Despite the intentional twist and turns to circumvent their berserker of a pursuer, Gold and Jewel were able to safely navigate their way through the crowd streets of the capital toward their desired destination. The one place they could collectively think of to masterfully set off a foolproof plan to thwart, or at the very least dissuade further antagonization, their unstoppable aggressor. If this didn't work out, they were in desperate need of a miracle to come along.
"There it is!" Gold yelled, pointing out the bell tower standing tall in the center of the spacious roundabout-like street, giving them a clear view of the stationary bell at the top.
Jewel scanned the area and glared. "Not a whole lot of people around, too. That's perfect for us. Less casualties, the better."
"Are we positive this won't backfire?"
"Not doing anything is better than a plan backfiring. At least we can say we died fending for our lives." Jewel grinned. "But we've been through much worse on the streets. As long as we're together…"
Gold grinned back. "Nothing can stop the Dynamic Duo of Gold and Jewel."
"Read my mind, Brother. Read my mind."
After giving each other a quick high five, they raced toward the bell tower, passing by the few Pokémon walking about. They scampered through and slammed the front door shut behind them.
Their brilliant escape, however, came a second too late. Having mostly cleared his eyes of the painful mixture of stinging liquids, Armant found his way to the area, deducing their location through a faint trail of prints left behind by the stains on their paws. Fruit stains from their desperate attempt to escape Armant's fury.
Though, perhaps fury was a strong word for the Machamp. One couldn't deny he was simmering with irritation after their little trick, but to imply he was feeling murderous would be downright loony. Instead, he stepped out of hiding while patting down his face with a wet cloth.
He barely caught their tails slipping through the bell tower before the door closed. He had to admit, he didn't quite understand what their plan was if hiding out in a building was all they could accomplish. They knew he could tear it down just by leaning on it too hard. He almost considered it, but remembered they did have to be brought back alive. Tearing the whole building down on them would not only risk their lives, but Armant would have to add another weighty cost to his ever-growing debt like the wall he destroyed.
He sighed, then gently massaged his neck. "I'm probably walking into a trap." Despite acknowledging this, a grin still showed up on his face. "Alright, brats. Thrill me."
"Earth's Wrath!"
Though a single attack known by a single fighter, two voices called out the enhanced move as empowered vines swung through the air and engaged in a wild flurry of strikes. Melissa and Luna glared each other down while focusing on the positioning of their vines. Each attack, strong and deliberate, aiming for a lucky shot against their stationary equal.
Luna kept up with Melissa since she practically knew the move inside and out, although it was strange to say that the thief's movements were eerily similar to her own. This was beyond copying her technique. If Luna had to make any further accusations, Harlow flat out stole her fighting style.
Melissa, meanwhile, couldn't quite match Luna's skill with the move. Any other circumstance, her resolve would've given out and Luna would've nailed a critical hit through their vastly different defense styles. However, Melissa kept pace thanks to the efforts of her Foresight, predicting the movements of each move and reacting accordingly.
Although, it was starting to feel strenuous keeping up Foresight. She felt a pressure building in her head as she tried to concentrate on using both moves at once. She couldn't figure out why, especially since she was fully capable of using more than one move at once earlier. Perhaps having to focus on so many targets was the cause for concern, or perhaps she hadn't fully perfected the technique she wanted to use with Foresight and Copycat.
It was a little something she was trying to develop to make up for her lack of talent, though it was still in the works. Something to make use of her copy style and bring out its full potential.
However, there was no room for tests when her life was on the line.
Luna withdrew first and jumped out of Melissa's range as the vines smashed down. She dropped to her hands and plunged Vine Whip into the ground. Melissa's eyes flickered to her left and saw the shine of green coming from the wall. She bounced forward and dodged the Grass Pledge before sinking her vines into the ground.
Luna jumped back and avoided a Grass Pledge from below. She gritted her teeth furiously. That's MY move!
The entire street, road and buildings included, lit up with flat vortexes of green light. Melissa and Luna hopped around the street as the site erupted with grass pillars shooting from every direction. The girls' brains doubled in processing power, focusing their efforts to determine the optimal location to avoid being hit and the optimal location to send their opponent flying sky high.
With every little bit of time, Melissa absorbed more and more information on Luna's behavior and started emulating her aggressiveness with eerie accuracy, if not mildly exaggerated. By now, all she could think about was ending this fight as quickly as possible while feeling slightly enraged by the dueling Grass-Type moves, even if she didn't have any personal connection to the move.
It occurred to both of them that they weren't making progress, but Luna was the first to respond. "Copy this!" She slammed her hands down and lit up the entire street in smaller vortexes. I haven't had much time to refine this, but you sure as hell won't know what to do with it.
Melissa took a second to stare at the miniature vortex popping up all around her before bouncing into the air. If I had to guess, based off how she's been fighting earlier, this is—
"Earth's Wrath: Witch's Cursed Grove!"
Vine-like Grass Knots erupted from the ground and shot for the airborne Buneary in all directions. Melissa's mind went wild, the pressure in her head building, as she scanned each individual Grass Knot coming her way. A whole swarm of a garden descending upon her. One misstep or error in judgment, she would very likely be swaddled into an unbreakable cocoon. Melissa had a lot of options for counterattacks, but there would only be so much she could do without easy access to movement.
Faithless Imitation: Althalos!
Melissa's expression shifted again. The Vine Whips vanished, replaced with a barrier of Abyss Clouds surrounding her. The vines wrapped around the imperfect sphere and were readily absorbed into the darkness. She flashed a heated look back at Luna, then fired Will-O-Wisp through the opening.
Luna flicked her fingers up and created a wall of grass, blocking and snuffing out the flames. She panted heavily, feeling the energy in her vines flicker weakly. I've never pulled this technique off until now. I used too much energy to conjure it. She bared her teeth. But I didn't make it this far to quit now. Not as a knight, and certainly not in this battle.
Melissa used an Abyss Cloud as a footstool and rocketed over the grove.
Faithless Imitation: Jet!
A blue aura surrounded her this time, her face turning aggressive. Like, less furious and more pissed off with everything that moved. "Razor Shell!" She pulled out her dagger and conjured a water blade from it.
Luna lifted her sword and stopped Melissa's strike. "Another stolen copy?" she growled.
Melissa bared her teeth. "Got a problem with it, maggot?!" She pushed back on Luna's sword, then rushed her with a flurry of strikes.
Luna deflected three to four strikes, then ducked under one to punch the ground. "Grass Pledge!"
Melissa jumped to the side and narrowly avoid the pillar chain. Luna fired off her Vine Whip and grappled Melissa's waist, pulling her back in.
Melissa dug her heels down and reared her Razor Shell back. "Ice Blade!" Cold energy passed through the Razor Shell, then she slashed the vine in two.
