Chapter 23: Ticking Time

Floyd was shocked to see Sneasel again. He knew that she was a wild Pokemon, and after Corinth's betrayal, he'd assumed that she'd went back to live with her pack. Evidently not, and from the looks of it, she was pretty strong. She'd crossed the entirety of the ruins on her own, even though Registeel's chamber with the abundance of Fire types. For that, Floyd let Sneasel help herself to some much-deserved food and water while they read the note.

To Mr. Floyd, Tabby, Vanessa

Olivier has sent ahead a large force, likely of Elite Guards to halt your progress. Sneasel delivered this message so that you would be able to prepare for the worst. By the time it reaches you, it is likely that they will have prepared for your reemergence from the ruins. Proceed with all caution,

Nerevor

"Fantastic," Ren said after Floyd finished reading the note. "So we were being followed."

"We couldn't have stopped them even if we wanted to," Floyd said. "If we did, we might've been killed. At the very least, it would have added several more days onto the trip, and delay only helps Olivier, not us."

"What do we do now?" Tabby asked. "If Olivier has a vanguard waiting at the front door…"

"Sneasel," Floyd said, and the Pokemon stopped its feasting for a moment. "Did you see any of Olivier's men on the way here? They would've been in heavy armor, steel. It would have been white and…and you would've smelled them, maybe. Like Ghosts."

"Sneasel snea! Sneasel sneasel!"

"She says yes," Ren clarified. "But there weren't that many. A few hunting packs worth, so…about eighty."

"Eighty Elite Guards," Tabby repeated, her shoulders slumping a little. "And I'm willing to bet there are some Liberated with them too."

"We can't fight that many," Vanessa said. "It just won't work."

Floyd put a hand to his jaw. There had to be some way out of this mess. If they just waltzed right into the ambush, they were finished. But there were no other ways out of the ruins, not that he'd seen.

"Sneasel," Floyd said, an idea striking him in the face. "How did you get past all of the traps? Were they unarmed still?" The Sneasel nodded. "And the men outside; did they see you come in?" Sneasel shook her head.

"What are you thinking?" Ren asked.

"Well," Floyd started, "If those men are still outside waiting for us, it's likely they don't know about the traps in the ruins…or the guardians that attack people with hostile intentions on the first floor."

"They might just be waiting for us to come out," Vanessa finished. "But even so, that's still a lot of Elite Guards to take care of. Even if we lured them deeper into the ruins without getting ourselves killed by reactivating the traps, that's still a lot of time lost."

"Oh, I don't think we'll need to bring them inside," Floyd said, turning around. "That statue of Regigigas…it looks very lifelike, don't you think? It's not like most of the statues outside this room."

Tabby's eyebrows knit together, then her mouth dropped open. "You don't think…?"

"I think there's only one way to find out." He took a deep breath and raised his voice to a shout. "Regigigas! I know that you can hear me! I know that you have judged us and felt our presences! I know that you can hear the truth in my words! Know this, o great Regigigas! Hostile intruders have come to do harm to you and your great temple! We entered in pursuit of knowledge, passed your trials and tests, and defeated your guardians in fair combat! These intruders would unfairly bypass the restrictions, make war upon your domain, and worse, desecrate the legacy of Snowpoint City, the ancestral home of your creators! Would you allow these men to trample on their legacy, or will you fight with us to protect your home? Awaken, great Regigigas! Awaken and fight at the side of a Lightborn!"

His words thundered over the room, rolling off of the smooth surfaces and into silence. Nothing happened.

"Nicely said," Ren said after a moment. "But, uh, nothing happened."

The heartbeat that Floyd had grown accustomed to began to hammer louder in his ears.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Floyd said, watching the statue intently.

Dust rained from the arms and legs of the statue as though a wind had blown through the chamber…and then it began to move.

"By Arceus!" Vanessa shouted. "It's moving!"

