Episode 9: Escape From Girage
The past week had been worrying. Constant concern for Lucca was normal for Mimia, but ever since the incident in Vergrace, the Brionne had started to change. Last night's conversation was a little reassuring, but this morning nullified all of it.
The group sat at breakfast in silence. Fancy hotel foods from the city should have been the talk of the table. None of them had ever seen treats like berry mash wraps, honey porridge, or marshmallows in hot chocolate before, and yet a bitter mood hung over the group.
Mimia sighed as he glanced over everyone. Ruby wolfed down plate after plate with aggressive vigour, while Crystal and Shelly slowly ate their food with pale glares. Azu was troubled but indifferent, and Lucca – it was painfully obvious something was wrong. He hadn't filled his bowl to overflowing, nor had he touched his food.
"What's with you? You ate so much pizza yesterday," Crystal finally broke the quiet. "Seriously, keep eating like that and you really will blow up."
"Ifbs bwainfin'", Ruby replied.
"I can't understand you if your mouth's full," Crystal groaned and rolled her eyes. Ruby gulped loudly.
"It's training!" she repeated. "I lost to that guy, so I'm gonna have to triple my efforts. And that means havin' the energy to work. I get real hungry when I'm mad, okay? So this is me getting over it!"
"By stress eating? If you stuff yourself you're going to make yourself sleepy more than anything," Crystal said worriedly.
"You're right!" Ruby froze. "So we'll make this the only meal of the day. No, make that the week! Then I can train my stamina to the max."
"Wait no that's not how it works! Then you won't have any energy at all," Crystal cried.
As they began to bicker, Mimia snuck another glance at Lucca, who seemed to be fixated on Crystal. He retained an empty look, but his eyes gave the slightest twitch.
"Did you get a stomach-ache?" Mimia asked him in feral speech. This caused Lucca to flinch in alarm, and the table went quiet. "Lucca…"
"No, I just… okay, guys. This is going to sound crazy, but we need to get out of here as soon as we can," Lucca said, and stood on his tail.
"Police's orders?" Azu said.
"… Yeah. Something like that," Lucca nodded. Azu sighed and slumped, which made him settle back down.
"I'm so sorry I dragged you guys into this. I'm so sorry," she sounded like she was about to cry.
"No no, this isn't your fault or anything. Just, I er… ah, there's stuff they told me not to talk about or something like that. I promise, Azu you've done nothing wrong," Lucca said. He spoke slowly and tugged at his ruffles the whole time.
The last time Lucca had been like this, he had been guilty of breaking his father's throne. The fortunate thing about a Pokémon like him was that honesty was his natural mode, so any attempt to hide things and Mimia could tell immediately. Not that anyone else couldn't tell from how little he'd eaten.
"Pfft. The heck could they tell ya that you're not allowed to tell us?" Ruby asked.
"Ruby please, not this time," Lucca begged.
"Whatever. We still have to find a boat or somethin' to cross the sea with, right? We didn't really do that yesterday, so we ain't goin' anywhere fast even if we wanted to," Ruby stated, scratching her face.
"Kusha said she would work on- och, we forgot about Kusha!" Shelly gasped. "If she's not mad at us, she might be able to help out."
"You're going to tell us what you're hiding, aren't you?" Mimia asked. Lucca moaned and hung his head, making Mimia whine, too. "At least eat something for me."
He wouldn't get the chance to do that, it seemed. A large group of Pokémon marched into the room, bringing the hotel eatery to quiet. There were police Pokémon like Magnezone and Pangoro, but also the hotel security, a trio of Hariyama. Behind them was four tall, bipedal creatures clad head to toe in steel armour. They each held lances besides one, who had a huge sword.
"Knights," Ruby hissed. "Just who we wanted to see at a time like this."
"N-no… why are they here?" Crystal panicked, hiding behind her.
Knights? Mimia thought as he stood on guard. Just the girls' reaction alone was enough for him to tell they were trouble.
