CHAPTER TEN - REGRETS AND REPAYMENTS

It had been a silent day for the rest of the Eeveelutions. They hardly said a word until nightfall, after Melancholy had served up dinner for everyone. He had forgotten that they were down a family member now, and so the servings were just a little bigger than they needed to be. Ebony couldn't eat her food. She was too busy looking at the seat at the end of the table, which was completely empty.

'N-Now what?' Spring asked. 'W-We can't just let that queen have the princess and our brother!'

Sunshine groaned. 'If I knew how, I would be doing something about it! There's no use worrying about something when we can't do a thing.'

'I'm sure we can do something about it!' Rose said. 'We just need someone like Doc to help us.'

Melancholy sighed. 'And where are we going to find someone like that? Grumpy, do you think you could do it?'

'Me? Heck no! You think I would last five minutes taking care of you guys?'

As her younger brothers and sisters talked among themselves over what they could possibly do without Rivers, Flash thought about what he had said to her earlier that day. If I was anything like you, She thought. Then you'd be rescued by now…

'B-But we have to rescue the princess!' Spring cried. 'We've got to!'

'I don't see the point…' Melancholy muttered. 'I bet Nymphia's already finished the job by now.'

With no ideas, Flash simply told everyone to go to bed early. For once, no one objected.

'Oh, I hope this is the right way…'

He was certain that he had seen that exact tree for the fifth time, but everything in the deserted forest looked the same. Still, the imprisoned Yamask told him that this was the way to go, so he listened. After searching through the woods all night, he had begun to wonder if he was truly going the right way.

But still, Blade had screwed up and it was about time he fixed it. The Honedge floated through the forest, thankful that his Ghost-typing prevented the typical fatigue that any other type would suffer after staying up all night.

'I'm never going to find-'

His singular blue eye widened. Amongst all the trees, he caught sight of a little bridge by a babbling brook. His gaze moved upwards, and he would've gasped in joy if he had the lungs to do so. There it was: the cottage! He couldn't be certain it was the cottage, but he couldn't imagine any other building being so well kept in the middle of nowhere.

He drifted himself over that lovely little bridge, before he stopped. What if Nymphia had 'taken care' of all of them by now? The nameless Yamask may have said they were okay, but anything could've happened over the span of that one night.

'Don't stall it out, Blade.' He muttered to himself. 'Don't keep yourself in the dark about this. Even if they are all dead, it's best you find out now instead of worrying about it.'

So, he dusted his hilt off with his cloth, and approached the back door - a massive bed blocked the front one. After a few more seconds of stalling, he tapped the door with the tip of his hilt and waited. He waited for a few moments, before someone inside finally opened it.

'Get lost.' The Flareon muttered to him, with a look of death on his face.

An irritable Flareon… it was definitely the right place. Despite the clear threat, the Fire-type sat there and waited for the Honedge to do something. It was then that Blade realised that he had no idea what to say.

'Look, my brothers and sisters ain't very happy right now.' Sunshine said. 'So if you have something to say, you best say it now before I slam the door in your face. If Honedge even have faces.'

'Wait!' Blade said. 'Is the princess here?'

The Flareon groaned. 'Of all the questions you could've asked, why that one?! She was here, if you want to know. But she isn't anymore.'

Blade looked to the ground. 'Oh, I was afraid of that. See, I used to work for Queen Nymphia, but she-'

SLAM!

That was all Sunshine needed to hear for him to slam the door in Blade's face. The Honedge flinched, and wished he could say that he was surprised. He turned around, and began to head off…

'Wait.' Came a monotone voice.

He spun back around, to see that the door was open once again and another resident of the cottage had greeted him. This time, it was the lethargic Jolteon instead, whose face was clear of any emotion that he could identify.

'Greetings, Miss.' Blade said, bowing before her. 'I do apologise for the interruption, but I-'

'You're Blade, right?' Flash asked. 'I think Snowy said something about you. I think. I was too tired to pay attention.'

'Uh, y-yeah. Yes. I am Blade. Queen Nymphia used Attract on me, and… it's not important. Did Queen Nymphia already come this way?'

Flash nodded. 'Yep. Disguised herself as a Houndoom. By the time we knew it was her, she had already taken Snowy, and our big brother Rivers too. But we don't know where.'

