Authors' Note: If there are any questions, please leave a review and we will do our best and try to answer it!
Disclaimer: We don't actually own Pokemon.
Chapter Nine: Route 1 Misadventure
Annie wasn't dead yet, but she was tired of being cooped up in a tiny cell like an overstuffed chicken.
A stamp-sized tray filled with Oran Berries was pushed through the flap in the door. A little bottle of water plunked down next to it.
"Eat your fruit!" The snarky voice of the rebel guard rumbled through the door. He laughed, and stormed off.
Annie picked at her berries and sighed. She stiffly got up. Half her body was wrapped in gauze, thanks to that little midair explosion. She hoped that Rob was okay and had gotten out of all that, but she honestly doubted that he'd be okay. From what she'd heard, a Shadow Force lieutenant had died in battle...
No. Annie shook her head. She refused to believe that Robert was dead. He had a daughter who loved him. Friends who depended on him. He couldn't be dead.
First things first―she had to escape. Annie surveyed her cell. It was made of iron. Good. She eyed the guards.
Then her plan fell into place.
In Accumula Town...
Ralph was watching Ron and some Revolutionists fix the armored vehicles, most of which had been destroyed during the battle after General Nova's explosion.
"Ralph!" He turned around to see Jason running him, waving a telegram. "Insta-telegram from Mayor Mack!"
"What?" Ralph turned around, frowning. "Is it urgent?"
"Yes!" Jason was so agitated, poffins and waffles started falling from his pockets. "He sent it through the fastest messenger in Nuvema! This has urgent written all over it!"
"If it was that urgent... I think he would've called us." Ralph said doubtfully.
Jason tore open the envelope and held it in front of his face. "Let's see... 'Dear Ralph, I am sorry to say that there has been a jail break...'"
"What?" Ralph grabbed the letter. "Lemme see that!" He scanned the letter. "Jail break... Mawile... oh, no." He glanced up grimly. "We've gotta catch that prisoner."
"Yeah." Xeno hopped by with a bored yawn. "We've got nothing better to do, anyways."
"True." Rachiel followed her. "So an escapee? No worries. We'll beat that Mawile to the ground and stuff it back into the cell, where it belongs!"
"Right." Ralph looked around. "Victor, Jason, Xeno, Rachiel, and Mark, come with me. We'll go find that escapee."
"So many Pokemon?" Charnette asked in a bored tone, "Is it necessary?"
"Yes!" Jason jumped up and down. "We'll just surround that officer and force-march him back!"
Ralph scanned the letter again. "I think it's a her." he said drily.
"Whatever! Lemme go pack some poffins for the trip!" Jason danced off gleefully.
"Your brother is too obsessed with food." Xeno grumbled.
"Not obsessed." Ralph sighed, "It's literally his lifeblood."
At Nuvema Jail...
"Get her!" Annie scrambled down the hall frantically, her bandages ripped and dripping red plasma. An arrow whisked by her head. A shuriken lodged itself in the wall inches from her face.
Since when were there ninjas in Nuvema?
She turned around and sealed the tunnel with an Ice Beam. The three guards that'd been chasing her yelped as they found themselves turned into ice statues. She darted down the tunnel, breathing heavily. She stopped to repair her bandages, carefully pressing them against her newly opened wounds.
"Over there!" a Growlithe yapped and blew fire. She instantly returned blows with a Hyper Beam. The dog fell, and two others took his place, their mouths glowing as they prepared a max-powered flame attack.
"Time to go." she decided, and dashed down another hallway as two insanely powerful Flamethrowers punched through the walls behind her. She surveyed her environment quickly. There had to be an entrance somewhere, right?
She paused, her jaws parted slightly, and sensed the cool air flowing past her tongue. She turned and raced towards the source of the glowing air.
BAM!
Annie was thrown against the wall as a Fennekin hurled itself at her. Why were all the rebel guards Fire types? It just wasn't fair! She scrambled away just in time to be sent flying by a Flame Charge.
Her entire body was racked by intense, burning pain, but she manage to kick the little fox Pokemon into the wall and knock the iron screen off the air vent.
