Author Notes - This multi-chapter climax was perhaps a little harder to get a grip on than I would like, but it's all good now!

CHAPTER ELEVEN - JAILBREAK

Blade had expected to see someone - anyone - else other than Nassi as he brought the group to the dungeon door. But the entire trip there, as short as it was, they hadn't encountered any other Pokémon aside from the female Indeedee. He thought that for sure they'd at least find a Minccino dusting up the hallways, but he found nothing. Not that he was complaining, but still.

'Oh.' Flash said, seemingly without prompting. 'I think I see the door.'

The door only a few rooms down had a noticeable difference to it, looking nothing like the lovely white wallpaper that surrounded it. It looked grungy, and whatever paint it had on it was already peeling. Unlike the carvings that the other doors had, this had none whatsoever.

'I could be wrong,' Flash said. 'But I doubt it. That's the dungeon door.'

'You would be correct.' Blade replied with a sigh. 'I don't even know why. I believe her highness wanted us to make sure that we knew where the dungeon was, if only so she could threaten us with it.'

As they approached the odd door, Spring looked around with some worry. This had to have been the epitome of 'too easy'. There was the door, standing in the middle of this empty hallway, with seemingly no guards around.

'I-I don't like this.' He admitted. 'W-What kind of dungeon door would be completely unguarded?'

'I don't think there's usually guards here anyway.' Blade said. 'Especially on the outside. Now, if we don't see any guards on the inside, then we should be afraid.'

'Being afraid of a lack of guards?' Melancholy echoed with a laugh. 'Why should we be scared of that?'

'Ever heard of the phrase 'too quiet'?'

As Blade tried to pull the door open with his cloth, he felt some relief when he realised that it was locked; had the door been unlocked, that would've been far more suspicious.

'Door's locked.' Flash said, casually stating the obvious. 'Bashful, cut it down.'

'Well do!' He declared, jumping into action.

'But do it slowly.' She added, stopping him in his tracks. 'Just slice your tail blade thing down the door crack thing so we can open it quietly.'

'O-Oh. That makes sense.'

So, Spring sharpened the little blade of grass on his forehead into a small knife-like weapon, and did just as Flash told him to. Granted, he barely understood her apathetic language, but he moved his blade-like leaf down the tiny gap in between the door and the wall, slicing into whatever lock kept the door in place and allowing the door to swing outwards.

'We're in.' He muttered, like some sort of stealthy action hero.

The entire group peered down into the dungeon. It had no lighting sources at all, and the staircase led into what appeared to be nothing but darkness. Ebony shook her tail around in her excitement, while Melancholy trembled like a leaf on the spot.

'D-Do we have to go down there?' He asked. 'I-I don't like the look of this.'

Spring glared at him. 'We have to go in to save Snowy and Doc. Don't be a coward now!'

The Espeon flinched. Flash pushed Spring aside just a little, and looked him in the eye.

'Don't take your obvious repressed fear on Happy.' She said. 'That isn't going to help.'

Ebony, bouncing around all-fours at a time, hopped into the dark corridor and illuminated a small area with her bright glowing rings. She bounced a couple more times, skipping about three steps each time, before she stopped and turned back to her Psychic-type brother. Melancholy, for his part, smiled and imitated her odd way of bouncing and joined her in the tiny patch of light.

'Isn't it kinda ironic?' He said. 'That the Dark-type is the brightest one in the family?'

Ebony laughed at his joke, in her usual silent-yet-joyful manner. Flash grinned for a moment, and walked past them into the darkness with Spring and Blade right behind her.

'Happy,' She said. 'Keep scanning the area for anyone. We don't want Dopie's light giving us away. If someone approaches, the light has to go off, alright?'

Melancholy gulped. 'A-Alright.'

Rose and Whiskers didn't want to admit it…

'Can't you simply sniff them out? You've been with these Pokémon for years, have you not?'

'When you're allergic to everything under the sun, it kinda kills your sense of smell.'

… But they were definitely lost. Apparently, trying to navigate a massive castle that you had never stepped into before was a terrible idea. Who knew?

'Hey, don't you visit this place sometimes?'

'Rarely, and I've never ventured past the throne room. Yet alone to the dungeon.'

The Glaceon and the Litleo had wandered down the completely wrong hallway and took another short staircase down another level. Luckily, they didn't meet any other Pokémon on their travels, which meant that no one who worked in the castle had seen them yet.

'Hello?' Rose said, sticking her head into a random open door. 'Snowy? Bashful?'

Whatever room she had stuck her head into, there was no one to be seen. It appeared to be yet another bedroom for the many servants in the castle. A big bed with soft blankets and pillows, an expansive wardrobe, beautiful pink and white wallpaper... It may have looked lovely, but it wasn't the dungeon, and those fancy fabrics that dotted every other inch tingled her sinuses.