Blade cringed. He took a moment to peer past the Jolteon and into the room. Melancholy and Ebony sat on the couch, hugging each other as they tried to keep it all together. Sunshine sat in the corner, bashing his paws against the wall and leaving a massive dent. Rose stood at the foot of the steps, like she was waiting for her twin to arrive. Spring was nowhere to be seen.

'I cannot be sorry enough.' Blade said. 'I-If it's a bad time, I can leave. I know it's difficult, but-'

Flash shook her head. 'No way. You're not just here to apologise. You know a thing or two about Queen Nymphia's plan.'

Blade, to say the least, was rather shocked that she managed to guess his intentions so easily. Before he could say a word, he blinked, and then the Espeon seemingly teleported in front of him.

'Ah!' He cried.

'You know where Snowy and Doc are?!' Melancholy asked. 'Oh, please please please tell me you know something!'

The Umbreon dashed to his side, and the both of them gave Blade the perfect Lillipup eyes. Ebony's small size only made the display even cuter and more heart-wrenching. Sunshine and Rose did not move from their spots, but turned to the Honedge all the same.

'L-Listen fellas,' Blade said. 'I can't guarantee that I know exactly what Queen Nymphia has done. For all I know, she has already finished the job.'

'Please tell me that she didn't!' Melancholy yelled, getting a little closer.

Flash placed her paw against the Espeon's chest and pushed him away from their sword guest. Ebony immediately leapt to take his place, but Flash pushed her back all the same.

'I've been Queen Nymphia's servant for years.' Blade said. 'Long before Princess Snowy was even born. That Sylveon may be wicked, but even she still has good in her. I doubt she'll be able to finish off her own daughter herself. I'll admit that I'm not sure about your brother, but I know there's still a chance for Snowy.'

'Then what do we do?!' Melancholy demanded.

'I know what we do.' Flash said. 'First, someone has to go upstairs and tell Bashful that there is still a chance for the princess. He'll still be sad to know that Doc might not be alive, but if he knows that the princess is alive, it'll perk him right up.'

'I'll do it.' Blade said. 'And I'll tell him exactly what we need to do.'

So, Flash let Blade in and led him to the stairs. They walked right by Rose, who watched the Honedge with curiosity. Sunshine joined her at the foot of the steps, praying just as hard as she was that the new guest was the key to salvation.

'Do we really trust him?' He asked. 'Last time we trusted a stranger, she-'

'Don't.' Rose said. 'Just… don't. It's already as bad as it gets. If this Honedge turns out to be Nymphia coming in to finish the job, then whatever.'

Sunshine cringed. 'You are waaay too young to be talking like that.'

Flash pushed the door to the bedroom open, and didn't say a word as she led Blade into the room. She stepped aside for him, and Blade saw a bedroom that was almost completely empty. Among the seven beds, only one of them was occupied - the one labelled 'Spring', by the titular Leafeon himself. He lay on the blanket-less bed, cuddled up into his big leafy tail and not making a single sound.

'He's been like this since Snowy was kidnapped.' Flash explained. 'He… really liked her, in case you couldn't tell. He probably wouldn't be so bad if Rivers was still here.'

Blade clenched the finger-like tassels on his cloth. 'This isn't even the worst thing that Nymphia has done to this innocent Leafeon.'

Flash glanced at him. 'Oh?'

'Let's just say that, when King Absalom died… Nymphia hated to see other couples happily married.'

He approached the Leafeon, carefully and quietly. Spring didn't stir at all, seemingly unaware of the stranger getting closer and closer. But he must've known he was there, for he said…

'Go away…'

Before Blade even reached him. The Honedge didn't let that stop him, and kept approaching the downtrodden Grass-type.

'Spring, I want you to listen to me.' He said.

Spring whimpered. 'I don't wanna talk…'

'Well, you don't have to. You just have to listen.'

'I don't wanna. Not with Rivers and Snowy gone…'

He hid his face deeper into his big leafy tail. Now that Blade was this close, he noticed how skinny this Leafeon was. Perhaps it was his normal weight, or perhaps he hadn't eaten anything since the day before. Blade hoped it was the former.

'Then you'll love what I have to say.' He said. 'There is a chance that we can save them.'

Spring's ears perked up, and immediately his head popped up from behind his tail. 'Wait, what?! B-But Queen Nymphia took them. H-How are we…?'

'I cannot be certain that Rivers is still alive, and I will not fill you with false hope. But Snowy? I can all but guarantee that Nymphia does not have it in her to finish the job herself. She'll probably just wait until the princess dies of dehydration. Which means, we have plenty of time to save her.'

