Chapter 84: Into the Lion's Den
The day after Commissioner Bunsen's fleet fled Tromba Island, the sound of hurried footsteps rang out in the halls of the top floor of the Company's headquarters in Canalhouse City. There, Lyn hurriedly rounded the corner for the final stretch to the Board's meeting room, still damp from having swum through the city's canals to the central office. He'd been summoned by a messenger sent by Administrator Farn, who had instructed him to arrive as soon as possible for a matter of life and death importance. With his fate as a Company Commissioner already precarious, Lyn didn't question the matter even while throwing the doors open and hurrying in, coming to a stop just past the doorway to catch his breath as the guards on duty closed the doors behind him.
"I came as soon as I received your summons, Administrator Farn," the Samurott said. "What's going on?"
Lyn looked up and paused after seeing that the entire Board had gathered together, all five of its members focused on a Roserade with a Second-Rank scarf that stood before their table and turned with a start at Lyn barging in. The Samurott's sudden arrival drew the attention of Inler and his Administrators, the Nidoking motioning for Lyn to come nearer as he spoke up.
"There's been a bit of a situation, Commissioner Lyn," Inler replied. "Officer Sicula just came back with what's left of the fleet dispatched to Tromba. Darzin brought the matter to our attention."
'What's left of it'?" Lyn asked. "What happened out there?"
"As I was mentioning earlier, Commissioner Bunsen received a summons from Administrator Farn," Sicula insisted. "She had dispatched us with a small fleet to go ambush a pirate crew and resettle some troublemakers from Tromba."
Lyn raised a brow at the Roserade's answer, before noticing that Farn's face had tightened into a deepening scowl that was leveled square at the Grass-Type.
"I'd like to remind you that I dispatched Commissioner Marsden for that purpose," the Luxray growled. "I still don't understand how it was Bunsen who wound up going in his stead."
The Roserade hesitated a moment, before casting a sidelong glance at Darzin over at his place at the Board's table. After biting her tongue, Sicula shook her head and spoke up with a grudging sigh.
"I… don't have an explanation for that, Administrator," she said. "All I know is that Commissioner Bunsen received those orders and relayed them to us accordingly."
Lyn approached Inler and the other Pokémon, twitching his whiskers irritably as he looked at Sicula with an unimpressed frown.
"Regardless of how that confusion happened, this should've been a straightforward mission," the Samurott huffed. "Why are you here, and why is Commissioner Bunsen not giving this report?"
"Because he was blown over the horizon," the Roserade insisted.
Alarmed looks went about the gathered Pokémon, as even Elilan and Inler seemed to tense up at Sicula's account. Zorn shifted in the water, before craning his head down to the Grass-Type with a disbelieving stare.
"I'm sorry, blown over the horizon?!" the Gyarados asked. "How on earth did that happen?!"
"Er… well, we were making good progress on our mission up until yesterday, when those three Protectors showed up with a small army and ruined everything," Sicula explained. "We did our best to hold the line, but were forced into a tactical retreat."
"You never did explain who those Pokémon were," Inler said, narrowing his eyes with a stern scowl. "Who exactly are we dealing with here, Officer Sicula?"
Sicula fell silent and uncomfortably pawed at her shoulder with one of her blooms, the Roserade hesitating briefly before speaking up again.
"Well for starters, there was Manaphy of all Pokémon, who attacked our ships in Tromba's harbor with an- er… several ocean clans," the Grass-Type answered. "There was also some sort of strange green dog that claimed to be the Protector of Conntow, and a long-necked bird with silvery-white feathers that said he was the Protector of Tromba."
The Board's members grimaced at Sicula's reply, with Lyn visibly freezing at the mention of 'Manaphy' and Elilan digging his claws into the table at the mention of the 'Protector of Conntow'. Inler paid keen attention to the latter's reaction, and was about to open his mouth to speak when Farn cut in with an incredulous outcry.
"Director, what's going on here?!" the Luxray demanded. "How did we suddenly go from one Protector to three?!"
"It appears that our little seabird's been searching for help," Inler sighed. The Nidoking shook his head a moment, before turning his attention to his peers with a serious tone.
"And it's imperative that he's brought back as soon as possible."
Sicula's eyes widened in surprise, as she looked at Inler and his subordinates in startled confusion.
"H-Huh?! What are you talking about?!" the Roserade cried. "You mean that you knew there'd be other Protectors out there?!"
"That's not relevant. What is relevant is Commissioner Bunsen's current location," Elilan snapped. "Even if Lugia used his powers against him, I highly doubt he just disappeared. If he survived, he'd have knowledge of how far Lugia and these new allies of his have progressed. Surely you would have found some sign of him by now."
Sicula blanched and hemmed and hawed for a brief moment, before grudgingly speaking up in reply.
"We… just didn't have any luck finding him afterwards," she insisted. "We're still assuming he's just missing in action for now, but it's almost as if he really did just vanish."
