Shane observed as coordinated groups of villagers warded off the last of the bandits in the area. Shane felt proud of what he and Valerie had achieved, victory over the bandits despite being outnumbered. It was a rough affair for both of them, but they'd done it.
He brought his gaze back to his beloved partner, who was resting at his side with her eyes closed and a gentle smile on her muzzle. "Hey… it's not time to go to sleep yet," he teased, nudging her. "As much as I'd like to, I'm also too tired to carry you back!"
"Don't worry, the ground here is way too hard to doze off on," she said, meeting his affectionate gaze with her own.
"Yeah, but you have me to lean on, don't you?" Shane pointed out with a playful grin.
"Well…" Valerie said with a blush but an even bigger smile.
"Come on. You were totally going to say it!" Shane laughed.
Valerie giggled and nuzzled his cheek. "You know me so well," she said happily.
Shane held her paw in his while she rested against him. He watched as some villagers secured the three stolen food shipments, celebrating and chatting merrily amongst themselves. Others were less visibly active, being exhausted or injured, but they were cheerful nonetheless. Eventually, Shane spotted Granger approaching him with Garrett trailing behind.
"Well, I'll be darned. Sorry I didn't believe you earlier, kid. Your friend is as real as can be. Thank you for all your help in defeating those bandits, both of you. We couldn't have done it without you two."
Shane smiled widely. "My pleasure. I am glad to see the bandits defeated, and the food shipments returned to their rightful owners," he said rather grandly.
"What can I do for you in return?" Granger asked.
"Perhaps some food and a place to stay for the night? I think I've had enough excitement for today. We'll continue our journey tomorrow. What do you think, Valerie?"
"That sounds good," Valerie agreed.
"I'm sure you two are exhausted after the fights that you put up. It was incredible, honestly," said Granger.
"Heh, well, as I said before, we've done a lot of training together. I'm happy to put it all to good use," Shane said.
"I'll make sure you get food and a place to stay. If you want anything else, just ask. You deserve it!" Granger said.
"Are you sure that's all you want?" Garrett quietly asked. Shane and Valerie turned towards the Gogoat, almost forgetting that he was there. He looked completely baffled.
"I can't really think of anything else we need," Valerie said.
"I… I don't understand," Garrett muttered.
"Do you still think I'm a bandit in disguise? I promise you, I'm not!" Shane insisted with a good-natured smile. Garrett still looked conflicted, but at least Granger chuckled.
"Why would you two risk your lives… for us? For total strangers?" Garrett wondered.
"We were walking through your village, heard how the bandits took your food shipment, and Shane wanted to help. It's not that complicated," Valerie said blandly.
"But why? There has to be some reason you did all of this for us…"
"I wanted to help you folks out!" Shane said cheerily. "We ran into bandits on our way up the mountain, and they tried to rob us. We were able to scare them off, but it left me thinking about what kind of terror they gave to other travelers. When I heard you guys going on a mission to fight back, I just had to join!"
Garrett still looked dumbfounded. Granger spoke up, saying, "The thing is, we've never met such a helpful pokemon like you before. It doesn't happen, well, ever. That's why Garrett's having a hard time trusting you, right bud?"
"Yeah," Garrett nodded slowly. His expression took a sad turn. "Some days, I feel like no one from outside our village cares about us villagers. The bandits steal from us. The nobles who buy our ores don't care to protect us. I guess… I guess it's hard to trust outside pokemon these days..."
"I see. I'm sorry to hear that that is how it's like here," Shane said solemnly. "I'm not sure what else I can give you besides my word, so I hope you can trust me when I say that I just want to help out when I can."
"I trust you, kid," Granger said confidently.
Garrett slowly nodded. "Thank you," he said quietly. "Thank you for giving us the help we needed. I'm sorry I put you two through all of this. You risked your lives for us."
"Well… I don't think I was in that much danger… I can always count on Valerie to rescue me!" Shane mused, causing Valerie to blush. "I understand why you were so skeptical now. No hard feelings. I hope things improve around here now that the bandits are defeated!"
"Oh yeah, what are we going to do with all these bandits lying around?" Granger wondered. Looking around the battlefield, they could see at least a dozen unconscious bandits.
"We definitely can't carry them all back to the village and imprison them all," Garrett said. "As much as I'd like to."
