trickling out of her wound. Nixie was now shrieking in pain, which only made the drapion and shiftry more pleased. The shiftry removed his leaf which was now coated in blood at the tip. He brought it back to where he stated and prepared to dig deeper into the flesh.

A crackling sound then filled the air. The shiftry stopped immediately and began looking around, as did the drapion. Without warning, a bolt of lightning flew directly into the drapion's chest. He released Nixie while clutching he's chest. The two were now on guard, ignoring Nixie who was in too much pain to do anything. Another bolt of lightning flew across the sky and into the drapion's back.

"Who the fuck is there?" The drapion yelled angrily.

He was met with silence before a figure emerged from the trees. The creature stood on four legs, his primary fur was black, while his other features were yellow. It was a shiny manetric. Around his neck was a necklace with an oval shaped yellow gem that sparkled.

The drapion squinted his eyes, "You Mardol scum, stickin' your noses where they don't belong."

"Ye, but e's alone, we can take im," the shiftry said.

"He's not alone," another voice spoke, this one being male.

Emerging from the other side was a bipedal creature with blue and white fur. It was a meowstic. On his back was a sword that was glowing pink, and around his neck was a necklace that had a purplish pink oval shaped gem that sparkled.

"You get the manetric," the shiftry spoke, "I'll get the meowstic."

The drapion began approaching the manetric who had electricity encircling his body while standing defensively. The drapion decided to start the battle by firing a storm of spikes near the manetric, the manetric simply dodged them while trying to avoid falling in the mud. As he observed the spikes that now littered the terrain, he saw they had a purple ooze dropping out of them. The manetric then released the electricity dancing around him, it latched onto the drapion and tensed his muscles up, possibly paralyzing him.

The manetric continued his momentum while charging towards the drapion. Electricity began developing around his teeth, he then jumped towards the drapion and bit down onto his neck. However, it was hard as a rock and the electricity just bounced off. The drapion had used protect, his claws were now glowing purple and he jabbed the manetric in his stomach sending him back into the tree.

Meanwhile, the shiftry was preparing to attack the meowstic. The shiftry looked him up and down and charged towards him with his leaf blades. The meowstic quickly grabbed the hilt of his blade and slashed towards the shiftry. The shiftry's leafs were just as hard as his blade and caused sparks to fly as they collided with the sword. The shiftry decided to jump back to a safe distance and prepare his next attack.

The shiftry put his leaf hands together and began forming a black ball that he then fired at the meowstic. He then quickly followed behind the ball with his blades ready again. The meowstic jumped backwards away from the ball, his feet landed on the side of a tree. He then pushed forward with his legs and launched himself at the shiftry. He barely dodged the shiftry's blade, but on his way down he was able to slice his right leg causing him to lose his balance and fall.

The shiftry quickly turned around and lunged forward pointing his blades at the meowstic's chest. The meowstic parried with his sword. Then within a matter of seconds, the meowstic's eyes flashed briefly, he then unfolded his ears revealing his concealed eyes, afterwards he wrapped the shiftry in an aura that prevented him from moving.

The shiftry squirmed in frustration but couldn't move, "What is this bull shit?"

"I used miracle eye, it allows my psychic abilities to work against dark types," the meowstic explained.

The manetric was now finishing up his battle as he got up off the tree, he felt a stinging pain against his back but ignored it for now. The manetric coated himself in electricity and charged towards the drapion almost at the speed of light. He shoved his pointed head into the drapion's stomach, the impact causing a wound to open up, while the electricity was sent inside the victims body. The drapion spasmed on the ground for a few seconds, afterwards he laid still breathing faintly.

The manetric walked over to Nixie, "Are you alright ma'am?" He asked.

Nixie was breathless at first, she thought she was surly going to die, then these two new strangers showed up and saved her. "Yes," she finally replied, "thank you."

"It's a pleasure to help those in need," he had just now noticed the wound carved into her, "Goodness! You're bleeding! Psyche, we need to get her beck to the camp, fast!" He called to the meowstic known as Psyche.

"You take her to the camp, Rykon, I'll handle these two for now."

With a nod, the manetric known as Rykon gently picked up Nixie and placed her on his back while heading back to the camp. As he started leaving, Nixie noticed there were many holes along Rykon's back, a mixture of blood and a purple liquid oozed from the holes. Nixie then also remembered the drapion using toxic spikes at the beginning of the battle, he must of been thrush into the spikes and hadn't noticed.

