Perhaps, in hindsight, Melissa should've gone into the fight with a clear head. At least, that's what she was thinking once the adrenaline died down and she remembered she was fighting a knight. Though she had her share of fights in the past, those were a far cry to the training of a fully-fledged soldier of the Verde Kingdom, especially one as equally temperamental as her.
Melissa considered these thoughts as Luna, now over the shock of her first strike, came in swinging with far greater force and ferocity that Melissa simply couldn't match in mentality. What Melissa lacked in battle-hardened instincts, Luna made up in tenfold.
Why, oh why, did Melissa engage in such a stupid move?
Oh right, to avenge her crème puffs. An understandable reason.
Still, boost in strength over revenge paled to the distance in their swordsmanship. While Melissa had improved from the clumsy novice she once was, Luna slashed into each of Melissa's strikes with a dexterity and speed matching that of a snake, fittingly enough. It took all of Melissa's focus just to block all of them, but the force kept pushing her back.
Man, she's good! Melissa panicked. Still, if she wanted this scroll so badly, she should've been more considerate of my food!
Melissa managed a parry and knocked Luna's back before executing a quick kick to the knight's abdomen. Melissa improved her kicking a lot, using the force of Bounce to give it that little bit of extra force for effective delivery. However, Luna's armor tanked most of the hit, and she caught the road to stop herself from falling over.
Luna flared her nostrils, then shot out her Vine Whip. Melissa nearly missed them and tried to block, but they slithered around the sword and pinned her arms to her body. Luna lifted her up and slammed her up against the wall. The padding inside Melissa's hood protected the back of her head, though her brain still rattled.
"Who be driving that there carriage?" Melissa mumbled dizzily. Luna lifted her again and slammed her into the ground. "Ow!"
"Hand over the scroll!" Luna ordered.
Melissa glared. "Give me back my crème puffs, then!" Still tied up, she kicked off the ground and propelled herself at Luna. She sprang her ears out and punched Luna in the chest.
"GAH!" The shock knocked Luna back and caused her Vine Whip to untangle.
"Quick Attack!" Melissa kicked off again and rammed her foot into Luna's abdomen again, delivery greater force than her last kick. "Hey! I'm actually pretty good at this!"
"Grass Knot."
Melissa's eyes widened as grass energy flowed through the armor and bound around her ankle in the form of grass blades. "Hey, that's cheating!" She hopped around on one foot, trying to get her foot free.
"Glare!" Luna's sclera glowed purple and emitted a horrible pressure into Melissa.
Melissa's hold body shivered at once. What the…?
Luna undid the Grass Knot and reared her sword back. Flipping it to the blunt side, she swung it at the stunned Buneary's head. I need that scroll back! Dragging this fight out could risk everything!
Unfortunately, she came up a bit short as Melissa used Quick Attack to duck and dodge out of the sword's swing. She tumbled backwards and caught herself on her hands and feet, panting heavily.
"Okay, that felt really weird!" Melissa cried.
Luna's eyes widened. What? She shouldn't have broken through my Glare that quickly. Unless…Unless her ability is Limber! Scared or not, her body was still able to move on instinct. She bared her teeth. Great. So much for ending this quickly. I've heard enough about Harlow to know she's a mastermind of trickery. She's probably already formulating a counterattack.
On the contrary…
I have no idea what I'm doing! Melissa panicked as she raised her sword. Okay, stay calm. She showed half her moves off already. I can use this. Green aura reflected off Melissa's eyes. I can feel my Copycat kicking in. I just need to keep studying her. I've been trying to perfect a little something to make use of this copying style of mine. Should come in handy for this.
Luna tightened her grip, then sped up to Melissa. If I can't take her out in one hit, I'll just have to slow her down. "Leech Seed!" She reared her fist back and threw seeds through the air, sprouting them into parasitic vines.
"Nope! None of that!" Melissa shrieked, slicing through the cluster with an upward swing.
She left her guard unprotected for a hard sword slash to the stomach. Melissa's padded armor took most of the hit, but she could feel the blade pushing into the fabric. Luna followed it up with a swift palm strike to the chin, throwing Melissa's head back, then a crack of her Vine Whips to throw her to the ground.
Melissa crumpled onto her stomach, then massaged her chin. "Ow!" With a quick glance over her shoulder, she rolled out of the way of two Vine Whips cracking down on her. She raised her defensive stance and parried through the whip assault snapping at her head. "Y-You could just pay for the crème puffs!" Melissa bargained.
"I don't give a shit about your addiction, lady!" Luna yelled. She threw her Vine Whip and snagged Melissa's wrist.
"It's not an addiction!" Melissa complained as she fought with the vine.
"You need to pay for your crimes against the Verde Kingdom!"
"But I'm too cute for jail!"
Luna tugged hard, throwing Melissa forward, and caught her by the collar. She tried to plant another Leech Seed, but Melissa slammed her head into hers and pushed her back. Melissa raised her sword and swung, where Luna recovered and parried her strike.
"Vine Whip!" She snagged Melissa's ankle and pulled her leg out, dropping her on her back. She jumped forward and slammed her feet down on Melissa's stomach.
"AGH!" Melissa groaned. She growled and grabbed Luna's arm, wrestling her toward the canal.
Luna gripped the ledge and fought back against Melissa. She felt her ground slipping away as the Buneary, despite appearances, showed her own strength off. Still, Luna used her Vine Whip to latch onto a barred window in the building and lift herself off the ledge. She dropped down on Melissa, who rolled out of the way.
