Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Shadows of Ganderosa
Chapter 27
Allegiance
"Daddy!" Hazel shrieked at her father, Kalen Prince. She was cowering in a corner, heart beating at a million miles an hour and tears flowing down her small, orange cheeks as she watched her father. She looked on at Kalen's green blade that extended from his left wrist hack at the pokemon he was on top of. The ghost was no longer moving, just lying inanimately on the hard, cold ground. Kalen, panting heavily, finished his onslaught, and turned around to face his little girl. Hazel looked into his sorrowful eyes. The little charmander realized he was missing his right arm.
"Daddy!" Hazel screamed again. She watched before he fell into his own pool of red. Hazel screamed again.
She wanted everything to end. She wanted to see her mother; feel her warm, surrounding embrace protect her from the outside world. She wanted her mother to rush down into the cellar where Hazel waited. The charmander wanted her mother to appear at the stairs along the left wall and say everything was alright; to tell her it was all some sick joke one of the local bullies were playing on her. Hazel hoped for it all to end. She stared at the body of her father; the only movement she would get from him was his expanding back caused by short breaths.
Hazel watched as the dream started to shift. Everything around her started fading into the darkness of a black expanse. She continued to sob, grabbing and squeezing her tail in front of her like a child. Hazel watched as her paws began to change. They grew bigger. Her orange pigment turned crimson. The muzzle she called her own extended a few inches before ending at a point. In mere seconds, she turned back into her older, charmeleon self. She looked on at the void, tears still present in her eyes.
A red glow appeared in front of her. It was like a beam of red, visible light. Then, the beam parted into what looked like two scowling eyes. The glow dissipated near the middle of the eyes, making black holes that looked like pupils. As she looked at the eyes, she felt her scales come up ever so slightly. She felt her eyes widen from the creature before her.
"What do you want from me?!" Hazel shouted, her voice cracking from the horrid image of her father still present in her mind.
"I want you, Wicker!" the creature shouted.
"W-wicker?" Hazel asked hesitantly.
The creature roared as gnarled teeth darker than the surrounding void appeared below the red, glowing eyes. It rushed in on Hazel. The charmeleon gave a shriek as the creature bolted towards her, taking her into its gigantic mouth.
Hazel bolted upright from the dream with sweat on the back of her neck. She was panting heavily. Her heart felt like it was going to explode from the rate it was forcing blood into her veins. Her tail and paws were vibrating uncontrollably. Hazel looked around the room. It was just like any other inn room. There was the bed Hazel was sitting on which was squished from her weight. She looked at her bag that was resting at the bed's base. The other bed to her right was still puffed up as if untouched. There was the lone, snuffed torch hanging on the wall next to the wooden door. Hazel looked behind her and peered out of the window embedded in the stone wall. The stars present in the dark sky were dimmer than normal. That told Hazel the sun was going to rise soon. The other indicator was the bat pokemon that flew by the window.
It was just a dream. Hazel closed her eyes. The image of that creature Dillan had called Jake was still there. Hazel didn't know why it was so terrifying, but just seeing him made her scales shift as if there was some kind of creature inside of her moving around.
Hazel took a few deep breaths, trying to get control of her heart. One... Two... Three... She felt her heart rate starting to slow. That's right. Breathe. You're fine. Jake and that ghost aren't here. Just breathe.
Hazel sat there for a few seconds listening to the silence. It was soothing. Again with that same dream? He really got under my scales with that talk. I wish he would have just stayed in Labensia; it's starting to interfere with the mission. Hazel thought about what had happened in her dream for a few seconds. Jake was there again. Why is he haunting me? Was I that afraid of him? And why did he mean by "Wicker"? She shook her head and pushed that thought to the side. Alright, Hazel. Now's not the time to think about it. You're heart is under control, so get the boys up.
She got off of the bed of hay and grabbed her bag from the floor. She shouldered it as she walked towards the door. Hazel grabbed the handle and stopped. Stay positive. This day will be better than the last guaranteed. She opened the door and entered the hallway.
She reached into her bag, grabbed the key, and locked the door behind her. She then went to the room next to hers and knocked.
"Guys?" Hazel called out through the door, trying not to let her nightmare taint her voice with the fear she felt inside. "You need to get up. We're going to be late if you don't hurry."
"What?" Ryan asked groggily, muffled from the door. "Who's there?"
Hazel gave a light smile. It soothed her to hear Ryan's voice. "It's me," she said. "Is Dillan up?"
"Uh..." Ryan said. "No. One second. Dillan?" A few seconds of silence went on before Ryan yelled, "Dillan, you need to get up!"
Hazel waited for about a minute before she heard Ryan say, "Dillan?" Ryan paused before saying, "Was it the dream?" He paused again. "Dillan, what happened?"
"She's-" Hazel heard Dillan say. To her surprised, his voice cracked. "She's dead, Ryan."
"What?" Ryan asked. He sounded stunned. Hazel's brow line tightened into a concerned stare. What? Who's dead?
"Grace is dead," Dillan said. Grace? Hazel thought about that name. It seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't remember why. There was silence for a few seconds before Hazel heard shuffling in the room.
"Dilla-" Ryan tried to say.
"Shut up!" Dillan shouted. "Just shut up!"
Hazel grabbed the key to Dillan and Ryan's room and inserted it into the hole. She twisted it until there was a "click" noise. Hazel pulled open the door to find Dillan rushing towards her. His eyes were swollen and red. Tears were flooding from his eyes and streaming down his face in droplets. Dillan had a grimace on his face as he pushed past Hazel. The gabite began running down the hallway towards the stairs.
"Dillan!" Hazel called out.
"Just leave me alone!" Dillan shouted. He reached the stairwell and disappeared off to the lower level.
