"Almost…got it—there!" Shingo pulled away from the cell after hearing the lock click. He dispelled his Cut and pulled the door open. "Time to leave, Ms. Vanessa."

The Indeedee tilted her head as the two Foresters entered her cell. "Wait, what's going on? Where are we going?"

Brook calmly raised her wings. "There's no reason to panic. We're just going to help you escape and figure out what's going on here. We promise, we're not here to hurt you." She reached out to the maid, but she flinched and backed away into the wall.

"N-No. I don't want to leave," she said.

Shingo glared. "You don't have much choice. The longer you stay here, the more danger you'll be in. We can help clear your name and—"

"But I can't leave! He told me to stay here until he rescues me!" Vanessa backed into the corner of her cell. "I have to wait for my knight in shining armor to whisk me away so we can live happily ever after!"

Brook scowled. "She's delusional. How have the knights not figured out she's being controlled by Darby?"

"Guess he made extra sure she kept her mouth shut around the knights." Shingo grabbed Vanessa's arm and forcibly dragged her out of the cell. "You're not getting a say in this. You're sick and need help."

"No, NO!" Vanessa started thrashing, forcing Shingo to lock his arms around her. "I can't leave yet! I have to wait for my beau to return and save me! Let me go!" She swung the back of her head into Shingo's face.

"[Ah, shit!]" he cried. He let her go and massaged his face.

Vanessa tried to run back into the cell, but Brook cut her path off. "Vanessa, please, you're not well. Darby is not who you think he is."

"Lies! Darby is the sweetest, most loving man in the world! He promised we'll be together forever and ever once he comes to save me from this awful place!" A pink haze flashed over her eyes. "I'm nothing without my Darby!"

Brook grabbed her shoulders and shook her head. "You aren't his! You belong to no one! No one is allowed to decide what you want but you! Your life isn't dictated by the whims of one man. The only choices in life that matter are the ones made by you!"

"Then I choose to be with Darby!" Vanessa's eyes flashed pink again. "I want my Darby! Darby, please save me from these vile—"

"[Enough!]" Shingo chopped Vanessa in the back of the neck. She gasped, then her eyes glazed over as she fell unconscious into the Frogadier's awaiting arms. "Ho-Oh Almighty, that was annoying."

Brook's beak dropped. "Was that absolutely necessary?!"

"If she were any louder, half of Johto would've heard her." He threw Vanessa onto his shoulder and huffed. "But for now, let's hope the knights didn't hear her."

Brook sighed. "Shingo, I swear…" She shook her head and nodded. "Best to hurry." They started running for the stairwell. "Hopefully Lillia and Blitz finished on their end—"

"Wait!" Shingo suddenly grabbed her tail feathers and pulled her away from a Psybeam firing on their location. They jumped back from the psionic explosion. Upon landing a safe distance away, he glared up. "We're not alone."

Appearing from the dark corners of the ceiling, Fulbertus hovered down to their level with psychic energy smoking off his hand. His eyes flashed as he scanned the both of them, including the unconscious Vanessa.

"Well, well, well, come to abscond with your murderous ally, Foresters?"

Lillia kept her mouth clamped shut as the awakened prince's eyes scanned his surroundings. She barely moved a muscle and didn't try to break her hand free from his weak grasp. Though there was hardly a fight in his body, she felt his claws hooking into her sleeve.

"Dr. Sappington?" he groaned. "Wha…breakfast?"

Lillia looked to Blitz for support. The blind Charmeleon sensed her discomfort and shrugged, keeping his focus primarily on the hallway. She sighed and looked back at the dazed prince.

Based on the unfocused look in Dimitri's eyes and his instance that she was a doctor, he seemed like he wasn't all there, barely reacting to the environment. She looked over at the table beside his bed and noted a sealed vial. She levitated it over and read the label.

She sighed in relief. "The doctor must've given him meds to ease his aching."

"Do you think this is the first time he's conscious?" Blitz asked.

"I'm not sure I would count this as being conscious." She floated the medicine back onto the table and sat on the bed. She unhooked Dimitri's claws and grasped his paw between her hands. "Dimitri?"

"D…Doctor?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, it's me, Dr. Sappington. I'm just performing a check-up on you to see how you're feeling."

"Am I…okay?"

She frowned for a moment, but shook off the negative feeling and forced a smile. "It will take some time until you fully recover. You need plenty of bedrest, and soon you'll be as strong as Regigigas in no time."

"Ringing…" Dimitri mumbled, his eyes drooping. "Crashing, ringing sound…don't remember."

"Huh?"

Blitz glared. "I think he's trying to remember what happened at the party. That must be when the chandelier was dropped on him."

Dimitri flinched. "Doctor, your…voice sounds so deep."

Lillia laughed awkwardly and patted his paw. "Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself. Now, uh…Your Highness, I have a few questions to ask you. We want to make sure your memory is in tiptop shape. After all, we wouldn't want to be liable for any unforeseen accidents," she said in a strained tone.

