Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is developed by GameFreak. I only own the plot.
Chapter 3: The Investigation
The metal plate mystical being quickly rotated at its axis at a rapid speed, like a spinning coin. It surged toward a knocked down Steven without warning. Swiftly Steven dodged the grinding attempt, rolling to the right. He stood up and drew his sword, facing the relentless mirror-like being.
In a flash, Steven retaliated. He closed the distance in a blink, and his left fist coated with light blue metal punched the unevolved being. The hit only dented its metal surface slightly, but Steven pummeled it with his sword pommel with a mighty force. It was brought upon the floor, as its countenance was erratic and hurt. Then Magnemite returned to its orb.
Apparently Sidney had rushed out to deal with the incoming guards while he was distracted.
"Damn it Sidney." He muttered.
"Draw thy sword, O stranger. The guards are coming for thee."
The middle-aged slave could not be more correct.
Steven rushed outside. Three guards dressed in sleek dark grey plate armor and bearing shields with a peculiar emblem assaulted the man in a brown coat. From Steven's right came a group of those guards. Without even grasping what happened, one of them charged at him with a shield at front.
The sheer power of the guard shoved him to the house wall. Steven immediately punched with the same punch from earlier the guard on the helmet, fazing the armored vampire. Reeled back, Steven seized the narrow time window and got away from the pin.
"Kill not, let us bringeth him alive." One of the guards ordered.
And the two guards remaining came from both of his rear, whilst the first one assailed from his center.
Steven slashed the guard straight at his front. The strike was blocked by the shield, and the guard lunged a stabbing move very fast. Narrowly, he dodged it. Steven quickly delivered a stab, his glowing yellowish white sword. The strong guard was taken aback, the tip of the sword pierced the armor and drew drips of blood.
The guard yelped, but quickly put on the stance from before. From Steven's right a feminine-looking guard sliced his shoulder but quickly he blocked. Another strike came from his left, from a burly guard, which he parried at the last second. He backed away immediately from the overwhelming power each attack bore.
The mark on the shield, a three brown curved squared orb within a translucent irregular edged circle taunted Steven. He stood his ground but no rest for him. The three guards approached him simultaneously, with an inhuman speed.
Thinking fast, Steven reversed his grip on his sword and pummeled the guard on his right. She was surprised by the sudden aggression. An opening was created, but it was not enough for Steven to stab her heart. The left one charged in less than a second, the shield was like a raging bull hitting Steven.
He was thrown away and landed upon a wall of a building beside that coal storage. His right shoulder met the wall and his left ached. But there was no time, he gritted his teeth and raised his sword once again. The burly guard once again approached. The moment the guard's shield was lowered, Steven slashed at the left shoulder joint.
The weak point was the correct spot to hit, the vampire guard fell down, incapacitated. Blood stained his sword more, and Steven defended himself once more from the female guard. The other guard followed suit.
"Ugh!" Steven grunted.
Before another dangerous attack landed, Steven closed the distance and threw a quick punch at the burly guard. His punch was blocked thoroughly, but a pommel strike came from above with both hands hardened muscle. And it landed on the helmet top, sending the burly man down kneeling and disorientated.
Without looking back Steven launched a back kick and his feet met the heater shield of the female guard. Once more, he rushed at her with his metal hand, at the speed of a bullet. The metal clad vampire slashed at him instead of blocking, which he blocked and proceeded to hit her as he went for her stomach.
Once her guard was wide open, he aimed at her head and thrust like a meteor falling. She stepped back but it was too late. The tip of the bloody sword penetrated the helmet near the eyes. It did not claim any blood but the goal was reached. A miniscule stream of sunshine precipitated into the dark realm inside the helmet.
"Aaah!" She wailed loudly.
Her hands covered her compromised helmet immediately. Her armament fell to the ground, her knees buckled under the pain and shock. But the job was not done yet. The incapaciteted had recovered and snuck upon him.
With every inch of his strength, Steven held his sword against his. It became a losing battle very soon. As the deadlock breaker, he directed the conflicting forces upward and thus the clashing blades were segregated. He struck from up above and the guard set his guard against it. But it was just a feinting, the sword swung down to the knee side, and blood flowed out.
