Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - SoF - Twist in Time
Chapter 25 - Accuses and Apples
Riley's POV
There she was... The Riolu that used to be our team member... Our friend...
Dusknoir's men had just pulled her out of the carriage. Her hands were tied together behind her back and a muzzle was placed on her snout. A big open wound ran across the fighting-type's upper right arm and her whole body was covered in the cuts and bruises from our previous fight.
The crowd that had formed on the path that lead to the main square was occupying my vision when she dropped down from the prison-cart.
A huge tumult formed as the Pokemon around the criminal were throwing insults at her. I didn't even feel sorry for her. Ri had gotten herself into this situation by her own fault. The lies... Trusting the timegear-thief... All of it was her own decision.
The Sableye pulled out the next criminal. Grovyle.
The grass-type was tied up like the Riolu. He looked pretty messed up aswell. His body was littered with cuts and bruises and his face was red and swollen. The Sableye must've beaten him really good.
Two other Sableye grabbed him and began to drag him towards the square. He was taller than the Riolu so my view on him was not completely occupied.
I took a quick glance to my right. Ozu was standing next to me, giving me a sad look.
Right next to him were Chatot and the guildmaster, both covered in bandages from our fight with the former guild member.
Behind them was a blue portal that Dusknoir had set up. A portal to the future... The future I came from... The future where I was a criminal. I didn't even want to inspect it further. That part of my live was over for me.
Next to the passage was Dusknoir, having a faint smile on his face. The ghost-type gave me an ice-cold glance when he noticed my stare, making me jump a bit.
The quick movement sent a wave of pain through my bandage-covered stomach...
The Riolu had caused a couple of inner bleeding with her consequent Force Palm attacks. Luckily, Chimecho was the one that had woken up before everyone else and immediately treated everyone's wounds back at Crystal Cave.
The thought about Ri drew my attention back to the event that was happening in front of me.
Ri and the two dark-type's that dragged her had arrived the square. Her eyes widened when she noticed us. When her gaze was about to meet mine, she quickly let her head sink down to the ground.
'Hmpf... You don't even dare to look at me?'
I watched her closely as the Sableye had finally reached their designate spot, right in front of the portal.
When the other criminal was set up too, Dusknoir floated into the middle of the square and spoke up.
"I can proudly announce that we managed to capture the timegear-thief Grovyle and his accomplice!"
The crowd responded with mumbles and applause.
...
When the voice of the other Pokemon had calmed down again, he continued.
"We will bring them back to our time and give them their proper punishment, based on the heaviness of their crimes!"
The ghost-type them looked at the two Sableye who were holding Ri, indicating them to throw her into the portal.
The dark-type's did as told and waited for Dusknoir's final command, already holding the Riolu up by her arms. A loud whimper escaped the fighting-type's mouth... That wound on her must've caused her trouble.
"Do it." Dusknoir ordered.
Ri let out one last grunt before the Sableye pushed her into the portal. As she made contact with the passageway, her body began to shine in a bright green light.
Ri's feet were the last things I saw of her, before the portal had completely swallowed the fighting-type.
That was it... She was gone... This so called 'friend' got what she deserved. I had no idea what the Pokemon of the future would do to her. Lock her up? Kill her? Heck, I didn't even care about it...
Dusknoir looked at the other two Sableye. They immediately followed his order and dragged the grass-type they were holding to the portal.
"Go." Dusknoir ordered again.
Just like the criminal before him, he grunted when the dark-type's pushed him through the portal.
The crowd cheered in response... After all, the Pokemon that tried to destroy the world, had just been dealt with.
A faint smile appeared on my face.
'It's over... I can live my new live with Ozu now... Help him to fulfill his dream of becoming a real explorer... Maybe... Maybe I could even tell him...'
Dusknoir spoke up again, interrupting my thought. "Everyone! Please calm down! We still have another problem that has to be dealt with."
I felt a little uneasy when he said those words... 'Another problem? Does he...?'
Shaking my head, I pushed the thought away. He couldn't possibly have meant me... We had a deal.
The crowd calmed down again, waiting for the Dusknoir to explain the problem he just mentioned.
