And now for Part 2!
Oh, and there's a new poll on my profile, see the bottom A/N for details!
With utmost haste, a carriage was prepared for the group's departure to hunt down the notorious thief, Fouquet. The carriage was painted black, filled with plush red seats, and drawn by two rowan horses. The mages sat in the back, while Ash sat up on the carriage box next to their driver, Miss Longueville. The reason for this was because the carriage had only enough space for four people, and while Louise, Kirche, and Tabitha brought that number up to three, Ash had brought along one extra member to their party.
"Remind me what Guiche is doing here?" Louise asked as she craned her head towards her familiar. Her blond classmate gave her a flirtatious smile, which she returned with a glare.
"Fouquet is an earth mage who uses golems. Guiche is an earth mage who uses golems," Ash stated factually. "If we're going to know the thief's tricks, it makes sense to bring someone who can match his moves."
Louise looked at Guiche suspiciously. The blond boy had a nervous smile on his face. Louise narrowed her eyes. "Guiche may be talented in golems, but he's a dot class mage while Fouquet is a prestigious triangle class mage," she pointed out. "Guiche wouldn't be able to 'match' anything in a fight."
"Does anyone else here know more about golems than Guiche?" Ash asked. No hands were raised. "There we have it. Guiche is our resident golem expert."
"I will do my best to protect you, dear mademoiselles," said Guiche proudly.
"You? Protect us?" Kirche tittered. "Tabitha and I are triangle class mages. Louise has supposedly destroyed Fouquet's golem in one hit. Ash proved to be stronger than you in your duel. It is us who will be protecting you."
Guiche slumped as his ego was quashed, strained, and buried into deep, dark pit.
"If it makes you feel better, I'm the most useless person in this mission," Miss Longueville offered. Her gaze remained focused on the road ahead, but she was paying attention to the conversation of her passengers.
"I'm better than the commoner with a broken arm, how wonderful," Guiche said sarcastically.
"Guiche…" Ash said warningly. "Don't be rude."
"I'm not being rude!" Guiche protested. "Miss Longueville might be a member of the Academy's esteemed faculty, but no one expects her to be of use against Fouquet in the first place. I'm honestly impressed she can even drive the carriage in her condition."
"This is nothing compared to your own duties," said Longueville humbly.
"Are you sure you're in a condition to take this journey?" Louise asked with concern. Longueville's left arm was bandaged and lying limply by her side, leaving only her right hand able to hold the reins.
"Someone had to do it," Longueville stated. "It wouldn't be fair to ask one of the servants to undertake a dangerous task like this, and most mages don't know how to drive a carriage."
"How did you learn to drive one?" Kirche asked curiously. "An attractive woman like yourself doesn't seem like a person who would work with animals besides horseback riding."
"I'm a woman of many talents," Longueville replied mysteriously.
One of the carriage wheels hit a dip in the road, causing the carriage to jostle. Most of the occupants were only rocked, but Longueville had to bite her bottom lip as her arm was painfully smacked against the carriage's body. The worst of the damage had been fixed, but she was still far from fully recovered.
Ash, seeing the green haired woman in pain, came up with an idea. "Miss Longueville, could you teach me how to drive a carriage?" he requested.
All of the carriage's occupants were surprised by the request, and no one was more surprised than Miss Longueville. "You want to learn how to drive a carriage?" she asked.
"Yes," Ash answered sincerely.
"Why? It's boring and there are usually servants who take care of the job."
Ash shrugged. "I like learning new things," he said. "You never know when a random skill will come in handy, right?"
Skeptical, but seeing no reason to refuse, Longueville handed the reins to Ash. "Hold these firmly, but don't jerk them otherwise the horses will make a sharp turn," she instructed him. "Driving a carriage is a lot like riding a horse, but you have to be aware of both horses and their load."
"Got it," said Ash. As the reins were passed on, Ash's fingers faintly brushed against Miss Longueville's. His brown eyes widened in surprise.
"Is something wrong?" Longueville asked, debating whether or not she should take back control of the vehicle. The path was straight for now, but Ash was staring at her in surprise and confusion instead of keeping his eyes on the road.
Ash finally said, "Your Aura is like Fouquet's."
Longueville's face remained carefully neutral, but her hand made an involuntary jerk towards her robes, making her glad that she was no longer holding onto the reins. "What do you mean by that?" she asked coolly.
The riders in the back of the carriage were also curious. "Are you saying that Miss Longueville is like Fouquet?" Kirche asked. Ash didn't interact with Kirche as much as the others, so she didn't have the right context to understand his statement.
"I thought everyone's Aura was unique?" Louise questioned.
Guiche gasped. "Are you saying Longueville is Fouquet?" he asked.
Tabitha narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on her staff.
Ash could see that his companion's imaginations were running wild, so he spoke quickly. "Mostly," Ash corrected Louise. "I share the Aura of someone who died about a thousand years ago, so it's not impossible for different people to have the same Aura. And I'm not sure if Miss Longueville's Aura is an exact match. During the fight I didn't take the time to memorize Fouquet's aura signature. Miss Longueville feels similar, but it's impossible for her to be Fouquet."
"Why's that?" Kirche asked.
"Fouquet is a man, and Miss Longueville is a woman," Ash said simply.
The students nodded, accepting that logic. One nod, however, was hesitant.
"Miss Longueville's arm was also injured in the panic, and Fouquet was perfectly fine during the fight," Louise added.
"True," Guiche admitted. "My apologies, Miss Longueville. It appears I was overeager in my assumptions."
"Apology accepted, Mister Gramont," Longueville said gracefully. "I understand that tensions are a bit high right now."
Guiche gave a sigh of relief, which caused Ash to smile. Guiche was still arrogant and either flirtatious or insensitive when it came to girls, but he was steadily improving.