Darzin blinked at Sicula's explanation and moved a claw to his mouth in thought. Before any of his peers could press the matter, Farn interrupted the proceedings by getting up and shooting a sharp glare over at the Roserade.
"None of this explains why I'm not getting this report from someone on Commissioner Marsden's crew, though," she huffed. "Much less why my signature ended up on an order I never issued."
"Well, we did have an Imperial spy interfere with a mission we recently assigned," Zorn mused. "Perhaps this mixup was also his doing?"
Sicula cast a nervous glance over at Darzin briefly, before turning back to the Gyarados with an uneasy nod
"I… suppose that would be the simplest explanation for what happened," she said, prompting Inler to train his attention over to Lyn with a stern gaze.
"Now do you see why you were summoned here, Commissioner Lyn?" the Nidoking pressed.
"Yes," Lyn answered. "And I'm more than ready to go and confront the Guardian of the Seas and those new friends he's drawn out."
"Eh?! After we just got rout- er… forced to withdraw?!" Sicula exclaimed. "What could your crew do that we couldn't?"
"We'd see to it that a superior force is sent this time around," Inler retorted. "The only question that remains, is when you are ready to depart, Commissioner Lyn."
Lyn said nothing for a moment, before narrowing his eyes and nodding back to the Nidoking.
"Immediately."
After leaving Tromba Island, Team Traveller's members spent their day rotating between duties on the Siglo Swellow, wiling away idle time with things like playing card games or seagazing, and taking turns reading the volume of the Knights' Ledger. In the later stretches of afternoon, as the sun began to drift further and further towards the horizon, Nida found herself back in the sleeping quarters where the Ledger had been stashed for safekeeping. There, much as she had on prior days, she spent her time poring over its contents, as her eyes darted back and forth over lines of runes written on weathered paper.
She had just reached a section that described how Cernun's egg had been brought to Conntow a little over 40 years ago, where it was spirited to the island's main Mystery Dungeon that had been converted into a military installation sometime before the passages were written. There, the egg underwent some sort of inspection alongside two others, before the three eggs began to be taken every now and then to a lab in Middleguard City. There were records of tests performed to try and draw a reaction from the eggs, subjecting them to changes in sound, temperature, and even weak exposures to Pokémon's elements such as with the likes of Pokémon's Static and Flame Body abilities. In spite of all their efforts, the researchers' activities seemingly failed to accomplish anything of note, until one of the passages in the tome caught Nida's eye, which she began to read aloud:
"We brought the Voice of Life's egg out of storage in the dungeon base and into the laboratory at Middleguard City today. I couldn't for the life of me understand at first why Queen Erna insisted on doing so on such short notice given how much of a hassle it is to move it securely, but after we probed it at the lab and stimulated it, we saw it.
Just like last time, the egg stirred. Much like one of ours might when the hatchling inside has begun to take form. We're not certain why the egg only has shown this activity outside of the Mystery Dungeon, but we presented our findings to Queen Erna along with our hypothesis that even after being cleared for military usage, the Distortion of the Mystery Dungeon may be inhibiting the eggs' development.
Queen Erna has insisted that we perform further experiments of this nature, especially on the other two eggs. The three awakening to take their rightful places guarding Anyilla is a matter of strategic importance, and if there is any way to coax them to awaken sooner, it could mean the difference between this realm standing strong as the world beyond this sea is restored, or being swallowed up as a vassal of Linglan or Garanza."
Nida lifted her paw and flipped the page, only to pause and double take after noticing the handwriting of the runes had abruptly changed. The Nidorina blinked for a moment, before furrowing her brow in confusion.
"… Qué?"
Nida looked down blankly at the page, and noticed just from a glance that the text on the subsequent ones had passing mentions of dates fifteen years after the last date she'd seen in the journal. The Nidorina leafed back to the prior page and noticed the two sets of writing were on opposite sides of the same page, with none missing or obviously torn out from the Ledger. She paused and twitched her whiskers puzzledly, wondering why there could've been such a large change, before she pinned her ears back and sighed to herself.
"… Maybe I should take a break," Nida murmured. "I've been at this longer than I thought."
The Nidorina closed the tome and pulled back a few loose floorboards to reveal the lid of a chest underneath. Nida opened the chest, before carefully putting the Ledger back into it and dutifully covering everything up again, taking a moment to stretch her limbs and head out of the sleeping quarters. She walked down the hallway, passing the glowmoss-lit jars that illuminated it as the timbers creaked from the Siglo Swellow bobbing along the waves. The Poison-Type's thoughts drifted off as she thought about being away from Tromba and her family once again, when she heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see Kline in his dog-like Forme walking ahead.
"Oh, Kline!"
Nida bounded up behind the Zygarde as he turned back to face her. As she neared, the Nidorina tilted her head puzzledly at the Dragon-Type's appearance.
