Chapter 10: Emergency Meeting

"There are... so many things I don't understand right now," Raskin began. "Why were you part of the police? How did you then leave? And why—"

"Pokémon will be arriving here in thirty minutes," Lyco said through her teeth. "We will have to address them in ninety minutes. Now is really not the time to be asking me personal questions."

"But these are important things! If you won't tell us anything, how do we know we can trust you?"

"Oh, do me a fucking favour," Lyco spat, her head snapping up at him. "Has the last month just erased itself from your memory?" The venom in her tone made Raskin and Sid veer away from her on their stools. Lyco looked at them for a moment, then exhaled heavily. She leant towards them and lowered her voice. "Look. I'll tell you everything you want to know. But only after we've figured this shit out tonight. Okay?"

Raskin glanced at Sid, and they nodded in unison. "So… all that's important right now is that this 'Shadow' might come after us, because he knows you," Raskin said. "And what we do about that."

"Correct," Lyco said. She seemed to have recovered her poise. "The threat is two-fold. Firstly—and really, we should have planned for this already—there's what to do if he sends a task force to investigate this area. I don't know if any Fight Den rumours have escaped these walls already, but we wouldn't know if they had."

"Um, hold on," Sid put in. "I thought we'd already done all the safety stuff around that. With the loud music playing upstairs to make it look like people are in, locking the doors…"

"We've done the bare minimum," Lyco said bluntly. "What happened if, tonight, while we're all in the basement, the police picked up evidence leading to this building and they broke down the doors to enter? Every single pokémon in the basement, including us, would be fucked. There'd be no way out."

"But the police wouldn't do that—" Sid began.

"With Shadow leading them, they could do anything."

"Okay, so that's one problem," Raskin said. Lyco's words sent shivers through his bones, but he hoped that if they kept talking, it would put him more at ease. "What do you propose we do about it?"

"I think…" Lyco looked to the ceiling, then buried her head in her arms for the second time of the night. "We obviously need some sort of emergency exit."

"An alarm system, too," Raskin said. "There's no use having an exit if the police all arrive before we can use it."

"But we need to make sure there is an exit before thinking about that," Sid said.

"Right," Raskin said. He saw Steela in the corner of his vision. The raboot held a glass in her paw mid-polish, and was regarding the three of them, hunched as they were in a corner of the room, with an uneasy look.

"Steela, could you help us with something?" Raskin said, beckoning her. Steela paused, put down the glass carefully and walked over.

"In your basement," Raskin said. "Is there any way out other than up the stairs?"

Steela hesitated, then shook her head. "Not that I know of. Why?"

The three partners exchanged looks.

"Just wondering," Sid said innocently. "Thinking about more things we could do with the room."

Steela nodded slowly. "Well, I can't help you on that one."

They waited until Steela had moved back to the bar, busy cleaning something again, before continuing.

"Well, now what?" Raskin said. "We can't plan anything without an escape route."

"Steela might be lying?" Sid said hopefully. "She didn't answer straight away…"

Raskin frowned, unconvinced. Then, an idea hit him. "Lyco!" he said. "You're a rock-type. You could check out the basement walls."

Lyco gazed dimly at him. "What good would that do?"

"Well, there's supposed to be loads of underground tunnels in the Harmony District—what if the basement was close enough that we'd be able to burrow into one? You'd be able to tell if there were any inconsistencies in the stone, wouldn't you? With a room that big, we must be close to something."

For a long moment, Lyco's gaze remained vacantly distant. Then, as if the words had only just filtered through to her, she straightened up and nodded. "It's worth a try," she said quietly. "Come on, then. No use wasting time."

Raskin couldn't remember a more nervous wait since the morning of his exam results.

Lyco's method was simple. She pressed her paws and head to the basement wall, starting with the back wall by the stairs, then sidestepped along it very slowly, feeling every crevice in the stone.

"If there is any inconsistency, I should be able to find it," she had said. "I'll just have to be thorough. These walls are thick."

Thorough she most certainly was. Unfortunately, it meant that Raskin and Sid could do nothing but ruffle their fur impatiently while they watched the lycanroc search.

"Found anything?" Sid said hopefully after a while. Lyco had still only covered a fraction of the room.

"I'll tell you if I do," she growled. Then she paused. "What time is it?"