Shane scanned the battlefield as well, landing his focus on the defeated Seismitoad. "If there's one bandit you'd want to imprison, it's their leader, the Seismitoad," he suggested. "He is the only thing holding the whole gang together. They will fall apart without his strong leadership. I think his absence will reduce the bandit threat significantly."
"Sounds good to me," said Granger. "Garrett, let's throw him in Guildmaster Grimwald's jail."
"Thank you again, you two," Garrett said sincerely. "I won't forget your help." A small smile graced the grizzled Gogoat's features.
"You two take it easy, now," Granger insisted. "I'll get the Ponyta to give you a ride back to the village." And with that, the two villagers headed off to secure the Seismitoad.
Once they were left alone again, Valerie turned to Shane and gave him a sweet nuzzle. "You were absolutely right about one thing," she said. "I will always be here for you. I never want to leave your side again."
Shane happily returned the nuzzle and went back to holding her paw close to him. "Even when I want to do crazy things like backtracking to take down a huge group of bandits that we already narrowly squeezed past?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Yes, even that. At first, I was only thinking about rescuing you," Valerie started. "But looking back, it does feel pretty good putting our training to good use. I certainly don't ever want to be one Hydro Pump or Solar Beam away from death, though. You said you weren't in any real danger, but that fight with the Seismitoad was pretty dangerous! All the more reason for me to never leave your side again," she reiterated with a serious yet adoring smile.
"I think I'll enjoy that very much," Shane said affectionately, pulling her into a loving hug.
Some time later, Shane and Valerie were relaxing in the main street of Sorelin Village, watching as villagers handed out crates of food from the recovered wagons to other grateful and delighted villagers. The villagers had given them Sitrus berries that they retrieved from the shipments, which helped ease the pain from their vicious battles with the bandits. Pete had given them a ride on his back while also pulling a wagon, which was quite impressive for a single Ponyta. In front of the Shinx and Vulpix pair was the basket they had received from Matthew and Martha back in Cadowin town, containing delicious food and a blanket. Luckily for them, it was still where Valerie had left it in the street after she had gone off to help Shane. Even though they could have gotten new supplies from the villagers, the pair was glad that they did not squander the hard work and care they received from their previous hosts.
Gabriella and Mandy (who had mostly recovered) repeatedly gushed over how cute they saw Shane and Valerie as a couple. After being shooed away, the hyperactive couple started going around, telling any villagers who'd listen to them about the cute and heroic couple that was responsible for defeating the bandits. While some villagers on the grumpier side thought it was just Mandy and Gabriella being as irritating as they always were, many more villagers came to give Shane and Valerie their thanks and praises. Shane smiled brightly and kept saying it was no big deal, humbly downplaying their importance and saying he was happy to help. Valerie stayed mostly quiet, suddenly feeling a little shy from the attention. Seeing all the downtrodden villagers light up from receiving their food made Valerie happy that she played a part. At the same time, she couldn't believe how nice it felt, being appreciated for something she had done. What started as just a fierce determination to save her love turned out to be much more fulfilling. It made her joyful to see this previously forlorn village now in celebration. They had brought peace and fortune to this quaint, remote village…
"What are you all doing with my food shipments?!"
All heads turned towards the source of the booming voice. They were greeted by the sight of an outraged Garchomp, with a distraught Gogoat and Graveler trailing behind.
"Folks… you can't take food without paying…" Garrett muttered reluctantly.
"What? But Garrett, you were the one who told us to distribute the food evenly to anyone who needed it!" someone exclaimed.
Garrett flinched as his boss turned to him, a demanding look on the Garchomp's face. "Does that mean you will be paying me, Garrett?" Grimwald demanded.
"Sir, I-" he choked. "I obviously don't have the money for that," he said pathetically.
"Then I shall withhold your pay for a few weeks until it is equivalent," Grimwald stated.
"Sir, you can't expect him to pay for everything," Granger quietly spoke up.
The Garchomp turned his glare at his other manager. "Does that mean you'll be contributing as well?"
"We were the ones who defeated the bandits and got our food shipments back. We should get to choose what to do with it," Granger grumbled.
"You seem to forget that I paid for all of that food!" Grimwald said pointedly.
"Sir, perhaps you will consider paying for an escort to protect the food shipments in the future?" Garrett hesitantly asked.
"That will not be necessary anymore. We locked up the bandit leader just now, so there will not be any more threats. You said it yourself," said Grimwald. "Now, if you two are not going to pay, then you must ensure that everyone who is taking food is paying for it!" the Garchomp demanded. When Garrett and Granger did nothing, Grimwald added, "If you do not enforce the rules around here, I will hire new managers!"