'Nothing.'

'Do you have to check every door?' Whiskers asked when she got her head out of the room.

'Anything's worth a shot. Like, what about that door?'

She knocked on a door on the other side of the hallway, one covered in a similar wallpaper to the rest of the wall. Clearly, it was meant to be hidden, but someone had left it ajar and ruined the entire illusion. Not that the illusion would've been very good to begin with, seeing as it had a door handle. As she knocked on the door, it creaked open to reveal a dark staircase going all the way down.

'It looks dark and dungeon-y enough to me.' She said. 'So I think we found it!'

Whiskers peered in. 'I'm not quite sure myself, but I don't see us having any other leads. Stay behind me, for my fire will light the-'

Then, to his surprise, Rose stepped into the dark and dank staircase first.

'Ladies first.' She said, going down into the darkness.

'I-I think that only applies to good situations.'

'Eh, too inconsistent.'

He gasped. 'But it's dark down there! You may-'

'WOAH!'

Just as he had warned her, she missed a step and proceeded to tumble all the way down the staircase in a manner more resembling a tumbling Bounsweet more than a graceful Ice-type. The comedic sounds of 'oof' and 'gah' didn't help her at all. After a few seconds of tumbling, the spectacle ended with a rather loud THUD.

Whiskers ran down the stairs as fast as he safely could. 'Rose, are you okay?!'

'AHH-CHOOOO!'

The Litleo sighed. 'Well, that's almost as good as a yes.'

He reached the bottom in no time at all, and could hear Rose groaning in pain in the darkness. Upon looking around in the blackness for some sort of light switch, he saw some unlit torches hanging on the wall. Lucky for them, they had a Fire-type Pokémon in their two-member team, and he spewed a small Ember from his mouth towards one of the torches. It lit up and filled the tiny room with a dim orange light, more than enough for them to get their bearings.

'Are you alright, Rose?' Whiskers asked, nudging her head.

She slowly but surely got to her paws. 'I've had worse… where are we?'

'Definitely not the dungeon.'

The duo peered around the dim and musky room, seeing almost nothing. This room was as tiny as could be, so tiny that an Arbok would have to coil to its absolute limit to have even a chance of fitting. Aside from the torches and dusty old carpet, there was only one thing that either Pokémon could see of note - an old mirror with a golden frame, a mirror whose glass didn't reflect a thing. Rose approached this strange mirror, and knocked on its glass.

'Hello?' She called.

Imagine her surprise when a Yamask, trapped on the other side of the glass pane, emerged from the neverending darkness.

'AH!' Rose yelped as she jumped back.

'Oh dear, the Litleo prince and a Glaceon too?' The Yamask said, glancing at them both. 'Then I fear that my prophecy has come true.'

Rose tilted her head in confusion. 'Hah?'

The Yamask sighed. 'The story is long, but let me cut to the chase. It was Queen Nymphia who locked me to this place. The Honedge huntsman tried to set me free, but the glass proved too strong for someone such as he. I have the power to tell you what's happening anywhere at the present time, but the queen forced me to help her with her crimes.'

The Glaceon gritted her teeth. 'Well, I'm not gonna let the queen get away with this!'

She hardened her tail with a shiny metallic sheen, and slammed her Iron Tail square into the glass. The mirror shuddered, and the Yamask yelped, but the tiny crack in the glass did not grow.

'Come on, Whiskers!' Rose yelled, bashing the glass again. 'I'm gonna need all the help I can get to free this Yamask guy!'

Whiskers nodded, and backed away. He scraped his paws against the ground, like a Bouffalant about to change, and his fur charged not with fire but electricity. Once the electrical sparks surrounded his entire body, he slammed himself into the mirror with as much force as he could manage.

'Is that Wild Charge?' Rose asked. 'Odd move for a Fire-type, ain't it?'

'If an Ice-type such as yourself can spam a Steel-type move, I think this is fine.'

'Good point. Let's go!'

Melancholy shivered from the chills going down his spine as he and the others embarked further and further into the dank dungeon. Ebony's light was not allowed to go far at all, lest they end up giving away their position so easily. Still, the Espeon tried to focus on mentally scanning the area for any other Pokémon, but the fear coursing through him limited his powers. And that thought did not help his nerves at all.

'H-How big is this dungeon?' He asked. 'I feel like we've been walking down these dark steps forever.'

'Queen Nymphia wanted to keep the dungeon away from everyone else so no one could hear the prisoners screaming for help.' Blade replied, solemnly. 'Usually, that worked, but once…' He winced. 'Before I continue, do you want to hear the story?'

Flash shrugged. 'Why not? It might make this less tedious.'

