A/N - Whew! It feels so good to be able to post again! I've made a good start on Part 4, and I'm well into writing Enigma's back-story. I'll be writing more back-stories over the course of this 'fic, and I hope to be able to post one of them at the end of Part 3. I just have to decide which one will fit the most! As most of the stories will be included around Parts 4 and 5.
Thank you so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows while this has been on hiatus! Weekly updates should commence once more!
Part 3 - Project C
Chapter 28 - A Change of Heart
The rubble spread throughout the valley, barricading a river that whipped against it with frothy foam, seeking any exit it could find. The water was shallower on the other side, but it moved on with some vigour, dancing its way down the mountain path with triumph at a seemingly impossible feat.
The noibat swarm zipped back and forth, diving between gaps in the rocks to vanish into the depths below. Twilight was setting in, painting the sky a deep blue. The only sounds came from the beating of tens upon tens of wings, and the shrill squeaks as the small pokemon strove to remain in contact with each other.
Rumble observed it all from a perch he'd found a little way away. The broken limb of an ancient tree poked from amid a mound of soil and rocks. It was sturdy enough, and allowed the noivern a decent view of his swarm. Ordinarily he'd had avoided inspecting this location. It was just a pile of rocks from a recent landslide. But what had piqued his interest was the flag that poked from the centre of it. The Outcast Guild's sun symbol fluttered back and forth from a crooked spire, a faint movement among a heap of desolation that Rumble at first had thought was some struggling pokemon. The Outcasts had long been an enemy of the Darkness. If there was going to be any clue towards the cocoon's location, then Rumble wouldn't put it past the Outcasts to know such information.
The noibat zipped in and out of the gaps, giving the former Guild headquarters special attention. They were small enough to get underground without disturbing the rocks. The former town was completely buried, yes, but there was a maze of passages beneath that allowed smaller pokemon access.
Rumble cast a glance over the mountain peaks. They weren't void of snow. He'd been intent on checking them for any sign of the cocoon. If this location turned out to be fruitless, then they'd search the mountains for a few days and move on towards the Shadow Mountains like Echo had instructed. Rumble snorted through his nostrils and tucked his wings in at his sides, turning his attention back to his swarm. Echo… he couldn't let that stuck-up noivern win. Rumble would find this cocoon first, and claim his rightful position as leader of the noibat swarm.
The shrill cries rose into a frantic squeal, and several noibat fluttered from beneath the rocks. A couple of them scrambled over the mound on all-fours, clawing at the debris. Something poked up from it that those still in the air shot down to grab in their claws, struggling to hoist it free from its stony prison.
Rumble abandoned his perch to investigate, drawing the attention of the smaller bats. They almost lost their grip on the object, and a squeak of protest came from beneath the rocks as it fell back on the unfortunate bat straining to lift it. Rumble stretched out his wing talons and grabbed it, dragging it from the rubble. A few stray rocks tumbled free, and a faint tremor spread through the landslide. Rumble immediately rose into the air with the object in his jaws, retreating further up the mountain. The swarm followed, fleeing the rubble from all available passages. They swirled like a cloud of navy and purple, screeching at one another to make a bid for freedom.
As Rumble landed in a sturdy tree further up the mountain, a deep groan came from the former settlement as the landslide settled once more, crushing what remained of the town. The noivern removed their find from his jaws and frowned down at it. A painting?
It depicted a similar image to the one in the book of hatchling stories the swarm had found in the Heretic settlement. But it had more detail to it. A red and black cocoon, trapped in a prison of light and ice. But what was more interesting was that it wasn't sitting in a bed of snow. It was coated in ice, as if it had fallen into a lake or river which had then frozen over. Part of the cocoon was above the surface, jagged and black and capped with fresh snow. In the distance, a light radiated from a rainbow sphere.
"What do you think it means?" a noibat asked from beside him.
Rumble cast the smaller pokemon a look. "I've no idea. But… if this is a clue to it's location, then it isn't in a mountain, is it? There's no bed of frozen water there."
"What about a river?"
Rumble scoffed at that. "Have you ever seen any frozen rivers? They move much too fast for that, especially in the mountains."
The noibat swarm had settled around him, hanging upside down from the branches. They shifted with unease as they all began to settle on the same scenario.
"We need to think colder then," said one.
"And flatter," suggested another.
Rumble muttered under his breath as he examined the painting. It wasn't a map. It didn't tell them where to look. There were no words. Yet the suggestion laid before him made his heart race.