The other members of the public tried not to give the authorities any attention, but the mood of the room spoilt any cosiness left at this breakfast hour. None of these huge Pokémon said anything until a Pikachu squeezed between them, and slowly scanned the room. Mimia recognised her as the idol from yesterday's show. She was the only Pikachu he'd ever seen wearing a flashy pink tutu and heart-themed shirt, after all.
"There, over there!" Pikachu squeaked, pointing straight at them. Mimia tensed up until he heard the tears in her voice. "I know it was her. She's the one who snuck into my room and tried to kill me! She got Phoenix!"
Murder? Sneaking? Mimia almost screamed. What in the world happened last night?
"Darn it. Guys we need to go, now!" Lucca ordered.
"Wait, what?" Azu whispered.
"Don't question it, please. We can't afford to get caught, we just need to move," Lucca hissed, standing guard over the group.
Mimia's mouth hung open, now. "Lucca, what is going on?"
The police and the security Pokémon moved to confront the group, leading them to spread out and prepare for battle. The public burst into conversation of course, many of them moving out of urgency. Mimia had mere moments to act, but what little he had planned fizzled the moment he noticed the knights.
The four knights exchanged a very quick mumble, and none of them moved. He thought it confusing that they didn't move with the police, but then one raised its sword above the Pikachu, no doubt about to strike. Mimia opened both eyes wide and stuck a foot forward. "Pikachu, look out!"
Fortunately for him, the sudden callout made her look around, and she flinched away a fatal slash just in time. She tripped away from the knight in a panic while the police and security spun around, just as confused as the group. Mimia knew better than to let this opportunity go to waste, however.
He galloped forward and tackled the nearest Pangoro to the floor, kicking off their chest to gain space, and then twisted to bark at his group. "Go! Get out through the window, now!"
"The window?" Azu gasped, glancing back and forth at it. Ruby and the others jumped for it, but Lucca stared at the battle.
Why isn't he running? He's the one who wanted to run, Mimia was confused until he glanced back at the security.
The knights were fighting the Magnezone and the other Pangoro, and with weapons in hand, they had a clear advantage. Screams, angry shouts, and the Pikachu's cries shook the walls as heavy Pokémon were slammed to the ground in defeat. Pikachu barely escaped a sudden death, but wound up pinned below a knight's metal foot.
"A-argh, ack- why're you attacking me?" Pikachu cried. The knight raised their lance, and she screamed at the top of her lungs. "No, help! Someone please!"
For the first time ever in a battle, Mimia was conflicted. He had the power to save her now, but what if that was part of why Lucca wanted them to run? And what did the knights have to do with the girls, Crystal and Ruby?
No. That an innocent girl is about to be murdered in daylight is something Lucca could never be involved in! Mimia thought with a gasp.
Before he could move however, Lucca sprang into action in a way he never expected to ever see. The Brionne's body flashed with blue light, and then a tall whirlpool of water swirled and submerged him. Lucca shot straight forward faster than the eye could blink in this watery bullet, and collided with the knight so hard the steel creature was sent sailing into the wall behind them. The water dispersed from Lucca, who landed on his tail, completely unharmed.
Pikachu had a moment to catch her breath before Mimia hoisted her onto his back. She thrashed helplessly in his grip while screaming some profanity, but it was drowned out to the noise of shouting knights and the clangs of their metal bodies.
"My Lord, this way!" Mimia barked, keeping Lucca in focus.
"Got it," Lucca replied. He slashed at one knight while kicking another with his tailfins, and then rushed in Mimia's direction. The rest of the group had already jumped out of the window.
"Lucca!" the group cried as Mimia and Lucca landed on the grass outside. Lucca fell in a heap, while Mimia landed perfectly.
"You're late," Ruby pouted.
"What the hell is going on? Why do you have Esther?" Azu cried.
"You know, I actually don't know anymore," Lucca shook his head.
