Vibrations rolled through Furret Abigail's head, spurring her awake from her sleep. She held her head and groaned.
"Abigail," a soft voice murmured, "wake up. Hey."
Abigail opened her eyes. Victini Anne floated over her head. The darkness made it hard to see.
"I know you're on vacation," Anne whispered, "and I'm sorry. Something came up, and it'll concern you. You're going to want to follow me to the Hub."
Okay…" Abigail muttered. "Why didn't you… call?"
"Didn't want to startle you. Sorry again."
"It's fine. I'm good."
A minute or so passed until they left.
Abigail walked with Anne with tiredness still in her eyes. The metallic hallways hurt her eyes when she had just been asleep, even though the lights were much dimmer at night. During the elevator ride, Abigail held her eyes in her paws, trying to alleviate the tingling, burning sensation.
The darkness in the Nightlight Hub alleviated it when she didn't look up at the screens lining the walls. She focused her eyes down as her feet echoed on the floor. She didn't get a good look for who else was in there, making frantic typing sounds on keyboards. The click-clack of the keys echoed louder than usual throughout the room.
Anne continued to float ahead to the front mess of screens and stopped in front of them. Abigail squinted her eyes, but gave up on trying to make sense of the screen.
"So, what's up?" Abigail asked. "I might need a coffee first, but I can dive right into whatever it is after that.""
"We can't dive right into this one," Anne explained. "We haven't gone public yet, but Zen's been kidnapped."
In an instant, an electric chill rushed through Abigail's veins. The burning sensation in her eyes stopped as she looked up at Anne. Adrenaline had snapped her light of the monitors over their heads highlighted her tense, blue eyes.
"Don't panic," Anne quickly added. "Let me explain."
Abigail breathed in and out. She trembled and nodded. "O-okay…"
"He went out to get you some candy and whatnot, and he didn't tell Yellow Clan since he thought it'd be quick. The Ambipom snagged him, then sent a text bargaining message. It said that they'd give Zen back."
"What do they want?" she asked quietly.
"That's all they said," said Anne. "It said they'd give Zen back and put a meeting place. They didn't ask for anything. We're meeting in an hour and a half at an old residential area. We can't send scouts to check it out at Zen's risk, and we can't find any old construction records on the area since it's so old."
"Keep trying."
As Anne looked past Abigail, she turned around.
Shiny Zoroark Aaron stood with his arms crossed. His eyes were stiff and flat, but he was wide awake.
"Sorry, Abigail," said Aaron. "I should've gone with him. I just didn't want to interfere with his play."
"Are your guys' parents awake?" Abigail asked. "And where's Gawain?"
"No. They'll just stress out, and it'll hopefully be resolved by morning when we tell them. Just Yellow Clan and high-ranking Nightlights know. If Gawain knows, he'll insist on coming, too. The less risk, the better."
Abigail looked up towards Anne. "How did you let this happen? Again?"
"We messed up just once on a minor detail, and it cost us," she said. "I don't have any experience or training with being a leader, or an Overlord. I did the best that I could."
"You should've just asked me for help. I would have protected-"
"Not against that Ambipom," Anne turned back up towards the screens. "I planned to ask you to act as their bodyguard, sort of speak, since it made sense. But I wanted to wait after you got back on your feet and were in better shape after everything that's happened. I was trying to hold out."
"Have you been able to talk with Zen?" Aaron asked.
"Yah," she answered. "We confirmed with the codes that he's not in danger."
"Codes?" Abigail asked. "What do you mean?"
"There are contingencies for if we're kidnapped," said Aaron. "There's a sort of setup for relaying messages. For example, let's say Zen types 'I'm alright'. That means he really is. But if he texts 'I am fine', then we know that he's in some sort of pain or they're laying down a trap. It's stuff that we memorize when we're young. Anne means he used the code for actually being okay."
"And for no traps," said Anne. "At least, that he knows of. We're carefully optimistic."
"What can I do?" Abigail asked.
"Get ready. There'll be a carriage waiting for you already down in the plaza. Bring your cape and your tiara. We'll be recording from every angle we can get. Want to make profiles off of tonight so we can put an end to this."
Cricket songs bounced off each other in the night air, even deep in the city. Scattered lights poured down from the black tower and buildings past the wide, open plaza. Furret Abigail's brown cape twisted and waved around in the cold wind as she walked. Shiny Zoroark Aaron followed, steeping quietly.
Abigail could tell which was theirs: Scrafty Joseph sat at the front of a plain, wooden carriage with his hands draped over the control panel. She nodded up to him as she walked to the back of the carriage, pulled open the doors, and jumped inside. Aaron followed and closed them behind her.
A single lightbulb lit the inside of the standard carriage. Abigail sat down across from Aaron on a maroon, itchy cushion. Both of their arms were folded as the carriage started to move.
"Something's fishy," Aaron said. "Why didn't they ask for that red orb thing like they tried to get from you?"
"I don't know," Abigail sighed. "I just want to relax. I hate this."
"I'm sorry. I should've gone with him, even if it was just a two minute walk."
"It's not your fault. They're the ones who took him. I just can't believe this actually happened in this day and age. Again..."