"I am sorry to say this but... The crisis, the thief has caused is not over yet."
'What?!'
The other Pokemon responded with confused and shocked looks.
"Only three Time Gears were in Grovyle's possession... The one from Treeshroud Forest is missing!... He or his accomplice must have hidden it somewhere!... But do not worry, we have our ways to get the information out of them." the ghost-type explained in a serious voice.
'They have their ways? Does that... Does that mean that they are going to torture them?!... Ri... Is that really something she deserves?... Ugh...'
Dusknoir looked at Policemaster Magnezone, who was floating on the opposite side of the crowd.
The electric-type 'nodded' when he noticed the ghost's stare and floated next to him.
"I put the task on you to bring the three Time Gears we already have, back to their original places and protect them with everything you have!" Dusknoir said in a serious voice. "Nobody must even get near them... I will send one of my men back to this time, once we got the information about the last Time Gear out of the thieves... After that you need to find the last gear and bring it back to Treeshroud Forest."
"BZZT! Understood! BZZT!" Magnezone replied.
"Once the Time Gears are back in their place, they are going to need some time to return everything to normal... I would say... About a month... Have your strongest Pokemon protect them during that time." Dusknoir finished.
"BZZT! I already have a couple of teams in mind. BZZT! Don't worry Dusknoir, nobody is going to get near the gears. BZZT!" the electric-type assured.
"Thank you, Policemaster."
Magnezone slowly floated back to his previous spot and the Sableye that had thrown Ri and Grovyle into the portal walked next to the ghost-type.
"Now before I say good-bye, there is one last thing I need to take care of." Dusknoir turned his head towards my direction.
"Riley, Ozu..." he said in a monotone voice. The noise from the crowd died down immediately and their eyes locked onto us.
I tensed up and looked at my partner who's wide open eyes were fixed on the ghost-type.
"W-what do you think he wants?" Ozu whispered with a worried voice.
"I don't know... Maybe he just wants to thank us for helping him with his plan." I replied, hesitantly starting to walk up to Dusknoir.
The Chimchar and I approached the ghost and his four men.
A circle of Pokemon was around us, as we were now standing right at the middle of the square.
...
"Restrain them." the ghost-type in front of said.
Just then, the dark-type's next to him melted into the ground and transformed into pitch black shadows.
Before me or Ozu could even react, the shadows had already dashed behind us. The Sableye shot out from the ground and grabbed onto our arms.
"What?! No!" I screamed, trying to free me from their grab.
I wanted to send a Thunderbolt through their bodies, however as soon as I tried to release the bolts from my cheek-pouches, I felt all of my energy leave my body.
A blue chain made of spiritual flames had formed around my chest in an 'x-pattern'. A lock could be seen on the spot they crossed. Imprison.
(Restricts the victim from using any move at all in the SoF-universe.)
The crowd around us inhaled out of shock. A tumult formed when the Pokemon yelled at Dusknoir, asking him what he was doing. Our fellow guild members were completely speechless by Dusknoirs action.
"What are you doing?!" I yelled at the ghost-type in front of me.
He had an emotionless expression on his face. It seemed as if he was waiting for the crowd to calm down again.
I looked at Ozu.
"What are you doing?! Let me go!" he shouted, struggling against the two dark-type's who were holding him. They had used Imprison on him aswell. The Chimchar also had the blue chains around his chest.
"Calm down, please! There is a reason for this!" the ghost-type shouted, somewhat calming down the Pokemon around us.
"We had a deal!" I screamed at the top of my lungs with a voice that was filled with anger.
"I am aware of that... However, I can not risk to endanger the Pokemon of this time by leaving them with a possible time-bomb!" the ghost-type replied in a serious voice.
"I'm supposed to be a time-bomb?! What are you talking about?" I yelled.
He ignored me and turned to the other Pokemon. "Pokemon of Treasure Town! When Grovyle came back to this time, he had a partner with him! This Pikachu here is said partner!"
Another tumult rose up. The other guild members seemed as if they didn't quite know how to react... They already knew, who I used to be...
"I thought the Riolu was his accomplice!"
"Why would Riley have something to do with this?!"