The colossus of a Pokemon shifted, a sound like a hundred earthquakes going off at once as the ancient joints awakened from a deep slumber. The fingers twitched and stretched, the massive legs lumbering out of its crouched state. A loud whirring and buzzing emitted from the body of the massive Pokemon as it shifted and groaned, creaking under its own weight. A cross of dots blazed in a pattern similar to the patterns of the other three golems from before, almost like an activation code. They shone with a furious yellow light, and the three gems on either side of its bulging yellow face plate all blinked on at the same time. White light shone from the holes, washing over the entire chamber and removing centuries of dust and decay from Regigigas' body. The white stone of its body was slowly exposed, covered in black bands and moss that seemed to be a part of its body as much as the mechanics were. The globe crashed to the ground hard enough to atomize the marble, and Regigigas reared back and bellowed its name.

RE-GI-GI-GAS

A pulse of psychic power thrummed in the very air itself, Regigigas' full might threatening to split the atoms of the universe with its pressure. The full weight of its gaze turned onto Floyd and his friends, and it was all anyone could do to make themselves look non-threatening.

"Well, you got his attention," Tabby squeaked. "Tell me you've got a plan."

Floyd took a deep breath. Regigigas would respect only strength, and it was in that quality where Floyd would negotiate. It would be just like the Draconids, and Floyd had dealt with them more than he could count.

"Regigigas," Floyd started. "You're awake."

The Pokemon took two lumbering steps towards them, the vibrations from the titan's footfalls enough to literally lift Sneasel off the ground. "Gigas."

"Ren?"

"Who are you, human?" Ren translated.

"I am Clarence Floyd, Lightborn," Floyd said. The sun on his chest flared for dramatic effect. "This is Tabitha and Vanessa of Snowpoint City. They are the many-times repeated granddaughters of your ancestral creators."

"Regi…gigas."

"Why do you disturb my slumber? What purpose do you have to enter my temple?"

"An evil tyrant has taken control of Snowpoint City," Floyd explained, never breaking eye contact with the odd gemstones that functioned as its eyes. "She's sent some of her forces to the front door of your temple to stop us from getting back to Snowpoint with the information we need to end this war. Unless we have your help, her forces will kill us, and Snowpoint will be lost forever."

The titan considered this, drawing up to an even more immense height from a stooped position. If it thought he was lying, Floyd was absolutely sure that Regigigas could crush him like an insect. No amount of cunning would allow the seven of them to bring down the massive Pokemon. But he felt the titan's iron will sorting through his thoughts and memories, regarding him to determine the truth.

"Regi?"

"What would you have me do?"

Floyd kept the excitement from his face and voice. "We need your help to clear a path on the surface. Once there, we can leave the temple and make for the city in haste. We know how to beat Olivier; my power is proof against her Ghost Plate."

Regigigas reared back violently, its arms flying back in a terrifying gesture. "Regi! Regigigas!" For a moment, Floyd thought they were about to be attacked, but Regigigas wasn't angry at him.

The mention of the Ghost Plate had incensed it.

"So," Ren translated, "another human seeks the folly of our god's Plates? Humans will never learn; they will lead you all to ruin!"

"Another?" Tabby asked. "Someone…someone else has come looking for the Plates?"

"We can't worry about that right now," Vanessa said. "Olivier has one, and that's bad enough." She raised her voice and craned her neck at Regigigas. "Will you help us, Regigigas? If these Plates are truly as dangerous to human and Pokemon -kind as you say they are, then we don't have any time to waste!"

Regigigas calmed down, and even with its oddly-shaped body, Floyd recognized the universal gesture of a nod. "Regi!"

"He will," Ren said. "Fantastic. We've got a Legendary on our side."

"We'll have to move immediately," Floyd said. "It'll be a long trip back, but…"

"Regi," Regigigas said. "Re-gi-gi-gas!"

"It will not," Ren translated. "This is my temple, and it responds to my command!"

On the last word, a tremor shook the entire chamber. Like its master, the entire temple seemed to be rumbling, waking after centuries and centuries of a deep slumber.

"What's happening?" Ren shouted over the noise.

"I think we're getting zapped back to the surface!" Tabby shouted back.

"When we get there, strike quickly!" Floyd commanded. "Cut through them and make for the car!"

A dazzling light blinded them all as Regigigas roared, their bodies coming undone with the now-familiar sense of teleportation.