"Is there another reason you can think of that Longueville would have similar Aura to a world-famous thief?" Louise asked Ash.
Ash gave it a moment's thought. Due to a lack of sample size, he didn't have a lot of information to go off of. However, if he and Sir Aaron shared Aura signatures and could both use aura, then there was a chance that people with the same potential magic could share Aura as well.
"Miss Longueville, are you a mage too?" Ash finally asked.
"She's a commoner," Guiche said with a dramatic sigh. "Of course she's not—"
"I am a mage," Longueville admitted. "Albeit, not a very good one."
The four students in the carriage looked at the secretary in shock.
"Wait," said Louise, putting the dots together. "If you're a commoner, but you're a mage, that means you were a noble at one point."
"Once upon a time, yes," Longueville affirmed.
"Oh?" Kirche said. Her eyes danced with sparkled of curiosity. "How did you end up losing your family name? Was your familiar dishonored, or just you?"
"Kirche!" Louise shouted angrily. "You can't ask her something that personal! Show some decency!"
"Quiet," said Tabitha sternly, speaking for the first time since they left the trip. Louise flushed, realizing that her shout could alert Fouquet of their pursuit. Kirche snickered, but Tabitha glared at her too. "Both of you," she added.
Scanning with his Aura Sense, Ash could feel that Miss Longueville's Aura was comparable to Tabitha's, albeit slightly larger and dimmer. It was a conundrum. Why were Louise and Miss Longueville not good mages when their Auras were overall above average? Then again, Ash's Aura eclipsed anyone's he had met, and he couldn't use any magic—despite what Louise insisted.
In the end, the subject was dropped. The trip passed in relative silence, with the only shared words being between Longueville and Ash as the former instructed the latter in how to handle the horses. By the time they reached the place for them to disembark and follow on foot, Ash could confidently say he was a competent—albeit inexperienced—carriage driver. Miss Longueville praised his quick learning and natural talent for keeping the horses calm. Ash did have tendency to overuse his strength, which caused the carriage sway as the horses made more motion than necessary, but he kept them on the road, so it wasn't all bad.
Longueville volunteered to follow behind the teens as a lookout, but she was quickly overruled. Instead, she was tasked with keeping the horses ready to go at a moment's notice in case they had to flee for their lives.
Ash was the one who made the suggestion, with the others reluctantly supporting the idea, except for Tabitha, who remained silent during the vote. Kirche, Louise, and Guiche insisted that they could not fail. Ash had confidence in their ability, but he also knew that sometimes the unexpected happened. This thief had been stealing from nobles across Halkegenia for years without being caught. That meant Fouquet was smart, and a smart opponent was more dangerous than a powerful brute. Ash knew that well. After all, he often used clever strategies and tactics to give his Pokemon advantages against other Pokemon that were higher on the evolution chain. Like that time where he…
…
Huh…
Actually, Ash couldn't remember a specific instance at the moment. Weird, but he dismissed it as being too focused on catching Fouquet. He was more of a think-on-his-feet person anyway.
The five teenagers crept through the forest. Well, tried to creep through the forest. As much as they'd like to imagine that they traveled with hardly a sound, stealth was not their forte. Ash winced every time Kirche, Guiche, or Louise loudly stepped on a branch. He and Tabitha were decently stealthy, knowing how to watch their step and avoid troublesome obstacles. For this reason, they took point as they came across the clearing of the abandoned house.
"Ash and I will go ahead," Tabitha told her classmates as they reached the edge of the tree line.
"Makes sense, you two are the sneakiest," said Louise. She pulled a twig from her hair with an irritated huff. "How did you learn to move like that?"
"Practice," Tabitha said simply
"Ninja training," was Ash's response.
Everyone turned to Ash with questioning looks on their faces.
"Long story," Ash said sheepishly. "I'll tell you later. For now, while Tabitha and I are checking out the clearing, Guiche, get some of your Valkyries to watch the tree line. Kirche, if you guys see anything, send up a signal flare. Louise, save your magic for when we can get a clean shot on whatever golem pops up. Fouquet will probably target you first since he knows how strong your explosions are, so we can take advantage of that."
The stares of the group became harder. A solitary cricket chirped in the background.
Ash started to sweat. "What?" he asked innocently.
"You're acting like you've done something like this before," Kirche remarked with intrigue.
"Do you come from a military family too?" Guiche asked.
"I'm just making a plan," Ash responded, not understanding their reaction. "What's unusual about that?"
"You're acting like we're in a military operation," said Louise. "We're catching one thief, not raiding a den of them."
Only Tabitha had a positive reaction. "Good plan," she said. Ash expression started to brighten, but then Tabitha followed quickly with, "You're strange." Coming from the normally silent girl, that meant a lot. The ice mage turned to the rundown building. "Let's go."
Ash quickly recovered from the emotional damage. He stayed a step ahead of Tabitha as they approached the building. That way, if an attack did come at them, he would be able to tank it while Tabitha could make a counterattack.
At the front of the shack, Tabitha held her staff in Ash's way before they could reach the door. "Check for traps," she ordered in her soft voice.
Ash nodded and closed his eyes. He pushed his senses around the entrance. Sensing rocks and wooden boards was harder than sensing people, but he could confirm that there was nothing out of the ordinary. "I got nothing," he said after a few moments.
"No magic," Tabitha affirmed. "Suspicious."
"Maybe he didn't want to leave any traps so people would think the place was abandoned?" Ash suggested.
"Maybe," Tabitha replied skeptically.
Ash entered first, slowly pushing open the door. The place was covered with a fine layered of dust, but there were footprints that indicated that someone had been inside recently. Tabitha knelt down and brushed the footprints, examining the faint traces of dirt left in the prints. "Very fresh," she said worriedly. "Only a few minutes."