Just like any living, the debilitating injury caused the vampire to collapse. And Steven slashed horizontally with all his might. His furious sword sliced through the axis bone without much resistance. The decapitated head fell, rolled a few cubits away, and the sun scorched the curse pale flesh that was exposed.
Peering to his back, the burly guard began to recuperate. As the vampire stood back, Steven was right in front of him. The white subtly glowing longsword instantly pierced through the vampire's heart. Blood vessels ruptured and leaked out not too long after, then Steven withdrew his bloodbathed sword.
Then Steven wiped the crimson stain with a white handkerchief which turned scarlet soon. And he grasped his breath a few times. The fight in the near future was not meant to be taken lightly, he thought.
'Clang!', 'Clang!'. A subtle noise from afar.
Then he turned to his back and ran quickly, whence the sound of sword clashing came.
It was not near, he ran along a large what seemed to be the office of the port many yards away from the coal storage. His ears brought him to the next turning, right at the end of this building. And there was Sidney, standing in front of a bunch of guards and their Bronzongs with his brandished sword be his fang against those vampires.
Sidney did not hesitate to move back, the phalanx-like formation was very strong. Slowly but surely the wall of shield was crashing against him.
"Sidney, let's move on." Steven shouted.
"Handle them first, damn it!" Sidney yelled at him.
The vampire guards remained wary but became faster and faster. Quickly both of them resummoned their Magnemites. And knowing what they were up to, the Bronzongs held out the metal arms and rotated fast toward them.
"Flash!" Both of them ordered the Magnemites.
A bright burst of light overrode the sun itself. The approaching Bronzong went astray from their path and deviated to the left and right, a narrow miss. The vampires yelped and stopped at their path, the moving shield line halted in an instant.
Both of them immediately ran away to the east, deeper into the port. And after more than fifteen seconds the Magnemites ceased the illumination and floated away to their owner. The vampires did not move still despite the sun once again becoming the brightest. The direct piercing light was too much and penetrated right into their sensitive eyes.
They reached the pier soon. Ships were resting on the docks, some were empty but some had big vessels beside them. The ships were made of black metals, and had imposing sizes. Some were medium-sized, and some were made for battle. One thing was obvious, that the design was very similar to each other, old and unique.
But one of the ships looked somewhat different compared to the others. In fact this one had a certain emblem drawn on its side, a shape of white 'A' with bone addition.
"Hey, check this out, Steven." Sidney said.
"Hmm?" Steven murmured.
Then from the path along the pier both of them stepped on the dock where the ship was anchored.
Steven eyed the whole vessel. A plank was there, connecting the dock and the middle deck of it. He nodded to Sidney, who drew his saber immediately. And Steven readied his own weapon, both stepped on the plank and slowly boarded the ship with much caution.
On the deck, nothing was particularly intriguing. The wooden floor did not have anything on top of it. The anterior deck was void, so for the posterior part. There were no stains of blood nor any part of someone's belongings. But to be sure, both of them scoured the deck thoroughly, Steven keenly eyed the wall while Sidney examined any crevice that he could find.
"Wish we brought Growlithe here." Sidney uttered upon finished checking.
"Nonetheless Mr. Briney's intel indicated this is it."
Steven found a door facing the sea on the left side. The door was locked apparently, but it would not be an obstacle for long. He busted the door down with a powerful kick. And the lock did not last in its wake.
They went down through narrow stairs which led to a hallway, typical design for a ship. There was no window, not even a glimmer of light was there to guide the two hunters.
"Magnemite, go." Steven ordered.
The magnetic being which floated beside him now shone the light and shed the darkness away. He saw the corridor stretched quite far and many doors were there.
"I'll head left and you to the right." Steven said.
Unsurprisingly, the left side of the hallway was deserted, every room Steven checked did not yield conclusive results. There was a sign that someone had been there, such as the current room, the third door to the left had a used bed with still no window. Nothing else was there, and thus he moved on to another door.
But this door was locked, while the other was not. And when Magnemite illuminated what was behind a small round window on the upper part, he saw another staircase. He just shrugged and proceeded to mow it down fast.
"Hey what was that?" Sidney yelled from the opposite end.
"Another stairs. Do you find something?" Steven replied.
