IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER - To any new readers, if you haven't read the events of Episode I - Always Audacity, I would highly recommend going back and reading through that episode in order to get a better understanding of the events taking place in this story before rolling into Episode II - especially as I'm in the process of going through the old chapters with a very fine brush to neaten them up. You do not need to read the first Bonus Chapter in order to understand the events of this story.
Now, without further ado...
DARK, WONDEROUS PAST
CHAPTER I – BAD NEWS
Black clouds blanketed the sky, blotting out the stars completely like an impenetrable wall. The wind howled, cloth flapped wildly, rope creaked and wood moaned, joining together into a painful melody.
A bolt of lightning flashed in the distance, shining it's light around the masts of the ship for a few seconds before plunging it back into darkness. The rain pelted everything, briefly taking over the melody before the thunder rolled over with a low boom. Another bolt lit up the sky just a second later, bringing light back to the vessel.
Kailani winced at the flash of lightning, shocked by the sudden burst of light but otherwise feeling glad for it. She rapidly blinked her eyes, pecking away at the rope to loosen it. As the rope slackened, she shook her long orange beak through into the biggest opening and with a sharp tug, let it snap free.
The Trumbeak tilted her head up at the main mast, "That's the last one!" she shouted over the wind, praying she could be heard over the shrieking wind.
"I hear you! Pull the sail up! Now!"
Two lemurs were crouched on the lower boom of the rearward, larger mast of the ship, buffeted by the rain and wind as they struggled to hold on. Reaching down over the edge, the two brothers quickly reeled in the white sail as it flapped in the wind, threatening to tear itself free.
Kailani wheezed with relief, covering her head with one wing as she watched the Passimian brothers get the sail resecured in the rigging. Good! That should stop us getting blown over!
Wind still roaring, she marched across the deck, stumbling as the ship rolled in the seas. A blast of white water flung itself over the railing, the bird shielding herself with another wing as the sea water came splashing down around her. Her beak quivered, her legs stiff as she forced herself towards the aft castle and its steps.
Holding off the curses as best as she could, she managed to throw herself up the stairs and onto the upper deck. "Captain!" she panted, pushing herself to her feet. "We've got most of the sails up!"
At a large ships wheel stood a blue octopus, another Pokémon like herself. His light blue eyes were narrowed as he gripped onto the wheel with his tentacles, managing to hold it in place despite the roll of the ship. "Good!" he barked, less from anger and more from sheer concentration. "We'll coast towards the edge of the storm! At least 'till we get to safe harbour!"
Kailani resisted the urge to peck the deck in frustration. They were originally meant to sail east, towards Grass Continent, but the storm had forced them to move towards the south, towards much more open waters. Where would an island be here!?
Her beak trembled, she had been working on ships for the last three years now, and she had seen her share of storms in that time. But this one was something else. It might as well have been a hurricane! She had wanted to beg the captain to pull into one of the natural harbours surrounding the main islands in the Sea of Wonders the moment he detailed his plan. Any of them, but the captain didn't want to waste time. Especially given the 'passengers' they were carrying.
She shook her head, still, the Grapploct had been at sea for longer than she had been alive. She had to trust the captain's judgement. She may have not been an officer, but she was still high amongst the rankings. If she started openly questioning the captain now, how would the rest of the crew see things?
"Jaquin!" the octopus shouted; his voice somehow booming over the wind. "Tighten up the rigging on the foremast! I don't want that sail to rip free!"
Spinning her head round, Kailani peered across the deck of the ship. The better part of a dozen Pokémon stumbled around the deck, struggling to hold onto anything they could as they struggled to maintain the rigging of the ship. A Furret towards the bow struggled her way across towards one set of lines and got to work with tightening them up again.
How anyone managed to run around a ship like this in a storm was beyond her. She was used to flying around in the air, not tripping herself up on ship decks. Normally in such cases, she would below decks, but they were that short of hands as it is that she had to get involved with the rigging.
Her head began to dip forward, letting out a sigh that she could barely hear over the wind, her eyes slipping sh-
The top of her head bumped into the railing, jerking the bird back to being awake. She grinding her beak, she had been up here for six hours. She was starting to fall apart! When will this damn storm end!
She felt the captain's eye settle on her before she heard him. "Get yourself down below kiddo." He said, not shouting yet once more managing to get his voice to project as another wave flew over the side of the ship. "Swap places with Seb. We'll be at this for a while."