Aaron slowly moved over to Abigail's side as the carriage rumbled underneath them. He put an arm around her back. Abigail nestled her face into the soft, sleek fur on his back. It was warm.
"You remind me of home, sometimes," she thought out loud.
"The countryside?" asked Aaron. "I mean, I'm what you'd call a city boy, though. Right?"
"Yah, definitely," she smiled. "It's just, sometimes… You smell like rain. I always liked rain since it does some work for you on the plants. It makes me sleepy, too."
Aaron's eyes softened. A small burst of relief let Abigail take deeper breaths.
"After we get Zen back, let's take a trip," he suggested. "We can bring Gawain, too. We'll take a hike, and then we can camp out somewhere where it's safe."
"That sounds relaxing. Let's do that."
"You'll have to give me a little bit to lay out that lovesick idiot, though."
"Maybe after my turn."
Abigail and Aaron quieted.
As time passed, Abigail went over the motions of fighting in her head over and over again. She wanted to save every ounce of her actual strength for the fight, if there was one waiting for her. She hadn't taken many fights seriously ever since she finished her training. Most people would get too hurt if she did. That Ambipom would be able to take it, though.
The carriage bounced and rattled as it stopped and continued down the streets. Abigail hated the surface of the rough cushion so much, she wrapped her tail over Aaron's shoulder and sat on his fur. She must've been spoiled by her new room and all of the rides she took with them without realizing it.
Furret Abigail tensed when the outside got quiet forty-five minutes later. For ten more minutes, she shifted and turned. Even Aaron's soft, supple fur seemed to make her itch all of a sudden. The carriage continued moving without any stops for a good while towards the end of the ride.
The carriage's final stop jolted Abigail's body. She stood up and faced the door. She doubled back and glanced at Zoroark Aaron.
"I'll be in the back," said Aaron. "Good luck. And play it safe. I want you and Zen here safe and sound."
"I'll be careful," she promised. "You stay safe, too."
"Already on it."
Before walking out, Abigail unzipped one of her cape pockets and pulled out a green, round Lum berry. She pushed through the slight, bitter sting on her tongue for some resistance to any more nasty effects that could be thrown her way. After she finished, she pulled out her wristbands and cylinders for her Grapplers and attached one of them to each of her arms.
Once she finished, she turned back around and pushed open the doors. In rows of three, carriages sat idle on the street behind her. Pokemon fanned out on the sides of the black, asphalt street and rushed ahead. She followed.
A wall started to form ahead of all the carriages. Cones and police tape with the word "Nightlight" repeating on it were set up in seconds. Abigail stayed in front of the carriage she arrived in to keep out of the way of the horde of Nightlight agents of all different species running down either side of her and forming a wall.
A pair of feet landing made Abigail turn her head up. Raichu Aden had landed on the roof of the carriage from somewhere. Scrafty Joseph turned his head back and up to look at him. Aden's fur seemed more unruly than usual.
"You move up," said Aden. "Leave Aaron to me. Help out Adam up there."
"Hey!" Abigail called up. "Do you know where I should go?"
Aden's gaze fell down on Abigail. "Oh, uh… Anne's up front," he said. "I would go to her. Don't worry about Aaron. I got him."
"Okay."
Abigail looked up to and searched for Anne. She floated low over the line of cones and tape with her arms folded. A few seconds after the mob of pokemon stopped, Abigail walked closer towards her. An Aggron and Cacturne parted to let her past. She nodded to each of them.
Victini Anne glanced down and lowered herself by Abigail's head. Even as a fire type, she seemed to be shivering a bit from the biting cold.
"Start recording," she said. "Try and see as many species and details as you can. We need profiles."
"Right."
Abigail clicked on the center of her tiara. It lined up just over her eyes, making the video nearly identical to what she saw. All she needed was a glance.
Green lampposts lit down the street up to a point. Abigail gazed into the shadows with Anne. The buildings lining the street feigned falling apart at any moment. Huge crevices in their walls and moss caking the wood revealed they were abandoned. It seemed ideal for fighting, and ripe with spots for an ambush. Abigail continuously glanced around at the buildings.
Over several minutes, the hustle of the pokemon behind her faded. The wind seemed colder when everyone stopped moving.
A deep, clanking noise echoing in the air chilled Abigail to the bone. She rubbed her paws together to keep herself from shivering.
The echo disappeared. Abigail's eyes turned to the top of a dark building down the road, where it came from. A long, wavy shadow twisted and curled over the roof. It jumped down into the light.
The red-eyed Ambipom Jayden snagged Abigail's attention first. He wore the same, brown leather scarf around his neck. New bruises scattered across his face. It took her a moment to realize he had set Floatzel Zen down on the ground.
Jayden watched Zen with an annoyed expression and a hand on his hip. Zen kept his back towards the Nightlights and backed away from him cautiously.
"Okay," said Jayden, "is that seriously as fast as you can walk backwards?"
"I just evolved," Zen defended in a high voice.
"Just walk faster."
Zen turned around and ran the last few steps. He ducked under the police tape and disappeared in the horde of Nightlights. Jayden continued to watch until he was out of sight, to Abigail's relief.
"You know," Jayden called out, "if you cared about normal citizens like you did for your precious princes, we might not even be here."
