Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Shadows of Ganderosa
Chapter 30
The Chaos Theory: Part I
Several hours had gone by since their encounter with Thalia. The guildmembers had been trudging through foot-deep snow as they ascended and descended multiple hills covered in what Dillan now referred to as, "the white-stuff from hell". The stuff completely numbed his feet up to his knees, and the frigid air didn't help; the rising-sun did, however, warm his body ever-so-slightly. Even so, the warm touch of the light wasn't enough to help the wound on his chest. It had gotten a little better since the fight, but it still stung when the gabite pushed himself.
Bolt had been talking to Hazel about different events and funny mishaps that had happened in his life. The pikachu's stories seemed to lighten the mood significantly, creating an uplifting atmosphere. That very atmosphere seemed to be drifting right over Ryan's head. Adelina had tried on several occasions to help the brooding pokemon, but she seemed to only be capable of so much. Ryan's focus seemed devoted to his thoughts and the road ahead, not paying any attention to anything else around him. His attitude had Dillan worried.
The gabite stared at Ryan's knitted eyebrows as he walked by Dillan's side, not seeming to notice or care about the concerned frown Dillan was wearing. Dillan watched Ryan's intense stare that was fixed on the white horizon.
It isn't like Thalia is the reason for how Ryan's acting; she's just the latest contributor. He's been... off since we left Palando, but now it's even worse. I thought he would get better as time went on, but he still seems angry with something. I wish I could understand what's been bugging him. I wish he would just tell me.
Bolt's words echoed in Dillan's head. "Keeping secrets creates animosity towards each other because it makes you afraid of what the other pokemon might think of you if they were to find out." He felt a pit grow in his stomach as if his conscience was urging him to do something. Dillan thought about his own secret: the secret he kept about being human. What do I have to feel bad about? I'm not keeping secrets because I'm afraid of what my team is going to think of me; I'm doing it for Reya! As Dillan told himself this, he felt the pit grow. Stop it. he scolded internally. You're not scared of what your friends will think of you. So, you're from another world. It doesn't sound that weird, right? They wouldn't judge me. They wouldn't think I'm crazy... That thought clung to his mind like a virus. He told himself that his friends wouldn't judge, but it felt false. Would they? They did think Arlon was only in my head back in Palando, even when I said he was real... Would they trust me? Would they think that... it's all in my head? Dillan felt his chest start to tighten; not only from the chilly breeze that brushed against his bandaged wound, but from his thoughts. Bolt's words once again echoed in Dillan's mind. "Keeping secrets doesn't work on a team because a team needs to trust each other no matter what." If that's true, would they believe me? I mean, they have secrets of their own... Would that hinder us from being a trusting team? Would that keep them from trusting me?
"Finally!" Hazel sighed aloud, snapping Dillan from his thoughts. Relief spread across her eyes accompanied by a bright smile. "That's the town!"
Dillan put his fears on the back-burner of his mind as he stared out at the horizon. He was surprised to find the sight was somehow comforting.
"It looks so pretty!" Adelina exclaimed with wide-eyed amazement.
A massive, stone wall with giant turrets lining the top could be seen in the distance. It was covered with white snow that blanketed the top. There were multiple spires that could be seen on the inside of the walls as well, including a tall, black-striped one. The whole castle was surrounded by a canyon that ended a few feet downwards at some blue water which formed a moat. There were big, metal poles that stuck out of the icy base the castle. The poles stretched across the moat and into the surrounding ice, holding the castle in place on its own floating island of ice. Other than the poles of metal, a stone bridge was connecting the castle to the icy plains, only being separated by a twenty-foot, wooden door imbedded in the castle.
"It's beautiful, alright," Bolt said. "It's saying, 'Hey guys, glad you could come! Just be careful; the Armageddon's would be happy to skin you alive!'"
"Wow," Hazel said sarcastically in response to Bolt's statement.
"Seriously, though," Ryan stated, "We still have our mission."
"Right," Dillan agreed.
"Is it fine that I don't like this mission?" Bolt asked.
"Why wouldn't you like it?" Adelina asked. "We're saving pokemon from dying; not to mention helping the King of Ganderosa."
"The whole murder part has me on edge," Bolt admitted nonchalantly.
Murder part? Dillan recalled Judah's words in Palando. Right... Judah doesn't just want us to grab Ignitus; he also wants us to kill the Guildmaster...
"Is there a way to avoid it?" the gabite hopefully asked.
"No," Ryan said flatly with a scowl at the Alkan Castle. "If we let Zinclyde live, Judah will execute her later; then we'd be removed from the Guild for disobeying Judah's direct orders at the absolute least."
"Is that why you're feeling down?" Hazel asked empathetically.
Ryan's expression didn't change. "Let's just go," the pachirisu said coldly, ignoring Hazel's question. He began walking ahead.
Hazel began staring at the ground as if she was hurt. "That was rude..." she said quietly to herself. Hazel... Dillan walked up to the charmeleon. She didn't meet his eyes. Dillan wanted to cheer her up: let her know that things would be alright.
Adelina shifted her weight as if uncomfortable. "We're... going to go with Ryan," she said nervously.
"W-what?" Bolt stuttered at the lickitung. He sounded as though he'd been shocked out of his thoughts. Adelina grabbed the pikachu by the right ear and began pulling him towards the Alkan Castle. "Ow! Not the ear, C. A! Not the ear!"
Dillan didn't pay the two pokemon any attention, forcing himself to look at Hazel. He felt like taking his eyes off of his friend would have seemed like what he was about to say wasn't sincere. "I don't think he meant to be rude," the gabite said.
"I know," Hazel told Dillan. "I'm just worried abut him is all. On top of that, I don't want to have to kill Guildmaster Zinclyde, either: or anyone at all... It feels like we're... like we're... like we're all stuck..."