They came at each other again and clashed swords, pushing back and grinding their heels into the ground. Luna had her back to the canal again, but at least on her feet now. Falling in there would leave her without solid footing, plus ample opportunity for Melissa to escape and regroup with the others.
Luna redirected Melissa's sword, then kicked her off. As Melissa stumbled back, Luna punched the ground. "Grass Pledge!"
A green well of energy appeared under Melissa, then exploded into a pillar of grass and leaves. She hid inside her uniform as sharp blades of plant matter sliced into her. Luna swung her sword through the pillar and bashed Melissa across the path, slamming her against a wall.
"Ow…" she groaned, rubbing the back of her head. She pushed up against the wall, but froze as Grass Knots sprouted out and bound her wrists and ankles down. "H-Hey!" She squirmed and hissed, thumping her foot angrily. "L-Let me go!"
Luna patted off her shoulder, then marched up to Melissa. "You could've made this so much easier if you just handed the scroll to me."
Melissa glared. "Well, you weren't exactly very nice about it! What did my tasty treats ever do to you?!"
Luna groaned. "My Arceus, you're petty." She pressed down on Melissa's neck, keeping her head still, then reached down Melissa's uniform, much to her clear embarrassment based off the red in her face. "Once I have my scroll, I'll have you hauled back to the authorities here before I get in contact with King Penworth. He has words for you."
Melissa turned her face away. S-So close. If she looks at me for too long, she's going to realize who I am. I could really use a knight in shining armor right about now—
"Did someone say The Great Frediano!"
"Huh?" the girls gasped. Both Luna and Melissa looked up wide-eyed, then Luna jumped back as a flashy, caped figure smashed down between them. A blizzard of frost flew out from the figure, flash freezing Melissa's plant restraints off. She shook off the shivers and stumbled away from her savior.
A masked Weavile, Frediano, stood up and crossed his arms, standing proudly before Luna. "There will be enough of that, Lady Knight!"
Luna blinked in bewilderment. "Where…did you come from?"
"The Great Frediano reveals no secrets! He lives in the moment for the perfect role!" He pointed grandly at Melissa. "You will step away from that lovely lady immediately!"
Melissa's face flushed red. "L-Lovely?"
"Yes, that's right! I've scoured the streets for this one, and I come to find you—" He pointed accusingly at Luna. "—laying your hands on her like some twisted pervert? Obscene!"
"Twisted per—" Luna's eyes widened, realizing he met her search on Melissa's person. "W-Wait, hold on a minute, I wasn't—"
"No more of that!" Frediano dismissed, dramatically snapping his claws. "I've come to rescue this fair maiden from your trickery!"
Melissa clasped her hands to her cheek, grinning like a fool as hearts danced around her head. Yes please, cute mysterious hunk!
"And afterwards, I will capture her and turn her in for the reward money! Harlow of the Foresters!"
Annnnnd, the hearts crumbled to dust, as did Melissa's mood. "Of…course," she growled through clenched teeth. Cute mysterious hunk rescues me, and this is what I get? GREAT!
Luna narrowed her eyes irritably, matching Melissa's mood. Is everyone in this kingdom insane?
Frediano slammed his fists together, generating a frost between them. "But as much as I wish to talk about myself…" The girls snapped out of their thoughts and raised their weapons. "I have a job to complete. So, let's get this skit rolling."
The twins wasted no time getting into the action. They bounced around on their toes to warm up, all while Armant stared them down, then took off running circles around the giant of a man. They zipped around everywhere, from all directions, using their speed to try and disorient Armant.
Armant didn't track their movements, much less look at them. He crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and waited for them to make the first move. Determined as he was, curiosity always one out over any other emotion. Perhaps these two would make worthy opponents despite the comparative frailty.
"He doesn't even look down on us, Sister!" Gold exclaimed, extending his claws.
"Does he not perceive us as threats, Brother?" Jewel asked, also extending her claws.
"Then we will show him the true terror of the Thievery Twins!" they exclaimed. They stopped on opposite sides of Armant and lunged at him. "Fury Swipes!"
In a flurry of movements, they slashed into Armant, driving their claws across everything from his chest to his face. A blizzard of claws digging into the four-armed humanoid in a flash. Pain of a thousand cuts, one could say.
They landed beside each other and went for a high five, but froze when they looked back up at Armant. Normally, they saw no flaw in their tag team assault. By now, their opponent would be littered in scratches and exposed to the harsh diverting tactics of projectile lemon juice, but the twins were stunned to see no a single cut on the bounty hunter's skin.
Armant dusted off his shoulders, then narrowed his eyes at them in disappointment. "Is that really the best you could do?"
The twins staggered back, clenching their teeth worriedly. "That didn't work?!" Gold gasped.
"What is he made of?" Jewel muttered.
A smirk grew on Armant's face. "I guess I'm just built different than most." He sighed and patted his hands together. "Welp, guess I can't have any fun with this. I wouldn't want to splatter your guts across the city, so…" He lifted his upper hands and extended his pinkies. "This is the most you're getting out of me."
The twins snarled through their teeth. "Are you underestimating us?!" They kicked off the roof and extended their claws again. "We'll tear your eyes out instead!"
They went in again with a flurry of claws, but Armant spun his arms around and deflected their Fury Swipes with just his pinkie fingers. Their claws couldn't dig past the muscle pushing back against them, as if his fingers had biceps of their own. Not even stabbing into him could produce enough force to draw blood. It was like his skin was made of steel or something stronger.