Raskin glanced at the watch on his foreleg and swore. It was almost eight o'clock already.

"People are going to start arriving any minute," he said. "Maybe we should pick this up tomorrow?"

"No!" Lyco hissed. "This is too important to put off."

Raskin looked bemusedly at her. Had Lyco gone mad? "Then… what are we supposed to do?" he said. "What do you want us to do?"

"Just… keep people upstairs for now. I'll finish as fast as I can."

"Should we tell them what's going on?"

"Absolutely not! Just… I don't know, just bullshit something!"

Raskin huffed. At least he had Sid with him. If Sid told people to stay upstairs, they would.

The first thing he saw upon clearing the steep staircase to the pub was Steela's stern face in front of them.

"What is going on with you three?" she demanded. "First you talk all secretively in a corner, and now you leave me alone upstairs when it's almost eight? You guys are in charge of this, remember!"

Raskin breathed deeply. Now was really not the time for Steela to wade into things. "It's all good now," he said. "Sorry to worry you."

"Lyco's still down there," Steela pointed out.

"She's just sorting a few things for tonight," Raskin said, hoping their continued vagueness would stop Steela from pressing.

The raboot frowned, and opened her mouth to respond—but as she did, the front doors swung open. A group of six pokémon walked in, Luis among them. He raised a hand to Raskin in greeting.

Steela scowled at Raskin before turning and strolling back to the bar. Nothing could override her bar duty. "Evening folks!" she said to the arrivals, any animosity completely discarded. "Can I get you any drinks to start the night?"

Raskin tried at first to keep casual conversation with arriving pokémon, while steering them away from talk of heading downstairs. Sid was much better at this however, so he decided to leave the quilava to it and stand by the front door instead, making sure to check everyone who arrived.

Fortunately, no one seemed keen to head downstairs while the bar was still filling up. But despite Raskin's continual glances at his watch, time kept moving, and it soon reached half-past eight, 30 minutes until Fight Den was supposed to begin.

"Oh—you can't go down just yet," Sid said, hurrying over to a litten and glameow who were about to set paw on the stairs. "Lyco's busy setting things up. She doesn't want to be disturbed."

The litten frowned. Sid recognised them as friends of Luis, and he hoped the mutual connection would keep the 'mon from getting uncivil. "What's there to set up?" the litten asked. "We've never been asked to wait before."

"All very secret, I'm afraid," Sid said, giving them a reassuring grin. "But you won't be kept in suspense for much longer!"

The two quadrupeds glanced at each other, then trudged back into the bar. Sid sighed, wiping his brow. Danger averted.

When he looked around the room though, the tightness in his chest returned. The floor was becoming dangerously crowded already. Plenty of 'mon would usually be downstairs by now.

C'mon Lyco, Sid thought. Either find something or don't; we can't just keep everyone here!

Even worse, he saw the litten muttering to other pokémon on the floor, nods and looks coming in Sid's direction. That pair weren't the first pokémon Sid had pushed away already—news was probably spreading all around the room now. Why couldn't they just be patient? He was as desperate to start fighting as anyone, but—

A paw tapped on his shoulder from behind, making him jump. Lyco narrowed her eyes at him.

"I think I've found something," she said. "Where the fuck's Raskin?"

"At the door," Sid said.

Lyco opened her mouth to protest, then stopped. "And we can't just leave that unmanned," she muttered. "Okay, hold on."

She stepped into the main room, cupped her paws to her mouth and roared, "OI!"

Even through the booming music from the radio, she immediately had every pokémon's attention.

"Sid and I will be going downstairs," she said. "No one is permitted to follow until we say so. Raskin!" The nickit's eyes shot open at her glare. "Keep an eye on things." Then she gave Sid a nudge. "Come on."

Sid gave Raskin the most sympathetic look he could before disappearing. How was Rasky supposed to stay at the door, while keeping a packed room of impatient 'mon under control? Sid just hoped that they respected Lyco enough not to question the bizarre order.

Then, he suddenly realised—Lyco said she had found something!

"What did you find?" he asked.

"I don't know yet, so don't get too excited," the lycanroc grunted. "There's a piece of the wall that feels much shallower than the rest. I think something's behind it."

"What—we'll need to knock it down?"

