Episode 19: Feather, the Powerful Enigma

"Ah, now we're talking. Cool breeze, yummy snacks, quiet ocean… For the first time in forever, life's actually relaxing," Ruby remarked. She sat back, sighed, and stuffed an apple in her mouth. The group were heading back to Heroica on Posia, the giant Lanturn that Elise lent them. Posia was fast thanks to its size, but it looked like it would still be a while before they touched land.

"Being up in the sky made my bones all stiff. You don't realise how cold it is up there until you're back in proper sunlight," Lucca remarked, sat back and relaxed, too.

"You have bones?" Ruby squeaked.

"… Yeah, of course I do? Why wouldn't I?" he raised an eyebrow.

"You're so bendy and squishy, and slippery, too. You move like there's nothing inside you sometimes," Crystal remarked happily. Lucca gave his belly a nervous pat.

"Anyway, enough stalling. You said you were going to explain to us. Now, mister," Azu said, arms folded.

"Yeah, I did. Still figuring out where to start," he mumbled. "Hmm. Maybe it's obvious by now, but me and Mimia don't come from here. We're from a kingdom underneath Heroica known as Reverie. I'm actually the crown prince of that kingdom."

"Whoa, you're a prince?" Crystal gasped. Ruby had to cover her mouth for some reason.

"Reverie is a world completely devoid of nature, though. Bestia has almost completely run out down there. It's running out in Heroica too, but it's more extreme than that. I'd never even seen a green field before until I came here," Lucca explained. "Originally, it was my mission to help the Shining Warriors so that I could beg them to restore Bestia to Reverie. But then me and Mimia wound up becoming Shining Warriors ourselves."

"Isn't that convenient. Now that you're hands on, you weren't going to ask, you were just going to take, weren't you?" Azu guessed.

"Not really. I don't know exactly how the Bestia restoration works, so it would depend on what actually happens when all the fountains are activated," Lucca said with a shrug. "The thing is, now I'm really confused on everything that's going on. I knew that Father was once a Shining Warrior, but then Gladys tells me my Mother and their retainer were, too."

"Why's that important?" Ruby asked.

"Well," he mouthed off, and stared at Shelly, who cocked their head in confusion. "Shelly, your mother was an Azumarill called Nebilim Aska, right? An Azumarill who somehow gave birth to you… well, that exact Pokémon had me, too."

"Your ma was Nebilim, too? Wa-wait a minute," the Oshawott gasped as he realised. "We're brothers?"

"Somehow, distant brothers. Mother decided to leave you with Gladys for some reason, while I was raised in Reverie. Why do that? And why did Father never tell me about you? They had to have been together at the time," Lucca rubbed his chin. "There's just a few things I'm finding out that I'm confused about. Too confused to really commit to my mission."

"Does this have something to do with why you murdered Pokémon? That's what I'm concerned with, really," Azu slumped.

Lucca hesitated this time. "That Zweilous was my work. It was my duty to kill any Pokémon that threatened to jeopardize the Shining Warrior journey at all costs. But after that? My retainer's been meeting me in secret and telling me who I need to get rid of."

"Have they been spying on us the whole time? Did they find something out about Gladys and Esther?" Azu's eyes widened.

Lucca was still hesitant and thoughtful. "Well, no. They didn't tell me. They just told me Esther had to go. I made an attempt on Esther, but something else happened."

"Something else?" Brine cocked her head.

"Stop beating around the bush. I still don't fully trust you, you know," Azu stated.

"I will tell you. But you have to trust me right now – not here and now. I promise I'll explain it, but I just can't right now," Lucca said, becoming a bit exasperated. The others turned away. "I'm conflicted. Reverie has its entire population, my entire family of supposedly intelligent Pokémon that're all part of the Aska family, frozen in giant cubes of magic ice. They'll wake up when Bestia is restored to Reverie. If we don't, they could stay asleep forever. But once I saw how hard Mimia would hurt himself just for my sake…"

"You can't afford for a Shining Warrior to die, is that it? Are we really just all tools to you?" Azu challenged.

"Oh shut up, he never said that!" Ruby snapped at her.

"Look, it's more than that. I meant what I said up there. Mimia's not some expendable resource, he's my friend, and I never want him gone. But fighting this hard, killing other Pokémon I don't know, and finding out there are secrets kept from me too, and then Brine's story about the Undine coupled with Gladys' goal," Lucca explained, and glanced at Brine, who nodded.

"The Revenants could just be another race in this war for Bestia," Brine stated, and he nodded.

"You guys are dear friends to me, not just allies in battle. That's why I want to make a decision for myself, now. No more murdering Pokémon on order or secret agendas. From here on, I'm just a wandering guy who became a Shining Warrior," Lucca announced.

"Oh really? Does that mean you're…" Ruby said, and bat her eyes at him. Mimia started growling at her. "What? Don't gimme that. I'll fight you!"

"Ha, yeah I just told you I'm a prince, but I'd really prefer it if you guys treated me the same as always. I've no power here, after all," Lucca snickered.

