After weeks of sleeping on hard floors and rough ground, the old mattress and threadbare sheets in the small room Alex had rented felt heavenly. Had the walls not been thin and her neighbours asleep, she might have cried from the relief she felt as her muscles relaxed against its surface. It wasn't until the sun was shining directly through the small window and onto her face that she awoke, groggy and unsure of her surroundings.
Beside the bed, Saheer and Niobe were basking in what little sunlight was available in the cramped space, both looking far better than the night before. Though the inn had clearly seen better days, its keeper's son had proven to be a proficient healer. He had seen to each of her pokémon, treating the flygon and drapion's injuries from their battle with practised ease. He had even provided a fresh tub of water large enough for Adria to comfortably float while he checked her over. The lumineon had cooed happily at the attention before being returned to her ball.
Best of all, she'd had coins to spare after paying for her room and the healing of her pokémon, enough to afford a simple meal for them as well as a much-needed bath for herself. She had few coins leftover for supplies, but the promise of a greater payment still to come kept her hopeful.
Thoughts of the morning battle that she had agreed to were all that pulled her from the bed. Why couldn't it have been an afternoon battle? she lamented silently as she pulled her shirt on over her head. She had done her best to wash her clothes when she had bathed, but, though they were no longer stiff with dirt, she had been unable to get out many of the stains.
The sounds of Alex moving about caught Niobe's attention. The drapion swung a claw toward her trainer, nudging her leg gently and looking up into her face. Alex rolled her eyes at the purple pokémon, but a smile crossed her face anyway as she reached down to scratch Niobe's neck, her scales warm against her hand from the sunlight. As Alex scratched, Niobe's eyes closed and a deep rumble vibrated through her body.
Saheer eyed them, lifting his head from where he was laying and cocking it to the side. He pulled himself around with his paws so that he was laying beside Niobe and right in front of Alex.
"Message received," Alex told him, shaking her head slightly. She reached out her other hand and scratched the flygon behind his head, adding more pressure as he leaned in to her hand.
They sat like that for a few minutes, until Alex's arms grew tired and she pulled them back. Niobe opened one eye and gave Alex a look that told her she wasn't done. Saheer, meanwhile, sat up and scratched behind his antenna with a back paw before rising from his spot on the ground and stretching, his mouth opening in a wide yawn.
"That's enough for now," Alex told them, ignoring the look that Niobe was giving her. She pulled the blanket back, revealing the belt with her poké balls that she had tossed on the end of the bed before passing out the night before. When she had recalled both Saheer and Niobe, she stood up off the bed and cinched the belt around her waist, taking comfort in the familiar feeling.
Feeling ready for the day, Alex made her way out of her room and down the narrow stairs. The bottom opened up into a room that doubled as both the reception and dining hall. The tables and chairs that were scattered about the room had seen better days, their surfaces scratched and worn — but also surprisingly clean. The innkeeper was working behind the counter by himself, his son, the healer, was nowhere to be seen.
The man offered her a warm smile as he greeted her with a cheerful, "Good morning." He accepted the small key she slid across the countertop to him, tucking it away in a drawer with the rest.
After rattling off his small menu, Alex picked a simple — and most importantly cheap — bowl of porridge with ground qualot berry dusted on top and turned to find a table. The table she chose was in the corner of the small room, out of the way. Settling into the chair with her back to the walls she had a view of the entrances and the people that were in the room. There were few other patrons in the small dining hall in that moment — a father with his young daughter sat on the opposite side of the room enjoying a meal similar to her own and a pair of merchants were chatting with the innkeeper at the counter.
Even with the addition of the qualot berry, the simple porridge was boring, and her attention wandered as she ate. Alex's chest tightened as she watched the young girl laugh at something her father said to her. They looked relaxed, and the father was smiling and gesturing wildly as he told some story. It was easy to see even from her corner how close the two were.
Memories stirred in the back of her mind, moments with her own father surfacing to front of mind. A smiling face with familiar blue eyes, not unlike her own, and dark stubble that would be rough against her soft cheeks when he would return from his travels and hug her so tightly she couldn't breathe. To be wrapped in those steady, comforting arms again…
"… was pure chaos," one of the merchant's at the counter finished saying, his words catching Alex's attention and pulling her from the memories that threatened to overwhelm her.