'Understood. Just wanted to be sure. There was only once when it wasn't deep enough. A Garchomp by the name of Jett, who worked for Nymphia as one of her bodyguards, seemingly snapped and went mad soon after King Absalom passed. He stormed the kingdom, and… I don't dare go into detail, but some Pokémon did not make it.'

'Oh my!' Melancholy cried, before he slapped his paw over his mouth.

Spring's ears twitched. For the most part, he had been ignoring any discussion between his family and the Honedge, for all he cared about was getting Snowy and Rivers and the heck out of there. But the mention of this murderous Garchomp grabbed his attention immediately, and he gritted his teeth.

'He had been sentenced to the dungeons,' Blade continued. 'And he was never seen again. We certainly heard him though. His screams and cries could be heard everywhere in the castle, and he wouldn't stop demanding to be set free since he insisted that he was innocent. He only stopped when his heart did.'

Melancholy winced, and Ebony copied him. 'Oh, that is just about awful on every level.'

Even Flash noticeably recoiled in disgust. 'One heck of a way to word that, Blade.'

Spring growled. 'He deserved it. That despicable Garchomp…'

Melancholy gave him an affectionate little nudge. 'If it makes you feel any better, that Garchomp definitely did not have a nice time after he, well, you know…'

At that moment, any hint of a good mood that Blade may have had vanished into dust. At that moment, he realised just what had happened to the young Leafeon right in front of him. How lucky that Honedge did not have hearts, or his would've shattered like glass. He was a newly hired bodyguard at the time, but he could still remember that day down to the insignificant details - the most haunting had to have been the complete lack of emotion or soul behind that Garchomp's eyes.

One of the Garchomp's victims, like most of them, was a Pokémon with a loving spouse and children: a female Leafeon by the name of Sweetie. Blade never thought about it until now, and felt stupid for not realising it earlier. Sweetie's two children hadn't been seen in Forressidon since her murder, and since her kids were a Leafeon and a Glaceon...

'Spring,' He said. 'I beg of you, do not be so mad at Jett. He-'

The Leafeon stopped dead and glared at him. 'That monster is why my mother is gone. Why should I forgive him?'

'Because, and I say this with certainty, he was not in control of his actions. Remember how I said that Nymphia's specialty is using Attract to force any and all male Pokémon to do her dirty work for her? Jett was one of the nicest guys I knew before he supposedly snapped, and I'm convinced that he had merely fallen victim to Nymphia's Attract and was commanded to kill so many loving parents. That's why his screams were so audible and painful to listen to - because he was innocent, and knew that he had been used like a weapon.'

Spring's anger dropped, and he gulped. 'H-How can you be so certain?'

'I went down to visit him one time, and only once for it was all I could manage. Everyone else who I have seen thrown into the dungeon demands release so they could finish the job. Not Jett, though. I will never forget that he begged me to kill him, to put him out of his misery, for he couldn't bear the knowledge that he had killed others. And… I still feel ashamed that I couldn't do it.'

Spring remained still, his eyes reflecting Ebony's light in such a way that it was clear that he was seconds away from crying. The others remained quiet, standing still and waiting for him to keep moving. Melancholy was on stand-by, ready to deliver his trademark cuddle if he did indeed break down.

'I hated that Garchomp for years…' He muttered. 'For what he did to my family. But he was innocent. And I could never forgive him…' He shook his head about and regained that determined look. 'Never mind. Now is not the time for that. We have to save Doc and Snowy. That's all that matters right now.'

'Are you sure?' Melancholy asked. 'I have free hugs to give, remember!'

'No. Not now. Come on. Let's just get out of this dungeon as soon as possible.'

'ALMOST THERE!'

Rose slammed her galvanized tail against the glass one more time, and almost fell through the mirror for the glass had received its final blow. The shards clinked against the floor before they vanished into smoke, and both Rose and the prince backed away from the mirror. The Yamask inside gasped, and plummeted out of the void as it slowly disappeared and became part of the wall again. Rose drove forward and caught him before he could slam against the ground.

'You okay, dude?' She asked. 'And what was the deal about that whole mirror thing?'

'Y-Yes, I'm fine…' The Yamask said, slowly getting off the ground on his own accord. 'If only because I'm not forced to rhyme anymore. That was always one of the more confusing parts of the curse.'

'Curse?' Whiskers repeated. 'What curse?'

The Yamask sighed. 'I knew the queen for years, long before Princess Snowy was born. She had promised me that her magic could bring me back to my original form before I became a Yamask, but… well, you can tell that didn't work. She told me that I had to hold up my end of the bargain before she could do anything, and soon after her husband died she trapped me within this mirror so I'd have to answer her questions no matter what. Fortunately, just a few days ago, Blade was able to do a little bit of damage to the glass, which no doubt helped you and the prince break me out. And now…' He gasped. 'Your family is in trouble!'

Rose gasped. 'In trouble?! Why?'

