Chapter 8: A dark fortress, an ancient stone and a golden throne.
"Land ho!", the leader of the Sharpedo and Carvanha shouted. In the far distance some land with small green hills could be seen, illuminated by the early morning sun.
"This will be your destination!"
Hikui had spend most of his time sleeping. The events prior exhausted him and Percy, the Sharpedo he rode upon, swam very steady and gentle. The only two things that bothered him during the ride where the sea shanties the leader did irregular and suddenly, and Percy's interests in Hikui's live. At least he was surprisingly polite and also shut up when Hikui told him to.
The travel itself was overall rather uneventful, some of the Sharpdo and Carvanha and later the Oddish as well joined in the songs, André was silence the entire time, being seemingly both depressed and angry at the same time, and the Flygon, Saghir, following them in he air ever so often grunted up in anger and annoyance.
"I hate these long flights!, Saghir moaned loudly and fed up as they slowly approached the shores. Hikui couldn't blame him.
It was only a small beach where they arrived, followed by large, green hills. Only grass, no flowers, nothing special at first sight. One by one the criminals got off the fishes and Saghir came down as well and yawned.
The gang's boss wasted no time.
"See you all!", he announced.
"Whatever ...", Saghir growled with his arms crossed and was not even looking at the fish.
With that they all swam off and dived out of sight. All, except for Percy.
"Goodbye, Mr. Hikui!", he friendly called out to the Meowth just before being dragged down as well all the sudden.
The Gloom and some of the Oddish looked at Hikui because of him. Hikui felt embarrassed.
"The base is right behind the hill. Now hurry up, I'm tired!", Saghir yelled at them and headed up the hill by foot without even looking if the others where following him.
In a big crowd they all followed the Flygon up the hill, and once they arrived there were presented wide grass plains. Wide and empty pieces of green as the eye could see, no trees, only a few bushes here and there scattered around. And in the middle of it, what seemed like a huge, grey block. Not a block, a fortress! And it looked ugly ...
"There it is! We're almost there!", Saghir announced as was now more cheerily than a minute ago.
Everyone was looking at the fortress. This was their destination? The base of the Forces of Darkness? Everyone else except Saghir was probably thinking the same as Hikui.
"This place looks terrible!", the Gloom spoke up.
"Yeah ... could be worse I always think.", Saghir admitted and kept walking towards the base as the others kept following him, now not so sure anymore what they should expect.
A few Spearow flew by, observed them like pray, and flew off back to the fortress. Saghir explained they're one of their boys.
Coming closer, the fortress looked even more horrible. It appeared like the ones who build it lacked of skills and time, but they sure had plenty off materials to work with. Hikui checked out the base of the Baram Town Adventurer Guild a few times and this fortress was possibly twice the size.
The entrance, lacking any kind of door or similar, was guarded by two Koffin. They greeted Saghir, he politely greeted them back, and they began to eye the newcomers as they entered the fortress for the first time.
The inside was just as worse as the outside. Except for a few candleholders here and there at the walls, the fortress was very much empty. Only cold, dark, grey bricked walls, and just as the entrance there where no doors or anything even thou there where quiet many hallways and rooms on only the main floor. The voices of many Pokémon echoed through the halls, making it at least sound lively.
Hikui could never believe something was even worse looking than prison.
"Lord Ferhat, I'm back!", the Flygon suddenly called out and his echo drowned the others.
"Ferhat is our boss.", he then began to explain. "We have a strict hierarchy in who is above who. First we have the Dark Lord, who I've only seen once, then Ferhat, then Asmodeaus, Ferhat's right hand, then Fafner, then Fames, then me, then Vulturia-"
Saghir's counting was cut off by a sudden noise, sounding like someone falling down stairs, followed by loud cursing at said stairs.
Saghir made an expression of discomfort.
"Yeah ... please watch out when you use the stairs.", he said and quietly flew to the end of the corridor, leaving everyone behind. " Asmodeaus, is everything alright?!"
"No, everything is not alright!", the voice from before shouted. He sounded similar as the Sharpedo boss from before.
André began to walk fast to where Saghir went and the voice came from, the others soon following him. In front off a large stone staircase with uneven steps, so terrible that it was almost funny again, Saghir was helping up a Houndoom who clearly rejected his help. Upon looking up and seeing the newcomers he was quiet surprised.
"You recruited grass?", he asked the Flygon. Many Oddish and André got upset.