"You're the one who tried to kill me, too! What the heck do you- let go of me!" Esther screeched.
"What I do know is things are going upside-down. Esther, right?" Lucca shouted at her. She was hyperventilating, but stopped talking. "You brought those knights for us, but they tried to kill you instead."
"I- I dunno, I don't get it either," she whimpered.
"I know how this sounds, but stick with us or they're only going to try again," Lucca informed.
"There they are!" came the echoed shouts of more knights. There was a whole platoon of them charging towards the group from the left.
"We don't have time to talk. We need to get out of here!" Lucca stated.
"No need to tell me twice!" Ruby squeaked and took off, pulling a frightened Crystal with her.
Esther whimpered until Mimia barked at her, and then she scrunched herself onto his back. That at least made it easy to sprint, and then the group were off. Mimia pushed to the front of the group, so that he could direct them, and barged straight into a crowded road. The crowd disbanded with angry shouts and curses, but that made space for the others to run right through.
"Comin' through!" Ruby shouted amongst the confused cries of the public. She shot a few flames into the air to push them back, too. Glancing behind her, the pursuing knights barged and trampled the crowd without hesitation.
"Where are we going?" Shelly cried as they passed several buildings and streets this way.
"I dunno!" Lucca admitted. He came to a sudden stop around the corner of a building, went to sprint in the other direction, and stopped there too. Knights had gathered from the three sides and were heading straight towards them.
"Drat, they're everywhere," Lucca growled.
"How many of them are there?" Crystal asked.
"Doesn't matter. We're getting' outta this, somehow," Ruby added.
Just then, the group's amulets glowed and Angel's voice came out loud. "Sounds like it's time for me to save the day with those epic powers, huh?"
"If you really can, it'd really do us a favour," Ruby remarked.
"You already did it earlier, actually," Angel informed. "If you guys give me time to recharge, I can allow you to use a limited amount of Bestia with no damage to the environment. Lucca already used one move with Aqua Jet, that leaves four moves left. One for each hero!"
The group were surrounded on three sides by knights, all wielding different weapons. They stopped in a perfect formation that left no gaps for the group to run away, and then forced the group closer to the corner of the building.
"That's it? Is four Pokémon moves even enough?" Crystal squeaked.
"We might not even need it," Ruby mumbled.
"She's right. Over there!" Mimia barked, spotting her way out. The way the knights had gathered together was clearly improvised, as they made a wall by standing beside one another as close as possible. Thanks to that, four who held lances stood too close to each other, and couldn't hold their weapons as efficiently as they should. "I can barge through them, but can you make it?"
"Just one big blast should do it," Lucca grumbled, and drew his swords. That made the knights stop and visibly tense up.
"A big blast?" Ruby gasped, and opened her eyes. "Shelly, burp!"
"Huh?" squeaked the Oshawott.
"Hurry up and burp me!" she cried as she plopped herself in front of him.
"Wait shouldn't we—" Lucca gasped and glanced back. Shelly squeezed Ruby's belly, making her let out a huge fireball. The troubled knights cried out and stumbled before the attack hit them, and the resulting explosion sent nearby knights to the ground. Flames and embers filled the air, and a fire was left behind on the grassy ground.
Everyone had to shield their faces, but a bark from Mimia and they were on the move again, jumping over the fire before it rose and began to spread. The remaining knights got to the feet and gave chase, but were left in the dust.
"What the heck was that? Was it really worth starting a fire?" Esther gasped. No one answered. "You guys really are bad guys, aren't you?"
"I don't want to have to do it!" Crystal cried.
"Over here," Lucca ordered, directing everyone around another corner.
Mimia and the group stopped to catch their breath, but the adrenaline was fuelled, now. Even though he puffed and panted, he scouted around to check where the knights were, and felt like if more showed up, he could fight them.