"Nah, nothing in particular. I'm coming to you."
And both of them peered into the lower level, possibly the lowest part of the ship.
With a sword stood by the front, the man with a snide smile descended followed by the man with firm countenance. The bottom part of the ship was surprisingly clean, lacking foul stench. Only a little trace of the life-bearing liquid was there. Magnemite slowly tilted its light, fully scanning the whole room.
There were cells in the spacious lower part. From the entrance there were six cells adjacent to each other fully filling the other side. They inspected those cells, but none of those were occupied. They looked at it closer, but only the empty old, weathered wooden floor was there for eyes to see.
And the cell on the farthest corner, a tiny white object laid on the floor. Immediately Steven reversed his grip on his sword, holding the blade with both hands on two spots. His muscle tightened, hardened and he rammed the pommel against the cell door. No second attempt was necessary, the door became crooked and opened agape.
Steven picked up the little object, it was a neckline. A white neckline with a purple heart shape at the part supposed to be front. But the pure white had been tainted with red color, an omen for sure.
"This is Glacia's." Steven exited the cell and showed it to Sidney.
"Dang… they must have drained her." His eyes widened.
Steven grimaced, his brow furrowed and he frowned. Sidney had his smile wavered by this discovery.
"So what are we going to do?" Sidney asked Steven who now walked back and forth.
Steven did not answer. He shrugged his head a few times. This conundrum was spinning around and in his head.
"I am sure she is still alive." Steven firmly answered.
"How do you know? No evidence makes sure."
Sidney tapped his foot a few times, he crossed his arms and waited for the chief to answer.
"There must be something. Something more than blood as motivation. Otherwise they would not bother assaulting our base." Steven turned to him.
Sidney just smirked, a cynical one to be told. But Steven passed him and went back to the cell. The investigation was not done yet.
"So if she is one of them, what will you do? Kill her?" The question was sharp.
"I'll see." Steven stopped in front of the cell, paused before answering.
He exhaled a deep breath and entered once again the lonely cell.
He carefully scanned every inch of the cell, then Sidney came in and helped with a cynical face. Steven's countenance did not bear his usual confident smile when he crouched down, the somewhat stale air represented his current thoughts. The more he searched the heavier his heart became. But it was fortunate for him, his hope did not fail him.
Oreburgh. A word formed by nail strokes near the left bottom corner.
Steven then tapped Sidney's shoulder. Sidney then came and saw the written word and nodded. Both spent their time thinking for a while, pondering upon the coherent scratching.
"Ah, smart lass." Sidney said.
"Oreburgh… sounds like a place." Steven murmured.
Not only that, there was the other thing that piqued their attention.
G.
Both of them did not know what that letter meant to be. Steven shrugged but there was a trail. His smile returned albeit was clouded with unpleasant feelings that remained. Then both of them decided to stop hanging around that gloomy place. One last check across the room filled with stale air, and they left.
Both of them quickly made their way to the deck. They zipped past the unchecked doors, through the dark and unpleasant ship. Moments later, they emerged from the belly of the ship. The sunlight was not that harsh, but still blinding nonetheless.
"It's near afternoon already, we'd better hurry." Steven said while looking to the west horizon.
But suddenly Sidney tackled him to the floor. An arrow landed on where Steven had been standing, aiming for the head.
"There. On the wooden ship." A guard shouted.
"Shit." Sidney cursed.
Steven peaked over the ship railing and he was met by a powerful arrow, dashing like winds. The arrow pierced their wooden cover, prompting fear, causing Sidney's eyes to widen. Steven nodded toward Sidney, and both of them revealed their pistols behind their long coat.
They drew each pistol from their belt, a revolver with six bullet slots. After another arrow pierced the deck railing both rose and returned the fire. One archer from the pier across was hit and fell down. But three more beside the hit one retaliated. The arrow was like cavalries, relentless and unforgiving.
Sidney knelt up and shot the other archer who went down quickly. But the other bowman landed a shot at Sidney's cuirass. Immediately Sidney fell down, he clutched his right chest cavity while gritting his teeth.
"Fuck!" He cursed.
Steven rose and shot both remaining archers in a consecutive shot. Those archers writhed in pain on the dock across, and Steven knelt down to his friend who suffered the same fate.