"You still haven't changed back?" she asked. "I thought that you normally preferred your smaller Forme that didn't require you to fuse with your Cells."
"I actually prefer the one that's made up of half of them, but it's fairly large and would draw too much attention," Kline replied. "This Forme here is actually the one that Micky was always the most fond of…"
The Zygarde trailed off wistfully a moment, before shaking his head to clear his mind and continuing on.
"Anyway, transforming between my Formes isn't exactly a subtle process," he explained. "Given that we're about to sneak into the Company's capital and poke around a few places that I'm not fully sure even have the Ledger, I figured that it was best to stay in this Forme in case we have to fight our way out."
"Hmm. I suppose that makes sense," Nida murmured, prompting Kline to tilt his head back puzzledly.
"You seem a bit lost in your thoughts, Nida," the Zygarde said. "Did you discover anything new during your readings this time?"
Nida shuffled her feet uneasily and pawed at the timbers, before speaking up in reply.
"Well, I came to this part in the Ledger where things just… changed suddenly," she said. "One moment, it was talking about moving Cernun's egg out of storage in Conntow's Mystery Dungeon to try and hatch it faster, but then all of a sudden it jumps ahead fifteen years. I… admittedly didn't look that closely, but I didn't see any mention of it again afterwards."
The Nidorina closed her eyes and flattened her ears, giving a low sigh to herself before turning back to Kline.
"I'm just having some trouble making sense of what happened there."
"Well, the Great Calamity did for starters, so it's only logical that the initial entries would end abruptly," Kline offered. "As for the sudden shift, we know that the Empire put the volume it recovered back into use for recording their findings. Given that you found this one with Cernun, I'd presume that it has details of the experiments he was put through."
"I suppose that makes sense, but… does that mean that the Company wrote stuff about you in their part of the Ledger after they got it?" the Nidorina asked, making Kline fall silent and blink for a moment before warily speaking up.
"… What makes you say that?"
"When I'd read through the Ledger earlier, I noticed some parts that mentioned that there were three eggs that were being researched," Nida explained. "If Cernun's egg was one of them and Yveltal is now on Conntow… then wouldn't the other two eggs be hers and yours, Kline? Especially since you're Conntow's Protector."
"That's correct, yes. But I doubt you'll find much about me in the Company's part of the Ledger since it was focused on Yveltal. Her egg was brought from Nagrobek to Conntow much as Cernun's was from Mengir," the Zygarde answered. "Frankly, you're fortunate that you never set foot on Nagrobek during your travels. Like Mengir, it's not a particularly pleasant place to visit."
"I guess that would explain things," she muttered, flattening out her ears. "Still, knowing that you got experimented on even before you were hatched must get to you sometimes."
"It is what it is, I suppose," Kline sighed. "I don't remember any of it and I'm more concerned about the present than the past. After all, the island I'm supposed to protect is a lifeless husk while Micky is captured and Elilan and his underlings are still trying to hunt me down."
"Ah! Nida!"
Nida and Kline turned around, where they saw Pleo approaching them as Charlie and Marilyn drifted past. The young Lugia was still dyed purple from their departure from Tromba, darting up with his wings spread wide for attention.
"We're almost ready to start serving dinner! Come and eat with us!" the Lugia chirped. "And you should come too, Kline! Even if you eat sunlight, it's always fun to gather around a table with friends!"
Pleo motioned for the two to follow, before pulling his wings back in and hurrying off. Kline and Nida glanced at each other, when the Zygarde curled his muzzle into a small smile and spoke up.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go along," he said. "Were you planning on having dinner when meal service starts or later on?"
Nida's mind turned back towards the Ledger and began to open her mouth to decline the Zygarde's offer, when she suddenly heard her stomach growl. The Nidorina looked down at her belly, before back up at Kline who stared at her, having obviously heard the growl just as well as she did. The Poison-Type paused, before sheepishly moving a paw to the back of her head.
"Ahehe… eating now's probably not that bad of an idea…" Nida replied. "Come on, let's go see what they've got."
As dawn broke the day after the Siglo Swellow departed Tromba Island, Team Traveller's members gathered at the bow and watched as rolling hills and a hulking set of walls made of dull-red bricks came over the horizon. The ramparts had been built along a line of barrier islands set back a ways from the shoreline, with warehouses and structures in the foreground coming into view as the ship neared.
Nida and her companions inhaled sharply as the Siglo Swellow approached the walls, a casual glance at the top of the ramparts revealing guards tending wooden cannons aimed out to sea and large cauldrons that they assumed to be filled with seafire much as the ones in Tidemill City were. Nerea and Dimitri's ocean clan had shadowed the ship at a distance to lend aid if needed, up until the final stretch where they broke off to lie in wait. While it had already been agreed that the Khranitel Rod would be of most use there to help them if the ship had to make a hasty escape, with what lay ahead of them, it made the lot wonder if for all their planning, there was anything the ocean clan could do if the worst came to pass.