"We'll start behind the Shadow Mountains," he said. "Then work our way north."
"To the Ice Continent?" the noibat beside him squeaked.
"Yes," said Rumble. "But we won't go unprepared. I'm not willing to die for this. We're gonna find a way to stay warm, and that's that."
He dropped the painting, and the frame shattered on the hard rocks below. Rumble kicked off the tree, unsettling his swarm, and together they rose into the air.
All but one.
One lone noibat took one last look at the painting and fled back towards the south, ready to relay the news to Echo.
...
Enigma reclined in a heavy branch with a clear view of an ancient tree. Its trunk was twisted and knotted, and at its base was a huge opening. The pokemon he'd followed had all gone through that opening, but it hadn't gone smoothly at all. The dedenne had scampered on ahead with her eyes closed, shouting reassurance to the meowstic who had been frozen with wide-eyed panic. The mawile hadn't been remotely fazed by whatever had spooked the pair. Instead she'd assisted Harlequin, who had struggled against their invisible prison while shouting and screaming. The mawile had also offered a reassuring paw to the meowstic, ushering her on ahead. One by one they'd all entered, and once again the forest had returned to its familiar silence.
Enigma yawned and rubbed a paw through his mane. It had been a while now, and none of them had come back out. What was it, some kind of hideout? Without them providing entertainment he was growing incredibly bored. But before following, he'd have to wait a little longer. Just a little longer. Then he'd warp towards the tree and take a peek inside. Perhaps catch them off guard and slaughter them all. Well… maybe not the mawile. He could take her back to Hydreigon and she could do any explaining. It was likely she'd been told everything by her friends, and Hydreigon would be very interested to meet a member of a species he'd claimed to have wiped out years ago.
A few beats passed and Enigma vanished from the branch to reappear just inside the nettles. He cast a glance around, straining his ears to be sure the area was free of guards. Satisfied, he turned his attention back on the tree. What kind of a hideout was this? It wasn't exactly blending in. The tree was huge, possibly the largest one in the Moorlands Forest. He scoffed and stepped out of the nettles, staggering towards the tree.
A low chuckle rose in his throat as he fixed his eyes on that shadowy opening. He had them exactly where he wanted them.
A strange feeling washed over him, causing his heart to lurch. He slapped a paw to his chest and his crimson eyes widened, fixed on the tree. But he wasn't seeing it anymore. The area almost seemed to widen, and he looked around at the bleak, empty landscape. A huge, silent forest with not a pokemon in sight.
An overwhelming feeling of despair grasped at him and he found himself sinking to the floor.
He was alone.
He looked around at the shadowy forest again. A lone breeze rustled the sparse canopy, nudging a few stray leaves to the floor.
Empty.
He had no one. No one to run to.
Unwanted… no purpose… empty.
Alone.
He just wanted to climb into a hole, curl up into a ball and never wake up. He pushed himself back to his feet and staggered forwards. Tears pricked his eyes and he screwed them shut. He stretched out a paw, meeting cold, unwelcoming bark.
What was the point?
He dragged himself inside the shadows, and that awful feeling vanished as quickly as it had come on. He opened his eyes again, suddenly aware his heart was racing. What on earth was that? Panting, he leant against something hard and cold. It definitely wasn't part of the tree. He traced his claws over it and looked around to find a huge stone slab. It was round, and at one end had an engraving of the Outcast's sun symbol. There wasn't a single sign of those pokemon either. They couldn't have vanished into thin air, so that slab must have been barring entry to some secret Outcast Guild base. If this was meant to be a secret hiding place, then there was no clearer blatant giveaway than that engraving. It was their symbol! Every single one of them wore it!
He let out a small, dry chuckle and lowered his density, slipping through the stone slab like a grey mist. He solidified on the other side, but not enough to allow himself to become visible to the naked eye. He froze, checking for any lurking guards. There were none. Just a stone staircase that descended into a smog of musty odours and damp air.
He carefully descended the stairs, each one becoming a slippery deathtrap the further he went. He soon found himself in a mildewy corridor dotted with doors. Movement and mutters came from beyond them, piquing Enigma's curiosity. But he decided not to investigate. If whoever was behind those doors turned out to be hostile, he was in no fit state to put up a fight.
He trudged along as lightly as he could, his bell jingling erratically with each step. Noises came from beyond the doors he passed; pokemon stirring and pressing themselves up against the bars to peer out. Enigma didn't give them a second thought. He had one goal. Find those pokemon and kill them.