She crawled in, her vision starting to go dark.
Luckily, she'd escaped prepared. She grabbed one of the Oran Berries she'd saved from her meal and popped it into her mouth. Her vision sharpened, and a cool feeling spread through her body.
No time to lose. She stumbled through the air vent and burst into the open, falling from the side of the jail building. A bit of a bad planning on her part. However, she was a rather skilled fighter. She turned the fall into a Rollout and rolled for all her might, plowing down the rebels that happened to be in her way.
She raced through the crowd of Pokemon, randomly blasting Ice Beams left and right. Rebels yelped as they suddenly found themselves frozen. Other Pokemon were trapped inside their newly frozen houses. Annie felt a bit guilty as she froze a supply van and a Munchlax in it, but a jail break was a jail break. Several Pokemon blasted her, causing her to stumble. She swallowed another Oran Berry and went on.
A Rhyperior stopped her in her path, punching her face-first into the ground. She yelled with pain and chomped down on her assailant's huge, rocky paw with her jaws. He yelped with pain and let her go. A Bullet Seed boosted her forward, causing her to go sprawling into the dirt path. She struggled up and kept on running.
Annie ran past the city limits at full speed and went straight into the woods, her eyesight blurry. She knew there were rogues in the forest. Maybe they were going to kill her. But her head felt tired and strained. Her body was wrapped in a lead coat of pure pain. She stumbled into something and fell, her head swimming with dizziness. She opened her eyes weakly to see two pairs of golden eyes staring back at her. One of them was in a dusty brown coat. The other one was a black figure with blue symbols. Her sight started to fail her.
"... kill her?" the black figure was saying. The cloak figure shook its head and pulled out a small blurry brown bag. Annie closed her eyes and suddenly sensed a cool feeling spreading through her body. They were healing her.
"You're an idiot." She dimly heard the black figure's voice. "She's our enemy. Why are you healing her? You want her to wake up and bust out ninja moves on us?" There was a moment of silence and a scratching sound. Then the voice sighed, "Okay, fine, Monnie. Do whatever you want. I'm gonna go after the Revolutionists. You... well, just do whatever you want."
Annie managed to find her voice. "Thank you." she whispered.
She felt a warm cloth being wrapped around her, and she fainted.
Back in Accumula Town...
"What? She escaped?" Ralph yelled into the phone, "Why weren't the defenses up? You said you'd build a wall!"
"I'm sorry, Ralph." Mayor Mack said, "But she went straight through the market and onto Route 1. We didn't build a wall there cuz it's... well, it's an open road. We can't just lock ourselves in."
"Okay, fine." Ralph sighed, "I'll go find the escapee and bring her to the Accumula Jail." He cut the call and turned around. "Change of plans―we're not going to Nuvema. We're gonna patrol Route 1 for the escapee."
"Okay." Charlez was studying a medicinal book with Lumiere. "That's three pinches of Sitrus powder... hmm... but wouldn't that clash with the Lum Berry potion?"
"Well, technically speaking on medicinal terms, if the essence of the Alpha component in the Lum berry, which contains the bitter factor in the berry, meets the sour factor in the Sitrus Berry, the medicinal potion will turn a bit... sour. But look, if we separate the sour factor..." He flipped several pages. "Look, over here."
"I'm telling you―we need aluminum for the bullets!" Ron was yelling at Billy. "Carbon won't cover it! We can't just use carbon in the cannon balls! That makes absolutely no sense!"
"Lumiere-senpai!" May yelped, "I think I put the wrong..."
BOOOM!
"... chemical in the potion." she coughed.
Ralph took that as an okay and turned to look for his teammates. "Who's coming to go escapee-catching?"
"Ralph!" Amethyst bounded over. "Charnette has a plan!"
Charnette slunked towards him frown the shadows, her forest green eyes gleaming. He tried not to shudder as she stopped by him, her dark aura crackling.
"The spy's here." she whispered, "And I have a perfectly lovely plan to crush him."
At the Shadow Force Outpost...
"Hey, where are you going?" Nova flapped down next to Rob as he tightened the saddle bag he'd wrapped around his body.
