"I must be the worst bait ever."
Minos welcomed Scylla with a rough laugh. Each of them checked behind the other to confirm whether they were alone or not, whether either party had reinforcements on the ready. At least for the time being, it looked like the Vaporeon and the Luxray were alone in this zone of the labyrinth, although many paths led here, so neither was quick to assume they would remain alone for long.
"You were the only one to follow me, Scylla?"
"So it seems." Briefly, Scylla looked behind her. Nope, no one there. She would have expected someone to follow her. Perhaps a little later? It was unthinkable that they would leave her alone. At least she would now have a moment of peace to chat with Minos. "So… how's it going?"
Oh, idle chitchat. It would be awkward to drive straight to the point. "All's good. You doin' okay too?"
"Ah, yes, I'm fine," Scylla said. Then she kept silent for a short while. Well, that should be enough to break the ice. Time to go to the point. "You're still with the Beacon…"
Showing a certain degree of hesitation, the Luxray nodded. "I am." More hesitation followed, in the form of a short pause. "Is that a problem?"
"Obviously!" she shouted, her eyebrows shaped into a frown. Her sudden outburst made the much bigger Luxray recoil. "What in the world are you thinking? Do you know how much trouble we're going through because of you and your new friends?"
The Luxray was physically bigger, stronger, and much more imposing, not to mention he had a blatant type advantage over the Vaporeon. If he wanted to, overpowering her would be trivial. And yet, Minos lowered both his head and his shoulders, almost crouching, reminiscent of a misbehaving child being scolded. "We're doing the correct thing."
"You're doing a stupid thing." Even though Scylla was at a clear disadvantage, she showed not the slightest sign of fear or worry. In fact, she looked very sure of herself. "Haven't you stopped to think about the consequences of your actions? Haven't you stopped to think about how much you're hurting the wellbeing of our region and all the pokémon that inhabit it? Adamantium is essential to our society. It's thanks to such a malleable material that different pokémon from different species can collaborate and work together instead of opposing each other. Get rid of that, and you'll be breaking the very foundation of our society."
Minos didn't talk back. His face was filled with shame and he found himself unable to keep Scylla's gaze, but that wasn't enough to make his conviction waver. "I'm… doing the correct thing," he said in a low voice that contrasted with his usually boisterous one. Perhaps he spoke not to Scylla, but to himself. He gathered the courage to look the Vaporeon in the eye. "This is for your good. This is for the good of everyone."
"Really, now?" Scylla didn't know what else to say to make him change his mind. Just why in the world was he so convinced of his position? What kind of brainwashing did he go through in the Beacon? She then recalled an old conversation they had with her Floatzel aunt. "Please, don't tell me Euria was right after all. Don't tell me you're siding with the Beacon only because you have the hots for that Zoroark."
"You mean Naamah? No! She's just an old friend. That's exactly why I'm helping her. I know she's right, she always is."
"Why do you say that? Because she is a chronicler?" She waited until Minos nodded at her. "But you are aware we have a chronicler on our side who thinks differently."
For just a moment, the conviction in his gaze seemed to waver. "Sorry, but I trust Naamah better. How could I not trust a friend?"
Scylla couldn't understand anything. Why was he speaking of the Zoroark like they had been friends for years? Wasn't she supposed to be a chronicler, growing up in almost complete isolation in the Observatory? Well, that didn't matter now.
"You talk about trusting friends, but then what about Euria?" Her words had a very noticeable effect on the Luxray, who actually took a step back with his tail between his legs, his face shifting to a paler tone. Scylla didn't fail to detect his reaction – it was impossible to miss. Maybe she should pursue this approach. "Do you have any idea how hurt she is that you're doing this? She always adored you! How can you betray her trust like this?" Adding a little drama might do wonders, and she was very good at it – she had talent as an actress.
Just like she expected, her choice of words seemed to have a great impact on the Luxray. He gritted his teeth, trying to control the shivering of his legs. "Naamah asked her to join us back when this all began, you know? Just like she asked me." His eyes showed a glint of melancholy. "But she refused."
"She was always the more sensible one." Would this conversation ever get anywhere? His facial expression was becoming harder and harder to decipher for the Vaporeon. Was it even worth it to keep trying to change his mind? The Luxray had always been a stubborn one.
"The thing is, Naamah counted on Euria joining us for the plan to work. Without her…" He shot her a glance, defeatist at first, but it then turned hopeful. "Say, wouldn't you… be willing to join us? We just need a water-type, any water-type."
It's uncommon for a water-type to be able to terrify an electric-type, but her scowl did the trick. "We're done talking."
And just in time. Seconds later, two more eeveelutions came to join her, a Sylveon and a Leafeon running side by side.
"Scylla, are you okay?" Kizuna asked. She knew well that Minos would never harm the Vaporeon, but worry made her abandon logical thought.
"Yes, I'm fine." She didn't look at them. Her eyes didn't leave the Luxray. "He isn't. We have to stop him."
While Kizuna stopped by Scylla's side, Ivy ran a little farther, putting herself between the Luxray and the other two girls. Her front legs tensed and shoulders rose as she bared her fangs at the Luxray. "Minos…"
"Oh… Ivy, wasn't it? Been a while."