A cloud of tension hung about the deck as a party led by a Milotic in Company garb sized up the ship, before waving them along. At Captain Beatrix's direction, the schooner continued on, sailing past Vollezee's coastal ramparts and into its famed lagoon, where the sight after clearing the walls drew a startled cry from Pleo.
"Ah! Look at all the buildings!"
There, on an array of islets was a veritable forest of spindly, gabled buildings painted in colors not unlike Mossaisle Town's buildings. While the lot stared forward, Pladur gave a quick explanation of some of the features of Canalhouse City, including a mention of how it was large enough to house all of Bluewhorl Town's Pokémon numerous times over. As the ship neared, the Fraxure raised a claw off into the distance and pointed out some of the features about the lagoon as they came into view.
There was the aqueduct and bridge over the ship channel between the shoreline and the city's islets, which afforded Pokémon both terrestrial and aquatic passage into the districts that had been built onshore as part of the city's expansion under the Company and the interior of the island. A little ways to the east of the city, the fog of a Mystery Dungeon bunched up into a column and spread out over a patch of lagoon water connected by a thin, sandy path that winded out from shore from a large base flying Company banners. Elsewhere in the lagoon, other islets scattered about were set back from the city's main cluster and had been less built-up, with some still unsettled with sedges and stray trees on them.
The Siglo Swellow made its way forward into a central canal that snaked through the city, wherever Team Traveller's members looked, whether in the skies above, in the water among passing watercraft, or on lanes along the canals, everyplace seemed to teem with Pokémon just as colorful as the mass of buildings all around them. The schooner followed the canal, passing monuments in the distance and a large arena built right along the water until they reached a keystone-shaped channel where a large number of ships with lavender sails had been docked. Beatrix leaned against the tiller and turned the ship to port, the escorts churning the water and air to push the ship into place at an open spot near the harbor's entrance.
After quickly tying down the ship and dropping the gangplank, Team Traveller and Team Zephyr's members made their way off, shuffling past the docks as Pleo ruffled his dyed feathers and gaped at the surrounding canalhouses that gave the city its name. Tidemill City had been large and imposing when he was present even from the little snatches he was able to see during his captivity and the team's hectic flight from it. But to actually be waddling along in a city like it at ground level, in the thick of this forest of buildings and Pokémon…
"It just keeps going on and on…"
"That's Canalhouse City for you. It's grown and been built up a lot since my dad was little," Percy replied. "Why, I'm pretty sure that even Tidemill City isn't this big."
Ander peered off at the surrounding cityscape for a moment and fidgeted, uneasily tapping his scythes together with a quiet murmur.
"I sure hope we'll be able to pull this off…" he murmured. "Things got far too close for us in Tidemill for my liking."
"Älä huoli! The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" a Gabite's voice piped.
"Yeah, and with us covering your backs, you're sure to do better!" a Vibrava's joined in.
Team Traveller and their companions turned around, spotting Pyry and Pekka following along proudly puffing out their chests. Nida flattened her ears out, before turning over to Elty with a dubious frown.
"Did those two really have to come along?" the Nidorina grumbled.
"I mean, they have looked out for me since I was a pup," Elty replied. "And since when was having an extra set of helping paws a bad thing?"
"As long as they help and don't get us into trouble, it's fine," Kiran sighed. "Bueno, ahora qué? Where exactly do we go from here?"
Team Traveller's members traded blank stares with one another, before Crom pawed at the back of his head and started to speak up.
"Well, we have an idea of where the Ledger is don't we?" the Druddigon asked. "Kline mentioned a few places last night where he thought it might be, like that 'Academy' place. So let's go and get a feel for what those areas are like."
"Hold on," Alice interrupted. "There's something important we need to take care of first."
The gathered party raised their brows back at Alice, noting that her face had curled into a stern frown and the tone of her voice had turned deadly serious. Dimitri blinked and hesitated, wondering just what could have so suddenly changed the Sneasel's demeanor.
"Huh? But just what could that be?" the Kabutops wondered. "I thought we already went over our plans back on the ship."
"You'll see," Alice said. "It's one of those things that could make or break this mission."
A few worried glances went about the group as Percy and Calidus seemed visibly surprised. Kline looked at Alice and gave a skeptical tilt of his head as Kiran stepped forward.
"I mean, if you're sure about this, Alice…" the Swellow said, prompting Alice to nod back sharply.
"I am," the Sneasel insisted. "Just stick tight and follow me. I'll look around to see where it is…"
Alice moved forward and made her way for the harbor's exit, following the course of a nearby canal. After a moment's hesitation, Team Traveller and their companions followed along, curiously eyeing the Dark-Type and wondering to themselves what it was that was so important for her to drag them off into the middle of the city.