"We're going to find Annie." Jazz said in a steely voice. Her eyes, for once, were serious and full of anger.
"Rawhr!" Demo agreed.
"You... um... you do know she's in Nuvema Town, right?" Nova asked warily, "Are you sure you four can fight through a legion of highly-trained rebels?"
"We'll do just that if we have to." Gran said grimly, "Come on, let's go."
"Group R, move out!" Rob agreed. They turned and marched out the door. "We'll travel down Route 2 into Accumula, then go for Nuvema."
"Careful out there!" Nova called after them.
If one didn't look closely, they would've mistaken Group R for simple travelers. With cloaks over their shoulders, packs on their backs, they looked like one of those traveling traders. But if one got closer, they would noticed the tensed shoulders and guarded expression, as if they were ready to fight off an attack at the drop of a hat, which they probably were.
"Hey, you four!" All four Pokemon jumped as a Ponyta with a mail-pokemon's hat and bag clopped towards them. "Careful out here!" she said, her eyes flicking from side to side as if expecting an attack, "There's been a jail break in Nuvema! I heard that the escapee went into the forest along Route 1. You'd better stay away from that route!"
"An escapee?" Rob asked hopefully, "What kind of Pokemon could escape the Nuvema jail?"
The Ponyta pawed at the ground nervously. "I heard that it was a really smart Mawile that somehow managed to break out of her cell."
"Her?" Jazz asked, trying to hide the excitement in her voice.
"Yes, I think it was a girl." the Ponyta trotted past them. "Careful!" she called, "I heard that a team of Revolutionists already went out to catch the escapee. Don't go to Route 1!" The light seemed to wrap around the messenger, and in a zip of horse vapor, she dashed off.
Jazz turned to face Rob. "We have to get to Route 1!" she said, her eyes shining, "Annie's escaped!"
Somewhere in the ocean...
"Leave me alone!" Marcus slashed down with a Leaf Blade, sending the Gyarados back into the depths of the deep sea.
After parting with the Revolutionists, he had eventually made his way to the beach, where he'd bought a tiny skift from a couple of fisher-pokemon. Unfortunately, as soon as he'd set out on his oversea mission, wild Pokemon had been attacking him nonstop. Seriously, weren't there undersea politics that prevented the Pokemon from attacking poor, defenseless travelers?
He slumped down on the deck, idly steering the wheel with two vines. The wind pressed against the sails. Wingulls screeched as they flew by overhead.
The ancient sword was strapped against his back, protected by a leather armor strapped around himself that he'd found back at the Forest Bar. He vaguely remembered his grandmother making it for his dad, but not much else.
Suddenly, mist started spreading across the deck. Dread filled his heart as he stood up. Sure enough, the island of death was silhouetted against the white mist.
Every old timer knew the story of the Sirins. They were three beautiful bird Pokemon that lured sailors close with their beautiful voices and then sucked the life energy out of them. Why they didn't just settle for Pecha Berries, Marcus had no idea, but he wasn't exactly anxious to meet them.
Again, the myth was thousands of years old. How'd the Pokemon stayed alive for so long, he was clueless. He turned the steering wheel, but the ship didn't respond. It kept sailing towards the doomsday island.
Now frantic, he tugged at the wheel. Nothing happened. He slacked the sails. Still nothing. There was a magical force pulling his boat towards the island. Okay, that was just perfect. He rushed over to starboard and stared as the three Sirins came into view.
There was an Altaria, Unfezant, and a Swanna. A black cloth was wrapped around their slender necks, each fixed with a glowing green pendant. Their eyes flashed with malice.
"Who are you?" Marcus demanded, "Let my ship go!"
The Altaria laughed. "Oh, little one." she said in a melodic voice, "My name is Aria. My friend, the Unfezant here, is Songia. And the Swanna here is Serene."
"We mean you no harm." Serene cooed, "We just want one thing from you, and we'll let your ship go."
"What do you want?" Marcus's hackles raised. His lips curled into a half-snarl.
Aria let out a shrieking laugh. "Your life energy!" she snarled.
Marcus lunged at her, fangs bared, ready to take the loco birds down.