Lyco gave him a withering look. "Did you expect a secret rock, that we push into a magic mechanism to move one of the walls aside?"

Sid folded his arms sullenly. That was exactly what he had hoped for, but he wouldn't give Lyco the satisfaction of knowing.

Lyco took them to the very end of the room, just behind one of the crates. She placed her paws down a few times before stopping in one spot, a couple of feet from the ground. "It's here."

Sid nodded, uncertain. He couldn't see anything amiss. "What's the best way to break into it?"

Lyco answered a moment later, taking a few steps back before suddenly hurling herself at the wall. Sid gave an involuntary yelp—not least because the wall remained as solid as it looked, and Lyco's effort was only met with a dull thud. She collapsed to the floor with a groan.

"I thought that would've done it," she said, shaking her head. "Right, your turn."

"What?!"

"Oh, come on Sid," Lyco said, rolling her eyes. "I've been watching you fight. You love throwing yourself at things."

"I haven't battled a wall-type before," Sid retorted. Still, he knew it would be selfish not to follow Lyco's lead. He moved to where Lyco had stood, and she helpfully pointed out the strip of wall he should aim for. He took a breath, imagining that he could already see the hidden treasures that lay behind the flimsy wall. Then, he lunged towards it.

The wall moved.

He didn't push through it—the wall still stopped him in his tracks, with all the brutal density of a, well, wall—but something had weakened. He stood up and immediately winced. Mew did his shoulder ache! He might have to go easy on fighting later.

His feeling was correct. A couple of tiny holes in the wall had appeared, and around them there was a shallow indent. He glanced at Lyco excitedly.

"Good job," she said, genuinely for once. "Now, I should be able to finish this…"

She walked up to the stone, held her arms in front of her and closed her eyes, shoulders swaying slightly. Then, she lunged forwards with a sudden yell. Rather than her body being stopped by the stone like before—like it should have been—the stone moved with her like a wave.

Rocks tumbled with a deafening crash. Sid couldn't get a glance at what lay behind the mess before a mountain of grey smoke consumed them. He broke into a fit of coughs, glancing helplessly at Lyco. She just stood in front of the smoke, breathing heavily but apparently fine.

The clouds finally cleared. Where the piece of wall had once been was now a circular hole, big enough for a pokémon but little more than that. It stretched only a short distance before opening out into a… much bigger room, it seemed. He couldn't tell from where they stood.

Sid gazed through the hole, scarcely able to believe his eyes. "What is this?" he said. "Some kind of underground base…? Lyco—"

He turned to her again, but Lyco was looking behind them. Only then did Sid hear the pounding of pawsteps, 'mon practically falling over each other down the basement steps. And at the very front of the frenzy, her eyes blazing with fury, was Steela.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" she screamed at them. "When did I give you permission to tear down my building?!"

Sid shivered. He had never seen Steela so much as raise her voice in anger. This was bad.

"Why didn't we just tell her what was going on?" he muttered to Lyco.

"Everything makes sense in hindsight," Lyco snapped. But she seemed as lost for ideas as he did as Steela advanced on them.

"Steela, wait! We have some… important news that we need to tell everyone!"

Raskin's voice. It came from the other end of the room, and sure enough there was the nickit at the bottom of the stairs, his face flustered. Sid imagined the flood of pokémon that must have run past him down the stairs as they heard the wall collapse. Sorry, Rasky…

Raskin hurried through the crowd towards Sid and Lyco. "Fight Den may be in more danger than before," he continued, turning to face the group. "We need to tighten up our security and plans for if anything goes wrong. One part of that is finding an emergency exit from this room. And so, this…" He trailed off, looking at the hole in the wall with bemusement. He glanced at Sid and Lyco. "Uh, what is this?"

"We were just about to find out," Lyco said. She glanced at Steela. "Do you know anything about this passage?"

Steela seemed frozen in time. "What… do you mean, Fight Den is in danger?" she said. "Are you saying that we're in danger, too?"

Lyco scoffed. "We've always been in danger."

"But we might be in more than we initially prepared for," Raskin finished.

Steela nodded slowly. Then she snarled. "Of course I don't know about this hole," she said. "My family have owned this pub for generations, and no one's ever mentioned it."

Sid looked between Lyco, Raskin and Steela's confused, anguished expressions. Mew, he hated situations like this. He was never any good with subtle words of wisdom. If only there was a way out of it…

He glanced behind them at the passage, and his eyes lit up.