"Dad! Don't make Garrett and Granger do that!" Gabriella spoke up. "They worked so hard today, and they're just trying to help! I got to see how much they did to fight the bandits!"
"You let my daughter near those bandits?!" Grimwald roared at his managers.
"No, sir, I kept her far, far away. Trust me," Granger insisted, looking very pissed now.
At this point, most of the villagers were scurrying away from the scene with their free food, not wanting to stay anywhere near their angry boss. Shane looked on in confusion and disbelief while Valerie was flaring up with anger. "What an awful, corrupt pokemon!" she seethed, though only loud enough for Shane to hear. "He has the nerve to demand payment from the guys who recovered his stuff for free? Come on. I want to teach him a lesson again!"
Shane placed a paw on her shoulder. At first, she thought it was a Helping Hand, but it was actually just a comforting paw to soothe her. "I think we would be better off if we tried talking first," Shane said firmly.
"Are you listening to him speak? He won't listen to reason," she argued.
"Yeah, but we're not dealing with bandits here. It's like he has Garrett and Granger hostage. Knocking him out isn't going to help anything," Shane explained.
"Ugh," Valerie groaned after a pause. "I guess you're right," she conceded. "Can you do the talking?"
"Of course," said Shane.
Shane and Valerie headed towards the Garchomp, but Mandy was ahead of them. "Hey boss, leave Granger alone!" the Monferno hollered at the Garchomp. "He's a nice guy who's always trying to help, even if he's a little grumpy sometimes."
"Yeah, dad!" Gabriella added.
Grimwald looked even more outraged upon spotting Mandy with Gabriella. "Boy! I told you not to come anywhere near my daughter again!" he roared. "Are you ready to lose your job?!"
Granger flinched after hearing that latest outburst. He should have been glad that the focus wasn't on him anymore, but he felt compelled to help Mandy out now. "Sir, if I may," he said, gulping, "I don't see anything wrong with Mandy hanging out with your daughter. He's… a pretty cool young man," the Graveler vouched with a sheepish smile.
"Why are you commenting on my personal matters?" Grimwald snarled. "You've certainly crossed a line today, Granger!"
Granger quickly regretted whatever he was trying to do. He glanced sideways at Garrett, who shook his head, giving his friend a look that Granger could only interpret as, "Why are you making things worse, man?"
"Hey, thanks, man! You're not so grumpy after all!" Mandy chirped, making the Graveler feel at least a little bit better.
Grimwald did know who to yell at next - his out-of-line managers, his daughter, or this crazy kid that he hated. "Excuse me," said an unfamiliar, polite voice, catching the Garchomp's attention.
"Hi, I was one of the pokémon who helped Garrett and Granger recover the food shipments and defeat the bandits, Shane said. "I do not think it is fair to charge them for giving out the food. I understand that you paid for the food in the first place, but since they were the ones who recovered the food, they should get to decide what to do with it. Without them, you would not have any food at all."
Valerie noticed the Garchomp glaring daggers at her, not paying attention to Shane at all. She glared back defiantly, refusing to be intimidated by the large dragon.
"Please let the villagers have their food for free since that is what Garrett and Granger want," Shane continued earnestly. "As for future shipments that you pay for, ideally, the bandits won't be able to sustain themselves without their leader, but you are aware of the bandit problem, so you should be responsible for protecting your shipments to avoid-"
"You! Little Vulpix! You are going to jail for assaulting me!"
"Did you hear a thing that my partner said? Listen up!" Valerie shot back, her fur bristling. Shane placed his forepaw calmly on hers to calm her down, trying to maintain his optimism.
"How dare you talk to me like that? Garrett! Granger! Arrest her and throw her in jail!" he demanded, facing his managers.
"What? Sir, don't you think that's a little extreme?" Garrett immediately objected.
"But sir, she helped us defeat the bandits!" Granger exclaimed.
"I don't care. She assaulted me!" the Garchomp roared. "I am ordering you two to lock her up! Do I need to remind you who your superior is?"
The two managers stood still, looking very uncomfortable.
"You two have been way out of line today! One more wrong move, and I'll fire you! Take her down now!" the Garchomp demanded.