"But you're my brother, now. If only Elise knew, too," Shelly said.

"It's weird, right? We're so different, species and all, but it's a thing. The Aska family is all inbred, so it's oddly possible," Lucca added. "Maybe I should be the one teaching you how to fight. Big brother duty and stuff."

"I-I'm okay!" he gasped, and Lucca laughed.

"Man, you guys really have been through a lot," Brine said quietly. And then there's me… why am I really here?

Mimia said something in feral language, to which Lucca frowned. "Buddy, you didn't need to be so secretive in the first place. I'm sure everyone would be happier to know the real you from here on out, too."

Mimia nodded, and then carefully slid over to Brine, and bowed. "I'm sorry I was so rude to you before."

Brine blinked dumbly. "Ahaha, it's fine, really! I didn't see it as rude or anything. I appreciate it, though."

"I am not confident in my voice, so if possible, I would like to keep quiet in public, please," Mimia added, addressing everyone this time.

"Why don't you teach us feral language? That could help a lot," Azu suggested. Mimia shook his head to say no, and then settled back down. "It was worth a shot."

A prince from a dying kingdom, a runaway from a country looking for war, a disabled outcast, an independent feral, and whatever in the world Crystal is… why do I feel like I don't belong? Brine frowned. I can't force myself to care about what I don't care about, though…

…

The group relaxed a lot more from there on, and reached Girage Field not long after. The city hadn't changed visually from their last visit, but tensions rocketed the moment they arrived. It was still an overcrowded series of streets and fields lined with tall buildings, coupled with an ugly smell concocted by the various services. Aromas from a row of restaurants selling fresh food battled an active material works, where iron was melted and wood was cut directly opposite them. The smell of the sea spilled out everywhere else.

Brine was right to feel intimidated. There were many more knights around compared to last time she was here. The group docked themselves at the far end of a beach by a few huts and away from the commercial structures, so there were only a few other Pokémon here who relaxed and paid them little mind.

"Where are we even headed? I should have asked earlier, but Angel, where's our next stop?" Lucca asked. The Togekiss popped out without a word, and then pointed to a spot on their map. "A little southeast. Is that area desert?"

"Oh, it would be there. Yeah, that makes sense," Brine said. All eyes turned to her. "That fountain and the monster that guards it activated on me before I got to meet you guys. It happens to be an area I frequent, so I could guide you guys straight there the quickest way."

"Quickest might not be best," Azu sighed. Brine gave her a look. "Care to explain, mister royal?"

"We're wanted by the knights, here. We can't afford to get caught," Lucca slumped, wary of the other Pokémon around. "We should get going and be out of here as soon as possible."

"Well that'll make this fun," Brine scratched an ear, and then straightened her goggles. "Seriously, you guys… we're gonna need a plan. Maybe some disguises…"

"Disguises, huh? Oh, I have just the thing!" Azu bounced happily.

A little while later, the group were back in the depths of the big city. Stuck in the middle of a crowd of Pokémon three times their height, they were filtered through the streets like mail on a factory line. They stayed together, but grew nervous as they reached a four-way intersection. Knights were stationed at the four corners to help direct all the Pokémon.

"Seriously, Azu? This was your plan? There are knights right there," Crystal hissed.

"How do you hide a tree? Use a forest. We look just like everyone else now that we're naked," Azu giggled.

"Just because we're not wearing our amulets, doesn't mean we can't be identified. Me and Mimia don't wear anything besides our weapons," Lucca said worriedly. Mimia did keep both eyes open, however.

"Shh. Look alive, now. Remember, we're going for Teriyaki Outpost," Brine whispered as their turn came up. The group straightened and let her take the lead.

"Don't miss the smaller Pokémon. Are you all together? Where are you headed?" One of two knights stopped them at the corner.

"Teriyaki Desert. A friend is waiting at the outpost for us," Brine pointed down the road.

"Very well. Ten seconds!" the knight shouted to his comrade on the other side of the square. They stood and watched as a line of Pokémon marched across, but Crystal couldn't help but exhibit nervous gestures. She gulped, started to sweat, and Ruby nudged her in annoyance.

"Hey, wait a second. Are the six of you together? I swear I recognise this group…?" one of the knights crouched down to them.

Shoot. Is our group's species too recognisable? Brine gulped.

The knight stared at them intensely, though it confused her more than anything. He had a hollow space for his eyes, but there was nothing there besides black, as far as Brine could tell. And yet, she felt his eyes on her, and possibly Crystal, who was very close to losing it. Her fists clenched and she shifted a foot back, ready to attack and sprint at a moment's notice.

"What, ain't ever seen a sexy Cyndaquil before?" Ruby said aloud, and posed for him.

"H-huh?" The knight jerked back instantly.

"Sorry. This mousey's a bit too hot for the steel kind, so can we go now?" she teased.

"E-er, um, y-yes. Ahem," the knight replied, and tapped his weapon.