"Say," he said, giving Lyco a nudge. "Might be worth checking what's inside this thing. Whether it'll be any use to us after all."

"Good idea," Lyco said with barely a second's hesitation.

Sid didn't need to think twice. He got onto all-fours and began crawling through the hole—it wasn't quite tall enough for him to stand up.

"Be careful, Sid," he heard Raskin call after him.

"Oh, I will," Sid said coolly. "I—"

The tunnel suddenly ended, which is what he had expected, seeing it ahead of him. What he hadn't expected was for the floor to end too.

He let out a startled yelp, which was cut short the moment he hit the ground again. It was wet, covering most of his legs. And… thick.

He heard a flurry of limbs from above, then Raskin's head peered over the side of what must have been the tunnel he had fallen down. The room was almost pitch-black—Sid could only tell who it was from the nickit's distinctive silhouette. Once Raskin saw that Sid had only fallen a couple of metres, he visibly relaxed. "Why didn't you look where you were going, you stupid slowpoke?" he said.

Sid smiled, but it disappeared the moment he moved to stand up. The muddy water practically stuck to him. Confused, he gave it a sniff.

Never had Sid ever wanted to undo a sensation so badly.

"Oh my god," he said, reflexively spitting and sputtering like he'd just inhaled something poisonous. Oh god, the smell. His muzzle had never encountered something of this potency before. He could feel his eyes watering.

"Sid? What happened?" Raskin said. Then he heard a gagging sound—the poor nickit must have sniffed it too.

So much for this being some secret, underground hideout, Sid thought, stumbling his way to a wall to lean against. We only dug into a stupid sewer.

He looked up at the tunnel above him, well over twice his height. I ain't getting back up there, either.

"Can you see anything ahead of you, Sid?" Raskin called overhead. "Any lights, perhaps?

Sid squinted, turning in all directions. Yes, there was something bright back the way he'd come, next to a wall underneath the tunnel. It wasn't a long walk away, but the darkness and strong desire not to slip into the goop that covered his feet was enough for him to take it very slow. If only he had an easier way to see...

Eventually though, he could peer up at the fragmented light of a streetlamp. He never thought he would find the sight of one so welcoming.

"Looks like a manhole," he reported, once he'd made his way back to where he'd fallen.

He heard Raskin let out a sigh of relief, then Lyco's head appeared in the tunnel. "Right, Sid. I suggest you climb up out of there, figure out where you are, then run home and have a long shower. Forget about us for now."

Sid grinned, safe in the knowledge that Lyco couldn't see him. He had gotten out of the negotiating stuff, even if it wasn't quite the route he had envisioned.

It quickly became clear to Raskin that Fight Den would not be happening today.

The mess that Sid had created wasn't all his fault, but his antics in the sewer held everyone up for a good half hour. It might have been entertaining for the quilava, but no one on Raskin's side of the room other than the nickit could even see him.

When a few pokémon started trudging towards the basement stairs, Lyco stopped them in their tracks. "We have the future of Fight Den to discuss, and no one is going anywhere until we figure it out," she said sternly. "Unless, of course, you don't give a shit about future Fight Dens."

Then there was Steela. In all the time Raskin and Lyco spent faffing around with Sid, she had just stood behind them, stewing silently. When at last Sid looked to be on his way, and Raskin and Lyco turned back to the raboot, ready to resume their discussion, she wasted no time.

"I don't see why I should ever let you in here again," she said. "First, you tell me we're all in danger of getting busted—"

"That's not what we said," Lyco interjected.

"Then you break down a piece of my wall—"

"Why do you care so much about that? We've put this basement to more use than you ever would have."

"Then why do you pay me for it?"

"Good question. You should be paying us, the amount of trade we've given your struggling—"

"GUYS!" Raskin cried, darting between the two sides, standing on two legs so he could actually be between them. "No more petty arguing! Steela," he turned to the fuming raboot, "we're… sorry for doing this to your wall. We should have been clearer about everything. It won't happen again."

Of course it won't happen again, idiot, he cursed. Steela sniffed, seemingly unconvinced, but at least she didn't shout at him.