Valerie felt the power of Shane's Helping Hand flow into her coming from Shane's comforting paw. However, after seeing the conflicted looks on the Gogoat's and Graveler's faces, she couldn't bring herself to release the flames. She looked down at their paws solemnly, shaking her head slightly, her ears lowered.
Concerned, Shane crouched down slightly and met Valerie's eyes with his. "What's the matter?" he whispered.
Meeting his gaze, Valerie quickly connected their minds using Extrasensory. I don't want to hurt Garrett or Granger, Valerie thought to him.
Just knock out that Garchomp, and we can get out of here. You were right about him being unreasonable, Shane admitted.
We can't start a fight… those two will lose their jobs if they don't bring me in, Valerie sadly pointed out.
So what are we going to do? Shane asked. Let them take you to jail?
That's the only way I can think of to keep them out of trouble… Do you think you can find a way to get me out of jail?
Well, I guess… but do we have to do this? Shane asked, clearly feeling distraught at the idea.
Valerie sighed heavily. I feel... awful. If I hadn't attacked that Garchomp earlier, their jobs wouldn't be in jeopardy. She paused for a moment after realizing something else. Oh, but if I hadn't attacked him, then he would've put the Ponyta in jail. Ugh, why is it so hard to be the hero? she mentally groaned.
It's alright… I understand, thought Shane. Go ahead. I'll find a way to get you out, and we can leave this village. Promise.
Thanks… I'm sorry I'm making you do this, Valerie thought forlornly.
I want to help them out too. I have your back, Shane thought reassuringly, although he still felt quite uncomfortable with the idea.
With that, Valerie withdrew her paw away from Shane's and stepped forward. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I'll go with you to jail."
"W-what?" Garrett stammered.
"Looks like I've caused a lot of trouble. Don't want to cause anymore," Valerie muttered, purposefully sounding unconfident. "Take me in… I insist."
"Good," Grimwald said. "I see you understand your place. Garrett, Granger, you two will escort this girl to my jail with me, and you will subdue her if she tries anything suspicious," he commanded. "Is that clear?"
"...Yes, sir…" said the two villagers. They sluggishly walked over with one on each of Valerie's sides. All of them started heading away from the scene.
"Wait, Dad, you can't do this! You're awful!" Gabriella suddenly squealed. "You can't break up the cutest couple I've ever met!"
"Quiet, Gabriella," Grimwald snapped. "When we get home, I am going to have to give you another lecture about talking with strangers. This Vulpix could have killed you!" he roared.
This guy is even more deluded than I thought, Valerie thought to Shane, a small smirk forming on her muzzle.
Should make it easier to get you out, then, Shane thought back optimistically.
Thank you again for agreeing to this, Shane. For them, and… for me.
Right, of course… I'm here to do what's right, he thought.
They were getting far away now, which meant Valerie couldn't maintain their telepathic connection without extreme focus, something that wasn't possible while walking. She felt terrible that Shane's last thought seemed like it was dripping in reluctance. The lack of his physical presence, and now the lack of his mental presence, too, made Valerie feel even worse. She was the one who said she'd never leave his side again, and here she was, just hours later, doing it again. It was all her fault, like always. Well, deep down, she knew Grimwald was the problem, but she still couldn't stave off the nagging feeling that she was always making things hard for Shane. For once, she was doing everything she could to help out these two unfortunate villagers, which Valerie was sure was what Shane would have wanted, and somehow she still ended up giving him more trouble. And yet, he'd forgive her every time. She was hit with an empty feeling in her chest, all six of her tails slackening from her dispirited state. She really needed to make it up to him after they got the heck out of this village...
Knowing that Grimwald had a strict eye on her, Valerie kept her head down so that her expression was unreadable. She noticed that Granger was trying to get her attention. She wished she could use Extrasensory to explain what she was thinking without the Garchomp hearing, but it was hard to connect with strangers because the mental connection took some getting used to. That was one of the downsides of being stuck with just Extrasensory instead of the full-on Psychic move. Her Extrasensory-telepathy only worked with Shane so well because he was familiar with the feeling since they practiced all the time.
They arrived at a tiny building. It was so small that Valerie thought it was a single bathroom. Grimwald took out a set of keys from one of his scales and unlocked the wooden door. When they entered, the only thing Valerie saw was a set of stairs going underground. After going down the stairs, it got quite dark; the only light came from a small window in the ceiling of the underground jail. There were only two cells, one on the left and one on the right. Since the jail was underground, three of the sides of the cells were simply the surrounding stone. The fourth side was made of vertical metal bars that appeared to be drilled into the stone floor and ceiling. Only a few bars were not drilled in, and some complex locking mechanism secured those.