Dimitri didn't pick up on it and shifted his position. "So tired…"

"Please Dimitri, you have to try and remember." Lillia extended her ears and focused her psychic energy into his mind. With any luck, it will clear up the jumbled mess in the Glameow's head. "Try to think back to the party. There was a train system being unveiled, right?"

"Train…" Dimitri closed his eyes and groaned. "Party for…the train."

"Yes, that's right, very good."

"Didn't…go. Didn't…want to go."

"Why didn't you want to go?"

"Mad at…brother. Mad at…me. Angry at…" His brow creased slightly. "Lies. That…thing was lying."

"What thing? Who was lying?"

"He told me to…stay away. Couldn't get involved. Didn't…listen."

Lillia frowned. "He's not making any sense. Even with me opening his mind, the medicine is making him too loopy to make coherent thoughts."

Blitz sighed. "Let's think backwards for a moment. We know none of us dropped that chandelier on him. Who else do we know of that would be cruel enough to pull that?"

Lillia glared. "Darby."

The name got a rise out of the Glameow. His fur briefly bristled, and his brow creased harder. "Angry…"

Blitz glared. "It was definitely Darby. No arguing about it."

She nodded. "And he wanted to kill Dimitri to remove the one piece of evidence against him." She looked back at her superior. "Still, why go through all this trouble to just poison him with Wraith? If he sent someone to kill Dimitri, wouldn't a dagger be just as effective?"

Blitz settled his bow for a moment and scratched his chin. "We know Wraith doesn't immediately kill, and there's no way Darby can foresee how long it would take for Dimitri to make a full recovery. Executing him on the spot would be a more effective strategy. Either something went amiss with the poisoning, or there's a secondary motive to all this."

"Secondary motive?"

"I'm merely casting ideas. Darby went to all this trouble to kill Dimitri, yet did so under the risk of something going awry. You are right, if he sent someone to be the scapegoat for our downfall, he could've just had them kill the traditional way."

"Strange." Lillia turned back to Dimitri and massaged his paw. "You still with me, Your Highness?"

"D…Dr. Sappington?"

"I'm here, dear."

"So tired…"

"I know, but please try to work with me here. Do you know who poisoned you?"

"I…ugh." He shifted his head, blinking his eyes out of sync. "Tired…"

"I know you're tired, but you have to work with me here. I'm trying to help you. Do you remember anything important? Anything that can help us? The person who poisoned you was being used by Darby. Is there anything you know that can help?"

"Never…meant to yell…at her."

"Who?"

"Maid. Didn't deserve to…angry." His claws weakly extended and pressed into her sleeve again.

Lillia narrowed her eyes. "He keeps saying angry when he's thinking about Darby. Let me see if I got this right." She closed her eyes for a moment and thought it over. "You never meant to yell at a maid, and Darby is somehow involved with it. Darby was doing something with her, and you knew."

"Angry…"

She glared. "Blitz, I think Dimitri was looking into Darby way before we came to the party. He knew something was off about him."

"But didn't have any evidence to back it up," Blitz added. "Accusing a prince of such a crime demands hard evidence."

"Do you think Dimitri wasn't at the party because he was digging up clues against Darby?"

"It's possible, though he clearly didn't find anything."

Lillia shook her head. "But that's not right. Darby spiked drinks with love potion. He had to have had that stuff somewhere on hand. If Dimitri was suspicious of him before the party, Darby had to have gotten it past the kitchen staff."

"He did rope two waiters into helping him, though," Blitz reminded.

"Ugh, you're right. Still, that means Darby brought contraband into the Senbo capital without anyone realizing. He has to have them stashed somewhere. Maybe his room, but that would be the first place to search."

"The only other place that can be searched is in the Wick Kingdom itself, but they'd be expecting us there even if the royal family isn't in the kingdom right now."

Lillia let go of Dimitri's paw and massaged her temples. "We're not getting anywhere with this. All we know is that he barely remembers the accident and that he was digging up information on Darby. That's all we—"

"Clatter…"

She paused and looked down at the Glameow. "I'm sorry, one more time, Your Highness?"

"Big boom…and then a clatter," Dimitri mumbled. "Boom. Clatter. Boom. Cl…atter."

A quiet dinner was held in the dining hall with Hobs and Ignacia, taking time to enjoy their break from work. With the current buzz around the castle and increasing tension among the royal family, their services were nearing their eventual end. They only remained as they were under obligation by King Tetrarch's word. As such, they partook in the luxuries of the castle and only went about the minimal work expected of them.

Hobs cut into his steak with a fork and knife while Ignacia just took hers in hand and ripped bites out. He looked up at his daughter, noting the irritated look on her face while she mindlessly drummed her claws across the table. The reason for her attitude was plain to see to him.

He set his utensils down and patted his lips with a napkin. "Bored?"

"Exhaustingly," she said. "This is so lame. Why are we still here? Otis is probably dead, and Steinar is out of commission for who knows how long. We're wasting time."

Hobs shook his head. "Patience, child. King Tetrarch wants us to stick around for a little longer. He's paying us, and I don't argue with the temptation of coin."