"AGH!" Luna pulled back the severed vine, growling at the frost forming around the end. With a shout, she plunged her vines through the ground and pumped them with Grass Pledge. I can probably only pull this off one more time! "Earth's Wrath: Witch's Cursed Grove!"
The street lit up once again with miniature vortexes, then fired out a forest of vines at Melissa. She valiantly sliced through them, but became overwhelmed by the sheer quantity piling down on her. Vines wrapped around her waist, wrists, and ankles, snared around her neck, then started pinning her arms down.
She snarled and tried to turn the Ice Blade onto them, but a vine shot her hand and twisted the dagger from her grasp, knocking it into the canal. She tried to shout something obscene at Luna, but vines coiled around her head and clamped her jaw shut.
Luna panted heavily. "Good, now I can…" She punched both fists down. "Grass Pledge!"
A ring of vortexes opened up under Melissa, then lit up her cocoon in a vibrant blast of greenery. The razor sharp leaves shredded through her cocoon and sliced into her armor while new vines continuously reapplied themselves around her so she wouldn't escape.
Melissa gritted her teeth, biting back a scream pleading to be released. She glared through the wall of vines covering her face. Stupid Snivy, stupid grass nonsense, stupid…AGH! Dammit! Who the hell else can I copy? Amos is frickin' useless without a firearm, and I'd probably kill myself if I tried copying Jason! Dammit! All I have left is Luna's stupid moves and that freakin'—
Her eyes widened in realization.
Weirdo from earlier…
Back outside the cocoon, Luna continued pumping Grass Pledge through the ground, feeling her energy rapidly deplete through the continuous firing. She persevered and growled through clench teeth. Even if her body withered from exhaustion, she could keep going for hours and hours until she succeeded. She battled insomnia for weeks trying to find that scroll, and she sure as hell wasn't going to let it slip from her fingers now.
Just a little longer, then she should be down for the count.
Suddenly, Luna felt a jolt running through the cocoon. With her energy tethered to the grove, she could sense when something was fighting back with it. She glanced up, peering through the thick curtain of her Grass Pillars, and saw something squirming inside. Ice forming around the outside of the cocoon.
Ice? Is she using that ice blade again? She seemed like she needed a medium to use the Razor Shell. Maybe some sort of Ice-Type fighting…style?
Her eyes widened in horror and exasperation.
"Oh, please don't tell me—"
"Did somebody say—"
Ice skewered the inside of the cocoon and shredded it to pieces. Melissa came flying out of the Grass Pillars wrapped in a tight Whirlpool bubble, then somersaulted all the way to the ground, making an ever-so-graceful landing right in front of a flabbergasted Luna. Melissa struck a stylish pose, showing off the purple ice claws wrapped around her arms.
"—The Great Harlow!"
Luna's eye twitched. "Oh no…I'm not dealing with another one!" She sent out a wave of Grass Pillars.
Melissa laughed proudly, then dashed right into them. "Time for an adaptation of a classic!" She shifted the claws into blades and shredded through the oncoming Grass Pillars, creating a nifty tunnel through the beams before they dissipated. "Hopefully you'll like this one over the original!" She shifted the blades into lances and thrusted them.
Luna redirected them with her Vine Whips, then lunged forward. "Iron Tail!" She spun off her hands and smashed her tail across Melissa's Whirlpool barrier. She felt ice crystals forming inside and sponging up the impact.
"Here's a throwback to a class act!" Luna shielded with Vine Whip against the ice mace, throwing her across the street. Melissa shaped the mace into an ice cluster and fired off Icicle Spear through the Whirlpool. Like before with Frediano's, each icicle exploded into a jagged ice cluster.
"Earth's Wrath!" Luna flailed her Vine Whips in circles and shattered both the icicles and the ice exploding onto her vines. The added weight slowed her down for half a second at a time before she shattered them clean. This was important because that half second of slowed speed could mean an accidental icicle flying through her defenses.
"A dazzling performance, signorina!" Melissa praised. "However, you shall not upstage me!" She sprang forward with Quick Attack and shaped ice lances. "Have at you!"
Luna barely raised her sword in time to block, but the force slammed hard into her and knocked her sword flying from her back. She used her Vine Whips and blocked a second swing that threw her toward the canal, which she stopped herself from falling into. She tried another Grass Pledge, but Melissa rammed her at high speeds, sailing them over the canal.
"Icicle Crash!"
Luna braced herself as the giant icicle spiked her onto the other side of the canal, smashing into a wall. She quickly recovered and rolled out of a diving Icicle Crash attack, then flailed her vines against another Icicle Spear attack.
She's a fast learner, Luna surmised. Capable of copying my and that weirdo's fighting styles. They're imperfect, but she's handling herself well enough.
Melissa formed ice blades and dashed through the flurry of vines. Luna winced, feeling the frostbite snap at her as the blades cut through. "Iron Tail!" She swung and clashed with her hardened tail.
I can't keep this up forever! She's persistent! I could try ensnaring her again, but I don't think I have the strength for a third one, even if I pushed my luck.
Melissa won out in the power clash, morphing her blade into a mace, and bashed through Luna's Iron Tail with a clean punch to the face. She tumbled to the canal edge and collapsed onto her side, groaning. Melissa grinned triumphantly, then lunged at the downed Snivy, shaping her ice into claws.
One more attack and I win! It's curtains for you, Luna! Time for my grand finale—
BURST!
Melissa's eyes widened. A sudden ringing burst through her head as her nose gushed with a sudden spray of blood. The ice shattered from her arms, and a wave of lightheadedness struck her down like a stampeding herd of Tauros. She staggered forward and covered her face, swaying in confusion and growing dizziness. She felt blood rushing out from her nose like a river.
Wh…What just…?
Luna opened up eye cautiously, then gazed up in confusion as her opponent, one second away from a decisive hit, sudden had blood spraying from her nose. What…just happened? It was too sudden of an injury to be a delayed reaction. Did it have something to do with those copies she kept making? From the looks of things, Harlow was just as bewildered as her.
Regardless, Luna seized her chance and lunged at the stunned Buneary. "Give me that scroll!" she growled like a wild animal. She wrestled with Melissa and throttled her around, trying to dig the scroll out from her uniform.
F-Faithless—
Melissa felt the pressure in her head again, and a second spurt of blood. Her vision blurred, helpless against Luna's throttling.
W-What's going on? Why is this happening all of a sudden?
Luna pushed and shoved Melissa around, but the Buneary weakly struggled in her dazed confusion. "Give it to me! NOW!" She clutched down inside Melissa's uniform and grabbed the first thing she felt.
Unfortunately, their wrestling led them too close to the canal. Melissa's foot slipped off the slick surface of the edge, stripping her balance away. She gasped and flailed her arms wildly as she fell backwards into the canal, nearly taking Luna with her.