Hazel looked into the room at Ryan. "What happened?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," Ryan said. "One second, I couldn't get him up. The next, he tells me his sister's dead." Hazel's eyes grew wider. She stared at Ryan with disbelief. Grace was... Dillan's sister... "Me, too."
"We need to go after him," Hazel said, worry flooding her voice.
"Agreed," Ryan said with a concerned scowl. Hazel turned to chase after Dillan when Ryan shouted, "Wait!"
The charmeleon looked back at Ryan and said, "We need to go!"
"I know," Ryan acknowledged. "But what about the Team Armageddon meeting?"
Hazel cursed internally. She looked to the ceiling and said, "Why did Team Armageddon have to invade now?" The charmeleon thought about her options. Dillan definitely needs help, but we can't all go. Someone needs to find out what this meeting is going to be about; it could be important!
"Go," Ryan said. "I'll help Dillan while you go to that meeting." Hazel looked at Ryan with a raised eyebrow. She wasn't at all confident in the pachirisu's abilities as a shoulder to cry on. "Hey!" Ryan said with a scowl. "I can be emotional support! Just ask Bolt!"
"I have a feeling that was more Adelina than you," Hazel said skeptically. Then again, what choice do I have? I trust Ryan less to go to the Armageddon meeting and not blow up at anyone there. Hazel gave a sigh. "Fine, but you need to hurry or you'll lose him."
"Right," Ryan said with a nod. He darted on all fours down the hallway towards the stairs where he descended to the lower level.
Hazel took a deep breath. Dillan, I wish I could help you, but someone needs to go to the meeting. Please, please be okay. The charmeleon turned towards the stairs and broke into a run, making her way to the Team Armageddon meeting.
Hazel approached the guild's open, iron gates that were hinged to the stone wall that surrounded the building. She took a deep breath before putting on a confident smile. It was pretty convincing, and why shouldn't it be? She'd done it plenty of times before without so much as a suspicious glance in her direction. Sure, it didn't always work; there were some times when her feelings overwhelmed her to the point of shutting down, but it's normally foolproof.
She raised her shoulders to give off a confident vibe as she began walking through the gates. Hazel was forced to stop by a pokemon who immediately stepped out from next to the gate, blocking her path.
"Who are you?" the guards asked. Hazel could instantly tell what pokemon it was based on the big, red wings it had. She looked at the pokemon's brick red back with its navy blue underside. Its red, yellow, and blue tail feathers were especially helpful; as well as the white fuzz it had all over its head. The pokemon's yellow beak came out of the fuzz and ended at a hooked tip. The red eyebrows gave the pokemon a scowl. The guard had a black scarf with the "Team Armageddon" symbol on the end telling Hazel what group he was a part of.
"Were you seriously waiting behind that wall?" Hazel asked. The braviary didn't seem to take note of Hazel's question. The charmeleon pushed that thought out of her head and said, "I'm here for the group meeting," The guard looked at Hazel sternly. It continued to stand in silence. "Uh... Can I go in?"
"Who are you?" the guard asked again.
Hazel gave a sigh. "Does it matter?" she asked with a smile.
"Of course it does. It helps us to make sure you aren't a spy coming in to get information for the guild."
Hazel forced a look of shock. She widened her eyes and took a step back as if appalled by the mere suggestion. "What?" she asked. "Has anyone done that before?" A little dramatic, Hazel. Tone it down.
"Your name," the braviary repeated.
"Alright," Hazel said. I can't give my real name, so... Hazel thought of what to say. She kept staring at the guard with a confident look while she thought. Uh... Hazel's heart began beating against her rib cage, but she didn't let it change her expression. Come on, Hazel! Think of something!
"You name," the guard said forcefully.
Fine! If you can't think of one, come up with one! "Right. My name is..." Hazel said. She forced a word out of her mouth saying, "Phimpledink!"
The guard looked at Hazel with a raised eyebrow. "Phimpledink..." he said suspiciously. "Your name is Phimpledink?"
"With a 'P. H.'" Hazel finished.
"And that's your first name?" the guard asked.
"My last," Hazel said.
The guard shook his head, saying to himself, "Your parents must have hated you." Hazel raised an eyebrow. She didn't care about him insulting her fake name as much as she cared about this guard's attitude towards her. "Well, Phimpledink, who's your commanding officer?"
"M-" Hazel stopped herself. Wait. This could be my chance. If it's true, he'll confirm it. "Hank Peterson," Hazel told him.
The guard looked at Hazel with a glare. He stood up, making himself look really tall. Uh... Hazel felt the back of her neck starting to heat up. Her confident look contrasted to how she felt at this moment.
"Alright," the guard said. "You can go inside." The braviary stepped out of the way. Hazel felt like cheering for joy. Then that means Hank Peterson is in Team Armageddon. Great! One step finished. Now to meet him!
Hazel walked towards the door, eager to enter the guild to take the next step towards completing their mission.
The charmeleon tore into the guild, not looking at where she was going, and hit the back of a blue pokemon. Its skin felt smooth against her crumpled muzzle. Hazel fell backwards onto her tail. It bent upwards and pushed her onto her backside. She felt a small surge of pain go through her tail as it bent from the impact. She rubbed it immediately in an attempt at numbing the pain.
"Are you alright?" a voice kind voice asked. A different adjective Hazel enjoyed using for this voice is "sickening". She looked up at the blue pokemon with a forced smile, making her look very nervous. Why now?
"I'm so sorry, sir!" Hazel said to Molan. The greninja was standing above Hazel with a webbed hand stretched out to help her up. She grabbed Molan's hand and he pulled her to her feet.
"It's alright," Molan said. He stood there for a few seconds before saying, "Do I know you?" Crap, he recognizes me!
"Maybe..." Hazel said. She didn't want to say no and make Molan think too hard about it, yet she didn't want to come up with some excuse. Molan might see through that. "We might have met before, but I don't remember." Molan took a step back and bowed to Hazel. "Well, I'm Commander Molan. May I ask your name?" Hazel's muscles relaxed a bit as she felt a burst of relief spread over her body. He doesn't remember me. Thank goodness.