Armant knocked their claws back, leaving them exposed in the air. He thrusted his arms forward and jabbed them into the stomachs with his pinkies. Even with the single finger, Gold and Jewel spat blood as it dug through the armor before catapulting them over several rooftops. They braced themselves and bounced off tile and stone until a chimney in their way broke their launch.
They collapsed on top of each other, clutching their stomachs. "What…the hell was that?" Gold groaned.
"How strong…is this guy?" Jewel seethed.
Armant casually skipped over the rooftops and landed in front of the downed pair. He shook his head and sighed. "That was too easy. I shouldn't even be surprised, but I was really hoping for a challenge."
Gold and Jewel pressed down and pushed themselves up, snarling at the muscular giant. "Don't…look down on us, Freak!" they growled.
Armant grinned. "You're a stubborn lot, I'll give you that. That should've wrecked your lungs. Guess whoever made your armor was thorough with the materials. Still, I can't have you two running around anymore." He reached down to grab them.
"We don't need…strength," Gold growled.
"When we have…tricks!" Jewel finished, flicking a smoke pellet from her jacket and into Armant's face.
Armant backed off and fanned the smoke away in one swing of his arm. His eyes widened as Gold lunged at his face, hands wrapped in a sinister purple aura. He pulled his arm back and thrusted his pinkie at the Meowth. Gold caught Armant's wrist and spun himself over the attack. Gold's aura-infused fists seemed to increase in power.
"Twins of Calamity!"
Gold slammed his fist across Armant's face, actually causing the Machamp to jolt a bit from the impact. A second passed, then a second shock pounded into him, doubled in power, forming a groove into his face with purple aura blazing off the point of impact.
Gold grinned triumphantly, but the moment passed when Armant seized him by the tail. Looking down, though Gold managed to nail a solid hit against him, Armant's feet remained firmly planted on the ground. Only his head was whipped back from the punch, and it served more as a surprise than a critical blow based off Armant's casual demeanor.
Armant massaged his cheek, then grinned. "Neat trick. You combined Foul Play with Assurance, didn't you? You used the strength of my attack, took it, and delivered it back at me with double the power. Very nice~."
Gold, dangling upside-down, activated his attack again. "Twins of—"
"Oh no, you don't!" Armant spun Gold around by his tail, then chucked him back into his sister, slamming them both against the chimney. "You two are hardly a threat, but I guess I'll humor you and take this fight seriously."
Gold and Jewel quickly flipped to their feet and jumped off the roof. They soared to the building across the street, caught the ledge, and took off running down the buildings. Armant grinned, bent his legs, and jumped into the air.
The twins looked back briefly, then spotted the Machamp coming down from above. They lunged forward and narrowly avoided Armant's divebomb, though the shock blew them farther ahead than intended. They caught themselves on their paws, then glared worriedly as Armant stood up.
"If you want me to take you seriously, I'm gonna have to do things the hard way." Armant grinned. "No hard feelings, of course." He tensed his leg muscles, then burst forward with an explosion of speed.
Gold and Jewel couldn't react in time and got clotheslined in the stomachs, carrying them up into Armant's arms. Before they could process the pain, Armant stopped on his heel and spun around like a dreidel. The wind whipped against the twins' heads. Any faster and their necks could be snapped in two.
"Darkest Lariat!" He stopped on his foot and flung the twins one at a time, skipping them across the rooftops like stones to a pond.
Gold dug his claws down, crying out as the stone grinded them down, then reached his hand out to catch Jewel. He winced, nearly feeling his arm rip out of socket. Once Jewel landed, Gold massaged his shoulder.
"This guy's insane!" Jewel cried.
"This guy's strong," Gold growled.
"Too strong!" they cried.
Armant hopped around on his toes, grinning like a loon. "What? Is that all you brats can take? We can keep playing if you want, but I rather not turn your bones into powder. I do have a life to get back to."
Gold and Jewel forced themselves to stand, seething at the four-armed bounty hunter. "He's making a fool out of us," Gold grumbled.
"Well, let's show him the true strengths of the Thievery Twins," Jewel suggested, extending her claws.
"Here, here, Sister. Let's claw this jerk to pieces."
Frediano wasted no time with his surprise appearance. He went straight for Melissa first, swinging his claws at her. Melissa raised her sword and blocked Frediano's first two strikes, then tried to slash him across the torso. Frediano gracefully parried her sword with but a gentle strike of his claws. The ice coating the claws protected them from damage.
"You fight well, lovely maiden! Truly an artform!"
"C-Cease your flirting, fiend!" Melissa demanded, swinging her sword again.
Frediano skipped backwards, which Luna took advantage of by striking him with her Vine Whips. Unfortunately, Frediano seemed more aware of his surroundings than she thought, as he kicked off his heel and backflipped over her whips. He flipped through the air a couple times and landed directly behind her.
Melissa gasped and blocked the Vine Whips as they struck her instead. "H-Hey!"
Luna spun around and slashed Frediano, who deflected again with his claws. "Stay out of this, weirdo!" Luna growled. "She's under arrest in the name of the Verde Kingdom!"
"And she is my ticket to stardom, so nay!" Frediano jumped back and raised his claws. "Become dazzled by my art!"
Frost and shadow mixed around his arms and claws, then solidified into a thin layer over his skin. The shadows warped around his arm, then expanded into the shape of claws. Frost permeated through the Shadow Claw and coated the entire surface until the claws took on a new form. The claws transformed into purple, jagged ice, displaying lifelike flexibility like Frediano's actual claws.
"Fear the majesty of my beautiful Dark Frostbite Claws!"