The first time Ivy met the Luxray was soon after meeting Skoll and Lumis, when they visited the Cerulean Warbler. Back then, she met the Luxray along with Vetr, and they even had a few friendly matches. She wouldn't have expected that the fun-loving and good-humored Luxray would turn out to be a member of the Beacon, an organization they knew practically nothing about back then.
"Don't expect me to go easy," Ivy said.
"I won't." He took a moment to examine his opponents. A Leafeon, a Sylveon and a Vaporeon, the first of which was the only clear fighter. He knew Scylla wasn't a fighter, and while he wasn't acquainted with the Sylveon, her body build told him she had little experience brawling. He also noted, all three of them were females. "Only you three? All females? Well, that's some luck I have."
"What does he mean?" Ivy asked, turning to Scylla.
The Vaporeon shrugged, but the Sylveon had an answer ready. "His ability Rivalry increases adrenaline production when he's fighting pokémon of his same sex, but lowers it when he faces pokémon of the opposite sex."
"I get stronger around males, weaker around females," Minos explained in layman terms, adding a short chuckle in the end. "Like more guys, I would guess. But at least I can give it a fancy name."
That was good news. He was facing off against a group of three females, so his own ability would be a significant hindrance. The battle hadn't started and he was already weakened.
"Why are you here?" Ivy asked. "I heard the Zoroark say you came here to get a shard. Is that true?"
"Yeah. It's the only one we lack," he answered straightaway.
"Then the Absol lied. He said you had seven shards," Ivy said with a slight frown. She hated lies, even when she wasn't the one on the receiving end. "You only have six shards right now. You're looking for the seventh one."
"No, we have seven. We're looking for the eighth one."
Eighth.
There were eight shards? Not seven? This went against anything they knew so far about the shards, although admittedly they knew little.
"You lied to me?" Scylla said, letting her paw rest over her chest. "You told me there were seven of those things." In fact, it was thanks to Minos that they learned about the existence of the shards at all.
"Uh? I never said such thing," Minos said, knitting his brows into something close to a frown. "Why would I ever say something like that?"
A little odd, this whole ordeal. Closing one of her eyes, Kizuna turned to the Vaporeon sitting by her side. "Scylla, do you happen to remember his exact words?"
"Well, I don't have a perfect memory like you do, Kizzie." But she had a good enough memory. As a performer and actress, she wouldn't have gone far in her career without a decent memory. "But I think… Yeah, I think he said there was a shard for each founder, I remember something about that. Yep, that's definitely it!"
"See? I didn't lie," Minos said.
"What do you mean you didn't lie? If there are eight shards…" Scylla followed a simple rational thought, but immediately discarded it. It couldn't be, she had to be wrong. So she thought again and again and again, and always arrived to the same conclusion. "Wait, what in the world are you implying?"
But truly, was this the best time for this? Ivy thought otherwise. "I have no idea what he's talking about either, but how about we leave that for later? The thing is, there's a shard in this Haecceity and they're after it. That's all I need to know myself."
Yes, they had to mind their priorities. Right now, what mattered the most was stopping the Luxray in front of them before he had the bright idea of running away. Given his ability put him in a disadvantage against the three females, it was a wonder he hadn't fled yet. Although then again, out of the three, only Ivy at most could be considered to be a semi-competent fighter.
"So we're gonna fight in the end?" Minos took a single step back, eyeing his surroundings. They were in a crossroads where four different passageways met. "Okay, but you're the ones that started it, not me. I was just passing by."
"A believable excuse." Ivy zipped forwards towards the Luxray, trying to find an opportunity to attack him before he had a chance to collect his thoughts. She ducked her head. "Razor Leaf!" She shouted her next attack's name before executing it, a bad custom she had that she regretted now more than ever. This wasn't the time to be committing these newbie mistakes.
Minos saw the attack coming miles away, and not only because Ivy forewarned him about it. Her movements and the contortions of her neck and legs made it clear what kind of technique she planned to use. While he could tell she had a certain amount of battle experience, it couldn't compare to his. He had traded blows with countless adversaries as a member of the Cerulean Warbler, so it wasn't too difficult to predict the actions of an unseasoned novice.
After the flurry of leaves that Ivy shot at Minos flew past him, he found the perfect chance to counterattack. He spurted to her at high speed, charging electricity in his outward fur that manifested as little sparks flashing along his body. Appropriately, electric-types liked to call this move Spark. It wasn't very convoluted as far as electricity-dependent techniques went, nothing more complex than a tackle with an electrically-charged body, but it hurt all the same, as Ivy was about to check on her own skin.
That wasn't a good start. Letting out a muffled cry Ivy hopped a short distance back, still keeping her back to Kizuna and Scylla. That was careless on her part. If it weren't because the Luxray's attack was weakened by his own ability, that charged tackle might have been considerably painful. But no matter how weakened his attacks were, she wouldn't last long if she let herself get hit by every move he threw at her. She'd have to play a little more careful from now on.
"Ivy, can you move?" Kizuna asked, walking a few steps toward her but not quite getting close.
"Move? Yes." Ivy tried flexing her legs. They obeyed her just fine. "That wasn't that bad." Did the Sylveon really think that would be enough to incapacitate her? Ha! She was much tougher than that!
"Spark has a very decent chance of paralyzing you," she explained.