"I'm Phimpledink," Hazel said, sticking to her horrifying decision.
"That's a strange name," Molan stated. Sure is. "I'm assuming it's your last."
"Y-yeah," Hazel said with a nervous smile.
"So, what's your first?" Molan asked.
"I-it's..." Hazel stammered. Ah! This is not the time to hesitate! Just say something! She said the first name that came to her head. "Sigourney." Hazel felt her heart stop. She resisted the urge to tighten her paw into a fist and whack herself in the cheek.
"Sigourney Phimpledink," Molan stated with a raised eyebrow.
"That's me!" Hazel said with a fake confidence. She felt like laughing at her own recklessness, but she decided that would be even worse.
"Well, Ms. Phimpledink," Molan said, "It was nice meeting you."
"Molan," a stern voice said to Hazel's left. She looked over to find Titus walking towards the two of them at a quickened pace. He stopped right in front of Molan, a scowl present on his face.
Molan gave a sigh. He began rubbing his eyes as if annoyed by the sudden intrusion. "What is it, Titus?" he asked. Hazel was surprised to hear Molan talked to Titus like a respected acquaintance instead of an annoying pest as his expression led her to believe.
"Sir, the members are gathered in the meeting room," Titus informed Molan, obviously unperturbed by Molan's reaction. The charizard looked at Hazel. He began staring intensely at her. Uh...
"Ah," Molan said, dropping his annoyed look for a more joyful smile. He looked at Titus and said, "This is Sigourney Phimpledink."
Titus looked at Hazel. He seemed to be thinking of something. Hazel recognized this charizard by the black scales; he was the one she had seen back in Palando at the Armageddon protest. He doesn't recognize me, does he? Titus looked at Molan and said, "That's not important now."
Molan gave a nod. "Correct as usual," He straightened his back and crossed his arms in a commanding posture. "Remind me why Ignitus didn't make you a commander?"
"You're more fit for the job, sir." Titus said with little emotion, reminding the charmeleon of Haily.
"Yes," Molan said, "That's what he said." The greninja looked at Hazel. He beamed at her before saying, "Anyways, it was nice talking to you, Ms. Phimpledink." Molan extended his arm and held out his hand. Hazel set her paw in his and Molan kissed it as if she was a lady. Hazel gave a forced smile. In actuality, she felt like throwing up. There were times when being treated like a lady was nice. This, however, was an exception due to the fact that she hated Molan.
Molan let go of Hazel's paw, smiled one last time, and began walking away with Titus. Hazel, once Molan was out of sight, spat on her paw and rubbed her spit all over it in an attempt at making herself feel more comfortable. I don't want to go through that again. She put her composure back together. Now what was I suppose to do? Hazel recalled the reason she was here. The meeting. The charmeleon began walking towards the back of the room where the door to the meeting hall was located.
Hazel found herself in a room filled with Team Armageddon members. There was a small opening between the Armageddons and the damaged wall which had torches that lit the room, giving everything there a tint of orange. Hazel joined the group of Armageddons as she tried to blend in. Hazel sat there in silence for a few minutes, listening to everyone else. The topics seemed to be about normal, everyday things such as, "So, what's been going on with you?"
"If I can have everyone's attention," Titus called out from the stage. Hazel was surprised to see that the charizard was already on the stage. He moves quickly for a charizard. All eyes directed themselves towards Titus. "We have a special announcement from Commander Molan."
The whole room was shockingly quiet as they watched the greninja as he strode towards the middle of the stage. Nodded his head at Titus. Hazel looked at Molan's expression. Something seemed weird. His eyes were in an intense stare as if he had something on his mind. Why does he look like that? Wasn't he just happy? The greninja turned towards the crowd.
Molan took a step closer to the edge of the stage before stating, "As Titus said, I have something important to tell you all. You've all have no doubt gotten letters from your families over the past few weeks." Everyone eyed Molan suspiciously. "Well, I'm sorry to say that you all won't be able to get any more letters from your families."
The atmosphere shifted in a split second. Fists were raised in the air as pokemon shouted profanities in Molan's direction. The volume in the room was raised to an unimaginable level as shouts echoed off the walls and rattled Hazel's brain.
"Shut your mouths!" Titus barked. At least half of the group fell silent, making the volume a little more tolerable for the charmeleon. The other half didn't seem to care. They continued to let the filthiest things flow from their mouths. Hazel was practically in the middle of it all. She decided to join the group doing nothing so she would attract less attention to herself.
"Listen up, crap!" a voice boomed above all the others. Everyone fell silent and looked towards the back of the room. Hazel followed their example and saw Pete the plusle was standing there in front of the door at the back wall, looking at the group with a scowl as big as a wailord. His arms were crossed and his lip twitched with his eyebrow. Hazel could see a small vein popping out from his forehead.
"But, Com-" one pokemon tried to protest.
"Did I ask for your opinion, crap?" Pete interrupted sharply. He got no response. "Look at all of you. I thought you pokemon were the best Team Armageddon had to offer, yet here you all are shouting at your commanding officer! It's shameful!"
"But Molan told us we won't be getting anymore letters from our family!" another Armageddon argued.
Pete's vein went down. He seemed to go from "Explosion imminent" to "Angry". The plusle didn't say anything. He just gestured his head towards the greninja.
Everyone turned towards Molan for an answer. Molan looked at the group with tightened eyebrows. "As I was saying, you all won't be getting letters anymore. The reason for this is because the Guild controls the ships that come to the Alkan Islands. As a result, we haven't been able to get any letters from the shore. The Guild has been confiscating them all." Hazel felt like cheering from pure joy. That's genius!
"Why's that?" an Armageddon asked. It's simple, yet very effective.