###

Tabby was tired, hungry, sore, and smelled unpleasant to put it mildly. There was dirt in her hair, her eyes were heavy, and her mind was ready to lay down and sleep for a week with how much magic she'd been doing over the past few days. But she held as much magical force as she could possibly muster at the ready. She'd need it for the Liberated that were undoubtedly with the Elite Guards. They would be affected by her magic as well as Vanessa's.

It would be up to Floyd and Regigigas to defeat the Elites, and Tabby had no idea how they were going to do that.

In the swirling vortex of color and sound, Tabby began to see the first floor of Snowpoint Temple come into view. The temperature changed, the ground became solid beneath her feet, her breath began to steam in the air. She smelled fresh pine and virgin snow on the air…and ozone.

There was magic here, and close.

The last pieces of the world flew back into place and suddenly Tabby and her friends stood in the Snowpoint Temple's landing, just before the statue of Regigigas and its three titans. Maybe the strike force had been outside when Sneasel had seen them last, but they had moved inside now, and they were paying for it. Tabby hadn't known what to expect of the temple's guardians. She'd thought that the various Banette, Gengar, Haunter, and other assorted Pokemon had been the guardians. Banette had said it killed in service of the temple, after all.

She hadn't been more wrong.

Bands of Elite Guards and Liberated struggled against the Temple Guardians, which at first glance seemed to be shades of sorts. They were translucent, just visible enough to be told apart from the men they fought. But the Ghosts they'd fought beneath the first floor had been, well, ghosts, true. But these seemed more like illusions than Pokemon. Nevertheless, they were most definitely Pokemon, and all of them were the Pokemon that had been seen in the hall leading to Regigigas' chamber. There were the three famous Regis of course, one of each floating around or leaping into the air to slam into the ground with titanic force. Regice hung back and fired Ice Beams into the midst of the struggling Elites while Registeel and Regirock charged in and just hammered away with no regard for themselves. The Elites were unphased by the attacks, managing to withstand the crushing blows Regirock and Registeel struck with and push back with their lightsabers. The Liberated didn't do as well, some of them falling to the giant sledgehammers that functioned as Regirock's hands. Tabby winced and looked away as one of the Liberated was turned into little more than pulp as Regirock used Hammer Arm. Still, they persisted against those three, the Liberated warding against the Ice Beams and throwing pulses of flame while the Elite handled the melee.

The other two Regis were a whole different story. The lightbulb-looking Regi blipped from place to place, teleporting as an electrical current before the Liberated could even begin to target it. As soon as it lost its pursuers, it let loose a withering blast of electricity. Ten Liberated were immediately turned to smoking char as the electricity slammed into their ranks and smashed their wards like a hammer to glass. The other Regi, the one with the dragon's head, was a demon. It flew in the open air, waiting for an opportunity to attack and then blurring down to the ground. Its arms—or head, Tabby didn't know—bit a Liberated in half. Instead of his insides falling to the ground, he simply disintegrated with a silent scream, leaving no trace he'd ever existed. Four Elites closed and stabbed with their lightsabers, ripping through its translucent form. The Regi merely looked annoyed if anything the dots on its face pulsing blue before it spun in a tight circle and loosed a giant purple beam of raw power. The Elites were pushed back as the beam connected with them, and once again, the raw power of the Regis shattered the wards of the Liberated.

Even with all of their combined attacks, the Liberated and the Elites were holding, if barely. Anything could tip the balance.

Like for example, the master of the Legendary Titans.

"Now! Strike!" Floyd roared.

Tabby led with a shout, letting the tight ball of fire she'd been focusing rip free from her hands. It rolled forward in a crashing wave, swallowing everything in sight. All of the Regis either avoided or stood in the path of the Fire Blast, while the Liberated scrambled to block it, taken off-guard by the sudden attack. Vanessa slammed her palms into the ground, Vance doing the same with his massive claws, and the ground rippled and folded as though it was snapping in the wind. Massive cracks and crevices ripped through the foundations of the first floor, and many of the Liberated and Elites lost their footing.