"Explain yourself!"
Dusknoir rose his arms, indicating the other Pokemon to calm down again. "Please! Calm down! I'm going to explain everything to you! The Riou that we just arrested was not his original partner... The thief managed to persuade her to help her with his scheme. Even though we informed Ri about the consequences of her actions, she still insisted on helping Grovyle."
"Why do you want to arrest me then?!" I interrupted the ghost-type. "I helped you to capture them!"
Dusknoir faced me again. "What if you regain your memories and decide to finish the mission you started? Am I supposed to leave the Pokemon of this time with a danger like this?"
"I... I wouldn't do it! Even if I regained my memories, I would never consider to destroy the world! I have something to live for in this time!" I returned in a desperate voice.
"That's right! And even if she would want to finish her mission, I would try to stop her!" Ozu threw in.
"Like you tried to stop Ri?" Dusknoir's question sent a face of shock onto the Chimchar's face.
I was a little confused by Ozu's reaction.
"Just go! Go and warn your friend Grovyle!" the ghost-type continued. "Weren't that the words you tried to stop her with?"
My partner let his head sink to the ground, biting his lip.
"W-what?" I asked, trying to process what I had just heard.
"This act of sympathy towards the thief's accomplice has made you an accomplice yourself. If I hadn't been there in time, she would've warned the thief and they could have succeeded with their plan... I am sorry but your actions turned you into a threat to the Pokemon of this time." Dusknoir continued.
The other Pokemon around us were speechless.
The Chimchar rose his head again and looked into my eyes.
"Is... Is that true? Did you really want to let her go?" I asked with a shaky voice.
"I... I'm sorry... I couldn't do it. I couldn't fight her." he replied, letting his head sink down again.
"Why would he help them?" a Pokemon from the crowd asked.
"Ozu, out of all people!" another one added.
"I don't even care, just lock them away if it ends this crisis!" yet another Pokemon yelled.
Gritting my teeth, I focused my eyes on Dusknoir again. "So you never intended to let me go in the first place! You just used me!"
"I am sorry... But I did it for the well being of the Pokemon around you..." he replied. "Sableye... Take them away."
"Let go of me!" I screamed when the dark-type's who were holding me began to drag me towards the portal in front of us.
Ozu didn't even try to resist when the Sableye pushed him forward.
There was no use. When we reached the portal, the Sableye lifted me and my partner up on our arms and threw us into the passageway to the future.
Everything became white and began to spin when I touched it. My head started to hurt like hell and a dizzy feeling overcame me.
"Aaaah!" I screamed when a searing pain all over my body joined the dizziness.
...
The pain left as fast as it came and the spinning stopped. However, the next thing I was able to feel was my face making a rough contact with the ground. I grunted and immediately rolled to my side, grabbing my aching nose with my paws.
I could hear another grunt next to me.
Before I could even open my eyes, two hands grabbed onto my arms and lifted me up from the floor.
A blurry image of a group of Sableye entered my vision. Suddenly, I felt how a strange smelling piece of cloth was held against my mouth and nose. I inhaled the fumes and immediately noticed how the edges of my vision began to turn black.
'No... What are they...? Why can't I...?'
I tried to keep my eyes open and break free from the arms that were holding me. However shortly after they fell shut from the effect of the fumes, I lost consciousness.
Ri's POV
"H-he took them to the future?" I asked with a shocked expression on my face.
"Yes..." Chatot replied, giving me a confused look when he noticed my reaction.
"Excuse me? Why are you so shocked about this? I thought you came here to get some information on the Riolu?" the flying-type in front of me asked with a confused look.
"I... I..." I cleared my throat and tried to focus again. "I'm sorry. Please, continue."
"Well... After they were gone, Dusknoir was just about to say good-bye to and leave our time. However, a Sableye suddenly jumped out of the portal and yelled that the Riolu was gone. The dark-type explained that the Riolu simply didn't arrive at the other end of the portal. Dusknoir became a bit furious to that and walked in and out of the portal a couple of times."
"Wait... Do you mean that Ri is missing right now?" Cobal threw in with a very well acted, worried voice.