"It's the best we managed to get from Baram Town.", Saghir stated, he himself was not proud of himself as well.
The Flygon looked over to the newcomers.
"Asmodeaus will take over now.", he said, excused himself and walked off to the left and down another hallway again, leaving the group alone with the Asmodeaus.
"Listen here, my name is Asmodeaus and I'm the second in command here!", he loudly told them. "Anger me, and you anger Ferhat!"
He reluctantly looked up the stairs.
"... everyone after me.", he more calmly added and carefully made his way up.
The Houndoom, Hikui himself as everyone else looked ridiculous they way they had to walk up due to the stairs quality and the Meowth now really began to question if he had made the right choice joining.
"Quit ... empty.", Hikui said to Asmodeaus, wanting to know why and how.
"The master said it looked better on paper. We also ran out of money and the constructions where mostly done by Pokémon with now hands.", Asmodeaus angrily growled.
"May I ask, who is your master, this Ferhat, anyway?", André, sounding like he knew and feared what this Pokémon could do to someone like him, questioned.
Asmodeaus stopped once he reached the top.
"You come from Baram Town? Does "The Purple Revolution' say something to you?", he asked back.
Silence. Nobody knew what he meant.
"To make it short: Ferhat was the leader of the Adventure Guild's Team Purple once, then decided to make himself the Guild Master and got his non-existing butt kicked by the one who used to be it and was then banished.", the Houndoom then told them.
"So, he needs an army for taking over another fortress?", Hikui concluded.
Asmodeaus smiled in a similar menacing way Fames did.
"Better.", he answered and kept walking, leaving the group questioned.
The upper floor looked exactly like the lower one, grey, dark, and empty looking, but maybe some Pokémon around than downstairs. Asmodeaus stopped next to one of the rooms that had a extraordinary door frame, unlike the other doors that had none. He signalled the others to hold as well.
"Master Ferhat, I have brought the new recruits from Baram Town.", the Houndoom announced into the room.
"Come in!", a deep and almost demonic voice answered.
Asmodeaus, again, angrily signalled the newcomers to enter. With some unsure faces among the Oddish and even the Gloom and André, Hikui decided to make an example and took lead, tightened his belt and went inside first.
The room was almost as empty as the others, almost. A chandelier from the ceiling brightened the room, an expensive looking purple carped covered the room almost entirely and in the left corner stood something what appeared to be some kind of altar with a gray and smoothe dice-like rock on it. And on the other side of the room on a big pile of many small, multicoloured pillows, sat, or more laid, another but more roundish rock with something appearing to be engraved into it.
"That's strange.", Hikui thought because he couldn't see anyone but expected for something to happen very soon.
Next André entered the room, followed by the Gloom and the first few Oddish.
"And where is your master?", the Gloom asked.
"I know what he's up to and where he is.", André moaned bothered and then pointed over to the rock on the pillows.
With this said, purple smoke began to rise from the stone and a big, eerie grimace with green eyes and mouth suddenly popped out, startling everyone including Hikui, but excluding André.
"No spoiling! Not fair!", it shouted. It was a Spiritomb and the one with the demonic voice from before.
The Spiritomb, angry at one moment, looked at the newcomers unamused.
"It's not much ...", Asmodeaus, still at the door, told him and sounded disappointed.
"I expected that, but well' make this work somehow.", the Spiritomb settled. "Greetings, you all made the right choice joining us!"
"Didn't had many options ...", Hikui thought to himself.
"My name is Ferhat Hortlak, and you may call me master! I don't know what my minions had told you by now, but we are the Forces of Darkness, and despite our name we strive to make this world a better place, punish those who deserve it and reward those who had earned it!", the Spiritomb explained and the floated a little into the air and towards the newcomers. "I think you're all wondering how we're supposed to this ... especially with what we're working with."
Ferhat apparently waited for some to answer, but nobody did. Hikui gave him a sign to keep going.
"Does anyone know the legend of the Origin Stone?", he then asked.
Silence. Again, nobody knew what he was talking about.
"Not much talkative, you folks ...", the Spiritomb began. "So, the Origin Stone, also known as the Reset Stone, is a magical artefact created by Arceus after creating the world. The legend says the Origin Stone was created to create the universe and everything in it all over again, if, for some reason, everything would be destroyed. The tale tells that the stone was given to a chosen Pokémon who then hid it and over eons and eons other chosen ones would find it and hid it somewhere else, because the stone is so powerful simple minded Pokémon would become corrupted by it and use it for their own gains, and eventually cause the end of the world. It also tells of a prophecy. One day a human would arrive to this world and solve this problem once and for all, but the 'Forces of Evil' will also arrive and try to hinder him. And this prophecy is happening right now, and we will take that stone before this human will!"