As the Regis darted in and began killing in earnest, Tabby blinked and missed Floyd blur forward into the melee. He conducted death, cold and efficient, his blade licking across the neck of an Elite Guard. His head clattered to the ground in his helmet, while Floyd kept moving in a deadly dance. Four more men fell dead to the ground in almost as many heartbeats, his blade finding heads and hearts alike. A few Elites ripped away from the melee with Regirock and ran for Floyd, eager to cut him down and serve their master. With a burst of speed, Floyd was suddenly behind them all, the sun on his chest shining and chiming as the speed faded. They too were left dead, and Tabby lost track of him as the crowds began to bunch together.

"Keep attacking!" Vanessa shouted, twisting her hands upward. Pillars of earth began to shoot from the ground, throwing Liberated and Elite Guards into the air like scattered toys. "We have to clear a path to the car!"

"Incoming!" Ren warned.

Right in front of them actually. A knot of Liberated flanked by three Elites ran towards them, determination on their faces.

"Blitz, help me out!"

"Infernape!"

The pyre atop her partner's head roared with intensity, swirling around Tabby's arms and making it easier to roll a spell of her own. With a combined shout, they launched into the fluid motions of the Infernape evolutionary line, a volley of punches and kicks that loosed howling blasts of flame on their attackers. The Liberated came to a screeching halt, calling up Safeguards and veils of water to mute the Fire Blasts. The Elites had no such distinction, rushing through the flames with their lightsabers aimed at her heart.

It had been standing so still that Tabby had forgot it was there, but right about then, Regigigas moved.

There was no possible way a Pokemon of such a size should have been able to move so fast, but it nonetheless. It may as well have teleported with how quickly it got in front of Tabby and Blitz, its massive arms coming down in an arc to end the Elites. It crushed two of them beneath the massive blows and swept another into the air like trash, its body crashing into the stone statues with enough force to turn them to powder.

And it still fucking got back up.

Tabby didn't understand. How could Olivier make such an armor that could withstand even Regigigas' mighty blows? Those punches should have literally turned the Elites inside out, and yet their undead bodies were still moving. She glimpsed Floyd flickering in and out of the melee, and she could tell that even he was tired. If they could all strike, it would be a different story…but how?

The Elites leapt at Regigigas, carving at it with their lightsabers. It wasn't translucent like its guardians, and actually felt the pain of the wounds. They healed almost immediately, but the titan still let out a mechanical roar of its name and attacked again. The rest of the Liberated were killed immediately by its thrashing, and it used its terrible momentum to sweep one of the Elites up into its giant hands and squeeze. Again, Tabby waited for the top of the armor and the undead warrior's head to pop like a grape, but it merely wriggled free from the Pokemon's grasp with a tinny roar of its own, power exploding from the gaps of the armor and forcing the Regigigas into a retreat. Once again, his three fellows struck with their lightsabers, piercing both of Regigigas' legs and one leaping up to pierce a diode on the side of its chest.

Regigigas let out another roar of pain, much more annoyed than before, and whirled on a retreating Elite. Its hand was raised in a chopping gesture, a furious red light snarling around it as Regigigas brought it hammering down.

And this time, the Elite did explode. The head was ripped off so hard it flew into the wall and caused a chunk of rock to rain down from the ceiling from the impact. The body slumped onto the ground, and every Elite nearby stopped to look in shock.

"That's it!" Tabby shouted.

"What is?" Ren asked.

Tabby grinned, summoning magic around her fingers. "I know how to bust these things open!"

###

An Elite pursued Floyd with grim determination, his friend circling around to strike at his flank. Floyd's arm snapped up to deflect the surprise attack with inhuman speed, and he quickly dropped to the ground to avoid the heavy slash of the first Elite's lightsaber. He spun on his shoulders, tripping both of the Elites and sending them to the ground with a clatter of their fine armor. He used his Light Speed for a split-second, cleaving off their heads and leaving the stumps to burn as he dodged two Icicle Spears that rocketed towards his face. A couple of Liberated summoned magic to strike him dead, and Floyd had no choice but to engage. He threw his lightsaber end-over-end at an approaching Elite and cut him in half, then began to charge a Solar Flare to intercept the attack.

