Pokémon Police Force Chapter 22: Star-Crossed Lovers
Getting through the gates was the easy part. Now comes the hard part, digging up bones long thought buried.
I had entered the Black Market just yesterday. The sprawling underground city was the capitol for all illicit activities in this portion of the continent. If I could find The Red Murkrow anywhere, it would be here. First thing to do is to check any and all of the joints she would've frequented if she had come here. Yesterday, after I'd arrived, I'd spent some time getting myself established within the town. Now is when the real work begins.
My thoughts were cut off however when I nearly tripped over someone. Someone familiar.
"Hey! Why don't you watch where you're go-!" Scraggy began before he realized who I was, "oh, shi-!"
I grabbed him by the throat and threw him into a nearby alley.
"What's the big idea, squirt!?"
I punched him and then slammed him against the wall.
"I'll be asking the questions!" I yelled, "how much do you know of Danté and Pyra's plans?"
"Dude! Your eyes just-!"
"ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
"They just told me to find you! Honest!"
"YOU'RE LYING!"
"I'm serious!"
"Do you know where they are right now?"
"Nearby! I don't know anything else! Don't kill me!"
"I want you to send them a message. Tell them mask-face has the Crown. They'll know what that means."
"O-okay!"
"Get lost."
"Right, boss!"
I let go of Scraggy and he ran off into the busy streets.
(Danté and Pyra are here? I have to be extra careful now.)
Knowing that it would be a bad idea for those two to attack me in public, I decided to stay on the busiest streets. After several hours of searching bars, clubs, casinos and bazaars. I found a cozy little hut tucked away in a corner. There, I noticed a Carracosta was cleaning a Pariezi board.
(This could be my ticket to finding her. Crimson loved to play Pariezi.)
Carracosta noticed me as I approached his home.
"Go away."
"Well, you're nice," I said sarcastically, "I noticed you had a Pariezi board. Care for a game?"
"You play?"
"Sure do. What do you say?"
"A true Pariezi player never turns down a challenge," said Carracosta.
Carracosta finished cleaning the board and headed inside the hut. He motioned me to follow him. Inside, he led me to his living room.
The room was a cozy area with a couple of couches and chairs crowded around a small teak table. The walls were packed to the brim with various maritime trophies, most of them centered around fishing. Apparently, Carracosta was quite the accomplished fisherman. Strange that he ended up somewhere like the Black Market.
Carracosta pushed several wicker baskets off of the table and onto the floor. He placed the board on the table.
"Sit," said Carracosta, "doesn't matter where."
I chose a soft navy blue armchair with stained wooden armrests. Carracosta came back shortly with all the game pieces in tow.
"I'll be challenger," I said.
"Thought you might," said Carracosta, "you strike me as the type to strike swiftly. The stakes?"
Pariezi is traditionally a betting game. The players can demand whatever they want as stakes. Many lives have been either greatly enhanced or ruined because of some ill-fated game of Pariezi.
"My freedom," I said, "I lose and I go to the Pits."
"The Pits? Kid, do you have any idea what you're asking?"
"I do. I also know you are a slave trader."
"What are you-?"
"It was obvious. A nice home in the Black Market usually implies slavery. Plus, I seen the hidden trap door as I entered."
"It was supposed to be hidden! You're… not much of a law-abiding citizen yourself, are you?"
"Thief, burglar, pickpocket, take your pick."
"I see. What do you want if you win?"
"I want to know about this," I said before dropping the black cloth on the board.
Carracosta picked up the cloth, opened it up and gasped at the red Murkrow printed thereon.
"Where did you get this!?"
"That's not part of Pariezi, is it?" I asked, staring straight into his eyes, "you can still walk away, if you're scared."
Carracosta sat down on the sofa opposite me.
"I like your spunk, kid," said Carracosta, "let's play."
Pariezi is kind of a marriage of chess and Dungeons and Dragons. The board is a five-point, star-shaped board. At each of the five points, there was a "king". The two players were either listed as challenger or defender. The challenger has one king and the defender has two. The kings can summon troops to defend them. The challenger can summon twice as many troops but the defender's troops are more powerful.