Dillan put his claw on Hazel's shoulder in a friendly gesture. "It's going to be alright," he assured. "I don't want to kill the Guildmaster, either. It might look like there's no way out, but we'll find a way to get through all of this: trust me." Those last words stuck to his mouth. Trust me... he repeated in his head. He'd said it to and heard it from his friends so many times before, but now the words felt wrong; they felt fake.
"You're right..." Hazel said softly as she smiled at Dillan. She didn't seem to think he was being insincere at all, but that didn't stop the pit in Dillan's stomach. "We'll get through this."
Dillan nodded, trying to ignore his feeling of guilt for Hazel's sake. He motioned his head for Hazel to follow. She smiled a him sweetly, and the two began descending the hill towards the castle in the distance.
The group was a few yards from the gigantic, wooden gate that kept the harsh world out of its protected interior. There were two pokemon standing on the stone bridge; both pokemon were pacing from one side of the gate to the other.
The first pokemon Dillan observed was a blue, bipedal pokemon. It had what looked like tufts of navy-blue fur coming off of its waist like some sort of short, fluffy skirt. For reasons Dillan couldn't explain, there were two yellow shells hanging on the tufts. The pokemon had a round head with a short muzzle and a pair of white whiskers on either side of its face. It had a pair of black eyes and a pink nose. Its big, triangular ears stuck upwards noticeably. It had a bandanna with the Team Armageddon symbol on it. The pokemon was holding what looked like a spear with a triangular head that was roughly edged like jagged teeth used for ripping apart skin. Dillan looked at the weapon with worry in his eyes. He took a hard gulp as he imagined the spear being dragged against his scales.
The second pokemon looked like a bipedal dinosaur with a lizard-like-literal skull for a head. The eye-holes showed the orange irises and black pupils. Its white underbelly contrasted its charcoal skin. In one hand it held a bone with fire on either end. In the other hand, the marowak gripped the same kind of spear that its dewott compatriot held.
"This would be a bad place to blow our cover," Adelina said, "So let me handle this."
"That's assuming we still have it," Ryan said.
"We do," Dillan said, trying to sound confident for Hazel, though that wasn't at all how he felt. I hope we do...
"Here's an idea," Bolt spoke up." Why don't we dig our way under the castle and avoid the guards all together?"
"That won't work," Hazel stated. "The castle isn't attached to the ice."
Dillan felt a chill run down his spine. "It isn't?" he asked.
"No," Hazel said. "The castle is floating on a glacier. That glacier isn't connected to the land on this side by ice or snow; it's connected by those metal poles. Those are there as anchors to make sure the castle doesn't shift, but it's still floating in that moat."
"So it isn't connected to the ground we're on?" Bolt asked. "Why?"
"To keep pokemon like us out," Adelina stated. "It acts as an extra wall to keep trespassers from digging under. Try it, and you'll be swimming in that moat."
"We don't have any time for lessons on architecture," Ryan stated. "We need to get this done."
"Alright, snippy," Bolt said with an annoyed tone. Ryan didn't respond to the comment. He just continued forwards towards the guild's entrance, followed by the rest of the guildmembers.
They stopped at the wooden gate. The two guard pokemon stopped their pacing and looked at the group. They went over them with their eyes before lowering their spears at Dillan and his friends.
"Who are you guys?" the dewott commanded with a raised eyebrow.
"Why are you five here?" the marowak asked, sounding frustrated for reasons beyond Dillan's understanding.
"The commander sent us," Adelina lied.
"Which one?" the marowak questioned.
"C-commander Peters-son," Hazel stuttered.
Dillan looed over at the charmeleon. Her hands were shaking and her eyes were narrowed on the marowak. Her lip was also twitching visibly. What is she scared of? He turned towards the marowak. That pokemon isn't a ghost-type, right?
"Why did your commander send you?" the marowak asked, eyeing Hazel suspiciously.
Hazel didn't answer. She looked just about ready to scream in terror.
"Hazel," Adelina whispered, "Are you alright?" The charmeleon didn't answer.
"For crying out loud!" Ryan shouted at Hazel. "Don't tell me you've forgotten already."
Hazel looked shocked at Ryan's outburst. "Wh-what?" she stuttered at the pachirisu.
Ryan took a step closer to the guards. The dewott stamped his spear as a warning. Ryan stopped immediately, stating, "Sorry for my friend. She's a very forgetful pokemon."
The dewott looked even more confused than before. "You forgot?" he asked the pachirisu.
"No," Ryan said, "We didn't forget." He pointed at Hazel. "She forgot."
"Nonsense," the marowak cut in with a shout. Hazel jumped and squinted her eyes as if she was expecting some sort of attack. It started spinning its bone in one hand. The flames grew and began twirling with the bone's ends creating a circle of fire. Hazel took a few steps back. "Get out of here before I kill you five myself."
This is getting out of hand. Dillan looked over at Hazel. Drops of sweat were present on the charmeleon's forehead. She was grimacing at the marowak. Hazel usually gets us out of these kinds of situations, but I don't think she's going to be of any help...
"We can't do that," Ryan said insistently. "Peterson sent us here to warn you guys."
"Warn us?" the dewott asked.
"I don't care if he sent you here to kill King Judah himself!" the marowak shouted. "Get off of my bridge!"
"Wait a minute," the dewott said to the marowak. "Let's hear them out." The dewott turned to the guildmembers – wearing a concerned frown – asking, "What are you warning us about?"
"We can't say," Bolt said. "Confidential information for Ignitus' ears only."
"Like hell it is!" the marowak shouted. "Now, get off of my bridge!"
"You got a bone to pick with us?" Bolt asked the marowak.
Adelina gave a sigh. "Really?"
"Look, buddy," Ryan snapped. He walked right up to the marowak and looked him in the eyes. "Get out of the way or else."
The marowak shoved the middle of his bone into Ryan's chest. He flew backwards from the impact and landed in the snow in front of his team.
"Hey!" Adelina shouted with a snarl.
"Mitch," the dewott said, concern tainting his voice, "Knock it off."
The marowak turned towards his partner with a scowl.