Luna shot Vine Whips into the walls and reared herself back, ripping whatever she grabbed right off of Melissa before she splashed into the water. Luna fell on her rear, then quickly sprang back up and searched the water.
From all their battling, it appeared debris mixed with the water and caused it to become murky, obscuring what would've been a clear sign of a getaway. Luna checked both sides of the murky water, but saw no trace of a Buneary desperately swimming away for her life.
Luna groaned, then fell onto her back. "And yet, this isn't nearly as bad as my all-nighters. At least I got the—"
Luna massaged the object in her hand and immediately realized something wrong with it. It wasn't a tube-shaped container, but a rounded object of some kind. It was too small to be a container. It felt about the size of a pocket watch.
She closed her eyes and exhaled a long, angry sigh through her nose. "Of…course." She sat up and shook her head. "Great, I lost the scroll and Harlow. And the fruits of my efforts reward me with some useless trinket." She held the object she snatched up to see what her failures gifted her.
She blinked in surprise, then turned the object over a few times. A silver locket with a tree etched into the front. She checked for initials or any other signifiers, but nothing aside from the tree was on it.
"Strange. It's really fancy, too. Is this hers?" She narrowed her eyes curiously, then reached for the button on the side to see what could be inside.
Her finger just about grazed the surface when a loud explosion sounded from in the capital, followed by the screams of Pokémon. She turned to a smoke stack rising over the rooftops.
"Ah crap, I forgot there's more of them!" She stuffed the locket away for later and looked around the canal. She spotted the nearest bridge to the other side and raced to it.
Pokémon ran for their lives as a Morgrem came flying out of the alleyway and smashed through a pie stand. Soon after, a shower of icicles fired after him, exploding into clusters of ice that ripped apart anything they contacted with.
Klaus wiped the pie off his face and hightailed down the street, shoving his way through the thinning crowd. "Move!" he barked. He jumped onto a Gurdurr's shoulder and sprang through the crowd, hopping off heads like stepping stones.
Icicles continued flying after him. Klaus covered his head as several flew right over his head, taking out another stand. He glared back to see Frediano giving chase in a similar fashion, only he was gracefully skipping off heads.
"Not exactly a stable stage, but I can work in any setting!" Frediano fired Icicle Spear again.
Klaus saw the crowd dispersing up ahead and made a sharp jump behind one of the food stands, ducking under the counter once he landed. Once hidden, he rolled six more moves with his High Roller. He sensed what moves he had available, then grinned.
Yes! A good roll! Alright, let's use…Mind Reader!
Klaus' eyes flashed blue. He pressed his fingers to his temples and listened out for Frediano's presence.
"Your scene hasn't quite ended yet, ladro!" he heard Frediano announce. He concentrated harder, then painted a mental image in his head. The stand he was behind with Frediano aiming right at it. Icicle Crash!
"Barrier!" Klaus turned and raised his palms, projecting a transparent barrier just before the giant icicle smashed through. It slammed hard into the barrier and threw Klaus against the wall. He growled and empowered his hair with Grass-Type energy. "Power Whip! Combine with Leech Life!" His hair elongated and thrusted at Frediano.
Frediano shaped his claws and caught the stinger-like hair. The force carried him off the ground, snaking around the air like a hostile Dragonair. It darted down and smashed Frediano into the ground, but he held strong against the combined attack.
Klaus smirked. "Nuzzle!"
A jolt of electricity shot through the hair and gave the wannabe actor a quick jolt. "YOW!" His grip loosened. The Power Whip/Leech Life combo jabbed him hard into the chest. The ground depressed under Frediano, spidering into cracks. His body tensed up with paralysis, but he forced his arm to move, bashing his ice claws against the hair.
Klaus retracted the hair and carefully took a step back. Great. Now I just have High Horsepower and Decorate. I can't even use Decorate on myself. He narrowed his eyes. Burning Jealousy would inflict Burn status from the power boost, though. Still, let's review my options.
Klaus rerolled another four moves. His eyes widened in disbelief at what he was sensing before a cruel smirk stretched over his face.
Oh, you are SO busted.
Frediano rose to his feet and dusted himself off. "You know, between the angry knight and that dastardly, but quite lovely thief Harlow, you're proving to be a real thorn in my side."
Klaus stood up and snickered through clenched teeth. "Oh trust me, I'm the absolute worst of them all." He punched his hands together and lit them up in dark energy. "Let me show you. Foul Play!" He kicked off into a sprint. The extra energy he sapped had him feeling fresher than ever. He felt alive, free like the wind!
Frediano morphed his claws and fired Icicle Spear. Klaus charged through them with his hands guarding his face. The dark energy around his fists shattered the icicles, still doing meager damage to his hands. He lunged the rest of the way and threw a punch.
Frediano stepped aside and caught Klaus by the hair. The shaped into a closed fist as ice slowly formed down the length, reaching his scalp. "Now, you may exit the scene, posthaste!" He reared his arm back and started shifting the ice claws.
Klaus smirked. "Torment!"
A dark wave sounded from his voice and passed over Frediano. A shiver ran through his body, all the way up to his claws where they locked in place. Frediano gasped and tried shaping them, but his body wouldn't allow him.
"Enhanced moves can be so tricky to use if someone screw with the combinations, don't you think?" Klaus taunted. "Moves like Taunt or Torment ruin the flow. And since you love using those claws so much, you constantly change their shape with Shadow Claw. Torment normally keeps you from using the same move twice in a row. But since you have to keep it active with what I assume is Ice Punch, you can't use both at the same time anymore."
Frediano hissed and raised his hand. Frost flowed from the claws and formed into an Icicle Crash. "I will not settle for a pedestrian use of my moves, but I'll be sure to take you out of the performance with this Icicle Crash! Filled with my passionate fury!"
Klaus grinned. "You could, but—" He spun off his heel and slammed his foot across Frediano's face. "You're just the understudy to my performance! High Horsepower and Triple Kick!"
Klaus' kick rocked Frediano's whole body. The Icicle Crash in his claw shattered and rained down in pieces. Klaus immediately followed up his kick with a second one, hitting Frediano even harder. He torqued his whole body around and landed the final kick, throwing Frediano down the street.
The wannabe actor smashed into a kebab stand with said food items raining down on his head. He picked himself up, shook his head, and then looked at his arms as the ice shattered off. He clenched his claws, then growled furiously.
"You ruined…my style!" He sprang up and raised his hands. "Whirlpool!" He summoned a whirlpool over his head and threw it at Klaus.
"Sparkling Aria!"
Klaus sang a high note, a range he didn't even imagine he could pull off, and blasted the whirlpool with an orb of water. They clashed in the air for a moment before exploding. Sparkling bubbles scattered around the street. A few fell on Klaus and tickled his skin.