"Is that right?" the innkeeper replied, eyes wide as he listened to his two guests.
"Oh, yes, I wasn't even sure we would make it out alive!" The second merchant was louder than the first, placing a hand on his own chest as he spoke.
The first merchant nodded, his expression grave as he spoke again, "It was like nothin' I ever seen, I tell ya'. We ain't been to the towns 'round Mount Chimney in a while, and the way the plant life looked, well… can't have rained in a quite a long while. Nothing but tinder, and boy did it burn."
"I swear, I've never seen camerupt and magcargo so angry before, they were burnin' everything in sight. I can't imagine any buildings surviving—" the second merchant added.
The first merchant cut him off, continuing from what his partner had started to say, "It'll take 'em years to rebuild Lavaridge Town. We were lucky, we were. Some soldiers came 'cross us runnin' from the flames and flew us outta there. Told us to stay away from the area 'round the mountain 'til they got things under control."
"That's a shame, a fire like that. It would explain why they've sent so many guards and soldiers out of Lilycove, though, if they're trying to fight these fires," the innkeeper replied, glancing past the two merchants to the father and daughter as they finished their breakfast and rose from their table.
"Ain't just Lilycove, I heard they been comin' in from all the eastern cities," the first merchant informed him.
The second merchant muttered something that Alex couldn't quite make out from her seat in the corner. Her spoon scraped against an empty bowl, drawing her attention for a moment as she dragged the scraps together and spooned them into her mouth. She set the bowl aside and turned in her chair, pretending she was fixing her belt as she continued to eavesdrop.
The innkeeper looked thoughtful for a moment. "Word's been going around that the king's soldiers have closed all the routes around Littleroot and Oldale Town, too. Won't tell no one why, either," the innkeeper replied gruffly, closing his eyes and shaking his head.
"Odd. Ain't much down there, really," the first merchant replied, cocking his head to the side at the innkeeper's words.
"Would sure be something if it was related." The second merchant hesitated before adding, "Strange rumours going 'round, though, about His Majesty as of late. Heard he's been talking with the king and queen to the north."
The doors to the inn opened as the father and daughter left and a new traveller slipped through. At the sight of the potential customer, the innkeeper excused himself from the merchants to greet the man that had entered, ending the conversation.
Mulling over what she had heard, Alex pushed her chair back from the table and headed for the door. Hoenn was clearly not without its issues, she decided, as she walked down the street. It had sounded like the western part of the region was really quite a disaster.
At least she knew now to stay away from those areas. She didn't need anymore trouble.
Unlike the night before, Alex was more confident about where she was going. Walking in the daylight helped. With the early sun already beating down, she could see farther ahead, and details filled in around her that she hadn't noticed before. Foam from the crashing waves bubbling along the waterline, trash forgotten in corners and in the openings between buildings, hoofprints in the light dirt.
A painting that spanned a wide warehouse wall caught her attention, bringing her to a standstill as she admired the details. Impressive beasts of blue and red fought an epic battle in waves and fire while a great snakelike creature of green circled above them. The paint looked far newer than the old, run-down building that it coated.
"You came back," a female voice behind her said. Alex spun to find Theresa standing behind her, recognizing the curly-haired brunette. In the sunlight, three faint white lines were visible across the woman's cheek, old scars that reminded Alex of claw marks. She looked less intimidating in the daylight, but no less impressive with the belt over her shoulder and the sheathed rapier at her waist.
It wasn't until she had heard the words that she realized she had reached the battleground from the night before. The ocean waves had washed away any evidence that had remained in the sands from the fights. Without the crowd circled around, it was a simple beach road lined on one side by old warehouses that had long been abandoned.
In the sunlight, the warehouses bore the signs of fire-damage from years earlier, scorch marks running along the walls that still stood. There was nothing left but chunks of broken stone foundation at the end of the line of buildings, the only evidence that there had once been even more buildings.