Alice's guidance took Team Traveller and their companions along a course following Canalhouse City's central canal, snaking over bridges between islets as the Sneasel led her companions forward. Every now and then, she'd stop to look at her surroundings, seemingly in search of whatever it was she'd led them off to find, only to pin her ears back annoyedly and continue on. All the while, Pleo found himself mesmerized and constantly gawking around at his surroundings.
The canal's water was a continuous churn of activity with swimming Pokémon, little rafts and narrow boats needling through it, and even a few that curiously seemed like little platforms for Pokémon to sit and stand on that were tugged by pulling swimmers. A few times, the little Protector wished he could hop into the water to join the colorful parade of passersby, only for a glance back at his purple-dyed plumage to remind him of Hatteras' warning to avoid getting wet for too long. He supposed there'd be plenty of time to go swimming once they were on an island that wasn't teeming with potential enemies…
For the city's part, there was no shortage of curiosities on land between all the shops and stalls crammed at street level along the canals and lanes. After Alice reached a tall, arched bridge over the central canal, the team crossed it where they saw a large building at the other end plastered with posters bearing curious titles such as My Fair Misdreavus and For a Few Boldores More. After asking, Percy explained that the building was some sort of 'theater' where Pokémon played pretend for the amusement of others, which made the young Protector wonder if someday they'd be able to go to one.
After turning down an overland lane, Alice led the group into a plaza where the sound of whistling music and jingling coins pricked Pleo's earholes, making him look off to his left to see a Golett turning a crank next to a colorful array of pipes decorated with figures of sea Pokémon and a Mr. Rime shaking a small cup that rattled with coins to the rhythm of the pipes' tune. Pleo waddled up to the pair, fishing a Poké coin from a pouch his teammates had given him and depositing it in the Mr. Rime's cup that drew a cheerful 'Dank je wel' in reply, before Elty rolled his eyes and came over to drag him back to the rest of the group. After rejoining his teammates, Pleo noticed the others had started growing restless from their journey, with Kline shooting an irritated scowl over to the leading Sneasel.
"Alice, just where are we going?" the Zygarde questioned.
"I already told you," Alice chided. "Somewhere important."
"Do you even know where this supposedly important thing is?" the Dragon-Type demanded. "Since it looks to me like you've just been wandering around aimlessly for the past fifteen minutes!"
"I'll know it when I see it," the Sneasel retorted, giving a dismissive wave of her claw back. "Just trust me."
Percy sighed and shook his head, before looking at Alice with an unimpressed frown.
"Look, whatever this is, maybe you should let me, Kline, or Calidus lead everyone around? You're the only one of us who has never been here before," the Gliscor said, prompting Alice to scoff back.
"Eh, don't worry abou- Oh! I think I found it!"
Alice lifted a claw and pointed off past a bridge ahead of them, where right next to the water was a small stand with a striped awning staffed by a Meganium. On the counter was a small pot, a press over a small fire, and a dull, ceramic knife that had been stained a golden brown that the Grass-Type was wiping off with a cloth in between her vines. Nida blinked and tilted an ear back puzzledly, before shooting a dubious glance at the Sneasel.
"Wait, isn't that just some food stand?" the Nidorina asked.
"It's not just some food stand," Alice insisted. "It's one that sells stroopwafels!"
The Sneasel eagerly darted up to the stand, drawing the attention of its Meganium proprietor with an eager wave. Team Traveller's members watched Alice excitedly chat up the Grass-Type, before trading confused glances with one another.
"What are 'stroopwafels'?" Guardia murmured.
The Cubone turned expectantly over to Team Zephyr's members, only to see that their moods had taken a turn for the worse. Percy had buried his face in a claw, while Calidus looked much as if someone had sprayed a Water Gun in his face. Kline seemed even more agitated, as he angrily grumbled under his breath before storming over to the stand. Team Traveller's members looked at each other before following along, the lot picking up on the smell of something resembling caramel, along with snippets of Alice's conversation with the shopkeeper right as the Sneasel was finishing her order.
"We'll take fifteen of them!" the Sneasel exclaimed.
"Oh! It smells really nice!" Pleo chirped, coming to a starry-eyed stop right beside the stand. Alice glanced over at the young Protector for a moment, before turning back to the Meganium proprietor with a small smile.
"And can you give the first one to my bird friend here?" she added. "It's his first time trying out a stroopwafel."
"Alice! What is the meaning of this?!" Kline snapped. "You said we had something important to take care of!"
"Well, you can't expect us to do a mission on an empty stomach, can you?" she teased, curling her mouth up into an impish smile. "Besides, with how much Percy went on about stroopwafels in the past, what better time to try them out then when things are still quiet?"
Kline narrowed his eyes into a sharp glare and grit his teeth in visible frustration.
"Alice, of all the immature, shortsighted, and stupid things you could've-"
"Mmm! It's so yummy!"