"We're more than willing to listen," Anne called back. "I'd like to know why we're here, too."
"Don't know why we're here," Jayden raised his arms and swayed on his feet, "if that's what you're asking. I just did as I was told today."
"Told by who?"
"Why'd you seriously even bother asking that?" he spat.
"Hey Anne," Abigail leaned towards her ear and whispered, "what should we do? This looks like a good place to capture him."
The empty buildings and wide space made it a perfect place. Shining, heavy metal covered over each of Ambipom Jayden's tails. Even if he used them like wrecking balls, the damage that mattered would be minimal.
"I think that's the bait," Anne said. "More are probably in the buildings. The question is how- what the hell is that buzzing?"
Abigail felt it, too. Something like an electric current pulsed through the air and made her fur stand up. Every breath she took fell down in her lungs. Anne's eyes shot up towards the rooftops.
"What the hell is that!?" Anne demanded.
Jayden's eyes widened. He took a nervous pair of steps back towards the shadows. Seeing him unnerved somehow hit harder than if he was calm. The lampposts started to flicker off.
A shining, silver light arced over a building on the right. A blinding flash of light overtook the buildings and pierced Abigail's eyes. It only lasted an instant, but she had to rub her eyes to get her vision back.
The lampposts went out, and the starlight above didn't make up for them. A silver sword that stuck out of the asphalt took over as the only light source on the street. The ground had ruptured into cracks where it had impacted, and power visibly radiated from its hilt as a small corona of light. A shadow loomed behind the miniature moon, swaying as it walked closer.
Abigail's breath flew right out of her chest.
Another Furret with wild, sharp fur bent down, grabbed the sword handle, and pulled it out of the ground. Nearby broken windows shattered all at once. Visible scorch marks on the ground stopped encroaching closer.
"That's Sacred Treasure Lobera," Anne hissed. "Everyone get back! Abigail?"
Furret flourished Lobera. Bright orange flames erupted on the long grass reaching up the sides of the buildings and started to spread. The growing red light reflected back in her hazel eyes. A leather cape on her back caught wind spiraling out from in front of her.
"Mom…?"
Abigail took steps forward with her paw on her chest. Uncertainty slowed her and her rumbling, tattered breaths to a crawl.
"Abigail!" Anne called. "Get back!"
Abigail doubted they could see her view. The flames spread in a wave across the buildings towards the carriages. Sparing a glance back, some of the carriages were already turning around to flee.
Furret Jessie's hard stare didn't fade. It stopped Abigail from moving. It had been a year since they made eye contact, and all Jessie gave her was the same glance she gave to everyone else before turning away.
"Mom?" Abigail called.
Jessie's head turned to the side. "I heard you the first time."
Jessie's leather cape waved from side to side as she walked down the path, leaving Abigail dumbfounded. It didn't take long for that confusion to be replaced by other emotions. Anger bubbled up in her chest from being ignored by someone important.
Someone she had mourned for.
"The hell!?" Abigail screamed.
"Don't take it personally."
A shadow stretched out under Abigail's feet. Orange eyes opened on the ground, then stood up in front of her.
A Marshadow blinked as he blocked her path forward. A short, brown leather cape curled around his right arm until he pushed it back behind him.
"Master?" Abigail questioned.
"I told you it's fine to call me Joshua now," he said flatly. "She's upset that you sided with the Nightlights. I for one agree."
"Why are there sides all of a sudden!? What's going on?"
"Your father died while in the Nightlight's care. None of us can truly sleep again until we topple that tower. You're welcome to join me. We'll walk after her together."
"What good will 'toppling a tower' do?" she demanded. "What's done is done."
"As long as the same evil that took him away is still standing, it's not done." Joshua raised his hands. "And neither am I."
Even several paces away, Abigail stood in Joshua's burst range. She had to predict instead of react to his first strike. He held his bent arms like he would for a right hook. Abigail raised her arms as soon as he darted forward.
Joshua feigned hitting Abigail's right side. He dipped underneath the shadows from the growing flames and spun around to her left side. His punch hit square in her arm. She flew across the street and rocketed through a tattered wooden wall.
Furret Abigail shook it off, rolled her shoulders, and sprung back to her feet. She had landed in a small room with moonlight streaming in through cracks in the ceiling. The floor creaked a high-pitch scream when she shifted her feet. Given that building codes didn't apply here anymore, the dark floorboards under her feet could collapse if she wasn't careful. The space resembled a living room and kitchen, but nothing was left inside.
Marshadow Joshua had vanished from the street. Combined with all of the flames, Joshua had plenty of space and means to move around. Abigail wouldn't be surprised if he had already raced behind the Nightlights to stop them from escaping. Her best chance to get closer to her mom was to keep out of the main street.
Flames started to engulf the building she landed in. Abigail ran for the wall opposite of where she flew through and punched through it.
Dry patches of dirt stopped the fire on the other side of the buildings. A maze of sidewalks and lampposts gave off white light. Abigail mapped a path forward to wrap around and avoid buildings to keep from getting ambushed.
The bottoms of Abigail's paws hit hard against the cold sidewalk. Her left arm stung. She couldn't afford to take too many hits if she wanted to catch up to her mom.