Frediano went in swinging, showing off the malleability of his claws. They had both the properties of shadow and ice, morphing into the shape of a blade instantly. Luna swung her sword and blocked Frediano's attack, but was thrown back by the force and into a wall.
"Ow…" Luna shook her head, then looked down at her sword. A thick sheet of ice coated part of it. "That's troubling."
Melissa turned to flee the battle, but Frediano's ice claws extended out and trapped her foot in its fist, shaping into a block of ice. "AH!" She fell forward on her face, then clawed at the ground as Frediano reeled her in.
"Not so fast, signorina!" Frediano exclaimed. "I can't let you leave yet!"
Melissa pulled out her dagger and stabbed at the ice frantically. Frost went up her leg and clothes like a virus, slowly freezing her over. It felt chilling, as if the shadows combined with the ice commanded an eerie, ghost-like presence within the ice. It felt like a hand wrapping around her body, swaddling her into a blanket of eternal cold. For such a sunshiny weirdo, this Frediano had a twisted sense of incapacitation.
Thankfully, to some degree, Luna wouldn't allow Frediano to score his bounty. She leaped over the bounty hunter and sliced through his ice claws, severing Melissa free. She turned her blade on Frediano and swung at him.
Frediano deflected her attack and reshaped his ice claws. "This is my spotlight, signorina!" He swung and clashed with Luna's sword, pushing her into the wall. "You're nothing more than my understudy to this performance!"
Luna blocked his claws, then tapped her foot. "Grass Knot!"
Grass blades formed out of the ground and tried to wrap up Frediano's ankles, but the masked Weavile jumped into the air and avoided their binding. "Haha! Too simple! You need more flash to your performance! Observe! Whirlpool!"
Frediano spun and incased himself in a vortex of water before divebombing onto Luna. She didn't think much of it at first since she had the type advantage, but quickly realized cold energy was mixing into the water. Luna jumped back and covered herself as Frediano crashed into the ground and exploded out a wave of frost that flash froze the immediate area. Luna got out of the blast wave, but her entire front was coated in frost. It didn't affect her movement, but it was super cold.
Frediano picked himself up and aimed his claws. "And now, for my next performance, the Flying Claws of Majesty!" His claws morphed into a jagged clustered and fired frozen projectiles at Luna.
Icicle Spear! Luna gasped. She dodged them with what little ground there was on the narrow street, reluctantly raising her arms to block a few.
Melissa finally chipped the ice off her foot. "Finally!" She looked up and yelped, rolling away from the dozens of icicles shooting at her. "HELP! I'm being ganged up on!"
"Oh no, you don't!" Luna grappled Melissa's ankle with Vine Whip before she could flee, but got shot in the back from the momentary distraction.
"Quick Attack!" Frediano sped into Luna and punched her with his ice claws. He backhanded her aside and lunged at Melissa. "Time to put you on ice, signorina!"
Melissa rolled herself back, struck him with her feet, and kicked him over her head. She rolled onto her feet and tensed her legs. Should I have a flashy name for my Quick Attack/Bounce combo? After a second of contemplation, she went with, "Super Springy…Kick Move?" Ignoring the utter stupidity of that name, Melissa kicked off the ground at lightning-esque speeds and slammed her feet across Frediano's face.
"WAH!" Frediano went skipping across the pathway, grinding on his mask, and flopped onto his back.
"HAH!" Melissa dodged a crack of Luna's Vine Whip and her sword swing. "Grass Pledge!" Luna punched the ground and sent pillars of grass energy after Melissa.
"Super Springy Kick Move!" Still unsure about the name, Melissa kicked off the path and ricocheted off the wall, dodging the Grass Pledge and kicking Luna into the canal.
"Vine Whip!" Luna shot her vines out and grappled onto the ledges, digging her vines in. With strain, she suspended herself over the water, then catapulted herself back at Melissa, who raised her sword against Luna's. The impact pushed Melissa back, still locked against Luna's sword.
Luan bared her teeth. "You're good. I can see why you've earned your reputation."
"Believe me, I didn't ask for it," Melissa groaned.
"Did some say The Great Frediano!"
"Not again," the girls groaned, separating from each other and dodging Frediano's surprise attack. He slashed the ground and sent a wave of ice projecting from the ground.
"Have at thee!" He thrusted his claws at the girls, extending them out with the speed of a cannon. Melissa slammed against a wall while Luna flew across the canal and into the opposing wall with a layer of ice holding her down.
Melissa flailed her feet angrily. "Ugh, I never trained for a one-on-one-one…I mean a one-on-one-own-oni, uh…I hate fighting two people at once!" she finished.
Frediano posed in front of Melissa. "Fear not, lovely maiden, for I shall finish this battle and send you off for that fabulous reward money!"
"Stop distracting me, you mysterious cutie!" Melissa complained.
On the other side of the canal, Luna wiggled within the ice layer, but couldn't get her arms free. She did, however, have access to her tail. Taking a few test swings for flexibility, she concentrated turning it as hard as iron. "Iron Tail!" She bent her tail back as hard as she could and cracked the ice. She took a few more swings until the ice cracked enough to break herself free.
She shook off the ice, then glared at the distracted Weavile. Alright, you over-the-top theatre reject, you want fame and glory? I'll send you to the stars.
She extended her Vine Whips, then punched her fists together. She channeled Grass Pledge threw them, causing the vines to glow a vibrant green with a faint aura swirling around them.
"Earth's Wrath!"
She smacked the Vine Whips down and, with a power unlike seen before, launched herself high over the canal. She spun herself and the vines around, then whipped down toward Frediano's back.