"Do you think he left already?" Ash asked.
Tabitha shrugged. "Could be checking outside," she said. "Dangerous, either way."
"Let's see if we can find this Staff of Destruction before he shows up," said Ash. He headed towards a cupboard while Tabitha headed to a dust-covered bed and dresser. "Do we know what this staff looks like?"
Tabitha shook her head. "Looks weird, black, irregular," she said. "So it's said. Never seen it."
"Not much to go on, but if it's here, we'll find it," said Ash. "Let's hurry so we don't get stuck in here in case Fouquet and his oversized golem show up."
Tabitha immediately responded with an anti-climactic, "Found it."
Surprised, Ash turned to see Tabitha pulling a black object that was longer than her arm from underneath the bed. Ash's eyes widened in surprise. What he was seeing shouldn't have been possible, there was no way that something like that could exist in this place or time.
"How did this get here?"
Louise, Kirche and Guiche saw Tabitha and Ash exit the building with somber expressions on their faces and an odd metal rod in Ash's arms.
"Is that…?" Louise asked hesitantly.
"It is," Ash confirmed. "The Staff of Destruction. Or as we call it in Kanto, a rocket launcher."
Ash had seen a surprising amount of rocket launchers during his training career. This one was designed for a single shot and could be fired from someone's shoulder, which was normal enough. But it was in terrible condition. Whatever color it used to have had been lost. The entire body was blackened, rough, and uneven, like it had been partially melted. There were also no identifiable marks that Ash could see to determine who previously owned it. For all intents and purposes, it was an unmarked and heavily damaged—though still functional—rocket launcher.
Louise frowned. "The translation didn't work," she informed him. "Row keht? What's that?"
"It's a weapon—" Ash began to say.
"Wait, Fouquet left the staff unguarded?" Kirche asked in surprise, her shocked expression mirrored by Guiche.
"Apparently," Ash responded to Kirche with uncertainty. "We found recent footprints, so it looks like he put it down and left in a hurry."
"We should go," Tabitha urged.
"What are you talking about?" Kirche asked. "We still haven't caught the thief."
"Primary objective, secure the staff," Tabitha responded. "Secondary objective, capture thief. Can't risk losing staff in fight."
"I suggest we leave the staff with Miss Longueville and go back to search for the thief," Guiche offered.
"No." The others were surprised by the sternness in the Tabitha's voice. The blue haired girl spoke with firm resolution. "We do not leave it with her."
"Why not?" Louise asked. "She could hold onto it for us while we catch Fouquet."
"I agree with Tabitha," said Ash. "Miss Longueville won't be able to defend herself if Fouquet goes looking for the staff."
That hadn't exactly been Tabitha's reasoning, but she didn't say anything to contradict her only supporter.
"So we split up," said Kirche. "Louise and Ash go with Longueville to return the staff, while Guiche, Tabitha, and I go and capture Fouquet."
"Why are you leaving us out of the action?" Louise challenged. "Ash and I have fought Fouquet before, so we stand a better chance of bringing him in. You and Tabitha can escort the staff while Guiche helps us take down Fouquet."
"A young maiden wants the boys to herself?" Kirche asked. "Oh my, I see where you're going with this."
"I-I'm not!" Louise protested. "Only a harlot like you would think of something like that in a time like this."
"Oh? And what am I thinking about?"
"As much as I appreciate that both of you are desperate to pull me to your side—" Guiche began.
"I only need your experience with golems," Louise interrupted, shooting Guiche a cold glare. "Otherwise I would send you away with this floozie."
Ash walked away from the argument and shuffled towards Tabitha, who kept her eyes fixated on the surrounding trees. "What do you think we should do?" Ash asked.
"Leave immediately," Tabitha replied promptly.
"You don't want to catch Fouquet?" Ash asked.
"Risky."
"True," Ash agreed with a nod. "But if we don't catch Fouquet now, then he'll be free to roam around again. While we're here, we might as well try to catch him."
For several seconds Tabitha, remained quiet, a pensive look on her face as she weighed the risks and rewards of their options. Then, she nodded. The petite mage slammed the butt of her staff twice against the ground, getting the attention of the three other students. "We stay together. Use the Staff as bait," she declared.
"Sounds like a solid plan to me," said Ash.
"Why are you agreeing with her?" Louise asked accusingly.
"Because it's a good idea?" Ash responded quizzically. "If we have the rocket launcher, then Fouquet will target us to recover it. As long as we beat his golem and prevent him from getting away, we'll capture him with no problems. I doubt he's from my homeland, so even if he steals the weapon, he can't use it against us. All we'd have to do is chase after him while he's slowed down from carrying it."
"Sometimes, your analytical ability astounds me," said Guiche.
"But it's common sense…?"
"Knowing how to speak in public is common sense," Louise shot down Ash's defense. "I have no clue what you have."
Ash opened his mouth the give a retort, but then he felt the ground underneath his feet shift ever so slightly. From the expression on everyone's faces, they felt it too.
"Golem!" Guiche shouted, jumping away. His Valkyries, which had been standing around inactive as the group talked, immediately moved to surround him in a defensive circle. Everyone else also jumped out of the way, and just in time. A bulge sprouted from the earth and grew tall. Grass and stray clumps fell as a large golem rose up. It was smaller than the one that had attacked the academy, but it was still over three times the height of Kirche.
"Scatter!" Ash called out.