"Yes... The great Dusknoir explained that she probably was sent to another time than the other prisoners or got stuck in the portal somehow. He stated to be very careful from now on. After that, he left." Chatot answered.
"So you have no idea where she could be." the knight next to me concluded.
"Ri could have been sent anywhere in the future. Even only a couple of days. That's why the federation has created a wanted-poster of her... We have one of them pinned onto the outlaw-board on the first floor, if you want to see it." the flying-type continued.
"Oh... What do you say, Faith? Should we take a look at this poster?" Cobal asked.
I nodded and Chatot walked up to the ladder that lead to the floor above us. Normally that flying-type would have been able to simply fly through the hole above him, however, now that his wing was broken, he had to climb up with his feet.
It took him a while and when Chatot finally reached his goal, Cobal and I quickly followed.
Chatot lead us to the bill-board and pointed at a wanted-poster, which was hanging in the middle of the board.
I approached the piece of paper and inspected 'my' poster.
A little sketch of a Riolu with slightly longer hair between its ears that fell onto its forehead was drawn onto the paper.
Underneath the drawing, I was able to read a couple of sentences.
Wanted: Ri the Riolu
In the recent events at the main square of Treasure Town, this Riolu was able to escape from arrest somehow. She was one of the Pokemon that tried to destroy the world by stealing the Time Gears. If you have and clues on her location, inform Policemaster Magnezone immediately!
Should you find an opportunity to arrest the criminal yourself, do not hesitate to knock her out.
Beware thought: This Pokemon is extremely dangerous and managed to defeat the whole Wigglytuff guild, including Wigglytuff himself. This is why this Riolu is marked as a S-Rank outlaw.
Reward for capturing this outlaw: 10000 Poke
"10000 Poke?!" I blurted out with wide open eyes. Being a criminal wasn't something to be happy about but being worth that much money made a bit proud.
'S-Rank criminal... I guess that's the highest rank there is... Ugh... Should I be proud of this?... Being marked as such a strong Pokemon...'
"Can we take the poster with us? Just so we have a proper picture of her." Cobal asked, walking next to me.
"Oh... Well, of course!" Chatot replied, grabbing the poster with his healthy wing.
The flying-type blinked and let his eyes sway back and forth between it and my face when he held the poster out to me.
A bit of sweat was forming on my forehead.
"Thank you." I said, pulling the paper out of his hand.
Shaking his head, Chatot turned his attention to Sunflora, Bidoof and Corphish, who were just approaching us.
"Hello, there." they greeted.
"Hello." Cobal and I returned.
Bidoof took one step forward. He seemed to be very nervous for some reason. "A-are you two real knights?"
I let Cobal answer the question. "Yes, we are. How can we help you?"
"Oh boy... I... It's just that I have never seen a knight before... H-how is it like?" he asked.
"Well... It's a great honor to have a title like this. You mostly go on special mission for your king and train to protect your kingdom in times of danger." the Lucario next to me answered with a smile.
I simply nodded when Cobal finished his sentence.
"Bidoof... Please don't pester out guests like that..." Chatot said, drawing our attention towards him again. "Is there some other way I can help you with..."
"Uhm... No, that was it. You answered everything we wanted to know." I replied.
"CHATOT!" Wigglytuff's voice yelled from the ladder to our right.
Everyone jumped to the sudden uproar and turned to the source of the voice.
"We have guests and you don't even wake me up?!" Wigglytuff asked, approaching Cobal and me. His stomach was still covered in bandages.
"I am sorry, guildmaster... But you ordered me not to disturb you during your afternoon nap." The flying-type sighed.
"Hello, friends! Nice to meet you!" the fairy-type said, grabbing Cobal's hand and shaking it so fast that the image became blurry.
The Lucario responded with a nervous grin. "Nice to meet you too... I'm Cobal."
Wigglytuff let go of his and focused his eyes on his next goal... Me.
He grabbed my hand too. Unlike with my new partner, he went for a gentle handshake.
A strange grin appeared on his face when our eyes met.
"I-I'm Faith." I said with a nervous voice.
The fairy-type stopped to shake my hand, however, he let not go of it. "Nice to meet you, Faith... Hey! Can I ask you a quick questions?"