Each piece moves like chess pieces and has their own unique stats. On the turn's beginning, you can move as many pieces as you have kings on the field or take a turn off to replenish a set number of lost troops.
The game functions like capture the flag. Each player can capture the neutral kings (the kings not controlled by either player) and gain their troops. The game ends when either player loses all of their kings.
The first thing that happens, however, is setting the beginning positions of your troops. Carracosta placed the first piece, a Rapidash token on a tile and I followed by placing a Tynamo token on a forward square. A position many would consider foolish.
"Tynamo? Are you trying to lose?"
"A good commander makes a team of weaklings seem like the strongest army in the world."
"Now, I'm very interested."
When all the pieces were placed, they made the image of a soaring eagle on the board.
"You follow the path of the eagle," said Carracosta, "you're brave."
(Those words! Crimson! He knows about her!)
"Let's play."
Carracosta and I began our game. I realized, as we went on, that his moves were an exact copy of Crimson's. Whenever the two of us would play, we would use the exact same moves right until the very end. When the game drew to a close, we were down to one king each, with a single unit staring them down.
"Looks like sudden death," I said.
"You know the rules for sudden death?" Asked Carracosta.
I took a coin out of the treasure bag.
"Call it," I said.
"Heads," said Carracosta.
I tossed the coin up in the air and caught it. I placed the coin on my other wrist and covered it with my hand.
(Time for a little test.)
"Are you sure you want to stay with heads?"
"Yes."
I revealed the coin. Heads.
"Go on. Do it," I said.
Carracosta looked indecisive for once. Hesitant even, to end the game. Suddenly, Carracosta moved his Excadrill away from my king.
"I knew you couldn't do it," I said, tossing the coin at him. He caught the coin and carefully examined it.
"Wait a minute!" Shouted Carracosta.
"Too late. Your king is dead," I said, defeating his king with my lone Tynamo and winning the game.
Carracosta, suddenly enraged, stormed around the table and grabbed my neck.
"You used a double-sided coin! You let me win the toss! Why!?"
"A test," I said simply, "where can I find Crimson?"
Carracosta spat in disdain over being tricked. Finally, he released me.
"If you wish to find her, start something. She'll find you."
I nodded my head, collected the cloth once more and left the cottage without another word.
"If you wish to find her, start something. She'll find you."
Those words rang in my head as I walked. I walked into the busiest part of the Black Market, the bazaar. One Pokémon in particular caught my attention, a Mimikyu.
"Shadow Claw!"
My attack caught Mimikyu completely off-guard. Sending it sprawling into the crowd. Mimikyu quickly recovered and shot out of the crowd toward me. Only with a broken neck as I busted its incredibly poorly drawn disguise.
"What's the big idea, meat?"
"Sorry, I thought you were a Pikachu."
Mimikyu began shaking violently. Dark flames began to ignite all over his body. Then, large, black claws emerged from underneath the disguise.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
Mimikyu leapt toward me, claws outstretched. I dove to the side, making Mimikyu accidentally attack a Seviper.
"Oh, uh, sorry," said Mimikyu.
"Poison Tail!"
Mimikyu was launched into a Hariyama. Soon, the whole bazaar erupted into an all-out brawl. Pokémon were hitting, biting and clawing at each other and merchants were desperately trying to protect wares. I had managed to avoid most of the chaos by slipping away into a nearby alley.
"Didn't get me any closer to my goal, but I feel much better now."
In the midst of that brawl, I could've sworn I caught a glimpse of a Salazzle.
"A Salazzle, could it-? Nah. Probably just my imagination."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, I was jumped. Literally. Someone jumped off a nearby building and plowed me into the ground.
"Looks like we found our troublemaker."
"Nighty night."
I didn't have time to see who was talking before a rag was placed over my face and my consciousness faded.
"I think he's waking up."
My consciousness slowly returned. As I awoke, I became aware of a pressure around my arms and chest. I opened my eyes to find that I have been bound with rope to a chair and my mouth had been gagged with some sort of linen cloth binding a small, plastic ball.
"Gagh!" I gagged as I was socked in the stomach.