For a moment, Spring stared at him blankly. His mind struggled to process news this good, and the very moment he comprehended the news, he leapt from his bed with a determined grin on his face and struck the landing.

'Then we have to go and save her!' He said. 'Tell me where she is, and I'll go save her - and Doc, if he's still alive - by the time the sun rises!'

Flash chuckled. 'What a mood change.'

'I wouldn't recommend going alone.' Blade said. 'If I know Queen Nymphia, she most likely left Snowy to die slowly in her dungeon, which is located far beneath the castle and has cells that require keys to unlock. Doing a rescue mission like this alone could easily result in your death, or at least getting locked up just like those you are trying to rescue.'

'I don't care! I have to go and save them! I can just cut down those bars myself, and I'll get out of there before Nymphia can get me.'

He ran for the door, but Flash stopped him quickly by grabbing onto his tail. His legs kept running, and only stopped once he tripped on nothing and fell onto his face. He struggled to get up again, and continued his attempt to run away. Only once he tripped over again did Flash feel okay with letting him go.

'You're not going alone.' She said. 'I'm taking everyone with me.'

Spring frowned. 'A-Are you sure? I-I know you're supposed to be our leader after Doc is gone, but…'

'No, I'm not. But it's safer than going by yourself. At least that way, I'll know if you're dead.'

She turned around and headed for the top of the stairs. All of her other younger brothers and sisters stared up at her, waiting for her to say anything. That slight smile on her muzzle filled them with hope.

'Unless you want to back out,' She said. 'You're all coming with me. We're going to Queen Nymphia's castle to rescue Snowy and Doc.'

Everyone's jaws dropped. Ebony even fainted, but she got right back up again and charged up the stairs faster than anyone can blink. Unfortunately, no one else appeared to be answering this call to battle. For most of them, it was just because they were still too shocked. But for Sunshine, it was for another reason.

'Are you insane?!' He demanded. 'I knew you were crazy, but this? That's a suicide mission!'

Rose groaned and rolled her eyes. 'I should've known you would've backed out. You're just a big meanie.'

The Flareon glared at her. 'Okay, first of all, come up with some actually clever insults. Most importantly, I don't think getting ourselves killed is going to solve the problem! Do you really think Doc would want us risking our lives for him? For Arceus's sake, until Snowy came along he couldn't shut up about how he only had a few years left in 'im. And Snowy is one of the sweetest Pokémon I have ever met. Do you think she would care?'

She gave him a look. 'Did you just call Snowy one of the sweetest Pokémon ever?'

Sunshine immediately began to blush, but luckily for him his red fur hid his blushing skin very well.

Melancholy laughed. 'The insides of your ears are turning red!'

'SHUT UP!' Sunshine yelled. 'Okay, fine, I admit it, I wanna save Snowy too. But it's just not a good idea. Especially since, in case you didn't notice, I'm male. That Sylveon's got a powerful Attract on her side. If I get hit with it, you can kiss me goodbye. Sorry, but I don't like the idea of being forced to beat up my own brothers and sisters!'

Spring ran out of the room and joined Flash with the Honedge following right behind him. The Grass-type may not have been surprised that Sunshine wasn't coming with, but the reasoning definitely gave him a little shock.

'Yeah, that's fair.' Flash said. 'Is everyone else coming with?'

Rose fist-bumped the air, with her paw which was quite the accomplishment. 'Heck yeah! I'm always ready for an epic adventure!'

Melancholy managed a smile. 'Well, if there's a chance we can save Doc and Snowy, I guess I'll take it!'

'Then let's go save her!' Spring declared.

He charged right down the stairs, not tripping once and shocking everyone with his sudden determined attitude. With a smirk on his face, he swung the door open so fast that it slammed against the wall, and-

'OWIE!'

-bashed his face right into the foot of the bed, which was yet to be moved from the front door. Blushing intensely from his failed attempt at looking cool, he pretended that never happened and charged for the back door instead. He opened it up and took his time to check out the surroundings before he leapt through.

'FOR SNOWY!' He declared.

'For Snowy!' Rose cried, before she ran after him.

Blade rolled his one eye. 'Before you all charge into battle, you'll need to follow me to get into the castle.'

'Good idea.' Flash said.