Before that happened though, a gale of wind swept through the melee. It was so strong that it pushed some of the combatants next to Floyd a couple of feet, though Floyd wasn't moved at all. He turned to see where the attack had come from, as did the Liberated who had targeted him, looking just in time to see a fireball screaming down from the heavens to land in the midst of a knot of Elites.

They went up like firewood, the ball exploding and ripping through the fine metal that contained their undead bodies. It didn't matter how little flesh was exposed, that fire ripped the cold magic keeping the undead alive to shreds.

Floyd felt a mad grin slide onto his face despite the circumstances.

Tabby's hair billowed away from her face, a desperate light in her eyes as she let another howling force of wind rip from her fingers, following it up with a searing cone of flame.

Somehow, she'd figured out how to break through the fine armor of the Elites.

As soon as everyone else realized that, their morale shattered like glass.

"Regis!" Floyd boomed. "Attack now! The enemy is crippled!"

With the aid of six legendaries and his already powerful friends, the fight was all but over in minutes.

###

Tabby ran over to Floyd just as he ripped his lightsaber up the back and across the neck of the last Elite, sheathing his lightsaber and retracting his helmet. His face was stretched in a grin, one that Tabby returned in earnest along with a giddy, exhausted laugh as she leapt into his offered hug.

"How did you do that?" Floyd asked, breathing hard.

"Regigigas could only hit them with Brick Break, nothing else," Tabby explained. "The enchantments were woven so tightly that we couldn't see them for what they really were, but in reality it was nothing but layers and layers of Reflect, Light Screen, and Aurora Veil. When Griffin said it felt 'cold'? I think that's what he meant; he could feel the Ice magic on the metal. So," she flexed her fingers and a wind whipped up to push hair out of her face, "I got rid of the screens with Defog."

Floyd nodded approvingly. "Excellent. You really pulled our butts out of the fire, Tabby. Good work." He clapped her on the shoulder (though she would have accepted a kiss too) and moved to Sneasel. "And you, Sneasel. Without you, we would have walked right into a trap. We wouldn't have even thought to have asked Regigigas for help, and we almost certainly would have died. Thank you."

Tabby wasn't sure if Sneasel could blush, but if they could, this one certainly did. Adorably, she frowned and crossed her arms as she did so, looking away and trying not to smile. "Snea," she said simply.

"Well," Vanessa said, still catching her breath. "We survived." Tabby noted she didn't want to look at the floor, likely because she knew some of the Liberated here. "What now?"

The ground shook as Regigigas and his titans approached, Tabby stiffening up as they did so.

"Now," Floyd said, stepping forward, "we say goodbye." He was absolutely stone-faced, something that Tabby couldn't help but admire. By Arceus, she was smitten. Or maybe it was the exhaustion talking now. "Mighty Regigigas, thanks to you and your guardians, we were victorious. We're in your gratitude."

"Regigigas," the titan droned. "Regi?"

"He said that we were all respectable warriors worthy of Snowpoint's legacy," Ren translated. "And he wants to know what we'll do now."

"What we promised to do," Floyd said. "With our knowledge of the 19th type, we will take the fight to Olivier and end her reign of terror once and for all, restoring peace to Snowpoint." He paused. "I don't suppose you'd like to join us? Victory would be assured with you at our side."

"Gigas," it said, and its tone was unmistakable.

"No," Ren translated nonetheless. "It helped us protect its temple, but it won't directly involve itself in a human war. The rest is up to us."

"Regigigas. Regi…regigigas."

"It also gives us its blessing to take the tomes and other materials we found in the temple with us," Ren said. "It hopes they'll be of some assistance to us."

Floyd bowed, the rest of them following suit. "Thank you, mighty Regigigas. We will be on our way now."

A grunt made its way to Tabby's ears, and everyone whirled. The guardians reared back, and Regigigas' diodes all glowed red, while her friends prepared attacks.

One of the Liberated had survived; a heavier set man…Hale, she thought his name was. His face was wet with the gore he'd lain in, but she didn't see any wounds on his body.

Especially not on his hand, which was leveled towards Ren's face.