Kline blinked at Pleo's happy bird noises, turning to see him happily tearing into a disc-shaped set of wafers sandwiching a syrupy layer in between. The Zygarde turned back to Alice, who cracked a smug grin back at her teammate.
"Well someone likes it, at least," she said. "Maybe you should just be less jealous about not being able to eat any."
The Dragon-Type growled and turned his snout up with a sharp huff as Percy stepped forward towards the counter with a resigned sigh.
"Well, we're here anyway and the stroopwafels are already being made," he said. "So I guess we might as well take a moment to enjoy them."
The group made their way up where Alice slid a small bag of her team's coins across the counter to the Meganium, who counted them much to Kline's visible displeasure. After making change, the shopkeeper passed the rest of the stroopwafels off one by one to each of the party's members. As the Grass-type handed the snacks out, Guardia took one and eyed it curiously while the group made their way down the street and stopped at a stone-capped well in the center of a small square.
After taking a seat on the well's stone cap, Guardia sniffed at the snack's wafers, which sandwiched a central filling that had a texture and appearance like honey. After a moment's hesitation, she bit down into it and chewed over the piece. The Cubone's eyes lit up as a sweet taste filled her mouth, prompting her to greedily tear into it and happily gobble up the rest of the pastry when she noticed a Buizel looking at her as she passed, followed by a Sunflora that did much the same, and then a Drizzile that similarly stared while walking past. Guardia blinked puzzledly for a moment, wondering if she had perhaps made a mess while eating, when the Cubone paused and looked around. A quick glance about her surroundings made it apparent that she and her teammates were taking up a good amount of space around the well, and were fairly hard to miss for anyone passing by.
"Uhh… aren't we taking a bit of a risk gathering like this while we're searching for the Ledger?" Guardia asked.
"Eh, not like a 'mon here's never seen a group eating before," Elty replied.
"Maybe so, but Guardia might be onto something," Calidus said. "We don't exactly have a small area to search and sixteen Pokémon in Company scarves all together does draw quite a bit of attention…"
The group fell silent at the Talonflame's words, as Pleo uncomfortably gulped down another mouthful of his stroopwafel and shuffled his wings.
"I suppose that's a fair point…" the Lugia murmured. "Maybe it makes sense to split up into two groups?"
"Eh? Why only two?" Pladur asked. "We have more than two areas to search, don't we?"
"We do, but this is the Company's capital," Kiran said. "If we got into a pinch, the extra monpower could be the difference between making it back to the ship or being stuck on this island."
"Well, whatever the groups are, we want to be with Eltenios'," Pyry chimed in. "We've had each others' backs for years, so there's no reason to change things up now."
Nida blinked at the Gabite's insistence, before looking over at Crom and piping up adamantly.
"If we're picking teammates, then I want to be on Crom's team."
"Me too! Me too!" Pleo added.
"Simmer down already!"
The gathered Pokémon turned to see Kline giving a frustrated stomp of his feet, before shaking his head irritably.
"If we make this a free-for-all of joining friends, we'll wind up sorting ourselves into disorganized teams," he huffed. "So let's sit down and approach this in an orderly fashion."
Team Traveller's members fell silent, trading wary looks with one another after their initial sparks of inspiration were abruptly snuffed out. Pekka gave a dubious tilt of his head back, shooting an insistent stare back at the dog-like Protector.
"Well, how do you suggest we split up then?" the Vibrava pressed.
"For starters, me and Pleo should be on opposite teams for the same reason we split up at the dojo on Tromba," Kline insisted. "If one group runs into trouble, then they'll always have a Protector on their team."
"Well… can I be on a team with Nida and Crom?" Pleo asked. "I mean, we were just talking about it earlier and we do fight really well together."
Kline paused as Pleo stared back at him with wide eyes and a quivering beak, the Zygarde sighing before letting out a low grumble.
"… I suppose that's fine then," he said, as Elty began to pace over towards Pleo's side.
"I guess that means that I oughta join, too-"
"Hold it, Eltenios."
Elty felt a gentle prod at his shoulder, prompting him to turn and see Guardia poking at him with her club.
"I think that Kline would probably be better off with us on his team," the Cubone said. "Since he's not going to transform here, it wouldn't do him any good if he didn't have anyone small enough to squeeze into and search around tight places."
The Growlithe fell silent and blinked back, before shuffling back with his ears pinned back flusteredly.
"… Point."
"Well we still want to be on his team," Pyry said.
"Yeah, we really do work best as a group!" Pekka chittered.
Kline curled his muzzle down into a sour frown, before Alice slung her arm around the Zygarde and shot a teasing smile at him.
"Ah come on, Kline, they'll add plenty of color to your team," the Sneasel reassured. "Why I'll even help direct them!"
Kline looked away with an exasperated sigh, as Pladur stepped forward uneasily fidgeting with his claws.