Spring and Rose didn't get very far out the door before they realised that they had no idea where they were going. Flash led the other Pokémon out the door, with most of her younger siblings and the Honedge following close behind her. She glanced back at Sunshine, who didn't move from his spot, before looking forward again. As Ebony - who was the last in the group - left through the door, she looked back to Sunshine and smirked his way. She beckoned him with her paw, and pointed to the outside with her tail.

'No.' Sunshine said, sitting down. 'I'm not embarking on a suicide mission.'

Ebony shook her head, and kept smirking and pointing. It took a few seconds for Sunshine to understand what she was saying.

'Oh, let me guess.' He said with an eye roll. 'You're expecting me to show up and help save the day anyway, probably when you guys need my help the most.'

She nodded her head, to which he groaned.

'You know what? I think you're right. And that frustrates me more than you could ever imagine.'

Snowy sat on the floor and rubbed her growling stomach. She hadn't gotten a single bite to eat since breakfast the day before, and it was already beginning to take its toll on her body. As for thirst, she managed to keep herself hydrated by lapping up water leaking through the cracks. The water tasted foul, like it came directly from the moat after it hadn't been cleaned in weeks.

The thought of water prompted her to look up from the floor and over to the Vaporeon in the opposite cell. He had hardly moved since he first arrived, to the point where Snowy feared that he may have passed. The slight movements of his chest stopped her worrying.

'You can get out of here, Doc.' She said. 'You know that, right? If you spray the floor with water, you can melt into it and escape.'

After a few seconds of silence, Rivers sighed. 'I could do that, but I don't see the point. There's no way I can escape this castle without getting caught, and with how old I am I can't afford to waste my energy. If there is a chance of escape, I can't exhaust myself.'

'Well, it's good to hear your mood's a little better now. Just yesterday, you sounded like you didn't want to even try to make it.'

'Keep singing for me, Princess. It is the only thing helping me get through this.'

Not one to deny a request to her friend, she sang another song that her mother used to sing. Those seemed to be the Vaporeon's favourites.

The trip back to Forressidon was a lot longer than either Spring or Rose remembered, but Blade held up the party intentionally. By the time they got there, it was sunset, and while many Pokémon were returning home, the daytime door guards were switching out. Kiriki - who hadn't seen Chevalier all day since he disappeared yesterday morning - spoke of her worries with Jacko and Stealla as they were getting ready to man their posts.

All the happenings going on at the front door didn't matter, for Blade had led the team around the back. Where, by some miracle, there weren't any guards. As the group approached the back of the moat, Rose had to scoff.

'No guards?' She remarked. 'At all? I'm starting to feel like an idiot for getting tricked by Nymphia now.'

'Don't doubt her abilities, my Glaceon friend.' Blade said. 'She's accomplished her task, so why would she need any guards out here? She set a couple of Pokémon to guard the dungeon, and that's all she needs. If no one thinks that Snowy is anywhere to be found in the castle, no one will think to look there. Of course, this doesn't mean that we shouldn't be quiet.'

Flash approached the edge of the moat, and looked down. The water had to have been at least a metre or two away, and the walls of the moat were too smooth to climb. In other words, there was no way they could swim across.

'I'm going in!' Spring yelled, breaking Blade's 'be quiet' rule immediately, as he took a leap.

He jumped forward with all of his might, pushing his legs to their limits as he leapt across the watery chasm. Of course, he had no hope of making it across the wide river and didn't even make it halfway before he began to descend. Fortunately, Melancholy caught him with his mind before he could plummet into the drink.

'Yeahhh, I don't think that's gonna work.' Melancholy said, carrying him back to land. 'Sleepie might be able to cross the gap at her best, but I don't think the rest of us have a chance.'

'That's true.' Flash said. 'But I have an idea.'

'Uh oh…' Rose muttered.

'Shut up. Swimming or jumping over isn't a good idea, but Happy can just levitate us across with his mind.'

Her terse manner of delivering the idea made it take a few seconds before anyone properly comprehended it, but once they did she was met with a chorus of agreement. Blade, however, took a 'step' forward away from the others.

'This is a fine idea indeed.' He said. 'And I'll be fine, because Honedge like I float a little above the ground naturally. But what about Melancholy himself? And since Ebony is a Dark-type, won't she be immune to his telekinesis?'

Melancholy answered the first half of the question by - without permission - giving his hilt a hug so big and tight that he didn't even touch the ground. Seeing as Honedge were fairly strong, it didn't affect his levitation at all, though his eye seemed rather irritated.