"Giddon made an interesting offer," Alex told Theresa, shrugging slightly as she spoke. What else could she say? That she had nowhere else to go and no idea where to even begin in a foreign region?
Theresa looked out over the water, taking her time before asking, "Are you familiar with Hoenn's legends?" The woman turned her attention to the wall that Alex had been admiring.
Alex shook her head and shrugged. She knew some of Sinnoh's stories, but her interests had leaned more toward those things that would make her a stronger trainer in the present. She had never bothered to spend time researching the old legends and stories of home, let alone the stories of a foreign region.
Theresa appeared unsurprised, glancing back at Alex before leading her down the road. "There was a time, thousands of years ago, when our world was still being shaped, when energy was unbounded," she started, leading Alex through an old door that had been left ajar.
Inside, the warehouse had been gutted, the only items that remained were a few crates along the outer walls that seemed to serve as benches. Light streamed through holes and gaps in the ceiling where blue sky was visible beyond. Shadows lurked only in the furthest corners of the large building where the light didn't reach.
The two came to a stop just inside the doors while Theresa continued her story, "Two great creatures — the sea monster, Kyogre, and the beast of the land, Groudon — fought over the energy…"
A battle was just winding down as Theresa spoke, the two trainers recalling their pokémon. Unlike the night before, the crowd was smaller and most of the people crowded around had poké balls visible on their belts. The crowd seemed relaxed as they chatted and congratulated the winner of the match.
Alex dragged her attention back to Theresa as she finished the story, "… say the two fell into a deep slumber while Rayquaza continues to watch over the world from the skies above."
"In Sinnoh, we grew up on stories about the two dragons of time and space, and the lake guardians that keep their rage in check," Alex replied absent-mindedly, her gaze scanning the room for any sign of Giddon.
The man was not hard to find, spotting her at the same time she saw him leaning against a crate down the wall from the door. Even from her distance, Alex could see the muscles in his jaw relax and his brows pull apart. A small smile crossed his face as he turned his attention back to the three people standing with him, their backs to her as they spoke with him.
Alex was about to excuse herself and make her way over to Giddon when he pushed away from the wall and walked to the centre of the ring of people.
"Alright! Next up, Alex versus Merrit to the ring. Two pokémon each," he called out to the crowd, throwing his arms out to the side before dropping them and retreating back to his wall.
Alex forced her frown into a more neutral expression as the people that recognized her from the night before turned to look at her. She had hoped to talk to Giddon before the battle to make sure they were still on the same page about her payment, but that option appeared to have vanished. The man she assumed was her opponent was already striding into the middle of the crowd.
As she stepped out into the middle of the ring of people she realized that her opponent was no older than herself, probably even younger the closer she looked. His too-big shirt hung off his tall frame and his unbuttoned sleeves were rolled up to reveal dark olive skin. He ran a hand through his mop of curly dark hair as he walked forward to meet her in the centre of what was about to become their battlefield. With the other hand, he reached forward and weakly shook the hand she offered.
Formalities out of the way, Alex turned away and walked to the edge of the ring feeling good about her chances of winning. Movement near Giddon caught her attention as she was turning to face the battlefield. The three people that had been talking to him turned to watch the fight that was about to begin. They passed through a pool of sunlight as they stepped closer to the ring, briefly illuminating their features. Two young people, a man and a woman, stood to either side, but it was the man in the middle of the trio that drew Alex's eye.
She had seen plenty of people in her travels, but the man reminded her of none of them. It was not the long navy coat adorned with silver buttons that reflected the light that caught her attention. Nor was it the heavy belts visible under the coat that were clearly carrying several heavy knives and Arceus-only-knew how many other weapons. No, from the neck down he might have been interesting, but it was his face that captivated. Black hair pulled back into messy plaits and an even darker beard tied into similar braids framed a face aged by the sun and laced with scars. The sunlight caught and burned in a pair of sharp eyes for a mere moment, but it was enough. Here was a warrior who had been forged by the fires of battle.