"C'mon man, you know it's bad favour to stare, especially the smaller ones. Yes we're looking for a Piplup, but you can't stop every one we see," the other knight told him off. He signalled for the traffic to move, and the group walked off.

"I can't believe this is actually working," Brine sighed, and wiped her forehead.

"Like I said, hide a tree in a forest," Azu giggled.

"You almost gave us away. Get it together!" Ruby complained.

"It's not my fault! Who wouldn't get nervous if stared in the eyes?" Crystal cried. "Plus, seriously? A sexy Cyndaquil? When did you get so racy?"

"What? Do you think I am?" she replied.

"No, what the heck!" Crystal squealed and blushed.

"Well I don't, either," she turned away. Crystal raised a flipper to argue, and then realised what was just said.

"Could we maybe... talk about this another time?" Azu suggested.

The crowd eased up as other Pokémon stopped off at shops or went down other streets. Girage was as big and bothersome as Brine remembered: a simple trip to one end of the city meant traipsing down wide roads of grass and stone, behind bulky Pokémon that somehow walked slower than a Slugma. The group took the opportunity to stock up on their own necessities as they passed market stands or tool shops.

Soon they reached the familiar road that led out to the desert. It was just the same as when she'd last used it. The stone floor here didn't have much grass, and what was there was yellow and dry. The only buildings appeared to be homes, and a lone Kecleon shop right by the entry and exit banner. Beyond that, nothing but sandy dunes baked by unforgiving sunlight. The wind barely blew here either, so the heat was stagnant.

"When I said I wanted heat, this isn't what I had in mind," Lucca commented. He was already sweating.

"Are you water types gonna dry up and start flopping about? What's the holdup?" Ruby asked as she took the lead.

"It's… it looks really hot out there. And it'll be a long journey, too," Shelly leaned away.

"Aaand? All we have to do is- Ow, hey, what the- eek!" Ruby started dancing about as if something was nicking at her feet, and stopped once she bounced back to their side.

"Yes, the desert sands are extremely hot. There is a lack of wind too, so the heat will be relentless. Yet, this is where a Bestia Fountain is," Brine explained.

"Hot enough to burn me? How does that make sense?" Ruby cried.

"You might be fire type, but you're still just a little mouse Pokémon. You can still burn if you were set alight," Azu explained. "Same way I could drown if I were stuck underwater."

"Hrrg, point taken," Ruby grumbled.

"Is the fountain far away?" Crystal asked.

"We can get there in a day if we walk nonstop. I've made the trip several times before," Brine answered. She took her scarf out and hung her amulet around her neck again. "Given the hour, we'll have to camp at an oasis that's a little diversion of the way there."

"Too late to go grab a carriage, huh?" Lucca joked.

"I wouldn't pull it across the desert even if you ordered me to," Mimia confessed. Lucca groaned as their trip began.

We managed to get through the city without the knights chasing us, but this is still going to be a task and a half, Brine realised. She led the way, but promptly stopped to let the others get used to the extreme heat. Ruby seemed to have adjusted, but Lucca and Shelly hissed and scrunched up their faces with every step. The hot sand must have been blistering to them.

Not that Brine herself was any better. She had gotten used to Van Aken's comfy soils, so now her body was not happy about this. The heat was one thing, the grains seeping their way into her fur with every step was another. She had to resist stopping to scratch her feet every now and then, and could also feel sweat building up beneath her scarf. She could only imagine how Azu must have felt, with her Thick Fat becoming an issue. About twenty minutes later, the group had passed over the first sandy hill, where Brine had to stop and gasp out loud. Teriyaki Desert had changed completely from when she was last here.

What was once a natural desert was now a maze of ruins that carved its way into very earth itself. Everything was still yellow, orange, and dusty, with a pure blue sky that fluctuated in extreme heat. Unnatural shapes dotted the landscape every couple of metres, varying in size and shape. What little wind there was didn't carry clouds of sand with it. Instead, it sang an eerie howl through holes in the walls like an offkey flute. Amongst that were craters like the surface of the moon, many of which still had meteorites that crackled with red flames or draconic blue energy.

"Was this the beast's doing?" Brine whispered in disbelief.

"Er, good thing we prepared?" Azu shrugged. Brine shook her head as she stumbled forward, and stopped by a ledge that was higher than she expected. "This is not what the desert's supposed to look like."

The more she looked, the worse it got. To get through here, they would have to climb. They would have to dig. They would potentially even have to jump cliffs. Despite the utterly eaten earth, this whole area retained every harsh quality of the desert trip she knew and hated so much. They were not getting through here in one day.

"Does any of this even go through? You'd think the knights would warn us there was no desert outpost," Crystal cocked her head. "Where do we start? How do we get down?"

"Careful. I can smell ferals hidden below," Mimia warned.

"They're probably loving this layout. Alright, so the aim is to not hit the lowest levels," Lucca thought aloud. "Er, anyone have any idea how we're going to manage that?"