As the thought crossed her mind, a lamppost in her peripheral vision, behind a dark, dilapidated building, flickered. Abigail stopped and rattled her brain searching for answers.
Based on a sour feeling in her stomach, Abigail jumped and flipped forward. A sizzling, hissing electric cannonball smashed into the sidewalk. Dirt plumed as high as the lamppost. Chunks of white rock that used to make up the sidewalk fell next to Abigail and hit the dirt.
Her eyes shot up when a click sounded on the lamppost overhead. The white light highlighted a Jolteon's chin. She stood with all four limbs balanced evenly on top of the post. The lamppost flickered again.
"Sarah!" Abigail called. "Why!?"
"So damn dramatic!" Jolteon Sarah called back, smiling. "You're just like your mom, you know that?"
Sarah balanced on her left leg and moved her arms and right left in round, arcing motions. Electricity curled around her fur and hissed in Abigail's ear. It might've looked like a strange dance, but Abigail knew the purpose: Sarah drew on electricity from every part of her body and packed it into single shots. Electricity writhing up the side of the lampposts and joining the attack wouldn't help.
Abigail didn't have a strong enough long range attack to make her falter. She targeted the lamppost itself. Hot, fighting type energy burned through her right arm as she used Brick Break on the metal. Some electricity hit her body, but she knocked the lamppost down in a single, swift blow. The light and coiling electricity up top vanished as it started to tip over. She took the opportunity to flee in the dead of night.
More lampposts were scattered across the whole area. Sarah would keep firing as long as she could see Abigail. Getting hit by her electricity would slow her down beyond being able to catch up to her mom. She decided to take her chances with whatever lurked behind a dented, wood door.
Dust floated in the air. Moonlight and light from lampposts streamed in through the thin, pale window curtains. The room she entered looked completely empty, but small details betrayed it.
In small dots on the floor, the dust had cleared as if someone stepped there. The curtain of a window facing towards where Abigail just found Sarah shifted without a wind to help it move. She glanced up at the ceiling; no one was there. She stayed in front of the door, not sure where the other person could be.
A window in front of Abigail shattered. She tensed and raised her arms to take a hit. The attacker landed in the middle of the room instead of aiming straight for her.
An Aria Meloetta raised her hand from the floor and wiped it off against a leather, brown cape on her back. Moonlight glimmered in her sad, blue eyes; eyes that Abigail could recognize anywhere. Meloetta frowned at Abigail and bowed her head slightly.
"Abigail," she greeted.
"Yen," said Abigail.
"I can't let you pass."
"Why do you look so sick? Are you okay?"
"That's none of your business," she defended.
"Yah. Definitely not yourself."
Tears beaded up in the bottoms of Yen's eyes. She blinked them away and threw a punch with a quarter of her heart put into it. Abigail sidestepped and tripped her, then pushed her out the door.
Yen staggered and fell on the dirt outside. She barely even had the willpower to push up back to her feet. As she turned her head around, Abigail flinched back at the dead look in her eyes. The wooden door fell shut.
Abigail darted and jumped through the smashed window outside. She landed on cold grass and hard dirt. She didn't hear Yen chase after her.
After passing through another building, the space opened up. A line of trees and buildings curved around an empty space filled with grass and wildflowers.
Waiting in the dead center, Furret Jessie turned around hearing Abigail's slowing footsteps. A brown, cloth holster strapped Sacred Treasure Lobera to her back. Her gaze remained the same.
Before Abigail could get words formulated in her head, the roof of the building behind her exploded into a cloud of dust and wood shards. A shining, metal ball reached up towards the moon. A large tail with thick fingers grabbed the edge of the roof. Bright, red eyes rose into the air, then jumped up and fell down next to Jessie.
Ambipom Jayden smiled as he lifted up and stretched his back. He rolled his shoulders as his tails dragged across the grass behind him closer to his body.
"The Nightlights killed a member of our family," Jessie said. "You didn't care. You joined them anyway, without even thinking about what they did."
"Why do you think that?" asked Abigail.
"Because I checked."
Jolteon Sarah landed in a tree to Abigail's right nearby. She rested a paw on the trunk and watched silently. Next to her, Marshadow Joshua rose up out of her shadow on the branch next to her.
"Then why didn't you take it to court?" she continued. "Why didn't you come back and tell me?
"Take it to court?" Jayden scoffed. "The Nightlights would just find themselves innocent. What a joke…"
A shadow darted over Abigail's head. As her eyes tracked who cast it, Meloetta Yen landed down on Jessie's other side. She straightened out her green hair and flung it behind her cape.
"I was close to having everything I wanted," Jessie explained. "I nearly had a whole family, for the first time. And when those brigands came, your father protected you. He shouldn't have gone to jail because he made the right decisions. Who were the Nightlights to step into it?"
"I'm not arguing," Abigail shook her head. "I know. But I can change things myself for the future. What are you trying to accomplish?"
Jessie turned her chin up. "I need that orb, and the rest of them. Give it to me."
"If what we think is right," Jayden said, "It'll be just like the Glass Reshiram. A legendary knight that never loses. It'll rip apart that tower and every single Nightlight Dome. And when we're done, we'll sic it on Valor Castle for good measure. And then Verity Castle, too. Everyone who failed the people we loved."