"You like that, freak?" Asked someone while pulling my head back.
That blue head. It was a Sawk that punched me. A Poliwrath stood behind him with a bucket of what I hoped was water.
Poliwrath grabbed by head and forced it into the water. I sputtered and gagged as I was waterboarded until Sawk pulled my head back.
"The don doesn't take kindly to troublemakers," said Sawk as he punched me again.
(The don? Shadow Saber! I had completely forgotten about Milly's warning!)
I was punched and waterboarded for the next half hour. I even took a few blows to the face, causing blood to get in my eyes. So, I couldn't see anything when the door suddenly burst open.
"Boss!"
(Boss? Must be the don himself!)
"This the one?"
(That voice! It can't be!)
"Yeah. Thought we'd have some fun with the mask-wearing freak first."
I could feel the don getting closer to me. I could feel the don's breath on my blood-caked face.
"Rag."
The don began cleaning my face with the rag. I blinked the remaining blood away and beheld a cute yellow face. A face trimmed with a fringe of black hair. The hair continued towards the back, ending in two large horns that resembled a massive maw.
The don gasped and dropped the rag when they saw my face.
"Those eyes! That mask! Argyle? Is that you?" Asked the Mawile, ripping off my gag in a hurry.
"Hey, babe," I replied.
"Listen here, you!" Yelled Poliwrath, dropping the bucket and grabbing my throat, "you will not talk that way to-!"
"His girlfriend?" Asked Shadow Saber (AKA Crimson), an angry scowl appearing on her face.
"What?" Asked Poliwrath, loosening his grip on my throat.
"That's my boyfriend's neck you're grabbing."
Poliwrath and Sawk's eyes got really big and Poliwrath released my neck in a hurry.
"Saber! Please! We didn't mean-!" Stuttered Sawk.
"Abomasnow! Get in here! You too, Scizor!"
The door opened again and a massive pine tree walked in, followed by a metallic insect.
"Send these two morons to the Pits."
"Boss! Be reasonable!" Pleaded Poliwrath.
"Be grateful I don't kill the both of you on the spot!"
Abomasnow and Scizor dragged the two terrified Pokémon out the door. We stared at the vacant spot for a good while before Crimson suddenly embraced and kissed me. I returned the kiss and we let our lips linger for some time before Crimson broke it off.
"Let me get you out of those ropes."
"That'd be nice."
Crimson quickly disappeared behind me and began fiddling with the knot. Soon, I felt my bonds loosen and the ropes fell to the ground.
"Thanks for the assist, Crimson."
"Argyle, you know you don't have to call me that," said Crimson, "use my real name."
"As you wish, Jessie."
Jessie flashed that cute smile I'd grown to love and handed me an Oran Berry, which I quickly devoured.
"I'm so sorry about my men."
"It's fine. They weren't anywhere near breaking me."
"Look who's become a tank," Jessie snickered.
"Want to see my cannon?"
"That can wait. How did you know where I'd be?"
"Call it a hunch," I said, "where's my bag?"
"You mean the Treasure Bag you nicked? It's over there, on that table."
Jessie directed my gaze to an end table off in the corner of the room. The Treasure Bag was sitting on top of the table, like she said. I walked over to the bag and rifled through it. Everything was in place. The Crown of Plenty as well as the black cloth that led me here.
(Guess I should ask about that.)
"Argyle, I know you. This isn't a social call, is it?"
"Jessie, what has happened here?"
"What are you talking about? Nothing happened. Other than that debacle in the bazaar, that is."
I took the cloth with the red Murkrow on it and shown it to her. Jessie's face lit up as soon as she seen it.
"My Mark! I knew it would find its way to you!"
"This was for me?"
"I had all my gang wear one. I hoped you'd recognize my Mark and come to find me. Where'd you find it?"
"Wreath City."
Jessie's enthusiasm and happiness just faded instantly. She hung her head low for the longest time before she spake again, her voice barely a whisper.
"So, you saw it?"
"Yes. I've come seeking answers. What happened?"
"Can we go for a walk? I need to clear my head," said Jessie.