Frediano barely caught the sound of crackling air when he saw the vines shooting down. He jumped away from the canal, but was thrown back by the tremendous force delivered into the pathway. Stone dislodged from the ground and clobbered against the masked Weavile, nearly knocking his mask off.
"What tremendous power!" Frediano gasped.
Luna landed and whipped her Vine Whips wildly. Despite how seemingly random it looked, waving around furiously, Frediano could see the unbelievable dexterity in their fluidity. They whipped and cracked the air at harsh angles, capable of turning on a coin if allowed.
Frediano meshed his claws together and formed a thick ice shield as the vines pounded senselessly into him. The curved and darted against the shield with speeds rivaling the fastest snake Pokémon on the hunt. He dug his feet down and attempted to push back against the vines.
One swerved around the shield as he closed in and snapped across his side. Frediano bit back a cry as the vines angled around the shield and whipped down on him relentlessly. Each snap of the vines tore just a little bit into his clothes, weathering holes into the shoulders and especially his cape.
Oh, he was not happy about the cape.
"You dare tarnish my prized uniform!" Frediano accused. He morphed his shielded into an ice flail, turned on his heel, and batted the vines away, briefly paralyzing their assault. He jumped into the air and morphed the flail into a giant icicle. "Icicle Crash!" He kicked the top, seamlessly separating the icicle from his ice claws, and sent it flying toward Luna.
"Grass Pledge!" Luna punched the ground and surrounded herself in a wall of grass pillars, barely blocking the icicle.
While they were distracted, Melissa stopped struggling in her icy prison and closed her eyes. A purple aura surrounded her as she took deep breaths. Concentrate…find your center and imitate that move. She opened her eyes, flashing them purple.
"Abyss Cloud!"
Darkness spread from under the ice and surrounded Melissa. With a clenched of her fist, the ice shattered away. Melissa dropped to the ground and receded the dark clouds. She breathed and extinguished the harsh aura.
Luna waved away the Grass Pledge and gasped at the freed Buneary. What…was that? What kind of combo move pulled that off?
"Distracted, Lady Knight?!" Frediano exclaimed, speeding forward with Quick Attack and slashing at her with his claws.
Luna drew her sword and blocked his claws. Melissa sprang off the wall with Bounce and kicked both of them toward the canal. Luna anchored herself down and tried to punch Melissa while Frediano swung for the legs. Melissa dodged the punch, jumped over the sweep kick, and kicked Frediano straight in the chin. Frediano stumbled backwards and covered his masked face.
"Ah, that smarts!"
Luna touched the ground. "Grass Knot!"
Grass grew from the ground and flew towards Melissa. She jumped back, but the grass continued extending and chased her down. "Foresight!" Melissa's eyes turned blue. She drew her dagger and slashed through the grass blades, predicting whatever tricky movements that had.
Frediano recovered from his injury and raised his claws. "That won't be enough to stop the Great Frediano—" Glowing Vine Whips shot around him while he wasn't paying attention, grappled his waist, and hoisted him into the air.
"I'm about done with you!" Luna growled before swinging Frediano straight down into the canal.
His crash spat up a geyser of water that cascaded over Melissa and Luna's heads, far more than Luna intended. Her Earth's Wrath empowered her Vine Whips far beyond their usual strength, thus increasing the impact of whatever she threw with them. The girls covered their heads and waited for the water to crush them.
Their eyes widened when a loud crackling sound permeated the air, like ice freshly exposed to water. Suddenly, the geyser of water froze over instantaneously, transforming into an upside-down, grounded chandelier of the crystal.
The girls turned to the water, where Frediano stood in the epicenter of the geyser knelt down on a thick platform of ice. His ice claws merged into the water, generating a thick veil of mist that curled around his body in the most dramatic way possible. If it were not for the situation, Melissa would be swooning over how majestic it looked.
Frediano pulled one arm free from the ice and readjusted his mask. "Perhaps you're right, signorina. I, too, am done sharing a stage with you. I work better as a solo act, anyway."
He rose, pulled his other claws free, and reapplied the purple ice claws around his arms. He flexed the digits, the sound of grinding ice almost resembling metal scraping together, then presented himself with another dramatic pose.
"Prepare for my most daring performance yet! I will amaze you lovely ladies with my exotic dance across the water's surface!"
Fabrice poked his head out of the water when he heard something in the distance, resembling a localized explosion. He had traveled through the far ends of the kingdom's canals and still had lots of ground to cover, but his eyes turned up over the rooftops to see the faint rise of mist. From what he could make out, it appeared to be an icy mist. From Klaus very brief explanation of the bounty hunters on their way over, he mentioned a Weavile among the duo.
Fabrice glared. If a fight's breaking out here, that could only mean one thing. Drats, don't tell me Melissa found herself in a fight. The last time she fought anyone was that Althalos fellow back in Algus. She may have improved, but she still has a long way to go. Fabrice prepared to dive back into the water. I have a rough idea of the canal's paths, so I should be able to find her—
"Fabrice?!"
The Marshtomp's eyes widened. He spun around and saw a very confused Raboot standing by the canal's edge, dressed in light armor and heat radiating off his feet. He pulled down on his fur collar and showed his flat frown.
"What the hell are you doing in the canals?"
Fabrice gritted his teeth. Why is Angelo out here? Does he know about Melissa, too? Or…no, is it possible he's out here because of the twins and their crime sprees? Yeah, that must be it. He shouldn't know about Melissa, so it's the only logical conclusion.