"This basement is, for the time being, still the best location we have for Fight Den," Raskin went on. "We would really like to continue using it. Is there anything we can do that would make you change your mind about that?"

Steela scowled. "Convince me that you know how to keep us safe," she said, then she wrinkled her nose. "And Mew, get that bloody hole boarded up. It'll stink out the whole building if it's left like this."

Raskin nodded. That seemed conceivable enough. "Is it alright if we can discuss those things before coming back to you?"

"Do whatever you want with your…" Steela gestured vaguely for the right word. "…society here. I'll be upstairs. I've got cleaning to do."

She turned on her heel and stomped away. The gathered pokémon gave her a very wide berth to the basement stairs.

The door slammed shut, and a moment later, the sound of the blaring radio upstairs dimmed significantly. Raskin didn't have it in him to protest to Steela about why the radio was on in the first place. Neither did Lyco, apparently.

He found himself facing fifty-odd sets of eyes, showing emotions from amusement, boredom, anxiety, to even hostility. All were clearly waiting for him and Lyco to do something.

Instinctively, Raskin moved towards the crates by the wall beside them. It would feel a lot better if half the room wasn't looking down at him. Lyco followed his lead and sat on the crate next to the one he stood on.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting here," he found himself saying. "I know this isn't how you wanted tonight to play out."

"You got that right," a raticate from near the front of the room heckled. "Are we gonna fight now, or what?"

"No," Lyco said strongly. Her voice seemed just about calm again. "You heard what Steela said. Things will have to change here if we are to stay. Whatever changes those are, you will need to know about them, and we may well need people's help to work them out."

"Uh, if I may." A timburr raised his arm. Raskin frowned; he recognised the 'mon from somewhere. "Is it essential that we stay here, rather than move somewhere else?"

Raskin's eyes lit up. Moving? That could solve numerous problems. But quickly, the rational side of him raised concerns.

"It's hard to say," he said. "We got very lucky with this location. The basement is ideal for doing things in secret, and there's much more space here than in most houses. Plus, it looks like we have an escape route, too."

"Not enough space, though!" Aeris said, stepping forwards. "Like I told you, this place is already getting overrun with people during fighting hours."

"And a sewer isn't the kind of escape route I want to be part of," a minccino added, whose fur was practically sparkling.

Yeah, no shit, Raskin thought. "Well, do you guys know of anywhere better?" he asked. Aeris scowled, but did not answer. Raskin looked to the whole room. "In fact, does anyone know of a location that can offer more than this?"

A low murmuring broke out in the room. Raskin glanced at Lyco as if to ask, Was that the right idea? She nodded in what he guessed was approval. Hopefully.

The room slowly quietened again. No one seemed brave enough to step forward. Raskin sighed. The timburr's solution had seemed too good to be true.

He examined the timburr again. Then it came to him.

"Wait!" he exclaimed. "Timburr. Are you a builder?"

The timburr gave him a guarded look. "What makes you say that?"

He wasn't very good at hiding the truth. Raskin had to hide a smile of relief. "I thought I'd seen you somewhere recently, that's all."

It was half-true—Raskin had certainly seen a timburr working recently, but had no idea if it was the same one. The truth was, he seldom saw timburr in any other profession.

The timburr shifted his feet. "Yes, I am."

A machop to the timburr's side gave the 'mon a nudge. Raskin definitely recognised him. "We've been working on some apartments just over the road from here, but it's all finished now. Is there something you need us for?"

Raskin's eyes lit up. This was perfect. "Well, if you two are builders, maybe you could build us a new location?"

The timburr raised an eyebrow. "That'll set you back quite a bit of money. And we'll need a place to build it, of course."

"We can afford it," Raskin said at once. Or we'll pay it back eventually. "And I'm sure we'll be able to find somewhere, right?" He glanced at Lyco hopefully.

"I think so," she said.

"Then… yeah, I don't see why not," the timburr said. "We're pretty flexible. Just tell us what you want and we'll see to it that it's made. As long as I can be assured that we'll be safe."

"Of course, of course," Raskin said. His mind was buzzing with excitement. Building a new Fight Den had never occurred to him before, but now it seemed like such an obvious solution to all their worries. A purpose-built location could have everything that everyone wanted: more space, more exits, greater protection from police. Plus, moving locations would throw any investigative trails right off.