After a few steps, a door ahead of him opened and he froze, letting out a sharp ring. He silently cursed it, but the voices that followed drowned it out. He stood stock still as a riolu left the room, followed by the meowstic and her friends. Including that whimsicott…
Enigma's face contorted with rage and he bit back the urge to launch a surprise attack on the wretched pokemon. Doing so would make him visible, and he was wildly outnumbered. Ordinarily, the odds wouldn't be against his favour, but he feared it wouldn't take much to knock him down. He idly rubbed his ribs and inched closer to the wall, watching as the riolu stood aside to let the mawile leave the room.
"Don't worry, Faith," he told her. "She'll be just fine, I assure you."
"Oh I do hope so," said the mawile. "She's not a bad pokemon, you know. I just don't understand why you're keeping her locked up."
"I already told you, she's one of Hydreigon's assassins. I don't trust her. Zorua are known far and wide for their lies and trickery, and I'm not going to let her run riot around New City."
New City? Enigma inclined his head on one side. He'd never heard of it.
"Now, if you'll join me," the riolu went on, "I wish to hear everything you've been through over a glass of cheri wine."
The mawile clasped her paws together. "Oh, I'd love to!"
The riolu ushered them ahead of him, and the meowstic looked back.
"Didn't you say you had something to show us?" she asked.
They vanished around the bend in the corridor and Enigma waited as their voices faded into the distance. He heard another door click shut, reducing their voices to mere mumbles.
Enigma looked back at the room they'd come from. It was just ahead of him, facing him square on. It might be locked, but it was no problem for him. Those pokemon had mentioned an assassin… a zorua. That meant Harlequin was beyond that door.
Enigma eyed his claws and smirked. This was being made much too easy for him.
He warped towards the door, pausing to glance down the tunnel the riolu had head in. He strained his ears for a moment. Silence. Satisfied, he slipped through the door and materialised on the other side. The room was empty, save for a small zorua curled up behind a set of thick, iron bars. Their blue eyes fixed on the door, widening at the sound of Enigma's bell. He let himself solidify and paused by the bars, meeting the zorua's gaze.
Harlequin didn't move. They just stared back at him, ears pulled back slightly. The zorua curled their paws under them and their muzzle tensed. A look of fear crossed Harlequin's face, but they didn't make a move to fight. They just lay there, looking small and defenceless.
Foolishness. Was this seriously going to be this easy?
Enigma's eyes picked out something beneath the zorua's fur. That strange collar that restricted their movements. The thing that had distracted Enigma, causing him to let his guard down as he'd tried to remove it.
'No! Get off him! Leave him alone!'
Enigma's smirk fell.
He didn't have any friends.
Friends and loved ones were a weakness. For someone with his reputation, they could be used against him. They were forbidden among Hydreigon's armies.
Shadowy energy radiated around Enigma's paws, and he began to adjust his density to slip through to the other side.
He didn't need friends.
He didn't need Harlequin.
He didn't need anyone. Not anymore…
That unsettling, crippling feeling of loneliness washed over him again, and he leant forwards until his head was resting on the iron bars. He closed his eyes and grimaced.
He couldn't do it.
It hurt.
The sheer thought made him feel physically sick.
"Enigma?"
His eyes snapped open and he found himself staring down at Harlequin. The zorua was standing closer to him, peering at him with an expression of intense concern.
Enigma chuckled and pushed himself back from the bars, masking his solemn demeanour with amusement. "Well… I suppose I should get you out."
He moved over to the desk and tugged at one of the drawers.
"No use," said Harlequin. "Tinker has the keys."
"Tinker?" Enigma glanced back at Harlequin. "Is that the riolu?"
Harlequin nodded and sat down. "Don't worry. They'll let me out again soon."
Enigma scoffed and turned back to Harlequin, leaning against the desk. "Sure, to be dragged around by that meowstic again?"
Harlequin avoided his gaze, instead eyeing the closed door. Something wasn't right. Something about Harlequin was off… something Enigma couldn't put his claw on.
"Have you just resigned yourself to your fate?" he asked.
The zorua sighed and pawed at the ground. "You shouldn't be here. They'll find you."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Are you kidding?" Harlequin squeaked, snapping their head round to look at him. "If they find you here they'll kill you!"
Enigma chuckled. "You underestimate me, Harle." He paused and a small smirk appeared on his lips. "You're acting like you don't want me here."
Harlequin shrugged. "You did come here to kill me. Right?"
"I don't know. Life would be pretty dull without you."