I nodded and followed her out of the room.
(She definitely knows something. What could've done that to my girl?)
We walked through the Black Palace (the place the don resides) in solemn silence. I didn't look around this time, so don't expect a description. My gaze was focused entirely on Jessie. The only other thing I noticed was her gang eyeing me suspiciously as I passed by, but since I was with Jessie, they didn't bother us. Eventually, Jessie stopped atop a balcony. A balcony with a great view over the entire Black Market. She leaned over the railing and looked over the city.
"When Carracosta informed me that he'd found a Sneasel who followed our game as closely as possible, I just couldn't believe it," said Jessie suddenly.
I took my place beside her.
"Five years we've been apart and not a peep," said Jessie, "and like a dream, you show up. Do you know what it was like for me all that time!? I've had to do things. Things I'm not proud of. Where were you!? Why did it take you so long to come back!? What were you do-?"
"Saving your life," I said plainly.
"What?" Said Jessie, taken aback by my comment.
"When those thieves attacked us, I told you to run."
"And I did."
"I became the distraction. They followed me halfway across the continent."
Jessie was now listening intently.
"I eventually lost them somewhere around Treasure Town. I returned back here and checked all of your usual haunts but you disappeared."
"I was kidnapped by a gang," Jessie explained, "the leader took me as his… toy. I had to do despicable things just to stay alive."
I hugged her.
"I had no idea."
"I'm alright now. I eventually got the nerve to drug the leader and… ended my predicament."
Jessie paused.
"The other gang members soon found out I did it. I thought they would kill me, but…"
"They made you leader."
"Yeah. Under my leadership, we went from one failed mission to another until we made our way here to the Black Market. Here we found success. Then, I found you. You don't know what it means to me to have you back."
"I'm sorry for making you wait so long, Jessie," I said hugging her tighter, "I can't stay long, though."
"Why not?"
I reached into the Treasure Bag and pulled out the Crown of Plenty. Jessie gasped when she seen the Crown.
"That looks like the Crown of Plenty!"
"It is. I swiped it from Ironwell Stronghold."
"So that was you! I suspected as much," said Jessie, "I sent some of my gang to retrieve you once I'd received word about the chaos there, but the report I got back was… unnerving."
Jessie broke off the hug and cast her gaze to the stalactites on the ceiling of the cavern the Black Market was built into.
"The fortress was in ruins and the survivors… were in such a state of panic, they didn't notice my men. They were weeping and screaming. Screaming about death from Wreath City."
"What happened to the survivors?"
"We decided to… end their misery. They were damaged on the psychological level. We had no choice."
"Death from Wreath City," I repeated, "what's going on here?"
"I decided to check that one out personally," said Jessie, "Other than the… obvious problem, we found a pool of death behind a closed door."
"I know. There was something there."
"Our culprit, I think. I found some documents detailing that they recently found some sort of egg or cocoon. They immediately decided it was dangerous and decided to seal it away and put the entire city in lockdown."
(That must be when Noctowl arrived.)
"So, whatever was in that cocoon is awake?"
"It would appear so."
"What happened to it? Why isn't it paving a road of destruction everywhere?"
"I don't know. That's the real unnerving part."
"GGGRRRAAAGH!" I yelled out as an intense pain erupted inside my body.'
My vision changed suddenly. I'd seen a single flying wyvern, a wyvern of the darkest night with an underside of a deep blood red. The image both made me attracted to its beauty and horrified by the pure malice it expelled. Then, all at once the vision faded.
"Argyle! Argyle!"
My vision returned to me and I found myself on the ground, being shaken awake by Jessie.
(Did I collapse?)
"Jessie. I think I'm fine."
Jessie helped me back up.
"I'm glad. You screamed out suddenly and grabbed your mask. Then you fell. What happened?"
(Zygarde? Do you recognize that Pokémon?)
"Yveltal," I said, the name just popping into my head, "Yveltal did this."
"Who's Yveltal?"
"No clue. Zygarde seems to know."
"Zygarde?"
"Oh, crap, I let that slip, didn't I?"
Jessie remained quiet, obviously waiting for an explanation.