The golem pulled its legs out of the ground. Its gaze scanned over the teenagers, and then focused on Louise. Immediately recognizing the danger, Louise ran as fast as she could, but the golem's legs were much longer than hers, and she wasn't in particularly good shape. A blast of fire hit the golem in the face, throwing chunks of earth from its body, but it ignored the attack as its face quickly reformed. A barrage of ice shards pierced the golem's back, but it didn't even flinch from the repeated impacts. The individual Valkyries lacked the mass to stop its movements. The golem's large, clay hand reached down towards Louise…
…and was promptly severed by a furious slash. The golem's movement stalled, as it slowly came to the realization that it no longer could follow through with its initial action.
Ash roared as he swung Derflinger into the golem's leg. Just like against the last golem they had fought, the attack went through easily, but was healed too quickly to leave lasting impact. In fact, this golem was regenerating much faster than its predecessor. Already its hand was fully reformed, and it resumed its pursuit of Louise.
Guiche, who was now holding the Staff of Destruction after Ash had hurriedly thrust it into his arms, called out, "All golems have a core where their magic is focused! If we destroy that, the rest of it will fall apart!"
Ash ducked under a massive fist as the golem tried to swat him out of the way. Ash was making sure to keep himself between the golem and Louise's retreating form, but there was only so much he could do to distract it. "Where's the core?" Ash called out to Guiche.
"Somewhere in its body, usually where it's most protected!"
"Most protected, huh?" Ash said thoughtfully. The golem had the same clay-like consistency all the way through. Ash doubted that the limbs would hold the core, with left its head—which was a barely raised bulge too small to protect a core—or its massive torso. "Give me some cover!"
A wall of ice immediately sprung up between Ash and the golem. The boy gave a grateful nod to Tabitha, who was somehow flying overhead. While the development surprised Ash, he had his focus set. The trainer closed his eyes, focusing his Aura Sense on the golem's body. While it was normally hard for Ash to distinguish the details of inanimate objects, the golem was different. Magical energy flowed throughout its form, giving it a semblance of life. And at a point in its chest, there was a larger cluster of magic that was woven into the earth itself.
Ash's eyes snapped opened just in time to see the golem shatter through the ice wall. He dove to the side as the golem's fist slammed into the ground where he had been standing milliseconds prior. "I really need to get faster at using that," he commented under his breath. Raising his voice, he called out, "I see the core!"
Brandishing Derflinger, Ash focused his attention where he had seen the golem's core. Unbeknownst to him, his iris started to glow blue as he began to see the wrappings of magic in the golem's body. As the golem stepped over the shattered chunks of ice, Ash leapt towards it with both hands on Derflinger's hilt. He stabbed the sword as deep into the golem's body as he could.
Derflinger felt a strangely familiar sensation. The ancient weapon had gotten glimpses of a sensation while attacking the golem, but when his tip plunged into the golem's core, the feeling got much stronger. "I think some of my memory is coming back, partner!" the sword called out. Derflinger's normally sarcastic voice now bore an edge of excitement. "Hang on a sec before pulling me out!"
"I'll try," Ash grunted. He planted his feet against the golem's back as he hung on for dear life. The golem's arms weren't designed to give it good reach on its lower back, where Derflinger was currently lodged in, but Ash also didn't have a good foothold. It was only a matter of time before he rather slid off or the golem managed to get a lucky swat in.
Derflinger acted on his recollected memory and began to absorb.
The clay around Derflinger's blade crumbled apart, causing the sword and trainer to fall to the ground. Ash immediately rolled away from the golem's body and called out, "Tabitha and Guiche, restrain it! Kirche and Louise, fire at the hole!"
The hole Derflinger had left in the golem's body was barely being repaired at all. This made it a very noticeable target on the golem's otherwise uniform back. Guiche's Valkyries imbedded their various weapons into the clay golem's legs, holding it in place long enough for Tabitha to freeze all of the golems in a wave of ice.
"Fireball!" Kirche chanted. The spell expanded the hole and further ruptured the golem's damaged core.
Then it was Louise's turn. The golem's appearance had shaken her at first, but now the tables were turned. She wasn't a scared little girl being hunted. The golem was the prey this time, and it was an impossible to miss target. Louise raised her wand and cast her spell. "Explosion!"
The explosion was smaller than the one Louise had used last time against Fouquet's golem, but it was just as effective. The hole in the golem's back was now a perfectly round, smoking crater. The golem slumped and fell over, lifeless.
"Huh, Louise really does have enough power to rip one of these open," Kirche remarked. "That was easier than I thought."
"That's what you consider easy?" Guiche asked incredulously. "I thought we were going to die!"
"Golem was strong. Plan was better," Tabitha assessed.
Louise let out a calming sigh as she lowered her wand. She had done it. It hadn't just been a fluke. Her explosions were actual spells. She could cast them on purpose and actually do something productive. Well, destructive, but at least it was something besides being a useless Zero.
"Louise! Are you okay?" Ash called out as he ran up to her.
"Of course," Louise replied, giving him an odd look. "Why wouldn't I be—hey!" Louise yelped as Ash took her hands in his and closed his eyes. "Wh-what are you doing?" she stammered.
"Oh ho ho, is this young love?" Kirche asked.
"Shut it, Zerbst!"
Actually, Ash had grabbed Louise's hands because he found that physical contact made his Aura Sense more effective. He had been watching Louise cast her spell in case something went wrong. Her Aura had fluctuated when she had cast the explosion, much like a mage's did during a normal spell. Unlike last time, the Aura had not shot out of her and also quickly stabilized instead of remaining erratic. "Looks like you're okay," he said as he let out a relieved sigh. "That's a relief."
"I—y-you—"
Ash frowned and put a hand to her forehead. "Are you getting a fever?" he asked. "You're looking really red."
"I'm fine!" Louise protested, turning away and looking even redder. "Idiot."