'You can carry me!' Melancholy said. 'And don't worry about Dopie. She has her own way of doing things.'

'Now that we have this all sorted out,' Flash said. 'Let's do it.'

Spring was the first one over, as per his insistence. Flash went right after him, to make sure that he wouldn't run off by himself. Then went Rose. Blade hovered right over the freezing cold moat, with Melancholy holding on tight to his hilt. When the Honedge reached the other side, the Psychic-type refused to let go for a few seconds, until Flash forcefully removed him by yanking on his tail.

'Well, that's most of us.' Blade said, turning around. 'Now how do we-?'

Before he could even finish the sentence, Ebony leapt off the edge and right into the moat. Blade got himself ready to yank her out, but he bore witness to her running on the water so fast that she didn't sink, like she was a hyped up Surkit. She crossed the water in a matter of seconds, and when she reached the other side she kicked off the water before the surface tension broke, and landed perfectly on her four paws right before Blade.

Melancholy immediately went in to hug her. 'That's our Dopie!'

Blade stammered out some incoherent syllables in an attempt to ask what just happened, before he dropped the whole thing. 'O-Okay, now we're over the moat. Around here is the entrance to an old cellar. It was used to store old fermented berry juice, but now that's stored in the kitchen and no one bothered to do anything else with this room. If I'm correct, then the cellar should be right over… there!'

The outer entrance to the cellar wasn't far at all, and Blade led the rest of the team to it. When he tried to open the wooden doors, they wouldn't budge. With a groan, he began to remove his hilt before Spring hopped in front of him and sliced the doors to pieces with a Leaf Blade.

'We're coming, Snowy!' He declared, dashing inside the cellar.

He barely got his paw inside the room before Flash caught him by his tail and reeled him in.

'Can you be quiet?!' Blade demanded. 'Queen Nymphia is still in the building and I doubt she would be asleep yet. In case I haven't made it clear, this is a stealth mission.'

'Oh.' Flash said. 'In that case, Sneezie is staying outside.'

'What?!' Rose cried. 'Why do I have to stay outside?!'

Everyone, even Blade, gave her the 'you cannot be serious' expression. Ebony pointed to her head, mouthing 'think Rose, think', which wasn't much help seeing as she couldn't lip-read.

Rose groaned. 'Okay, okay, I get it. But it'll be fine! I won't sneeze at the worst possible time, I promise.'

Flash shook her head. 'Not happening. When dealing with enemy territory, we can't take any more risks than we have to. And, let's be honest, you're not a quiet sneezer. At all.'

The Glaceon pouted. 'Oh, alright. I understand. I can't even tell when it's gonna come. But you better promise me that Bashful will return to my side safe and sound, even if you don't manage to save Snowy. I've already lost one beloved Leafeon in my life, and I won't be losing another.'

'I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise.' She turned to the rest of her team. 'Alright guys, I'll be following Blade but I want you to follow me. I am the eldest, after all.

Spring, Melancholy, and Ebony all responded by nodding, with the latter even saluating her with both her leg and her tail. Flash's stoic face did a good job at hiding her concern over the tiny size of their team. First Rivers, then Sunshine, now Rose… and she had the two youngest with her too. She ignored these thoughts, and followed Blade into the cellar. Melancholy hopped in after her, and Ebony stuck close to her Psychic-type brother. As Spring went to follow, however, Rose stopped him.

'Bashful, wait.' She said, getting close. 'Please, don't do anything too crazy. Momma is gone, and I can never see Dad again because of our banishment. You are all I have left, and I don't know what I'd do without you.'

He gave her a soft smile. 'I-I'll be fine, sis. I promise. But someone is in trouble, and I can't sit around and do nothing.'

Rose wiped her watery eyes. 'Aw, stupid allergies… you're so much like Momma. Make her proud.'

He nodded. 'I try to make her proud every day.'

Spring knew he had to leave before this interaction got too emotional, so he waved her goodbye and jumped after the rest of his team. She watched as her twin brother delved into the darkness, disappearing in a matter of moments. Only when he left did she come up with the perfect response.

'You do make her proud, every single day…'

She backed away from the cellar doors and sat down on the grass. The sun was beginning to set completely, and the castle casted a massive shadow on her. It left the air as chilly as a winter's morning, but any Glaceon such as herself wouldn't feel a bit of cold.