This area is conveniently mazey, he realised, taking note of all the grated fences around and how tall they were. Lucca had ducked them into a station filled with wagons and coaches. Many of them had been damaged to the point they needed repair, but a large structure at the far end had some perfectly maintained wooden caravans. Mimia wandered over, and beamed up. Bingo.
"What'd you find?" Lucca responded to his peppy sounds.
"Aren't these cross-country coaches?" Crystal asked. Everyone turned to her. "They're what travellers and stuff use when they're not explorers and stuff. A few showed up in Lillistep from time to time."
"The name 'cross-country' says everything about their durability. My Lord, may we use one to escape the city?" Mimia asked.
"It certainly beats running the whole way. If those guys weren't big steel types, I might've been caught a while ago," Lucca remarked.
Azu glanced back and forth between the group and the caravans. "Wait a minute, am I assuming correctly? We're going to use one of these to get out of the city?"
"It's Mimia's idea. Would it work, Azu?" Lucca wondered.
"Don't ask me! I don't even know why we're being chased," Azu complained, rubbing her belly. "If we keep running like that though, I'm going to lose my breakfast."
"How'd you manage that? I could run a hundred more laps," Ruby bragged.
"I'm not used to running like this. I'm not an explorer, I'm not a fighter, I'm just- I'm just a normal scientist. I'm not good at things like this," Azu began to whimper.
"Whoa, take it easy. I didn't mean to," Ruby gasped.
Azu sighed. "Sorry. I'm really confused right now."
As she spoke, Mimia went to figure out what to do with the caravan. This wooden vehicle was protected by a small roof and side doors, but neither fully walled in their passengers. The seats were at least cushioned and had their own handrails, similar to the seats in the theatre.
He climbed in and quickly realised their dilemma. Pokémon were needed to pull this caravan. There are two reins. I might not be able to pull it myself.
"Do we have a moment?" Azu wondered, glancing back and forth across the coach station. "I've never felt like this before, or been in this situation. I'm actually scared."
"Ah, don't be. We're going to be okay," Lucca said, patting her, but she shoved him away.
"That's not going to fly. The police came after us, and there were mentions of murder," Azu raised her voice. "Lucca, you said you wouldn't do what happened in Vergrace again. Why are the police after us? I thought the situation in the theatre got resolved?"
Mimia peeked over the side of the caravan upon hearing that. Lucca sweated hard, and his mouth was agape. His face was going slightly pale too, but he could only utter sounds in response.
"Lucca!" Azu shouted now.
"I can't now. I'm really sorry now, but I can't. I just can't. We need to focus on getting out of here," he said, turning away. Ruby and the others gave him pleading looks, but that only made him grit his fangs and turn away from them, too.
Lucca, Mimia shuddered, his chest heavy. This must be a misunderstanding. Lord Lucca is a hero, he has no reason to kill Pokémon we don't know.
"So you really are the bad guys," Esther said. Mimia flinched, forgetting she was even on his back. He barked at her, and she got off and sat in the caravan.
"We're not the bad guys!" Lucca snapped at her.
"At least tell us, tell me," Azu proposed, a hand on her chest. "Did you kill another Pokémon?"
Lucca paused, but only to make sure he looked her in the eyes, it looked like. "No. I didn't kill anyone."
"So we're bein' setup or somethin'. Must be part of the knight's plans, whatever they want," Ruby growled.
"They must know about the wanted poster. That doesn't answer why they want the lass, though," Shelly rubbed his chin.
"That's not true, though. I saw you and the Piplup there, I saw it all! You killed Phoenix," Esther exclaimed.
"Speculation won't get us anywhere. Let's get out of the city, then I promise I'll explain and we'll try and figure things out," Lucca reasoned, directing everyone into the caravan. "Mimia, you know how to get this thing to move?"
Guess I'm pulling it either way, Mimia groaned in his head. He hopped through the front and gripped the reins in his mouth, and then glanced back at Lucca. He picked up the reins in confusion, but caught on when Mimia pulled on them. Huh? This isn't so heavy after all.