The Yamask tossed his mask aside and floated up towards the light upstairs. Rose and Whiskers chased after him, a difficult task since he floated surprisingly fast for his species.

'I fear that your brother is being led directly into a trap!' He said.

'A trap?!' Rose cried. 'Oh, we have to go and warn him!'

'Will we possibly make it there in time?' Whiskers asked, already beginning to run out of breath.

'I doubt it.' The Yamask replied. 'But if we're fast enough, we can certainly do something to help.' He paused. 'I suppose I should tell you that my name is Desuma. It's been so long since anyone called me anything but a magic mirror…'

'We'll do the introductions later!' Rose yelled. 'I have a brother to save!'

'Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this?'

That was all Sunshine could say to himself as he ran through the Forressidon crowds. The sun had set, but it was still early enough for plenty of diurnal Pokémon while some nocturnal Pokémon began to wake up. The crowds of citizens and shop venders watched him run past them with cocked eyebrows and gaped mouths.

'Sorry!' Sunshine cried as he knocked over a young Obstagoon.

He ignored the Pokémon around him, since he knew that stopping for a moment would require an explanation and he didn't have one. Still, he could tell that everyone was staring at him, confused as to why a random Flareon (who no one could recognise) would be charging for the castle so urgently. Even Draga the Dragonite and Cotton the Whimsicott, who were in the middle of yet another argument involving store prices, stopped their fight to share looks of confusion.

Sunshine didn't care what the others thought of him. His eyes were set firmly on the castle, and his mind was set on getting him closer and closer to that goal. Even as he charged over the bridge, he had no idea what he'd do once he reached the castle. That wasn't important. But when he saw the Thievul and Gourgeist standing in front of the door, he skidded to a stop so quickly that his paws hurt.

'Halt!' The Thievul yelled as she stepped forward. 'I don't recognise you. What business do you have storming the castle like this?'

Sunshine backed away just a little. It wasn't so much the Pokémon themselves he was worried about - Superpower and Flare Blitz would easily knock them out - but beating up the door guards of royalty could only end badly for him.

'Intruder appears to be a male Flareon, approximately middle-aged.' The Gourgeist said, towering over the Flareon thanks to his Super size. 'And we have no records of such a subject anywhere in the castle. So the only conclusion to make is-'

'LEMME THROUGH!'

That was not Sunshine, as you may think, but instead a certain Mudsdale with an ornery attitude. She charged around the corner at full speed, leaving massive holes in the dirt as she dashed across the grass. Her massive hooves left multiple cracks in the brickwork as she approached the night guards. The poor Thievul and Gourgeist coiled away and backed into the corner, trembling with fright.

'I hope you realise what's going down in that castle of yours!' Blaze yelled, snorting at the end. 'Your queen is going mental!'

It took a few seconds for Sunshine to get over his shock, but when he did he stood right by the Mudsdale's side and mimicked her furious expression.

'So you'd better let us through!' He demanded. 'Or things will have to get messy.'

'R-Right then.' The Thievul said. 'And what exactly makes you think that we'll accept this absurd request?'

'Because one of your fellow guard friends - the Gardevoir guy, I think - was forced to capture the Princess and look her in the dungeon!'

The Gourgeist rolled his eyes. 'Okay, we know Her Highness can be a little coo-coo sometimes, but I don't think she'd go as far as to kidnap her own daughter.'

Sunshine huffed, and readied himself to burn them alive before he realised that they probably had nothing to do with the problem. Blaze, on the other hand…

'I'M COMING THROUGH!' She yelled.

She spun herself around and bucked the front doors with all of her might, knocking them clean off their hinges.

'Come at me, night guards!' She cried, snorting out a hot heavy breath.

Sunshine, to say the least, wasn't quite expecting that move, and stared at her in shock for a bit. The door guards seemed even more confused and frightened, but they managed to regain their composure and glared at her. Despite how shocked he was, the Flareon smirked.

'Oh, you have no idea how many laws you broke by doing that.' The Thievul said.

'Unless you have a dang good reason for this, you're gonna be locked in that dungeon for a long time.' The Gourgeist added.

Blaze adopted a smirk even more cocky and punchable than Sunshine's. 'Oh, I had a good enough reason for doing that. See a certain Flareon anywhere?'

The door guards looked around and gasped at once when they realised that the aforementioned Flareon had disappeared. She did a good job at hiding that she could still see Sunshine in the throne room, before he dashed away from all the Minccino cleaners and into a random hallway.

Blaze had that smirk wiped off her face when the Gourgeist spat little green seeds out of his mouth and into the ground surrounding her, taking advantage the holes she left behind. Before she could do a thing, long vines suddenly sprouted from the seeds and snarled her body and limbs and held her tight to the ground. Once she felt those vines on her body, she pulled and pushed against them but couldn't do a thing.