Angelo glanced at the distance stack of mist rising several streets down, then glared at Fabrice. "You know this area is blocked off for the festival, right? And shouldn't be swimming in the canal either."
Fabrice furrowed his brow. "Yeah, guess not…"
The rabbit knight clenched his fist. "So, care to explain why you are?"
"Hard to explain." Fabrice gingerly reached behind his back, grabbing the sheathed dagger. I have an advantage in the water. He's a Fire-Type, and a close range fighter, most likely. I should be able to escape no problem.
Angelo stuffed his hands into his pockets and balanced himself on one foot. "Perhaps I'm just being suspicious over nothing, and I have no reason to assume malintent against my clients. So, you better have one hell of an explanation that doesn't pin you to the suspicious category."
If Fabrice wasn't on a time limit, he would've had a clearer head for an excuse. His eyes kept darting back and forth between Angelo and the direction of the brawl. Stay and explain himself or run and save whoever's in trouble. The latter option posed less risk given environmental advantage, and he should be able to pull off a rescue before Angelo can catch up with him.
Angelo's brow furrowed. "My patience is wearing thin, Fabrice. Don't—"
"Water Pledge!" Fabrice punched the water and sent out pillars of water towards Angelo.
Angelo skipped to the right dodged them. His eyes flickered to Fabrice as he turned and dove into the water. Flames ignited around his foot, then he formed a ball of electricity. He kicked it around, coating the surface with flames, knocked the flaming ball into the air, then launched it with a powerful kick straight towards Fabrice. The flaming orb of electricity turned a bright, gaseous blue.
"Heaven's Flame."
Fabrice turned back for a second and crossed his arms. He gritted his teeth as the orb exploded against him and threw him out of the water. He caught the ground with his hands and flipped onto his feet. He gripped his smoking arm and watched blue static surge through his clothes.
Electro Ball and Blaze Kick? He turned his arm over and saw the deep burn mark in his sleeve. That actually…kind of hurt. Two types, one I'm immune to and the other I can shrug off.
"So, based off that reaction…" Fabrice lifted his head and glared at Angelo as he calmly approached him. "You're either a Forester like everyone's suggesting, or just some common crook." Angelo narrowed his eyes evenly. "And since you keep looking at whatever's going on over there, I'm guessing you're worried about someone. There's more of you."
Fabrice stood up, then sighed sadly. "I hate we have to meet under these circumstances."
Angelo huffed through his nose. "Yeah, it's disappointing. Sorry."
"No, no, it's fine. You're doing your job. I respect that."
Angelo smirked. "Awfully chipper for someone who's being sent to jail."
Fabrice smirked back. "Yeah, some have said I'm a bit too lax. Guess that's why I fell for my girl. She has the assertiveness I'm missing from my life."
"You're a lucky man, Fabrice." Angelo lifted his leg and activated Blaze Kick. "I'm almost hoping you can escape. I wouldn't want to break up a loving couple."
"I wouldn't want you going easy on me out of pity. I'd be more disappointed if you half-assed your duty as a knight."
"For a wanted thief, you sure do have some strange priorities."
"Like I said, I'm too lax for my own good."
Angelo covered his mouth and snorted. "Fine. Then you better give it your all, because now you no longer face Michelangelo the Sculptor."
Fabrice pulled out his dagger and held it in a reverse grip. He raised her arms in a defensive stance and glared. Angelo's lips stretched into a wide grin as a breeze past by, stoking the flames burning around his foot.
"You may refer to me by the nickname I've adopted from the people: Sir Angelo, the Heavenly Devil."
If they couldn't rely on damage, the twins had to use their wits. Fortunately, that was their strength.
They made the bold choice to run straight at Armant with their claws out, a tactic that proved ineffective the last time. Still, Armant promised to treat them seriously, so he wasn't going to make light of the ineffective strategy. He raised his pinkie finger again and lunged at the twins.
"Brother!" Jewel ordered.
Gold stepped in front of his sister and blocked Armant's poke. Well, not so much block, but subtly redirect it away from himself and Jewel. Gold's hand lit up in the harsh purple aura as he clenched his fists.
"Twins of Calamity!"
Armant pressed his foot down and dodged Gold's swiping punch. However, the cat's attention wasn't on Armant's face, but the rooftop instead. With an overarching swing, Gold slammed his fist down, using Armant's power to warp the ground beneath them and shattered the tiles off the roof. A second passed, and the second shock came through, cratering the room and sending tiles flying out like musket shots.
Armant raised his arm over his face. The tiles shattered into dust against the impenetrable bulk of his arm. His eyes widened as a wire descended below his face. He looked up and briefly caught sight of a Purrloin tail fluttering over his head.
A wire snapped down and constricted around his neck. Armant, for a second, was stunned as Jewel pressed her feet into his shoulders and bent back, using the wire to hold herself up and choke out the bounty hunter. It seemed like it was working. Unlike previous attacks, she saw grooves in the skin as the wire pressed down on Armant's neck.
Of course, she was trying to suffocate a muscular beast of a man, so it went about as effectively as one could imagine.
Armant scratched his neck, unbothered by the wire. "Itchy. You know, if you could, applying acid would make for an effective assassination." He chuckled. "Oh, but you Foresters aren't killers, right? So, you're that desperate for a win that you resort to a garrot wire?"
He bent his arm back and effortlessly backhanded Jewel off. She caught the roof's edge and hung on as she dangled over the side.
Armant grabbed the wire and uncoiled it. "You'll have to try better than that—"
"Trick!"
He heard a snap, then the wire in his hand changed into a bottle. A filled bottle. One with a flaming rag sticking out of the neck.