Ash blinked owlishly. No matter how much better he got at reading Louise's mood, he felt he would never understand her. Maybe it was a Louise thing, or maybe it was a girl thing. Who could say?
"I hate to interrupt your moment," Guiche cut in. "But does anyone know where Fouquet is?"
"That is strange," said Kirche, putting a finger to her chin. "We defeated his golem, but he hasn't made another appearance."
At that moment, the figure of Miss Longueville came stumbling through the treeline. "Fouquet is coming!" she shouted dramatically. She came to a stop when she saw the golem lying defeated on the ground with a giant hole in its back. "Oh, you already dealt with it," she said in an almost disappointed tone.
"Miss Longueville, what are you doing here?" Louise asked in surprise.
"I thought I saw something moving in the forest, and when I went to go check, I found that it was Fouquet," the secretary replied. "We should get out of here before he comes back."
"You saw Fouquet, and got here before him?" Tabitha asked skeptically.
"It appeared that he was circling around the perimeter," Longueville replied. "I fear he will return here when he's done. We can't waste time."
Tabitha looked unconvinced.
"We can handle Fouquet," said Kirche. "We've already taken out one of his golems. If he tries the same tactic, we'll defeat him again!"
"But it's much harder to defeat a golem when the mage controlling it is nearby," Longueville argued. "And Fouquet could be able to create multiple of those golems. The risk is too great."
Ash, Kirche, and Louise's expressions soured. They hadn't considered that possibility. Guiche was trying to appear disappointed, but it clear to see that he was relieved. Tabitha remained pensive.
"We'll head back," Ash decided. "We can return with more people to catch Fouquet after we get the rocket launcher back to the Academy."
Longueville's eyebrows rose over her glasses. "The what?" she asked.
"It's what Ash calls the Staff of Destruction," Louise explained. "Apparently, it's a weapon from his home country."
"Really?" Longueville asked as her eyes gained a curious glint. "That's convenient."
"For what?" Ash asked.
"This." A wand slipped from Longueville's sleeve and was caught in her hand. Tabitha lifted her staff, but Longueville was a split-second faster. "Earth Prison!"
The ground rose up grabbed the four students. The spell pried Tabitha's staff from her hand and the Staff of Destruction from Guiche's as well.
"What is the meaning of this, Miss Longueville?" Kirche asked hotly.
"You were so easy to fool," the woman said triumphantly. Instead of her usual polite smile, an arrogant sneer was on Longueville's face. Her eyes were much livelier than usual, and carried a spark of a triumphant predator. "All except you, Tabitha, but you were so too hesitant to act on your suspicions, and it proved your undoing."
"What are you talking about?" Ash asked as he pointed Derflinger at Miss Longueville.
Louise gasped. "No way," she said in shock.
"Impossible!" Guiche declared as he came to the same realization.
"How did I miss something so obvious?" Kirche lamented.
"Miss Longueville is Fourquet's sister!" Ash exclaimed.
The heads of five mages slowly turned to stare at him in disbelief. Ash sweatdropped. "Wait, that's it right? That's why she's working with Fouquet!"
Louise sighed. "Ash, she has green hair like Fouquet."
"Yeah."
"She's the same build as Fouquet."
"Yeah."
"And she uses the same magic as Fouquet."
"Yeah." Ash facepalmed. "Oh, I get it now."
"Finally," Louise said with a sigh.
"They're twins!"
The four trapped mages felt like facepalming, but only their captor was able to act on the impulse. "How are you so capable but so stupid at the same time?" Longueville asked him frankly.
"Hey!" Ash protested.
"But I suppose you wouldn't be as useful if you weren't so stupid," said Longueville. "Let me spell it out for you: I am Fouquet."
This threw Ash for a loop. "But you're a girl!" he exclaimed. "Or, woman, actually. But Fouquet's a guy!"
"Fouquet has never been caught, so people only assumed that she was a he," said Louise as she glared hatefully that the thief.
Ash's face crumpled. "I can't believe I didn't notice."
"We all were fooled," said Kirche. "Except Tabitha, apparently."
The diminutive girl nodded; her eyes still trained on Fouquet. "Suspicions. Couldn't confirm."
"Too bad for you," said Fouquet. "Now, I have a request for you, Gandalfr." She stared hard at Ash.
Ash looked back at her in surprise. "How did you know about that?" he asked.
"I know many secrets," said Fouquet. The grin stretched across her face was terrifying. "For example, I know that your Gandalfr runes allows you to use any weapon.
"Hold on, my runes make me a Gandalfr?"
Fouquet was struck speechless. "Obviously!" she exclaimed. "What did you think a Gandalfr was?"
"I just thought it was another strange word," Ash replied with a shrug. "Derflinger was the only one who mentioned it."
"Derflinger?"
"That's me!" the sentient sword piped up. "You sure know a lot about my partner, but how much do you know about me? I've been around for a good six thousand years—"
"Enough!" Fouquet shouted. "I've had it with your distractions!" She pointed her wand at Ash. "You're going to pick up the Staff of Destruction and show me how to use it!"
"Why would I do that?" Ash asked. "I know what a criminal like you would do with a weapon this powerful. I'm not an idiot."
Fouquet smirked. "I beg to differ, but if you need a bit of incentive…" She raised her wand and the earth around the students began to climb up to their necks. "I could easily bury them alive," she said.
Fury burned in Ash's eyes, but after a moment of meeting Fouquet's gaze, he looked away. "You win this time," he grunted.
"Don't do it!" Louise shouted.
Ash felt a sharp resistance hit his entire body, but he shrugged it off. He stepped towards Guiche, bent down, and dropped Derflinger to pick up the Staff of Destruction.
"I really hope you know what you're doing, partner," Derflinger muttered.