"You don't have the right to do something like that…" Abigail said.
"We had the right to see our fathers get old, Frisk," he bit back. "The riot hasn't even started yet. With your help, it could be over in a week. Like pulling a splinter out. There'll be a wound left, but it ain't the end of the world. Justice doesn't come from thin air. Through pain and suffering, people have to make it."
A bright light flashed overhead. A dark, lavender object fell from the sky. Despite the tension, everyone in Abigail's sight glanced up to try and find a clue for what happened. Whatever came left before they could even glance up to see it.
A Keldeo's lavender horn stuck out of the ground a single pace in front of Abigail. She recognized it immediately. Thinking on it, the blade Hannah used somewhat resembled a Sacred Treasure. It could be the only object in a hundred mile radius that could handle touching Lobera without exploding into flames.
Abigail nervously reached forward.
Furret Jessie reached to her back and put her paw on Lobera's handle. The crack of shattering glass silenced even the wind rustling through clods of leaves on the trees.
"If you've grown enough to pick up that weapon," Jessie warned, "you've grown enough to swing it."
Abigail frowned and snagged up the horn. She held it pointing up in front of her on a diagonal, with the tip pointing towards Jessie.
"Why are you treating me like some kid all of a sudden?" she asked quietly. "You hurt my friends, and me. And all because you're on some power high?"
Jessie pulled Lobera from her back. She swung it in round motions towards the buildings and trees. Thin strands of hot energy cut through walls and ignited fires. Marshadow Joshua and Jolteon Sarah leapt from the tree and landed in front of her.
Two final slashes sent waves of flames on either of Abigail's sides. The buildings behind her collapsed into piles of burning wood. Jessie copied her stance after surrounding them all in a ring of burning houses.
Jolteon Sarah glanced at Furret Jessie. Jessie nodded in her direction. With her permission, Sarah stepped forward and balanced on her back leg again. Electricity curled around her body towards her right paw.
Abigail braced to cut through the attack. She raised the horn next to her head. Sarah continued to concentrate electricity into an orb that stung her eyes like the sun. Seconds later, she threw.
The orb stopped less than halfway to Abigail. It reversed directions at a slow speed. Furret Jessie stepped forward and sliced diagonally up with Lobera. The thunderous boom and spider web of lightning shot up high into the air.
"I ain't tryna be 'that person'," Sarah said, staring up in the sky, "but I hate fighting Psychic types."
Abigail spared a glance up. Victini Anne descended down next to her. Embers danced on the red surface of both of her ears. Her lower lip folded over her top.
"No offense taken," Anne nodded. "Honestly, I don't really get the point of your plan at all. No one currently in the Nightlight tower had anything to do with what happened."
"You know who?" Abigail asked quietly.
Anne passed her down a look. She focused on the horde of strong enemies in front of them.
"Don't misunderstand," said Jessie. "I don't blame or hate either of you. The entire system of the Nightlight Association is supposed to be a modern-day guild, but they overreached and it cost someone dear to me. And what about you, Anne?"
"What about me?" she repeated.
"Your parents forcing you on a track to become a Nightlight, just because you were a mythical-class species. You know you want to change something, but you don't have the power to do it because of the Council. And if they don't listen to your protests, a next step will always come."
"Anne," Marshadow Joshua raised his low voice, "there's a peaceful life out there after this fight's over."
Anne smirked and huffed out a laugh. "Peaceful lives don't exist. I just see someone who prioritized revenge over family, spitting on Valencia's holy weapon by swinging it around at her own daughter. Screw off with all the roses."
Water erupted from the wall behind Furret Abigail. She only noticed it when a blue torrent blasted off on the grass right next to her. Her eyes raced to where it came from.
Floatzel Zen stomped out of a charred black cavity in the building behind her. All of the flames were reduced to embers, but the building wouldn't stand much longer. Zoroark Aaron sauntered out next to him with a loose, casual smile.
Abigail blinked. Quilava Gawain popped out his head from behind the wall and joined them from behind. His ruby red eyes trembled with conflict.
"What are you guys doing here?" Abigail yelled. "It's dangerous!"
"I ain't scared," Aaron shrugged off, walking to her side. "Also, Zen's pissed. And when Gawain's ticked off, too, you know someone did something stupid."
"Look," said Gawain, bounding up a single pace in front of Aaron, "I know it doesn't look like it, and I'm not really good at expressing it, but I care too. You should've woken me up."
"Sorry man."
"Guys?" Abigail asked. "You need to get out of here."
"We're your friends," said Aaron. "We put our money where our mouth is. Also, Zen's pissed off."
Zen stepped forward with his head leaned forward. "You wanna know how he 'kidnapped' me? He held a little Azurill hostage and said 'You or her?'"
Meloetta Yen turned and glared at Ambipom Jayden. Marshadow Joshua turned all the way around and stared at him right in his eyes with his arms folded. Jayden's arm flinched.
"Jayden," Jessie hissed, still facing towards Abigail, "is that true?"
"You didn't tell me how," he defended.
"Jayden. If you touch another civilian again, I'll skewer you on Lobera and roast you with marshmallows."