That explained her concern, but Ivy had been lucky this time. However, she knew better than to continuously try her luck. Okay, time to get serious! Ivy had to think ahead if she wanted to get the upper hand against the Luxray, given he was more experienced. Let's exploit his weakness, that's always a good plan! Let's see, Luxray were electric-types, and an electric's greatest weaknesses were… ground. Only ground. They were weak to no other types, and Ivy knew no damaging ground moves. Curse electric-types and their superior resistance! On the other hand, as a grass-type, Ivy herself was highly resistant to his electric moves. Maybe she could try her luck with grass moves, since she had a defensive advantage to fall back on.
This time, she'd at least take care not to call her attack's name. She hurried onwards with the greatest speed her legs could achieve before it started to hurt, and once she got close enough to the Luxray and checked he wasn't preparing an attack of his own, she hardened the sharp leaf on her forehead to use as a slashing weapon against the lion's side. Leaf Blade, her best move and ace. She didn't like using it without a reason, but the situation called for it.
Minos reacted as fast as he could, taking a quick sidestep to escape the leaf's reach, but his response didn't come soon enough to avoid the blunt of the attack. The sharp point of the leaf managed to cut the upper surface of his skin like a small knife would, tearing out some black fur in the process. While not the most painful of sensations, the Luxray hadn't expected this kind of attack so early in the battle.
Minos checked his side. The cut wasn't deep and the fur would regrow in no time. "You're not fooling around, I see. I'll have to up the ante."
Ivy noticed, perhaps too late, that her Leaf Blade had forced her to come into close contact with Minos, which would make it harder to avoid whatever attack he decided to throw at her next. She made a mental note to always think two steps ahead. Much to her surprise, instead of taking this opportunity to get a free hit in, Minos turned around and bolted in the opposite direction. Given they were in a maze they would easily lose track of him if he ran too far, so Ivy followed after him without a second thought.
"Wait, Ivy!" Kizuna shouted, but Ivy disregarded her warning.
She couldn't let the Luxray escape! Following Minos, Ivy reached an intersection of three passageways. He went through the left one! She kept running, but after making a left turn in the direction Minos had fled to, her path diverged in four different directions. How in the world was she supposed to tell what path Minos had taken? Was she supposed to guess? She had a one-in-four chance of picking the correct one! The… second from the left! Without thinking, she entered the randomly selected passageway, but all she found was a big wall at the other side. She had picked a dead end.
Now she'd have to retrace her steps and – Without warning, she felt a shock run through her body. This electrical surge was no doubt Minos' doing, who she found back at the entrance to the dead end when she turned around. As soon as the electrical current ceased, Minos took off again, disappearing into some random passage away from Ivy's sight. Limping lightly from the aftermath of the discharge, Ivy made her way back to the intersection where five passageways met.
Now what? She couldn't know what path he had taken before, and this time was no different. Should she try her luck again? Wait, no, let's think. If she picked the wrong path again, Minos could attack her from behind just like before, but why not use that to her advantage? She didn't know where Minos was, but she did know where he wasn't. The dead end she had just came through – Minos would never expect her to return there.
She turned around and entered the passageway she had just left, crouching hidden until Minos reappeared in the five-path intersection looking for her. This time she would be the one to attack him from behind! And indeed, Minos appeared soon after, but the problem was that he was looking straight at her. Not the path. Her.
She was in a dead angle, it was physically impossible for the Luxray to see her from his location. Hoping it was just her imagination, she sharpened the leaf on her forehead in order to attack the moment he turned his back at her, but he kept approaching her, every step bringing him closer to her, even though he couldn't possibly know her exact position. Every step he took made her grow wary. It couldn't be, right? He couldn't see her.
When he was starting to get too close for comfort Ivy raised her head, ready to attack the moment he took another step, but instead he stopped and launched another electrical discharge in her direction. She couldn't avoid it, not because it was too fast – although it was – but because she hadn't expected the Luxray to attack all of a sudden. Once more, she received the impact and the Luxray fled away from her sight. She didn't understand what was going on anymore. How could he tell where she was? Were there mirrors in the walls or something?
She made her way back to the five-path intersection once again – she was growing sick of this location – and there she found Kizuna and Scylla, who had followed her. The aftereffects of the electric attacks starting to vanish, Ivy walked up to the other two girls. "How could he tell where I was? Was it dumb luck?"
"That's what I was trying to tell you, Ivy," Kizuna said. "We're at a huge disadvantage here."
They were? Minos' Rivalry impaired his own battle capability, and Ivy's typing offered her a much needed resistance against his otherwise nasty electric moves. If anything, it looked to Ivy like Minos got the short end of the stick. "Why so?"
"A Luxray's eyes emit a ray frequency that allows their vision to penetrate most solid objects. They can see through walls, or most any opaque object."
Ivy sat down. She needed a moment of respite to make sense of what Kizuna had just told her. "Minos can see through walls?" she asked Scylla. She had known him for the longest time.
Before answering, Scylla took a look around. No sight of the Luxray. "Yes, that's a thing Luxray can do. I recall his mother had the same skill."
"So he can see where we are, but we can't see where he is? In what world is that fair?"
Kizuna agreed, fighting a Luxray of all things in a labyrinth wasn't the brightest of ideas. "This is a maze only for us. As far as he is concerned, the battle is taking place in an open field."