"Is that your way of apologising?"
"What for? Doing my job?"
Harlequin bristled slightly but glanced away.
"I didn't want to kill you, Harle," Enigma explained. "I had to."
Harlequin spat air and narrowed a sapphire glare at him. "You 'had to'?"
Enigma spread his paws. "You're a traitor."
"And what makes me a traitor?"
"You're fraternising with the enemy."
"Fraternising? I've been captured!"
Enigma stared back at Harlequin, trying to spot any indication the zorua was telling the truth. Despite how well he thought he knew Harlequin, it was like he was staring at a completely different pokemon.
The banette shook his head slowly. "The bars are a nice touch, but that's not what it looks like to me."
Harlequin gave the bars a quick glance then sneered at Enigma. "Really?"
"I've been watching you," Enigma explained. "I've seen you being friendly with them."
Harlequin had nothing to say to that. Their mouth flapped open like a beached magikarp.
"That collar restricts your movement, right?" said Enigma. "Yet those pokemon that have allegedly 'captured' you have been close enough for you to attack. And you seem pretty content to sit here and wait for them to return like some lovelorn schoolboy."
Harlequin huffed and flashed a canine. "I have to wait! I've not been left with much choice!" The zorua bashed a paw against the bars, making a muffled clang.
"You do have a choice," said Enigma. "I could get rid of them for you."
Harlequin was silent for a moment, trailing sapphire eyes over Enigma as they tried to read him. The zorua licked their lips and shuffled slightly.
"You're not killing them."
Enigma spine stiffened with surprise. Despite his suspicions, he'd not expected that. He didn't think he'd ever seen Harlequin look so sincere.
Enigma kicked himself back from the desk and half-staggered towards the cell. "So you are a traitor?"
"I'd prefer to say I've had my eyes opened." Harlequin watched him intently as he slipped through the bars, but all tension left their body. "You're still injured?"
It was less a question than it was a mere observation, but Harlequin didn't hide the concern in their voice. Enigma settled against the cold, damp wall and let out a sigh of relief. Somehow, the entire endeavour had been totally exhausting.
"I'll live," he muttered.
Harlequin inched closer to him. "Let me take a look."
"I told you, I'm fine," Enigma snarled.
Harlequin fell back, but the zorua didn't take their eyes off him.
"You said you've 'had your eyes opened'." Enigma raised his claws as air-quotes. "What does that mean? You're switching sides?"
Harlequin closed their eyes and trailed a claw through the dust. "The world is a mess, Enigma, can't you see it?"
Enigma didn't reply, waiting for Harlequin to elaborate.
After a beat of silence, Harlequin raised their head to look at him. "This Darkness we're forced to work for… it's evil! It's feeding us lies, promising us a pure world, and forcing us to kill innocent pokemon just because they don't fall into the right 'type' or share Hydreigon's ideals. That's what we're hired to do, Enigma. We go out there and we slaughter anyone who doesn't fit into this 'ideal world'. It's forced the world to split, three sides warring with each other. It's not natural! We should be… happily living alongside each other. No one caring what type the other falls into. No division, and no blind fear because we don't fit the right skin or follow that dragon's commands."
"You're spouting nonsense," Enigma grunted.
"That's what I would have said, too," said Harlequin. "But I've seen it with my own eyes."
Enigma snorted but when he met Harlequin's eyes he didn't spot a hint of deceit.
"There are pokemon actually living like that," said Harlequin. "I've been there."
"I'd be more inclined to say you've dreamt the whole thing up."
"I didn't dream it, it's real!" Harlequin sighed and shook their head. "It's called the Fairy Garden. That's where this new type has come from, the one that killed Boomer. It's called the fairy-type, and comes from a pokemon named Xerneas."
"Xerneas?" Enigma glanced to the side and scratched his mane. Where had he heard that name before?
"I've never seen a pokemon like him," Harlequin went on. "His antlers radiate light, and the pokemon in the Fairy Garden revere him. He's taught us to use the fairy-type so we can fight against the Darkness."
"So you have switched sides?"
Harlequin traced a pattern in the dust with a claw. "I don't know. None of us even knew this side existed until recently. But it's hard. Knowing everything you've been force-fed for the past what… decade?… has been a lie? It's all a little hard to swallow."
Enigma sighed and rubbed his paws over his face. "Xerneas… where have I heard that name?"
Harlequin's ears pricked up and they inclined their head on one side. "If you've heard it before, I hadn't. Perhaps you're misremembering?"