Abigail had never seen Jayden's distraught face, his eyes turned down and teeth grit.
"Managed to catch wind on your play," Aaron called out. "You know, there were at least half a dozen ways to do this democratically? Like, organizations, political movements, protests… And you guys just kind of skipped right to the end and set houses on fire. But given that we needed to do something about this area's unused, old buildings in the first place, we're still offering a last chance for some actual communication."
"We'll be merciful about what's happened so far," Zen added. "This doesn't have to be some bloody battle. As ticked off as I am, I can still get over it if you can."
A cold surge of lightning shot through Abigail's limbs. She jumped forward and swung the Keldeo's horn. She let her instinct push her faster than her thinking could.
The horn clashed with Lobera. Furret Jessie bore down her weight on the blade. Even with the impressive resistance from the indigo horn, energy leaked through and singed Abigail's paws. She couldn't hold contact for very long.
"We'll never get over him," Jessie snarled. "And now… Now, it matters because others feel a fraction of what I feel. So now, they'll never get over him either."
A water cannonball struck Furret Jessie in her side. Abigail took the chance and swung towards her center. She had never knocked her mother off balance before, and she didn't. Jessie knocked her swing back with another slash. Abigail's arm flung back from all of Lobera's excess power.
"Yellow clan!" Aaron's voice called.
Quilava Gawain ran up and breathed out a stream of fire at Jessie. The damage it would cause was minimal, but it created distance between her and Abigail.
A Zap Cannon from Jolteon Sarah cut through the flames; Abigail couldn't see through them. She pulled the horn in front of her to defend. Another projectile from behind clashed with it and exploded five paces in front of her. The electricity faded out on the grass below. Abigail glanced behind her.
Raichu Aden kept his aim up on his large, yellow bow. A Dewott and Swampert charged in to help from behind him.
The Dewott held a dark, metal staff with his scalchops facing up on either side. He darted forward to the disappearing wall of flames and readied himself for an attack. Abigail backed away towards Floatzel Zen, Zoroark Aaron, and Quilava Gawain as they ran closer to her.
Furret Jessie leaped over the flames. Dewott raised his staff to take the blow. Jessie cut down.
Lobera cut straight through the staff. Both of Dewott's tan scalchops fell to the ground as his staff fell apart into pieces. The edges of his white whiskers floated down behind them. His eyes widened on his pale face.
"Bro," chirped Dewott. "This isn't fair. This ain't even right…"
Swampert Seb stopped cold. He glanced around to see if anyone was looking, then took slow steps back. Furret Jessie stared at Dewott's face, bored. Dewott inhaled and hopped in place as he fired water from his mouth.
The force of the water blast pushed Dewott back and away from Jessie, but Lobera nullified the attack. Most of the water turned into steam on contact with it. Dewott landed on his back and scrambled to his feet a few paces away from her.
"Not every day you see a sight like this."
Sarah's voice made Abigail jump. Aaron and Gawain rushed in front of her while Zen loomed behind. Jolteon Sarah stalked forward, curling her paws with every step. She smiled playfully.
"Now how did you get princes willing to risk their lives for you?" she asked.
"She's a distraction," Gawain said. "Where's that Marshadow?"
Abigail looked around for Joshua. Swampert Seb, Dewott Adam, and Raichu Aden were firing balls of muds, streams of water, and arrows made out of electricity at Furret Jessie. The sword Lobera cut through them all, but slowed her advance considerably. Meloetta Yen fought with Victini Anne in the air. Joshua wasn't in sight.
A small, deep sound reverberated in the air. Abigail looked up. As soon as she did, she shoved Zen back with her tail and Aaron and Gawain with her arms. She raised the indigo horn over her head to cushion the blow.
Jayden's tail, covered in metal, clanged against the horn and pushed her on the ground. Even though Abigail had been pushed to the ground on her back, she took the blow well. The second tail concerned her.
The first tail was too heavy to lift off of her body in time. Jayden whipped down his second tail and banged it against the first one. A deep, quaking pain hit Abigail's chest. She pushed through it and shoved the tail off of her. She glanced up as she staggered to her feet.
Ambipom Jayden's tails were slow to drag across the dirt back to him; Floatzel Zen ran close to him and started throwing wide punches. Jayden stepped back with every pucch he threw. Judging by his face, they stung. The metal covering on his tails must've slowed him down from using them to fight like an Ambipom usually would. He needed his arms to supplement the added weight from the metal. Abigail hadn't noticed before.
Zen and Jayden both grabbed each other's arms. Neither of them skipped a beat and headbutted each other. They both staggered back and doubled over in pain.
"Abigail!"
Abigail turned around. Sarah Jolteon flew through the air with lightning coiling around her arms. As she fired off a Thunderbolt, Zoroark Aaron ran in front of her and crossed his arms. Abigail pushed and kept him from falling over after he took the hit.
"Aaron!" yelled Abigail. "I can handle it!"
"I know," he gurgled. "Yellow Clan can't handle a Sacred Treasure. Leave this part to us."
Aaron's serious voice always rang trustworthy. Abigail turned to run towards her mother. She had to be in a growing pile of dust and smoke Yellow Clan created with more attacks. A Luxray and Scrafty joined in firing streams of electricity and a hail of sharp, brutal rocks using Stone Edge. She would've ran in, but in between her and the cloud, Quilava Gawain needed help.