"Alright," Ryan said as he stood up. His face was tightened in anger. "That was a mistake."
Ryan lunged at the marowak, catching him off guard. With blinding speed, the little squirrel rubbed his cheeks against the pokemon's chest, sending sparks down his opponents body. The marowak grabbed Ryan's tail and removed him from his "nuzzle" attack. Even with Ryan disconnected, sparks continued to fly off of the marowak's body.
"Damn..." the marowak stated weakly. Its grip around the pachirisu loosened. In a split second, Ryan slapped his opponent's fist and fell to the ground. He immediately stood up and tackled the marowak. The pachirisu landed on his feet, which was more than he could say for the marowak who slammed into the ground on his back.
"W-What did you do?!" the dewott shouted, just realizing the situation.
The remaining guard jabbed his spear at Ryan who side-stepped the attack and grabbed the spear's shaft. This is starting to look rough. Dillan took a step forwards to help, but he felt Adelina's paw grip his shoulder, keeping him stationary. Dillan looked back to protest, but Adelina looked him in the eyes with a stern stare and said, "Watch." Dillan turned away from the lickitung and viewed the scene in front of him with anticipation.
"Buddy," Ryan warned the dewott, still grabbing the spear, "I'm not in the mood for this crap. Drop the spear and let us in before I kick your tail and let myself in to tell Ignitus that his two guards up-front are so incompetent that-"
"Alright, man!" the dewott agreed nervously. He dropped his grip on the spear. Ryan's eyes widened upon the sudden weight of the entire spear. It fell to the ground, pulling him with it. Adelina stiffled a laugh, something he thought Hazel would have done as well. Instead, she was still staring at the sparking, immobile guard.
Ryan let go of the spear and looked at Adelina. "Yeah, yeah," he said.
The dewott walked over towards the gate and began knocking in some sort of a pattern Dillan couldn't understand. He would knock in quick succession or pause between knocks. The pokemon did this in a very short strand.
After a second or so of waiting, there was a "click" at the massive gates accompanied by the sound of grinding metal as they crept open revealing the town interrior. All five guildmembers gasped at what they saw next.
The inside of the Alkan Castle looked like a war zone. No one was on the streets whatsoever: and for good reason. Rubble from different buildings littered the snow-covered, cobblestone path. There were dips in the ground as if holes had been blasted into the floor from an attack.
"It isn't this bad further into town," the dewott said in response to the blank stares. "Well, other than closer to the Guild building."
"Why's th-that?" Hazel asked.
The dewott looked at Hazel with a raised eyebrow. "Lady, are you ok?"
"I-I'm fine," Hazel stated. "Just h-hate ghost-types."
The dewott shrugged off her response. "We keep on getting riots around here. Apparently, some pokemon prefer to be prisoners of the Guild.
"But just so you know, take this path until you hit the collapsed house; take the left path and follow it. You'll reach the Guild in no time."
"Thanks," Bolt said with a nod. He walked passed the marowak and into the Alkan Castle. Adelina moved around Dillan and followed Bolt. Ryan looked towards Dillan and Hazel. He smirked briefly and continued. That, in turn, made Dillan smile. He was happy to see his friend lighten up a little, even if it took beating a pokemon to do so.
"Let's move on," Hazel told the gabite, grabbing him by the arm. She began pulling him, taking Dillan into the castle walls.
The more they walked through the ruined city, the more the mood shifted; it was awful. The further they got, the more a pit grew in Dillan's stomach. It was as if he was walking into the den of the beast who was destined to end his very life. Dramatic, granted, but still... The sense of dread insisted upon taking his joy and replacing it with a dominating fear. Usually, he could conquer his fears by thinking about his friends being there for him, but every time he tried to erase the horrid emotions surging through him, he thought about what Bolt had said to him concerning trust. That thought stopped all hope of regaining his confidence; even so, he continued forwards. If – somehow – running was an option, where would he go? There was a vast expanse of snow keeping him from going anywhere but forwards. To leave his friends in this climate would be suicide.
"Hey," Ryan said, snapping Dillan out of his thoughts.
"Yeah?" the gabite asked, trying to keep his fear in check.
"Don't worry about all of this," About what? Ryan sighed. "I haven't been the most supporting friend on this mission... Actually, I haven't been a very good friend at all..." Wait, what? Dillan felt confused. Where did this come from? The pachirisu looked forwards into the snow with a sort of sadness and longing in his eyes. "I just wanted to let you know that even if this is a suicide mission," He looked at Dillan. "I'll be there to help you; all you need to do is ask."
The gabite felt comforted by those words. He smiled at Ryan. "Ryan," he said. "Thank you."
Ryan gave a meaningful smiled at Dillan.
"Sorry to interrupt," Bolt cut in, "But we're here."
Dillan and Ryan looked ahead at what appeared to be a massive crowd about four blocks down. Their shouts were barely audible, but they shook fists and signs above their heads.
"Riots?" Dillan asked.
"It looks that way," Adelina stated.
"Well, it isn't the World Peace convention," Ryan added.
"Be careful," Hazel stated. "These pokemon are probably mad at Team Armageddon members, and we're wearing their colors."
"Should we take them off?" Dillan suggested.
"No," Hazel stated. "We need them to get into the Guild. All I'm saying is that you need to be careful about your Armageddon gear."
"Well then," Bolt stated, "I guess we better liberate the city."
"Alright," Dillan said, trying to sound confident for himself more than his friends, "Let's finish this."
The party of five walked together towards the crowd. The rioter's shouts got even louder the closer they were. Dillan expected the volume to stop ascending when it was as loud as a crowd clapping in sync: loud, but not too loud. The only problem was that it didn't stop there. It continued to grow in volume until Dillan felt like slapping his fins to his head to block the shouting from hitting his eardrums.
The group walked through the crowd in a single-file line – Ryan in front followed by Bolt, Hazel, Dillan, and Adelina in the rear. They continued walking, stopping for nothing. Ryan, Hazel, and Bolt were pushing their way through the crowd while Dillan and Adelina were making sure that the rioters didn't try and step in between them, cutting each other off.