Grimwald used a key to unlock those bars, and Valerie entered the cell without any commotion. She curled up on the stone floor, ignoring everything. She didn't want to look at Garrett or Granger. The Garchomp locked up the metal bars once more, then left without a word with his managers. Valerie didn't bother to try and see what kind of sick or triumphant expression he wore.
Once they were gone, she got up and started exhaling hot and concentrated flames at one of the metal bars in front of her, lighting up the underground jail significantly.
"Well, well, well, look who's here to accompany me!"
Valerie snapped her head up and looked between the bars at the jail cell across from her. She was greeted by a Seismitoad with his arms crossed and a smug look on his face. "Oh… it's you," she said dismissively.
"That's not going to work," the Seismitoad said, much to Valerie's annoyance. Valerie ignored his remark and continued her attack.
"These bars are made of metal from a Steelix's body. There's no way you'll be able to bend them. I've tried everything already," said the Seismitoad. "Trust me; I used to be in the army."
Valerie scrunched her eyes, trying not to react to him. However, after a minute or two, it was obvious that he was right; the bars were not going to bend to her fire.
"So what brought you here?" the Seismitoad asked. After Valerie was silent, he pointedly added, "I thought you're supposed to be the hero."
"None of your business," Valerie muttered.
"Well, let me guess. Somehow, you angered the Garchomp, and he decided to lock you up just because he wanted to?"
"...Pretty much."
"So why didn't you just refuse and beat the crap out of that buffoon? You know, I feel kind of insulted! You beat the snot out of me, but you can't do the same to him?"
"Oh, you bet I can destroy him," Valerie asserted. "In fact, the reason he put me here in the first place is that I beat him up earlier today."
"Oh, really? Then how did you let yourself end up here?"
"You wouldn't understand," Valerie said.
"Then enlighten me," said the Seismitoad.
Valerie glared at the bandit, not knowing whether he was trying to mock her or if he was genuinely curious. Why am I even having a conversation with him, anyway? she thought. Then she shrugged, figuring there was nothing better to do while she waited for Shane. "The Garchomp ordered his managers to bring me in; otherwise, he'd fire them. I didn't want to cost them their jobs."
"Pfft! Haha, that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard! And to think I was outsmarted by you? I am so insulted!"
"That's what I expected you to say since you're a bandit with no morals who only cares about himself," Valerie shot back haughtily.
"Hey, you're saying I have no morals? You blatantly deceived and manipulated my men, you slandered me with outrageous words, yet you say I have no morals?"
Valerie rolled her eyes. "You're a bandit who takes prisoners and steals from travelers. I can say whatever I want to a menace like you."
"You fail to see who the real menace is on this mountain," he said, crossing his arms with a serious look. "It's the Garchomp. He doesn't care about his villagers, only his profits. You can tell by how he heavily guards his ore shipments that leave the village for his profit but doesn't do squat to protect the food shipments for his villagers."
"That wouldn't be a problem if you didn't steal them," Valerie interjected.
The Seismitoad shrugged. "If it weren't me, it'd be someone else. But think about it, I'm actually helping out around here. If the villagers start getting hungry, then maybe they'll rise up against their corrupt master!"
"Ha! Now that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Valerie remarked mockingly. "You're trying to justify your crimes with a ridiculous claim like that? You're a bandit who steals from other pokemon, plain and simple. You belong in jail."
"Everything was working out fine until you and your Shinx buddy came along and ruined it all! What are you two doing around here, anyway? I can tell you're not from around here."
"None of your business," Valerie said icily.
"I'm guessing you're connected to the army somehow. I haven't seen real strength and tactics for a long time. But the Nydyhanian nobles don't care about bandits, so I doubt they sent you."
"We were just passing by," Valerie said. Wanting to change the subject, she went on the attack, smugly asking, "Are you sad that your gang of bandits is going to fall apart without you?"
"No, I couldn't care less about those idiots," the Sesimitoad retorted.
"Oh, then maybe you're jealous that they get to roam around freely while you rot in this jail cell?" she taunted. After being quiet and going along with the Garchomp without a fight, she sure was in a combative mood.
"Shut up!" he snapped, clenching his fists. "You uncivilized little girl!"
"My partner could've been killed by your bandits! You're the uncivilized one!" she snapped.