"A lot of things have happened in these five years," I explained, "it all began with this."
I pointed at the mask.
"You know, I've never seen you without that."
"You haven't?" I asked in surprise, "I could show you."
"Let me do it."
I stopped he as she was about to touch it.
"Only if you're sure. You may not like what you see."
"Argyle, I love you. Nothing will ever change that."
I nodded and let her continue. She slowly unbuckled the straps and pulled the mask off.
"Argyle? What?"
Now unmasked, Jessie had to take a few steps back.
"It happened long before we met. When I was a child."
"Tell me the story. If you can."
"I'm over it. The thing is-"
Then, without warning, a large, loud explosion sounded from the midst of the Black Market. It nearly knocked me off the balcony.
"What's the meaning of this!? Interrupting our moment!" Jessie shouted over the balcony.
I quickly took the mask back and put it back on. When I did, I closed my eyes and opened only my left green eye. With Zygarde's power, my sight went to the midst of the chaos. The Pokémon I'd seen, I recognized instantly.
"Danté! Pyra! They've found me!"
"Who?"
"They're after the Crown. They want to kill me!"
"Don't worry, my gang-"
"Won't be enough," I interrupted, "I know them. They're persistent when angry."
"What's the plan?"
"I need to-"
It was Jessie's turn to interrupt, by grabbing my arm, right where it was bound.
"This is my home and you're my man," said Jessie sternly, "I'm part of this too."
I didn't bother arguing with her. After all, I knew I wouldn't win.
"Okay. Are there any other ways out of here?"
"Multiple. I think I know what you have planned. I would recommend the sewers."
I chucked at that.
"Sewers and I are becoming the best of friends. Where is the entrance?"
"You can get there by heading north along the stream by Carracosta's place."
"Right, now-"
The doors burst open and, much to my surprise, Sal and Snow walked onto the balcony.
"Who are you? What are you doing in my palace!?" Screamed Jessie.
"We'll explain later," said Snow.
"What's going on out there?" Asked Sal.
"Danté and Pyra are here!" I said, "we've got to lead them away! Snow! You and Sal go with Jessie! She knows the plan!"
I climbed up onto the railing.
"Get down from there!" Said Snow, "what are you doing!?"
I placed the Crown of Plenty on my head and the Treasure Bag back on my shoulder.
"Baiting the trap."
With those words, I leapt off the balcony. Using several wall jumps and other parkour stuff, I landed safely on the ground.
(Time to test this out.)
"Icy Wind!"
I blew a chilly wind at the ground causing it to freeze instantly. Afterward, I got on the ice and then called upon the power of Agility. Using these two moves in concert, I basically speed skated all the way to where Danté and Pyra were spotted. When I arrived, various stalls were on fire and the various vengeful Pokémon were fighting a familiar Incineroar and Houndoom.
"Not gonna lie," said Pyra, "I love our job. Fire Fang!"
Pyra bit a Flapple with viscously burning teeth. Danté punched a Hawlucha clear over a nearby building.
"We're wasting too much time," said Danté, "Argyle will slip away again."
"Aww, I'm touched. You missed me," I mocked.
All heads turned to me. I could practically feel Pyra's anger rising.
"YOU! Found you, twerp!" Said Pyra.
"He has the Crown!" Said Danté.
"A Crown you'll never be able to touch," I mocked again, "bye."
With those words, I ran away.
"GET BACK HERE!"
I ran through the streets of the city, slowly heading to the sewers. As I ran, I made sure to dart in and out of streets, making it look like I was trying to lose them. When I drew near to the sewers, I seen Sal waving me on into the sewer. She ran into the sewer ahead of me and I followed.
Sal and I ran through the sewers together, followed closely behind by our pursuers. With Agility, we got enough distance between us for Sal to talk.
"We're approaching a junction. You take the left, I'll take the right," whispered Sal, "we told Jessie about your foresight. Follow that to meet up with her. She'll tell you the rest of the plan."
I did as instructed and ran until we got to the junction, then I immediately shot off to the left hall.
"You can't run forever!"
I glanced behind me and with Zygarde's sight, found only Danté following me.