"Shadow Claw!" Frediano formed the sharp shadows around his claws and sprinted toward Klaus. He dragged the claws through the ground, leaving deep, gnarly cuts behind him.
Better do this fast! Klaus rolled another four moves, then raised his hands. "Sludge!" He fired dark purple sludge from his hands like a geyser.
Frediano pushed through them with one Shadow Claw, then extended the other. Klaus barely dodged it, feeling the shadows slash his cheek open. Frediano canceled Shadow Claw and clotheslined Klaus with a boost from Quick Attack. He flipped the Morgrem upside-down before grabbing his uniform and shoving his face into the stone street.
"Shadow Claw!" Frediano formed the sharp shadows again and went for the finishing blow.
Klaus' hair suddenly sprang to life and wrapped around Frediano's head. He cancelled his Shadow Claw and tried to rip the hair off. Klaus weakly pushed himself up, then glared at the flailing Weavile.
"Wrap." He squeezed down tighter on Frediano. "Don't worry, I won't squeeze you unconscious. Scald!" He kicked Frediano off, then blasted him backwards with boiling hot water.
"Whirlpool!" Frediano surrounded himself in cooling water and pushed back against the Scald until it stopped. "Quick—"
Frediano doubled over from a ramming punch. Klaus dug his fist in deep, coated in a blue aura shaped like a fish Pokémon. "Fishious Rend!" He pressed his fist in and threw Frediano further down the street.
He caught the ground with his claws, then started up Ice Punch. "This performance is nothing more than a farce, and not the entertaining kind! I shall have you booed off the stage immediately!"
Klaus smirked. "Here, let me make it up to you with a wardrobe change. Decorate!" Fairy energy swirled through his hands, then sprayed out in the form of a frosting-like substance.
Frediano covered his face as the frosting neatly decorated his body. Green, swirling dallops on his shoulders, pink frosting cufflinks, blue accents over his clothes, and an intricately designed red heart on the back of the cape. Frediano looked over his himself in disbelief as his body swelled with newfound power in the form of a pink glow.
He flexed his claws, then laughed out loud. "You fool! You've only made me more beautiful! And more powerful than ever!" He kicked off into a Quick Attack, darting with incredible power behind him.
Klaus, however, smirked and raised his hand at the approaching Weavile. "Time to make a cake. Burning Jealousy!" His body lit up bright red, then unleashed a violent red aura straight into Frediano.
Though unseen, Frediano's eyes widened at the approaching heat wave. "Oh…right—AAAAHHHH!" The wave engulfed him and set him ablaze in an inferno. He tried to move out of the flames, but his body locked up from the earlier paralysis. He took the full brunt of the attack before collapsing onto his claws and knees.
Klaus grinned at the down Weavile. "Sometimes even a seemingly unlucky roll can work out in my favor if I play my cards right. Guess the curtains falls onto you."
Frediano pushed himself up and aimed his claws. "Icicle Spear!" He fired icicles from his claws.
Klaus jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the amped up icicle attacks. Even without Whirlpool to give them a boost, they broke through stone like bullets. One grazed Klaus' cheek and just about tore a layer of skin off. He winced and staggered back on his heels as he caressed the injury.
"Ice Punch!" Frediano charged at the stunned Morgrem, fist wrapped in cold energy.
Klaus smirked and snapped his fingers. "Topsy-Turvy."
A strange sensation hit Frediano all of a sudden, feeling his power significantly drop. No, not drop, but reverse. His strength completely flipped around, feeling far weaker in one move. Klaus held his hand out and easily caught Frediano's fist despite the frost forming on his hand.
Klaus grabbed both of Freadiano's wrists and grinned. "Burning Jealousy." His body lit up bright red and prepared to unleash another heat wave blank point into Frediano's face. Frediano fought with Klaus' surprisingly strong grip, but couldn't fight back with his once weaker opponent. He feared the worst as the Burning Jealousy reached maximum intensity.
Then, he felt it.
The Torment finally ended.
"Dark Frostbite Claws!"
Ice erupted off of Frediano's claws and forced Klaus' grip off. He punched the ground and threw himself backwards right as the Burning Jealousy released. He shielded himself in a cocoon of ice just as the flames slammed into him. His ice melted instantly, but he was left unharmed in the blast.
Klaus staggered back and grunted. "Shit."
Frediano shook the water off his claws, then reformed his ice claws. "I've about had it with your tricks. If you want to fight, fight me like a man!"
Klaus grimaced. "Sorry, but I prefer fighting like a coward."
"Then you will die as one!"
"I thought you wanted me alive!"
"Die…on STAGE!" Frediano rushed in with Quick Attack, slamming his ice fists into Klaus, who barely stopped them with his hands. The momentum added to their force, making up for the loss in strength.
Klaus grunted and rolled another set of moves. However, his counter automatically stopped at '2'. Shit, I'm reaching my limit! He dug his heels down as he felt Frediano pushing back. And he can only stay depowered for so long. I either have to run or hope for something big!
Melissa was impressed with herself. Despite having zero training for such a situation as being swept away into the canals, and while she was briefly incapacitated no less, she still managed to swim as far away from Luna as possible while left completely unseen. Even more impressive was that she held her breath for about two minutes of vigorous swimming.
Granted, she was also on the edge of passing out and drowning, so perhaps not the best time to celebrate.
She frantically paddled to the surface before emerging and grabbing hold of the canal's edge. She sucked in a deep breath, then let out a loud, dreary pant as she lay on the canal for a moment to rest her drumming heart.
"Never…doing that again," she breathed. "Ever…"
She took a moment to wipe her hand across her nose. The blood, though still running, ran its course out of her nose aside from the red smear in her fur now. She still felt lightheaded, and not just because she nearly drowned trying to flee from the fight.
She faintly remembered Jason mentioning something about limitations to enhancing moves beyond normal capability. She assumed extra soreness or larger stamina costs. Nothing about what he said implied the blood vessels in her nose could start imploding. Was it possible she was holding on the personas for too long, or was it the quick change that did her in?
Regardless, she had more reason to get away from the fight, lest she run the risk of being apprehended and disarmed.
Melissa pulled herself out of the canal, then patted down her skirt. "Okay, where should I go from here?"
Her ears shot up to the sound of a bell ringing in the distance, followed swiftly by the unmistakable sound of a structure being violently torn down. She turned her head and gawked at the dust cloud forming in the distance.
"…Oh sweet Mew, what happened?" Better than sticking around in the canal, she hurriedly fled into the city.
Ten minutes earlier
Armant pushed open the bell tower's door and waltzed up, hands behind his back. He whistled to himself, taking in the soft glow of the room illuminated by the daylight passing through the windows. A winding staircase wrapped around the walls, heading straight for the top of the tower with several other floors separating them. Support beams and pillars kept the floors up and secure.