"You're calling me uncivilized? You're the one who said such uncivilized things to me! How dare you call me uncivilized? I keep prisoners for ransom instead of letting my men commit cold murders. I steal food and money, but I never take lives. Let me make this clear; I am an intelligent leader, not an uncivilized brute!"
"If you're so smart and civilized and all, then why were you leading a gang of bandits?" Valerie demanded.
The Seismitoad clenched his fists tighter and scowled for a tense moment before unclenching them and sighing heavily. "You wouldn't understand…" he muttered dejectedly.
Hit with a sense of guilt, Valerie gazed down, ears and tails lowered. She found herself questioning what the point of making him feel bad was. "Err…" she started after a long silence, "I, uh… I can't promise I'll understand, but I'll listen…" she hesitantly offered.
The Seismitoad expressed a slight surprise at her willingness, then jumped into his story. "I was the smartest, strongest, most popular kid in my village. I was at the top of my class. Granted, it wasn't that hard since almost everyone's an idiot," he gloated.
Valerie rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Why am I listening to this outlaw? she wondered.
"Everyone loved me! I was even going to go to a university in the city. I was the talk of the town!"
"Sounds great," Valerie remarked sarcastically. "So, what happened?"
"The war started, and I got drafted," he said flatly, his ego deflating into a solemn tone.
"Oh…"
"At first, things were going great. I was strong; I was smart. I outlived the others. I learned from military leaders and others' mistakes. Eventually, I was given command over some soldiers. I outsmarted my enemies and won battles. I was popular! I did everything right!
"I fought for six years. I deserved a promotion, a reward! But I got nothing! Why? Because rich royals and rich nobles don't care about commoners like me one bit. They only seek to enrich themselves. That's why they wage war and draft peasants. So when the war ended, and I was denied a promotion, money, or land but still told to lead the army and put down rebellions, I said enough was enough. If those greedy bastards wouldn't reward me, I'd take my reward myself! So I gathered other soldiers, some outlaws, and started leading my own group of bandits."
"Then why can't you take the ore shipments and leave the food shipments alone? All you're doing is hurting the villagers and doing nothing to the rich nobles that you say you hate," Valerie argued.
"Uh, well… it can get pretty hard to convince a bunch of outlaws to attack a heavily guarded ore shipment when unprotected food shipments are passing by. We have to eat, too, you know."
All thoughts of trying to be compassionate melted away in another wave of fiery thirst for a fight now that she could justify it again. "You've basically become a worse version of the nobles, stealing directly from the villagers!" Valerie accused.
"I am not!" the Seismitoad growled. "I deserve my position of power!"
"You're doing everything for yourself. You don't care that you're hurting the villagers," Valerie stated. "You just care about yourself and your revenge. Don't think for a second that you deserve anything more than your jail cell."
"Oh, so do you think you deserve your jail cell, too?" the Seismitoad asked mockingly.
"Of course not! I helped the villagers recover their food shipments from you," Valerie growled.
"And yet you ended up here with me, just because you attacked a pokemon in power even though he deserved it. Come on, don't you see who the real bully of this mountain is? If you truly care about these villagers, you'd do something about the Garchomp and the rich nobles he does business with. I don't expect you to do anything, though. You put me in prison for them, and then you put yourself in prison to comply with his demands!"
Valerie shook her head and didn't respond to that.
"The ones in charge are the real villains! Don't appease them! They made me who I am!" the Seismitoad ranted.
The Vulpix tuned him out, going back to curling up on the cold floor of her jail cell. Hearing his story made her feel bad, perhaps even guilty in some sense. At the same time, she still viewed him with contempt after what he did to Shane, and he was still an unlawful bandit. She didn't know what to feel anymore. There was a lot to think about.
"You're sure that Garrett and Granger are going to be with your father for a long while?" Shane asked Gabriella. "Remember, this is all for nothing if they somehow get blamed."
"Absolutely sure!" the Gabite said affirmatively. "The order that I forged was massive! And the client I pretended to be is the most demanding guy ever! They'll be working all evening to get it ready by tomorrow morning!"
"I still don't get why he stands there and watches the workers pack ores into wagons the entire time," Mandy said. "I mean, on the one hand, why can't he help out a little? On the other hand, if he's not going to help, then doesn't he have better things to do?"
"Well, it works for us, I guess," said Shane with a shrug. "Hold on, what's going to happen when they realize the order was fake?"