"The Guild's trying to make you all back down," Molan stated. "They're trying to discourage you all, to get you to leave us and go back to your homes where they'll arrest you."
"But what about our families?" another Armageddon asked. "Won't the Guild be arresting them as well?"
Multiple Armageddons agreed with that statement. Molan looked at the group with a scowl. "It's hard to say," he told them. "Based on the stories told yesterday, we've seen that the Guild has crossed well over the line. I wouldn't put it passed them to take our families hostage or force them or they against us in an attempt at discouraging us all."
The room filled with nervous glances.
"What do we do next?" someone asked.
"We push back," Titus announced.
"That brings us to today," Molan said. "Ignitus has ordered us to attack the shores and liberate some more land from the Guild." A pit began growing in Hazel's stomach. Uh-oh...
Molan waited for a few seconds to let that sink in before continuing. "Some of you may be wondering about what I said yesterday, about taking a group into Ice Spear Cave's M. P. and flushing out the rest of the Guild's resistance. The answer to that is easy. We're going to split all of you into two groups. Half of you are going to follow Commander Pete into Ice Spear Cave and take out the resistance. The rest of you will be accompanying Titus and I and going to the main land. Your respective groups will have all the details tomorrow. If any of you are worried about our forces not being strong enough to take the main land, don't. We've managed to send word to our forces across Ganderosa, signaling them which towns we'll be assaulting." That's not good at all.
"When do you expect we'll take control of the shores?" Hazel asked. As much as she wanted to remain to sound curious rather than scared.
"The first attack will happen in five days," Molan announced. "We should take the shores at the end of the next two weeks." The pit grew larger. Two weeks?
"That's not possible!" Pete called out. "We don't have that much mon power!"
"Again," Molan said confidently. "We've sent word of our attack to pokemon around Ganderosa, pokemon that have seen the persecution of the Guild. We even have pokemon from the back-water town of Kadell who are coming to our aid."
"I guess we do." Pete said. Hazel took note of his crossed arms. She also noticed he was scowling in Molan's direction.
"You'll all be assigned teams in the after-noon," Molan continued. "Don't miss this meeting; it will be the most important one of your lives, for it will change the fate of Ganderosa for the better." Molan stuck his hand into the air and said, "For freedom!"
Everyone, including Hazel, put their hands into the air as well and shouted, "For freedom!" Everyone broke into their own personal groups and began talking among themselves.
That's not good at all. The charmeleon shook that thought out of her head. No. As bad as that is, it isn't why you're here. The Guild can handle that. I need to focus.
Hazel broke from the crowd and looked towards the back door where Pete had been standing. The charmeleon gave a groan. The plusle was nowhere to be seen. Not again! She turned around and looked from left to right, trying to find Pete. She didn't see him. Hazel's eyes drifted towards the stage. She saw Molan talking down to someone at the bottom of the stage. Alright. It's safe to assume Molan is talking to Pete, right? Hazel began making her way around the group of Armageddons. She was walking a little slower than normally because she was moving her eyes from where she was going: towards the stage and back to her front. She watched as Molan got down from the stage. Hazel picked up the pace for fear that she would lose him as well.
She whipped around the crowd and stopped at the stairs leading onto the stage. Molan was gone and so was Titus. Hazel turned around and found a door along the back wall. She recognized that door from last night. That Team Armageddon member told me that door led into the Guildleader's room. Hazel went up to the door. She was about to knock when she heard a crash from inside the room.
"Don't ever contradict me again!" Hazel heard Molan's voice shout from inside of the room.
"You're one to talk!" Pete argued. "What was it you told Ignitus the other day? Oh right! It was my fault the resistance got away?"
"It was!" Hazel got closer to the door. She put her back against the wall next to the door in an attempt to look more natural, yet still be able to hear what was going on inside that room. "All you had to do was give the word!"
"Dang it, Molan! You know I didn't have a choice!"
"That's what you say, but it isn't true!"
"Pokemon would have died if I made that decision!" Pete argued. "You would have done the same!"
"I would have done what Team Armageddon needed me to!"
"Stop lying to everyone you meet, especially your own subordinates!"
"They don't need to know! It's the right decision, Pete!" Hazel closed her eyes to focus on the two voices coming from the room. "Them not knowing is necessary to take Ganderosa from the Guild!"
"Don't pretend like your motive is pure in all of this!" Pete snapped. "Don't pretend like you're trying to help Team Armageddon!"
"Dang it, Peterson!" There was another "Bang" that came from the room. It sounded like glass smashing into pieces.
"Don't talk down to me as if I'm wrong! The only thing you care about is money!"
To Hazel's surprise, there was silence. Molan didn't say anything to argue with what Pete said.
"You don't even deny it!" Pete said angrily, lowering his pitch. "You act as though you have a big heart, but the only thing you have is a big mouth! Your only contribution to Team Armageddon is the fact that you can talk like Giratina himself: convincing, yet every word is a lie! The only reason you're still with us is for the money!" There was some more silence before the plusle started again. "You go from town to town with the pokemon who want to free Ganderosa from oppression and rob the citizens blind! After that, you blame the guild!"
"There isn't a shortage on volunteers, is there?" Molan asked, his voice overflowing with anger.
"You're a coward;" Pete yelled. "You're a damn coward who thinks only about his own personal gain instead of the gain the country would get from his use! You're always thinking about yourself! I wouldn't be surprised if that was all you've done your entire life!"
"You don't know anything about me!" Molan shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice made the door feel like it was only there for prying eyes instead of ears. The volume made Hazel jump. She opened her eyes and looked at the door. "I'm not some common thief!"
"Prove me wrong!" Pete shouted.
"What's going on?" someone whispered. Hazel jumped again. She whipped around to her front and found a group of three pokemon huddled together in front of Hazel. They looked at her with knitted eyebrows. Hazel didn't answer. She just looked back at the door and continued to listen.