The sudden change couldn't account for his finger strength. He pressed down more than he wanted and shattered the bottle, spilling flaming alcohol onto his shoulder. It engulfed his entire upper arm from his hand to his shoulder and traveled down his right side. He was more speechless than horrified.
Gold brought him back to reality with a solid punch to the gut. "Twins of Calamity!" The dual-shock punch barreled into Armant and pushed him back some. He staggered back on his heels while his clothes caught fire and started to spread over the rest of his body.
Jewel pulled herself up, then whistled to Gold. "Time to disappear, Brother!"
"Right behind you, Sister!" Gold joined her side, then they both jumped down into the crowd, vanishing in a sea of Pokémon.
Armant watched them flee as if he wasn't currently on fire. In fact, his grin grew wider. "You brats are making this too interesting. It's been a while since someone has actually tried to outwit me instead of outmuscling me. I'm actually flattered by the challenge. You're putting in more effort than any other punk that's tangoed with me."
He twisted his body, then broke into a powerful spin. The sheer force of the wind whipping across his body instantly extinguished the flames, creating gusts of the wind any Flying-Type would be jealous off. Flames that weren't extinguished shot up in the air like an inferno.
He stopped himself and patted off a few persistent flames on his shoulder. His clothes were singed, but his skin remained burn free.
He rotated his neck a couple times, bent down, and took a leaping dive into the crowd. "Make way!"
It was just enough time for the crowd to scream and make room for the bounty hunter. The ground trembled under him, quivering in his unstoppable presence. His eyes quickly flickered between Pokémon before spotting a Meowth and Purrloin tail vanish through a forest of legs.
"Got you." Armant tensed his leg muscles, then burst off into a powerful sprint.
The Pokémon in his way had precious few seconds to find cover and avoid Armant's run. Once he got moving, no force in the world would be able to stop him. He didn't just run. It was like a dominating march where each step was taken with great pride and demonstration of superiority. It was the stance of a professional sprinter who dedicated their whole life improving their speed for the next big race.
Each step Armant took shook the ground, leaving imprints of his foot behind. Each stomp roared from the rock like hammers driving into stone. Each kick off the ground before the next step sent him strides ahead, as if he was skipping off the road and dancing through the air like a fairy. It was beautiful, graceful, powerful…
And absolutely terrifying for the twins!
Gold and Jewel opted to run on all fours, their fastest speed possible, and screamed for their lives as they heard the bounty hunter slowly, but surely gaining ground. Their advantage in this crowd was their small size, able to navigate through any nook and cranny in their way. Armant's obvious advantage was that everyone was too afraid of getting pulverized from, what he would consider, a light jog.
"Sister, he's a madman!" Gold cried.
"Don't tell me the obvious, Brother!" Jewel yelled. "Just keep running!"
Armant could hear their screams, which positively tickled him with delight. "Gahahahahaha! I haven't had this much fun in ages, brats! I haven't had a decent jog in months!"
"Stop enjoying this!" the twins screamed.
"Dammit, what the hell's going on?!"
Klaus raced through the canal pathways, searching high and low for anyone by this point. What started as a simple search soon turned to chaos around every street. He could hear fights breaking out in the canal, flames spewing farther down the residential area, and now he was seeing buildings explode from whatever nonsense was going on up there.
And here was Klaus, running around like he lost his head.
Speaking of, he stopped and leaned up against a wall to cover his mouth. His stomach growled in protest, straining from the overexertion on his body. Klaus went through hell just to pass his physical exams back at the fort, but he could only do so much in a short span of time. He hadn't stopped running since he found out Melissa was fraternizing with the people hunting them down.
His legs ached, his stomach churned, and his breathing hastened. He hated how weak he was. That's why he stuck to the shadows, jumping unsuspecting targets and taking on a support role rather than a combative one. The only method of fighting he had was the one taught to him by his adoptive father, an unconventional method of fighting to most others, too.
And yet, he kept pushing due to his growing kinship with Melissa. Sweet, bubbly, and so freakin' selfless that he legitimately felt guilty from the several times she offered her energy. His superiors did it out of kindness, by all means, but Melissa did it out of legitimate care and compassion with a warmness that rivaled, or even surpassed, the fevers he dealt with over the years.
Klaus paused for a moment and covered his face. "Good grief, Melissa, you drive everyone around you nuts…and in the best way possible." He closed his eyes and snickered. "No wonder Jet's taken a shine to you, just like everyone else." He shook his head and took a step forward.
He stopped seconds from a barrage of icicles skewering his face, coming straight from the alleyway on his left. He looked to the icicles impaled on the wall opposite of the canal, then looked down the alleyway they shot from. His eyes widened, barely catching a green tail and some bright figure running on the canal surface.
"That was…the Weavile from yesterday!" Klaus bared his teeth. "Crap, is he already after Melissa? That other one didn't look like her, but…" He shook his head and glared. "The twins are on the other side of the kingdom, and I'm pretty sure Fabrice is farther up ahead. That guy and the other one are definitely chasing Melissa."
His prehensile hair twitched nervously. He grabbed and stroked it to calm it down. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled.
"I'm putting myself through all this aching for you, Melissa. You already owe me for helping you sneak off and to get your cream puffs. I better get some serious freakin' gratitude for this."
Klaus' hair started wagging side to side with a white glow emitting from the tip. He inhaled the best he could through his nose, then opened his eyes. A light red glow appeared in his right eye, showcasing the number '4'.
"Huh, that's a lot of Steel-Type moves. Odd roll." Klaus cracked his knuckles. "But I can work with this."