She huffed. "Or your boss made extra sure we were to keep an eye on him."

He sighed. "Be careful with how you speak in these halls, daughter. We are in dangerous territory if word of that spreads. Fortunately, I can't smell anyone within earshot of us, so take mind to keep your voice low."

"You're the one who dragged me into your past, and I feel like I barely know anything about it. Just the bare minimum."

"Is that a problem?"

"I'll join your side no matter what, but I feel like I deserve to know more than just this being a job."

Hobs closed his eyes. "In due time—"

"Screw that, I'm bored." She rested his cheek in her hand and glared. "Might as well entertain me, right? What's the deal with you and that decrepit relic, anyway? You never cared for anything more than making coin."

He sighed. "That stubbornness is impossible to wring out of you." He crossed his arms and leaned onto the table. "Long before I took you into my custody, I've done dealings with Last Autumn. I liked to play both sides of a war when I can help it. Smuggling weapons, sabotaging the enemy, taking bribes, illegal trades; I did it all. That was how business was, and still is, done. In war, there are no friends or allies. It's either you have something the other wants, or you wait until it's your time to be backstabbed. I've done my fair share of that.

"Terrowin was…unfocused when I first met him. He carried the torch of a long-forgotten feud with Virdis' invaders and attributes it to the woes of today. I thought his age was just getting to him, but the man didn't understand war. He assembled anarchists as an easy source of disposable units to lay waste to Virdis, hoping war would bring it all down. Terrowin wasn't a man of war, though, or at least with brute force. He thought it was the only way.

"Days before Last Autumn fell, I had a moment to speak with him about his tactics." Hobs picked up his fork and twirled it against the table. "I didn't say anything at the time, but we suffered massive casualties over the years. I brought myself to confront him of his ignorance. I knew he was a man of brilliance, but he was impatient. He wanted to return Virdis to its roots and put an end to the cycle of violence between the ten kingdoms, but he didn't have a plan for afterwards. He just wanted to destroy the kingdoms. An impossible feat when you make an enemy of ten mighty powers."

Ignacia straightened up and glared with renewed interest. "What did you tell him?"

"The man was on the cusps of becoming a skeleton, yet his ambition was strong. If he had the will to survive, I suggested he take the time to think of all the angles. One year, five years…or thirty years. All that time to come up with the perfect plan, adapting with the changing times. I guess he took my words to heart. He's much more patient with his execution. The old Terrowin I knew would've launched a full frontal assault gambling on strength alone. This Terrowin, he's cunning. Devious, even."

"I heard that man speak, and he sounds like a delusional grandpa than a schemer."

"Rest assured, all of this came to be because he wanted it so. Everyone who works under him has him to thank for their good fortune today." Hobs glared. "He's partially the reason I came across you when you were a baby."

She frowned. "You never did tell me where I came from."

"Do you care?"

"Not really. Just saying."

He sighed. "In my own time, perhaps you'll know the truth. Still, I had to get my hands dirty to help some despicable people obtain positions of power. My fellow lords and counts can attest to Terrowin's brilliance. Once he succeeds in conquering Virdis, he plans to dismantle the split hierarchy of power."

"Doesn't really sound like that's a plan, getting rid of the royal families."

Hobs nodded. "It wouldn't, but he's already working on that. That madman, Itzal, will be contributing to that part of the plan in the coming month. We only have one viable candidate for the project, but I insisted we keep searching. We think we found another potential candidate for Terrowin. There was another, but…they're no longer around."

Ignacia tilted her head. "Candidate for what?"

He shook his head. "It matters not. We won't be around long enough to see or care for the results. I plan to retire from the business once I've finished my contract to Terrowin. I'm thinking Alola. Heard they have wonderful weather."

She grunted. "I'm not the vacationing type."

"Don't get testy. I plan to have you inherit the business as the new boss."

"…I don't know." She looked away. "I'm fine carrying out orders for you, but I'm no leader."

Hobs looked away sadly. "I wouldn't say that…"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, nothing." He shook his head. "It was only a suggestion. Regardless of my dealings with Last Autumn, my only concern is your future. You're my daughter, and your happiness means more to me than this entire region. I do all of this because I want the best future for you, and…I do believe in Terrowin's vision for a better Virdis."

Ignacia narrowed her eyes, then turned away with a sniffle. "Dammit Dad, stop being so sappy. It's lame."

He smiled. "I love you, too, Ignacia—" He paused suddenly and glared as he took a whiff of the air.

She raised her brow at him. "Dad?"

Hobs scooted out of his seat and raised his nose high, taking a big whiff of the air. "There's…an odd smell in the castle."

She grunted. "And here I thought the royals were above such crass—"

"No, nothing like that. Scents. Pokémon. Pine." He moved around to get a better angle. "Four. Two below us. Two…" He sniffed again. "Above." He took another big whiff. "One of the Wick Knights is near the two intruders below us. There's another scent near the ones above us. It's…" He glared. "The ailing prince."

"The prince?" Ignacia asked.