Minos didn't have a type advantage, and his ability was a liability against the trio of females, but his vision alone offered the required edge to sharply tip the scales in his favor.
Opal smirked. Her memory was as good as ever.
At the other end of the intricate labyrinth in the Garnet Oriole's Haecceity stood the throne room, the audience chamber where Garm spent most of his time. Normally, those who requested an audience with the Lucario would be led through the labyrinth by the Nuzleaf guard, but he was unable to help right now, so Opal had to resort to her memory of the many times she had been summoned to this place. She made a pair of wrong turns in the path, but she managed to successfully reach the end of the labyrinth along with Agni.
Garm was present, looking as serene as ever, and he was alone. No sight of any enemies. That was good. It looked like they were the first to reach Garm. Even with his eyes closed he knew they were there, and even though a Lucario doesn't need its eyes to determine someone's presence, he thought it polite to open them in order to greet them.
"Welcome, Opal, Flareon." Garm nodded to them, ever the polite one. Unfortunately, he didn't know the Flareon's name, and although it came close, aura reading wasn't quite mind reading. "I'm aware that many pokémon with ill intents had accessed the Haecceity." Oh, of course. He could sense the aura of anyone who entered the Haecceity, so he should already know about everyone inside. Maybe they had come for no reason after all. "I still appreciate that you came, I presume, to warn me, but it was not necessary. I am well aware of the situation, and I'll make sure to keep the Lilac Kiwi's shard away from any of the three intruders."
The Lilac Kiwi's shard. Mor's. So it was with Garm after all. But did that matter right now? There was something else he said that caught Opal's attention. "Three intruders? We saw four of them."
Garm brought an arm to his forehead and closed his eyes, focusing his mind on the building they were in. "I perceive only three markedly negative auras. One belongs to the Mienshao Freya and another to the Luxray Minos. I'm not acquainted with the third one, but I can tell it's from a species I have never seen before."
That aura likely belonged to the Absol Gevaudan. Just like most of the Heptagonal Ring's inhabitants, Garm had never seen an Absol with his own eyes. "What about the Zoroark?" Opal asked.
"Do you speak of Naamah? No, she has never been into this Haecceity."
But they clearly saw her enter the Haecceity with the other three. "Are you sure?"
"I never forget an aura, especially if it's associated with a pokémon capable of misguiding the rest of senses. Why do you ask?"
"We saw her with the others outside." Opal let her eyes shift around the room, thinking. Could it be that Naamah somehow managed to disguise her aura? No, that wasn't possible. There was something else they had to be missing. "Out of curiosity, what is the range of your aura reading?"
"Roughly the perimeter of this building." He was certain he would be able detect the Zoroark the moment she stepped into the Haecceity, but he couldn't perceive her if she was outside the building. "Are you suggesting that she is outside and fooled you into thinking she had entered this dwelling?"
"But what would that achieve?" She kept thinking. C'mon, they were almost there. "Unless her intention was to go somewhere else."
Somewhere else in the Garnet Oriole? Garm and Opal reached the same conclusion almost at once, but Garm spoke first. "The prison."
Now her plan was laid bare. While the rest of the Beacon kept them occupied in the Haecceity, Naamah would be free to pay the prison a visit and maybe let out a friend or two. If she managed to get the psychic twins out, their teleportation skills would make it easy for the Beacon to take the last shard they needed and leave without as much as a fight. There was also Zvonimir, but he wouldn't wreak havoc in a populated city and the Beacon knew that, so he was more than likely not an issue. It was the possibility of Kay and Keira getting out that was a motive for concern.
They needed to trade no more words. Garm knew what he had to do. "I'll go to the prison." He was the only one that could detect the Zoroark, so it was up to him to stop her. He knew his own labyrinth well enough to run it from end to end with his eyes closed – literally – and his aura would help him avoid any unnecessary confrontations along the way. There was only one last issue. "I cannot bring the shard with me."
It would be ill-advised to take the shard outside, away from the protection the Haecceity's labyrinth offered. What's more, if Garm was late and Naamah had freed Kay and Keira already, if he brought the shard, they could teleport away with it without much trouble. No, the shard would be safer here, in this audience chamber, as far away as possible from the twins.
"I'll keep it safe," Opal said.
That's what the Lucario needed and wanted to hear. Saying not another word – it wasn't necessary – Garm fled the pace. All that was left in the room was the two fire-types and the small quasi-rectangular shard of a contrasting blue color. Agni still felt a little awkward, not having dared to say a single word in front of the Lucario. This was a serious matter, and he was merely tagging along.
Walking in front of the shard, Opal looked at the only entrance to the room and kept a watchful guard. Great, now he had to keep her brother and this inanimate object safe. At least the inanimate object didn't complain, but in the other hand it made a terrible conversation partner.
Oh, mazes. There is so much to be said about mazes, but it escapes the boundaries of this humble tale.
Perhaps Zephyr and Skoll would appreciate a deeper understanding of mazes, since they were, for lack of a better word, lost. Zephyr was on the lead, never ceasing to walk, and Skoll slowly dragged behind. Whenever they reached a crossroads, an intersection, they chose a path at random and hoped for the best. What else could they do?
"I told you to do the right paw thing," Skoll said. To say he was bored would be an understatement. "If you always keep your right paw to the wall you'll eventually find the exit, no matter how convoluted the maze is. Lumis explained it to me once."