"Okay..." I was starting to feel uneasy.
"Do you like Perfect Apples?"
My eyes widened. For everyone else, this might just have sounded like one of Wigglytuff's random crazes but I knew exactly why he would ask a question like that. It was the same first question he had asked me when I first met him. And this silly grin he was giving me... Exactly the same.
'He knows...'
Wigglytuff let go of my paw, eagerly awaiting my answer.
'But why doesn't he tell the others? Because I managed to beat him? Ugh, I will never understand him...'
A smirk appeared on my face.
"Uhm... I like them?" I replied in the exact same tone, I had used the first time I answered that question.
The fairy-type giggled, understanding the message I was sending with my answer. I knew, that he knew...
The other guild members and Cobal were giving us confused looks.
"Great! Great! Great!" the pink Pokemon cheered in response. "Are you two going to eat dinner with us?"
"Ehm... Thank you for the offer but..." Cobal tried to say, but I interrupted him.
"Sure! We would love to eat dinner with you." I said with a smile.
"Hurray!" Wigglytuff threw his arms up into the air and turned around to head toward the ladder.
"Chimecho! Prepare dinner!" he yelled into the hole in the ground before he jumped onto the ladder.
"Ehm... Is your guildmaster always like that?" Cobal asked with a confused look on his face.
"I'm afraid so..." Chatot sighed, slowly following the fairy-type.
I chuckled and put the poster I was still holding in my hand into one of the pouches on my belt.
We followed Wigglytuff down to the main room and walked into the dinning hall.
I waited for the others to sit down, before I lead Cobal to the free seats that were left. The ones my friends and I always used to sit on.
On the opposite side of the table were Loudred, Suflora, Corphish, Diglett and Dugtrio.
To my left were Cobal, Bidoof and Croagunk.
Chimecho was preparing a couple of plates with apples and berries.
Chatot and Wigglytuff were sitting at the end of the table.
A lot of mumbles could be heard while Chimecho was setting up the table. After the psychic-type was finished, she floated over to her own seat and let Chatot begin with his usual speech.
"Alright, everyone! These two knights from Alteal will join us at dinner today... They came here to investigate some things about the Riolu that recently left our guild... Treat them with respect! It is a great honor to have guests like them! So... Without further ado... Enjoy your meals." he said, sitting down onto his chair again.
Out of habit, I immediately had ten apples on my plate, which resulted in confused looks from the other Pokemon.
Noticing my suspicious behavior, I began to eat them slowly... Unlike I usually did.
One look stood out though... Loudred... The normal-type eying me keenly while bit into my meal.
When I was finished with my fist fruit, he already had eaten three...
An urge to dig into my plate rose up in my stomach... Different from the hunger I had.
'Ugh... I can't act like I usually do... But... It's so tempting!'
Loudred was giving me a challenging smirk when I grabbed the second apple on my plate.
'Dammit.'
The temptation of his challenge was just to big. In a matter of second, the apple in my paw disappeared and the next one wandered into my other paw.
The normal-type jumped a bit when he grabbed for his fifth fruit. I had already caught up with him and was just about to go for my sixth one.
And then it began... Again. Our competition went like it usually did, however, the other guild members were giving me confused looks instead of cheering.
Loudred fell from his chair when he tried to reach out for eighteenth fruit. A wide grin crept onto my face. I had already consumed twenty-one of the red fruits.
"Oh my gosh! S-she beat him!" Sunflora exclaimed with a surprised look, grabbing the normal-type with her leaves
"Hey, hey, hey! Only Ri managed to do that before!" Corphish said, helping the grass-type to raise my opponent from the floor. "Who are you?"
Sweat was forming on my forehead and a nervous smile appeared on my face. My attention was focused on the Pokemon on the other side of the table. Because of that, I didn't quite notice the conversation, Cobal and Chatot were having.
"Uhm... I..." I stuttered, trying to come up with an answer.
"Oof... You remember me a lot about her." Loudred said, standing on his feet again. "You eat just like her!"
"Hey, hey! She even looks a bit like Ri, doesn't she?" the water-type next to him added.
'Dammit!'