That was a lot of information to swallow so suddenly, especially for Hikui, who could see everything he said was serious of him.
"Wait a minute!", the Gloom loudly interrupted. "Are you saying WE'RE the 'Forces of Evil'?"
Ferhat looked over to her with big, wide open eyes.
"If you ask me this way: Yes!"
"So we're the bad guys?", Hikui put together. He took his pipe in his paw. "From what you're telling it sounds like we're going to be the bad guys of this story, and I heard enough stories like this to know where this will go.
Ferhat quickly looked over from the Gloom to the Meowth hwo just wanted to put his pipe in his mouth.
"We're not the bad guys!", he yelled. "The tale you have heard is not 100% accurate, or better said, the tale was written by the side that thinks they are the good guys. The Dark Lord says there is no true good or evil in the world. ... whatever!"
This sudden outburst even surprised Asmodeaus. Hikui froze with his mouth still open for his pipe. The Spiritomb's response was true as well, but with some unsureness in it.
"What the master is saying, there is no prove that we will fight a losing battle.", the Houndoom assisted.
"And how do we know if that's true?", the Gloom pointed out, with her arms n her hips.
The Spiritomb smiled at her, the floated over to the shrine.
"The Dark Lord had shown himself to me and Asmodeaus after we had discovered THIS.", using some kind of psychic powers, he lifted up the square block and presented it to the newcomers proudly. "Believe it or not, but this is how the stone from the legend looks like! In another time and space, the Chosen One managed to receive it before us and brought it to OUR world, and this is what the Chose One of our world will also try to do."
He then put the stone carefully back from where he took it.
"You also might be asking right now: 'But Ferhat, if the already have AN Origin Stone, why won't you use it?' Well, the stones doesn't work outside their own time and space, simple."
This all was also, still to Hikui's disbelieve, true as well.
"And this world's Origin Stone is ... where?", Hikui asked him, still holding the pipe in his paw.
This was a question that bothered the Spiritomb.
"There is a key to the stone's current location hidden somewhere with a riddle connected to it, and we're also still looking for that thing, too, because SOMEONE was beaten by two kids and an orb!", Ferhat got slowly angrier with his sentence and looked over to Asmodeaus judgingly, who rolled his eyes in response. "And where still figuring out who these three were and where they came from."
"So you wish to get this artefact, and what about us? That Abra mentioned something about everything we desire.", André pointed out.
"Once the Dark Lord possessed the Origin Stone he will create a better world, and apart of us becoming heroes, everyone of us will be granted ONE SINGLE wish! Everything you want, of course, as long as the Dark Lord is willing to grant it.", Ferhat answered the question.
"One wish, no matter the amount, the size or even the physical and logical possibility.", the Houndoom added and he sounded dreamy talking about it."
André's mouth widened and his eyes began to shimmer. He clearly knew already what he wanted. Hikui himself found this prize they would get hard to believe. In case of them actually getting his wish, he was unsure what exactly he would wish for.
The Spiritomb looked pleased.
"Feel free to roam my castle and it's surroundings, and don't you dare backstab me, for it will be your last mistake!", he threatened. " Asmodeaus, show them where they'll sleep and introduce them to the others! Everyone, except the Meowth."
The Houndoom told everyone to follow him again and slowly, one by one, the room got emptier until there where only Hikui and Ferhat left. The Spiritomb approached him. It was now Hikui saw how tall this ghost Pokémon really was and wondered what he wanted from him.
"Hikui was your name, right?", he politely asked. "Rumours have you've gathered some wealth and hid it well, too well to Fames find by himself. Some pocket money would be got for our organisation, so I kindly ask you to tell us where you hid your stolen money."
Hikui found this question very direct and he hesitated to tell it to him.
"I mean, hey, when you get your wish you can and will receive more than whatever you've collected, no matter how much.", Ferhat, now more comedic, pointed out.
Hikui had to admit, the Spiritomb was right, as long as what he was planning would work out in the end. Also, Valdis was currently now in the possession of everything Hikui had owned.