"But we are not looking for the exit. We're looking for Beacon members."
"Well, it's your choice, boss." They walked some more. Another crossroads, another random choice. Then a corner, another crossroads, and yet another random choice. "Say, Zeph, you're keeping in mind the path we're taking, right? Because I'm, uh, not."
Zephyr chuckled. Skoll didn't show many weak points, but memory was a flagrant one. "Scared we'll run in circles?"
"No, I'm scared we'll be trapped here forever." He looked at the walls they walked past. Hadn't they passed through here before? Ugh, these red corridors all looked the same. "Like, you're a bro and all, but if I had to spend the rest of my life alone with a single pokémon, I'm afraid you wouldn't be my first choice. First would be Ivy, then Lumis, then Vetr, then Freya, then maybe Safira, Kizzie, Scylla, a bag of Oran berries, and then you."
"Shush, you flatterer. You'll make Kizzie jealous." They laughed, not too loud. Making their tedious trip more bearable was okay, but they wouldn't want to alert their enemies. Enemies… Zephyr's subconscious ordered him to slow his pace down. "You mentioned Freya. You know she is… somewhere in this labyrinth. We might chance upon her."
"We will. If fate is the mischievous mistress she always is, she will put Freya in our path." Now that Zephyr had slowed down, Skoll caught up to him soon enough, until they were walking side to side. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hold back just because she's an old friend. I know she won't." They kept walking in silence. Another crossroads, the usual. "Well, maybe I'll hold back a tiny little bit, but that's it. Any more than that would be a great offense to her and a great risk for us."
They walked some more. What else were they supposed to do in a maze? Fly? None of them had wings, although luckily neither did their opponents. Digging was also impossible, since the floor was covered in solid red Adamantium, just like the walls. They reached another crossroads and another decision, except that this time they wouldn't have to leave their choice to chance. There was a path they very clearly had to take.
The path with the Mienshao.
She was approaching them anyway, so it's not like they had a choice. She nodded in their direction. "Skoll, yellow spiky critter."
Skoll mimicked her nod. "Freya." They waited until she got a little closer, and then she stopped. "Good, now we're all acquainted. We can start beating each other up any time now."
"You could try talking first," Zephyr said. Wasn't she an old friend of his? It was worth a try.
"I could, but I'd be wasting my time." Skoll grinned in a way Zephyr had never seen him grin before. It was a sour smile, the kind that tried to convey contempt but showed regret. "Zeph, do you think she found us by chance? She can read auras. If she is in our path, it's because she wants to be in our path."
"But that could be because she wants to talk."
"I doubt it." While they were speaking, before either Skoll or Zephyr had a chance to react, Freya launched herself against Zephyr and delivered a weak if fast kick to the Jolteon's side, making him fall on his side. "Case in point…"
The Mienshao stood in front of the Umbreon, not too far away, with the downed Jolteon lying by her side. Skoll kept his watchful gaze on both of them, but didn't move a muscle. As much as he wanted to help the Jolteon, he knew approaching the Mienshao rashly would end in pain. "Not a fan of improvisation, uh? Always starting with a Fake Out."
The Mienshao's move was thankfully a weak one, but if used at the right time it could render the opponent immobile for a few seconds, enough to get a free hit in. And it was this next hit that worried Skoll. Zephyr was at her mercy, defenseless, and there wasn't much Skoll could do to help him out without putting himself in danger. As a dark-type, a single strong fighting-type attack from a competent fighter like Freya could be enough to put him out of commission. Zephyr would have to bear with it. At least Skoll would get a chance to counterattack soon after.
Freya crouched down and extended one leg, and right when Zephyr tried to get up she swept him with a fast kick, making him fall again. Still crouching, she rapidly turned her head to Skoll and pointed a finger at him. "Don't even think of attacking me from behind." There went his plan. When it came to delivering blows, Skoll knew Freya was significantly faster than him. He was naïve to think she wouldn't notice him just because she was targeting Zephyr.
Still lying on the floor, Zephyr let out an annoyed grunt, feeling one of the Mienshao's feet weighing on his side. Not the most optimal way to start a battle, but if she thought he was helpless in that position, he would have to prove her wrong. The suddenness of her first attack caught him by surprise and made him incapable of reacting to her second attack, but he knew what to expect now. He didn't need to get up. He didn't even need to move at all.
Freya felt a tingling sensation on the base of the feet that was holding Zephyr down, and while she was quick to realize the Jolteon's intentions, she wasn't quick enough to correct her mistake. Still on the floor, Zephyr released a moderate discharge against the Mienshao. Since he was in physical contact with his target – Freya's leg was keeping him pinned to the floor – there was no need for him to shoot his electricity far away in the form of a lightning bolt, a direct discharge sufficed. Freya recoiled from the pain, and Zephyr took the opportunity to get up and quickly dash to Skoll's side.
But as Zephyr ran he felt his legs weighing him down, finding it hard to coordinate the movement of his four legs, running slower as a result. Odd. He assumed it was because he had just been attacked.
At any rate, he soon found himself by Skoll's side. "Are you okay, Skoll?"
"I should be the one making that question." He looked down, to his front legs. Was Zephyr limping a moment ago or was that his imagination? "That's not a nice bruise you got there. Did her attack hurt?"