"If only we could fly," Crystal slumped.

"Fly…? Wa-wait, we can," Shelly gasped. "Crystal, don't you remember?"

"Huh?"

"It was you, lass! Your idea," he beamed up. Crystal stayed confused, so he started digging through his Treasure Orb. "I-I'm sure I have it somewhere. It was you who did it last time back at the Fossil Hill temple. Gotcha!"

He had to put the orb down to pull a rope from it, and then handed one end to Crystal. Azu finally beamed up too, and smiled. "Oh wow, now there's a memory. Yes, with your good aim and the sturdiness of these ruins, that just might work."

"You want me to make ropeways? It might take a while to get through," Crystal said unsurely.

"It'll be infinitely quicker than attempting to navigate these dungeons. So we tie one end to something, and then…" Azu trailed off as she scanned the scenery. "Look for something an arrow could pierce."

"Not only does it have to pierce, it would have to stay stable. A bit difficult when you don't have Mimia to stab it in the ground on the other end," Lucca added. Mimia whined at the comment.

"Ropeways," Brine muttered as the group split off to scan the environment. Everything was sand and earth, so there was no way an ordinary arrow was going to safely pierce and lock into place. "But we're Shining Warriors. That's right. We would never have to do this a normal way. Guys! I have an idea."

"The floor's all yours," Lucca said. Brine took a moment to regain her bearings, and locked her sights on where she knew the oasis was.

"I wonder if this'll work? We've got plenty of cool, special powers, after all," Brine said, and crouched. Her bracelets glowed, and water gathered around her palms. She took a moment to bask in the relief from the heat, and then turned to Crystal. "Hand me that arrow! And get ready to shoot."

"Uh," Crystal nervously obeyed, and stood by Brine. The duo had their arms together, as if Brine steadied the arrow while Crystal nocked and pulled it back. When she was ready to aim, Brine's water powers spiked, and a huge orb surrounded the entire bow. The orb splashed and sputtered like rushing water.

"You're aiming as far you can go. See that dune over there, where the broken archway thingy is? Let's try there," Brine instructed.

"If you say so," Crystal obeyed with determination. She let the arrow loose with a cry, and it flew across the air in a flash. Following the exact trajectory of the arrow was Brine's water, which stayed in place as a beam of water. "Whoa, it's like a Hydro Pump!"

"How's that for a teamwork move? We could probably use this in a fight, too," Brine remarked, and posed proudly. "Quickly, get in! The water won't stay there forever."

"Ladies first," Lucca bowed.

"Why thank you," Ruby played along, and dove straight in. Exactly as predicted, she was jetted along the water beam at high speed, and travelled along it perfectly. Brine stood by the front of the beam and provided more water for it, allowing the others to jump in at their leisure.

"Way to go. What'd we do without you two?" Azu praised, and rolled in.

"Careful, Mimia. You first. You too, little bro," Lucca ordered. The Stufful yipped and dove in, followed by a nervous Shelly. Lucca was next, and gave a friendly wave. Crystal gave a focused nod and dove in, leaving just Brine.

"Alright. They're either dead because of my screwup, or this is gonna be fun. Let's do it, Brine," the Pikachu told herself as she let up on her water. The beam instantly began to weaken, so she dashed in.

She was surprised at how much force would be here, even though it was her and Crystal's attack. It wasn't unpleasant as she braced herself for it, but it was little different than having her whole body carried by a powerful current. Fortunately, unlike being thrown around by a river, she could keep her body angled nicely, and observed the desert as it scrolled below. Even with a watery filter over it, she could see how dark the desert had become.

Brine hit her head on the wall at the end of the water beam and tumbled to the ground in a blank daze. It didn't hurt as much as she thought, but she did get drenched as excess water splashed over her afterwards. "Uh… that was meant to happen, I think."

"Hee hee hee, you okay? You look like you're seen something," Ruby commented.

"Ye-yeah," she muttered as she got up. Now that they were in the middle of these ruins, she could see a few of the meteors and broken planet up close. Some of the walls that jutted out of the sand looked familiar, for some reason. "Wait a minute, these are…"

"Yep. It's just like the temple we just did, and the one before that," Lucca nodded to her. "This whole setup is our next trial site after all."

"I'm sure the actual fountain is by Scar's Village, though. To think that one beast could do all this damage intentionally… it's like it's trying to build its temple," Brine remarked.

"Anything about that you can tell us by the way? Probably better we learn about the beast before we fight it," Lucca asked.

"Good point. I was taking us to the oasis first. We can camp to prepare properly, and then head to the fountain tomorrow. We'll use more water beams like we did just now. Sound like a plan?" Brine smiled.

"Hey guys, up here!" Ruby called. Her and Shelly were at the top of the dune behind them. "All that crazy stuff just stops over here!"

Brine was confused until she scrambled up the sands to reach the top of the dune. Surely enough, over this hill was actual desert, all the same as she expected. Sandy slopes swept by dusty winds as far as the eye could see, but the hopeful view of an oasis dead centre. There were a few tents by the water and greenery.