"You see, I only ended up in prison because I was backstabbed by a partner of mine.", Hikui began to explain.
"We're aware of that, thanks to Fames.", Ferhat interrupted him. "He told us your so called partner is still showing his or her face in Baram Town daily, and if he or she had moved your treasures, then we can still interrogate him or her or whatever IT is."
Hikui could have guessed she would still hang around and she probably still did at his place with all of his treasures still there, with made him feel very relieved, but the thought of him giving up all of his treasures freely, even if he could double or tripple it in the end ... or even better.
"Fine.", Hikui decided and put his pipe back on his belt. "But I would rather show where my hideout is rather than telling it. There is also something I need to take care of once I'm there."
The Spiritomb smiled and nodded.
"Good! We put together a team to make sure you and the money will return safely! I allow you to rest for now and eat and whatever, but I want you standing and ready once I'm calling for you again!"
With this said and done Hikui was dismissed as well. The Houndoom and the others were already gone, so Hikui decided to take a small stroll by himself and eventually go looking for something to eat and somewhere to sleep.
Talking to some of the other members of the Forces, Hikui realised that everyone inside this building actually where criminals, or ex-criminals. Pokémon from all around the world, every continent and major city was present, everyone recruited by either Fames, Asmodeaus, or another Pokémon called Vulturia. And every time they had help from someone on the inside of the cities police department. Hikui was amazed how they managed to not gotten yet.
Saghir and his Trapinch, non of them related, where one of the first members to be recruited and helped building their base, which would explain it's appearance. Starting on the Grass Continent, they then expanded onto the Water Continent, building this base in a hidden spot between the Water and the Air Continent, only a few knew where they actually where, then simultaneously on the Mist and Sand Continent and finally on the Air Continent.
Until now their main tasked involved expanding their numbers and their resources. Ferhat needed an army, apparently planning to take over Baram Town and fend off possible liberation squads, but things changed when a map with the location of the key they needed to receive the Origin Stone was found, but was the lost again. Now they where spending half their efforts to find it. The other half was looking for a certain Pokémon with the name "Lunala". According to Ferhat himself, she was the personification of the night, and the Dark Lord, who no one had ever seen before except a hand full of Forces members, including Ferhat, needed her to "expend his power". But this story made many members question their whole goal.
Except for space, everything was lacking. Food was lacking, comfort was lacking, hygiene, warmth, entertainment. Many only stayed because they had nowhere to go, they were promised a great reward afterwards and Ferhat and Asmodeaus constantly threatened them with death if they attempted to leave. Some actually did tried to flee, tried to snitch on them, they never made it, or at least were not heard from again most of the time. Once, one was found by one of the Noibat, someone or something, somehow, managed to drain all of his blood. It was not a pretty sight ...
Hikui eventually found the food chamber, of what he believed what the food chamber was, took two apples and headed over to a room near the entrance where he saw some hay beds laying around. He moved one over to the corner of one room and made himself as comfortable as possible at the moment. He hastily ate the two apples and before he knew it, it fell asleep right there.
"I know your not a bad Meowth, and neither is the one that left you behind. You are destined to be more, and you know it. There is not much I can do here without putting myself in danger, so listen and listen carefully: You have to help our Chosen One stop the Forces of Darkness somehow, or at least impede their progress for him. Do whatever you can to let the human succeed. They are not allowed to win!", Hikui heard somebody telling him as he was sleeping. It sounded like a little girl, and Hikui was very aware that what he was told was weird. Who knew why he was dreaming about something like this. Bit what he knew was the awakening right afterwards was too rude.
The Meowth awoken when he suddenly felt a hurting heath right beneath him. He jumped up and shouted out in pain. The Houndoom hat lit the hay on which he laid on fire while he still slept!
"A nice thief you're calling yourself, I could have eaten you right here and then and you probably wouldn't had noticed!", he scolded him and the mention of doing so seemed to please him.
"It's been a long day and times were hard recently ...", Hikui explained himself but knew the Houndoom was probably right.
"The boss wants to see you. Get up!", Asmodeus then ordered him and began pushing and poking him.
Hikui did as he was ordered to, with the Houndoom looking at him the whole time as if he would bite him any second now. They left the hay burning right there. Fast walking he went straight back to Ferhat's room with Asmodeus always right behind him.
Arriving there Hikui was greeted by Ferhat, Saghir, holding a flute similar to the one Fames had the day before, the Gloom, and half her Oddish.