"Actually, not that much. The first was a Fake Out, right? But the second kick was a weak one too."
That couldn't be right. Skoll scanned the Jolteon's facial features for any telltale signs of deceit, but found none. "Freya's attacks deserve a dictionary's worth of adjectives, but 'weak' isn't among them. Are you sure you're fine? Did you suddenly go numb to pain?"
"I don't know. That really wasn't that bad."
Now that he could, Zephyr took a good look at the Mienshao. She irradiated elegance, she had the look of a dignified noblewoman and the stance of a ballerina, but what truly stood out was her trained athlete's body. As delicate and feminine as her face looked, her legs looked like they could quite literally crush steel. Zephyr determined that the best fighting range against her was as far away as possible from those deadly legs.
"Is she really here after us?" Zephyr said, remaining watchful of the Mienshao.
Skoll allowed himself just two seconds to glance at the Jolteon and check his state, but his eyes promptly returned to Freya. "Freya can see auras, so she can tell where we are at all times. If she didn't want to find us, she could have avoided us with ease. She could tell where I was in this maze, and that's why she appeared before us, like a Trubbish attracted to garbage."
"Your metaphors could use some work," Freya said, covering her mouth with the large amounts of fur hanging from the top of her left hand, resembling a whip. "Your reasoning is splendid, though. Indeed, I came after you because I know you well, that I do. You could cause the rest of the team quite the headache if left unchecked, but I know your tricks and I trust I have the required skill to combat them."
"She's after you?" Zephyr asked Skoll with a perplexed frown. Weren't they old friends? The Umbreon shrugged, only adding to his confusion. "Then why did she attack me?"
Freya extended her arm to Skoll and opened her palm, as if reaching out to him. Her arms didn't look as strong as her legs, thank goodness. "That's because of his ability, Inner Focus, which grants him the required mental endurance to prevent flinching – coincidentally, the very same ability I have. If I had targeted him instead, my Fake Out wouldn't have been nearly as effective." Her eyes were drawn to the Jolteon next. "As for why I attacked you, don't think I've forgotten. You were with that cream-furred chronicler, the one with the frilly pink bows. Chroniclers oppose us, and that makes you our enemy."
Without giving Zephyr a chance to talk back, Freya jumped up to the wall behind her, bouncing off against the wall towards Zephyr. Her already natural high speed was only boosted by gravity's helping hand, making this kick attack a deceptively fast one. Even then, her speed should be no match for Zephyr's. Zephyr pressed his forelegs hard against the floor, ready to dash off. There was barely any time to think, he acted on instinct. He flexed his hind legs for a second to gather enough momentum to leap away, but when the time to move came he found his hind legs irresponsive. He tripped, apparently over nothing, as he tried to flee from Freya. Zephyr didn't fall or lose balance, but his dodging attempt would prove unsuccessful.
Zephyr ran, his speed a fraction of what it used to be, watching how the Mienshao's flying kick approached him but unable to reach the required velocity to leave her range of attack. Judging by the trajectory of her attack and Zephyr's hindered running speed, he figured he would not be able to dodge in time. Moments later he found out he was right, as a keen pain erupted in his side, located at the place where Freya had kicked him.
While the Mienshao was close enough for Zephyr to counterattack, he instead chose to retreat, fearing further retaliation. He needed to make sense of what was going on first. Why were his legs unresponsive all of a sudden?
"I think I get it now," Skoll said, by his side. "Remember that second attack she used after Fake Out, the one you said was weak? I think that might've been a Low Sweep. Know what it does?"
Zephyr gritted his teeth, and nodded. Low Sweep was a relatively weak fighting-type move as far as damage was concerned because it targeted the opponent's legs and not their body, but its aftereffects were outright nasty. Low Sweep struck in such a way that certain nerves in the legs would go numb for a short time, making the legs react slower. Simply speaking, pokémon hit by this move would find their speed diminished and movements hampered, if only for a short duration.
"I tipped the scales in my favor," Freya said. She looked no less graceful than before, but a confident smirk was present in her face. "Your speed is your greatest ace, yellow, that much is easy to tell. This should be enough to disable you." Without turning her head, she glanced in Skoll's direction. "As for Skoll, I know all his tricks well. I should be fine."
With a snort, Zephyr glared at Freya. "I have more than quick feet, you know." She really thought lowering his speed would be enough to shut him down? Well, she had another think coming! Zephyr had plenty of tricks unrelated to speed under his sleeve! Or at least, he wanted to think he did.
Zephyr made a mad dash towards her with the intention of launching a short-range electric discharge. If anything, he was good at making estimations regarding velocity and position. Running at normal speed, it would take him no more than 2.64 seconds to reach the appropriate distance to unleash an avoidable attack. Of course, he knew his speed was cut down, but by how much? He sprinted to her, counting seconds in his head. One, two, three, four – almost four. He reached his destination in a little under four seconds, but that was too long a time for him.
Daring a quick guess, Zephyr estimated that his excellent speed had been cut down by roughly one third – enough to make it go from excellent to just good. Problem was, Freya wasn't any slower than before. Mienshao were known to be nimble and Freya was no exception – if anything, she was extraordinarily nimble even for a Mienshao.