"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Melissa squealed, bouncing as fast as her little feet would allow like her tail was on fire.
Luna closed in behind her, simultaneously chasing the fleeing rabbit and avoiding their pursuer who skated alongside the path. With one claw imbedded in the water and freezing a path for him to skate on, Frediano turned his other claw onto the girls and firing Icicle Spear at them.
Luna had to use her Vine Whip to deflect the icicles. It was difficult keeping her eyes on both Melissa and Frediano without going cross-eyed, and that just wasn't going to happen with the way her eyes were angled.
Icicles pierced through windows, disappeared into passing alleyways, and imbedded or shattered against the buildings. Frediano seemed much faster on the ice than on ground. Both Melissa and Luna were fast in their own rights, and Frediano was easily keeping pace with them.
"Grass Pledge!" Luna stopped for a brief second and punched a wall of grass pillars towards Frediano.
"Majestic Sickle!" He shaped his claw into giant, icy scythe and slashed through the approaching pillars. Leaves scattered through the air, then flash-froze and fell like stones. He turned his claw back into its jagged icicle launcher. "Flying Claws of Majesty: Chandelier!"
A vortex of water wrapped around the cluster. He aimed and fired dozens of icicles at Luna and Melissa.
Melissa bounced and flipped frantically through them while Luna tried batting them with her vines again. Luna quickly realized her mistake when one icicle struck her vine and exploded outward into a cluster of jagged ice. She blocked more from hitting her, but they kept freezing chunks of ice and weighing down her vine.
Luna pulled out her sword, mumbled a few curses, and slashed the vine off before it could weigh her down more. Green liquid sprayed from the vine like blood. Luna wined, but retracted the vine. She clenched her fist, massaging her palm a bit, then chucked a handful of seeds at Frediano.
"Leech Seed!"
Parasitic vines exploded out from the seeds and went for the masked Weavile. Frediano lifted his icicle launcher and allowed the vines to wrap around them. They instantly froze and shattered with a gentle flex of the ice.
"Haha! You must try better than that, Lady Knight!"
Luna growled. He's a bad match up for me. If I wasn't so focused on keeping Harlow in sight, I would stand a better chance against him.
Frediano aimed his launcher again, this time focusing his fire on Melissa. She shrieked and ducked the first wave before boosting her speed with Quick Attack. Ice exploded against the walls, powdering her in snow and crystal. It was too much for her. Maybe in time, she wouldn't be so panicked about dealing with these types of opponents, but she at least had backup for most of her other fights.
"Somebody, help me!" Melissa screamed.
An icicle landed a clean shot against her side and exploded into an ice cluster, instantly encasing her legs and most of her right side. She flailed her free arm before faceplanting with the ground.
"Score!" Frediano cheered. He jumped off his ice path and soared above Melissa, morphing his claws into spiked maces. "Time for a dramatic exit, signorina!"
Melissa looked up in fear, watching Frediano reach the zenith of his jump before diving straight down with his ice maces aimed with the intention to crush her into the ground. Her mind wracked for a strategy to get her free, something useful to fight back, but her mind was too frazzled to contend with a viable strategy. Should she subject herself to fate or make like a Forester and throw whatever she had on her praying it worked out?
She wanted to abandon cowardice more than anything, so absolute crazy it was!
However, right as she reached for hidden satchel, something caught her eye. Something leaping over the rooftops, draped in a yellow aura shaped like a bird. Between Frediano's dive attack and the mysterious bird of light, Melissa didn't have any time to ask herself what she was witnessing. She did, however, note one particular oddity about the light bird she had to announce.
"K-Klaus!"
Klaus met Frediano halfway down and kicked him off his downward path. "Sky Attack plus Heavy Slam!"
He and Frediano went flying over the canal with Klaus pinning Frediano up against the wall. His eyes flickered back to Melissa and noted her cumbersome position. He grabbed Frediano's shoulders and kicked off the wall. He wrapped his legs around Frediano, then pointed his hands and hair out.
"Flash Cannon!"
Reflective light jettisoned form Klaus' hands and propelled away from the street. His hair fired a smaller Flash Cannon and exploded into Melissa's ice bindings, enough to free her without injury.
Melissa picked herself up and gasped as Klaus disappeared over the buildings. "Oh no, Klaus!" She tried to follow, but a crack of Luna's Vine Whip stopped her from fleeing.
"Oh no, you don't," Luna stated, raising her sword. "Now that that idiot's gone, we can get back to business."
Melissa nervously looked between the alley and Luna, bouncing nervously on her toes. With a moment of contemplation, she breathed a hesitant sigh and pulled her sword out.
Klaus and the others must've come looking for me. She gritted her teeth as colors danced in her eyes. Thank you, Klaus. I promise, I'll win this all on my own, then I'll come save you, too.
Klaus and Frediano crashed into a separate canal once they were out of sight. Frediano instantly froze the water and kicked Klaus off.
"Metal Claw!" Klaus' fingers turned metallic. He dug them into the layer of ice and stopped himself from falling into the water. The counter in his eye reached zero, then disappeared. "Phew…"
Frediano picked himself up and exaggeratedly shook his head. He pointed angrily at Klaus and yelled, "And just who the heck are you? That was meant to be my grand finisher!"
Klaus stood up and cracked his neck. "Oh, me?" A devilish grin stretched wide on the Morgrem's face. "Nobody special. But feel free to call me—"
His hair swayed back and forth, glowing white the tip. Klaus widened his right eye, showing the number '6' glowing red.
"Devil's Luck."