Stiffening, Kailani turned towards the captain, opening her beak with a dazed look. But the simple flick of the Grapploct's brow was all that was needed to stop her from uttering anything more than a squeak. Part of her felt like she was wasting space, that she wasn't proving her worth. But at the same time, she knew that the captain was right. She had been working for so long in this storm, the longer she spent out here, the more of a liability she was going to become.
That was true with every member of the crew.
She bowed her head, wiping her face clear as another raindrop pelted one of her eyes. "Got it captain."
She began to stumble for the stairs again, to get herself down into the hold and into a hammock. It wouldn't be the best night's sleep, but at least-
White light flashed before her eyes with a powerful boom. Kailani cried out in shock, snapping her head away from the source.
It didn't even last a second.
She barely just picked up the scream.
Blinking, she spun back round towards the mast, smoking at the very top from where a lightning bolt had struck.
And saw one of the two brothers falling to the deck.
Eyes widening, she leapt over the railing and glided down to the lower level as other Pokémon to help their crewmate. The Passimian was sprawled out on his back, eyes closed and chest fur blackened. "Reggie!"
The other brother dropped down from the lowest spar on the mast and hurried over to his side as Kailani touched down, the unharmed lemur cradling his brother in his arms. "Reggie! Wake up!" he begged; eyes teary as the other crew scrambled to help. Kailani didn't need to ask what happened; the smoking mast was an indicator of that. A stray lightning bolt must have struck the ship and managed to find a way through to the Passimian as he was working on the mast.
As a faint sigh of relief rolled over the crew as the injured lemur groaned, Kailani looked up towards the top of the mast, searching for the lightning rod fitted to the top. It was still there alright, a metal spike fitted to the top of the mast, still shining in the wind. That would mean the wire…
Something flicked across her vision, There it is!
Flapping wildly around in the wind, glinting under the dark skies and the distant flashes of lightning, a metal wire swung wildly around the mast. That ground wire allowed the energy of the lightning to rush down towards the water so the ship wasn't damaged. With the wire disconnected and flapping around like that, it was amazing no one else got hurt!
She bit off a curse, that same wire could wrap around anything now. If that happened, any lightning bolt would scorch wood, sails or any unlucky Pokémon who happened to get caught near it! If the wire had broken off anywhere else – lower down perhaps, they could afford to leave it there. But if that kept flapping around-
Damn it! It'll start a fire in no time!
"Someone needs to get up there!" the Captain barked, tentacles tight around the wheel. "Another bolt and we'll lose the sails!"
Kailani stared up at the wire as the voices rose over the wind. "I-Is he nuts!?" someone snapped, "We'll get cooked!"
"I-I didn't sign up for this!"
"Can't we just pull down!?"
"It's bolted in place! We can't do that!"
Faki! We don't have time for someone to climb up! That means… damn damn! Why do I have to be the one to be a goody-two-shoes!
Wiping her eyes clear of yet more rain, Kailani flapped her wings open. "I'll resecure it!"
One of the other Pokémon, a Heracross raised a clawed hand, eyes widening. "W-Wait! Kai! It's too-"
With a beat of her wings, the Trumbeak rose into the air.
And almost immediately regretted it.
Kailani squawked as the gust caught her wings and flung her aside, the bird trying to get control. Netting rushed towards her, and without thinking she rolled, slipping past and over the water. She gritted her beak, beating her wings harder, fighting to gain lift and control as she turned back towards the ship.
Even with the buffeting winds, her feathers finally caught good air and she began to climb towards the top of the masts, towards the waving wire. Okay, just gotta catch the top of the wire, hook it up to the lightning rod. And try not get electrocuted. Not being lolo here.
She couldn't wipe her eyes now, only rapid blinking helped keep her vision clear, making it harder to track the erratically moving cable. She panted, not used to flying in such bad conditions. The wind screaming past her ears, drowning out the shouts from below. The darkness was now more overwhelming than ever, only the distant flash of lightning breaking through.
In the on and off of her vision, she was getting closer.
And closer.
The wire whipped around even more.
She started to reach out one of her feet. Don't wrap. Don't wrap. Don-
Her claws slipped shut, the warm metal pressing against her skin. Got it!