A chill ran down Alex's spine as she turned to face her opponent, Merrit. Giddon had spoken of having customers. He had thought they might want to see her battle. Could it be that this man and the pair that flanked him, hands resting on the hilts of swords, were the customers that Giddon had spoken of? It was a question whose possible answers set her teeth on edge and tensed her muscles.
She shook her head as if it would help clear her thoughts and steadied herself, digging her heels into the hard-packed dirt floor. Her blue eyes were bright with anticipation as she met Merrit's gaze across the ring. He had already chosen a poké ball from the three at his belt, a crooked smile crossing his young face as he held it casually at his side.
The crowd was waiting, watching Alex as she mulled over which of her pokémon to choose. Habit guided her hand across to the off-white poké ball at her waist. With the least inherent weaknesses, Niobe was a favourable choice to lead. Making up her mind, she pulled the poké ball from her belt and released her drapion.
Across from her, Merrit tossed his poké ball and an unassuming yellow and black pokémon materialized. A mawile, Alex realized, a feeling of dread twisting her stomach as she recognized the heavy black jaws that were mostly hidden behind the pokémon's body. She had only ever seen one herself in the possession of a fellow trainer, and she had been grateful when she hadn't had to battle it. Where Alex had chosen Niobe for her limited weaknesses, Mawile's resistances as a part-steel-type created an entirely different challenge, one she had not planned for.
"Stay away from those jaws," she warned Niobe, her quiet words laced with concern. Facing them, Mawile did not look terribly threatening. Niobe was easily two times larger, if not even more than that. They would just have to rely on size and speed if they hoped to win.
Merrit did not look surprised or concerned about the match-up. Though she couldn't be certain, Alex had a feeling that Merrit had been in the crowd the night before. The younger trainer casually called out, "Iron defense."
Mawile brought his hands together as his entire body was engulfed in a faded blue light. Seconds passed before the light faded away.
"Lunge and cross," Alex directed, forcing her hands to unclench at her sides. She didn't need anyone — Merrit or the crowd — thinking she was nervous.
Niobe surged forward, heavy claws glowing blue. Her pointed legs carried her swiftly over the dirt floor as Mawile attempted to turn and put her jaws between them. The smaller pokémon was mid-turn when Niobe's powerful claws made contact, each one slashing across in an upward motion. The x-scissor sent Mawile sprawling across the loose dirt, dust swirling around him as he came to a stop.
Mawile pushed himself back to his feet, turning to face Niobe once more. As much as Alex knew Niobe's attacks would not be very effective, she had at least hoped there would be some signs of damage. Mawile looked completely unfazed.
"Again," Alex called, her gaze flicking briefly to the crowd. Giddon was still back against the wall, a nervous look on his face as one of the new arrivals, a woman, leaned on his shoulder. A flash of light reflected off the blade of a dagger held casually in her hand as she said something to Giddon.
"Iron head," Merrit called out, pulling Alex's attention back to the two pokémon in the ring.
Niobe was almost on top of Mawile when the black and yellow pokémon's body took on a silver glow. He surged forward to meet the drapion head on. The two slammed together, Niobe's claws grating across the hardened surface of Mawile's body. Niobe pressed her own body low, legs dragging in the dirt as the force of the impact knocked her back while Mawile rolled away.
Before Mawile could get back to his feet, Niobe seized the opening. She lunged at the smaller pokémon, her fangs and teeth glowing white. Mawile saw the drapion coming, but could not twist around fast enough. The smaller pokémon squealed with pain as Niobe latched on to his side with her powerful jaw. There was a crunching sound as Niobe tightened her hold and swung her head around. When she finally let go it was mid-swing, sending Mawile rolling across the dirt floor yet again.
Despite the ferocity of Niobe's attacks, Mawile rose easily to his feet once more. Rather than face Niobe head on again, he stood half-turned, the jaws hanging behind him swaying as he steadied himself.
"Watch it, Niobe, come around the side," Alex directed, eyeing Mawile's heavy jaws. He was smaller than Niobe, but those pointed teeth would do a lot of damage if he managed to get ahold of her.