"Rykon..." she weakly said, as the blood lose and pain were starting to make her faint.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Your...poisoned..."

"Poisoned? How?" He then stopped his movements.

"You landed...on the toxic spikes...after he hit you..."

"Shit..." He said to himself, "I can't move too much or else the poison will spread quickly, but I Also need to move so I can get you to the medics at the camp. Just hold tight, I'll try and be quick."

Rykon then gathered his strength and ran back to his camp, ignoring the fact that he was quickening the spread of his poison. Nixie could barely stay conscious at this point and slowly began seeing black until she had fully fainted.

Psyche pointed his blade towards the shiftry's throat, "Start talking," he demanded.

"What the ell do ya wanna know? Ya don't just demand me ta talk of I don't know what ya want."

"Tenebris, what is he planning?"

"I can't tell ya, even if I knew, I couldn't."

"But he is planning something?"

"Maybe e is maybe e isn't, ow should I know?"

"Maybe I'll kill you maybe I won't, just give me some answers. Anything, something."

"What's it matter, I'm not useful towards that power ungry umbreon."

"Then what are you doing out here killing the buizel colony for?"

"Ow do you know bout that?"

"Just answer the question."

"Onestly, I don't know. Tenebris just told us ta kill 'em, so we did."

"You're not even the slightest bit curious why he might be doing it?"

"No, not really, I don't question is authority. It's best not to upset im...or the others" he added.

"The others?" Psyche inquired.

"Ye, ya know, the other royal leaders."

"Where are they?"

"Ow the ell should I know, I just do what Tenebris wants. Why, ya plan on killin' 'em?"

"Yes actually, we are at war after all."

"You pokemon of Mardol are all stupid, there's no way you stand a chance against Zerith, the Dark Legion controls the whole place, and the army is probably three times bigger than whatever you managed to scrounge up. Not only that, but you also have the Jagorii to worry about."

"We don't care, we're fighting for what's just and equality of all pokemon. We don't need you to push your mentality of 'no weak pokemon deserve to live.' We want a better world to live in and you all have prevented it for decades."

"Pfft, 'equality of pokemon.' Bet it applies to all but us dark types, don't it?"

"Wrong, we have dark pokemon living in Mardol. Many may not be too found of the idea, but we want equality."

"I don't ave time to argue with you, if your gonna kill me, kill me already. If not, then just leave."

Psyche let out a sigh then released the shiftry from his psychic aura. He turned around and began heading to his camp. The shiftry grinned and lunged at Psyche. He had predicted this though, he quickly spun around with his blade aimed upwards. The shiftry ended up doing all of the work as he landed on the blade with it buried into his chest. His eyes were wide in sock, he felt the bite of the blade ripping throgh the front and back of him. Psyche set him on the ground and placed his foot in the shiftry's chest so he could pull the blade out. Afterwards, he continued walking until he was next to the drapion who was barely conscious.

"If you live through this," Psyche started to get his attention, "you let your leaders know the Fourth Light is still shining strong." Then he continued walking back to the camp again.

Psyche was now out of the swamp and was now approaching the camp the was set up next to the shore. More than twenty large tents were scattered about the place, three fairly big fire pits were placed around the camp, and three wooden ships were sitting out in the water waving the flag of Mardol. The flag of Mardol is a light green rectangle, in the center of the flag is a white circle, around the circle are nine red lines that point at each end. Together that makes it look like a sun. There are also two thin blue lines that run vertically, one to the left and right of the 'sun.'

After talking a breath of the fresh air, Psyche walked over to a tent that had a white flag with a red cross in the center. Once he walked in, he saw six of the twenty beds being used. One had a dratini resting on it, there were bandages around the center of its body. Another bed had an oshawott sleeping in it who had a bag of ice against its head. A fletchinder being fed medicine on another bed. There was also one were a mienfoo had its right arm amputated. The other two beds are where Nixie and Rykon were resting.

"What happened to Rykon?" Psyche asked the audino nurse.

"He was poisoned," she explained, "he nearly collapsed once he arrived. Who is the buizel though?"

"I'm not sure, but some of the Dark Legion pokemon were trying to kill her. I think she's the only survivor of her colony."

"That's terrible..." the audino said sadly.

"It is, she could be the last buizel for all we know."

"It's a good thing she's female I guess. She has a chance to bring them back."

"How is she doing by the way?"