He chuckled to himself, then took a measly scan around the room as he headed for the stairs. "You brats got a thing for atmosphere. Climatic showdown in a bell tower? Gutsy. Of course, you two can escape any time you want. You want to end things here, obviously. An enclosed space, just the three of us. You have my respect." He dragged his fingers into the wall, digging into the stone, and headed up the first flight of stairs. "Don't keep me waiting for too long, though. I'm excited to see what you have planned."
He reached the second floor and saw, yet again, nothing but some junk laying around. He recalled how someone used to live in the old tower back when it was first built. The place was built to be a home, but nowadays it was a landmark for travelers to visit. If he remembered right, there were five floors separating him from the ground to the bell itself. The closer he got to there, the closer he got to the twins.
"How long do you want to keep playing cat and mouse?" Armant asked aloud. "I've got time, sure, but not that much. We can end this now and you two won't have to get hurt. I'd hate to kill you by accident." He furrowed his brow, a grim expression passing over for a moment. "Wouldn't be the first time."
He heard the patter of feet and turned. He saw an old writing desk, but not a living soul to see. He hummed, taking a full look around the room again. There weren't many places to hide. Besides the desk, there was an old bookshelf and a few barrels. He knew the twins were fast, but fast enough to hide without being spotted?
"Still up to your tricks?" Armant picked at his ear and huffed. "You Foresters love playing like spirits. Do I need to perform an exorcism for you, or should I banish you with some warding charms? You can tell me. I'm here to have fun, too. So, come on out and we can have some fun—"
"Twins of Calamity!"
Armant spun on his heel and stopped Gold's surprise punch with his hand. He felt the second shockwave shoot out from the punch, but Armant was better prepared for it. He barely felt it. He narrowed his eyes, meeting with Gold's uneasy expression.
"You're a brave little kitten, aren't you?" Armant whispered.
Gold bared his teeth. "How strong are you?"
Armant smiled wistfully. "Can't say I remember."
"Good enough for me. Sister, now!"
Armant barely spotted the purple blur whiz by. He tried to catch her, but she nimbly slithered under his hand before running around his body like a Skwovet on the hunt for food. She stopped and jumped off his chest, throwing smoke bombs in his face.
He let go of Gold and covered his eyes, still stinging from their little trick earlier. Once he waved the smoke aside, he noticed something wrapped around his chest: a rope tied around him like a harness.
He squinted confusingly at the rope, then looked at the twins, who were hanging out on the next flight of steps. "What is this?"
Gold snickered and wagged his finger. "If you want to know—"
"You'll have to play~," Jewel finished playfully. The twins snickered together, then raced up the stairs.
Common sense told Armant he should rip the rope off right now and continue with the chase hassle free. Just by feeling the rope, he could tell it was high quality, too. It could probably hold up against a regular Machamp's strength for a good while. Armant could easily tear it off, no sweat.
However, common sense was also the fun killer.
Armant smirked and shook his head. "Well, I could easily knock you brats out in one shot if I wanted to. I suppose I'll play with your little handicap. Might actually give me a decent challenge." He stretched his legs, then bolt up the stairs.
He caught the twins right as they reached the center of the next floor, sticking their tongues out at him. Armant just laughed and slammed his palm down. A tremor exploded through the bell tower, shaking and knocking everything over, including the twins' balance.
"Earthquake," Armant muttered. He pressed his foot to the wall and kicked off straight into the twins.
"Brother!" Jewel tackled Gold and herself out of the way. She felt Armant's fingertips graze across the back of her head, barely catching her.
Armant stopped on his foot and lunged again. The twins landed on their feet and raced around the room with the berserker Machamp hot on their trail and the rope continuously following him.
"Sister, please tell me this is going to work!" Gold exclaimed.
"The rope should be long enough! I did the math!" Jewel assured.
"I'm more concerned about our part in the equation!"
They jumped off everything in sight, from cabinets to drawers, with Armant swinging at them with just his pinkie. He seemed to be delivery greater force than he did to them, though, as a single poke shattered the wooden furniture through the center. They dare not think about what happened when he speared the stone walls, lest they feel the unforgiving wrath of that malicious poke.
Jewel dug into her pockets and pulled out an armful of smoke bombs. "Brother, now!" She threw down an entire cluster, filling the room in a cloud of pine-scented smoke.
Armant stomped and covered his mouth. He could smell the smoke through his hand. "Pine? What the—"
"Twins of Calamity!"
Armant ducked back and watched Gold sail past his face. He kicked off a wall with his attack and launched back at the Machamp, but Armant stopped his punch in his palm again. Gold pulled back before Armant could grab him and ran around the smoky room, hands and feet ablaze in the dark energy.
"So, now you're trying to fight me for real?" Armant asked.
"Something like that," Gold's voice projected through the smoke.
"But do not mistaken our forwardness as brutish tactics," Jewel's voice corrected. "We're simply taking advantage of the situation."
Armant smirked. "Oh well. Earthquake!" He punched the ground and shook the tower, but only enough to rattle the inside and not tear out the foundation.
"Twins of Calamity!"
Armant deflected a diving strike from Gold, but the Meowth kicked off his hand and struck another wall instead. He raced around the stationary Machamp a couple times and went on the attack again. Armant braced himself as the punch nailed him in his guard. The doubled force rammed into him, but he stood his ground and bounced the cat off.
Gold dragged his claws down to stop himself, then looked around through the thick smoke. "Sister—"
"Up another level, now!" she called out.
Armant glared as Gold's form raced up to the next flight of stairs. What are they up to? He followed after them and found himself in a similarly obscured room filled in the green smoke. They only have two more levels after this before we reach the bell. Are they seriously planning to settle this all the way up there?
"Twins of Calamity!"
Armant braced himself again. Gold lunged from the smoke and nailed Armant square in the back. He flexed his back muscles and pushed the cat off. Gold kicked off a wall, sailed across the room, and kicked off another wall back toward Armant.
Armant reared his hands back, then clapped. Similar to a Fake Out, the shock spooked Gold, but also threw him back with its thunderous boom. Gold's back hit against the wall, and he crumpled to the ground.
Armant marched toward him, but stopped as a flurry of claws slashed at his head. He swiped at the attacking Purrloin, but she kicked off his forehead and landed beside her brother, helping him to his feet.
"Just a bit further, Brother!" she encouraged.
Gold winced, then nodded. "Of…course."
Armant's brow furrowed. Okay, something's not right. "Earthquake!" He punched the floor and shook the tower again.
"Move!" The twins jumped right as the shockwave passed through and grabbed the edge of the next set of stairs, pulling themselves out of sight.