Other than the pushing, no one seemed to care about them or even take note of their wears. They seemed intent on shouting profanities towards the building that the guildmembers were going to. The worst they gave Dillan and his friends was a dirty look when they pushed by.
Team Rapture and B. A. K. finally came up to the gate. Ryan was already talking to what looked like a metal bird with blades for wings. It had a medallion hanging from a metal chain. The medal was of the Armageddon symbol. The skarmory looked at them curiously, almost as if asking, "What are these yahoos doing outside of the gate".
"So, you're with us?" the skarmory asked, not even waiting or the guildmembers to introduce themselves.
"Yes," Ryan said. "Look, we need to see Ignitus right now. Something happened in Frost Island Village that he needs to know about as soon as possible."
The skarmory looked behind Ryan saying, "There are four of you?"
"Five," Bolt said from Ryan's left. The skarmory looked back down, only now noticing Bolt.
"Alright," the skarmory said. "But hurry up; I'm taking care of something and I don't need you five interrupting."
"Thank you," Adelina said.
The skarmory lifted a latch on the gate and opened it inwards. Team Rapture and Team B. A. K. entered the Guild's walls quickly. Dillan looked around and saw no rioter – regardless of an open gate – making any advances on the Guild. It was shocking. They aren't even trying to get in? What are they doing out there? Why aren't they advancing? Come to think of it, I didn't see one object flying towards the Guild...
"These pokemon aren't rioting," Dillan said to the skarmory.
"What?" the pokemon asked while it shut and locked the gate.
"It looks more like they're protesting," Dillan stated.
"They are protesting. It's the only thing they can do." The skarmory shook the gate, making sure it was locked. It then turned towards Dillan. "Some of the rioters jumped the gate weeks ago and tried to attack her." It pointed upwards towards the side of the building.
Dillan followed the skarmory's pointing wing. It was the first time he had gotten a good look at the Alkan Guild Building. It was massive, as if it was its own castle. The building was about the width of two blocks. The whole thing was made of stone with a tower jutting upwards in the back. It was nearly three stories on its own, meaning the tower accompanied with the actual building resulted in the building being about seven stories. There was a wide balcony on the third story where the skarmory was pointing. There, a pokemon sat who looked on into the crowd. Dillan didn't recognized it.
The pokemon's body was very smooth. It looked like a massive snake with cream-colored skin. It had a rounded head with a spike jutting out smoothly from its crown. What looked like antenna came off from the pokemon right above the eyes as if they were eyebrows, but that couldn't be seeing as above the antenna were long, red bushels of silky hair that came down the sides of the pokemon's head and down under the balcony's edge. Peeking up slightly from the balcony was a blue and black pattern on a tail that ended with what looked like a fan of four, blue feathers with red ovals in the middle of each.
"As you can imagine," the skarmory continued, "It didn't go so well. The rioters are held in the lower levels of the Guild, now. No one outside of Team Armageddon knows what happens to the rioters after that, so no one else is going to riot for fear of joining their friends. That's why they're protesting."
"Who's that?" Dillan asked, his eyes still set on the pokemon who sat on the balcony.
"You don't know?" the skarmory asked. He sounded confused, as if everyone should know this pokemon.
"Good," Bolt said quietly. "Glad to know what level she's on." Dillan continued to watch the pokemon as it slithered away from the balcony and into the building.
"More or less..." Ryan stated.
"That's Iris Zinclyde," the skarmory said. "She was the Guildmaster of the Alkan Territory."
Dillan felt his heart starting to beat against his ribs. So she's the one who Judah wants us to kill... Anxiety's roots spread inside of his heart.
"Where's Ignitus?" Ryan asked.
The skarmory shrugged. "How am I suppose to know? I'm just guarding the gate."
"Well, thanks for your help," Adelina said with an elegant bow, her tongue drooping into the snow.
The skarmory raised an eyebrow. "You don't need to act so... formal."
Adelina didn't seem to take note of the bird's comment. She motioned her head for her group to follow her towards the castle. They all obliged.
The Guild's courtyard was magnificent. Dillan was surprised at the lack of damage it had sustained compared to the rest of the Alkan Castle. There were three divots scattered in the ground that surrounded the pathway leading towards the Alkan Guild. The group walked down a snowless, cobblestone path edged by pink-flowered bushes topped in snow. Everything else was flat with a white-covered surface. There were two fountains present on either side of the path. One had been obliterated, leaving only a pedestal; the other was of a massive pokemon Dillan didn't recognize.
It was a bipedal pokemon with a long neck that came out to what looked like some sort of knight's helmet. It had massive feet with smooth nails. Its arms were like plates of armor with talons for fingers. The two most defining features of the pokemon were the paper-like wings that jutted out from the top of its back and the shoulders that looked like armor. The pads had orange jewels set in them, which was the only source of color on the stone statue. The pokemon's left arm was stretched outwards towards the pathway as if it was reaching for something.
"That's Palkia," Hazel said in response to Dillan's blank stare at the fountain.
The gabite looked at Hazel. "The same Palkia from the story?" he asked. "The one who..." Dillan paused, trying to think of what Hazel had told him about the pokemon.
"The one who created space in our world," Hazel finished for the gabite. "That's him... or her... The book never specifies."
"Legendary pokemon don't have genders," Ryan said. "They just are." The group came to a stop at the front of the Guild. Ryan shook his head before saying, "But that's not important right now. We should have brought this up earlier, but we need to decide what we're doing first."
"What do you mean by that?" Adelina asked.
"Are we going to meet Guildmaster Zinclyde first or Ignitus."
"That's not much of a question," Bolt stated.
"I agree," Dillan said. "If we go after Ignitus first, we'd have to bring him to fight Zinclyde, and that's not a good idea."