Freya spurted to Zephyr's side and then hopped behind him, too fast for the slowed down Jolteon to follow. He tried to turn around as quickly as possible, even though he knew Freya would get a chance to strike before he did. As he spun around he felt another smack against his legs, much like the one before, forcing him to fall down. Oh dear, not another Low Sweep.
Freya covered a very apparent grin with one of her hands. "You have the grace and elegance of a drunken Spinda."
Zephyr looked up to the Mienshao towering above him before getting up. She was no newbie. She had just passed up a perfect opportunity to deal a potent damaging blow to instead use a hindering move. She was the kind of fighter that put caution above everything else, never underestimating an opponent. Her aim wasn't winning – it was not losing.
Now that Freya had her back turned to Skoll, he took the chance to approach her with stealthy steps, barely making a sound. He knew better than to assume Freya didn't expect him, but maybe he would be lucky this time. Freya was a very cautious and scrupulous fighter, focusing on her defense whenever possible, and it was clear she was only stalling for time while her allies stole the shard. They needed to make it so that she would be fighting against time too, and a quick, poisonous bite to the neck should suffice.
But what happened was exactly what Skoll assumed would happen. In a split second, Freya turned around with a leg raised up in the air, ready to deliver a powerful kick if he came any closer. Skoll only managed to avoid it because he had inadvertently slowed down as he drew near, fearing retaliation.
"Did you assume for but a second that I wouldn't prepare for such an obvious ploy? The nerve." There was not a single sign of worry on her face as she looked Skoll up and down. She was the vivid image of serenity. "I told you before, did I not? All your tricks and ruses, I have knowledge of. You are a competent warrior against an opponent that is unaware of your resources, but there is nothing you can do that can faze me." She turned to face Zephyr, who had just gotten up. Her expression didn't change. "And I invalidated what I can only assume was your greatest asset, your speed. Victory is within my grasp, while it eludes both of you. Turn around and leave now that your legs can still bear the weight of your bodies."
Skoll looked at Zephyr, and Zephyr looked at him. Freya was standing between the two of them in a very disadvantageous position. If they decided to attack at once, she would have a hard time deflecting two attacks coming from opposite directions. And yet, there was not a wrinkle of concern on her face. And why should she worry? Zephyr was now too slow to be a threat, and she had sparred with Skoll in countless occasions and knew well his tricks.
Zephyr fought his fights in a straightforward manner, making use of his superior speed and decent offensive capacity to overpower his enemies. Skoll fought his fights with guile, supporting his average strength with all sorts of stratagems and ingenuity. Freya had incapacitated the first and knew the tricks of the second. She had hit each of them where it hurt the most.
"You think you know everything about me?" Skoll said. He put on a convincing cocky smirk before the Mienshao to hide his slight distress. "Oh, Freya, Freya. We could write a book about the things you ignore about me. We haven't seen each other in a while." He fired Zephyr a subtle glance. "I've learned some tactics and shared mine with others. You would be surprised. You will be surprised."
Zephyr needed to hear no more. He had sparred and shared advice with Skoll many times now. If Freya had obsoleted their main fighting tactics, they would have to change their battle styles. She knew Skoll's tricks, but she didn't know Zephyr's. She had weakened Zephyr's body, but not Skoll's. All they had to do was swap roles.
Skoll lowered the front half of his body, leading his chest close to the floor as the many ring-patterns around his body began to shine a faint yellow. Freya didn't miss the cue, he was about to attack. What move would he use? It was too soon to tell, but Freya would learn it soon enough. Skoll made a hasty dash onwards, his body and head leaning lightly to the right. Freya threw Zephyr one last glance to confirm his position – he hadn't moved – and then turned to Skoll with a fearless expression, something close to a grin. The way Skoll bent his body to the side meant he planned to use his left claw in his next attack, she surmised. From her experience, this meant his next move was either Pursuit or Feint Attack, since those were the only two moves in his arsenal that involved his claws in some way.
Freya sidestepped to her right, her movements light, floating as if she were dancing. No matter what move Skoll decided to use next, this evasive dodge should bring her away from the trajectory of his left claw and put her in an exceptional position to retaliate. But as she moved to dodge, a grimace appeared in her serene façade. Using his right front leg for support, Skoll had spun around so that he would be facing away from Freya. He didn't lean to his right to attack, but to lure Freya towards his tail. The question in Freya's mind was why. This wasn't any move of Skoll Freya was acquainted with.
Freya's next question wasn't what this move was, but whether she was in time to avoid it or not. The Umbreon's tail drew closer to her face every second, so it was at least clear it was a tail-related attack. She could duck low or jump over the tail to dodge it, but that would mean leaving herself open to a follow-up attack. No, it would be wiser to parry the attack with one of her arms and then lash at him with the other. As the tail was about to collide against her face, she raised her right arm to cushion the blow, using the whip-like fur on her arm as a veiling shield. The move was strong enough to make her recoil, but any pain was negligible. The hardened fur on the Umbreon's tail was an unmistakable clue that this move was Iron Tail, a technique that fortified the keratin found on the tail to give it a steel-like texture and solidity.
Not only had she stopped the tail with her right hand, she also managed to grab it. She didn't know he had this kind of move in store, but she managed to counter it anyway. She was now facing Zephyr due to the recoil from the Iron Tail. Did the Jolteon have something to do with this? Did he teach Skoll this move? Praiseworthy, given a Jolteon's tail was so short as to be practically inexistent, but whatever. Now Skoll was at her mercy, and Zephyr was too far and too slow to do anything about it.