"Even with all this out here, there are other Pokémon here. The other temples were all empty," Crystal remarked.

"You'd be surprised. It's probably Scar and the builders," Brine said, and climbed up. She stretched her arms, and then led the way. "I worked here with Scar for a good while. The guy really wanted to build a village here."

"Here? In the desert?" Shelly asked. Brine nodded. It was all downhill from here, so she tucked her arms behind her head.

"It sounds nuts, doesn't it? But he had a plan for it. Something about the way he does things inspired me to stay. Plus it kept me outta the public eye," she explained.

The oasis was further away than the view made out. By the time they reached it, the sun was beginning to set, and with it, the temperature dropped and the winds picked up. The song from the temple echoed even here, now orchestrated by the sway of palm trees and the rustle of their leaves. Now that they weren't running away from knights or sneaking through the public, there was something pleasant about all this.

Brine took a deep sniff and let out a content sigh. Now this was good nostalgia, even though it wasn't that long ago. Not just nostalgia, but a part of adventuring that always attracted her. The best part of those long trips back and forth through Teriyaki Desert was the chill evenings where she could snuggle up in a tent and just snore away until the sun woke her. She didn't consider herself lazy, but lazing around like that felt like a worthwhile reward.

"Impressive, Shining Warriors," a low, female voice announced. Eyes widened and heads searched, until a familiar Raichu emerged from behind a couple of palm trees and a tent. She yawned and stretched as she floated into open space, but when she stopped, two camouflaged Inteleon appeared beside her. Both had bows and arrows nocked and ready. "You guys got here far quicker than I thought you would."

"Should we know you?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"It's that policemon that led the chase out of Girage," Lucca said. He already had his swords drawn.

"When I was given the order to take down the Shining Warriors, you have no idea how excited I was. You guys've given me more excitement than any criminal Heroica's force has ever had to deal with. You guys jumped into the ocean, and yet, here you are! Alive and well! Staring me down with the most intense mugs I've ever seen."

Shelly sneezed, and had to rub his nose.

"Well, you could appear a little cooler I suppose, but we take what we can get. This is going to go to an all-out battle, isn't it?" Raichu added cheerfully.

"I suppose you don't want it to. I'm happy to resolve this diplomatically," Azu replied.

"Oh? After fighting so hard, you're willing to come quietly?" Raichu asked in surprise.

"N-no. I mean to explain a huge misunderstanding," Lucca corrected.

"Perhaps it will come to that. But for now, I'm afraid your adventure comes to an end," Raichu stated. She held a paw out to accept an offering. "Hand over Esther, weapons on the floor, and paws in the air. If you follow me back to the station, I will make sure to go easy on you."

Who is this Pokémon? And why do her words fill me with dread? Brine asked herself as she tensed up. The Raichu appeared so round, docile, and cute, despite the age of her voice. She sat on her tail and levitated off the ground by a couple of metres, while her unusual blue eyes shone in the oncoming dark of night.

"You are planning on fighting me, aren't you? I'm afraid my demands aren't negotiable. They're my orders from higher up, after all," Raichu put her paw down.

"Grr, who even are you? You're so pushy," Ruby snapped. Raichu blinked slowly.

"I am Feather, Raichu chief of Heroica National Police," Raichu introduced. Her body didn't move as she spoke, but her Inteleon allies lit their arrows with sparklers and fire. "Me and my investigative forces deal with the biggest threats in Heroica. Members of your group are wanted for murder, kidnapping, and the damaging of public property. You've done a lot to earn the honour of confronting me."

"This is bad. We can't afford to fight the police," Lucca muttered. "Does us being Shining Warriors really not matter? Can't they excuse us since we're heroes?"

"If they did that, other Pokémon would be crying bias. The older Shining Warriors weren't star pupils, either," Azu whispered.

"Stop mumbling. Don't make me have to use the countdown again," Feather groaned. "You either come quietly, or we fight and I force you. You have your orders."

"Seriously, what did you guys do? The knights chasing us through Van Aken was a nightmare in itself, now you waited an ambush in the desert? Is the whole world against us?" Brine ranted.

Finally, feather lowered her paws. "Come again?"

"They… chased us through Van Aken?" Brine said with a furrowed brow. There was a long pause, and then Feather suddenly got off her tail and held it like a bow and arrow. The board of her tail was the arc, while the stringy part of her tail was the elastic. "Urk, what's with that?"

"Oh, I just decided that you guys would make too interesting of a fight to pass up," Feather remarked, and drew back an arrow. Everyone shifted back. "You escaped all that ruckus in Girage, survived an ocean of black water, and even got through an army of knights who braved chasing you to the other country… you guys are extreme."

Brine focused hard on the battle, now. From this far away, I can dodge them, provided those Inteleon's arrows don't explode or something. If I can reach the water, I can replenish and wash them out or something.