"How long does a building project take you?" Lyco asked, taking Raskin out of his joyful daydreams.

"Depends, obviously," the timburr said. "But at least a few weeks, depending on what you're asking for."

Ah. Leave it to Lyco to ask the practical questions.

Raskin turned to her, speaking quietly so they wouldn't be overheard. "A few weeks isn't terrible. We could always postpone Fight Den until a new place is finished."

"No!" Lyco hissed. Raskin almost recoiled at the venom in her whisper. "We can't postpone."

"Why not? We've saved up a good amount of money."

"Leave things a few weeks and half these pokémon will have forgotten we were ever here. We're still growing. That could all be lost if we suddenly stop now."

"But—"

"Also, what do you think I punched a hole in this wall for? Decoration? We need to make things work here, for as long as we have it."

Raskin sighed. He knew she had a point, even if she made it a bit extreme. They had a good flow of business right now. And he didn't fancy living off whatever meagre savings they'd have left from all this.

"What do you suggest, then?" he asked.

"We can still get this new building in motion. But while that's happening, we stay here and make the best Fight Den we can.

Raskin nodded. That seemed like the best solution to him too. The only asterisk was working out how to make the best Fight Den.

If the volume of murmuring was anything to go by, the crowd in front of him were getting annoyed by his and Lyco's whispers. Raskin turned back to them, eager to keep the 'mon onside. They wouldn't be so impatient if Sid was here, he thought with a sigh.

"Aeris has said that she feels Fight Dens are getting too crowded. Do others agree with that?"

Immediately the room broke into uproar. Oh, crap, bad question, Raskin thought. He put two digits of a paw in his mouth and whistled—finally, he could put that useless skill to work. The room quickly quietened.

"Raise a limb if you think it is not too crowded."

One or two arms raised uncertainly.

"Raise a limb if you think it is."

Nearly the whole room raised their arms. Raskin gulped. Everyone aside from Aeris must have been too nice to complain to them.

"Also," a voice called out, "having fewer numbers in here will make it easier for us to hide from police, won't it?"

That was a good point. Maybe just as important as keeping these fighters happy. Raskin chewed his mouth and turned to Lyco. "Surely reducing capacity is the opposite of achieving growth."

"No shit, detective pikachu," Lyco said. "Still, it's much better than nothing. But we'd probably have to start a waiting list for people to sign up to, or some other kind of administration. Mew knows how that could be organised efficiently, especially in secret."

Raskin nodded, frowning. They needed to cut down capacity, but they also didn't want to restrict interest in Fight Den. The two were impossible to marry, weren't they?

"What if we… just opened Fight Den for longer?" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could think.

Lyco entertained it for a moment, but then shook her head. "We already have Steela at her limit. She'd never allow it."

"And…" Raskin sighed. "We'd need to pay her more for the time, and coupled with the reduced money we'd make from lower attendances…"

He rubbed his paws into his face. Operating in the basement of a pub was both a blessing and a curse. If only there was a way to run Fight Den while keeping the pub's upstairs open for Steela's regular business. If the bangs and crashes could be kept quiet, somehow…

"Are you two just going to gossip in private all evening?"

Raskin's head shot up at the indignant tone. He and Lyco were losing this crowd more with every minute that passed.

The voice was Aeris's. Raskin looked into the espurr's piercing eyes, trying frantically to come up with an adequate response. "I think… that… we…"

Wait. Aeris!

He broke off. "Aeris," he said. "The protection barrier you can create. Does it block out sound around it?"

Aeris looked at him, bewildered, but then nodded. "I think so."

"And, how big can you make this barrier? Would it be able to fit around, say, the basement door?"

Aeris's eyes widened, seemingly realising his intention. "Possibly. As long as it's not disturbed, I can keep up a barrier for ages."

"Right. Then we might have a solution. Aeris, if you make a barrier around the door frame, covering as much as possible, I'll stand in the bar upstairs and see how much noise comes through. Everyone else…" He turned to the suddenly rapt crowd. "Make as much noise as possible. Like you're watching the best fight you've seen in your lives."

As Raskin was about to move, he caught Lyco's gaze in the corner of his eye. She was smiling—not only that, but there was a hint of glee in it.

"What now?" he asked.

"Nothing." She shook her head, as if in disbelief. "Just, finally, a good idea."