'Please be alright, Spring. Pleeease…'

Melancholy stayed as close to Ebony as he possibly could. He had severely underestimated just how dark the inner chambers of this castle would be, and staring into the blackness was enough to cut off his extrasensory powers and make him feel horribly lost. Ebony, who adored everything about the dark, enjoyed it so much that her rings glowed just a little. So, Melancholy pressed himself up against his living nightlight as they journeyed through the cellar.

'H-H-How long until we get some light?' Melancholy asked.

'Don't expect to see much of it here.' Blade replied. 'The dungeons aren't anywhere near the light, and that's a good thing. The light is where all the people are, and while we might be able to convince the female servants that we're here for a good reason, the male servants may be affected by Attract.'

Upon hearing the word 'attract', Ebony frowned. She rubbed her head up against Melancholy's chest before giving him a small lick on the chin.

He smiled, despite the darkness surrounding him. 'Don't worry about me. Stuff like Attract is what Magic Bounce is for. I'm more concerned about…' He paused. 'Hey Blade, what happens if either you or Bashful get affected?'

'Since we're both proficient in blades,' The Honedge said. 'That would be very, very bad. And if you didn't have Magic Bounce to protect yourself with, it would be even worse. If Spring or I end up infatuated, the best thing to do would be to run. I was able to fight the influence before, but it's incredibly difficult, and you cannot take risks when up against living swords.'

Spring gulped. 'T-That won't happen, right?'

'If we stay out of Nymphia's way as much as possible, we will be fine.'

The group continued through the dark old cellar. It was so abandoned that it lacked even the hordes of Joltik that typically plagued old rooms and houses like this. Melancholy stayed close to his light, keeping his eyes shut and using what little extrasensory powers he had left to follow the team. Spring could feel the jitters coming back to his knees, so he distracted himself by focusing on his surroundings instead. So much dust… leaving Rose behind was definitely for the best. Except thinking about her gave him the jitters again, so he had no idea what to think about.

'Okay, we're approaching the entrance to this cellar.' Blade said. 'Which I suppose you can also call our exit. The entrance to the dungeon is fortunately not too far away, but we might be walking around in the light for a bit.'

They reached the door in no time, and Blade reached for its handle with his hilt slowly and carefully.

'Happy,' Flash said. 'Use your mind thingy to check for anything on the other side.'

Melancholy gulped. 'Uh, a-alright. A-As long as I can get out of this… d-dark…'

The gem on his forehead began to glow, and he could see the entire layout of the hallway in his mind. Through the door, he could see a few decorative tables with expensive vases stacked upon them and glorious pillars embedded in the walls, but no other Pokémon walking around.

'Now that,' Blade said. 'Was a good idea, Flash. While he wouldn't be able to see any Dark-type Pokémon, Nymphia has very few of them working for her, perhaps because they remind her too much of her late husband Absalom.'

Spring's ears twitched at the sound of his late king's name.

'The only Dark-type Pokémon I can think of,' Blade continued. 'Are Kiriki the Bisharp and Stealla the Thievul. Both work as front door guards, so I doubt we'll be seeing them. And they're both female anyway, so they wouldn't be affected by Nymphia's Attract to begin with.'

'I can't see anything!' Melancholy declared, perhaps a little too loudly. 'Well, other than a beautifully decorated hallway.'

'That is good. Hopefully that means we'll be able to get to the dungeons without being spotted.'

Flash did him the honours of opening the door, and the group embarked into the brightly lit hallway that nearly blinded them. Melancholy was just happy to be out of the darkness.

Rose had only perched herself on the soft grass for a couple of minutes until a sound made her ears twitch. Whatever it was, it was coming from somewhere inside the cellar. With nothing else to do, she approached the cellar and pricked her ears up. It didn't sound like any of her siblings, but it sounded like someone struggling.

'Oh… I hope Bashful's alright.' She murmured to herself.

That struggling sound got louder, and she could've sworn she could hear heavy stomping. She looked around for anyone, to see if someone could help, but the only close people would've been the front door guards, and she did not want to deal with them.

She sighed. 'I'm gonna need to look inside…'

Those struggling and stamping sounds intrigued her, and she knew that someone needed help. So, she took a deep breath and jumped right on in. Perhaps she should've simply taken the ladder, but jumping head first seemed cooler.