"Hey, want to hear something cool? I know a Pokémon who's done more extreme stuff than you," Feather continued. The group remained tense and focused, to which she shrugged. "Hey, I'm just talking to you. No need to look like I'm gonna kill you or something. I'm not allowed to do that, since you are the Shining Warriors and all that."

"If you're not trying to kill us then why try so hard? Just let us go!" Ruby argued.

"You do your time, then you get back to your adventure. That, or we treat it as community service. Depends on how hard we want to go on you," Feather shrugged. "But that extreme guy, yeah, he did a lot of hardcore stuff. I'm talking, this guy must've been trying to break as many laws as he could, and was somehow still labelled a good guy. It took everything I had to take him down. And then we fell in love and had a kid. Truly, the definition of extreme, right?"

What in the world is she on about? Brine was confused. She opened her mouth to make a sly comment, but stopped when she spotted Mimia behind the enemy. At some point he'd snuck by and was ready to pounce on the Inteleon. Brine spared him a blink, and then tried not to give him away.

"You guys are docile in comparison. You don't want to get caught, but you're not going to attack either, are you? Linger too long, and something will surprise ya," Feather warned.

Mimia attacked just then, tackling the first Inteleon to the floor. There was a little scuffle, but Mimia defeated him by breaking his bow and hammering his head into the sand. The second Inteleon cursed, but just as he turned to stop Mimia, Crystal shot an arrow that knocked his weapon out of his hands. From there, Mimia tackled and knocked him out, too.

"Just like that. Well done," Feather said, smiling at them. Mimia barked at her, and the rest of the group surrounded her. She pulled an arrow with her tail back as far as it would go, and slowly spun to glare at them all. "Thanks to that, you're officially the aggressors. That means I get to have a go without holding back. They don't need to see this."

Something's not right. Why does she WANT to fight us? Brine shuddered, and shifted back again. Actually, does a Raichu's tail even work like that? Surely an arrow fired like that would lack power—

She was cut off as Feather launched an arrow at Shelly, who had an instant to react. Feather's arrow hit the sand right in front of the Oshawott, but it hit so hard that a wave of sand erupted into the sky. Shelly wasn't just knocked back by the sheer force of it, the sand buried him, too.

"Shelly!" Crystal cried.

"Always take out the support, first. So let's see what the rest of you've got. C'mon, I'll take you all on at once!" feather bounced cheerfully.

Lucca grit his fangs, and then flew forward as fast as he could. In the few seconds it took for him to reach her, the Raichu released three arrows, one after the other. He dodged all three, but each one had the same power as the arrow that took out Shelly. Sand exploded high into the air on impact, almost like a bomb had gone off.

Mimia barked to signal he was in the fight, too. Lucca and Mimia stood either side of Feather for a moment, and then dove into her. It was difficult to follow, but there were slashes, punches, and tail swipes, all exchanged within a short space of time. Just when it looked like Lucca might land a hit, Feather flipped out of the skirmish, and while upside-down in the air, fired an arrow at Ruby. Ruby had her Parashelter out and blocked it, but the arrow bounced right off the armoured canopy. It hit with so much force that the Cyndaquil was knocked off balance with a squeak.

"She's fast!" Lucca hissed, and Mimia growled.

"Da-damn it, what's with this?" Ruby grunted as more arrows were pelted against her shield. They hit with so much force it felt like the shield might shatter. She flared her back, planted her feet, and then put her all into shooting fire into her canopy.

"Hmpf, can't stay blocking forever, can you?" Feather sung as she continued to fire arrow after arrow at Ruby's shield. She suddenly stopped and spun to the side to avoid a vicious slash from Lucca. He continued to hack at her, but she twirled away from him gracefully. "Come now, you're supposed to be a dancer, yes? You must have more graceful moves than this."

She was shut up as Ruby's Fire Spin flew into her, and she was trapped in the centre of swirling flames. Lucca landed before her and posed coolly. "I didn't need to hit you. I just needed to stall time for that."

"Right, right. Teamwork and all. You're off to a great start, proving why you're heroes and all. But still, I would not be the head of the police were I easy to defeat," Feather replied. She crossed her paws and then unfurled them with force. A burst of steam surrounded her, and the Fire Spin was completely extinguished. "You're going to have to try harder than that."

"What? How?" Ruby shrieked.

There's no way! Brine gasped. She stood back to observe the whole time, and as the battle resumed, paid even closer attention to Feather's attacks. Every time the Raichu fired an arrow, there was watery residue. On top of that, she never once drew an actual arrow. It really is that…

"You're not done already, are you?" Feather teased, and held her tail like a bow. "Surely you have more than one trick up your fur for a tricky foe, right?"

"Yeah, we do!" Brine announced, and held her kendama across her front.

"Oh? Now that's just interesting. What do you plan to do with that toy?" Feather said, and calmed down. She sat back on her tail and leaned on her paws.

Good. She's underestimating me, Brine took a deep breath. She knew all eyes were on her, so she didn't waste time with her focus. Her powers began to conjure around her kendama, specifically the ball on the end, and it soon transformed into a large orb of water. Like this, Brine could swing the ball towards Feather like a wrecking ball.