Niobe leaped forward, racing across the ground in a wide arc faster than Mawile could follow. The two came together, exchanging blows again. Minutes passed as they avoided, blocked, and rolled across the hard ground locked together in a flurry of claws and teeth.
When they broke apart yet again each was showing signs of damage and pain as they moved, but both still stood.
Screeeee!
Somewhere far above came the high-pitched cry of a pokémon. Alex's gaze shot up, searching for the source of the sound. As she watched, the roof buckled and began to give way. She threw an arm over her face to protect from falling debris and scrambled backward. Her boots slipped against the loose dirt floor, threatening to send her sprawling with each step. The roof burst open and a large flying type crashed into the building, sunlight glaring off its great metal wings.
Her eyes darted about, finding Niobe scurrying after her, powerful claws batting away large chunks of ceiling that threatened to land on her. Fumbling at her belt, Alex found the drapion's poké ball and recalled her. She reached the wall, pressing her back against the sturdy surface and breathing a sigh of relief. There were people on either side of her standing against the wall with their arms up to shield their faces from the dust and debris settling around them.
Alex looked out to where the centre of the ring had been, watching as a great steel bird — a skarmory — settled heavily onto the ground, debris from the ceiling all around it. It screeched again as it tried to pull its wings in to its side, one wing refusing to bend properly.
A man descended from the creature's back, nearly collapsing to the ground as he did so. He managed to catch himself before hitting the ground, straightening up with one arm held awkwardly. Blood stained his shirt, and Alex could see the gashes across his upper arm — the arm that would have been on the same side as Skarmory's injured wing.
"Guards. They're 'ere. More coming," the man shouted as loudly as he could through teeth gritted against the pain in his arm. He pulled out a pair of poké balls, recalling the injured skarmory and releasing a breloom in its place.
Panic spread through the room. People crowded for the doors, the crowd at the back fighting to get out first. The people that had gone for the front entrance scrambled back, shouting at each other to get to the back door.
"They're outside," a woman shouted, pulling out a poké ball.
"Look, up there!" someone else shouted, pointing to the large opening in the ceiling that the skarmory had created.
Flashes of movement in the sky above the building caught the crowds attention. Flying-types were circling above. Alex spotted the massive purple form of a crobat, its four wings moving almost too fast to see.
Someone at the back of the building screamed in pain. The people that hadn't made it out the back door yet were rushing away from the opening as one person slammed the door shut and flipped a heavy bolt that looked to be barely holding on to the frame. Muffled shouts could be heard coming from the other side.
"The building is surrounded!" the man that had locked the door shouted.
Alex spun around, searching for some way out. She had made it all this way escaping the Canalave City guards, she would be damned if she was going to let some Hoenn guards arrest her.
Nearby, Theresa stood calmly with the three people she had noticed earlier and a very distraught-looking Giddon. As she watched, the man that had arrived on the skarmory joined them, his breloom watching him intently as it walked at his side. They were the only people in the room that were not panicking.
Alex followed after the injured man, glancing over to see that Merrit had come to the same conclusion that she had — the strangers were their best bet at keeping their freedom.
The injured man came to a stop facing the man Alex had noticed earlier — the man with the dark plaits of hair and scarred face. "Victor, I—" he started.
"Where's the captain?" the man — Victor — snarled, cutting off the injured man's words. He did not so much as glance at the blood trickling down the other man's arm and dripping slowly from his fingers as he addressed him.
"Sent me ahead," the injured man grunted as Theresa stepped forward and tied a strip of cloth tightly around his bleeding arm. "Said t' get yer crew back to the ship."
The dark-haired man's scowl deepened as he took in the news, and his eyes closed. When he opened them again, he seemed to have come to a decision. "We'll do as ordered."
"I would love to stick around and help, but- well, I really must be going," Giddon informed them, his face pale as he pulled a poké ball out.
"Don't you dare," the young woman that had arrived with the other strangers snapped, turning toward him with her dagger raised.
It was too late. An abra materialized at Giddon's side, and, before anyone else could move, the human and pokémon pair disappeared with a small snap. Any chance of Alex getting paid disappearing with them. Alex and the woman both cursed, glaring at the spot where Giddon had stood only moments earlier.