"Ever heard of Poltress Town?" Molan asked, still shouting.
Hazel felt a shiver run down her spine at the mere mention of that dreadful town. That's the town back in Kerroshia with those ghosts who tried to sacrifice me. Just thinking about it made her scales stand up ever so slightly.
"What about it?" Pete questioned.
"My son lost his legs at that town!" Molan shouted. Hazel felt her heart drop. The only thing she could hear was her own heartbeat, the chattering of groups, and the breaths of those listening in on Molan's conversation.
"H-He did?" Pete asked. He sounded stunned.
"Do you know how much money it costs to save someone after something that bad happens?" Molan asked angrily. "Millions of pokes! Tell me you think I have enough money for something like that!"
"Molan," Pete said sternly, yet surprisingly with no anger present in his voice. "I'm sorry for you, but that doesn't excuse what you're doing. It doesn't even begin to scratch what Ignitus wants us to do. We're talking about pokemon's lives here! They're not simple pawns we can just throw away!"
"Do you think I care?" Molan shouted. Gasps filled the listening group. Hazel looked at the listening pokemon again. There were now ten pokemon, including Hazel, hearing what Molan was saying.
"I'm sorry, Molan," Pete said. "I'm sorry for you and your son, but I won't participate in what Ignitus wants us to do."
"Ignitus knows," Molan said angrily. "That's why he's sending you to take care of the resistance in Ice Spear Cave. You'll be out of the way while I'll be leading the attack on the mainland!"
"What do all of you think you're doing?" a voice shouted from behind the group. Hazel focused in on the black charizard head poking above the group.
"Sir, Titus!" one pokemon blurted out nervously. "W-We were just-"
"Listening in on your commanders?" Titus interrupted, his eyes scowling at the group, threatening what Hazel could only assume was pain.
"It's not like that!" another pokemon said.
"I don't want to hear your excuses," Titus said sternly. "You should all be ashamed of yourselves. A conversation between your commanders doesn't need you. Does it?" Every one stood up straight and saluted Titus. The charizard's gaze seemed to soften as they saluted, so Hazel followed everyone's lead. "Get going before Molan comes out and has you all demoted."
The groups began walking away, giving sighs of relief that they didn't get into too much trouble. Hazel was about to do the same when Titus walked up to her and grabbed her right arm violently. He moved his head close to the right side of Hazel's and whispered, "I thought I recognized you, guildmember." Upon hearing those words, Hazel was paralyzed. Her eyes widened and her heart sped up. "You're from Palando, right?"
"I-" Hazel stuttered. "I don't kn-know what you're-"
"Listen to me closely," Titus interrupted. His grip grew tighter on Hazel's arm as he shook it, yanking the scales that kept it attached to her body. She felt like she was beginning to lose circulation. "Leave the Alkan Islands. Take your friends with you. If you really want to see what Team Armageddon's commanders are going to do to the guild, stick around and I'll let Molan show you first-hand. Understand?"
Hazel nodded. Titus let go of Hazel's arm and looked her in the eyes, making Hazel feel as though he was about to tear into her with all his might. Then, he turned sharply and walked off. The charmeleon held her right arm where Titus had grabbed her. A bright red mark was showing through her crimson scales.
The pit in Hazel's chest didn't go away with Titus leaving. She was very frightened. Her heart began racing her unsteady breathing. She felt like panicking. I blew it! We haven't even been in Team Armageddon for a day and I've already blown our cover! Titus is going to tell Molan for sure!
Hazel heard the squeaking of an opening door coming from behind her. She turned around and was terrified to see Molan. He was standing straight with a confident look in his eyes. Surprisingly, he didn't look angry at all. He didn't seem to pay any attention to Hazel as he walked away towards the same exit Titus took.
She watched Molan walk away, remembering what she was suppose to do. The charmeleon looked back at the door. It was sitting wide open. She couldn't hear anything coming from inside. She wanted to take a step forward, yet she stopped herself. Hazel found herself petrified with fear. I need to go inside that room, walk through that door, but do I have enough time? What if Titus comes back for me? What if he tells Molan about me? What then? She thought about it for a few seconds before thinking, No! The charmeleon shook her head and pushed those thoughts out. No! I'm not going to let Titus ruin everything! My duties are to King Judah the Third! He sent me and my team on this mission; he trusts us to complete it. That's exactly what I intend to do!
Hazel's thoughts brought her courage. As terrified as she was, she wouldn't let it interfere with what she needed to do. Her muscles started to loosen as she took a step forwards. The charmeleon walked towards the door with a straightened back and a fake spark confidence in her eyes. She was still terrified, but she couldn't let it show. Hazel had to complete her mission. On top of her duties as a guildmember, she had left Dillan in Ryan's care for this. If she was to justify anything, she needed to get the information she needed from Peterson.
Hazel walked into the room and shut the door behind her.
The charmeleon found herself in a room with a big, hay-stuffed bed along the back wall accompanied by fluffy, red covers. There was a red-wood desk to the right of the bed with a wooden chair pushed into it. A stack of paper with a sharpened piece of charcoal was on the desk. Hazel took note of the blue and white pottery shards that littered the middle of the stone floor accompanied by a puddle of water. There were three daisies laying in the puddle. Another thing the charmeleon noticed was the undamaged stone wall. A lone window was present on the wall opposite her. She also saw a mangled and ripped painting of who she could only assume was their current ruler, Judah Arvaine. It was on the floor, leaning against the wall.
Hazel saw the plusle laying on the bed. He sat upright for a few seconds when he heard the charmeleon come in. Hazel took note of the concerned look in his eyes. Pete took one glance at the charmeleon before laying down again.
"What do you want, maggot?" the plusle asked. It was a little surprising to hear him sound as though he was depressed rather than angry. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Sir," Hazel started. "I was wondering if I could talk to you."