Tucking her wings in, she swung herself round towards the mast. Hopefully those lightning strikes won't hit her now. She was the easiest route for the current now!
Her heart pounding, she forced herself, higher, and higher up until Kailani, panting rapidly, touched down on the top of the mast. A circular, wooden railing was placed around the rod, allowing crew a safe perch. With her feet tight round the railing, she took the wire with her beak and cast a wary eye over the rod. Looks like the fitting failed. Just need to screw the new clip in…
The job would have been easy for one of the brothers – or any Pokémon with functional hands or paws for that matter. Kailani had to brace herself as she fed the wire back into the rod with one foot and her beak, before tightening the screws back into place to hold everything together. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would hold for now.
Kailani wasn't going to wait to tell anyone about the repair from up there. She spun round, opened her wings to glide back down to the deck and out of danger.
Lightning flashed, in the corner of her eye… and yet something remained dark. Unlit.
Blinking, the Trumbeak's head swivelled round, the rain pelting the back of her head, helping to keep things clear. Huh? What was that? An island?
Instinct tugged at her heart, begging for her to get down from her exposed position and back to the safety of the deck. But something didn't feel right about this, there couldn't be an island out there, they should have seen it sooner by now!
She opened her wings again, eyes fixed on a dark patch of space before her, the clouds wrapping around it.
Another lightning bolt light up the sky.
The black shape of a ship, larger than theirs materialised before her.
Rushing towards them.
It could only be one thing.
She spun round, shouting at the top of her lungs. "Pirates! Hard starbo-!"
A Thunderbolt shot up from the incoming ship, slamming into the lightning rod. Kailani screamed as the electric attack sparked off the rod and surged into her body. It spasmed beyond her control, pain tearing through her. Torment was all she knew as the gust caught her once more.
To the crew, the last they saw of her was the Trumbeak being blown clear of the mast and into the darkness.
In the depths of the hold, a large, amphibian Pokémon was held up in his cell. Arms and legs locked in place by heavy chains that ran into the structure of the ship. His head was bowed, eyes closed, asleep, judging by the softly rising and falling chest.
Then the entire ship shuddered, jerking the amphibian sharply off to one side, someone screamed in fright, and the murmur of other prisoners began to quickly rise inside the prison.
Then came the clang of battle. More screams, the snap, crackle and boom of Pokémon moves being fired off. The murmur died down; questions being quickly whispered amongst the prisoners.
It was only then did the amphibian's orange eyes slip open, fixing on the metal door leading deeper into the ship.
The sounds of battle grew closer, more desperate.
Then just as quickly, faded away.
Everyone fell silent.
The amphibian narrowed his gaze, his fists beginning to tighten in the shackles.
With a massive boom, the door exploded, a blue octopus flying through. It hit the floor with a splat, body twitching wildly for just a second before it finally went limp.
It didn't take an idiot to realise that the Grapploct was dead, given the bloody cuts left in his skin and the missing tentacles.
Standing in the doorway, features shaded by the light of the outside room, was a tall, bulky Pokémon. As large, if not even larger than the amphibian himself. It was armoured head to toe in some kind of armoured material… and its arms ended in vicious looking axes, stained in black blood.
It was only then did the prisoner's eyes widen.
"No…" he uttered, "It can't be… you're just a myth!"
A pair of white, angular eyes locked on the amphibian.
And thumping footsteps, they slowly approached the cell… thunder rolling as they raised their bloody axe…
Rex woke with a start, huffing as something started beeping off to the side of him. He could feel the warm wood underneath his cheek, close enough that he could almost taste the smell of it.
Raising his head up, the Blaziken scanned the darkness of his office, searching for any unusual splotches, any sharper shadows. Or any sign of an intruder.
He pushed himself off his desk, Hmph. Look at me now. So busy and so old that I'm falling asleep on the job. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing the cloudy night sky hanging over Robinswood through the window. Mustn't have been asleep for too long.
A tiny light blinked in the corner of his eye, and the Guildmaster turned to find the coin-shaped Expedition device, softly vibrating and beeping away. An incoming message.
Is that Luke? Rex mused; He can't have got here in six weeks. Surely not.
He carefully picked up the device and looked over the screen, where the words Island Camp VI were displayed.