Steadily, Steven pulled out the arrow in a slow tempo.
"Argh!" Sidney yelped.
After a while, finally the arrow was not embedded on his torso anymore. Steven tossed the arrow away as he managed to remove it.
"Here, drink." Steven took out a transparent bottle from his pouch with yellow liquid inside.
Without hesitation Sidney raised his neck and gulped the drink down. Then he laid down once more.
Afterward Steven continued the first aid, he brought out a transparent aerosol can with purple liquid inside. He sprayed it on the wound site, prompting a hissing from Sidney. A minute passed, with a light breath Sidney relaxed his shoulder, and his whole body.
"Thank goodness you brought that handy thing." Sidney commented.
"Can you stand up?"
"Maaayy...be." Sidney groaned as he mustered his strength.
Fortunately Sidney managed to rise, and sat up. He grinned at Steven, who felt relief seen from his face.
But the assault did not cease. Like rain falling dawn, a barrage of arrows came down upon them. Steven rolled to the right and Sidney dodged to the left. The arrows were aftering them and their cover was futile. And the archers were covered by guards with shields this time, making it harder to land even a single shot.
Steven did not stay on the same spot, he kept moving as he was shooting, so for Sidney who barely avoided each lob shot. Steven took out six silver bullets out of his pouch and quickly he reloaded his gun. Scattered empty rounds were there, and he stopped firing and ran to the other side of the ship. Sidney also followed, coming from the back part.
The large bridge part provided the cover for a while. They leaned upon the wooden wall, and they were trying to find any coherent idea.
"Great, now they have backup." Sidney said.
"Damn… " Steven murmured.
"At least those arrow ca-"
A beam of silver pierced through layers of the ship wall, destroying the bridge upper part and a gaping hole was left there.
Steven peeked over the large bridge segment and he saw a mysticals similar to Magnemite, but bigger, shaped like a saucer and had two smaller round additions on its left and right. It levitated above the ship's railing and fired another blast like a flashing light. Quickly Steven ducked and the powerful shot ravaged the rest of the bridge.
Quickly Sidney brought his orb and summoned a humanoid cactus mysticals right in front of him.
"Cacturne, spiky shield!" Sidney yelled.
The cactus mystical then hardened its skin and spike emerged in an instant. When the next silver metal blast came, it was unfazed by it. Then came the arrow rain once again, hitting the bipedal green mystical as the shield wore off.
The mystical yelped in pain, the wind-laced arrow dealt much damage. Sidney then withdrew it back to its orb, leaving the arrow behind.
"Absol, go!" Sidney yelled, as he summoned another mystical.
A white-furred quadrupedal being with a curved, upward blade attached to its right temporal bone. Its eyes bore ferocious intention.
"Brick Break that large Magnemite."
And it lunged to the surprised metal mystical. In an instant the saucer mystical suffered a heavy damage from a heavy chop.
Steven saw from the torn walls, a group of guards approached fast. And worse, bipedal red insect mysticals were coming like galloping horses.
"They're too many." Sidney uttered.
The incoming hostiles were endless it seemed. Steven was thinking. A quick but hard one. Then Sidney's Absol pounded the big Magnemite once again with a chop, and it crashed onto the floor.
"Absol!" Sidney yelled.
Swiftly it dodged the incoming volley of arrows. All of those sharp edges only pierced the floor. And it entered its orb once it survived the shots.
"Steven, what are we doing now?" Sidney asked while eyeing the impending guards.
Steven did not answer. Then he saw an adjacent ship, not too far nor too close. An idea came to him.
"Jump." Steven answered as he stood up.
He looked at the ship across, which had the same height. Sidney gave a disbelief look and shrugged.
"You are joking, aren't you?" He said
The guards that were far away now had boarded the ship, one had crossed the plank. The sheer speed of them was threatening. Sidney kept his gun and tightened his belt before his knees formed a stance.
"Come on!" Steven yelled as he gathered his bearing and ran a short distance.
"Here it goes." Sidney grinned.
Then he ran, as fast as his trained feet could carry him. And before long, both of them reached the railing and their feet thrusted on the narrow wood, a leverage to their momentum before they finally jumped.
To Be Continued….