"Whoa, Mimia are you okay?" Azu gasped. Mimia gave her a muffled bark and trotted along, pulling the caravan with ease. "H-how strong is he? Something like this should require two strong Pokémon like Rapidash or Mudsdale."
"I could probably pull it faster than him," Ruby bragged.
"Please don't try," Crystal squeaked.
"I wouldn't, either. Mimia is just… special," Lucca stated. He held his amulet out and shook it. "This doesn't help us cross the sea, so aren't there any other fountains we can get to?"
"You really want to skip the fountain when you're so close to it?" Angel's voice came out of the amulet. The group didn't answer. "There's two over the pond, so you're saving yourselves a lot of time by doing them now, you know."
"You've seen our predicament. I know you know full well what's going on," Lucca snapped, making the others raise their eyebrows. "We can't do this now, so we'll come back later. Where's the next nearest Bestia Fountain we can activate?"
Angel paused, and that even brought Mimia to halt. "The next trial is in the desert. Your little caravan might make it."
"That's the southeast exit to the city, I believe," Azu mumbled, pulling a map out of her belongings. "That's quite a trek, though. Will you be okay, Mimia?"
"There they are!" came the echoed shout of a knight.
"Seal off the station exits. We'll trap them in!" ordered another.
"We'll have to try. Mimia!" Lucca answered.
Mimia responded with a bark, braced himself, and then galloped off as fast as he could. He could feel he was slower with the weight and bulk of the carriage behind him, but it almost helped in making his small form look intimidating. He headed straight for the three knights in waiting, where they stumbled back with unsure noises. He didn't even have to tackle them. He ran right past them and the caravan did the rest, bashing them aside with a loud snap.
"My Lord, I hate to ask, but I require your direction right now," Mimia huffed, pulling the caravan onto the road. Pokémon scattered, shouted, and pointed at them, and pretty soon he had a clear route to navigate.
"Er, Azu? Mind reading that map for us?" Lucca called out, but she was already ahead of them.
"Take a right!" cried the aqua bunny with a point of her arm.
Mimia moved to go down the road to the right, but there were three Magnezone and a platoon of Magneton waiting for them, so corrected himself and headed left instead. The caravan swerved so hard it tilted and nearly pulled him off balance, but he was able to keep control.
"Mimia!" Lucca shouted.
"We won't make it that way," Shelly cried, pointing out the authorities waiting.
"Just bust through 'em the same way we busted through the knights," Ruby suggested. Shelly peeked over the back of his seat and squealed, making her do the same.
"They're chasing after us!" Shelly wailed.
"Great, a runaway situation. Is this really worth fighting?" Azu sighed.
"We can't afford to get caught," Lucca stated. He wrapped a flipper around Esther, who squeaked and tried to squeeze away from him. "I hate to do this, but Azu, we really need your help right now."
"What?" Azu gasped.
"Find us a route and guide Mimia, please. Ruby, you have permission to use your fire," Lucca instructed.
"I can Flamethrower?" Ruby said excitedly.
"Flame anyone who tries to stop us, but try not to hurt them," Lucca clarified.
"No promises!" Ruby giggled and flared her back.
"You're too excited about this," Crystal complained. She flinched as she spotted a Staraptor flying beside them, and instinctively reached for her bow. On the Staraptor's back was a Sirfetch'd, leek pointed and ready to strike. "Wah, get away!"
"Just shoot it!" Lucca shouted.
Crystal let out a shrill squeak as she fired her arrow. Whatever happened, both bird Pokémon squawked and fell back out of sight. "Wait no, I didn't mean to!"
"What?" Esther whispered, watching intently.
"Incoming from the other side," Lucca warned, and Crystal flipped direction. There were two more tough flying types with Sirfetch'd riding them. Both raised their leeks in threat, to which Crystal squeaked again.