Enigma shrugged his shoulders, flinching with the effort.
"If you want to know more about it, you're best off asking Faith," said Harlequin. "If you've been watching me then I'm sure you'll have seen her."
"The mawile?"
Harlequin nodded slowly.
Enigma narrowed his eyes at the zorua. The mawile… she was a new addition to the mix. Perhaps she had something to do with Harlequin's sudden change of heart? The zorua stared down at their paws, the vibrant blue contrasting with the dark floor.
"You know," Enigma said slowly, "if it weren't for your colouring, I'd believe I was talking to a completely different zorua." He caught a sapphire glance. "It's like I don't know you at all anymore."
Harlequin chuckled and met his eyes. "How much did you even know me in the first place?" At Enigma's confused scowl, Harlequin added, "I thought I knew you pretty well, until you denied we were ever friends."
Enigma stared back at the zorua, eyes narrowing.
"The thing is, Enigma, neither of us know the other well at all. Just like you never asked me where I came from, I never pressed you on it either. You were just one lone ghost I assumed was there against his will. I suppose that's why I decided to stick around you, really."
"You're saying you took pity on me?" Enigma scoffed.
"Not at all. It was much easier to talk to someone who I felt on level ground with," Harlequin explained. "I was only a hatchling, after all. I never wanted to stay in the Shadow Lands, not at first. The only thing keeping me there was you. You see, I always believed we were friends. That's why I decided not to escape the night you broke."
Enigma stiffened, digging his claws into the floor. Broken? Is that how Harlequin actually saw him?
"I never told you that, did I?" Harlequin went on. "I had every intention to flee the Shadow Lands. But I realised you needed someone, so I decided to offer that."
Enigma rammed his fist into the floor. "I don't need anyone!"
"Keep telling yourself that." Harlequin's ears drooped. "If you didn't, you wouldn't still be hanging around here. You'd have killed me and left already."
Enigma dug his claws into the floor, raking up damp dust. Harlequin didn't flinch, instead watching him with a blood-boiling mixture of caution and pity. Enigma let out a long breath and slumped, diverting his gaze to the room beyond the bars. Why had Harlequin felt the need to bring up that night? None of them had mentioned it since. Even after so many years, doing so was like rubbing salt in an open wound.
Something nagged in the back of Enigma's mind, and as if out of the blue, an odd memory began to unfold. One he'd not visited in many years. One that lay beneath a bed in the barracks, buried under the dusty remains of a black cloak made of dusclops cloth.
He toyed with the hem of his scarf and shuffled against the wall, drawing Harlequin's eye again.
"You said you met a pokemon named Xerneas?" Enigma glanced up at Harlequin. "I read that name in a book years ago."
"I thought you didn't know where you'd heard it?"
"Well, I've suddenly remembered," grunted Enigma. "It was from a book I found in a library in the Shadow Lands, about a year after I'd arrived there. It was about a war between Xerneas and some other pokemon I can't remember the name of. You described a peaceful world? That book had it. I'd always assumed it was a fantasy."
Harlequin shook their head. "I've seen it myself."
Enigma shrugged his shoulders. He still wasn't sure he believed it.
"I didn't know the Shadow Lands had a library?" said Harlequin.
"Not anymore they don't. Hydreigon had it burned down shortly after he took over."
Harlequin's brow furrowed. "I thought he came into power more than seven hundred years ago? Come on, Enigma, you're not that much older than I am."
Enigma let out a dry, painful laugh and shifted into a more comfortable position. "I suppose I should tell you it's not the same Hydreigon? The one we've been serving is his son."
"What? I had no idea!"
"Well, you were probably still in your egg when he took over. He murdered his father and enacted a mass slaughter throughout his territory, wiping out everyone who knew. All who wouldn't swear to secrecy were put to death, leaving his remaining loyal forces very thin in number."
Harlequin stuttered for a moment. "Why would he do that?"
"He wanted more power," Enigma explained. "His father was quite content to just control the Shadow Lands. But after he took the Shadow Mountains, his son began to press him to spread his reign. When his father refused, Hydreigon killed him then spread his terror throughout the Shadow Lands and into the Shadow Mountains. After he'd successfully exerted his dominance, all left alive took a vow of secrecy and no one has breathed a word of it since. Many outside the Shadow Lands, or those too young to remember, believe he's the original ruler of Estellis, and is simply spreading his reign further south."
"If no one is meant to know then why are you telling me all this?" Harlequin shook their head, aghast. "What are you thinking…? If he found out, he'd surely kill you?"