'Ow…'

But it was a lot more painful. Her impact scattered dust everywhere, and she had to use all her strength not to sneeze at that moment. Once the dust settled, she unleashed her breath and looked around. Without Ebony to light the way, she could hardly see a thing, even after her vision adapted to the darkness. Luckily, she could easily tell where the struggling sounds were coming from.

'I'm going to be so angry if this is Bashful…'

After wandering around in the dark cellar for a couple of minutes, she arrived at a door. It was ajar, and the struggling sounds got much louder as she approached it. Putting two and two together, she nudged the door open and stepped inside. What greeted her, aside from more darkness, was a massive cloud of scattered dust.

'Ah… ahh…'

She tried her hardest to fight it, just like the first one.

'AAAHHHH-CHOOOOOO!'

But this time, she failed. The dust scattered away from her like a swarm of frightened Nincada, and the struggling sounds stopped. As she was recovering from a whopper like that…

'Rose?'

Rose gasped, for she knew that voice well. 'Prince!'

Once the dust settled again and her vision adjusted, she could spot two other Pokémon hidden in the darkness - Prince Whiskers with a chain around his neck, and Blaze with multiple chains tying her to the wall. Whiskers nearly fainted from relief when he saw that Glaceon standing there.

Blaze huffed. 'About time! I knew that if I kicked up enough of a fuss that someone would find me.'

Whiskers ran to Rose, or at least tried to before the chain stopped him. She met him halfway and gave him a brief hug that he didn't ask for.

'What are you doing here?' He asked, once she let him go.

'I could ask you the same thing.' She replied. 'But my family and I arrived to free Princess Snowy from the queen's dungeons. The rest of my family is going deeper into the castle, but I was left behind on account of the whole, ya know, super loud sneezing and stuff.'

Whiskers looked solemnly to the floor. 'So I was right… Queen Nymphia succeeded in capturing her.' He sighed. 'Nymphia forced Chevalier - the Gardevoir - to teleport me and Blaze away into this old cellar room. Apparently, we weren't good enough to be in the dungeon.'

Rose huffed. 'I bet that's just because that's where she's keeping Snowy and Doc! We gotta go in and help them!'

Blaze stomped the floor, causing dust to go flying. 'I would love to, except we're chained to the wall!'

Rose smirked, but didn't say a word. She stuck her tail up into the air, and it grew stiff as it glowed like polished metal. Before either of the captors could ask any questions, Rose smacked her Iron Tail against the chains around their bodies, and they broke into two in moments and fell to the floor. Whiskers and Blaze needed a moment to realise they were free, and they would've celebrated if they had the mental capacity to do so.

Rose grinned. 'I knew that learning Iron Tail would come in handy one day! Grumpy told me that it was a complete waste of time since he didn't think I could do it, and Doc told me that a physical move wouldn't be so good on a Glaceon, and-'

She was cut off as Whiskers rushed over and embraced her neck. Neither Pokémon could understand the bubbly, lighter-than-air sensation coursing through their bodies, and whatever wonderful moment they were having was interrupted by Blaze.

'You two seriously gonna try to navigate this castle?' She asked. 'Sorry, but I ain't coming.'

Rose pouted. 'Should've known you wouldn't want to save the princess.'

'Hey! It's not like that at all. It's just that I've heard that this is a stealth mission, and do you really think that someone with heavy hooves like mine could possibly sneak through the castle?'

The Glaceon shrugged. 'Yeah, that makes sense. While the prince and I look for my family, you can stay here and we'll come back for you later.'

And so, the Fire-type and the Ice-type ran out of that little room and back into the main cellar, leaving the Mudsdale behind. Blaze tapped her hoof on the stone floor, and sighed.

'Well, if I'm not gonna be a part of this stealth mission, I gotta do something. The only question is… what the heck can I do without just destroying the place?'

She grinned as an idea came to her head. There was only one problem with this otherwise brilliant idea - she would need to learn how to use a staircase.

As he guided the Eeveelutions through the castle hallways, Blade couldn't help but notice just how empty the hallways were. The hallways were never swarming with Pokémon per say, but usually by now he'd see at least one. Yet, the hallways remained eerily quiet; too quiet as the cliches might say. Not that he dared to utter those words out loud, since he knew it would only get him into trouble. Of course, this meant that the group had to be even more quiet, for otherwise their voices could travel far enough to reach the populated areas.

'We should be approaching the entrance to the dungeon soon.' Blade said. 'My only fear is that the door may be locked.'