"Well… I would like to keep an eye on my son," the Fraxure said. "Would that be alright, Pleo?"
"Of course!" the Lugia insisted. Pladur's expression grew more confident as he made his way over to Pleo's group. From the side, Kiran sized up the young Lugia's team, before following along and ruffling his feathers.
"I suppose I could also step in for Pleo's group as the team leader…" the Swellow murmured.
"And I as the guardian knight!" Trizano chimed in.
The Skarmory proudly strutted forward and fanned out his feathers with a beaming grin. Kiran frowned back at the Steel-Type, hoping that surely Pleo could be dissuaded after getting in a word, when he was abruptly cut off by an excited chirp.
"Oh! That's a great idea!" Pleo exclaimed. "Come along, Trizano!"
Kiran buried his face in a wing as Trizano stepped forward with a cheerful nod and went up to Pleo. On the side, Percy and Calidus turned back to Kline and stepped forward as the Gliscor of the pair spoke up.
"I suppose that we'd obviously be sticking with-"
"Pleo."
The two Flying-Types blinked in confusion as Kline cut in. After a moment's pause, both Percy and Calidus traded hesitant looks with each other, right as Kline turned over to Pleo and began to explain himself.
"No offense, Pleo, but not all of us are as seasoned as each other," the Zygarde explained. "It's imperative that we don't put all of our veteran talent on one team while leaving the other to fend without it. Percy and Calidus would do the most good helping your team out there."
"… Are you alright with that, Pleo?" Calidus asked.
"Sure!" the Lugia insisted. "Though where will Dimitri and Ander go then?"
"Well, if we joined Kline's group, we should be evenly matched in numbers," Dimitri said. "Wouldn't that be the logical move there?"
Ander hesitated and tapped his scythes together uneasily before giving an askew glance back at the Kabutops.
"… Shouldn't we be asking him that, Dimitri?" he asked.
"I don't see why that is needed when it's the best decision tactically," Kline said. "Welcome aboard, you two. Though let's get moving, we've got a long search ahead of us."
Kiran raised a brow back at the Zygarde, the ends of his mouth settling into a puzzled frown.
"Where do we start, though?" the Swellow asked. "Since you said there were a few places you thought it might be at."
Kline paused for a moment and thought to himself, before turning in place and nosing off towards a clock tower off in the distance.
"I'll lead my team over to check around the Academy, while your group can check the Museum," he suggested. "The two of them are relatively close by, so we can regroup and share our findings afterwards. If there's anywhere in those places the Ledger could be hidden, I'm sure we'll notice something."
The others murmured in agreement as the few remaining stroopwafels among the group were finished off before the two teams split apart. Dimitri watched as Pleo and his teammates carried on up ahead, before the Kabutops shifted his attention and kept a close eye on their surroundings as both groups drifted away from each other and into the crowds among the city's islets.
About an hour later, Kline's party found itself in the middle of a complex of long, stone buildings centered around a square central structure that straddled a pair of islets linked by two arched bridges. The place was a school used by the Company to train the new generations of its higher ranks, and one of the places where Kline suspected the red tome of the Knights' Ledger could've been moved to. After gathering in the shade of a Haxorus statue in the inner courtyard of the central building, the Zygarde and his team set off in a circular search pattern about the central building and the adjacent streets and canals.
The group began their search south of the central building, where on their way over they came across a bustling hallway crammed with stalls hawking books and Pokémon wearing lavender scarves, many of them curiously lacking any pattern on them at all. After looking around, the eight quickly realized that there was no sign of any obviously reinforced or set-back space that might hint at the location of a hiding place for the Ledger's tome, prompting them to move along and dutifully follow along the exterior of the building in a clockwise course. Along their search route, the lot passed watercraft and Pokémon swimming along in the canal, with stone bridges that linked the islet of the central structure with those of its satellite buildings, along with additional bridges in the air above them that zipped directly between the buildings like strands of a Spinarak's web… but with no sign of anything of interest from the building's brick walls, barring a window here or there that had been opened to let in a refreshing sea breeze.
By the time the group made it to the east of the building, they spotted a stairway going up to an entrance in the side of the structure… exactly like the one they'd seen earlier on the west side of the building. It was as clear a sign as any that they were running out of places to search about the central building. Elty began to grow impatient from their lack of progress, and looked up at Kline with with a tilt of his head.
"Didn't you already try to find the Ledger here with your Cells before, Kline?" the Growlithe asked. "Just what exactly are we supposed to be looking for here?"
"Something that doesn't add up with these buildings. I know I've overheard talk before that the Ledger is kept here," Kline replied. "That said, I can't for the life of me figure out where it is or if it's even still here. And I combed everywhere my Cells could reach in search of it."
Pyry and Pekka traded puzzled looks with one another, before turning back to the Zygarde with wary raises of their brows.
"… I mean, how would we know if what we're looking at doesn't add up?" Pyry questioned. "We've never been here before and it's not as if there'd just be a sign labeled 'Secret Room' or something."