'GAH! Are you kidding me?!' She cried. 'I just got out of this!' She sighed. 'Well, at least I did something.'

'And here you'll stay until we find out if you're innocent.' The Thievul said. 'Be thankful we're not doing anything else to you.'

Melancholy's ears perked.

'Oh no… we gotta stop!' He whispered to his family, prompting most of them to do so.

'What's wrong?' Blade asked.

'I sense something bad down there. I-I think we're walking into a trap.'

'A trap, huh?' Flash remarked. 'That isn't good. We should… Bashful?'

Spring had not stopped like the rest of his family did. In fact, he didn't even slow down. If anything, he sped up. He charged down the steps into the musky darkness, without a care or thought in the world except to save his friend and brother. Even as Ebony's light faded and he descended into the darkness. Even as he stumbled over the steps. Even as the musky air made him sneeze. He bolted down the steps without a care in the world.

'Happy,' Flash said, unflinchingly. 'Stop him.'

'I-I can't see him!' Melancholy cried. 'A-And I don't do well in the dark.'

Ebony's entire body perked and she charged down the stairs after Spring, taking the team's light with her. Melancholy squeaked and hung into Flash for dear life, making sure to avoid those electrical spikes. Flash, not caring at all, marched down the steps nice and slowly with him clamped around her body.

'Are you Eeveelutions all insane?!' Blade cried. 'I… This could be suicide!'

Flash shrugged. 'Eh. We never did 'sane' anyway. And family's kinda important, so…'

Spring realised that he had reached the bottom when the steps stopped and the floor flattened out. His ears twitched at the sound of a familiar voice.

'Oh, I know that adorable little Skitty-sneeze from anywhere!' Snowy called out from the darkness. 'BASHFUL!' She gasped. 'GET OUT OF HERE, BASHFUL!'

The young Leafeon knew exactly where her voice was coming from. The joy, and then concern, in her voice made his heart leap. He ran into the darkness, and… wait, he couldn't move an inch. Grunting and groaning he strained his body, but it wouldn't move.

'BASHFUL!' Snowy cried, followed by the distinct sounds of her bashing her body into the bars.

Suddenly, a bright light beamed into his eyes. He had to shut them, lest he go blind. It took a bit until he dared to look again, and before him he saw three Pokémon. One was a Slurpuff, who must've been using Flash as the 'cherry' on his head lit up the whole room. The second was a male Indeedee, and his glowing eyes proved that he was the one holding Spring in place. Both Pokémon were, without a doubt, under the influence of the Attract from the third and most threatening Pokémon in the room.

'Thank you so very much, Issan and Pereamo.' Nymphia said, glaring down upon the young Leafeon. 'It seems we've captured ourselves a wayward little Leafeon trying to be a hero. I think it'll be most fair if I give him a nice quick death.'

She bared her sharp teeth and pounced for his neck. Unable to fight against Issan's Psychic, Spring closed his eyes and waited for a swift death.

'GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!'

His eyes shot wide open again. Rose jumped out from the darkness and bashed her entire body into Nymphia before her teeth could get anywhere near her little brother. The Sylveon fell to the floor, groaning as she struggled to get back onto her feet.

'What in the Distortion World…?' She muttered to herself, looking up to the Glaceon staring at her down.

'You'll kill my brother over my dead body!' Rose shouted, through her gritted teeth.

Spring still couldn't move out of Issan's psychic grasp, but with the light provided by Pereamo he could see a certain shiny princess on the other side of metal bars. The moment his eyes fell upon her, he forgot all about his fears.

'Snowy!' He cried out in absolute joy.

Snowy pushed herself up against the bars as best she could. 'It isn't safe for you here, Bashful. You have to leave!'

Rivers perked his head up, and ran to the bars of his cell as quickly as his old bones would let him. 'Spring? You… you can't be here. Get out!'

'I'm not leaving without you, or Doc!'

Rose bared her teeth, which glowed and formed a thick layer of ice around them so they resembled icicles. With Ice Fang activated, she leapt at Nymphia and aimed for the throat.

'ISSAN, STOP THIS GLACEON AT ONCE!' Nymphia shouted.

Issan, while still holding the Leafeon hostage, stopped Rose completely in mid-air with nothing but his mind. She tried to fight against the hold, and though she managed to move her paws around a little she was no match for the psychic jail. Only then did the others arrive. Ebony reached the bottom first, and the rest of her team made it in just a matter of seconds.

'Rose is already here?' Blade asked. 'How did she make it here before us?'

'I think Nymphia tried to kill her little brother.' Flash replied. 'If you hurt Bashful, she might teleport behind you and kill you.'

'Let's go get her!' Melancholy yelled.

'Bad idea. Let's take this slowly.'