One of the smaller islands? Rex wondered, They wouldn't be contacting me directly if something hadn't gone wrong. Not at this time either. It must have been the storm. They would have been caught at the very edge of it.
He accepted the call, pulling out a small candle and with a quick rub of his fingers, lit the wick. "This is Guildmaster Rex." He said, "Did you get hit by the storm?"
The voice on the other end was actually fairly clear as the device briefly squeaked. "Guildmaster! We got lucky, it drifted away at the last moment. Rather strange to be honest. Anyway, that's not why we went straight to you."
Rex couldn't stop the faint chuckle from escaping his beak, "I figured as much. I'm glad you got clear of it.". The Blaziken swallowed a bit of air, cutting off his chuckle. This only meant there was something else wrong.
Something serious.
"So." He started, narrowing his eyes, "What's happened? Do you need assistance?"
There was a moment of hesitation before the speaker continued, "Not us. But we could do with help. Someone's washed up on the beach just this evening."
That got the Guildmaster's full attention, the avian leaning forward onto the desk. "Washed up? Who?"
"We couldn't get her name, she's pretty young though, and she said she was part of the crew on a ship headed back to Grass Continent."
There was a faint hiss, almost lost in the digital static of the device. "She said her ship was attacked by pirates. Poor girl must have been stuck in the water for hours."
Rex only blinked once, a talon faintly scratching the desk surface as the voice continued, "She passed out not long after she told us that, but the ship fell in a matter of minutes. It was the-"
"The Daywalker." Rex interrupted, bluntly and to the point.
There was an audible silence, save for a faint click as if the device has been dropped. Something scratched, only confirming that theory as the Pokémon on the other side scooped their device back up again. "Y-Yeah!" they exclaimed, "The Daywalker. How did you know?"
Rex clenched his jaw, the talon digging deeper into the wood, his heart going cold. "I… I had my suspicions once you mentioned it."
"We can keep her here for now, but she might need some more medical help. She seemed to get hit by a pretty nasty attack, electric we think. We can send our boat over to town-"
"No." Rex interrupted, "That will take too much time. I'll contact the Post Office, see if they can spare a Corviknight to send your way. We have better facilities at the Guild anyway, and we will need to investigate this. The Daywalker isn't the biggest ship to go into the Sea of Wonders, but it's the biggest that pirates have gone for. We need to investigate this and this crewmate is effectively our only witness. Do what you can for her there, I'll send word once I have something prepared."
"Y-Yes Guildmaster!"
"And thank you for getting this straight to me. I'll leave you to it."
"T-Thank you sir!"
The device went dark as the call ceased, only to light up again as Rex tapped at the device again, first to send a message directly to the TalonKnight Post Office atop the tree, and a second to summon the one person he would need to talk to about this new development.
Esper arrived with five minutes, the Meowstic rubbing her eyes as she came on in. "I could sense your troubled thoughts from four floors away." She said, somewhat groggy as she shook her head, still working to fully wake herself up. "This isn't to do with our mutual newcomer?"
Newcomer. The Scorbunny known as Sam. One of their newest members to the Robinswood Guild.
Their human member.
The human-turned-Pokémon who now happened to be the partner to his adoptive niece, Alice the Buneary.
The Blaziken sighed, rubbing his forehead. It had been six weeks since Esper picked up the psychic traces that indicated Sam's status as a human. Something that the Meowstic had only felt once before, six years ago during the Dark Matter Crisis. The same Crisis that killed his former teammates… and Alice's parents.
He didn't want to believe Esper. Write it off as something in the heat of the moment, a misread. Even Psychic types were not infallible, but Esper's experience couldn't be written off.
And neither could he do the same with his own.
He was one of three Pokémon alive that was aware of Sam's status as a human, at least to his knowledge. Something that Sam himself didn't know.
For the time being, given the… challenges that tended to follow humans around, that would be for the best.
"Rex?"
The Blaziken leaned back, "Apologies." He stated, "You are correct. There has been a suspected pirate attack on one of the ships that left the docks a few days ago."
Esper stepped up towards the desks, slightly slumped as she approached… only for her eyes to widen, straightening up with quivering ears. "The Daywalker." She quietly said, now very firmly awake. "The same ship that was carrying-"
"Greg and his bandits." Rex growled, "Yes."
Greg, the Swampert leader of a group of bandits that called the main island of the Sea of Wonders their home.