Armant chased after them and, once again, he found himself in a smoke-filled environment. "Darkest Lariat!" Right as he got onto the floor, he spun himself in a tight circle, blowing back a section of the smoke until the center of the room was cleared. His eyes scanned the room fast, but saw no sign of the twins. Before he reached to check and see if they were hiding behind something, he heard the hurried rush of paws skittering a floor up.
One more until the bell.
Armant bent his knees and, throwing away caution, leaped straight through the ceiling. Lucky for him, the twins happened to be right under him.
"AH!" they screeched.
He grabbed their tails, spun them around, and threw them hard into a bookshelf. The shelves shattered to pieces with the twins laying in a wreckage of books, nursing their ailing heads. They struggled to stand back on their feet.
Armant glared. "What are you two—" He moved forward, but stopped a bit as he felt a sluggish tug on the rope around him. Huh? Is something connected to the end of this?
Gold and Jewel leaned on each other in a desperate attempt to stand. They smirked through cunning grins. "Ding-dong, ding-dong~," they chanted in whispers.
Armant eyed them suspiciously. I'm almost tempted to rip this harness off now. What kind of trap did they goad me into?
"Is…everything set, Sister?" Gold panted.
"Sh-Should be," Jewel huffed. "You followed my instructions exactly, Brother?"
"Down to the minute details."
"Good. Now, we just need to ring the people of our grand exit."
Armant curled his fingers in preparation. I don't want to use any of my other moves and risk giving those two major concussions. I'll have to stick with Darkest Lariat or just generic attacks like earlier. They're scheming something dangerous, but what does it have to do with this rope?
Armant tensed his muscles and prepared to attack, but Jewel suddenly snapped his digits and whispered, "Torment. Encore."
A dark aura followed by a light aura passed over Armant. He tried to will himself to use Darkest Lariat, but couldn't physically force himself to. He couldn't access Earthquake either, or any of his other moves. Encore locked him into Darkest Lariat, which he couldn't use a second time before of Torment.
"Now!" While Armant was distracted, the twins found their final burst of speed and raced past him, scurrying up a nearby ladder and breaking through the hatch in the ceiling.
Armant traced their escape, then sprang through the ceiling again. He landed, then looked overhead to see the bell hanging just a meter over him. He glared at the twins, who were chilling by an open window, waving cheekily at their pursuer.
Armant narrowed his eyes. "What's all this?"
"The victory bell," they stated matter-of-factly.
Armant smirked. "Crazy brats." He tensed his legs, then lunged at them. "I'm putting an end to this!"
Jewel held up her paw. "Three. Two. One."
The rope suddenly went taut behind Armant and held him in place. He was a whole arm length away from grabbing the two, who continued smiling smugly at the trapped Machamp.
Jewel raised her paws and laughed. "Congrats! You've been trapped!"
Armant blinked at them, then looked back at the rope. Again, a fine quality rope that didn't immediately snap from the force of his charge, even if he didn't put everything he had into it. Still, for all the trouble they put him through, he wasn't impressed.
He sighed and looked at the twins disappointedly. "Kids, you tried your best and I respect that, but this little game ends now."
Gold chuckled and coolly stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Oh, we know."
"Go ahead, bruiser," Jewel goaded. "Claim your prize. You earned it. We won't try and escape the tower. All you need to do is take a step forward and grab us."
Armant scoffed. "Your funeral." He bent his legs and dropped down into a runner's stance. "It's been fun, brats, but time to end this little game. Take this!" He catapulted straight at the twins with all his might.
For a split second as the hulking mass of destruction torpedoed toward them, Jewel felt a shred of doubt in her elaborate plan. The possibility of the rope snapping came up and, though she was confident in its strength, could ruin the whole of their plan. If it didn't hold up, she and Gold would probably have their heads caved in with blood splattered over the wall, and that's under the assumption Armant still wanted them alive.
By instinct of her own fear, she closed her eyes and prayed for everything to work out.
The rope went taut again, but Armant kept moving.
That's when they heard the cracking.
Right as Armant's fingers were close enough to graze their faces, the tower suddenly shook with a cacophony of crashes coming down below. The sound of crumbling stone surged straight up the tower and reached the top floor. The floor depressed, sinking down as the support underneath suddenly went out.
The rope pulled back on Armant and took him down as he lost his balance in the collapsing room. He lunged at the twins, who pulled themselves onto the window and narrowly avoided his grab. He dug his fingers into the wall and held on tight as the rope pulled down on him. Whatever it snagged on was trying to drag him down, too. As strong as he was, the wall he was gripping to wasn't. He kept readjusting his fingers and stone gave out under the weight.
He glared up at the twins, who waved down at him smugly. "What did you do?"
"We had five minutes to prepare," Jewel explained. "During our search of the city, we found a stand that was selling, what they advertised as, the strongest rope this side of the kingdom."
"Sounded like a load of malarkey, but turns out he got his money's worth," Gold admitted. "Not that we paid for it."
"We tied that rope around intricate points around the bell tower. Weak points that, if enough force was applied, would take the whole place down. We did have to weaken those spots some, mostly the support beams, just enough to keep this place standing." Jewel grinned. "We also tied it around the walls of the outside using the windows. We work fast under pressure."
"We couldn't do much about the stone, but my Twins of Calamity turned your strength into just what we needed to weaken the walls," Gold continued. "After that, it was just a simple matter of hiding the surprise from you with some smoke, and getting you to use that brute strength of yours to finish the job. The result? It's like pulling on the ends of a tangled string and bunching the center into a super tight knot. And everything between the string getting taken out with it."
Armant kept digging into the wall as more and more debris piled down on the rope's tension. With his two free hands, he grabbed the rope and prepared to rip the harness off. "Smooth trick, brats, but I've seen enough."
"So have we~," they purred, unsheathing their claws. Gold bent down and furiously swiped at his fingers.
"Hey, cut that out—" Armant's eyes widened as the stone weathered away faster, both in combination of his weight pressing from his fingers and Gold's claws digging out the wall. As if he was clinging to mud, he flailed his hands into the wall while trying to wrestle with the harness.
"Have you heard the legend of a sword in the stone?" Gold started, not stopping his flurry of claws. "How none but the one true king can wield the sword itself?"
Jewel grinned. "Well, no one ever said you couldn't use the sword with the stone. It'd just be an oversized club. Though you are very powerful, you as well will find yourself sealed tight by the weight of this mighty stone prison." She leapt into the air, facing the bell and the mechanism keeping it in place. "Sinister Swipe!"
She swiped her paws and removed all the screws and bolts holding up the bell mechanism. She rained them down on Armant's head, then gave the bell a good kick before the collapsing tower shook it loose.