The other members of her team, including the prince, stayed in their spot but readied themselves to leap or fight at the slightest provocation. Flash gave Ebony a small wink and, once she understood what it meant, the Umbreon nodded, switched off her light, and delved into the darkness.

Nymphia got back to her paws, and laughed at the cavalcade. 'Now look at this. The whole family's here now! Except for that irritable Flareon, but who needs him? Including our little princy friend! And…' She gritted her teeth. 'My traitorous huntsman and my Yamask who you've managed to free somehow.'

Whiskers scowled. 'Realise your prisoners at once. That includes the Leafeon and the Glaceon, and the poor men you have under your control.'

'Oh, I would love to do that, but - alas! - you are the prince of Auroria, and so have no authority here in Forressidon. But I'm feeling a little generous today, so I'll make you guys a deal. Leave now without telling a soul about this and you're all fine, or take a step closer and I'll have my Indeedee friend snap your annoying siblings' necks.' She emphasised her little 'deal' by baring her teeth.

Rivers gasped. 'No! Oh please, don't hurt them! Take me instead.'

Nymphia scoffed. 'You haven't shut up about how you're so close to dying that you'd rather be left here to die or whatever. I'm not going to give you what you want.'

Flash's small group looked among each other with concerned and unsure faces. The whole lot of them wanted to tear right through that Sylveon in that moment, but they didn't dare risk putting Rose and Spring's lives on the line.

'Y-You wouldn't really kill them, r-right?' Melancholy asked.

'I cannot tell a lie.' Desuma said. 'It's a miracle that Queen Nymphia hasn't had their necks snapped already.'

Only Flash didn't seem concerned at all. Normally, that wouldn't be a surprise, but it wasn't a lack of an expression this time, but instead a smirk. Then, from the darkness-

'GAH!'

A splash of poison came flying out at Issan and struck him in the face. As the Toxic sunk in and turned his face purple, his concentration dropped and so did his grip on the twins. Rose landed on her paws, and at once her and Spring could move once again.

'What the-?!' Queen Nymphia exclaimed.

Ebony, with the greatest smirk she had ever donned, emerged from the shadows with her chest puffed out. Tiny drops of purple sweat could still be seen leaking out of her pores.

'Get 'em, Bashful!' Flash ordered.

Spring gave her a nod, and - sharpening his tail into a blade sharper than even Blade's body - sliced through both the top and then the bottom of the bars.

'DON'T YOU DARE!' Nymphia shouted.

They slammed against the floor with a horrible cacophony of metallic clanking sounds, and before Spring could recover from the shock of that Snowy leapt out of her cell and embraced him.

'Oh Bashful!' She cried. 'I-I hoped you wouldn't come but… I'm so happy you did!'

Spring blushed, withheld his tears of joy, and returned the hug. 'I-I would never leave you behind. Now, I'll have to save-'

The bars of the other cell fell to the ground, thanks to Blade slicing through them himself. For a moment, Rivers hesitated, but only for a moment, before he leapt out of his musty stone cage as fast as his old tired bones could let him. He only had a moment of freedom before Rose and Spring rushed over to give him a big ol' group hug.

'O-Okay, let's have Hug Time later.' Rivers said. 'The queen!'

The Sylveon picked herself off the ground and growled. 'Don't you dare get away from me, you-!'

She tried to reach out her ribbon-like feelers to strangle all three of them, only to find that she couldn't move an inch. A bluish aura surrounded her entire body and held her in her place. The moment she realised, her eyes darted over to the Espeon. Melancholy stood there with a big grin on his face, and his eyes and gem were glowing a bright blue.

'Normally, I don't like fighting dirty like this,' He said with a giggle. 'But if you're willing to hold your opponent with your mind, then I figured that I could too!'

'You blasted Espeon!' Nymphia shouted. 'I knew you'd screw up one of my plans one day, but I didn't think it would be this one!'

Flash approached the trapped Fairy-type with a smirk on her muzzle, perhaps the biggest little smile she had ever had. It only made Nymphia want to kick her teeth in more.

'Sorry for the interruption, Your Highness,' Flash said. 'But we should get going.'

By order of their new Jolteon leader, the entire group made a run for it back up the stairs. Ebony led them to the door of the steps, but stayed near the bottom so she could watch her Psychic-type brother while everyone else evacuated as quickly as they possibly could. Melancholy remained in the dungeon, stepping away from the queen slowly while making sure he didn't take his eyes off her.

'You're hilarious, Your Highness!' He said, laughing again. 'I can't believe you thought that you could break up our family!'

Despite her situation, Queen Nymphia grinned. 'You think it's really that simple? I know you're taking your time so your family can get out of here. And to that I say… PEREAMO, STOP USING FLASH AT ONCE!'

The hypnotised Slurpuff obeyed her order, and shut his light off immediately. The dungeon plunged into darkness once again, with the only visible light being the glowing rings of the pygmy Umbreon.