"Damn it." The Meowstic hissed, ears briefly rising up before dipping back down just as suddenly again. "Could it be Aidan?"
Aidan. The Froakie-evolved-Frogadier. Someone who appeared to just be the rebellious scion of a powerful family back on the Sand Continent and the fellow recruit and partner to Sam, and yet he managed to run a large smuggling operation right beneath their noses. The same Pokémon who nearly killed Sam when he refused to join his side and set Greg loose to kidnap a young child from the town under the his orders. Greg had been captured and charged for kidnapping and murder, including a team resident to Robinswood and nearly killing Sam and Alice as well. But Aidan himself hasn't been seen since.
"Piracy wouldn't fit Aidan's MO." Rex said. "No, this is something else. Pirates have never gone for something the size of the Daywalker before, and never took it over so quickly."
"It's more troubling that someone happened to go out of the way to attack the ship that just happened to be carrying Greg back to Grass." Esper replied. "In a storm no less. I have heard rumours of increased pirate activity, but nothing remotely like this." She placed her hands behind her back, straightening up. "It's almost as if they are getting organised."
"And that." Rex stated, tapping the table, "Is very dangerous. Especially now. Between the disasters and the official visits… this will make things much more difficult."
Esper got herself sat down on one of the chairs opposite Rex. "Forget about protecting Sam. If the continents decide to pull their strings in response to pirate activity, we won't have any means to protect him at all."
"And Alice." Rex murmured, stiffening for the briefest of moments. Just being even remotely affiliated with Sam had automatically put Alice in just as much danger as he was. He promised her mother, Tyera, that he would look after her. Protect her. He had struggled to hold the stigma around Alice so many times before. Could he…
He shook his head; he couldn't have doubts now.
"I've already called the Post Office; they are dispatching a Corviknight affiliated with the Guild to retrieve the witness to the attack and bring her back to Robinswood. I'll need you to assist me in that investigation."
"Of course." Esper replied, nodding back. "Should we consider blending that into our investigation surrounding Aidan, and maybe Sam too?"
"We'll keep it separate for now. But let's be careful for any connections. I have my doubts that this act of piracy is connected to Sam or Aidan, but with everything going on, we must be vigilant."
"I'll make the necessary preparations." Esper said, rising back to her feet. Rex couldn't help but admire the young Meowstic. She spoke as if she had decades of experience, and yet, she was only eighteen. So many Pokémon – including himself for that matter – confided in her for advice and support. Her role in ending the Dark Matter Crisis, her position as his deputy and the rank of herself and her rescue team, Team Spirit, was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to her achievements. At such a young ag-
"You're getting carried away again old man." Esper said abruptly, flashing a wink back at the elder Blaziken.
Rex blinked blankly at her, before the chuckle finally escaped from his beak. "I can't exactly hide the truth from your psychic powers Esper. We would be in a much worse state without you."
"I'll take that as a compliment Rex." She replied with a smile.
The Guildmaster leaned forward again, "Speaking of precautions and preparations, is Team Audacity still in the Tree?"
The smile faded away, the Meowstic crossing her arms. "Not at the moment, I already received the word, they are on a rescue mission near the site of a new fissure."
Rex narrowed his eyes, "Can they handle it?"
"It's a fissure." Esper replied, "They are always challenging. But this isn't something they can't deal with. I'd imagine they are already snarking about that rescue right now."
"This'll work."
"It's gonna be messy, Sam."
"Come on Alice! You and I both know this is the only way to get down there!"
"They're panicking more than Dan does when he runs out of food. How are you going to get them to listen?"
"Easy. Run my-"
"Frickin' mouth." She replied with a groan, "You really need to think of trying something different instead of just trying to talk them into action."
"Like what? Punching their lights out?"
There was a moment of hesitation. "…yes."
"Which is what you did last time, and it kinda pis-"
"Shut up."
Quietly, the two Pokémon began to chuckle amongst themselves.
"Seriously. You be careful down there." Alice said, struggling to stop her chuckle.
"Well, you know me." Sam replied, very clearly still laughing himself. "I'll try and avoid getting punched in the face."
Author's Note: And so... it continues...
The Second Episode of Guardians of Balance is now starting. This one is going to be a very different beast compared to the first Episode, so I hope you folks enjoy this new chapter and this new episode!