Pete motioned his paw to the chair. "Mind the glass."
Hazel walked towards the chair, avoiding the glass with each step, and sat down.
"I have a strange question," Hazel said as she placed her bag on her lap.
"Listen, maggot," he sighed. "I've heard a lot of strange things in my life involving a ton of strange pokemon I don't even know. Today adds up about two of those... oddities and I haven't even eaten breakfast. Whatever you say to me won't surprise me one bit, so lay it on me."
Just to be sure. "What's your full name?" Hazel asked.
Pete was silent for a few seconds. He sat up and looked at Hazel. "What?" he asked.
"Your full name," Hazel said. "I wanted to know what it was."
"Why's that?"
As bad as Hazel was at making things up, she decided to take a chance. "I... have a cousin who thinks he knows you. He... looks up to you for reasons I can't explain." Peterson raised an eyebrow at the charmeleon as if he was questioning the validity of what Hazel had told paused, realizing what she had said was obviously a lie, before attempting to recover with, "What I mean is-"
"Whatever, maggot," Pete said as he set his head back on the bed. "It's Hank: Hank Peterson."
Hazel felt as though a massive bag of rocks had been lifted from her heart. She gave a sigh of relief. That settles it. I'm convinced. "Sir," she said. "I'm with the guild."
Peterson didn't say anything. He slowly rose from the bed and turned towards Hazel. He looked at her with a questioning scowl and said, "What did you say?"
"I'm with the guild, sir," Hazel said again, ignoring the scowl.
"Maggot," Pete said with a hint of annoyance. "If Molan put you up to this, I'm going to flip out."
"No, sir," Hazel said. "You don't understand. King Judah sent me and my friends here to find you."
Pete looked at Hazel curiously and said, "Go on."
Hazel began to feel something off about the conversation. Nevertheless, she continued.
"King Judah sent us on a mission to infiltrate Team Armageddon and stop it from spreading further into Ganderosa."
"And?" Pete asked.
The feeling in Hazel's gut increased. "Uh..." she said. Hazel observed Peterson's face, attempting to see his expression change from sternness and confusion to... well, anything else. "Judah wants us to capture Ignitus and..." Pete's expression remained the same. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Maggot," Pete said. "I've heard enough. If this is some kind of joke, I suggest you stop before you get yourself killed talking like that."
"But..." Hazel said. Her eyes drifted away from the plusle. King Judah sent us here. We've been trying to talk with you for information... Is he confused? "Sir, King Judah sent us here. He told us you had information for us."
Hazel got what she wanted. Pete's expression changed. His eyes widened and his stern expression left him. "You're not joking," Pete said. "You're really with the Guild?"
The bag of rocks that had been removed before had slammed Hazel in the stomach. This conversation had seemed to add a hundred pounds. Something's very wrong.
"I need to leave," Hazel said. "This was all a misunderstanding." She stood up quickly from her chair and made her way towards the door.
"Hold it, girl," Pete ordered. Hazel stopped in her tracks, glass around her feet. "Don't move another muscle or you'll be spitting blood." She forced her eyes shut. This day just got worse! "Explain to me why you're here: slowly."
"Um..." Hazel said as she turned towards Peterson with a nervous smile. "You're right! Molan put me up to this and-"
"Oh, no," Pete interrupted. "No maggot in their right mind would come into here and keep spouting crap about the guild like you are. The way I see it, there's two answers. You're a bigger idiot of a maggot than I think you are, or you really are with the guild. If you're a maggot, pray some miracle saves you. If not, tell me why you're here and I might let you go."
Hazel's mind was off like a rocket. She had to decide what to do fast or her tail flame may be out in seconds. Something's not right here, that's for sure. I don't know if he's working for the guild or against it! He might be keeping his cool in order to make sure I'm a guildmember and not some Armageddon trying to blow his cover; Then again, he might be an Armageddon trying to see if I'm with his group of against it.
The safest thing to do is to try and convince him that I'm with Team Armageddon: that is, if I could lie. If I lied and got caught... Hazel felt her heart sink even lower. Lets say I do tell the truth... Her heart began gaining speed on its decent into the deepest parts of Hazel's fears. Well, whatever I choose to do depends on Pete's allegiance; so the real question is who he serves.
On one hand, Pete's expressions show he has no idea what I'm talking about; he's obviously an Armageddon Commander, and he's mad at Molan for not helping Team Armageddon like he should. On the other hand, it might all be an act. He might be with the Guild, but is worried I might not be. He's also mad at Molan for some kind of decision Ignitus made that apparently risks lives. He said he wouldn't follow Ignitus' decision. On top of all that, Judah told me that Pete was our source... But can I trust Judah? Hazel thought about it for a minute before shaking that thought out of her head. I took an oath to trust and follow the King of Ganderosa. I need to trust him, no matter what.
"Alright," Hazel said. This is my last shot. Make it count. "What do you want to know?"
"Who are you?" Pete asked with a suspicious eye. "Who do you work with?"
"My name is Sigourney Prince," Hazel said. "I'm a guildmember at the Palando Guild."
"So you're with the guild?" Pete asked. Hazel nodded her head. "Alright. Who sent you and why?"
"I was sent by King Judah Arvaine the third and I'm here-"
"Stop right there, maggot!" Pete interrupted with a raised eye brow. "You're telling me King Judah, the King Judah Arvaine the Third, sent you, a regular guildmember, here?"
"Yes..." Hazel said, not liking the tone of the plusle's voice. Please only be acting until I prove it to you!
The plusle sat there for a few seconds before he smiled at Hazel. "Huh," he said. He jumped off of the bed and walked towards the window. He pulled the drapes away letting a beam of light peer into the room. "So Judah sent someone after all."
A smile of relief spread over Hazel's face. She gave a sigh and said, "You had me going! For a moment, I thought I might actually be talking to a Team Armageddon commander."