"Calm down, Henley. It's not like he would have been any help anyway," the young man — the last of the original trio of strangers — said, holding his hands up defensively when she spun on him.
Henley shoved past the young man, ignoring his words as she faced Victor. "Orders, sir?"
"You and Striker watch the back, don't let anyone in and keep an eye on the sky. That door won't hold," Victor started, looking from Henley to the injured man.
Henley stalked away from the group, pulling out poké balls as she headed for the back of the building. The injured man followed after her at a slower pace. With his injuries, Alex was surprised that he was even going to fight, but there was a fire in his eyes as he clenched his jaw and readied himself that told her he would fight until his body failed him.
"Theresa, gather everyone against that wall, it will be furthest from the fighting. Anyone that wants to fight can join us at the front," Victor continued, turning his attention to Theresa as he pointed out the wall he was referring to. His gaze followed her as she turned to walk away before shifting to the three remaining trainers before him. "Garnet, you're with me. You two—" Victor nodded at Alex and Merrit "—can fight with us if you're up to it." He pulled a pair of daggers from the belt crossing over his shoulder and held the handles out to them.
Alex reached forward and gripped the hilt of the dagger, accepting the weapon from him. Beside her, Merrit's eyes were wide as he accepted the blade that had been offered to him.
"Try not to die," Garnet laughed, brandishing his cutlass as he walked past them.
Theresa returned moments later, three trainers following after her. Several more stood back with the group by the wall, ready to protect those who would not be able to fight or whose pokémon had already fought before she had arrived.
Victor pulled a heavy knife from his belt and jammed it behind a wooden board, prying the nails that held it out of the wall. The board dropped to the ground, followed by two more. The large sliding door that the boards had been holding closed swung free from the wall.
"Prepare yourselves," Victor growled, reaching under his jacket and grabbing one poké ball after another from his belt. He had released the third before the first had even fully materialized on the hard floor.
Alex scrambled at her own belt as Victor's hand tensed around the handle for the large door. Rusty wheels squealed on an old, bent track as Victor dragged the door back. It gave way quickly, picking up momentum and slamming to a stop at the end of the track. The wheels shook and bounced, and the farthest slipped off the track, burying the corner of the heavy door in the dirt as it threatened to fall completely off and crush anyone nearby.
Saheer and Skadi appeared in front of Alex at the same time that the guards outside realized what was going on. The men and pokémon that had been standing ready at the small door scrambled back to face the large opening. Any ideas they might have had about using the small door as a bottleneck disappearing like smoke in a storm.
A dodrio stepped forward, its three heads lowered and eyes glaring at the scattering of people and pokémon standing just inside the building. The guard captain seated on its back straightened his shoulders, cleared his throat, and started, "Surrender yourselves for questioning or you will hereby be charged with theft, break-and-enter, trespassing, and pir—"
"I think not," Victor growled, stepping into the centre of the opening, a sword in one hand and dagger in his offhand.
Three pokémon followed him. On his left, a donphan, wide paws braced against the ground, and a hitmontop, expression as fierce as its master's. To his left, a hulking dragonite, green wings tensed and eyes glowing white as a ball of orange energy formed in its open maw. The dragonite let loose its hyper beam, shooting the blinding beam of orange light directly at the guard captain and his dodrio.
There was a flash of black and purple as a creature jumped between the hyper beam and the guard captain. The light from dragonite's attack subsided, revealing a volbeat standing unharmed behind the circular blue barrier that had protected the guard from the attack. The barrier pulsed and vanished as the volbeat began to buzz furiously. The buzzing grew louder until Alex had to cover her ears. Saheer jumped in front of her, blocking her from the worst of the attack as visible red sound waves blasted anyone too close to the volbeat.
The donphan and hitmontop surged forward, seemingly unfazed by the attack, followed by Victor and the dragonite. Alex and the rest of the trainers and pokémon that had stepped up to fight followed Victor's cue. Everyone was shouting orders to their pokémon as they stepped out of the shed. The guards' pokémon jumped forward to meet them, a delcatty and wartortle the first to collide, rolling across the hard ground in a flurry of teeth and claws.