Marshadow Joshua bullied Gawain with cheap shots. He dipped in and out of the shadows, jabbing at his blind spots. Abigail remembered this strategy from her reaction time training. Gawain wouldn't quite hold up. As far as she knew, he didn't have any strategies to deal with a tornado of punches.
Except one that slipped her mind for a second.
"Get. Oooooooff!"
Gawain's roar drowned out in an enormous torch flame. The dirt under Abigail's feet vibrated from the force. His Eruption was at least double the size and strength it was last time. Just like her, Joshua probably didn't expect that from him. He wouldn't be well off after that.
The huge torch blocked Abigail's path and her vision. She wouldn't be able to help until it died down, and it would last long enough for her to help somewhere else for half a minute.
Zoroark Aaron had grabbed Jolteon Sarah's arm. Her electricity coated both of their bodies, but it didn't slow him. He pulled back his right arm and rammed it right into her exposed side. She soared away and tumbled in a heap on the ground.
Floatzel Zen and Ampibom Jayden were coated in fresh bruises. Their fight must've taken a violent turn when Abigail looked away. As she ran closer, she noticed bite marks on Jayden's shoulder. They were still swinging wide and hard. She had to stop them fast.
A large fireball shot through the air right towards Jayden. He and Zen leapt back away from it, but Jayden's tails stopped his jump short.
Abigail rushed behind Zen and caught him from falling back, winding her tail around his chest. Seconds after, she had to pull him back from charging forward again.
"Abigail?" Zen questioned, "what are you doing?"
"You're hurt," she said. "You need to calm down."
Zen turned his head back. "We have to make them retreat or they'll go feeling brave on us. I know it looks bad, but I'm fine. He's a Leonidas. He won't last much longer."
To Abigail, it looked like Zen still had his head on straight. She didn't know what a Leonidas was, but it could wait. He had his reasons for thinking the fight with Jayden neared its end. She unwounded his tail from around him and watched the flames in front of them die out.
Gawain's flames only started to die down. Abigail was stuck between helping Zen and rushing over to help against her mother.
"Abigail!?" Aaron called in a gruff voice from behind. "You said you had four teachers, not including your mother. Where the hell is the last one?"
It took Abigail a moment to realize who he was talking about. Lauren didn't like fighting. She could be great at it, but chose not to. If she did fight, she only ever did one thing.
"Dammit," Abigail muttered. "Do you see any-"
Aaron disappeared. The buildings and city around her vanished. As she circled around, her heart raced and her head swam. Everything around her fell under a dark veil that cast over the grass and dirt she stood on. The sudden silence and cold made her teeth chatter.
Shining, steel chains pulled taut around her in a net. In a flash, they snaked around her and chilled her to the core. She squirmed and writhed to escape, but her body's energy wouldn't help her break them.
Lauren had to be using Nightmare or Dream Eater. She must've taken her shot at a sleep-causing attack when Aaron mentioned her.
Even though it would be fake, it could cause excruciating pain. Tears streamed down Abigail's face. Lauren trained to be especially potent in causing sleep. No amount of preparation could help when she got her.
A large sword pointed towards her chest. It floated closer. Abigail resisted harder and tried to wake up.
"There!"
Abigail's eyes snapped open. Relief washed over Zoroark Aaron's face. He pulled on her paw and helped her stand up.
Floatzel Zen beat down on a Musharna on the ground. After his slugfest, he wound back his foot and punted her across the dirt. His head rose and fell as he took in air. He wiped sweat from his forehead and kneeled down.
Just as one fear was settled, another sprang up. Furret Jessie walked across black, burnt dirt towards them. As Quilava Gawain joined their side, huffing and puffing, Jessie swirled Lobera in her paw. The fire it kicked up died instantly on the dirt. Behind her, all of the Yellow Clan members who came to help were downed.
"Abigail," Aaron said quietly, "it's alright. We'll back you up. Does she also prefer close combat?"
"Yah," said Abigail.
"Okay. Shut down Lobera. We'll take care of the rest."
"You know she overpowered a hundred soldiers this one time, right?"
Zen stepped forward and rolled his shoulders. "Well, it's a good thing I'm worth a thousand."
"A thousand?" Aaron scoffed. "All bruised and messed up like that?"
"You look like you got struck by lightning, so I think we're even."
Aaron handed Abigail the horn. She didn't realize she dropped it once she had been hit by Lauren. She grasped the handle slowly.
"Wait," Gawain hissed, stalking forward. "Let me try to talk us out of this."
"Gawain," said Zen, "she-"
"Hold!"
Gawain shouted and put up his paw. Jessie stopped walking forward out of mild curiosity. She kept Lobera pointed at an angle towards the ground.
"There's no point in continuing to fight," Gawain said, lowering his pitch. "We don't have the orb with us, or any information about where the rest might be. Your people are hurt, and so are ours. Why don't we call it even and end it for now?"
Jessie looked around to take a tally.