And yet, sparks danced along the Jolteon's surface fur. Was he preparing a long-range electric attack? He wouldn't be able to release it in time. After dealing with Skoll, Freya would see to it that Zephyr never got a chance to unleash his attack. Now that his speed had been nearly halved after the second Low Sweep, she was fast enough to intercept him.
Wait a second. If his plan was to send an electric discharge her way, why had he closed his eyes? He would have a hard time aiming like that. Was it to help him focus? Wait, now that she was grabbing the Umbreon by his tail, he was facing away from them…
Oh damn. She let go of the Umbreon's tail and threw her arms forward as fast as she could, her next thought being closing her eyelids. If both Zephyr and Skoll were avoiding eye contact, then that meant Zephyr's aim was not generating electricity, but light. He had generated an array of photons to now throw at her in a blinding Flash. How had she not recognized it before? This was a move Skoll liked to abuse. Ugh, had Skoll taught it to Zephyr? Well, this time her reaction time wasn't fast enough. The Flash caught her with her eyes only half-closed, although the fur veils on her arms shielded her from a significant quantity of light. She blinked violently, trying to make her eyesight return to normal in as little time as possible.
Before her vision could return, though, she felt a heavy blow to her side, a powerful tackle. What was this? The direction of the attack meant it was Skoll slamming his body against her, but then why did it feel so… painful? It felt as if she had been hit with a heavy blunt object, but there was nothing to use as a weapon in the labyrinth. The impact was intense enough to push her away and threaten to make her fall to the floor, but she regained her balance with a well-timed hop.
She brought a hand to her rib, pressing lightly to help assuage the lingering pain. "What… was that?" While talking didn't hurt, she found she couldn't talk as easily as moments ago.
"Giga Impact," Skoll said, leering at the Mienshao with a vain grin. He was quick to reveal he was the attacker. "Another nifty tactic Zephyr here taught me, just like Iron Tail."
That move was no joke. Giga Impact called upon the body's hysterical strength, normally only displayed in life and death situations. However, while it was quite literally one of the strongest moves a pokémon could execute, it took a horrible toll on the user's body. Right after using this move, the pokémon would be too exhausted to do pretty much anything for a short while.
Freya let out a soft moan, fighting the pain to raise her right arm while keeping her left pressed against her rib, glaring the Umbreon down. "You are to be praised, but I hope you haven't forgotten my own trump card."
No, Skoll certainly hadn't, and that's precisely why he had dared to take such a risk using Giga Impact. After all, it didn't matter whether he could move or not when Freya's best move, Aura Sphere, could track him down no matter where he hid. He had bet everything on that last move, and he had lost. Oh well, he was certain he could take at least two or three of those attacks, assuming Freya hadn't improved that much since he last saw her.
When a blue flame started to take shape in her open palm, even Zephyr realized what move she was about to execute. At least his shackled speed would represent no hindrance; Aura Sphere couldn't be avoided no matter how fast you ran. The flame's figure shifted as it burnt, until it took on a spherical form of a size no bigger than their heads. Instead of throwing the ball at either Zephyr or Skoll, Freya glanced at it mesmerized as if she were looking into a mirror.
"The jackal is leaving," she said. Given they were in the Oriole's Haecceity, they could only assume she spoke of the node's leader, Garm. She could read auras, and calling on Aura Sphere's power must have increased her sensibility to aura. "Where is he…? Is he going to jail? Is he going after Naamah?"
Skoll's rings gleamed intensely, his legs tensing up, still incapable of movement. Was Freya implying that Naamah had gone to the Oriole's prison, where Lumis and Safira rested? That spelt trouble. He was glad they had left for the prison before the Beacon arrived, since he'd rather them not be involved in this whole ordeal, but if what the Mienshao said was true then they might not remain uninvolved for long.
The ghostly azure fire on Freya's hand vanished into nothingness as she closed her palm. "Let's call it a draw. I must give pursuit now, before I lose the jackal."
"Stop!" Zephyr took off after the agile Mienshao, but his legs took twice as long as usual to respond and he found it hard to coordinate the movements of all his four legs without tripping. He was in no condition to chase down anyone, much less the brisk Mienshao. Skoll watched as the Jolteon tried to hunt the Mienshao down in vain. Skoll was unable to move himself, still suffering from the aftereffects of the badly-timed Giga Impact. If it weren't for it he could have cut Freya's route of escape with a Mean Look, but right now all he could manage was a weak, pitiful scowl. Neither of them could put a stop to Freya, no matter how hard they tried.
Zephyr ceased his efforts soon enough, realizing the futility of his attempt. Seconds later, Skoll would regain control over his body's most basic locomotor functions, although his muscles would feel numb for some more minutes. The thought of giving chase popped up in both of their minds but was promptly discarded. In this labyrinth, they didn't know Freya's whereabouts but she could still detect them with her aura readings. If her intention was to elude them, there was little they could do about it.
With a defeated sigh, Zephyr turned to Skoll. The effects of Giga Impact and Low Sweep would wear away in time, perhaps in a mere few minutes, but by then it would be too late to do anything about the Mienshao.