Armant's eyes widened. "Oh shit—"
His brief moment of distraction allowed Gold to dig his fingers out of the wall, and this time he won't be able to cling back on. Armant was pulled down right as he ripped the rope off his body, but it was too late. The bell collapsed from its perch and crashed straight down with the rest of the tower. It crashed down on Armant and the ground with a low, ominous chime ringing out.
"Time to bail!" Gold gasped as the window started collapsing.
"Agreed!" Jewel exclaimed.
They hopped out right as the ceiling came crashing down. Everything caved in on itself in a thunderous, resounding boom that no doubt everyone within the kingdom, perhaps even beyond the walls, could hear.
Melissa staggered around the corner, still out of breath for her deep dive into the canal, and saw a crowd of Pokémon gathered around a dust cloud, all screaming and shouting something in their native tongues she couldn't quite pick up. She ran over, pushing her way through the crowd, to get a better look at the scene.
"Please be nothing bad, please be nothing bad, please be…" She reached the front, then felt her jaw just about fall out of place when she saw the dust clear. "Wh…What the?"
Debris from what was once a bell tower, its remains strewn across the ground with a towering pile collapsed in the middle with nothing more than the spire roof intact and sitting on top like a hat. The bell tower's bell rang its last harmonious note as it rolled out from the rubble and onto flat ground, spinning in circles accompanied with a dull clang from the inside.
Melissa's eye twitched, staring back and forth between the tower and the bell. "Wha…I, you, what just…but why? Huh? Who would even…why?"
She felt two hands tap her shoulders. She shrieked and swung around with her dagger…which she didn't have any more because it was still lost in the canal waterways somewhere. Thankfully, it was two faces she knew, both very roughed up and caked in stone dust.
"G-Gold? Jewel?" Melissa muttered. "W-Were you two in there?" she stuttered.
Gold sighed. "Yes, yes, you can worry about the details later. Right now, my sister and I are a little under the weather. I dare say I swallowed some blood."
"I think my liver is bruised," Jewel groaned.
Melissa looked back at the bell tower, then back at the twins with a horrified look. "You just…destroyed a bell tower. You…why would you…that's got to be a famous landmark or something—"
The twins hooked Melissa's arms with theirs and dragged her out of the crowd. "Oh, it was. Keyword, was," Gold muttered. "Eh, it doesn't matter. Landmarks get destroyed all the time."
"Now, how about we find the others and get out of here? Sound fine to you, dear?" Jewel asked the shell-shocked Buneary.
"B-But I…you…you just…" She remained unresponsive as they pulled her away from the gathering crowd.
And perhaps that was for the best, too, for they didn't want to stick around for too long. A certain Machamp was stirring from underneath the pile, and the twins knew for a fact whatever they did to him was probably going to leave a small bruise at worse. Nothing compared to what might happen to them.
There was a first for everyone. In Angelo's case, it was fighting inside a giant sinkhole made of mud while his opponent decided to laze about with a spot of fishing. Too bad Angelo was the fish.
Legs erupting in flame, Angelo did his best to navigate the sinkhole, providing himself the bare essentials for footholds in the brief contacts he had with the ground. The flames pouring from his legs were so intense, the mud instantly reverted into solid-enough ground to spring off of. It wasn't much, especially since he was out of his element, but he was lasting longer than he should have. It helped Evangelina's personal guard, Romano, was a Swampert, so he had experience dealing with mud fish Pokémon.
Speaking of, he caught sight of Fabrice's fishing bauble shooting out of the muddy sinkhole, heading right towards him. He knocked it away with the back of his heel, then launched towards where the line was sticking out. He delivered a superheated kick through the mud walls, lighting up the inside with a flare of heat that boiled the surface.
Mud surged from the opposite side before Fabrice shot out. "Avalanche!" A stormy white aura surrounded Fabrice. From his hands, he fired volleys of packed ice down on Angelo.
Angelo spun on his foot and fired off a blade of flames, slamming into and melting the ice into vapor. He hopped across the sinkhole and kicked Fabrice across the side, throwing him back into the muddy whirlpool.
"Avalanche!" Ice chunks fired from inside the whirlpool and from all directions.
Angelo spun through the air, wrapping himself in a cocoon of flame. The ice absorbed into the flame cocoon and melted like the rest. However, Fabrice's fishing line shot out and wrapped around Angelo's ankles. The mud coating the line protected it from the flame.
"Going down!" Fabrice called out, tugging on his fishing rod and pulling Angelo under.
Angelo held his breath as his vision became obscured in a murky gray sludge. He couldn't see or hear anything, succumbing to the spinning force of the grounded vortex. He nearly lost his breath as something, presumably Fabrice, rammed into him and punched his gut. The fishing line tightened and dragged him against the current.
Heaven's Flame!
He formed the plasma ball at his feet and stomped it through the current. He heard a boom up ahead, and the fishing line loosened. He swam with the current until he reached the surface. He caught his breath, then glided atop the muddy waves as he searched for Fabrice.
He noticed more or the ground was sinking away, and the sinkhole was getting bigger. Fabrice's earlier comment about drowning the entire capital suddenly didn't seem quite so farfetched if this kept up.
"Heaven's Flame!" He summoned multiple plasma balls and kicked them into the sinkhole. One by one, explosions denotated and sent up geysers of gray mud.
One landed its mark and through Fabrice into the air. Angelo kicked another Heaven's Flame at the airborne Marshtomp. Fabrice opened his eyes in time to see the oncoming attack, then crossed his arms.
"Mirror Coat!" The attack struck him, but absorbed into a refracted sheen surrounding his body. He pulled his arms back and channeled the energy between his hands. "Solo Geyser Nova!" He fired a typhoon of water from his hands which casted a brilliant rainbow blow.
Angelo found his footing again and bounced over the typhoon. The stored energy of his countered attack erupted from the typhoon and threw Angelo higher in the air.
Mirror Coat and Whirlpool, huh? Interesting attack.
He once again found a fishing line caught around his ankle and flew straight back down into the sinkhole with a big splash. He kicked a Heaven's Flame at Fabrice's feet as he glided on the mud's surface and knocked out his balance. Fabrice splashed face first into the mud and was nearly dragged under.
Angelo freed his legs, then hopped out of the sinkhole. "Heaven's Flame!" He charged up a bigger plasma ball and kicked it into the dead center of the sinkhole.
Fabrice saw the attack coming and swam for safety on dry land. The attack went off, resulting in a shockwave that caved the entire sinkhole on top of itself, ceasing its merciless spinning.
Angelo landed on the ground, then glared across the inactive sinkhole as Fabrice got to his feet. "You play a dangerous game, Fabrice."
The Marshtomp smirked. "Fortunately for you, I fight better with my girl. We'd have you defeated in one minute, tops."