'AHHH!' Melancholy screamed.

Surrounded by darkness on almost all sides, his concentration broke and reduced him to a panic. He ran through the darkness as quickly as he could over to his youngest sister, who gave him an affectionate lick on the forehead.

'L-Let's get out of here!' He yelled.

The duo booked it up the steps as fast as their legs could take them. As they returned to the light of the upstairs hallway, a horrible thought dawned on Melancholy - after the darkness made him lose his concentration, there was no doubt that Queen Nymphia was already on her way.

'Oh…' He muttered. 'I screwed up… I screwed up big time!'

Ebony gave him a big slobbery kiss as they ran around a corner, which only lifted his mood a little. A smile appeared on his face, but only for a moment.

'I-I suppose it doesn't matter,' He said. 'As long as we get out in time, we'll-'

'GARDEVOIR APPROACHING!'

Desuma's warning came far too late, for when Melancholy and Ebony made their way around the corner, they saw Chevalier standing in the middle of the hallway. All of the other Pokémon, even the Ghost-types, found themselves trapped in the psychic hold of the Embrace Pokémon. Everyone who Melancholy knew well was kept frozen mid-run, looking much like what remained of the fleeing victims of Pompeii.

'Again?!' Melancholy cried.

The Espeon turned around to run - to find another way to save his friends - until Chevalier caught him up in his mental grasp too.

'The queen expects more than you could ever imagine.' He said, totally emotionlessly. 'And she will best you at every step.'

Ebony, still unaffected by such a move, smirked and stuck her tongue out at the Psychic/Fairy-type, already excreting poisonous sweat from her pores once again.

'Wait, Ebony, don't!' Desuma yelled.

The Umbreon paid the warning no attention, and flung her poisonous sweat at Chevalier with her tail. Though she wasn't a Poison-type herself and thus not completely accurate with the move, the splash of toxins splattered directly into Chevalier's face. Just like before, his psychic hold vanished and he had to kneel on the floor to keep his body up.

'She tried that stunt again?' Melancholy said with a giggle. 'She must be running out of ideas!'

'Nah, I doubt she's that silly.' Flash said. 'She probably just tricked us or something.'

'Indeed she did.' Desuma said, wishing he still had his mask so he could hug it. 'Chevalier's ability is-!'

Before he could finish his explanation, Ebony cringed and would've cried out in pain if her vocal cords worked properly. Suddenly, her face went purple and her ears drooped. In just a few seconds, she found herself unable to stand on her own paws without wobbling and shaking all over the place.

'... Synchronise…' Desuma finished, with little enthusiasm.

Melancholy gasped, and rushed over to his little Dark-type sister. She smiled through the pain, but he could see the agony in her eyes and brought her into a hug.

'Well, well, well! Looks like our Dopey little Umbreon jumped the gun a little, didn't she?'

All attention snapped to the Sylveon waltzing down the hall, looking no worse for wear. If Sunshine were there, he would've punched that annoying smirk right in the jaws. Most of the Eevee evolutions backed away, with the exception of Rivers and Flash. They marched forward past the others, though staying a fair distance away from Nymphia.

'Listen, your highness.' Rivers said. 'You don't have to do this. We promise we won't say a thing about what you've done as long as you let us leave.'

Nymphia rolled her eyes. 'And you consider yourself so wise. I couldn't possibly let you leave now that you know too much. Then again, perhaps I should've already known that. After all, you couldn't even tell the difference between your own sister and someone pretending to be her.'

Rivers's eyes widened, and he looked to Flash. The Jolteon shrugged, clearly just as confused as him.

Nymphia laughed. 'Just like I thought. You just don't get it, do you? Didn't you ever wonder why Prince Whiskers got poisoned with Umbreon toxins when the only Umbreon in the kingdom was your sister, who would never dare to do such a thing?'

Ebony, through the crippling toxins, lowered her ears and snarled at the Fairy-type in front of her. She flung another splatter of poison at her, but it bounced right off a blue barrier that briefly appeared when it got close before it dissipated. She growled again, up against her greatest opponent - Safeguard.

'What point are you trying to make here?' Rivers demanded. 'We already know that Ebony would never dream of doing something so horrible.'

'That's because she didn't.' Nymphia said. 'What really happened was… well, I've demonstrated an ability to transform into a different Pokémon thanks to my magic.'

She took much delight in watching their expressions change, one by one, from confusion to shock and anger as the meaning of her words sunk into every one of them. None of them had any words for the revelation…

Except for Snowy. With hurt clear in her eyes, she slowly approached her mother. Spring followed her the entire way, just in case something awful happened.

'B-But… why?' She asked. 'Why would you do something like that?!'

Nymphia gritted her teeth. 'Don't any of you understand? I was surrounded by so many loving families, and it was so painful to watch after my beloved Absalom died! If I don't deserve a sweet and loving family, then NO ONE DOES!'