"There you are! Your team is ready for your mission!", Ferhat told him and Hikui wondered why he was the last to arrive. "Saghir will lead your team, I demand you to follow his orders without contradicting, just how you would and should to me! This mission should also test your loyalty to me and the Forces! Because of this I'm sending mostly you rookies!"
"And the Gourgeist is not coming?", Hikui pointed out, not seeing him.
"At first he should had, but he kept ranting about a Mimikyu and how he wants to get him, so he was instead sent to cleaning duties.", the Gloom answered him. What even is a Mimikyu?"
"Silence!", the Spiritomb demanded. "I expect you all back within a day, and no time for trips!"
"I'm just doing my job.", Hikui assured him. He then put his pipe in his mouth.
"And I'm expecting nothing less.", Ferhat gladly responded. "And of course what rumors say about that wealth of yours."
Saghir told everyone to follow him and so they did with Hikui at the end of the group. On their way, the Gloom approached him.
"Wealth? What are you, some kind of royal snob?", she asked with a kind of disgusted tone in her voice.
The Gloom, unknowingly, hit a nerve.
Hikui took his pipe out for a second and looked into her slotted eyes.
"Shut up!"
After a while of walking in silence, she spoke up again.
"My name is Nightshade, if that tells you something. Deadly Nightshade.", she said and apparently tried to sound edgy.
"Hikui Ishikawa.", the Meowth responded uninterested.
Many of the other members they passed by, mostly the Trapinch, distanced themselves from the team as the came.
One Trapinch the group passed by hurried after them and began walking next to Hikui and Nightshade inconspicuous.
"Hey, you going on a mission with Saghir or something?", the male Trapinch whispered. "For your own safety, keep both eyes on him the entire time. He's just waiting to do something to you."
The Flygon overheard him, he stopped and looked over his shoulder in a partly strict and partly saddened way. The Trapinch was intimidated and hastily walked off.
"What did that Trapinch meant?", Nightshade asked him as he still stood there.
"I don't want to talk about it, you probably already saw what he's talking about already.", he quietly answered and began walking again. "Let's just say it is the reason why I'm doing all of this in the first place."
Hikui could guess what it was that he meant.
Having just arrived, maybe a few hours ago, Hikui could not tell or bother how long he slept, he and the others were already on the way back where they came. Out the door, across the hills and to the beach, and after that across the ocean again, back to Baram Town. Would had been more easier and faster if Saghir or this Fames guy had told him right there at the beach on the Air Continent.
Arriving on the back where they arrived on, Saghir blew into the flute and only after a short while the Sharpedo and Carvanha arrived. The Flygon told them they had to get back and the leader spoke up was Hikui was thinking the whole time.
With most Pokémon present rolling his eyes, they climbed back on the fish Pokémon and once again off into the wide sea. At least Hikui had some more time to rest, if only from all the Sharpedo he could had chosen he chose the exact same one who carried him on their first trip.
"I just want to be nice ...", the Sharpedo, Percy, insecurely explained himself.
On their way, Hikui told the leader of the gang that his hideout was in the forest north of Baram Town. Hikui suggested, which the leader gladly approved, that they will land outside Baram Town in said area. This should lower the change of them getting discovered and should also make this "operation" faster.
Hikui noticed Percy, who was not hiding it well, was noticeably afraid of his own boss. On the other hand, the leader himself, Aquiles, also not hid how much he disliked this sign of weakness and glanced over to him in a way, giving the other Sharpedo even of a reason to be.
With the start of the evening and the sun on the horizon slowly, slowly, turning the sky into a bright orange, the group had arrived on their destination. Saghir, who was very grumpy and immediately where they even where, Nightshade and the Oddish were told by Hikui of his idea. The only laboriousness was he never entered the path to his hideout this way, so he probably had to look for his usual paths first, but they could still trust him.
At this moment Saghir picked him up by his arm violently and painfully and told he, he'd better should. While the Sharpedo and Carvanha remained quiet and calm, Nightshade stood up and told the Flygon to put him back down. For a moment Saghir seemed to have spaced out for a moment, before slowly putting Hikui down again, not saying anything.
The Shapedo leader to them they will be around here and will wait for their return, with Percy waving at Hikui before leaving, too. The group looked at Saghir, waiting for his order, while Hikui rubbed his hurt shoulder. The Flygon was apparently confused and embarrassed and looked around before signalling Hikui to take the leader from here on. Even thou the walk remained uneventful, everyone always kept an eye on Saghir he entire time from then on.