(Sal got Pyra. I was afraid of that.)
I shook the thought from my head and focused on the task at hand. Through my green eye, I'd seen Jessie around a few twists and turns ahead.
(How is this sewer practical!?)
I kept running past where Jessie was, but she quickly caught up.
"We're almost to the trap," whispered Jessie, "on the walls there are Woobat marks. Follow the red ones to reach Snow. She's waiting by the trap. It is up to the two of you to spring the trap."
"What about you?" I whispered.
"That Salazzle and I will be leading them to you. Just worry about yourself. The girls know their parts."
We ran and ran until I could practically feel Danté catching up to us.
"Good luck!" Said Jessie before doing an about-face and running toward Danté.
I forced myself to let her go back and continued running. On the walls, there were distinct heart-shaped marks of various colors. I followed what had the greatest number of red ones on my way to Snow. When I found her, oddly enough, she was sitting down.
"Wait!" She said, "we wait here."
I found my place beside her and started to catch my breath.
"So… this trap?"
"Just ahead. It's a sudden drop. Jessie said it leads to the deep sewers. She didn't say much else."
"What are we waiting for?"
"Your recovery. You can't make the jump if you're tired."
"So that's the reason for the run-around! We're trying to wear them out."
Snow nodded. After a few more minutes, I stood back up.
"I think I'm ready now. Let's go."
Snow led me to a causeway behind her. It was a bit difficult to see in the dark, but I noticed a large waterfall of sewage in front of us.
"About ten meters across, according to Jessie," said Snow, "can you make it?"
"A bit late to ask me that now," I said, "it's further than I've ever had to jump before, but I think I can make it. And you?"
"No problem."
"I need some set-up time."
"Hurry. We don't have a lot of that."
As quickly as I could, I used Icy Wind to freeze the sewage solid and make a little ramp on our side. I then made a long ice slide leading up to the pit.
"STOP THERE, ARGYLE!"
I jumped at the noise. Danté and Pyra had already caught up.
"Sorry, not on my list of priorities," I said, "Now, Snow! Agility!"
I jumped on the ice slide and slip-slided away.
"Get back here!" Shouted Pyra, "woah!"
By the "woah!", I knew that Pyra literally stumbled upon the slide. Our little game of chase came to an end when I ramped into the air and landed with a stumble on the other side of the pit. Danté fell down the unseen pit and Pyra, amusingly, ramped off the ice backwards and after a little airtime, fell into the pit as well.
"I HATE YOU!" Yelled Pyra as she fell.
"Where's Snow?"
"Over here!"
Snow was using her powers of ice to create little patches of ice underneath her paws. She was using this ice to walk on the side of the walls of the causeway.
"Show off," I said.
"Look who's talking, Johnny Blaze."
We both shared a laugh at that.
"We should probably make a bridge for Sal," I said.
"Agreed."
Snow and I combined our icy powers to make a narrow ice bridge connecting one side of the pit to the other. We had barely finished before Sal and Jessie were walking toward us led by a flame of Sal's own creation.
"There you are," said Sal.
"Careful," said Snow, "we made a bridge over to this side, but it's narrow and slick."
Sal and Jessie joined us after crossing the bridge. They were extremely meticulous in their approach so as not to fall off the ice. After they crossed, Jessie wrapped her maw-like horns around the bridge and bit down. With a crack and a crunch, the bridge collapsed and fell into the pit and raw sewage below.
"Why'd you do that!?" Asked Snow 'calmly', "Argyle and I worked very hard on that!"
"To block pursuit," replied Jessie, "the smell and hostile Poison types down there won't stop them forever."
"Agreed. Let's get out of here," I said.
"The exit is just down here."
Jessie led us down the causeway to an ancient stone spiral staircase leading up. She headed up without hesitation, opened up a trap door and out into a grassy field.
"Sun, you are my best friend," said Snow.
"I'm covered in sewer water," complained Sal.
"There is an onsen run by my gang just a few clicks east of here," said Jessie, "let's get cleaned off there."
"No complaints here," said Sal.
With that, our team set off for the onsen.