"Her injury was pretty bad, but I was able to speed up the healing process, so she's doing just fine now. We've also drained the toxins from Rykon, so he'll be fine too. The two of them just need to rest for now."

"Very well," Psyche said with a bow of his head, "I'll be back in a couple hours to visit again."

Psyche walked out of the tent and headed back to the shore, he was greeted by several pokemon as he walked by. Psyche was now looking out into the ocean, the rising sun gleaming off its surface. After a couple more seconds of staring into the horizon, a lapras emerged from the water.

"Need a lift to the ship, Psyche?" She asked

"Yes, I actually would appreciate that. Thank you Arctica."

"No problem! Hop on," she said cheerfully.

Psyche hopped into the rocky back of the lapras who was known as Arctica. She then smoothly drifted towards the middle of the three ships, which was also the biggest. The ships were a nice mahogany wood smoothed and sanded down, they also had three masts boasting dozens of sails. Along each of the sides were canons. At the moment, the pokemon that weren't at camp were cleaning the ships and watching over them. Arctica pulled up next to a set of ladders that crawled up along the hull of the ship. Psyche gave his thanks again and climbed the ladders until he reached the main deck of the ship.

He walked over to his cabin and entered it. The inside looked like an office, there was a rectangular desk that had a clutter of papers and a map. Along the walls were two paintings of pokemon famous to Mardol, one was a ninetails and the other was an espeon. Underneath the ninetails printing was an empty display case, which was for Psyche's sword. Underneath the espeon painting was a small bookcase. Finally, in the center of the room was a metal bowl filed with water, the bowl was raised with a tripod.

Psyche first sat in his chair behind his desk and opened a drawer. He then grabbed a rag and began cleaning the blood from his sword. Once he was content, he placed it in its display case. He then took his necklace off and approached the bowl. He dropped the necklace in the bowl and the liquid began lighting up.

The next thing he heard was a voice enter his head, "Psyche?" a feminine voice spoke, "what is it you need?"

Using telepathy, Psyche then spoke back, "Princess Starshine, I've finished scouting the swamp as you asked."

"Good, what's the news?"

"As we had expected, Tenebris sent pokemon to wipe out the buizel colony, there was only one survivor that we know of."

"What did you do with the survivor?"

"I've brought her back to our camp, she's recieving medical care as of now."

"Alright. Any other details about the swamp? What was Tenebris planning?"

"That is what I'm still unsure of. Rykon and I only found two pokemon who were part of the Dark Legion. I interrogated one of them and he didn't know anything, he told me only the royal leaders would know. I then tried to find their locations, but they aren't informed about anything Tenebris was doing."

"Tenebris was probably planning for something like this to happen. The people he sent, did they seem not too smart at all?"

"Well, now that you've mentioned it, the way they talked was slightly different, they had an odd accent to them. Their attack behavior was nothing but aggressive and predictable."

"Then it was all planned out... somehow he knew we would be there, so he sent pokemon who don't truly know what he's planning. If he knows that much, I wouldn't be surprised if he knows about your camp's location as well. I suggest you all stay alert and be safe in your travels back."

"Yes, speaking of which, are we granted permission to travel back now that we've done what you've asked? Or do you need us to stay out here longer?"

"No, I need you all to come back, if this is all planned, then you're all sitting ducklette waiting to be slaughtered, leave at your earliest convenience."

"Understood."

The water stopped glowing and Psyche grabbed for his necklace and put it back on. He then headed back outside and headed towards the side of the ship. Arctica was still floating nearby. He whistled for her attention. After noticing him, she swam beck to the ship which he then hopped into her back.

Back at the hospital tent, Nixie was now waking up. She felt sore and groggy. She sat up and examined her surroundings, she was unsure where she was. She cringed a little looking at all of the other wounded pokemon, which then reminded her of her own wounds. She was surprised when she looked down and realized the cut had already been heald.

"Looks like you're finally up," Rykon spoke to her.

She was startled nit knowing Rykon was awake, "Where am I?"

"Don't worry, you're safe here. Just take it easy, you still need to recover."

"You're okay? I thought you were pois-"

"It's okay, they removed the toxins from my body. But my wounds are of no importance. How do you feel?"

"A little sore to be honest, but other than that, I'm doing better than earlier."

"That's good to hear."

"Wait, you risked your life to save me...why?"

"It's what we do here in the Fourth Light, we save those in need of help."