"Yeah," Hazel said, "But our cover would be blown the moment we confront one or the other. The problem with attacking the Guildmaster first is that Ignitus is probably better guarded. If we go to Zinclyde, we would have to fight not only Ignitus, but his guards as well."
"True," Bolt said with a smirk, " But we can handle ourselves in a fight. There shouldn't be anything to worry about, right? I mean, they're only Armageddons."
"Wrong," Adelina said, scowling at the pikachu. "You're underestimating them. That's how this entire revolution was allowed to happen in the first place, remember?"
"What do you think, Ryan?" Dillan asked.
"Me?" Ryan questioned. Dillan nodded. "Well..." the pachirisu set his paw under his chin. "It depends on which road is going to be harder..."
"Personally," Bolt cut in, "I think that going to Zinclyde first would be the best choice."
"Bolt..." Adelina complained.
"Hear me out," Bolt urged, a stern look on his face. "Getting the drop on Zinclyde is best because of her skill level. Think of it this way: she's a Guildmaster. There's a reason there's the word 'Master' in the name. She's one of the most skilled battlers in Ganderosa. We don't want to waste any opportunity against her."
"Good point..." Hazel said, frowning. "But what about the whole, 'Execution' part?"
"There isn't anything to think about."
"Bolt-" Hazel said sharply.
"No," Ryan interrupted. "I agree with Bolt. There isn't any discussion." Wait. Dillan looked at Ryan. The pachirisu was scowling again, but this time, it was at the Guild.
"How can you two be alright with killing someone?" Dillan asked.
"Who said anything about killing?" Bolt questioned.
"Judah," Adelina cut in.
"Then it's on his conscience," Bolt said with a smirk. "I won't be held responsible for someone's death."
"Then I will," Ryan stated. The whole group looked at the pachirisu with looks between shock and awe. Ryan looked like he was about to hit something.
"Ryan," Hazel said with a tightened brow line, "I'm all for fighting for Ganderosa, but killing is stepping over a line."
"And normally, I would agree with you," Ryan said, "As much as I hate to admit it, this isn't an avoidable case. Trying to keep Zinclyde alive puts us at risk because we'd either have to drag her out of the Guild with Ignitus – both who will be kicking – or we'd have to bring her with us when we fight Ignitus; not to mention the fact that all of this is already suicide as it is without putting everyone in more danger to keep our morals. Keeping Zinclyde alive isn't safe or reasonable."
There was silence in the group. No one spoke up It was as if no one could argue with the points Ryan presented. The silence made it even worse, giving Ryan's words even more time to set in, and giving Dillan more time to think.
He's right... I hate to admit it, but he's right. Putting everyone at more risk is wrong, but... Dillan felt his heart – no, his soul – scream out, telling him that agreeing to it would be wrong. Yet what choice was there? It seemed like every other option put them at a greater risk. But still... How can we accept killing someone as an option?
"No," Dillan said flatly. "There has to be a better way of doing this."
"Dillan-" Ryan started.
"Ryan," Bolt said, "Dillan's right. We can't just choose who lives or dies; it shouldn't be up to us."
"You're not listening-" Ryan tried to protest.
"Wait a minute," Adelina intervened. She had a smile on her face. "I have an idea that should solve all of occur problems."
"Shoot," Bolt said quickly and forcefully as if the debate was starting to get to him.
"Why don't we split up?" Adelina suggested.
Everyone other than Dillan looked at Adelina with questioning looks, which made the gabite feel as though he was out of the loop. "Am I missing something?" he asked.
"No," Ryan told Adelina flatly.
"Why not?" Adelina asked. "If we split up, we would be able to get to both the Guildmaster and Ignitus without losing the element of surprise."
"But at best we'd be at half-strength," Ryan said.
"I agree with C. A," Bolt said with a nod.
"Me, too," Hazel told the group. "So, we'd be at half-strength, but it would let us fight both pokemon without giving ourselves away. Having the element of surprise is the only thing we have right now."
Ryan looked at Dillan, waiting for his answer. The gabite nodded his head. "I'm with Adelina, too," he said. "We have a better chance like this."
Ryan sighed. "Guess I don't have much of a say in this..."
"Nope," Bolt said with a playful jab at Ryan's arm.
"Then that leaves us with the decision of teams," Hazel said.
"I don't understand how this helps with deciding whether or not we're killing Zinclyde..." Ryan stated.
"That part's easy," Adelina said, ignoring Ryan's comment. "Ryan is with Dillan to fight Ignitus, and we'll go take down Guildmaster Zinclyde."
"Let me guess," Ryan said. "Dillan goes to Ignitus because of his type, and I'm with him because I think killing Zinclyde is the best option."
"Ry," Adelina said with eyes of empathy accompanied by a sassy smile, "You know me too well."
"Were you always sarcastic?" Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile. Dillan couldn't tell if it was Adelina's attitude that seemed to lighten Ryan's mood or if it was the fact that he was forced onto a team where he didn't have the choice to kill anyone.
"Something I picked up from you," the lickitung said.
"Alright, then," Ryan said. "Is it settled?"
"I'm fine with that," Hazel said with a nod.
"We're in agreement," Bolt acknowledged for the whole team.
"Alright," Ryan said. "We'll meet back here when our respective teams are done with our part of the mission."
"Agreed," Hazel said.
"Then let's get right to it," Bolt said.
The group faced the guild's doors and stepped inside.
Dillan was in shock at how the main rooms of the Ferrician and Kerroshian Guild's paled in comparison to the Alkan. The main room was massive. It had pillars shooting upwards with ice sticking to its surface, creating the illusion that the pillars were made of ice; though the gabite could see the blue, marble pillars on the other side of the sheets of frozen water. The floor was see through, like it was also made of ice or blue glass, though it was only as cold as a rock floor. Dillan looked underneath his feet at what looked like rushing water beneath the see-through floor. When he looked upwards, he saw the ceiling was two floors above him with stalactites of ice hanging down as if the whole room was a cave of frozen water. The walls were made of a white rock (quartz, Dillan thought) that were carved into blocks and laid out as if it was a brick wall. The entire room was lit up by what looked like a massive, blue crystal hanging from the ceiling that shone throughout the room. There was a staircase along the back wall that led upwards to the upper levels. There were two desks to the left of the pokemon. They were both unoccupied. Random pieces of paper were scattered along the top of the desks and the floor.