"You are, girl," Pete said.
Hazel froze. She thought about Pete's words, her smile fading from her face more and more the more she went over those words. She squinted as if confused and said, "What?"
"So Judah sent you to dismantle Team Armageddon from the inside," Pete gave a chuckle. "You've been duped, girl."
"What?" Hazel asked sharply. She was very confused and very worried.
"Did you do anything to upset King Judah?" Pete asked, turning towards the charmeleon. "Because this is obviously a suicide mission."
Does he know? Is he referring to what happened? Hazel thought back to when her father had come to Palando days ago. His words still rung in her head like gigantic bells that were only there to remind her of fear, anger, and pain. Her very soul seemed to shake from the memory. Stop! she scolded internally. You'll just break down again! Besides, there's no way he could know!
"Uh..." Hazel said nervously, trying to keep her mind off of Kalen's words.
"I guess it doesn't matter, maggot," the plusle said. "Actually, it's pretty funny to think about."
"About what?" Hazel asked.
"You'd think the King would be scared of Team Armageddon," Pete said. He chuckled again. "I mean, we did manage to take the Alkan Guild away from him. That fat delcatty."
"What did you mean?" Hazel asked. "Why did you say, 'you've been duped'?"
"You would think that Judah would send more than a little girl to dismantle an entire army like Team Armageddon," Pete said, "Yet he only sent you? It's impossible."
"You're assuming I'm alone."
"If you weren't, you wouldn't be the only one here. It isn't possible for you to end this war on your own."
"But if Ignitus was captured," Hazel stated. "Team Armageddon would lose their morale."
Pete gave a hearty laugh. "That's not how this group works, maggot," he said. "Do you honestly think Ignitus is the voice of Team Armageddon?"
Hazel stopped and thought about that word. "The voice?" she asked.
"The voice," Pete said. "You know... The voice!" Hazel gave a quizzical look. He gave a sigh and said, " There are three parts to any group, alright? There's the mind, the muscle, and the voice. The mind, Ignitus, makes the plans for everyone to follow." Pete walked towards the center of the room. He watched Hazel as he stopped in the center. "The muscle is the part that makes those plans a reality. Armageddon's muscle is its followers. Then you have the voice. The voice of a team keeps everyone's morale up by giving speeches and reminding everyone what it is they're fighting for. See, the commanders of Team Armageddon are the voice; or that's how it's suppose to be. Now, the voice is Molan."
"The greninja?" Hazel asked, pointing towards the outside of the room.
Pete nodded. "You see, Molan use to rally pokemon in Palando. Based on what you've said, I'm sure you've seen him. Molan's evolved from being one voice of confidence in Team Armageddon to the voice of the army. Ignitus has started sending Molan to different parts of Team Armageddon's forces. He gets followers and rallies troops together; makes them stronger and more confident. Molan is the voice."
"I still don't understand."
"It's like this, girl. Even if Ignitus is taken down, Molan is still too respected in Team Armageddon. Sure, he messes up sometimes and makes a few pokemon hate him; everyone does that sometimes. But the general population of Team Armageddon loves the guy. He's their saint. If Ignitus is removed from power, Molan will be moved up to the top. He'll be the new leader. Like I said before, it isn't possible for Team Armageddon to crumble from a single pokemon. Taking Ignitus is only one step."
"But..." Hazel said quietly. She looked at the floor with saddened eyes and a slight frown. "What now?"
"Good question, sweetheart," Pete said. "I was thinking about turning you in." Hazel looked up quickly and stared at the plusle, a look of shock on her face.
"Wait a minute!" Hazel said. "If you're going to turn me in, why tell me about your group?"
"I had some things on my mind," Pete said. "Now that's over."
"No, that's not it!" Hazel said. "I've heard pokemon tell me things that were on their mind before and you're not doing it! You're telling me information; facts! Pokemon with something on their mind talk about what's bothering them!"
"That's not me," Pete said.
No! I know that's how pokemon work because Haily is the same way! Something's been weird about this whole situation from the start! What am I missing? Think Hazel!
"Alright," Pete said. "Time to go." Wait...
"You're fight with Molan..." Hazel said to herself.
"You heard that?" Pete asked angrily; his paw rolling into a ball.
"You said you weren't happy with a decision Ignitus made," Hazel said to Pete. "You're also unhappy with Molan."
"That was a private conversation, maggot!" Pete shouted.
"Molan said you did something wrong and he reported you."
"Knock it off," Pete said.
"I get it, now," Hazel said with a confident sparkle in her eyes. "Something about Team Armageddon's bugging you. The only question is what."
"I'm loyal to Team Armageddon," Pete said.
"Stop lying," Hazel said. "If you were truly loyal, you would have turned me in before now."
"That isn't true," Pete said with a scowl, his volume lowering.
"Yes, it is," Hazel said. "Molan said you disobeyed an order from Ignitus." Pete turned away from Hazel. He went over towards the window. "He also said that you were going into Ice Spear Cave because you wouldn't follow through with something Ignitus wants you to do. Pete, what's Ignitus going to do?"
"You can't stop it!" Pete snapped. "Not you or your friends or King Judah or even the entire Guild! Just leave me in peace!"
"Pete," Hazel said. "Tell me."
"No!" Pete said sternly. "You can't do anything about it!"
"Let me decide that," Hazel insisted.
"You want to know, maggot?" Pete asked. "You want to know something bad is going to happen, yet there's nothing you can do to stop it? Fine! I'll tell you! I'm assuming you heard Molan tell the other maggots that we're going to attack the shores of Ganderosa?"
"Yeah," Hazel said. She started speculating what Pete was going to say next, but she drew a blank. "What about it?"
"Ignitus knows we don't have enough volunteers to take Ganderosa."