Tabby barely had time to react as the icicle screamed towards the Absol. Sneasel leapt into the air and cut it down with her wicked sharp claws, then landed atop Hale's back, those same claws threatening to tear out his throat.

"Good girl," Floyd said as they all crossed the distance. "You're one of the Liberated, I'm assuming."

Hale ignored him and spat. "Tabby, Tabby, Tabby. This is the man you're so enamored with? Did you not just see him cut down so many of your friends in cold blood? Or you, Vanessa? Are you both blind?"

A muscle worked in Vanessa's jaw, and Tabby herself saw red. "How dare you try to turn this on us," Tabby said, trying to keep her voice level. "You all made your choices when you either joined forces with Corinth or tried to kill us last week!"

"She's right," Vanessa said, her voice as cold as the mountain snow outside. "You are no friends of ours. The people I knew died the moment Corinth showed up on that street."

"Since I've been translating all day, I can tell you what that means," Ren added. "Means that they don't give a damn about any of them," she flicked her head over her shoulder, "and they certainly don't give a damn about you. Boss, I say we kill him and throw him into the ocean." She sneered down at the man, who blanched at the expression. "Maybe a few Carvanha will have a sizable meal tonight."

Floyd's face had settled into the cold mask he assumed whenever combat was near. "Vanessa, Tabby? You agree with this?"

"I will go along with what you think is best," Vanessa said, turning her back on Hale.

Tabby swallowed. "Yeah. Me too."

Floyd nodded, raising his lightsaber.

"It won't matter!" Hale screamed, panicking. Sneasel dug her claws in a little deeper to keep him steady, but Floyd held up a hand. "It won't matter if you kill me!"

"And why is that?"

"Because," Hale said, "Corinth and Olivier will defeat you! Olivier will use our magical knowledge and our forces along with her army to remake Snowpoint in our image! First here, then all of the region! Perhaps even the world! It will be a new age for the oppressed, for all magi to live in the light!"

"Really?" Ren said, unimpressed as she examined her claws. "And however will she do that?"

"The device, the bomb beneath the Hub…it is almost finished. A few days at most and Olivier will arm it. Only by doing what she instructs will she allow the innocent of Snowpoint to go free." Another touch of fear entered his voice. "If…if you take me alive, I can…I can convince Corinth to let you all live as prisoners!"

"You're about as stupid as you look, dumbass," Ren remarked, an air of finality behind her words.

"Maybe Olivier will remake Snowpoint City," Floyd said. "Or maybe we will instead. Either way, you will not live to see it."

Hale screamed gibberish until the crimson blade fell upon his neck.

###

Twenty of the Liberated shoved against the magical ward covering the Northern Quarter, all of their muscles trembling with the strain as they summoned more magic.

Nerevor batted aside their magical attacks with ease.

The fools had stood directly in front of the ward, and were attempting to charge attacks before making their way into a forced breach. Nerevor simply redirected some of the power stored in the ward into a Psychic attack. The Liberated weren't even killed, just slapped away like they were sticks in the wind. The bands of regular men and their Pokemon flinched away from the sight, retreating further into the enemy camp…right into that building where Olivier was constructing her strange machine.

Nerevor didn't know what it was she was doing in there, but he had a feeling he was going to find out soon.

A chill rolled up his spine, and he turned to look to the north as his coat billowed around him in a stirring wind.

Then a grin broke out on his face.

Perhaps it would be sooner rather than later.

Nerevor teleported to the northern exit into the mountain pass, where sure enough, a black tank of a car was being searched and questioned by the security detail. All of the men knew who had gone on the trip, but it still made Nerevor feel a little safer knowing Griffin had picked a detail that was still vigilant.

"You've returned," Nerevor said as they pulled forward.

"Yeah," Tabby said, sticking her head through the back window. "And boy do we have some info for you."

"Let's get inside," Floyd said, and Nerevor opened the ward to let them through.

###

"Amazing," Nerevor said after the others had finished their tale. They sat in the war room, a television showing one of Olivier's daily press conferences. "So then…you believe you can defeat Olivier?"