"Ignacia, inform the knights. Order them to secure the dungeon."

She stood up. "Alright, but what about the other intruders?"

Hobs started walking away, pulling his slingshot from his coat. "I need to check on this one alone, just to be sure."

Shingo and Brook backed away as Fulbertus approached them, his hands alight with psionic energy. Shingo turned his body so Vanessa was facing away from the Beheeyem. Brook stepped in front of him and splayed her wings while glaring back at the alien knight.

Fulbertus chuckled. "How delightful. I foresaw these actions well in advance, but to think you actually acted upon them. How amusing. You Foresters are so predictable, it's almost unbelievable. Coming all the way out here just to further seal your fate."

Brook glared. "You have it all wrong. She is not responsible for the prince's assassination."

"She was found hovering over his body with a poison. Are you implying it to be an accident?"

She growled. "You don't understand."

"Oh, I think I understand perfectly. You're just here to remove the evidence. I wonder how many of you vermin are scouring through the castle." Fulbertus aimed his hand at them. "Best to exterminate the lot of you."

"I—" Before Brook could retort back, Shingo stuck his arm out in front of her. "Shin?"

He glared at the alien knight. "Don't bother reasoning with him, Brook. He's a liar."

"Liar?"

"Why is he here alone without backup? Simple answer: because he doesn't want the slightest chance of someone else listening to our pleas." He pointed at Fulbertus. "You're one of the Tetrarchs' knights, and you were monitoring Vanessa from a distance."

Fulbertus' eyes flashed as he laughed. "Perceptive."

"You Psychic-Types always have a funny way of keeping tabs on people."

The knight shrugged. "I like to be thorough, and she was so kind to open up her mind to me. After all, anything for her precious Darby."

Brook gasped, then scowled at him. "You…You're in on this?! So, you know what the prince did to this poor girl!"

"I see no reason telling you." Fulbertus chuckled and shook his head. "I can't say I approve for Darby's abhorrent methods, but I'm strictly loyal to the Tetrarchs. You can't win war without crossing some lines."

"War? What does this have to do with war?!" Brook stomped her feet down and raised her wings, conjuring a small gust of wind around herself. "No amount of loyalty excuses letting this happen!"

"Go ahead and fight. You're the ones trespassing, and I have no worries admitting any of this to you. We're all alone, and no one in their right mind will believe the words of a Forester. Besides, there's nothing you can do to prove your innocence!" Fulbertus fired Psybeam at them.

The pair split off and dodged the rainbow-colored beam. Shingo stuck to the walls and ran across them. Fulbertus tracked his movements, his eyes glowing blue. He held his hands together, channeling dark energy, and fired Dark Pulse. Shingo kicked off the walls and dodged the blast.

"Smokescreen!" He lowered his scarf and exhaled a wall of smoke into the dungeon. He summoned short-bladed Cuts in his hand and threw them through.

Fulbertus waved his hand and deflected the projectiles. "It's a pointless effort," he said. "I'm one of the leading tacticians to the Wick Kingdom. You think I didn't plan ahead when I realized there were intruders? Observe." He raised his hand, where his colorful digits blinked in sequence.

A light shined under Shingo. A vortex of psychic energy opened up, building with immense power. He quickly jumped out of way as a pillar of energy raced. The pressure coming off it threw the ninja across the dungeon. He summoned a Cut blade and caught himself onto the floor.

Fulbertus waved his hands. "Like I said, I planned ahead."

Another vortex opened up on Shingo's right. He used Aerial Ace to kick off the floor and hop over the energy beam. His eyes widened as a light shined above him, seeing the vortex opening on the ceiling.

"Substitute!" Shingo grabbed a handful of frubbles and threw them at the vortex. The frubbles took the shape of a clone, which crossed its arms as the vortex fired. He braced himself as the clone exploded and threw him back to the ground. He took hold of Vanessa and shielded her from the fall.

Fulbertus floated toward him. "Escape is futile. I planned for every eventuality right as I arrived. It doesn't matter where or how. Your movements are fixations of time itself. Speaking of…"

Brook charged at the knight from behind, but a vortex opened up in her path. She flapped her wings to stop herself, but they were moving out of sync again and threw her off balance. The beam fired up into her and blasted her into the ceiling.

"Brook!" Shingo cried.

Fulbertus raised his hand, charging his Psybeam. "War is won through strategy and planning, not brute force. To win, you have to dominate your opponent through the mind. Overwhelm them with an unbeatable strategy. I'm sure you Foresters understand that better than most, seeing as how the entire region views you now."

Shingo stood up and glared back at him. "That's one thing we can agree on, I suppose."

A burst of wind rocketed out of the smoke and slammed into Fulbertus. He flew back, catching himself in his own Psychic. His eyes blared red as Brook landed beside Shingo, perfectly unharmed.

"Didn't I just…?" He looked up and scanned the ceiling. The smoldering area he thought was the Unfezant turned out to be burning frubbles. He can create duplicates of others, not just himself? He must've made it during the commotion in the smoke.