It took a while, longer than Hikui thought he needed, but Hikui and the others eventually found themselves in a part of the woods he could recognize and from there on lead them directly to his hideout.
Along one of the trails he usually took he notices strange looking tracks, leading right to where they were heading. Not foot prints, but as if something large, heavy and square shaped was dragged through the woods a couple of days ago. Hikui wondered what in the world Valdis did.
Eventually they all arrived to his cave, the large rock still in front of it. At least she still closed the door behind her. And, of course, the tracks still followed to right to the rock and most likely into the hideout itself.
They stopped and Hikui, still uncomfortable with it, explained where is hideout was and how to get in. Saghir offered to do the pushing, but Nightshade, much to her Oddish's pain, demanded them to do it. A dozen of these small plants slowly pushed that rock aside with the Gloom standing proudly on the side line.
As the cave reviled itself, Saghir began to gag and covered his nuzzle with both his hands.
"What's wrong?", Hikui worriedly asked.
"The smell!", Saghir complaint in disgust while still covering his nuzzle.
"It wasn't me.", Nightshade answered casually.
"No! It's from that cave, your hideout!", the Flygon spoke up. "If I didn't knew it better I'd say someone died in there, but it another kind of smell!"
Hikui squinted his eyes and thoughts ran through his mind. How bad did she actually smell? At the same time he began to hear something: Snoring, She was still there, and she was sleeping!
"Like, a mix between sweat, alcohol, and a Muk.", Saghir further said.
He urged to hurry inside, Saghir told half of the Oddish to guard the entrance, Nightshade to them to listen to him, and they went inside with Hikui at the top. He could not wait to face Valdis.
At the end of the entrance tunnel they could soon spot a tiny little flame of what leftover of the fireplace's fire and Valdis' snoring was just as bad a Hikui remembered. But Hikui's anticipation vanished when he could look closer at the main area of his hideout, or basically what was left of it. Practically nothing!
His gadgets where gone, the shelves the gadgets where put on where gone, his treasure pile and even the small one of Valdis was also completely gone! In it's place there now was what appeared to be a golden throne with a seat of red velvet, a sleeping Valdis sitting on it, and scattered around bottles of red whine, some full, some empty, some empty and shattered and some fancy whine glasses.
"What is THAT?", Nightsade quietly calle dout in shock. "An Impidimp with fur?"
"That's her ...", Hikui answered, still in disbelieve what had happened to all of his stuff.
"And your treasure is ...?", Saghir asked, a question which hurt Hikui.
Quickly, Hikui's shocked turned to anger.
"We'll find out soon enough!", Hikui said out loud and clenched his fists. "Also, no need to whisper, she a heavy sleeper."
They all walked towards the sleeping, bearded Meowth, the Gloom and her Oddish looking at here partly fascinated, partly in disgust, and Saghir was still covering his nose. Hikui told them he had something planned for her and signalled them to hide behind her.
Saghir couldn't keep hands off and felt the top of her head.
"Eww, strawy.", he concluded.
The silvery Meowth the moved closer to the female, his face almost directly at hers ...
"VADLIS!", Hikui screamed as loud as he could. The other Meowth woke up right away and screamed as well.
Valdis was awaken very rude and she looked around in shock, not seeing what was behind her, only Hikui.
"You're back!", she called out in disbelieve.
"Your not getting away for what you did that easily.", Hikui threatened her and pulled on her ear without the ring. "But first let me ask you two questions: What in Arceus' name did you do to my stuff, including my treasures, and second, where did you get that throne from?!"
Still not realising her situation because she was mainly focused on Hikui, she began to calm and proudly told him her story with a big smirk:
"You see, after I got away I met this kid that melted off my chain and I began to think, you see, metal melts in fire, so I went to that one lava-snail-guy and asked him to make me this throne here. So, to come up with enough gold to make it and to afford it, I still tried to threat him you see, I took everything that was gold and sold everything that was not gold and then he melted it into: THIS."
"WHAT?!"
"Yeah, but I got the cloth for it later after my back started to hurt. Also, I recently found this stand that was selling this red liquid here, and the salesman, a handsome guy I'd say, told me it's called 'wine' and it's very fancy. So I drank some and that's the best thing I've ever drank, so I took everything that I could carry and started running and I've been drinking nothing else since. Not that strong as what we have at home, but you can drink more before you pass out."