Feather was certainly surprised. Those eyes of hers, which had been calm throughout this entire confrontation, finally widened into shock. She had to stand on her tail and throw herself backwards to dodge Brine's attack, and nearly fell off her tail when she landed.

"And again!" Brine growled as she pulled her kendama the other way. Her attack was as heavy as an actual wrecking ball, so swinging this way pulled her whole body with the attack. Feather jumped away from it again, but this time she didn't stumble. "Stay still damn it!"

"Brine, be careful!" Lucca coughed, but he was ignored. Brine kept swinging that giant orb across the sand with all the force she could muster. It drew a valley of sand it its wake, and smashed against the trees so hard the entire oasis shook with the sound of a gigantic splash.

Eventually the orb shrunk to normal size, so she brought the ball back to ball back to her kendama. By now, Brine was sweating hard, and her breath was dry. Feather hadn't taken a single hit, but she was stood up and glaring at her with a frown. Brine glared back and tried to appear as intimidating as she could.

"A Pikachu… with Undine powers… a watermarked Pikachu," Feather said. She finally smirked. "Now that is a surprise. The rest of you, is that how you guys walked through the sea?"

"Er, not really. I can make air bubbles," Lucca rubbed the back of his head. Mimia yipped in agreement. Shelly finally crawled his way out of the sand too, and dozily joined them.

"Still, a rage-induced giant ball of water has gotta be on the low end of the creativity scale. I'm disappointed," Feather admitted.

"Because you're watermarked too, right?" Brine challenged. Feather's look intensified again. "Raichu's tails aren't stringy enough to actually be used as a bow and arrow. I learnt that today from getting to touch the bow of a pro. You don't even have actual arrows on you, either. You're just amplifying your shots with blasts of water!"

Feather's eyes widened. "You figured that out just by watching me. Now that's impressive. But will that knowledge be enough to stop me?"

"Wait, stop!" Azu shouted. "Are you serious? What's a watermarked Pokémon doing as the chief of police?"

"And… you said you had a daughter with someone who broke the law… c-could that be Brine?" Crystal asked.

"Brine? I thought I heard you call her that name," Feather's attention returned to the Pikachu. Now, her heart was racing. "So I'm gonna play this as if you guys already know about Undine and all that. Yeah, my daughter was called Brine. I had to abandon her after my husband took her away."

Brine finally gasped.

"So the old man finally kicked the bucket? And you wound up a Shining Warrior," Feather said softly, staring at Brine.

She couldn't believe it, and lowered her weapon. Her mother was watermarked, too. She came from a lineage, and was probably abandoned so that her undine father could escape. In a flash, a blast hit the sand by her feet, causing it erupt and knock her backwards. "H-hey, what gives?"

Feather had her tail draw like a bow again, and snickered. "Fate put us on opposing sides. My warrant to arrest your group, your destiny to complete the Shing Warrior quest… doesn't that sound metal as shit?"

"What?" Brine shrieked. "I'm your daughter! Doesn't that mean anything?"

"You're my daughter who has a warrant to be arrested. It's my job. Meanwhile, you have your reasons, and a quest to complete. Therefore, this is a battle nonetheless," Feather stated, and pulled her tail back. The group shifted to dodge. "Now you're gettin' it. Let's make this a match to be remembered!"

"This is asinine. What kind of mother wants to fight her own daughter over this?" Ruby snapped. "What kind of Pokémon are you, some kinda deranged maniac?"

"Oh my, you seem upset about this," Feather stopped smiling.

"Of course I'm upset, this is messed up! You don't even know why you wanna arrest us, do you?" Ruby shouted.

"I have orders, and I've read the reports myself. You guys have caused too much trouble to be allowed to be left to run around. But if it clears anything up," feather explained. "It's the knights that want you, not the police."

"So you married an undine, let him run off with your daughter, and now you don't even care that he's dead or that your daughter's been looking for you all this time?" Ruby said.

"Ruby," Brine muttered.

"Hmm. We're not even talking about your family. It's pretty strange you're so concerned about it," Feather shrugged.

"Nothing you say makes any damn sense. Why don't you care?" Ruby shouted.

"It's not that I don't care, sweetheart. But if I locked all my motivations to my family, I wouldn't have a life of my own," Feather stated. Ruby's eyes widened, and she couldn't reply. "Now stop getting all sentimental. I'm your enemy. Come at me like you mean it!"

Ruby coughed, growled, and stifled curses under her breath until she exploded into a Flamethrower attack. Feather stared straight into that fire as it neared her, and fired a water arrow right before it hit, piercing the Flamethrower straight down the centre to completely extinguish it. Ruby was still growling at her, so she brushed her side as if dusting herself.

"Brine, can't you do something?" Shelly asked worriedly.

"N-no … I used up all my water in that one attack," Brine shuddered. Her dry voice surprised even herself, and she coughed.