"It's fine, just that no one is going to show up tomorrow morning to pick up the ore shipment, but at least they'll already have the wagons ready for the next real order," said Pete.
"By then, you and Valerie will be long gone!" Mandy laughed.
"Yup, you two will be riding off into the sunset, down the mountain. How romantic..." Gabriella said dreamily.
"Hey Pete, maybe you can give me and Gabriella a romantic ride some time!" Mandy said enthusiastically.
"Uh, how about no?" Pete stated firmly, cringing. "I do escape plans, not romantic joy rides!"
"Thanks again for offering to take us down the mountain," Shane said to Pete. "I really appreciate it."
"No problem, man. I mean, your girlfriend saved me from being locked up, so it's the least I can do! If there's anything else I can do to help, just name it."
Shane felt something warm stir in his chest from hearing the words "your girlfriend." It really is official now, huh? he thought with a smile.
The four of them arrived at the entrance to the jail. "Ooh, what are we gonna do? Are we gonna pick the lock? Mess with the hinges?" Mandy wondered.
Shane gathered his electricity and sent a wicked Thunderbolt straight through the middle of the wooden door, splintering the wood apart. "It's a little simpler than that," he chuckled, walking through the hole.
"Woah, awesome, dude!" Mandy praised.
"Looks pretty scary down there," Gabriella said as she peered down the stone stairs, clutching Mandy's arm.
"Yeah... I'm going to stay out here… t-to keep watch, of course," Pete declared.
"No problem!" Shane hollered over his shoulder good-naturedly as he descended into the prison.
Valerie's ears perked up the highest they've ever done before when she heard that familiar, sweet voice. Getting up on her paws, she spotted a yellow light coming from the stairs, followed by a glowing, grinning Shinx. "Shane! You look stunning," she immediately complimented.
Shane never felt a blush rise up to his cheeks so fast before. He was completely caught off guard, but as warmth filled his chest, his expression melted back into an affectionate smile. "Oh, Valerie," he said adoringly, "thanks." This level of affection was going to take some getting used to for Shane. Good thing Mandy, Gabriella, and Pete hadn't followed him down the stairs; it would be so embarrassing if anyone else were watching!
"Oh, brother," the Seismitoad grumbled loudly. "Your knight in shining armor came to rescue you, huh?"
Shane flinched, spotting the Seismitoad behind his bars. A wave of utter uncomfortableness washed over the Shinx. "Y-you!" he half-stammered, half snarled. "W-why are you here?!"
The bandit leader crossed his arms and glared. "What did you expect? This is jail. Did you think your little princess in distress would get a hotel room for being such a hero?"
Valerie saw Shane turned to her with a panicked expression. So much for being romantic any longer… "Just ignore him…" she said dismissively. Shane mouthed something without saying it out loud. She got the message and reached out to his mind with Extrasensory. What is it? she asked telepathically.
He knows that you're a princess and that I'm going to be a knight? Shane asked worriedly.
Nah, I doubt it, Valerie thought back reassuredly. I think he's just trying to make fun of us.
"Feeling bad about putting me here? You could make it up by letting me out," the Seismitoad said smugly.
"Will you shut up, man?" Shane shot back with a glare. "C'mon Valerie, let's get you out of there quickly, so I don't have to hear this guy again. Have you tried heating up the bars?" Shane asked.
"Yeah, but I couldn't do much to them on my own. This guy claims that they're unbreakable," she said, casting a stink eye at the Seismitoad.
"I think I can help with that," Shane said cheerfully, reaching a forepaw through the metal bars of the jail cell.
Valerie reached forward and held Shane's paw firmly and eagerly. They'd held paws like this countless times before for Helping Hand, but the gesture meant so much more now. Besides the wave of power coming from the move, the simple action sparked a fire of happy, warm emotions within the Vulpix. After simply enjoying the moment for a bit, Valerie got to work, unleashing concentrated, extra-hot flames on one of the metal bars. With their combined power, the bar heated up to an angry orange hue. The extraordinary temperature made the bar begin melting, and the Flamethrower's force bent the bar to the side. Valerie squeezed through the gap and gave Shane a kiss on the cheek.
Shane moved next to Valerie as she came out of the jail cell and snuggled against her side affectionately, wrapping his tail around her. "What were you saying about 'unbreakable' bars?" he remarked, grinning triumphantly at the Seismitoad.