Then the Sirins started singing.
In Accumula Town...
Ralph, Lumiere, Charnette, Mark, Amethyst, Jason, and Rachiel were seated around a circular table in one of the spare meeting rooms in the Town Hall.
"I think we shouldn't take Route 2 to Straiton." Charnette started off Operation Catch Stupid Spy with a falsetto tone. She scribbled it down on a piece of paper and slid it over to Ralph. "See? Let's take that route!"
The paper read: Hey, the idiot's here.
Ralph glanced at the paper and scribbled on it. "No!" he said loudly, "I don't want to go through the uh, the Plush Pokedoll Jungle!" He slid it back towards Charnette.
The paper read: Should we throttle him now?
"Personally, I think we should go through the, um, Waffle Canyon." Jason suggested.
Charnette scribbled on the paper and sent it flying at Ralph. "Nah, you'd just eat the entire canyon and turn into a pot-belly pup. I think we should go this path―Misty Route."
"What about the, uh, Superchicken Road?" Rachiel asked.
"Nope," Mark glared at her, "What about the Please Shut Up Secret Pass?"
"Nah, I think we should head for the No You're An Idiot Alley." Rachiel snapped back.
The paper read: Let him lower his guard first.
Ralph shrugged. "They're all good choices. What about Both of You Stop Talking Passage?" he asked with a glare and wrote on the paper, "The passage here―see?" He used his aura-sensing ability and sensed the silvery aura next to the bookshelf.
The note now read: What about now?
"What about She Started It Route?" Mark sniped.
"How about It Was Just A Joke You Idiot?" Rachiel offered.
Charnette scribbled on the note paper and sent it back. Yes, now. Let's catch the bastard.
"I think there's another secret passage in one of the ancient books." Ralph stood up and walked towards the bookshelf. The others tensed. He grabbed the thickest, heaviest book he could find and whacked the invisible spy with it.
Immediately, they were all on top of him. The dark Pokemon shrieked with surprise.
"Hold him down!" Charnette yelled. The spy screamed and started sprouting some very creative strings of curses.
Mark grabbed the spy's paws and pinned him to the wall. Amethyst held a fire stick to his throat. He tried to use a Shadow Ball, but Charnette walked over gracefully and casted a disable spell on him.
They dragged the Pokemon over to the round table and plopped him on top of it.
"Why were you spying on us, Lunis?" Mark snarled, "I thought you had better business!"
The shiny Umbreon Spy, whose name was Lunis, glared back at him, his yellow eyes gleaming with fury.
"Not going to tell you, traitor!" he snarled, "Deserter! Imbecile! Idiots!"
The Revolutionists looked at each other as Lunis started sprouting more colorful language.
"Cheese-brain! Stupid! Son of a Muk!" he screamed.
"Kill him now?" Amethyst offered.
"No." Charnette walked over and placed a sharp claw on the spy's throat. "Tell us why you're here or I'll make sure you never breathe again."
"Screw you!" Lunis snapped, "You deserter!" He tried to move, but Charnette kept him down. "Let me go!" he cursed.
"I could've casted a spell that meant death, but I only did a temporarily move-disablizer spell." Charnette said softly, her voice deadly calm, "You don't want to change my mind, do you?"
"I'd rather die!" He squirmed, cursing the Revolutionists with words so strong, Arceus himself would've cleaned his mouth out with Xtra-Strong Machamp-Made Lard Soap.
"Look, Lunis!" Mark growled, "We've worked together before..."
"Once! And you and that Marcus idiot nearly botched it!" he yelled. Ralph hit him in the head with the book again.
"I know you don't do things for no reason. Now tell me―" Mark leaned down close to the Umbreon's face. "Why―are―you―spying―on―us?"
"Oh?" Lunis laughed. "Why would a deserter want to know? You left us for a reason!"
"I know you guys don't do missions without reasons." Mark said in a steely voice, "Tell me!"
"Missions without reasons, huh?" Lunis snorted. "Remember your last mission?" his eye gleamed cruelly.
"That wasn't―" Mark protested.