The Gandalfr runes sprung to life, filling Ash's mind with the knowledge of how to properly hold and use the rocket launcher. "What do you want me to hit?" he asked Fouquet.
Fouquet pointed her wand at the fallen golem. It pulled itself back together, though it was considerably smaller than before. "This should suffice," she said. "And don't get any ideas of using that on me."
"I won't," Ash grumbled. As much as he wanted to stop Fouquet, he didn't want to kill her.
Ash knelt down and lined up the shot. At this distance, with the boost from his runes, there was no way he could miss the large target Fouquet had provided. A loud pop sounded as the projectile left its vessel. The sound was immediately drowned out by the loud boom that erupted as the rocket blew up the golem. While the destruction wasn't as large as Louise's best explosion, it was much flashier with a flash of light and column of smoke.
Fouquet smirked at the result even as the sound painfully rattled her ears. "Perfect," she said. "It was a small exaggeration that it could blow a dragon to ash, but this will definitely suffice."
"I showed it to you," said Ash as he lowered the rocket launcher. "Now let them go."
"Give it to me first," said Fouquet.
"Don't do it!" Guiche shouted.
"You can't let her have that!" Louise exclaimed.
"She's a thief," said Ash. "I'd rather give her this and have you free."
"What makes you think she'll keep her word?" Kirche asked.
"Don't trust her," said Tabitha.
Ash looked Fouquet in the eye. She smirked. "Set it on the ground," she ordered. "And don't try anything funny."
Ash followed her instructions to the letter, ignoring the sounds of dismay from the captured students as the thief picked up the staff. "You have the staff, now release them," he said.
"Of course," said Fouquet. She raised her wand. For a moment, everyone wondered if she would actually follow through. "Earth Prison!" Then Ash was trapped in earth as well.
"We had a deal!" Ash protested.
"You should have listened to the midget brat," said Fouquet. Her eyes were cold as she lectured him. "I normally don't like leaving behind a body count. Fouquet of the Crumbling Earth is supposed to be known for in and out jobs with no fuss. If I went around killing like a common crook, the big league mages would come after me. However, you can spot me in a crowd thanks to your strange magic. Unfortunately, that makes you too dangerous to leave alive. It's nothing personal, kid." She pointed the Staff of Destruction at Ash. "May your Founder have mercy on your soul!"
Louise screamed.
Fouquet pulled the trigger.
Click
Frowning, she tried again.
Click
Click
Click
"Dammit! Why isn't this working?" Fouquet screamed.
"It is," said Ash with a calm look in his blue eyes.
"When why isn't it shooting?"
"Don't tell her!" urged Louise.
"Because it's all used up," Ash explained matter-of-factly.
Fouquet was starting to feel that she was the butt end of an incoming punchline. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.
"A rocket launcher is like a catapult, except it needs a special type of 'rock' to work," Ash explained. "There was only one rocket loaded, and I doubt you could find another." He smirked. "I guess you shouldn't have let me waste the only shot on a golem."
Fouquet cursed as she dropped the rocket launcher and reached for her wand again. But she was too slow. The blue in Ash's eyes lit up like twin flames. His Aura surged, blasting the Earth Prison around his body into shambles. By the time Fouquet had drawn her wand, Ash was already in front of her. The earth mage's mouth made an "O" of surprise, and then a punch to her gut sent her flying away, with her wand flying out of her hand as well.
"I don't like when people hurt my friends," Ash said resolutely. The Aura coating his body flared with his words.
"That's pretty hot," Kirche commented, giving Ash a long second look.
While Kirche's reaction would normally set Louise on her, the petite mage's focus was stuck on one person. "You had me worried sick!" Louise shouted at Ash. "What did you think were doing? I thought…" Louise's voice cracked as her eyes began to tear up. "I thought you were going to die…"
"Sorry for scaring you," Ash immediately apologized. "I knew that the rocket couldn't be used again, but I couldn't tell you without letting Fouquet know as well. I didn't mean to make you worry."
"That's nice and all, but can you get us out of here?" Guiche interrupted. "My neck is starting to chaff. I can't afford to have my perfect looks ruined."
Louise rolled her eyes and blinked away her tears. "As much as I hate to agree with Guiche, we do need to get out of here," she said.
"Got it," Ash said with a nod. Then he frowned. "How… do I get you out there?"
"Break out Guiche's hand," Tabitha instructed.
Ash shrugged and picked up Derflinger. "Sounds simple enough."
"Wait!" Guiche shrieked. "I need my hand for many important things! Don't cut it off!"
"I'll be careful," Ash assured him. "Just hold still."
"I'm stuck in solid rock!"
"Oh, right. That makes things easier."
"Freeze!"
Ash made a half turn to see Fouquet on her knees, with a vaguely familiar black and white orb in one hand. "The Staff of Destruction might be unusuable, but I still have this!" she declared. "Surrender now, or I'll use the Vanishing Eye on you!"
"What kind of weapon is that?" Louise asked Ash fearfully.
Ash squinted his eyes as he examined the orb from across the distance. "It looks like an ultra ball," he said finally. "And it's pretty banged up too."
"An ultra ball?" Fouquet repeated. "What a fitting name for such a dangerous item."
"Dangerous?" Ash echoed dubiously. "We use those to catch Pokemon—magical creatures. Ultra balls are more advanced and expensive than a normal Pokeball, but they aren't dangerous to humans. I should know, I've hit a few people with them by mistake."
"Y-you're lying!" Fouquet protested. Her voice was shrill from desperation. Without her wand or the Staff, this was the only tool she had left. She couldn't accept that it was worthless. "This was hidden behind the Staff of Destruction, and it's called the Vanishing Eye! It must have some kind of power!"
"It does, it catches Pokemon," said Ash patiently. "Though, this one looks pretty banged up. I'm not sure if it even works anymore."