"You could of died though..."

"It would have been alright as long as you survived, I would have done my job and saved another pokemon in need."

Nixie couldn't help but fell strange about the fact that a stranger would save her. No one had been that nice to her, but now another thing was on her mind, "Who are you? I never got your name."

"My name is Rykon. Come to think of it, I never got your name either."

"Nixie," she said.

"Nixie? Hmm, I like it, it suits you."

"Really? How so?"

"Is cute, just like you," Rykon said with a wink.

Nixie felt slightly uncomfortable about how forward the manetric was being note, "I-"

Psyche had then entered the tent, "Ah, you two are finally awake. Good. Rykon, ready your ship for departure, I'll be speaking with this buizel real quick."

"We're finally leaving?" Rykon asked.

"Yes, and it's quite imperative we leave as soon as possible."

"Why's that?"

"I'll explain later, now go."

"Alright, I'll ready the ship," he said to psyche, then he turned to Nixie, "and I'll see you later cutie." He then got up and left the tent.

"I hate it when he does that," Psyche said.

"Does what," Nixie then asked.

"I'm sure it's obvious he has an interest in you isn't it?"

"Yes, it's a little disturbing."

"Good, stay away from him. He sees women as numbers rather than pokemon, so avoid too much contact with him."

"Alright... So where am I?"

"Right now you're on the shore of Zerith, and you'll be heading with us to Mardol. Unless, of course, you'd rather stay here where the Dark Legion presence is increasing."

"I think it's best if I leave with you. I didn't get your name, I wanted to thank you as well for saving me back there."

"The name is Psyche, pleasure to meet you," he said while extending his hand.

Nixie was confused on why his hand was just sitting there, "What are you doing?"

"It's a greeting, you grab my hand and then we shake hands with each other."

"That's a bizarre way to greet one another."

Psyche retracted his hand, "Anyway, now that you know my name, you should probably tell me yours."

"Nixie."

"Alright, I have a couple questions I want to ask you Nixie. The first is in regards to your colony, do you know why Tenebris targeted them?" Though he knew the shiftry knew nothing, he wanted to see if she by chance knew anything else.

"No, I know nothing about it. I asked the drapion and shiftry from earlier, but they never gave me an exact reason. Do you know why?"

"I'm afraid I don't. The people of Mardol have been trying to figure it out for a while now, but we've been unsuccessful finding his motives for doing so. Next question, are you the last of your colony, or are there still more hiding?"

Nixie's face saddened after the question and Psyche felt he already knew the answer, "I'm the last of them. I witnessed every last one of them die. Our leader sent five of us out to hopefully continue the buizel colony, but the drapion and shiftry from earlier killed the other four..." Nixie's eyes had began forming tears inside them.

"I'm sorry for what happened Nixie, and I assure you we'll bring justice to Tenebris for causing you this pain. Now I have one final question, only because I'm curious to know this. Why are your eyes two different colors?"

Nixie let out a sigh, "I'm not too sure, they've been like this since I was born. Most pokemon called it a curse and others called it a birth defect caused from being inbred. Now no matter where I go I'm cursed with others having to see my imperfection."

"I don't see anything wrong with having two colored eyes, I think it's pretty interesting. You know, the founder of Mardol had two color eyes?"

Nixie actually perked up a little and was a little surprised too that he didn't see her in a negative way for her eyes, "Really?"

"Indeed, it's seen as a blessing for pokemon to have two different colored eyes, it's even a superstition that those who have them have been blessed by the founder themselves."

Nixie smiled at his comment, and now she felt relieved to go to Mardol where she wouldn't be accused or frowned upon for her eyes.

"How are you feeling by the way? Are you able to walk?"

Nixie looked down at her torso, she didn't feel anymore pain, but hadn't tried moving. She sat up and stretched her body. Afterwards she hopped off of her cot and found it easy to walk again.

"Good, we'll be leaving in just a couple of hours. You'll be living on my ship as we voyage beck to Mardol. If you want I'll take you there right now while every one else is packing up."

"How long will the trip be?"

"Hmm, hard to say. If the wind is just right, it'll take three to five days. We'll see how everything turns out."

Nixie and Psyche had exited the tent and headed into the center of the camp. Psyche had then informed the others about their departure and had them begin readying for their voyage. Afterwards, Psyche led Nixie to the shore and waited.

"How do you all get to the ships?" Nixie questioned.