Angelo sighed. "I'll take your word for it, but that just means I have one less pain to deal with." He lit up his feet with Blaze Kick, lifting one knee into an attack stance. "Any other muddy tricks to show off?"
"Well—"
A loud sound in the distance cut Fabrice off. He and Angelo turned toward the direction of the sound and saw a dust cloud rising some distance away. They could've sworn they heard a bell ringing, too.
"What the—" Fabrice tried to say before another sound caused him to flinch. He looked further ahead and saw an explosion, followed by what appeared to be shards of ice firing into the sky. "Crap, are they fighting in the city?!"
Angelo glared. "Strange. Luna's the only other one with me. Did more knights join the search?"
"I don't think so," Fabrice said. "I think those bounty hunters found them."
"You're being chased by bounty hunters?" Angelo gasped. "Great, even more of a mess to clean up."
Fabrice gritted his teeth. This is bad. Really bad. This was supposed to be a mission to secure Melissa, but it's turning in a battle royale. And with all this commotion, that means HE is going to show up soon.
Angelo took notice of Fabrice's distraction, then launched himself over the sinkhole. "Angel's Hellfire!" His legs erupted into darker flames.
Fabrice barely had a second to notice. He crossed his arms and shrieked through clenched teeth as the flaming foot burned through his sleeves. The red-hot foot grinded into his flesh, leaving what would surely be a nasty burn later. His focus, however, stayed on the status of his team.
I can't waste any more time. We need to leave, now! Time for an emergency escape!
"Sorry about this, Angelo!"
"What—" Angelo tried to say before Fabrice grabbed his leg, now setting his hands on fire, and dragged himself down into the melted ground. The intense of Angelo's flames quickly hardened the mud back to solid stone. His flames died out as he tried to free his feet. "H-Hey!"
Fabrice popped out the ground and grabbed Angelo. "Really sorry, but I need to leave now!" He rummaged through Angelo's pack until he found a wrapped ball of cloth. He peeked inside the cloth, smiled to himself, then tucked it inside his jacket. He pulled out a bag of bits and dumped it into Angelo's bag. "I may be a thief, but I paid good money for this gift. Take care!"
"Stop!" Angelo struggled within the ground, superheating his feet for an extra boost.
Fabrice dove through the ground and swam off into the city like a man on a mission, which he was. He swam faster than he ever did in his life. All the mattered was getting out of the capital before something worse started hunting them.
Hang on, you guys, I'm coming to save you!
Klaus and Frediano separated from a powerful collision of their attacks, hands wrapped in dark energy and claws coated in ice. They were on their last legs as they glared each other down, but still raring to go no matter what it takes.
"As much as I hate to admit it," Frediano grumbled, "this performance has been going on for way too long. Even I know the curtain must fall eventually."
Klaus scoffed, raising his fists up. "I still got plenty of tricks left to use." Not much I can do with Laser Focus and Fury Swipes as my last two tricks, though.
"Then, we shall move on to the grandest spectacle in my arsenal!" Frediano stated grandly, shaping his claws into large, jagged, monstrous claws of frozen despair. "Feast your eyes on my true grand finale!"
Klaus' body heated up with Burning Jealousy. "Alright, you sad excuse of a clown, give me your best—"
The ground burst open in a puddle of mud, cutting off Klaus' taunt. He came face-to-face with a hurried Fabrice, who tackled his midsection and dragged him under the muddy ground, shouting, "Time to go, hold your breath!"
The two vanished beneath the deformed ground, leaving a stationary, perplexed Frediano staring vacantly at the muddied spot.
"…What?"
"S-Slow down!" Melissa cried, trying to keep pace with the twins.
"No time! Only run!" Gold shouted.
"That madman who's been chasing us won't be down forever, and we don't want to be around when he gets up!" Jewel added.
"Y-You were being chased by a bounty hunter?!" Melissa gasped.
Jewel glared at her. "You just had to satiate your addiction, didn't you?"
"I don't have an—" Before she could protest, her ears picked a slushing sound coming from behind them, and rapidly approaching. "Uh, do you hear that?"
The twins stopped and turned around. Their eyes widened to the wave of mud speeding right towards them. Right as they opened their mouths to question it, a fishing line shot from the ground and grappled around all three of them, binding their waists together. The mud wave flew past them and kept going down the road.
They blinked between the line and the mud wave.
"Was that Fabrice?" the twins muttered.
Melissa glared at the line around them. "Is this part of a fishing ro—AAAAHHH!" The line suddenly went taut and dragged the trio down, submerging them underneath the deformed ground.
The last thing heard was a prissy Buneary crying out in despair over her fur.
Angelo finally kicked his feet out of the ground and dusted himself off. His ears perked up to a distant cry. He could've sworn he heard someone complaining about their fur, which wouldn't be that unusual from the city nobles.
Speaking of, he looked at the still sinkhole, then at the mud trail left behind in Fabrice's escape. No doubt, he was on his way to escaping the city. With him underground, there wasn't much cause to go after him, right? Assuming Luna got the stolen scroll back, following after the Foresters seemed like a lost cause.
He sighed and stuffed his hands inside his pockets. "Well, it can't be helped. At least he liked the finished product. Hope his girl likes it—"
"Angelo!" The Raboot cocked his head and saw Luna running up to him. Judging by her ragged appearance, she seemed to have just gotten out of her own fight, too. She looked close to collapsing, too. "Harlow…Harlow's in the city!"
Angelo's eyes widened. "What?"
"She's the one who stole the scroll! And she still has it!"
"Did you find out why she stole it?"
"I don't know how the corrupted mind of hers works, but I need that scroll back, now! But I lost her in the canals!"
Angelo narrowed his eyes back on the mud trail. "She's not in the canal anymore. I think she's on her way to escaping."
"What?!" Luna growled and punched the sides of her head. "I went through all that torment for nothing! For the love of—"
"Calm down, it's not the end of the world," Angelo assured. He shook his head and sighed. "I'm going to regret doing this, but we have bounty hunters roaming the city, too. Time for drastic measures."
Luna's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"We're going to tempt a beast out for a hunt. But first things first—" Angelo formed a Heaven's Flame, kicked it up a couple times, then smashed it straight up into the sky. It soared the complete apex of its climb, then exploded like a firework, shining balls of comet-like flames across the sky.
"What was that?" Luna asked.
"The signal," Angelo muttered. "As of now, the Echo Bell Kingdom capital is officially on lockdown." He glared back at the mud trail, thinking of Fabrice for a moment. He wanted Fabrice to escape. He had a soft spot for the Marshtomp and his appreciation to his craftsmanship. Sadly, his duty as a knight prevented such emotion from clouding his mission.
"My advice, Lady Luna, pray for their survival. When Judge and Jury fail to persuade the unlawful, the Executioner comes out to play."