Movement out of the corner of her eye caught Alex's attention. She turned just in time to see Skadi launch a shadow ball at an orb of water coming straight at Alex. The two attacks met with a small explosion, water misting all around them.
The golduck responsible for the attack came charging toward them, its trainer on its heels. Saheer lunged forward to meet them, screeching furiously as a mightyena crashed into his side. The pair rolled across the sand away from her, leaving her and Skadi to face down the golduck and its trainer.
Skadi floated in front of her, snowflakes beginning to swirl around her. The guard and his pokémon were nearly upon them when she unleashed a blizzard. The guard was stopped in his tracks, raising his arms to protect his face from the snow and ice that was pelting his bare skin. Golduck battled through, taking the brunt of the attack.
The duck pokémon lowered its head, a disc of blue energy glowing at its temple as it charged at Skadi. Golduck crashed into the froslass, its zen headbutt sending her flying through the air. With Skadi and Saheer distracted by their own opponents, Alex found herself alone facing the guard.
He came at her, sword raised, and Alex froze. There wasn't enough time to grab another poké ball off her belt. All she had to defend herself was the dagger Victor had given her, the blade solidly built but no longer than her forearm.
She reacted at the last moment, lashing out with the dagger to slap the sword away as she stepped backward. The guard pressed forward, slashing and lunging. His years of training far more than she could hope to contend with, she scrambled to parry his blows and stay out of range of his sword.
Alex's arm cracked against the wooden frame of the warehouse behind her. Pain shot through her arm and down her hand through to the tips of her fingers. She cursed as the dagger she had only just been managing to keep between her and the guard's sword clattered to the ground. Spotting the dagger on the ground, a smirk crossed the guards face.
"Now, hands where I—" the guard started.
As he raised his sword a green tail whipped out at ground level, sweeping his feet out from under him. Saheer growled as he spun back around just in time to meet the mightyena from before head on. The pair crashed into the wall beside Alex, inches from crushing her. Up close, Alex could see the claw marks across Mightyena's side and hear its laboured breathing as it tried to keep up with Saheer. There was blood on the beast's teeth as it opened its jaws and tried to grab hold of the flygon's wing.
Alex ducked and scooped up the dropped dagger, not waiting to see Saheer knock the mightyena away. The moment her hand found the handle of the blade, she was turning toward the guard. He was on his knees, hands reaching for his own dropped sword when her blade stopped at his neck. The blade bounced in her unsteady hand, nicking the side of the man's neck as she kicked his sword out of reach.
A sharp whistle cut through the cacophany of battle, followed by a man shouting, "Stop!"
Careful to keep the dagger steady this time, Alex turned her head to look for the source of the shouting. It was hard to see anything at first, as the fighting slowed and came to a stop. A gap opened between a cluster of people and pokémon, revealing Victor standing behind the guard captain — the source of the order. The dark-haired man had a dagger to the captain's throat, his sword held loosely in his other hand.
"Weapons down, men," the guard captain ordered, voice wavering as he spoke.
The guards along the front of the shed stepped back, slowly lowering their sabres and calling their pokémon back. The trainers still standing straightened up, their own weapons still held threateningly in their hands. Pokémon circled back around their trainers, watching the guards with distrust.
Alex glanced back for her own pokémon, finding Saheer easily as he stalked back over to her, the mightyena he had been fighting already recalled. Behind him, Skadi's attention was still fixed on the golduck that she had been battling despite the water-type's attention turning back to its own trainer. The froslass twirled her hands together, forming a pulsing purple and black ball between them.
"Skadi, no," Alex hissed, but the snow land pokémon either did not hear her or ignored her as she fired the shadow ball at the golduck.
The force of the attack threw the golduck backward, the duck pokémon landing hard in the sand. Heads were already turning when Alex whipped out Skadi's poké ball and recalled her, her own face reddening. The battle was over and the attack had been uncalled for. The golduck rolled over, starting to push itself back up when it was recalled, vanishing in a flash of red.
"Bind their wrists," Victor called out, ignoring the scene farther down the front of the warehouse.