Despite her petty cries, Crystal nocked in an arrow and fired in a flash, looking as though she didn't even take aim. Her arrows hit the flying type Pokémon close to their legs, sending them and their riders to the ground.
"Don't celebrate yet, Skarmory!" Lucca pointed upwards. Straight behind them was a trio of Skarmory, though they weren't carrying any Pokémon. They spun like drills and swooped towards the caravan however, proving to be just as big a danger. "Mimia, go left!"
Mimia did as he was told, reading the urgency in Lucca's voice. He threw his weight to the left as hard as he could, once again violently swerving the whole caravan across the road. The Skarmory missed their attacks completely, but kept up their pursuit.
"Now it's my turn!" Ruby cheered, shooting a stream of fire at them. The flying types seemed to be taken by surprise, and disappeared into smoky blasts as fire engulfed them. Ruby giggled, but her victory was short lived as another caravan appeared from the smoke, this one pulled expertly by two Rapidash. "Er, I might need help with this one."
"This might be a bad time too, but that earlier left was a real bad move," Azu informed.
"What?" Lucca gasped.
"If we go left again, we'll loop around ourselves. We head right, we head toward the sea," Azu said. Lucca growled. "Mimia, turn left now!"
Mimia barked again. This time it was a strain to pull his body. He had never sprinted for so long before, let alone pulling such a bulky thing with him. He panted and sweated, but could barely feel any of it. He was surprised to see the Rapidash appear beside him however, both of whom had barely worked up a sweat. Their caravan was overcrowded with knights.
"Get rid of these guys!" he barked back at Lucca.
"Mimia, right again!" Azu cried.
Mimia gasped as he tried to take the turn, but another wall of Pangoro made him cut it halfway and continue down the road. The feeling of sand in his feet slowed him down, the cries of his friends worried him, and the pangs in his chest told him to give up. He took a deep breath, braced, and picked up the pace, instantly feeling a surge of painful fatigue.
Can't give up… I won't give up until Lord Lucca says! He roared in his mind.
Ruby was the first to stand back up, and shot fire at the pursuing caravan. She hit the side of the vehicle, but her attack spread across that side rather than striking the knights inside. She noticed her attack getting closer to her as well, and flinched backward.
"They're blocking it! Sis, do something!" Ruby shouted.
"Me? What can I do?" Crystal whimpered and cowered in her seat. She grabbed her head and coiled up. "Oh my gods, we're gonna get caught… we're gonna get caught!"
Seeing that, Ruby snarled and glanced at Shelly, who wasn't much better than her. They locked eyes however, and that seemed to calm him down. She wouldn't count on him, though. She stood up over the side of the caravan again, noting how close the knights were to them. Close enough to stab with their lances and topple them for good.
"Mimia, stop!" Ruby shouted, but he kept going. "Stop, I mean it! Lucca, tell him to stop!"
"But why would—?" Lucca gasped.
"Just do it!" she screamed.
"Mimia!" Lucca snapped.
Now he obeyed, and used all fours to skid to a stop so hard that a wave of sand was kicked up. The knight's caravan didn't stop with them however, throwing off their aim and balance completely. The enemy vehicle attempted to U-turn further up the road, but swerved out of control and crashed into a building. The shouts, cries, and heavy clangs of knights and horse Pokémon echoed through the air in their defeat.
"Nice thinking," Azu praised.
"You have to be a genius to be strong in battle," Ruby bragged.
Mimia could barely hear their praise and banter. He panted worse than he thought he would, enough to drown out the world around him while sweat dampened his fur all over. He opened both eyes as sweat got in and burned him, mentally admitting defeat. He needed to hang his head and catch his breath, or he'd really pay for it.
That is, if he had the chance. Just as he loosened his forelegs to flop over, he caught the glint of a firelight in the corner of his eye. In a gazebo far to their left, an arrow was lit and aimed straight at them.