"Yeah, and it's not as if we can just dig until we find something here," Pekka added. "Even if it wouldn't draw attention, this city's built on a bunch of glorified särkät and all of the lanes are paved. It'd literally be impossible for us to do that."
The group had no answer to the pair's question as they continued along their route and mulled to themselves over what they could do. After hearing vague snatches of talk of something about the 'Sigillating Wars' carry on the winds, Ander froze and tensed up before looking at a nearby window, where he could see an elderly Torterra inside in front of a blackboard, with Pokémon seated in front of her. Kline did mention that this place was a giant school… so if there really was a part of the Knights' Ledger here, with everything going on inside these buildings, would it really be sufficient just to look about their exteriors?
"… Maybe it makes sense to try looking around inside some of these buildings?" Ander proposed. "If we're not having any luck with our current strategy, maybe we should try a different tack."
Guardia raised a brow at the Scyther's words, moving her club close to her chest as she shook her head back.
"Eh? Won't we stick out like sore thumbs though?" the Cubone replied. "I mean, this is essentially a big grounds for lore-giving, isn't it? How can just poking around not draw-?"
"Everyone, fall back!" Kline hushed.
The group watched as Kline hastily ducked back behind the steps and hurried to join him, before they all looked warily around the corner. Kline pointed off at the entrance at their top, where much to everyone's surprise, they saw the form of a Dragonite in a Company Administrator's scarf storming out and fuming to himself.
"… Isn't that Administrator Darzin?" Dimitri asked. "What on earth is he doing here?"
"Administrator Darzin's had a bit of a… change of duties after he lost control of Tromba," Kline whispered. "I haven't seen him that much of him in the past, but the Board seems to use him often as their personal messenger."
Alice poked her head out further from behind her cover, watching as Darzin continued on grumbling under his breath. After noticing the Dragon-Type remained distracted from his surroundings, the Sneasel stepped forward slowly and whispered back to her teammates.
"… Only one way to find out."
Alice made her way from her hiding place, sneaking down the lane and up behind Darzin as she began to listen in. The Dragonite's audible complaining grew louder and louder as she neared, until she reached a few paces behind the tip of Darzin's tail and his words began to reach her ears clearly.
"The nerve of that blasted Alakazam! Who does he think he is making me wait like this?!" the Dragon-Type fumed. "He knew that I wouldn't come here unless it was something important enough to be put into the Vault, and here he's treating me like I'm passing off some student's love letter!"
Darzin froze as he thought he heard claws tapping against the lane's stones behind him. The Dragonite turned around, only to see nothing but an empty lane. The Dragon-Type paused a moment, before shaking his head and grumbling to himself about how it was likely his mind playing tricks on him. He jumped up and took to the air, none the wiser to a Sneasel emerging from behind a rounded signpost. The Dark-Type retraced the last few steps back to her teammates' hiding place behind the stairs, where Kline and the others watched Darzin fly off. The lot waited for the Dragonite's form to vanish off into the distance, as Alice approached the Zygarde in their midst and spoke up.
"Say, Kline… when you swept this place, did you happen to come across a 'Vault' by any chance?" she asked, prompting Kline to blink in response.
"… No, I didn't," he replied.
"That's probably a good place to start then," the Sneasel insisted. "I didn't get too many details from what I overheard, but Darzin made it sound like the Company keeps some important documents in there."
"… How would we even get inside in the first place?" Pekka asked. "And even if we did, how are we supposed to go nosing around in search of a hidden room without giving ourselves away?"
"I mean, not that we're not really used charging in and making a scene" Pyry chimed in. "But given that you said we couldn't just smash and grab our way to the Ledger, we're gonna need a bit more to work with here."
The group's members fell silent and mulled to themselves over what they could do, none of them sure just how they could go into the Academy to search for the Knight's Ledger without running into trouble.
It was then that Elty noticed a Toxtricity in a lavender scarf without squares stumble and drop a bag that spilled out some books, quickly scooping them up while grumbling to herself about "why do we need so many stupid textbooks anyway?". After a moment staring after the departing Poison-Type, the Growlithe blinked and turned to his teammates as a dawning realization came over him:
All during their investigation, they'd seen a number of other Pokémon in and around the building wearing those same unpatterned scarves. If the Toxtricity's comment about 'textbooks' was anything to go by, they were students, and there was a perfect way to get into the Academy and look around without arousing any suspicion.
"… I think I might have something, but let's run it by Pleo and the others first."
Author's Notes:
- (¿)Qué? - Spanish: "What?", "Huh?"
- Älä huoli! - Finnish: "Don't worry!"
- (¿)Bueno, ahora qué? - Spanish: "Then/Well what now?"
- Dank je wel - Dutch: "Thank you" (Informal)
- särkät - Finnish: "sandbanks"