Enigma huffed and folded his arms. "You think I care?"
"I don't get it." Harlequin shook their head again, a look of disgust spreading across their face. "You just stayed there knowing all that? Working for him?"
"I had no choice."
"No choice?!"
"No." Enigma's bluntness caused the sneer to fall right off Harlequin's face. "I was just a shuppet when he took over. He ransacked the Shadow Mountains, wiping out every ghost-type from the face of it. That's why there aren't any left in the Shadow Lands other than me." He jabbed a claw into his scarf. "The only reason I'm still alive is because my father pleaded with Hydreigon to take me on as an assassin in exchange for letting both me and my mother live. Hydreigon liked the idea of a sneaky ghost assassin, groomed from a young age to absorb his own ideals. So he took me in and killed both of my parents right in front of me."
Harlequin's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry… I never knew."
"No one did. I was raised an orphan in the barracks, like you. I suppose he thought I'd forget about it eventually." Enigma caught Harlequin's eye and smirked. "Haven't you ever noticed I have no respect for the foul dragon? I don't exactly address him as 'lord' like everyone else."
"To be honest, I thought that was just you being… well, you."
"Nope. It's because I have no respect for someone who would mercilessly murder my parents."
"Then why not just flee into the Border Woods like the rest of the outlaws?"
"Because my parents would have been devastated if he'd killed me! I wasn't prepared to give him that satisfaction."
Harlequin snorted. "What, so you just give him the satisfaction of owning you?"
"He doesn't own me!"
Harlequin recoiled, almost falling back onto their tail.
Even Enigma was surprised at his own voice. He snapped his attention away from Harlequin and stared blankly through the bars. Why had he said all that? Had what Harlequin said really got to him that much? He flinched and sank down inside himself, hugging his arms around his chest. Everything Harlequin had said… the memory of that book… pokemon living peacefully with one another. He'd never had any of that. Any chance of that had been brutally snatched away from him. Beaten out of him until he'd turned numb.
"You don't have to go back."
Enigma hadn't realised his eyes had closed. Harlequin stared down at their paws, marred with dust from the cell floor.
Enigma laughed bitterly. "If life with the Outcasts involves sitting in a damp cell for the rest of my life, then I'm sticking to leaping through trees."
"So you're remaining an assassin?"
"It's all I know." Enigma folded his arms behind his head and shuffled against the wall. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to get some rest."
The cell fell into silence, save for the odd shuffle from Harlequin. After a while, Enigma heard the zorua moving around inside the cell, pacing restlessly. Something jabbed at his ribs, followed by a blinding pain. Enigma swung his arm around, swatting Harlequin across the ears. The zorua recoiled from him, violently shaking their head.
"What are you doing?" Enigma hissed.
"I was examining you," said Harlequin. "You're ribs are broken. You need to get them looked at."
"They'll heal," Enigma grunted.
"Not properly!"
"Whatever." Enigma lowered himself to the floor and rolled onto his back. "Rest is what I need, now leave me alone."
"Come on, Enigma. You can see the nurse here, I'm sure she'll help you. She's a peace maker."
"Peace maker?" Enigma spat. "Don't make me laugh! Just quiet down so I can sleep, will you?"
Harlequin sighed. "Fine. But you'd better wake up before they come back, or you'll be locked up as well."
"I'd love to see someone try and lock up a ghost-type. We can just melt through walls."
Harlequin didn't reply. No retort. No joke.
Enigma cracked an eye open. Harlequin was sat a few feet away, pressed up against the bars watching the door.
"What are you doing? Keeping watch?" Enigma scoffed.
"Of course," Harlequin hissed. "Just get some sleep. I'll wake you up if I hear anything."
Enigma tutted and closed his eyes. Sleep wasn't something that came naturally to him, but he was so exhausted it wasn't long until he was whisked off into a deep slumber.
...
Review Replies!
Rycorop - I'm glad you like NyukNyuk! He's a new character to the re-write, and he's made me like mimikyu XD
Adamfics - Thanks for all the reviews! That's an interesting theory about the gardevoir! The Fairy Garden is certainly an unusual place. Death has no place there, hence the immortality (provided they stay within the garden's invisible walls!) I think Hope and Faith lost track of time, given the shock they had about the abbey. I hope Of Light and Darkness answered some of the questions and concerns you raised! If not, please let me know!
Thanks everyone for the feedback! I appreciate it!
Please R&R! =D