"Lord Lucca!" he shrieked and threw himself toward their caravan. The arrow was fired just then, and it landed by the wheel of their caravan.
The next thing he knew, something exploded into a fiery blast, and a terrible force sent him flying through the air. He was in so much pain that his scream was silent, not that he could hear anything anyway. He landed rough, somewhere sandy that burnt his whole body. No, it wasn't the area that was burning, it was him in pain.
He opened his eyes after what felt like a few minutes, and cursed himself for being so weak. Everything was a blur that was coming into focus. Their caravan was totalled, and Lucca was helping the others out from under it. As far as he could tell, they were unharmed besides the obvious shock of it. His ears rung, but he didn't need to hear Lucca to know his next order was to keep running and guard them. He kept to the back of the group as he followed, constantly glancing back and forth. Their attackers were the police this time, and no ordinary group.
"That's far enough," stated a Raichu.
Mimia believed it to be a Raichu. It had that Pokémon's iconic features: its plump shape, long, stringy tail, and yellow cheek pouches. However, its body was mostly rounded rather than jagged and lightning bolt themed, and its orange fur was a gentler tone. Its tail was flat like a board, and Raichu happily sat on that tail as it floated across the sandy floor.
"Where…?" Mimia huffed as everything else came into focus.
They were on a beach at the seaside of the city, a boardwalk market to be specific. With Bronzong and Infernape blocking the outward paths, and this Raichu and her army of Inteleon archers guarding the city, the only path was the pier that headed straight into the sea. Lucca and the group backed themselves against onto the pier despite, and then faced the authorities.
"I have to hand it to you. You gave us the most excitement we've had in years," Raichu admitted. Her voice was soft and caring, an accent to her calm blue eyes. "The last time we had a runaway, it was some rich guy who'd blown all his savings in a casino."
Mimia closed one eye again and focused. No way I'm entertaining this charmer.
"Of all things, he got done in for doing a dine and dash. Lame, right? You get rich, train yourself up to be a champ, then become the world's most threatening dine and dasher. Still, he got us to mobilise and lock off the city," Raichu continued. She sighed when she got no response. "That was the part where you're supposed to laugh."
"The only joke here is you accusing us!" Ruby snapped. Lucca put a flipper in front of her.
"I guess that was in bad taste. The police of Heroica really are a joke, aren't they?" Raichu sighed again. She started playing with the tips of her feet, and the Inteleon archers took aim. Their arrows were equipped with lit fuses and sparklers. "Hand over Esther, paws in the air, and turn around. If you refuse, we're gonna have to set these on you. And trust me. You don't want these arrows. We're allowed to kill."
"Let's just give it up," Azu huffed.
Lucca didn't move. He bit his lip, and his eyes kept darting around. Eventually, his eyes narrowed. "Into the water."
"What?" Azu whispered.
"It's our only choice, just do it," the Brionne hissed.
"You've got three seconds," Raichu groaned. Mimia tensed up and frowned. "Three…"
"Just listen to him!" Mimia barked at his friends.
"Two…"
Lucca grit his fangs, grabbed Esther so hard she yelped, and leapt into the water behind them. As if drawn by his suddenness, Crystal and the group followed, so Mimia guarded them before taking a deep breath. Even Ruby didn't hesitate to jump in.
"What the?" Raichu gasped as her Inteleon archers charged toward him. Mimia gave them a playful wave and backflipped off the pier, having the water muffle their shouts and curses.
Lucca lead the team, and headed deeper and deeper into the sea. As Mimia followed them into the bubbly darkness, a few arrows zipped past him, each one missing by a hair to make him flinch.
"Stop firing, you'll hit the hostage!" Raichu snapped at her team. The Inteleon snarled but obeyed. She floated to the water's edge and leaned over, waiting a lengthy moment. None of the group surfaced, and their silhouette's couldn't be seen at all. "This generation's Shining Warriors are truly something else… they won't get very far with the black water, though."