Shingo placed Vanessa on Brook's back. "Take her and get out of here."

Brook glared. "I can't leave you behind. It's not—"

"The Forester way, I know." Shingo summoned his Cut blades. "It's my way." He kicked off the ground and sprinted toward Fulbertus. "The mission comes first! Get her out of here!"

Fulbertus pulled his attention back onto the fight and used Psychic to shield himself from Shingo's attack. His eyes glowed blue. "I foresaw that. Realm of Prophecies!" The vortexes opened up around Shingo again.

Shingo threw his blades into the air and clapped his hands. "Double Team!" Illusionary clones of himself spawned around the dungeon. The vortex blasts fired on Shingo, but only ripped through an afterimage. The real one snatched his blades from the air. He formed a hand sign. "Hidden Art: Shadow in the Void!" He exhaled Smokescreen downward.

Fulbertus fired Psybeam upward, but ended striking another afterimage. He concentrated psychic energy between his hands and fired out invisible waves all around him, tagging the surfaces of the dungeon. "Do you really think obscuring my vision is going to—"

A flash of light struck his face and knocked him back. He fired into the smoke, but hit nothing. Another strike landed under his chin and flipped him up. He stopped himself in midair and looked around. He could hear something kicking off the walls in rapid succession.

A flicker of light came from his right. He fired at it, but it was another afterimage, leaving him open to a kick to the back. He crashed into the wall and fired Psybeam all around himself. He could barely see anything but the smoke and the rubble from his blasts.

"Strange. I saw something, but it was so faint I almost thought I imagined it." Fulbertus charged up another Psybeam. "It's almost like he's—" Another kick knocked him out of the air and sent him flying to the floor.

He caught himself just in time and head something land in front of him. He scanned the area before him and saw a form of distortion inside the smoke. It was difficult to make out or identify, light being absorbed by the black haze encompassing him. Even a trained eye would have trouble detecting the presence he was witnessing.

"Invisible," he finished. He raised his hand and summoned a ball of silver light. "Clever. Flash Cannon!" He fired the light beam through the smoke.

The distorted form, Shingo, dodged it and disappeared into the smoke. Fulbertus raised his hands and called upon his Realm of Prophecies, firing down beams of psychic energy through the dungeon.

"You move swiftly, Forester, and you've adapted well to this environment. However, the smoke can be ally and enemy." His perceptive eyes scanned the smoke and detected movement. "Like that." He raised his hand and fired Psychic as a pulse wave.

The smoke parted as Shingo dodged the wave. Fulbertus blinked his digits and fired down another Realm of Prophecies. The blast ruptured the ground and sent the invisible frog flying in the shockwave. Fulbertus fired Dark Pulse, but Shingo landed and split through the attack with Cut.

"You'll find I'm quick to adapt, Forester," Fulbertus taunted.

Shingo stood up with half his body partially visible. He glared and raised his blade. "And you'll find I don't play fair."

"It wouldn't surprise me." Fulbertus focused through the smoke and looked past Shingo. He sensed Vanessa's presence getting farther away, nearing the top of the dungeon stairs. "However, I have my own mission to compete. Let's hope you can keep up."

Shingo darted at him, but the alien knight teleported out of the room. He dispelled his blades and cancelled Camouflage, glaring towards the other end of the dungeon. "[Challenge accepted, my foe.]"

"Boom and clatter?" Lillia repeated as she looked over the delirious Glameow. "That's barely a sentence."

"B…Boom. C-Clatter."

Blitz glared. "He was supposedly in and out of consciousness the last several days. Hard to believe he was aware of anything going on when he was poisoned."

"Be that as it may, it's not very helpful." She crossed her arms and paced around the bed. "Okay, it's reasonable that this boom he's talking about was Petra's emergency Hyper Beam, but what about a clatter? I can't imagine anyone can hear anything over that noise."

He shrugged. "Not for me. With my deteriorating sight, my sense of hearing had to compensate for what little I can see."

"Yes, but you're blind, he's not. He's…" She paused and massaged her chin. "Although, I have heard tale of Prince Erasmus' exceptional senses, especially his eyesight. Do you suppose Dimitri's hearing is as sharp?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. The Talbot children supposedly have incredible senses, especially the elder princes. That would explain why he's giving simple explanations for everything."

Lillia nodded. "Meaning while he was going in and out of consciousness, his hearing must've been compensating, almost like a survival mechanism. He doesn't know what's going on, so he's relaying everything he heard after the accident."

"So, regardless of what he heard this clatter after Petra's attack, he heard something within close proximity of himself."

Lillia narrowed her eyes. "And the word choice is unique. A clatter can be a number of things, but hardly anything large. Something metallic, light, and/or glass. And by saying this occurred after the boom, this had to have happened around the time he was poisoned and when the poisoner was caught. Possibly startled by a knight or from the explosion."

"She dropped something," Blitz said. "Could it have been a vial of Wraith?"