'That's not a problem.' Spring said. 'If it's locked, I'll just cut it down.'

'I'm afraid that's what we'll have to do. In the case, I'll need you to be-'

A voice from outside their group interrupted him. 'WOAH!'

The Eeveelutions stopped dead, unsure if they should turn around and run or engage in a battle, for another Pokémon had appeared around the corner. Well, more specifically, she tripped over her own feet and fell face-first to the floor. If it was anyone else, Blade would've panicked, but this particular Pokémon filled him with relief instead.

'Don't panic, guys.' He said. 'It's just Nassi.'

The female Indeedee in question picked herself off the floor and dusted her apron-like fur off. When she caught sight of the Honedge, she smiled.

'Hey, Blade!' She said. 'Great to see you here again! What are ya-?'

Blade immediately shushed her. 'We need you to be quiet. We know where the princess is.'

'Y-?!' Nassi put her hands over her mouth for a moment, before speaking in a whisper. 'You do? And, less importantly, does it have anything to do with that gang of Eevee evolutions who are following you?'

'Short answer, yes. Just let us go to the dungeon, and we'll sort everything out.'

Nassi's eyes widened. 'The dungeon? The princess is in the dungeon?! We should tell the queen.'

'No! No, please don't. Don't ask why. But you can't let the queen know. Just ignore us, and it'll be okay. Alright?'

Nassi, as he should have expected, did not simply walk away and leave them to do what they want. Instead, she reached into a pocket in her fur and pulled out a keychain shaped like a tiny Klefki. She searched through each key, but with each one she rejected the more annoyed she appeared.

'Dang it…' She muttered. 'I don't have the dungeon key!'

'We don't need a key.' Spring said, lashing his tail around. 'I'll just cut down the door myself.'

'Oh, you're quite the cocky little Leafeon, aren't you?' This remark got a giggle out of Ebony. 'Well, if I can't help you guys out directly, then I should at least tell you this. I think Nymphia's got way more guards than usual down there in the dungeon. I didn't think about it before, but if the princess is in there…' She gasped. 'Oh no.'

If Blade could frown, he would've. 'Oh, that's not good.'

Spring leapt forward. 'But we still gotta do it!'

'And I couldn't agree more.' Flash said. 'Alright Blade Boy, take us to the dungeon.'

Nassi watched as the group continued down the path to the dungeon door, which she knew they were getting very close to. As she witnessed them leaving, she placed her hand on her heart. She wanted to tell them something, but they had already left, and she didn't want to risk calling to them. So, she whispered it to herself.

'My brother's in there too…'

Sunshine wanted to be of some use, while his siblings risked their lives, by washing up some plates. He could barely focus on his work, however, for he was too busy staring out the window into the night sky. The thoughts of what that nasty Sylveon could be doing to his family distracted him too much from his work. He had been scrubbing that one plate for ten minutes, and it was so polished that he was likely sanding it down at this rate.

He groaned. 'Stupid family… they're gonna get themselves killed.'

As he realised that he had washed that plate enough and put it down, the grumpy old Flareon sighed. He could feel his conscience eating at him, and he wished it was a Kricketune he could crush.

'This feeling isn't going to go away, is it?'

Seeing as he wasn't getting much work done on the dishes, he decided to go outside for a nighttime walk to clear his mind. Except, of course, he opened the front door instead of the back and came face-to-face with the name 'Snowy', carved into the foot of the bed he helped make.

He approached the bed, and rubbed his paw over the magnificent carving his little Grass-type brother created. Hopping over the foot, he landed on the soft blanket that the Psychic-type brother had stitched together. As he walked over the blanket, he could feel the soft mattress stuffed by his Dark-type sister before it was scattered by the Ice-type sister too.

He growled to himself. 'Those idiots… there's no way they're not gonna kill themselves trying to save Doc. And, if that's the way it has to be… dang it, I'm dying alongside them!'

And so he ran off. He wasn't certain where Queen Nymphia's castle was, but he certainly knew where Forressidon was.

Author Notes - The original movie just kinda... forgot about the Huntsman after he gives the pig's heart to the Queen. He isn't really necessary to the plot past that point, and we kinda just kinda (morbidly) assume the Queen just killed him, but I still see it as a shame.

I am ashamed to admit that I kept forgetting that Sunshine was NOT supposed to be in the castle-storming scenes. So some of his lines had to go to Rose instead. I am an idiot.