"Oh my gosh! Are you..." Sunflora began to ask, inspecting me closely.
'Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!'
"...her sister or something like that? Is that why you are looking for her?"
I let out a mental sigh of relief, however, my nervous smile stayed as an reaction to her question.
'Did... Did Dusknoir not tell them that I'm a human?'
"Y-yes. I'm her older sister." I answered.
Just then we heard Cobal answer to one of Chatot's questions.
"We believe that Ri actually is Princess Olivia, who went missing a couple of months ago."
Sunflora, Corphish and Loudred had shocked looks on their faces all of a sudden. A similar look appeared on mine.
"OH MY GOSH!" Sunflora almost screamed.
The other Pokemon's attention was drawn to the end of the table we were sitting at.
"Y-you're a princess?" she asked with a wide open mouth.
More sweat formed on my head, as I turned to Cobal who was giving me a confused look.
Everyone's eyes were focused on me.
"Oh, boy! Is that why you are wearing such a fancy sword?" Bidoof asked.
"I... Uhm..." I had no idea what to say.
"I will explain this if you don't mind." Cobal said, clearing his throat. "This here is Princess Faith. She disguised herself as a knight to hide herself from enemies of our nation. The reason she is here is because she insisted on looking for her younger sister, Princess Olivia, who went missing a couple of months ago..."
The other Pokemon didn't know how to respond to this. As soon the Lucario confirmed that I 'was' a princess, everyone's eyes locked on me again. Wigglytuff only chuckled when I looked at him.
"It is of highest importance that you keep this to yourself... Same with the fact that we believe that Ri is Princess Olivia... Should any of our enemies learn about our princesses disappearance, our kingdom might fall into great danger. We need to find her before that happens..."
"I..." Chatot was the first one that tried to speak again.
"We are very thankful for your hospitality but I think that we should leave now." Cobal interrupted him, getting up from his chair.
The fighting-type then looked at me again, indicating me to do the same.
I got up and walked up to Cobal.
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Wait a second! Do you two have a place to stay the night?" Wigglytuff jumped up all of a sudden. "It's already getting late and we would be honored to have such a noble guest stay with us a little longer."
Cobal seemed to tense up a bit... "We are grateful for you offer but..."
"We don't have a place to stay the night yet..." I interrupted him, poking him with my elbow. "We accept your offer!"
Thw Lucario next to me gave me yet another confused look. "Are you sure?"
"Of course!" I replied, giving Wigglytuff a grin. "I'm a little tired and don't really feel like looking for an inn."
"Hurray!" the fairy-type cheered. "Chatot! Bring them to their room!"
The flying-type responded with a worried expression. "B-but guildmaster... The only room that is free is..."
"I know!" Wigglytuff interrupted him. "Go, go, go!"
Chatot got up from his chair and we approached him. "Follow me, then."
We did as told and followed the flying-type out of the dinning hall.
When I turned around, I noticed that the other guild members were still staring at me with wide open eyes. Not a single one of them said a word. I assumed that didn't know how to handle the whole 'there's a princess at our guild-situation'.
Before we left the room for good, I turned towards Wigglytuff again. "Guildmaster Wigglytuff... Is it okay if I could talk with you in private before I head to our room?"
The fairy-type responded with a smile. "Of course, friend! Let's go to my office."
He came with us to the main room and stopped Chatot before he passed by his office. "Chatot, would you lead this noble knight to his room while the princess and I have our little talk?"
"Are you sure that I can leave you alone with him?" Cobal asked with a worried voice.
"Don't worry. I just want to talk with him really quick." I replied, following Wigglytuff, who had just opened the door to his room.
"Alright... I will see you later..." the knight returned, turning to Chatot again.
"I will see you later,...?" I repeated, giving him a mischievous grin.
The Lucario frowned. "Princess..."
"Okay, then..." the flying-type said, walking towards the sleeping charters.
I stepped into the office and closed the door behind me. Wigglytuff was standing in front of his desk, giving me a wide grin. An awkward silence was hanging in the room until Wigglytuff finally broke the ice.
...
"Well, hello there, Spirit of Faith."
End of Chapter - 25