"Wh-what if you had Bestia? Call Angel!" Shelly cried.

Brine grit her fangs. Lucca and Mimia returned to their usual strategy of trying to attack from both sides, but Feather was relentless this time. Lucca danced around to attack stylishly, while Mimia kept trying to hammer her down. Feather darted back and forth with slick movements like she was skating on ice, and let loose water arrows with enough force to knock them both back.

"Dang, she's as smooth as me. I've never had to fight such a nimble opponent before," Lucca admitted. Mimia whined at him.

It's like she has mastery of her Undine powers. On top of being a psychic Raichu… that's a powerful combo. How can we stop that at all? It doesn't look like she'll run out of water like I have, Brine thought intensely as she observed the battle. Feather just didn't seem to have any weak points.

"Those powers of yours have to have something to them. It's the water in your body, right?" Azu asked, and walked over. Brine nodded. "And we're at an oasis. If you took a bath, you could use another attack. Is that how it works?"

"It is, but… what do I do?" Brine shuddered. By now, Lucca and Mimia were breathing heavily. Ruby hit with another Fire Spin, but it was blown away just as easily as before. "She knows how to use her powers properly, while I don't. I… I don't want to have to run away again. But I… I…"

"You're not giving up, are you?" Azu replied.

"No! I don't want to. But I… I-I don't know what to do!" Brine shuddered. "Pokémon are going to get hurt because of me again. Everything we've worked up towards—"

"Then stop that!" Azu objected. "You're the only other watermarked Pokémon here. Only you know Feather's weakness. She can get dehydrated, is there another way to cut off her water powers?"

Another way to cut off her powers? Or something like that… Brine thought hard, and shivered. At this point, Lucca, Mimia, and Ruby had stood back to fight defensively, letting Feather take aim at them. We can't cut off her powers with the oasis right there, she'll just replenish it. She can predict our movements because she's psychic. She probably has Lightning rod, so a Pokémon attack from me won't even work. Damn it, think Brine, think! What can I do? There has to be something, anything!

Feather started laughing cockily. "Well, that's a shame. I guess this is it, then. You guys put up a good song and dance. If you've got nothing else, then I guess it's time to put your weapons—"

She was cut off by the sudden woosh of an arrow. Then, there was silence. Feather slowly looked down at herself, and there was an arrow stuck in her abdomen.

"H-how?" Brine whispered.

"C-Crystal?" Lucca was first to realise, and everyone there spun around to the very back of the battle. Behind all of them, Crystal was in a pose as if she had just fired, and her head was down. She nocked another arrow, and then raised her head. Her eyes were glowing a bright blue, and there was a bizarre glee on her face.

"S-so there was another archer in your ranks. You certainly caught me off guard," Feather continued, and pointed a paw forward. In the blink of an eye, a rain of arrows fired straight at her, and she conjured a rounded shield of water to try and protect herself. However, several of the arrows went straight through it, and she fell backward with a freakish scream.

"What the? C-Crystal?" Ruby gasped.

"Stop her! You've got to stop her!" Lucca cried as he flew towards Crystal. Three arrows just about missed him while a fourth hit his side, but he ignored it with grunt.

"Lucca!" Azu cried as he engaged the Piplup.

The group were speechless as Lucca wrestled with her. He threw himself at her to tackle her down, and she retaliated with violent, feral thrashing, enough to make Mimia look tame. Lucca's swords were slapped away from him, the arrow in his side was stabbed deeper, and then Crystal positioned herself behind his head and caught his neck with her bow. She pulled back, and to everyone's surprise, Lucca couldn't break free. He started to choke, and that brought everyone else to action.

"What're you doing? Let him go!" Ruby shouted as she jumped onto Crystal's back. She was quickly thrown off, and Lucca was still choking, so she roared at the top of her voice and swung the Parashelter at Crystal's head. She hit hard enough that Crystal's head turned to the side, but that was enough for Lucca to break free.

The duo fell paces apart from each other, Lucca coughing and panting to get his breath back, while Crystal robotically got to her feet. Not a sound came from her as she glared at Ruby, who flinched away. And then, Crystal's eyes shut, and she fell face flat. Silence fell as suddenly as this scene had started.

"What… the heck just…?" Ruby breathed out. She shook herself off. "Lucca, Lucca are you okay?"

Her and Mimia freaking out over him brought Brine back, and she spun to try and find Feather. The Raichu had fallen to the ground, and trembled on shaky breath. Now was not the time to be shocked or have questions, though her mind had millions of them. "Feather!"

….

Author note: quite a chapter to come back to, huh?

Apologize for the extreme absence of updates until now. I've been working hard at trying to complete this fanfic, but between life issues, moving house, and a myriad of mental health stuff, progress has been incredibly slow. I desperately wanted to finish the story first before resuming posting for weekly updates. I'm happy to say I'm now at a stage where I will be able to do so!

So, what do you think so far? Any predictions on Crystal's ruthless outbursts?