"That's strange..." Bolt said slowly. "Isn't there suppose to be a receptionist or something?"
"I wouldn't think so," Hazel said. "He or she is usually the Guildmaster's assistant. Since the Guild is with-"
"Dillan," Ryan said to the gabite. Dillan looked downwards at his friend who was already walking down the hall of ice towards the back wall. The gabite ran from Hazel's group to meet Ryan.
"Any idea where Ignitus is going to be?" the gabite asked as he began walking next to the pachirisu.
"Nope," Ryan said. "I figure we should just wander around until we find him or a group of guards or something."
"Alright," Dillan said.
The two found a doorway along the back wall to the right of the stairs. They entered it and found themselves in a small, one-story hallway that led onwards. The two began walking down the hall.
"Then again, I would assume he'd be in the 'Boss Room' or something."
"Boss Room?" Dillan asked.
"Yeah," Ryan said. "You know, the furthest room in a dungeon or something like that, either at the top of the building or at the bottom-..." he stopped himself. Ryan shook his head before saying, "Never mind. Let's just keep going."
The two continued to walk, stopping at every doorway and looking inside. They found different rooms: a cafeteria, an exercise room, even rooms Dillan didn't quite understand such as the room with a pool in it when they were in an arctic castle that was as cold as the outside. That one confused him the most. Even so, they continued looking in silence. However, Dillan had something on his mind. Something was off about the castle. He couldn't place a claw on what was wrong, but he knew something was.
"Something isn't right," the gabite said.
"Why do you say that?" Ryan asked, closing the door to a room with a massive amount of smoke.
"I don't know..." Dillan tried to think of what was bothering him.
"Let's just keep going," Ryan said. "I'm sure you'll think of what's bothering you in a minute."
Ryan's probably right... I'll think of what's wrong, soon. Dillan walked up to a door and set his claw on the handle. He began opening the door when it began creaking. It disturbed the silence that filled the chilly air. Wait...
"It's too quiet..." Dillan said.
"Cliché, much?" Ryan asked with a smirk as he opened up another door.
Then it hit Dillan. He realized what was bugging him. "Why haven't we ran into anyone?"
Ryan stopped what he was doing and faced the gabite. He thought about the question for a few seconds. "I don't know," Ryan said. "Come to think of it, we should have run into someone by now. I mean, it is the Alkan Guild. Team Armageddon should be swarming this place."
"It's just a little weird..."
"What's so weird about it?" a voice asked. Dillan felt like running in terror at the mere sound of that pokemon's smooth voice. His face tensed as he looked back down the way they had come at the pokemon. "Hello again, guildmember." Molan was crossing his arms, a look of confidence in his eyes.
"What in Ganderosa?!" Ryan shouted in disbelief.
"You don't belong here," Molan stated. He clapped his hands together.
Out of nowhere, Dillan felt two hands wrap themselves under the gabite's arms and behind his head, creating a hold. The gabite tried to struggle out of the hold, but he found himself incapable of fighting his restrainer.
"Ah!" Ryan shouted. Dillan looked to the side to see the pachirisu was being held by two pokemon he recognized. They were the same kind as the ones him and his friends had fought back in the Thesix Mountain pass: sandslash. The pachirisu sent jolts into the sandslash's bodies, though they didn't seem fazed. He tried swishing his tail behind him, but there wasn't enough room to do that, either. It just slammed into the bodies of the sandslash.
"Don't try to struggle," Molan said with a scowl. "It only makes it much harder on me and yourself." He pointed towards Dillan. "Bring him."
Dillan looked downwards. The floor here wasn't like the one in the hall. Here, it was just white stone like the wall. Alright, Dillan. Focus. How do you get out of this?
"Look at me, Dillan," Molan ordered. The gabite was right up to the greninja. Dillan grimaced at Molan's tongue as it unwrapped itself from his neck and came right up to the gabite. It sat there, shining in the torchlight. It made its way downwards, stopping at the gabite's chest. It slithered towards Dillan's green crystal.
"Stop!" Dillan yelled, fear tainting his voice.
"I can't believe I didn't recognize you from before," Molan said, "Your crystal is magnificent. You were at Frost Island yesterday, right? I know your charmeleon friend was there. Titus recognized her."
"How did you get here so fast?" Dillan asked.
Molan stared at the gabite. "A normal charizard can fly here in under five hours," he stated, "Though my second in command isn't like regular charizard. He's faster than them: stronger than them."
"What do you want?" Ryan asked.
"What makes you think I want anything?" Molan asked sternly.
"You haven't killed us yet," Ryan said.
Molan looked back at Dillan. "I have to admit," he said as his tongue started tapping at Dillan's green crystal, "I would love to kill you both."
"You want me, right?" Dillan asked.
"No," Molan said. "I don't want you. That would contradict my promise that I made."
Dillan paused before asking slowly, "Your promise?"
"Let me jog your memory," Molan said. His tongue retracted and wrapped itself around his neck, flinging slime at Dillan's face. He flinched as it smacked him and splattered the walls with specks of mucus.
Molan took three step backwards down the hall and said, "A gabite is a worthy opponent, but an even better ally. Join our team. I promise to make it worth your while."
Those words seemed familiar to Dillan, as if he had heard them before. "You want to recruit me?" he asked.
"No," Molan said. A sneer formed across his face. "Don't you remember what you said to me the day I met you?"
Dillan remembered why he recognized what Molan said. It was the same thing he told him when they met. "I said 'no'." the gabite told his foe.