"You know, I almost feel bad for her now," said Kirche as she watched Fouquet seethe.
"Don't waste your pity; she's a notorious criminal," Louise said harshly. "I'll see to it that she never sees the light of day again."
"Damnit!" Fouquet yelled as she threw the ultra ball at Ash. The boy stood perfectly still, letting the dented ball bounce off his cranium.
"See?" Ash said. "It's completely—"
The ball popped open and a fountain of red energy shot out. The energy took shape, and a creature materialized. The body was draconic, with four legs, a long neck, and a pair of large red wings. Its body was mostly blue, with white on its underbelly and red around its neck, the underside of its tail, and the inner sides of its legs. Three spikes jutted out from each side of its face. Where one its front legs connected to its beefy torso, there was a crater of burnt flesh and scales. The dragon roared in pain, defiance, and unfiltered rage.
"—harmless?" Ash finished weakly.
How do ya like dem curveballs? It's always fun when you beat the boss and then the post-boss shows up to ruin your game.
Now about the Poll. I'm taking a survey to see what stories people are looking forward to. Yes, I can see how many follows or favorites a story has, but I want to see how many people will actually take the effort to vote. Plus, this poll includes not only the five stories I'm currently writing, but also 3 potential stories that I want to start sometime in October. (One story, not all 3)
I just realized that I'm currently working on 6 ongoing stories and publishing at least 1 new story every month, with September planned to be my first exception. I think I'm addicted to writing. But is that a bad thing?
Alright, tell me what you thought of the chapter! Did you see this happening? (I know several people who guessed the twist well in advance) What do you think will come next? Remember, reviews—
Wait, what's that?
You thought the chapter was over.
But it was me, Omake!
Louise and Kirche saw Tabitha and Ash exit the building with somber expressions on their face and a large black case in Ash's arms.
"Did you find a clue?" Louise asked.
"More than that," said Ash, confusion mixed with worry evident on his face. "We found the Staff of Destruction, as Osmond called it."
"Fouquet left it unguarded?" Kirche asked in surprise, her shocked expression mirrored by Louise.
"I guess," Ash replied. "Either way, we should get this back to the Headmaster. I have a few questions to ask him about this."
"The Headmaster probably won't answer a question about a deadly magical artifact—"
"It's not an artifact," Ash interrupted. "It's a weapon from where I come from."
"How is that possible?" Louise asked.
Ash looked thoughtful. "Rifts in time and space aren't too unusual when legendaries are involved," he muttered half to himself. "Maybe there's a legendary Pokemon that travels between Kanto and Halkegenia. That would explain why the portal resembled Celebi's."
The other mages glanced at Louise expectantly. She could only shrug.
"Ash, you're losing us," Louise said.
"Sorry," Ash said as he snapped back into reality. "I have a few ideas how this ended up here. The good news is, if I'm right, I should be able to find a way home."
"You want to leave?" Louise asked in surprise.
"I have to go home eventually," Ash said sensibly. "It's been great exploring somewhere new, but my friends and family are probably worried sick since I disappeared on them. I've been gone for long periods of time before, but I usually at least say goodbye before I go. I can't stay here forever."
"Oh, I see," Louise said softly.
Ash wasn't always the most perceptive person in the world, but he could tell Louise was upset. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's nothing," Louise insisted, turning her face away. "We should go return the staff to the headmaster before Fouquet comes back."
"Ash, you have wounded the heart of a maiden," said Guiche with a sigh.
"What did I do?"
Louise walked back to the cart, her head down as she blinked back tears. She should have known Ash would want to go home. He never overtly expressed it, but he did speak fondly of the people he left behind. It wasn't fair for her to assume that he would stay by her side always. He wasn't an animal that lived to serve. He was a person with dreams, ambitions, friends, family. And she had ripped him away from all of that. It surprised her that it took this long to even consider how he felt about everything.
"I am such a fool," she muttered under her breath.
"Louise!" she heard Ash call out. She shook her head, ignoring him.
"LOUSIE!"
This caused the girl to turn her head and snap at him, "WHAT?"
The sight of Ash sprinting towards her with panicked expression on his face and a flood of Aura flying from his body told Louise that something was dreadfully wrong. The direction that Tabitha, Kirche, and Guiche's foci were pointing in gave her a good hint as to where the danger was.
Then the sun went out.
Louise slowly, fearfully, faced forward. The towering shape of a golem loomed over her. How she had missed the thundering of its footsteps, she couldn't tell. But as it raised its massive leg and stepped down towards her, she could only open her eyes wide in panic as all thoughts fled her mind.
The golem's foot came down with a thunderous boom. Louise coughed as a cloud of dust entered her lugs. To her surprise, instead of being crushed under several tons of dirt, she was being carried bridal style behind the golem. "Ash?" she said in surprise, seeing her familiar carrying her in his arms.
"Pay a bit more attention to your surroundings," he said as he skidded to a stop. Relief was clear on his face. "You scared me there."
"Sorry," Louise said softly. Then her face grew resolute as she turned to the golem. "It looks like Fouquet is back. No matter. I'll just blast this golem."
"Don't!"
Louise turned to Ash, surprised by his outburst. "Why not?" she asked. "It worked the last time."
"You passed out the last time," Ash pointed out. "And your Aura…"
"What about my Aura?" Louise asked. Seeing him hesitate, she turned back to the golem. Kirche and Tabitha were raining ice and fire on it, but it continuously regenerated from their attacks. Guiche had his Valkyries attacking it from all sides, but they were easily brushed aside by a sweep of the larger golem's powerful limbs. "Hurry, we need to beat this thing before Fouquet makes more of them!" she urged.