Hikui snapped.
"Saghir, hold her tight for me.", he said with a psychopathic calmness.
"Who?", Valdis asked and still did not turned around.
As he was told Saghir wrapped his long, tick tail and pressed Valdis against her throne, hindering her prom escaping. Before Valdis could do or say anything Hikui, mad in rage, jumped at her, reached through her bushy beard and began to choke her.
While Valdis was gasping for air, she not only felt his paws getting tighter around her neck, the Flygon was also pushing harder and harder, apparently tacking pleasure in her suffering.
"Calm down, Hikui!", Nightshade tried to reason with him while her Oddish stood back and watched. She began pulling on his right arm.
"I'm going to kill you, you fat, bearded excuse for a Meowth!", Hikui yelled from the top of his lungs. "You've ruined me!"
Valdis was struggling and began having flashbacks of her very first and also last bubble tea. Saghir on the other hand was smiling with glee seeing the two Meowth this way.
"Yes! Do it, do it!"
Nightshade looked over to her Oddish.
"Don't just stand there, help me!"
Only then the Oddish took action and tackled over Hikui alongside their leader and they pinned the male Meowth down.
Out of breath and angered as well now, Valdis attempted to free herself, but he Flygon was to strong and she could not use her claws at the moment, so she instead used the next best she had, and she bit down.
Saghir yelped in pain and let her free. She let herself fall on the ground on all fours abd looked over to Hikui, trying to get up and reach her.
"Oh, you want a fight?!", he threatened. She got up and extended her claws. "Face ... me ...?"
That moment she notices the Gloom on the side line. She had never seen such a, in her mind, exotic and beautiful creature before. A muscular body and still such a calm face, and her colours. Valdis began to have a weird feeling in her stomach and a strange warmth spread through her body.
Nightshade, looking back at Valdis, notices that something was wrong with that Meowth, but did not knew what and why. She didn't to anything, yet, and she still had a zoned out expression on her face.
Only a few seconds after laying her eyes on the Gloom for the first time, she decided Hikui could what and she HAD to talk to her. As she walked up to her, Nightshade expecting a battle, Saghir took revenge on what the female Meowth did before and smacked her on her head with his tail really hard. Valdis could only see stars and the Gloom. She tried to say something to her but instead keeled over, fell directly on her smiling face and passed out.
"For a Meowth she has quiet too many teeth!" Saghir said out loud and picked up Valdis by her tail and shook her.
Meanwhile, Hikui still tried to free himself. Because of this, Nightshade went over to him and slapped his face, calming him.
"You cool now?", she asked.
"Yes ... yes, I'm cool, I'm cool.", Hikui replied, slowly and unsure. The Oddish let him go.
The male Meowth walked past the Flygon and the unconscious Valdis and to the throne. With his paws covering his eyes he moaned in agony.
"There goes three years of burglary and pickpocketing and burglary!"
"It still has it's worth, it's just a whole different shape now.", Nightshade consoled him from afar. "But we do need a bigger bag now!"
"Let's see how we can sell and transport a golden throne ...", he said to himself. He decided to take a seat, it was still made out of his gold. After noticing the seat was still very war from Valdis sitting there he quickly got up again and wiped his behind.
"And what about this thing?", one of the Oddish pointed out, looking over to Valdis.
"Leave her, maybe tie her up in a nice ribbon and sent her to the Baram Town police. I don't care.", Hikui suggested and looked over to Saghir for confirmation.
"Fames originally planned to recruit her too.", the Flygon instead pointed out.
Hikui was absolutely not alright with this option!
"No, we don't do that!", he shouted. "The heck I'm having her around me again!"
Saghir bowed down so his face could be closer to Hikui's.
"Fames wanted her, and he is higher ranked than you. In fact, I'M above you, too!", he pointed out.
Hikui pointed at his face.
"Do I look like I care?"
Nightshade, feeling this could escalate signalled her Oddish to come to her.
Saghir stood up straight again, but still remaining eye contact.
"Let's compromise. We'll bring her back with us and let Ferhat decide her fate.", he suggested.
Hikui began to think. Remembering what he did to Kleptofix and believing he could get in a lot of trouble defying a superior, this was probably the best solution. Once they're back he had to make sure Ferhat won't let her join.
"But only under protest.", Hikui accepted.