Molan shook his head. "No, you didn't. You said, and I quote, 'I don't have any interest in dealing with a thief, let alone a group who makes the Guild look like a bad thing'." His eyes were lowered right at Dillan's chest. "Remember our conversation now? Let me remind you what I said next." Molan's arm went behind him as if reaching for some invisible object.
Dillan watched, his heart beginning to beat harder in his body, as what looked like water appeared out of thin air and spiraled around Molan's hand and formed a four-pronged star. More water came towards the star, making it grow even more with each passing second.
His memory kicked in. At that moment, Dillan remembered the greninja's words as clear as day. Recognition took over.
"Do you remember now?" Molan asked.
"Stop!" Ryan shouted, struggling even more vigorously.
Yeah, I remember... Dillan's mind went back to his first encounter with the greninja. He remembered being in the Palando Guild, staring down Molan with a scowl. He remembered the greninja's cold words as they echoed, " The next time we meet, it will be as enemies. What I'm trying to say is that you won't survive our next encounter". I need to move, now!
Dillan focused on his fins. They grew quickly and dug into whoever was restraining him. The gabite heard a yelp of pain as the grip on his body loosened. Dillan whipped around and was face to face with a monferno. It doubled backwards as its arms bled from the cuts Dillan had given it. He slammed his foot into the ground. A chunk of the white stone came up into the air. The gabite slashed at it, sending it flying towards the monferno. The stone hit his target, throwing the monferno onto the ground. It was out cold.
A stabbing sensation clung at Dillan's back. It felt as though a sword had pierced his scales. He felt drops of blood trickle from the wound down his back and onto his bandages he still wore. Dillan turned around quickly to see Molan rushing him. He looked to his right. The wall was very close: too close. No where to dodge... Dillan looked ahead. Molan's fist was leveled with the gabite's heart. Water formed around it in seconds and froze over even faster. Almost instantaneously, Molan's fist was encased in a ball of ice and a trail of snow was flowing from behind it. Dillan felt his fear take hold. His breathing stopped as he raised his glowing fins in defense against the strike. Molan's fist collided with Dillan's fins. The ice shattered from Molan's fist and flung specks of icy shards at Dillan's body. The gabite felt a burning freeze start to etch up his fins. He gave a cry of pain and doubled back from the attack.
"Do you like that?" Molan asked as he crouched. "It's called Ice Punch."
Dillan looked at his fins. He yelled as he realized they were covered in ice all the way up to his arms. He couldn't feel them.
"What did you do?!" Dillan shouted worriedly.
"That can happen," Molan stated. "Good luck getting that ice off without shattering your arms." Molan's fist was, once again, encased in ice.
"Dillan, look out!" Ryan shouted.
Dillan watched the greninja. I need to do something fast, or I'm done for! His eyes darted around frantically for some source of help. He couldn't see anything other than the doors. Maybe one of the rooms can help.
"Don't look away from me!" Molan shouted.
Dillan looked forwards to see the greninja lunge at him once again. The gabite turned away and ran down the hall, Molan hot on his heels. Dillan lunged left at a door, and it flung open. He found himself in a massive room with a bunch of beds lining the walls. The rest of the room was circular with ash along the floor as if something had been burned. It was big enough for him to evade the greninja's attacks. Dillan's fins retracted, shattering the ice from the sheer pressure caused by the nothingness created by the lack of fins. Thankfully, the ice was the only thing that shattered. On the other hand, Dillan felt his fins once again. The gabite gave a groan from the burning chill present in his fins.
"Die!" Molan called out. Dillan didn't have to look back. He already knew the greninja was once again lunging at him. He jumped to the left and avoided Molan's attack. He turned quickly on his heels and stared at his opponent with fear in his eyes. The turn made the wound on his chest start to ache.
"Why are you doing this?" Dillan asked through the pain.
"That's not what you should be asking!" Molan shouted. The greninja stuck both of his hands out into the air at his sides. Two water shuriken formed in the palms of his hands. "The question you should be asking is why are you insistent on believing the Guild is good?"
"The Guild hasn't murdered anyone!" Dillan shouted.
"Hasn't it?" Molan asked. He threw the shuriken at Dillan. The gabite rolled to the side and avoided the attack. "Look at it's history! King Hans Armadine ruined the lives of so may pokemon! To top it all off, when the people tried to overthrow the Armadine line, they started a civil war which resulted in the deaths of even more pokemon just so they could stay in power! And don't even get me started on our most recent kings! They won't do anything about the real problems of Ganderosa! They just let pokemon die so they can achieve their own selfish goals!"
"If that was true," Dillan said, gaining some courage. "Then why have a Guild at all?"
"I don't know," Molan stated. "Why don't you ask our current King?"
He threw more shuriken at Dillan. The gabite's fins extended and he slashed the water, blocking them all. Even so, each block made his fins feel like they were about to break in half. The wound he had sustained from Thalia's thug was hurting him again, only it was even worse than before. He felt his stomach was damp. He didn't need to put his claw on the bandage to tell he was bleeding from the wound. On top of that, he felt the cold was starting to take its toll on his body. He couldn't fight for much longer or he would be on the floor. I've got to end this fast!
"What happened to you?" Dillan asked through pants.
"That isn't any of y-" Molan shouted.
Dillan decided that this was the only time he would have to make his move – while Molan was distracted with talking. The gabite stomped his foot into the ground. A boulder broke from the floor and rose into the air. Dillan immediately slammed his fin into the rock. It flew towards the greninja. Water spun around Molan's fist and froze over. He then forced an attack into the stone and shattered it into little pebbles. Dillan then planted his feet and sent forth a stream of fire. Molan didn't even make an attempt at dodging the attack. He just stood there and took the blast head-on. Dillan stopped the stream and once again stamped his foot and sent a boulder at Molan who was still inside of the stream of fire. The greninja only had a second to react to the stone: a second he wasted standing there. The stone collided with the greninja and broke into different pieces, sending dust into the air.
A few seconds went by. Dillan stood there, panting due to the pain in his gouged chest, sliced back, bruised body, and aching muscles. He waited for a movement from the cloud of dust, but nothing happened. Dillan grimaced when he saw the standing greninja who only scowled at his opponent.