Ambipom Jayden managed to stay on his feet, but almost seemed like he was struggling to breathe. Marshadow Joshua and Meloetta Yen were on the ground, covered in patches of bright red burns. Musharna Lauren had been punched to a pulp. Looking around, Abigail didn't even see Victini Anne in the air. The air had only quited because almost everyone had been hurt.
Jessie's eyes fell back to Gawain. She raised Lobera and put the blade back between her brown leather cape and her back. She must've had some special sheath underneath.
Jessie breathed in deep and performed a shrieking whistle on her paw. It had to be some sort of signal.
Abigail's eyes scoured the rooftops. If anyone else was hiding, they were most likely on one of them. With most of the fires out, she noticed one that didn't fit in; an Infernape's head was underneath it. His face drowned out in white light when he swung a long staff.
There was no time to predict what kind of wand he used. If it was a blast wand, Abigail couldn't protect them all from the blast. Her long range attacks weren't strong or fast enough to guarantee the projectile would explode before it reached them. She had no choice but to jump at it.
Jessie stepped back as Abigail tensed. Aaron, Zen, and Gawain didn't notice until it was too late, and she didn't have seconds to call out a warning. She jumped up and uppercut the white orb. The light burst open and scattered as dust over her body. Her limbs weakened as she hit the ground.
Strangely, Abigail couldn't tell what the effects were. She was hopeful that the Lum Berry she ate earlier cancelled it out. The wand wouldn't have the same impact as Luaren's powerful sleeping attacks. Her hopes dwindled when her limbs buckled under her. Furret Jessie had moved away from in front of her.
"Abigail!"
Zen's deep voice pounded in Abigail's head. Her face twisted and cringed. She put pressure on the sides of her head as she halfway stood up.
Flaotzel Zen, Zoroark Aaron, and Quilava Gawain all bounded up and surrounded her in a triangle. With all of them facing different directions, they probably lost sight of Jessie.
"Where'd they go?" Aaron asked. "Where's that Ambipom and Musharna?"
"I think they might be retreating," Gawain said. "That wand was some sort of distraction. Trying to stop us from following them. Abigail, you alright?"
Abigail groaned. "Yah, I think."
Abigail looked up. As she did, Zoroark Aaron bent down and met her stare. His yellow eyes set her face alight. Her tail coiled around her body three times and squeezed as the brown fur in its edge covered her face.
"It's a distraction," Aaron said, looking up. "Just an Attract wand."
"Must be built by professionals if it worked on Abigail," Zen commented. "This isn't a fair fight at all. Her mom must've been using those ailments all along cause she knows they're a bit of a weakness."
"Even still, it punched through her cape and a Lum Berry."
"She'll probably push past it in a few seconds, but this was their escape plan. They just keep using them to buy time."
"Abigail?" Aaron asked. "How're you holding up?"
"F-fine," she squeaked. "Sorry. I, uh, thought it would be a Blast wand. A-after last time."
Aaron turned back and smiled. "Don't apologize. Now you know how I feel twenty-four seven."
Abigail jumbled together random sounds and letters. Aaron smirked and laughed to himself.
"There's seriously not even a single person left here to capture," Gawain loathed.
"Not what we expected to get out of this since they had Zen," said Aaron. "Besides, Abigail's camera and microphone were on. We got all their profiles, and Zen's not dead. So, assuming Yellow Clan also isn't dead, mission accomplished."
"Are they?"
Abigail glanced up with the others. Raichu Aden raised a paw, then let it fall back down on the dirt.
"Okay," Gawain said. "Uh, well that's good. But did anyone see what happened to Anne?"
"I did," said Zen. "She helped me out against Jayden with some firepower, then clashed with Yen again. They both got hit and flew into seperate buildings."
"Did it look like she was alright?" Aaron asked.
"Yah, I think she's fine. Looked tired out to crap, but no big wounds or anything."
Abigail looked up at Aaron again. Her heart didn't skip a beat, and her limbs strengthened. Her face still had an extra tinge of heat in it, but that was normal. She stood up and looked around.
A few of the buildings had fallen over, melted into black chunks of remains. The battle only lasted a few minutes at most, but it looked like an explosion went off. Jessie didn't even use Lobera very much. Abigail had seen her swing other swords much faster, and harder. Her other teachers went easy, too, even if their attacks did hurt them.
"Hey," said Abigail, "you guys should probably-"
"Keep backing you up," Aaron finished.
"I was… going to say the opposite. You guys are hurt. And royalty shouldn't be out in the street like this."
"They threatened Valor and Verity Castle on film. Old Valorian and Veritan princes led charges in war. We can't back down."
"We weren't raised as delicate flowers," Zen said. "I've been bruised worse in training. Jayden's lucky I was rusty."
"I lived on these streets," Gawain added quietly. "The Nightlights have been good to us. They kept people safe, and gave people things to look forward to when they grew up. Even if something horrible happened behind the curtain, it deserves a chance."
"Besides," said Aaron, "you didn't pick me yet. I still have to try and look cool."
Abigail didn't win arguments very often. It didn't look like this one would be an exception. Even surrounded in ash, she knew the battles would get worse. She needed to keep taking things one step at a time, though. Her cape swished as she pulled out her phone to call for help. As the dial rang, she breathed in deep. It was over.
For now.