The Seismitoad viewed them with a mixture of contempt and jealousy. "Very… impressive," he acknowledged. "Can you two break me out too?"
"What? No, you're a bandit leader," Shane said.
"Please? I didn't harm you when I imprisoned you earlier, did I?"
"Uh…" Shane stammered, not knowing what to say. He glanced sideways at Valerie and asked her, "What do you think?"
"Your girl knows in her heart that I am wrongfully imprisoned. The Garchomp is the real problem around here," the Seismitoad asserted.
Valerie slowly shook her head with a sigh. "No," she said. "You led a group of bandits to steal from the villagers and travelers. That is irredeemable, no matter how you look at it… I'm sorry, but I can't help you."
"No, you have to let me out!" the Seismitoad wailed, curling his hands into fists.
"C'mon, let's get out of here…" Valerie murmured to Shane. She headed for the stairs with him at her side.
"Are you going to do something about the Garchomp? If you don't, you're one of his enablers, and you know it!" the Seismitoad hollered.
Shane gave Valerie a comforting nuzzle. "Don't feel bad. He's a crook, isn't he?"
"Yeah… but I think he's had a rough life. I'll tell you later..." As they approached the top of the stairway leading out of the underground jail, Valerie asked, "What's the plan now?"
"Pete is going to give us a fast ride down the mountain."
The moment Shane and Valerie climbed through the hole in the door of the jail building, Gabriella squealed, "Yay! Our heroic couple is back together again!"
Valerie beamed, liking the sound of that a lot.
"It's all thanks to you all for helping bring us back together," Shane said cheerfully, cozying up to Valerie's side.
"I'm glad to help out! No jail cell or big bad Garchomp can keep you away from your true love!" Mandy chirped.
Valerie relished in the warm feelings of hearing those words for a moment, placing her forepaw tenderly on Shane's. She quickly put that aside, though, for serious talk. "Where are Garrett and Granger? How are you making sure they aren't taking the blame?" she asked. "If they do, this will all be for nothing…"
"They're preparing an ore shipment now, and my dad is there too. I wrote the fake shipment request," Gabriella said proudly.
"There's no way Grassy Garrett or Grumpy Granger can get in trouble!" Mandy said matter-of-factly.
"Oh, that's perfect. Thank you all so much for doing this for me," said Valerie.
"No problem! Hopefully, Garrett won't hate me anymore, and Granger won't be so grumpy anymore!" Mandy chirped.
"I'm sure my dad will be very outraged when he finds out you escaped, though!" Gabriella added.
Valerie deflated, not liking the sound of that. "That's nothing to celebrate about…" she said.
"My dad never lets me have what I want, so he shouldn't get what he wants!" she pouted.
Valerie shook her head, exasperatedly. "Gabriella, don't be like that… Listen, there's something I need you to do even after we're gone. Be nice to your dad, and try to get him to be nice to his workers."
"Aw, do I have to? That sounds hard. My dad never agrees with me!"
"Being powerful like your dad comes with responsibilities. Being related to someone powerful comes with responsibilities too. It is hard, but you have to do it. Trust me," Valerie insisted.
"And Mandy," Shane added, "you can help out too. You're good at helping people, and you care a lot. I know you do."
"So will you two make this village a better place after we're gone?" Valerie asked.
"I sure will!" Mandy exclaimed, pumping a fist.
"Yeah, I'll try my best!" Gabriella vowed.
"Awesome," said Shane.
"Thank you both," said Valerie.
"Well... it's about time that we get going," Shane pointed out with a hint of sadness. "We don't want to get caught and still have a long way home… Pete, are you ready?"
"Yeah," said the Ponyta, who had stood on the sidelines and observed quietly. "Hop on."
"Thanks for offering us a ride. Sorry if it's inconvenient for you," Valerie said as she leaped onto Pete's back. Shane retrieved their basket of food, holding it with his tail as he joined Valerie.
"It's no problem. You kept me out of jail, so I'll gladly give you two a ride," said Pete.
"Oh, right, I completely forgot about that! It's been a long day… and I ended up in jail instead," Valerie chuckled.
"Bye!" Gabriella said with a wave and a cheerful smile.
"Stay safe!" said Mandy.
Shane and Valerie said their goodbyes to the jubilant couple, then held tight as they rode off into the sunset, down the mountain, feeling hopeful that their eventful day at this remote village made at least a little bit of a positive impact on the day-to-day of the villagers they were leaving behind.