"Maybe, but something about this doesn't sit right with me. We know Wraith doesn't kill instantly, and we've established already that either something went wrong trying to poison Dimitri, or there was a secondary motive to his assassination. A quick and simple assassination that almost went under the noses of everyone."

Blitz glared. "There is a chance if they did confiscate the Wraith vial, they're looking into how the assailant obtained it. Either they find nothing, or evidence has already been planted to frame her and us."

She nodded. "All I can say for certain is that we need to investigate Dimitri's room before we leave."

"Alright. Shingo and Brook should be finishing up by now, so let's get a move on."

Lillia turned back to Dimitri and patted his paw. "Please, try to stay strong for a little longer. I promise, you won't have to suffer for much longer. We'll find a way to cure you of this blight."

Dimitri groaned. "Doctor…"

She smiled. "Thank you for helping my friends escape. You're a good person, Dimitri Talbot." She set his paw down and tucked him back under his covers. "Get some rest. You'll need your strength."

Blitz placed his hand to the door and creaked it open. He froze halfway and glared. "Wait, I sense a heat signature. It's coming down this way."

Her eyes widened. "Is it the nurse?"

He narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't feel like they're wearing armor, but…wait." His eyes widened. "Lillia, get down, now!"

They both heard a crack of air from the hallway, followed by something pinging off the walls outside. They dropped to the floor and narrowly ducked a small metal ball shooting through the door. It struck the wall and left a sizable impact despite its size.

They picked themselves up as the door swung back. Blitz nocked an arrow and aimed at their attacker, who aimed back at him with a slingshot.

"Well, well, well," the Gumshoos said, steeling his glare. "What do we have here?"

Knights were spooked as Brook came sprinting out of the dungeon and bowling past them with the prisoner on her back. She dodged their attempted tackles and grabs, gliding over them while jumping off their heads like stepping stones.

"It's the Foresters! Don't let them escape!" a knight shouted.

Brook kicked off the walls and soared down the hall with wind flowing around her. She checked over her shoulder to make sure Vanessa was safely strapped onto her. It wasn't the smoothest ride, but as long as she didn't fall off, it was good enough.

I need to get outside the capital. Backup plan: if the others don't make it out in time, go on without them. They can handle themselves, and getting out of sight is my primary objective.

"Power Whip!"

"Ice Beam!"

Brook saw the attacks flying after her and turned out of the way. The empowered whip cracked near her face and tried to tangle her legs, but she glided out of reach. The Ice Beam chased her down, freezing the wall on her right. She tucked her wings in and spun through the hall. With a burst of wind, she blasted herself forward in a corkscrew formation. Knights in her path were blown aside as she blasted through them.

I can make it, I can make it! I just need to get through the foyer and I'm free—

"Psychic."

Brook came to a dead stop, feeling a psionic force bind itself around her. Her legs and wings were pinned together, and she was lifted up into the air. She could barely move a muscle or turn her neck. She was spun around and came face-to-face with Fulbertus.

"Well, that was an amusing escape." He aimed his Dark Pulse at her. "Ineffective, but amusing."

She clenched her teeth. "You're…g-good."

"You two might actually be the worst match-ups against me. You're fast, but that's to my benefit."

She glared. "Analytic. Increased power for waiting us out."

"Meaning you can't break out of my hold, not that you would be able to before." He swung his hand down and threw Brook into the floor with a hard crash.

"AGH!" she cried. She tried to lift her head, but Fulbertus pushed her down harder. She felt Vanessa being detached from her back and lifted into the air. "N-No…"

Fulbertus levitated the unconscious Indeedee to his side. "Looks like we'll have more than one Forester to face punishment." The knights marched into the foyer with their weapons drawn. "I have her pinned, men. Prepare a cell for her. Oh, and there's another one lurking in the dungeon. Be mindful of him."

They saluted. "At once!" Two knights split off and approached Brook while the rest turned back to the hall.

Brook struggled in Fulbertus' psionic bind. "You won't get away with this!"

"Tough talk from a murderous accomplice. For shame on all of you, thinking you have the right to decide life and death." Fulbertus shook his head. "Sad. Pitiful, even. But no more. This region won't ever have to worry about your kind ever again."

Her eyes widened as the knights loomed over her with shackles at the ready. As they were about to slap them on, a commotion sounded from the hallway. Fulbertus and the knights turned back to the hall were a blue blur rocketed between the group and dealt hard blows to their helmets.

"Hidden Art: Instant Covert Assault." Shingo landed behind the knights, all instantly falling unconscious. His legs trembled briefly before standing up. He took a deep breath and glared at the pair of knights standing over Brook. "Step away."

Fulbertus scoffed. "Die." He fired a Psybeam at him.

Shingo blocked it with a Cut blade, then charged at the knights. They drew their swords and swung, but he kicked off the floor and flipped over their twin assault. He grabbed them by the helmets, smashed them together, and slammed their heads into the floor.

"You have no idea how happy I am to be out of that dungeon." Shingo summoned another Cut blade and threw it at Fulbertus.