"That was a pathetic 'Rock Tomb'," Molan stated.
The greninja immediately rushed in on Dillan. In a split second, he was on top of the gabite. Dillan only had time to block, but not even that was enough. Molan jabbed his icy fist at Dillan's arm. He felt the burning freeze run up his fins. Then, he fell backwards onto his tail from the force of the punch. When he looked up, the greninja was gone. Out of nowhere, he felt his head being slammed downwards into the cold floor. His back bent from the impact. He felt like screaming from the pressure tht was exerted on his spine. He felt himself being pushed further down as Molan launched himself from the gabite. Dillan slowly looked up, feeling his entire body cry out in pain. Molan stood in front of him. The greninja set his hands in front of him and spun them in a circle. A trail of light swept through the air from Molan's hands creating a ring of light. Out of nowhere, the right closed in on itself and widened again, revealing a big, blue circle that looked like some sort of portal. Dillan's heart stopped when what looked like a massive jet of water came out of the portal and darted towards the gabite. Dillan tried to dodge, but his muscles cramped from the frigid air and the pain in his body. The cramp kept him stationary, waiting for the water to collide with his face. It blasted Dillan, picking him up off of the ground, and throwing him in its grasp. He spun through the water as it spun him around and slammed itself and him into the back wall. It pressed Dillan there for a few seconds, putting a massive strain on his body. Then, it stopped. Dillan fell onto his stomach, hitting the white ground without catching himself.
The gabite panted as he struggled slowly and shakily to his knees. The pain was getting to him. Molan walked up to the gabite. He set his hand on Dillan's chin and brought his face up to meet him.
"Pathetic," Molan stated with a scowl. "You make a terrible gabite. Honestly, I was hoping you'd put up more of a fight than this." He let go of Dillan's chin and grabbed onto his crystal.
"S-stop..." Dillan said feebly.
Molan didn't listen. He ripped the crystal from Dillan's neck and grasped it in his hand. "Make me," the greninja stated coldly.
Dillan fell onto his chest, his eyes starting to get heavier. The pain in his back and neck started subsiding, though that was probably a bad thing. His breathing got heavier as he struggled to take his next breath.
"You know," Molan started as he turned the crystal in his fingers, "I would kill you where you stand, but for some reason, Ignitus wants you alive." He grabbed Dillan by the neck and picked him up as if he weighed nothing at all. Dillan struggled to put his claws on the greninja's arms, let alone remove them from his body so he could breath. "Maybe he sees something in you that I once did; though he'll see you've become nothing just like I've seen." He held Dillan in one hand, letting the other come back and slam into Dillan's head. With that, Dillan blacked out. "Too easy."
Molan shouldered Dillan's unconscious body and walked out of the room. He looked down the hallway at the two sandslash's backs. They were still holding Ryan hostage.
"Molan!" Ryan shouted.
"Relax," Molan stated. He walked around the sandslash and looked at Ryan. The pachirisu's eyes looked up at his friend.
"Dillan?!" Ryan shouted with worry. He looked Molan in the eyes. "I'm going to kill you, I swear!"
"He's just unconscious," Molan assured. He scowled at the sandslash, their claws were stained with Ryan's blood. He must have cut himself while he struggled. "Throw him in the dungeon. You can kill him if he becomes too much of a problem, but not until then."
The sandslash nodded to Molan. Then, there was a smashing sound from behind him, as if a wall had been kicked down. It made Molan wince. He knew that wasn't one of his men, so...
"You," Molan pointed to one of the sandslash. "Get moving. I don't want any of the guildmembers coming down here and finding us: not yet."
They began dragging Ryan down the hall. He struggled to get out of their grip, but he couldn't do anything. Molan watched as the sandslash turned a corner through a doorway and disappeared. The greninja turned towards the end of the hallway and walked off.
(Author's notes)
Hey guys! MasterKnight2142 here!
Ah! I'm late again! I really hate being late, but I was out of town for family matters and I didn't have any access to the internet (Finally got it to connect to the hotel after the 50th or so try)... But I want to let you all know that now we're going to be back on schedule. No early chapters, no late chapters! NONE! (At least, not until I screw up again... :P) The next chapter will go out TOMORROW! 29th of June! No sooner, no later! Promise. Anyways, I'm moving on!
Now, some of you may be thinking, "Why didn't Ryan use anything! He could have taken on those sandslash!" Well, no he couldn't. For "Quick Attack", he needs to be on the ground, which he wasn't. "Super Fang" requires him to bite his target, but he couldn't do that since his targets were behind him. "Nuzzle" or discharging electricity (which I will allow for Ryan due to the fact that he's an electric-type pokemon) doesn't work due to the fact that his opponents were ground-types. Finally, "Swift" requires a full swing of his tail, which he didn't have due to his opponents restraining him from behind. He was completely restrained and couldn't do anything. Sucks, doesn't it?
Shout-Out to "Puro the Dark Latex", "Krock253", "normalman6", "0RandomGuy0", "7a7b", and "Delta Kyrin" for following/favoriting the story! Thank you two so much for the follows/favorites! Also, thanks to the guests who also view the story! It still means a lot to me that you guys are still reading!
A message to those who saw I had posted a new chapter yesterday. I managed to spend an hour or so texting on my stupid phone a new chapter-like explanation as a loophole for the "No Author's Notes Chapters" rule on FanFiction. I did it so I wouldn't get reported, but so I could tell all the guests. Well, stupid FanFiction, for whatever whacky reason, decided to put in the ACTUAL CODE FOR THE "ENTER" KEY IN WITH THE WRITTING (Very frustrated with the whole situation...)! So, props to anyone who took the time to decipher that stupid chapter... To those who didn't, don't worry. It was only to tell you why I hadn't posted and that I didn't know when I'd be able to.
That's all for now! Thanks to everyone for reading! I'll see you guys in the next chapter!