"You'll see here shortly."

As if on cue, a lapras emerged from the water, the same one Psyche had rode the previous time. Psyche hopped on Arctica's rocky shell then turned to Nixie to offering his hand to help her up. She seemed a little unsure at first, but then took Psyche's hand and was atop the shell. Her and Psyche then sat down while Arctica swam to the ship.

"Nixie, this is Arctica, she's one of the lapras that carry the pokemon from the shore to the ship and vice versa."

"Hello Nixie!" Arctica said ecstatically.

"Hello," Nixie replied slightly nervous. "Who carries the bigger pokemon though? I saw pokemon beck there that seemed too heavy to ride a lapras."

"That's why we also have a wailord, he helps carry those larger or heavier loads. Also if we're in a hurry he can carry large amounts of small pokemon too."

Arctica had then stopped next to the ladders that traveled up the side of the ship. Psyche gestured for Nixie to climb up and did so. They then reached the main deck of the ship.

"Welcome aboard the MS Storm Bringer, the finest vessel Mardol has."

Psyche then began showing Nixie around the ship, including all the areas around the main deck of the ship. The deck below them was the weapon room, ten canons along both the port and starboard side of the ship, there were also two located at the stern and bow of the ship, making twenty-four canons in total. The weapon room was aligned with wooden beams along the center, and next to each canon was a pile of canon balls and gun powder barrels. The next deck down was the eating area. Long tables were scattered in the room. In the aft section of the room was a doorway that led to a kitchen that prepared food. The third deck down was the living quarters, hammocks were located just about everywhere and were set up like triple bunk beds. Some were larger than others. The living quarters also doubled as a storage room. Large circular barrels contained food, fresh water, wine, and trading goods. The final deck below them was nothing but an empty space used to make the ship stay buoyant. This room was accessible in case there were any leaks needed to be patched.

Psyche and Nixie then headed beck to the main deck, Psyche decided to show her to his office. Nixie seemed to enjoy that quaint room, her eyes scanned around the room and noticed how it looked better than the rest of the ship. Her attention then focused on the painting of the ninetails, she noticed it had two colored eyes. The left one was red while the right was blue.

"Is this the founder you were talking about?" Nixie asked.

"Indeed it is. That's lady Mirrosa. Her name is also a combination of two Avarian words; mirr, meaning fire, and osa, meaning wind."

"Avarian?" Nixie asked perplexed.

"Yes, Avarian is an alternate language created long ago and was used by many of our ancestors. Some pokemon are named in Avarian, like Rykon. Ry is the Avarian word for electrical or it was lightning, maybe it was both?" He asked himself unsure, "Anyway, and kon meaning strike."

"Where can I learn more about this Avarian language?"

"It just so happens that my wife teaches the language, along with many other things."

"What do you mean other things?"

"Well, she teaches psychic abilities to others, battling, anger management," he laughed to himself specifically after that one, "and a small handful of other things you could find useful. She's like a mentor to help those in need."

"Interesting."

"Indeed. Anyway, I think we should get ready for the voyage, the others are now on their way back to the ships. You can stay in here while I get the ship ready."

Psyche left the office and Nixie decided to look around the room. Her attention was then drawn to the painting of the espeon, 'Who's that?' she asked herself. She noticed the espeon was wearing a silky white cape as well as a golden tiara that had the design of maple leafs around it. Lastly, she was also wearing a silver necklace that had a dark blue shard attached to it. Nixie was curious to know more about who the espeon was, she decided she would ask psyche once he got back. Another thing that grabbed her attention was the bowl filled with water. For now she found a chair and chose to sit there and wait for Psyche to return.

Outside, the rest of the pokemon were now boarding the ships carrying many supplies with them. Psyche was directing others where to go and place things as were the captains of the other two ships. Rykon was in charge of the ship to the left of Psyche's, while an altaria took charge of the other.

Of in the distance from the ships was a cliff that hung over the ocean. On top of the cliff was a mismagius watching as the ships prepared to leave. Her attention was on the Mardol flags that waved valiantly in the wind. She gnashed her teeth just looking at its colors. After spending what she felt was too much time watching the ships, she slowly faded back into the trees along side the cliff.


Hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter. I actually enjoy writing about Nixie, ever since I started doing this rewrite, I've been mainly working on her and Rose. I'm not going to spoil anything, but I hope that what happens later with them is interesting. Anyway, I'll see you all next chapter.