It soared so fast that it cut across his cheek even as he moved out of the way. It broke his concentration, breaking his hold on Brook and Vanessa, the latter plummeting out of the air. Shingo dashed and caught her before she touched the floor.

"Air Cutter!" Brook stood up and spun, sending out an array of wind blades toward Fulbertus.

"Psychic." With a wave of his hand, he dismantled the Air Cutter instantly. "Dark Pulse." He fired the beam of dark rings down on her.

Brook took off running and avoided the explosion behind her. "Ascending Gale!" She leaped into a spiral and soared through the air wrapped in wind. "Ascending Gale: Serrated Breeze!" A flurry of Air Cutters fired from her tornado, larger than normal and glowing with power.

Fulbertus waved his hands and dispelled the Air Cutters again with a blast of Psychic. "Dark Pulse and Flash Cannon." He fired both attacks after the flying Forester, but her unnatural flying style allowed her to twist through the air and avoid his shots. What an unorthodox flying style. "Realm of Prophecies!" He raised his hands and casted out invisible waves all around himself, tagging various surfaces. I'll just have to pressure her.

Brook shot up after grazing the floor and broke from her cyclone, heading straight up at Fulbertus. "Steel Wing!" A metallic coating surrounded her wings.

Fulbertus used Psychic to repel her attack. I got you in my sights.

A vortex opened up in the far wall and shot a pillar of psychic energy at Brook. She twisted her body out of the way, but the energy grazed her back. "Agh!" She plummeted out of the air, barely splaying her wings in time to glide to the floor.

"Psybeam." Fulbertus aimed down and fired a concentrated beam of psionic energy.

Shingo, after setting Vanessa down, raced over to his partner and blocked the beam with his Cut blades. He formed miniature Cut pins between his toes and threw them with a kick. Fulbertus stopped firing and dodged the pins, leaving him open for Shingo to spring into the air.

"Aerial Ace!" His fists blazed with sky-colored energy. He landed an uppercut to the knight's chin and spun himself into an axe kick directly atop his head, spiking the alien out of the air.

Fulbertus landed on his back with a hard thud. He tensed up from the impact, but kept his focus on the ninja frog. "Realm of Prophecies!" Two vortexes opened up on the floor and wall, firing on Shingo's position.

He formed a Cut blade and slammed it into one beam while kicking the beam below him with an Aerial Ace-empowered kick. Both attacks resulted in explosions with him caught in the middle. He fell out the smoke and landed on his feet, though staggered briefly from the aching in his legs.

Legs are still sore from taking out the knights. He pushed himself up and formed a blade in a reverse grip. "Brooklyn?"

The Unfezant groaned as she picked herself up. "Present."

"Can you still move?"

"Once the adrenaline kicks in, yeah."

He reached inside his scarf and pulled out three white-colored pellets. "Secure the target and go on ahead. I will provide an opening. We're not here to draw out a fight."

Fulbertus picked himself off the floor and wiped the dust off his cheek. "I will not let you pass. So long as that girl is within my mental range, I will track her to the ends of Virdis. I could just as easily track her down in your territory. Do you really want to risk everything just to save one life? You Foresters are setting yourselves up for failure by feigning these selfless actions."

Shingo glared. "Don't underestimate us. Brooklyn, go!" He tossed the pellets at Fulbertus.

He scoffed and caught them in his Psychic without lifting a hand. "What was that—" He startled back as Shingo's blade came dangerous close to his face. He caught it as well, but the Frogadier charged forward and snatched the pellets back with his scarf pulled over his eyes.

"The distraction." He clapped his hands together, smashing the pellets and releasing a short-ranged burst of bright dust in the knight's face.

"AGH!" Fulbertus staggered back and covered his eyes. "Bastard…!"

Shingo dashed around him and whistled to Brook. "Move!"

After securing Vanessa over her back and adjusting to her wounds, Brook ran after her partner, leaping into her Ascending Gale again. They kicked through the main doors and ran out into the courtyard.

Fulbertus vigorously rubbed his eyes and growled at the escaping duo. He heard the knights starting to recover from Shingo's ambush. "What are you morons waiting for? Don't let them escape with the prisoner!" He heard a few knights run past him and after the Foresters.

It hardly matters if they escape or not, I suppose. They're digging their graves now.

Blitz and Hobs kept their weapons trained on each other and kept their distance. Lillia backed around Dimitri's bed and against the window. She could see the tension in their weapons' drawstrings, indicating the power waiting to set their ammunition loose.

Hobs confidently took a step forward. "Don't make this difficult on yourselves. We don't have to be uncivil about this."

Blitz glared. "I was hoping for the same."

"Then explain your presence in this castle. As far as we're concerned, you Foresters attempted an assassination on a prince's life, and I can't say the scene playing out in front of me helps your case."

"You wouldn't believe us even if we wanted to."

"Try me."

Lillia stepped forward. "Sir, please, this isn't what you think. We're not here to do anything to Prince Talbot. We just needed to check on him to make sure he's okay."

"So you could make sure he was dead or not?" Hobs asked.