Spring scowled. 'Is that why you forced your Garchomp friend to kill my mother?!'

Nymphia glared into his soul, snarling through her sharp teeth.

'Wait, WHAT?!' Rose cried. 'You did WHAT?!'

'Now I know you know too much…' The Sylveon muttered. 'NOW YOU CAN'T LEAVE!'

She leapt for the poor Leafeon, baring every one of her sharp fangs. Her jaws were aimed directly for his throat, and he hadn't any time to react to it.

'BASHFUL!' Snowy yelled.

All Spring could do was brace for impact… but it was no more successful this time than it was the last.

'GET AWAY FROM MY LITTLE BROTHER, YOU MONSTER!'

A red flash zoomed past everyone, and suddenly Nymphia flew across the room and crashed into the wall behind her.

'Grumpy!' The younger Eeveelutions cried at once.

Nymphia opened her eyes and bore witness to a certain Flareon holding her up against the wall by her neck. The rage within his eyes cannot possibly be expressed in words, and Nymphia swore it was the most furious she had ever seen another Pokémon.

'Grumpy!' Melancholy yelled. 'Ya came back!'

Sunshine rolled his eyes. 'Of course I did, ya ding-Zubat! I would never let a monster of a Pokémon do anything so awful to my family! AND… I brought a little help with me.'

Before anyone could ask who this 'help' was, Kiriki emerged from around the corner and immediately swept Chevalier into her arms. No amount of toxins clouding up his face could ever make him look anything short of drop-dead gorgeous to her.

'KISS ME, BABY!' She cried, before giving Chevalier one of the biggest kisses she had ever given him.

Of course, it didn't cure him off his poisoning, but a kiss from his beloved smacked him right out of the effects of Attract. Well, perhaps not quite. Now, he was quite infatuated with this female Bisharp instead of that female Sylveon.

'H-Honey?' He said. 'What are you…?'

'Stop talking, pretty!' She said back. 'Those toxins are too strong for you to waste your energy.'

What was everyone else doing, you may ask? Nothing, for there was nothing they could do. Their minds were struggling a little too much to catch up with everything that was going on. Rose, once she realised they were (however temporarily) in the clear once again, ran over to her little brother and gave him a tight hug. She could feel him shivering against her skin.

'What do we do now, Doc?' She asked.

The wise old Vaporeon wished he could answer, but his mind came up with an empty blank. The prince and princess… the adoring couple… the freed Yamask… Sunshine pressing Nymphia up against the wall… the fact that he had been locked in a jailcell for hours… his mind couldn't handle it all. His already-tired heart was hitting its limit, and he could feel it giving up.

'That's easy.' Flash said. 'The pretty Gardevoir guy can just teleport us out.'

Kiriki held Chevalier even tighter. 'I-I'm not sure how well that would work. He's weak enough from your sister's toxins!'

'N-No…' Chevalier said, though his voice sounded strained. 'I'll do it. I have enough strength left to get them out of the castle at least. From there, they can run. It'll be hard to separate Sunshine away from Her Highness, though…'

'NEVER MIND ME!' Sunshine yelled, slowly losing his grip. 'Get my family the hell out of here!'

'You heard the Flareon.' Flash remarked. 'Let's go.'

Chevalier nodded, and held up his arm. Nymphia's eyes widened, for she knew what was coming next, but she couldn't scream or shout thanks to Sunshine having a fine grip on her throat. A blue light surrounded the entire entourage, even though it hurt Chevalier to do so. Kiriki kept him wrapped up in her arms, hoping the 'power of love' would help him through it.

And then… a bright flash. Nymphia had to close her eyes as the entire hallway lit up. Once she opened them up again, she found no one else in the room except for the Flareon and loving couple. Chevalier collapsed to the ground, still breathing but barely conscious.

'NOOO!' Nymphia screamed, pushing Sunshine aside.

Sunshine fell to the floor, but he got up in two seconds flat.

'YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THAT EASILY!'

Kiriki gasped. 'Flareon, don't!'

Ignoring her warning, he scraped at the floor and delivered a powerful tackle directly into Nymphia's body. It sent her flying across the hallway, and her body skidded against the rough carpet. Despite the pain, she grinned like the Cheshire Meowstic.

'H-Her ability is Cute Charm!' Kiriki yelled.

In a moment, Sunshine realised how much he screwed up. It was only for a moment, for a moment was all he had left.

Author Notes - You may have noticed I repeated the 'Arbok coiling to its limits' simile from the first chapter. This was an intentional callback. But I guess you could call me lazy if you wanted. I won't exactly argue with that.

If you think we've been spending too much time on this, don't worry. The next chapter will deal with the final confrontation with Queen Nymphia. And trust me when I say final.