"I don't know how to explain it!" Ash finally shouted. "When you casted your explosion your Aura went out of you. Not like when someone casts a spell, more like when I use my Aura Sphere. It made your Aura, I don't know, unstable. It's better now, but it's still not back to normal. Last time you fell unconscious, but I don't know what could happen if you casted another explosion like that again!"
"What does it matter if it stops the golem?"
"I don't want you to get hurt!"
Louise looked at Ash in surprise. Despite the fact that she had basically kidnapped him and he wanted to return home, he was still looking out for her wellbeing. "If we don't stop this golem, Fouquet will probably kill us and make off with one of the most dangerous artifacts in Halkegenia," she said logically. "That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."
"Well, I'm not!" Ash argued. "There has to be a better way!"
"Do you see another way?" Louise shot back. "Guiche, Kirche, and Tabitha are barely holding down that golem. If we don't do something, they'll be the first to suffer. Do you want that?"
"…No," Ash admitted. His eyes narrowed as his brain kicked into overdrive. "But I think I have an idea. Can you cast a normal-sized explosion when I give the signal?"
Despite herself, Louise found a confident smile begin to spread across her face. "Of course," she said, drawing her wand from her robes. "What do you have in mind?"
"If we can't risk hitting it in one shot, and multiple weak shots don't work, we'll have to turn multiple weak hits into one big one," said Ash. Seeing Louise look confused, he said, "Just trust me. Wait here and fire at the opening we create."
Louise nodded. Ash sprinted over to where the other three mages were raining down their attacks at the oversized golem. Now that Ash was taking a properly look at it, it was actually smaller than the one that had attacked the tower. However, its regeneration was far superior. Kirche's fire spells were carving craters in its chest, but the damage was being repaired as fast as it was dealt. Tabitha's hail of icicles was digging into the golem's shoulders, head, and back, but the projectiles weren't penetrating deeply enough to restrict the golem's movements. Guiche had his Valkyrie's running interference on the golem's legs to ensure it would have a hard time chasing down the mages, but the Valkyries lacked the size and strength to be any more than a nuisance.
Each mage was individually doing their best, but they weren't fighting optimally. Kirche's fire and Tabitha's ice were occasionally overlapping volleys, reducing the effect of the individual spells. Guiche's golems also had to be careful of friendly fire, which restricted their ability to delay the golem's movements. Currently, Kirche was the target, as her flames were dislodging more earth from the golem's body than her two companion's attacks combined.
"Everyone, listen up!" Ash shouted, getting the attention of all three mages. "We can beat this thing, but we'll need to work together."
The students didn't hesitate to give their nods of approval. "What's the plan?" Guiche asked.
Ash gave them a rundown, speaking loudly and clearly enough to be heard over the golems struggles to approach Kirche. "Go!" Ash shouted, drawing Derflinger from his sheathe.
Guiche's Valkyries pulled away from the golem's leg. The construct wasn't designed for intelligent thought, only strength and regeneration. With its main obstacle clear, it headed for Kirche, but then it stumbled. Looking down, the reason for its near fall was Ash, who had fired a large Aura Sphere into its inner knee at near point-blank range. The damage was being quickly regenerated, but Ash came at it with the fury of raging dragon. The boy's body was radiating bright blue as he swung Derflinger over and over into the golem's inner calves and knee.
"This is more effective than I thought it would be," Derflinger commented.
"That's, ha, good to hear, ha," Ash panted as he swung again and again that golem's leg. The construct turned around so it could properly face Ash, but then a powerful blast of fire smashed against its head.
Kirche smirked triumphantly. "Over here!" she called out to the golem, blowing it a kiss. As second blast of fire hit the other side of the knee Ash had been attacking, causing the golem to stumble in mid-turn.
The golem's other leg stretched out to steady itself, but the earthen construct found that its other lower limb was surprisingly difficult to move. The reason became clear when it saw half a dozen Valkyries with their weapons driven into its leg, pulling it down to the ground. The construct was stronger than the Valkyries, but it was extremely top heavy, with most of strength designed for smashing with its arms instead of kicking with its feet.
Ash jumped away just before a flash of ice covered the leg he had been attacking, rooting the golem in place. He closed his eyes and glanced over the golem. "Aim here!" he cried. A blue spear sprang into existence from his hand, and he tossed it at a lower part of the golem's back. The spear penetrated only a few inches before shattering, but it had served its purpose.
"EXPLOSION!" Louise cried as she pointed her wand at the golem's exposed back. With such a clearly marked restrained target, there was no danger of her missing. The explosion that followed wasn't as large as the one she had used earlier in the day, but it was still sizably stronger than her usual classroom failures. The golem's lower back and hips now had a spherical hole in it, with cracks spread from the source. Louise watched as Ash quickly backpedaled away from the golem seconds before it tumbled to the ground.
For a moment, the five teenagers marveled at their success. Ash was the first to break the silence. "Alright!" he cheered. "We beat, a golem!"
"Why are you posing like an idiot?" Louise asked. But she could not keep her own triumphant smile over her face.
Kirche and Guiche were also grinning like idiots.
Tabitha, after confirming that the golem had indeed stopped moving, asked the question of the hour, "Where is Fouquet?"
I normally don't do Omakes, but I've been meaning to for a long time.
This series is written with minimal planning and often not strictly chronologically. This leads to multiple rewrites. Normally I mix and match my different drafts to get the best results, but this scene was outright replaced, and I thought it was perfect for an Omake. This is what would have happened if I had written the chapter to be more season-finale levels of drama. I may make more of these in the future, or make a side story entirely dedicated to Omakes in the series. Tell me what you guys think.
As I said earlier, reviews are... *looks around* Okay, no more surprises. Check out the poll, and remember, reviews are food for a writer's soul!