"And yet―you know what happened?" Lunis pushed himself up, so he was nose-to-nose with Mark. "You defied the leader's direct orders? What happened, huh? Don't you remember? You took everything from her! Everything!"
Mark stumbled backwards, pain flickering in his eyes.
"Charnette!" Amethyst whispered, "Let's stop this." She bounded over to the seething Umbreon. "Sing or you die." she announced.
Charnette raised her claw.
"Okay, okay!" Lunis said frantically, "I'll talk!"
Charnette snorted and removed her claws.
"Okay, so the leader sent me to see if you guys were holding a Revolution party." Lunis said idly, "I came with the leader..."
Mark looked surprised. "I thought the leader never leaves the caverns." He frowned. "Why did he come with you?"
Lunis scowled. "He's a she. Not very respectful, chicken. You're not in one of the high ranks, like yours truly. You don't know the leader like I do! In fact, you've never even met her, or been to the main cavern."
"Enough chit-chat." Charnette said roughly, "Tell us why you're here."
Lunis sighed. "Well, first I was checking out some doughnuts. Then I came here with, um, the leader, you know? But then―" His eyes grew wide. "She's right there!"
His expression was so realistic, they fell for it.
"Wait!" Mark turn and lunged for Lunis, who was trying to bust down the door and break out. "You're disabled! You can't use any moves!" he snarled.
"Yeah, but I still have this!" Lunis pulled out a glowing blue orb.
Mark's eyes widened. "You wouldn't―"
"See ya, losers!" Lunis laughed as he detonated the Flash Orb. A searing white light burned through the room, and the spy escaped.
After stumbling around, rubbing the blinding white light out of their eyes, the Revolutionists eventually regrouped again.
Amethyst slammed her paw into the table. "We should've searched him!" she snarled angrily, feeling upset at herself, "We could've gotten everything from him!"
"Don't worry." Ralph soothed, "We'll catch him next time."
"I doubt it." Ralph turned to see Mark rubbing his eyes. "Lunis hates failing at anything. He won't be spying on us anymore." He stared at the walls with a kind of sadness.
"What did he mean?" Rachiel asked, "About your last mission?"
Mark's eyes were filled with pain. "When Marcus and I were in that group, we were in a team called HMM." he started off reluctantly.
"HMM? As in H-M-M? As in hmmmmmm?" Jason asked.
Mark scowled. "Yeah, it was a stupid name." he muttered, "Anyways, for a while, we thought that the Shadow Force was going to be overthrown... at least, Marcus and I did. We were overconfident and excited. We thought... I thought that if we attacked and took over the Shadow Force's main outposts in Kanto, where we were, we could overrun the SFP and succeed in driving them out."
"What happened?" Lumiere asked.
Mark sighed. "We relayed the message to the main cavern, but the leader said no. Marcus ignored her and the three of us―him, me, and... and another Leafeon, went on the secret mission. We made it all the way in." He hesitated. "But we got too cocky. At least Marcus and I did. I was outside, alone, holding off the reinforcements, while Marcus and our other teammate was inside. Something went wrong. The outpost exploded."
"Let me guess: that Leafeon teammate died?" Charnette asked.
Mark nodded sadly. "The point is―she told Marcus not to go, and when he insisted, she refused to stay behind. I don't know what happened. Marcus didn't remember what happened. By the time we woke up, Harmony was just... gone."
"Harmony." Rachiel repeated, "Harmony, Marcus, Mark; HMM, I suppose?"
Mark sighed. "I should've been able to stop all that from happening." he muttered, "But it's too late. That's why some of the... our former teammates hate us. Partially for defying orders, partially for leaving, but mostly for getting Harmony killed."
There was silence. Then Rachiel broke the ice.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about that." she said firmly, "So let's go find that Mawile escapee!"
Group R on Route 1...
"My feet hurt." Gran complained.
"Rawhr." Demo replied.
"I'm hungry!" Gran whined.
"Rawhr." said Demo.
"I'm―"
"Shut up!" Jazz hissed, "Do you have to complain about everything?"
"I don't know, but we've been walking nonstop for, like, an hour." Gran grumbled.