"But Molan said-"
"Molan's a lying snake in the grass!" Pete shouted. "We don't have any more followers! All of our forces came to take the Alkan Islands! We're all there is! Because of that, Ignitus wants to attack the ever-so populated Giesto Village. Know why?"
Hazel thought about that idea. "Ever-so populated"? Why would he want to attack Gietso Village based on population?
"Let me give you a hint," Pete said in response to Hazel's confused look. "He wants to kill the civilians there!"
"What?" Hazel asked. She leaned backwards instinctively. Her eyes widened upon hearing those words. "Why?"
"He wants Molan to blame the Guild for their deaths!" Pete said.
"Pokemon won't believe that!" Hazel said. "It's obviously a lie!"
"Pokemon will believe anything you tell them when it bashes the ones they hate. They won't do any digging into the matter. Ignitus knows that. For that very reason, Team Armageddon will be overflowing with volunteers who want to make a difference in Ganderosa, and all because Ignitus wanted to murder others for his cause!" Pete's cheeks began sparking.
"But no one would go with that, right? No one in Team Armageddon would murder others, right?"
"Molan's going to be doing all the killing from behind the scenes. None of our subordinates would know. Their shocking stories would be an even greater reaction to attract the masses towards Team Armageddon, the team that wants to stop the horrible murders of innocent lives!"
"We can stop this!" Hazel said.
"There's no way!" Pete said. "The attack happens in five days! Nothing can be stopped by then!"
"That's not true!" Hazel said. "There has to be a way!" The only noise Pete made was his heavy-breathing. Hazel thought for a few seconds. There must be some way to stop this! Pete seems convinced there's no way, but I can't give up! That would be surrendering the pokemon's lives who are at risk from this attack! "You can't quit on all of those pokemon!"
"You can't stop it." Pete said.
"I'm going to try." Hazel said. "I'm going to fight Ignitus!"
"What will that achieve?" Pete asked forcefully. "All you'll do is end up killing yourself! Hasn't there been enough death in the world without your name adding to it?"
"Ignitus can call off the assault!" Hazel said. "We can make him do it!"
"He won't do it!" Pete shouted. "That infernape would rather drown than give the Guild power over him!"
"Maybe so," Hazel said as she stood up from the chair. "But I'm going to go anyways. If there's even a minor chance that we can stop what's going to happen, I'm going to take it without hesitation."
"Fine, maggot!" Pete yelled. "Then get out of my building!"
"Fine," Hazel said sternly. She turned away and walked towards the door, careful not to step on any of the glass. She stopped at the door, turned around and faced the plusle, and said, "Let me tell you one thing before I go. If you really care about those pokemon who are in danger, you'd try and do something instead of sit in this room like a coward." Hazel walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her.
The moment she exited Peterson's room, the charmeleon felt her face getting hotter. The confidence she had shown drained from her body as her lips trembled in fear. Everything that she had heard hit her in a flood of facts and emotions. She felt like breaking down.
Peterson's with Team Armageddon... Team Armageddon's going to kill innocents and blame the Guild... Taking down Ignitus isn't going to stop the onslaught that comes afterwards... It doesn't even stop Molan from taking control.
"Y-you're with the guild?" a voice asked, snapping Hazel out of her thoughts. She found herself face to face with six Armageddons.
Hazel panicked. She ran past the group of six and made her way for the exit of the guild.
The charmeleon ran out into the white, snowy town. Last night, the town had an inviting look to it. It was a place Hazel thought she would enjoy being in. Now, there was a snow-storm raging on around them. The wind was very strong, threatening to throw Hazel into the cold ground.
"Hazel!" a voice called out. Hazel squinted to see a white form running towards her. The blue markings on its body told the charmeleon who it was.
"Ryan!" Hazel called out.
Ryan ran up to Hazel. He looked worried. "I couldn't find Dillan." he said. "I'm not sure where he is."
Hazel felt like collapsing from all of the weight inside of her. Dillan being missing just added to that. "Where did he go?"
"Really?" Ryan shouted above the raging wind. "Do you think I would be here if I knew?"
"Alright!" Hazel shouted defensively. "Stupid question."
"How did the meeting go?" Ryan asked.
"Badly..." Hazel said. "But I'll tell you later. We need to find Dillan." She used that as an excuse, when in reality, she didn't want to tell Ryan about her mistake without the gabite there to keep him calm.
"Agreed." Ryan said. "He's probably still in the town. He wouldn't leave in this weather, right?"
"No," Hazel said. "He hates the cold too much for that."
"Alright." Ryan said. "Let's split up. Meet me at the eastern part of town in a few hours. Hopefully one of us will have found him by then."
Hazel nodded and the two parted ways.
The charmeleon had so much on her mind and in her heart. What Pete said was starting to get to her. King Judah sent us here to find Hank Peterson, an Armageddon commander. He told us that he would have information. He lied to us and I think I know why... She sped away to find Dillan with one final though. Judah, you have some explaining to do.
(Author's Notes)
Shout-out to DovirStark, The Helix-Praising Riolu, and StormCloud6 for following the story! It's awesome to know Ganderosa is continuing to reach new people! :D
So just to let you guys know, I just started working on a new story. It's a "Romance/Humor" story called "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Another Lonely Day". I'm working on it for personal growth at the moment, so I don't expect to be any good at this genre. Just wanted to let you know about it is all.
I wanted to give a special shout-out to The Helix-Praising Riolu who is currently looking for a co-author for his story, "Explorers of Myth and Magic" (Just because he's starting out and I want to help new people like him the best that I can). From what I can tell, it's suppose to be a story about a riolu wizard. If you want to write a story, but don't have the time to do it alone, AND think that this idea is cool, send The Helix-Praising Riolu a shout! I'm sure he'd be willing to receive any help.
Thanks for reading this chapter! Hope you liked seeing Hazel's point of view. I told you things only get worse from here on out! Anyways, I'll see you in the next chapter!