"I do," Floyd said with a nod. "And worse, we might not have any other options."

"Couldn't you beat Olivier, Nerevor?" Tabby asked.

He shook his head, beard rustling against his coat. "If not for the ward, maybe. But although the ward is self-sustaining, I was forced to…maim myself as it were. I could deal with a majority of our enemies, but Olivier backed by the power of the Ghost Plate would most likely prove too much to handle."

Floyd noted that Tabby's face twitched a little at that, but she nodded and said nothing else. "Then I guess…this is the home stretch then? One last hurrah?"

"I don't believe it will be that easy," Nerevor said. "Especially after what our friend Hale revealed in his final moments. But I believe there is a strategy that we can take that will allow us to break Olivier's resistance with minimal casualties." He grimaced. "I would prefer none at all, but such is the nature of war, even a small one such as this."

Ren let off a toothy yawn, one that Sneasel—who sat behind her head—returned with earnest. "Let's talk strategy after a big ol' group nap. It's been a long cave adventure. I could use some chow that isn't spelunking rations, a soft bed and…"

"We get it," Floyd said, patting her head. "We really could use some rest though."

"And you've earned it," Nerevor said. "We will resume tomorrow. Vanessa, if I could speak with you before you lay down."

"Of course," Vanessa said with a nod. "Nice job, you four." She paused, then smiled at Sneasel. "Five."

Floyd and the others left those two behind to chat and climbed to Floyd's room, where the Pokemon ran in to feast heartily on Ren's food in her bowl. Ren was less than pleased, but seemed to be too tired to put up too much of a fight.

"Looks like you've got a new Pokemon," Tabby teased, bumping his arm.

Floyd grunted. "Looks like it. I'll get an extra Pokeball tomorrow." He looked back at her. "How are you holding up?"

"What, because of Hale?" He nodded. "I'm fine. I knew of him, but I didn't know him well." They fell silent, watching the Pokemon eating and drinking. But Floyd knew Tabby well enough to know when the question was coming, so he waited.

"Floyd," she began after a long silence, "how did you…do it?"

"Kill him, you mean," Floyd said, and she nodded. "It isn't easy."

"It looked like it."

"Oh, it is. If I wanted to, I could chop my hand out and crush your windpipe. You'd be dead in seconds."

Tabby gave him a flat look.

"Ah, sorry. Point is, the action is easy. It's what comes before and after that's hard."

Tabby swallowed. "Justifying it?"

"It's not something you should take lightly," Floyd said. "But…you do realize that you might have to kill someone in these next few days, right?"

"Yeah," she said shakily. "Just…trying to come to terms with it, I guess. But I will…if I have to." She raised her voice. "Blitz, get out of their food bowl! We've got food in the room." The Infernape loped over to her side and Tabby turned towards the door. "I'll see you later on today?"

"Count on it," Floyd said. "Sleep tight."

Tabby flashed him a smile before closing the door behind her. Letting out a long breath, Floyd lumbered over to the couch and crashed, sitting down and leaning his head back against the cushion as he closed his eyes. Not a minute later, two warm, furry bodies slammed into him, one settling comfortably across his lap and the other sitting on his shoulder.

"Well," Floyd began, "does this mean you'll be staying with us?"

"Snea!"

"That's a yes, Boss," Ren said.

Floyd felt himself smile. "It's dangerous with us. And Snowpoint isn't our only stop. Once we're done here, you'll be in for quite the road trip."

"Sneasel snea!"

"She said she's ready for anything," Ren translated. "Trust me hun, you're gonna regret saying that later."

"Well then I suppose you're officially my Pokemon," Floyd said, glancing at the reluctantly-smiling Sneasel. "Er, you will be once we get a Pokeball. But you need a name, I think." Sneasel nodded enthusiastically. "How about…Onyx? How's that name?"

Sneasel leapt up in excitement and rolled around on the couch, bouncing around despite all she'd been through in the past day or so.

"I don't think you need me to translate that one, Boss," Ren said, and Floyd was pleased to see the smile on her face too.

"No, I don't," Floyd said. "Well then, Onyx. Welcome to the team."

"Snea!"