"No! Nothing like that. We're not killers. The Foresters are good, honest…okay, none of those adjectives work for us, but we're being sincere."

Hobs turned his attention over to Blitz. "I hope your argument has more weight."

He sighed. "We never attempted to assassinate Prince Talbot. Someone else was masterminding this ploy, and we think we know who's responsible. We only came here to figure out what happened."

"Is it just you two?" Before they could speak, Hobs pulled back tighter on his slingshot. "And don't lie. You want me to hear you out, I better hear dulcet tones in your answers."

Blitz glared. "You already scanned the building."

"Odor Sleuth. Makes my job a whole lot easier."

He sighed. "Yes. There's two more of us in the dungeon trying to free the assailant. We believe she's an unwilling pawn sent by the true mastermind. She didn't know what she was doing."

"Is that so?"

Lillia nodded. "We want to help Prince Talbot as much as the royal family does. We'd be devastated if he died in an attack under our name. Our alchemist is already trying to create an antidote—"

"With the samples of Wraith you stole in Snowbound Village," Hobs finished. His ammo lit up with a dark aura. "So, the intel was true. You did get away with some."

Intel? Blitz thought.

Lillia's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

Blitz growled. "Should've figured. With all the lies and corruption, there had to be someone keeping an eye on things. You're with Last Autumn!"

Hobs smirked. "Contractually obligated, but yes. I figured there's no point in keeping up the ruse. My sense of smell is so acute, I can pick up on the true intentions of a target. You both are telling the truth."

"Then why tell us you're working for Last Autumn?!" Lillia gasped.

"What does it matter? No one in the region would dare trust the word of a bunch of thieves, and it hardly matters what you have against me." He sighed. "Besides, I can smell the sadness coming off of you, lass."

"H-Huh?"

"That serene look on your face? It's just a mask. Your heart goes out to the poor state of the prince, and I sympathize with that." He growled. "This wasn't the original plan. He was just supposed to poison himself, not the prince."

"He?"

Blitz glared. "Darby."

Hobs sighed. "Guess you already figured that much out."

"There's no way Last Autumn sought out the assistance of some bastard prince. Is the Tetrarch family conspiring with them, too?"

Hobs snorted. "You have no idea how deep Last Autumn's connections go. But it doesn't matter. Believe me, I want to help the kid get back on his feet, but I have a job to do. You don't know what lengths the boss will go to for his vision. It's either this, or the alternative, and I don't want to see that future."

Blitz huffed. "There's no use talking you down, is there?"

"My loyalty is unshakable. And even if you do escape with the girl, nothing's going to change after this. Attempted assassination of a royal family member is a crime that can't be easily forgotten. No kingdom in this entire region will ever trust the Foresters, and that shall be your demise."

The blind Charmeleon took a deep breath and settled the tension in his bow. "You really have planned all this out."

Lillia gasped. "Blitz, what are you—" She looked down at his claws and saw him signaling to her. Her eyes widened in understanding, and she knelt closer to the window.

Hobs nodded. "That's a good thief." He shuffled closer to Blitz. "Just one thing, what did you do with my subordinate, Otis?"

"…I rather not say."

"…" Hobs' nose twitched. "So, that's it." He shook his head. "Well, at least I can get some payback in his name."

"Apologies." Blitz reached into his quiver and pulled out an arrow. "But we don't go down that easily." He chucked the arrow at him.

Hobs fired his shot and caught the arrow in his hand. Right as Blitz dodged his shot, the arrow exploded in Hobs' face and released a putrid gas in the air. He dropped the arrow and backed away, covering his nose.

"Agh!" he growled. "My nose…! Burning!"

He pushed through the gas and fanned it with his coat. He glared ahead, only to see Blitz standing in the open window. Lillia had disappeared in the blast. Blitz smirked and saluted, saying, "Want to see just how tough we forest spirits are?" He kicked off the windowsill and dove into the city.

Hobs ran up to the window and watched the Charmeleon grapple over the wall, spooking the guards. He saw his tail fire burning in the distance, bouncing toward the capital streets. He tried to sniff out the air, but his nostrils burned from the lingering fumes in his system.

They escaped? He glared. Trying to block out my sense of smell just long enough to find cover. Smart play. It's been a while since I've had a proper hunt.

He stood on the windowsill and pocketed his slingshot. "Very well. I'll concede to your challenge. I'll hunt you both down, and we'll see if you have the means to take on our lot. May the best hunter win." He kicked off the windowsill and dove into the castle courtyard. This is a battle I've been waiting for.

Just after Hobs jumped out of the room, Lillia crawled out from under Dimitri's bed with her mouth covered. She used Psychic and quickly funneled the remaining gas out the window before closing it.

"Distract him while I investigate Dimitri's room, huh? What else did I expect from a former Nature Spirit?" She sighed. "He knows what he's doing. Focus on the mission, Lillia."

She looked down at Dimitri and patted his head. He groaned and turned in his bed.

"I promise you, when we find an antidote, you'll be the first to receive it." She took a deep breath and started running into the hallway. For now, I need to figure out what happened that day.