Henley and Striker came stalking out of the shed at that moment, two bruised and battered guards walking quickly ahead of them. Despite the damage that had been done to Striker's shoulder, it was clear he had come out of the fight better than the guards from the back of the building had. The breloom Alex had seen before and a granbull followed them out, dragging along the unconscious body of a third guard. Overhead, a noctowl soared, its eyes glowing blue. The knocked out form of a crobat floating through the air behind it, outlined in a blue that matched the owl pokémon's eyes.
Remembering the blade she still carried in her own hand, Alex glanced down at the guard before her still kneeling in the sand. She met his wide eyes and nodded to where the other trainers were gathering the guards and mumbled, "Go."
The man rose carefully to his feet, hands held out to his sides in an attempt to appear non-threatening, and followed after his coworkers. Alex grabbed his forgotten sabre from the ground and followed after him, Saheer bounding along at her side and watching the people and pokémon around them with big, curious eyes.
When all of the guards had been bound and left in the warehouse, their poké balls and weapons collected and dumped in a crate out of reach, Alex found herself standing outside the large warehouse doors with Theresa. Many of the trainers had already left, and those that had not fought had snuck out the back as soon as the fighting had ended. She supposed they hoped that none of the guards had seen their faces and they could go back to their regular lives.
Alex had no life to go back to.
She shifted from foot to foot. Her hand rested on Saheer's shoulder, drawing comfort from his familiar presence and the warmth of his scales. Her gaze flicked back to the warehouse behind her as Victor and his trio of fighters walked out through the large door, Merrit at their heels.
"Theresa, y'know what we offer, the ship ain't been the same without you," Victor growled, coming to a stop beside the older woman and turning his sharp eyes upon her.
"I suppose I won't be able to stay here now," Theresa replied, a small smile crossing her expression as she met the bearded man's gaze.
The corner of Victor's mouth ticked up, the briefest glimmer of a smile crossing his face for a second. Any hint of warmth vanished as he turned his expression on Alex, holding his hand out.
It took Alex a moment to realize what he was looking for — the dagger that she still clutched in her hand. She turned the blade back over to him, feeling a strange emptiness at giving up the weapon.
"You battled well, kid," Victor started, tucking the dagger out of sight in his coat.
"It was a short fight," Henley muttered to Striker, the words not quite quiet enough to go unheard.
Alex suppressed the scowl that she wanted to offer in response, keeping her gaze on Victor. Or as much as she could focus on Victor. She found herself averting her gaze every few seconds, unable to meet the intensity of his eyes.
Victor either did not hear her, or pretended he hadn't. "We're in need of some capable trainers to defend our ship. If you want, you can come with us. We're leavin' now, so decide quickly." Finished speaking, Victor turned on his heel and strode down the beach.
Everyone else followed quickly after him, leaving Alex and Saheer alone. Her eyes followed their retreating forms as they took a path that would lead them north, away from the city.
They were not good people, that much she was sure of. The way they had fought the guards, it had not been their first time. They had known what they were doing, and she would guess they had fought like that many times before. But she had liked Theresa, and found that she had developed respect for her in the short time she had known her. The older woman had chosen to go with them. She had known them before.
If push came to shove, Alex wasn't sure she could call herself a good person either. She had done what she had needed to do to get where she was — to reach her standing in Sinnoh before everything else had happened. Her world had crashed down around her, but she had survived. She would continue to survive.
"Come on, Saheer, we've got a job," Alex muttered, darting through the sand after the slowly shrinking figures.
I had planned on having this chapter done before Christmas, so I am sorry for the delay on this chapter! This chapter did not want to be written, I ended up cutting 1,500 words, it's still longer than I had originally planned, and I got caught up editing and editing and editing... but anywho, it's done and I am moving on to the next part before I start editing it yet again.
My writing caught up to my posting, so all progress updates on my profile are now approximate progress % instead of posting date. I will likely just post chapters as I finish them now.
Chapter titles have been updated with POV character initial to make it easier to navigate.
Chapter 10 is done and will be posted tomorrow after I've gone through and cleaned it up~