Jazz looked ready to jump the Shiftry and shred him, so Rob quickly intervened.
"We need to keep on moving." he reminded them, "I want no in-fighting in our team."
Jazz glared at Gran some more, then let out a huff and marched on ahead.
VROOOOM!
All four Pokemon jumped as the rev of an engine blasted down the road. A truck can bouncing down the dusty path, spewing exhaust and surrounded by a lot of yelling and cursing.
"Drive slower, you maniac!" a shriek echoed out.
"There's the Lucario... the Blaziken..." Jazz peered at the vehicle as it swerved wildly down the road. "Um... a Snivy... a Riolu... okay, we're screwed. We're outnumbered."
"Hide!" Gran hissed. All four officers darted into the forest and hoped that they looked like trees. The van screamed to a stop and six Pokemon hopped out.
"Thanks a lot, Mark." Rob recognized the Breloom that had whacked him with the laundry pole of death back in the Accumula Rebellion battle. "Do you have to drive like that?"
"It's a profession!" the Blaziken answered.
"From the looks of it, it's a profession you flunked." a Houndoom rebel growled, "Come on! Let's go catch the escapee before she makes it to the outpost." All six rebels turned and started walking down the road.
Rob tapped on his walkie-talkie. "Calling Nova. Over." he whispered.
The walkie talkie crackled to life. "Rob?" Nova asked, "What's happening over there? Oooh! Didja find Annie yet? Did―"
"Keep it down!" Rob hissed. The Lucario's ears were twitching. "I'm going to need backup. Can you send a small unit or group to Route 1?"
"Erm... I'm sorry, private." Nova said apologetically, "But the entire outpost here is under lockdown. Ranark's orders. He's out to find the spy who's been disguised as an officer all this time."
"Great. Just great." Rob gritted his teeth. "Can you make an exception?"
"I've already tried." she replied, "He won't budge. And since he is of a higher general rank than me, I have to listen to his orders. I'm sorry, Rob."
Rob sighed. "It's fine." he muttered, "Okay, guys." he whispered as the others huddled in, "Let's just―"
Suddenly, an Aura Sphere whisked by Rob's head and slammed into Demo. The Exploud yelped and fell backwards. The Lucario rebel leader had obviously heard them. His amber eyes gleamed. "Get them!"
Two minutes ago...
"AHHHHH!" Xeno screeched as they hit a rock and sailed into the air, "S-S-Slow down!" she howled as Mark squealed with delight and stomped on the gas pedal.
Ralph's face felt like it was peeling off. "S-Someone CLOSE THE WINDOWS!" he yowled.
"WOHHOOOOO!" Mark yelled, nearly sending all five of his passengers―Ralph, Jason, Victor, Xeno, and Rachiel, out the windows, "Yeah, that's it!"
Victor cussed like Lunis and held on desperately with Vine Whip. "MORON! SLOW DOWN!" he wailed, slamming against the ceiling, "ACK!"
And as usual, Jason was the only one of the passengers who actually enjoyed the ride.
"Faster!" he cheered, "Poffins! Pie! Pancakes! WOOO!"
"AHHHHHH" Ralph screamed, "You're gonna kill us all!"
"Drive faster? Sure!" Mark pulled on a lever, and all five passengers flew backwards and slammed down against their seats. The seatbelts were ripped from their foundations and flying wildly in the air, the metal ends clonking mercilessly. Rachiel cursed as one of the smashed into her jaw. Victor yelling as another one whomped him solidly on the head.
"Drive slower, you maniac!" Ralph shrieked.
Rachiel lunged forward and slammed her tail against the wheel, tying Mark's claws to it as she stomped down with her forelegs on the brake pedal. The van bounced twice, spun in midair, and crashed to a stop.
"Aw, com'n." Mark complained as Rachiel snorted with digust and untangled her tail.
"Let's just start searching here." Xeno's face was green. "I feel like puking."
Victor groaned and rolled out of the truck, plopping down on the side of the road. "I feel like I ate one too many Lum berries." he mumbled.
"Thanks a lot, Mark." Xeno scowled, "Do you have to drive like that?"
"It's a profession!" Mark looked calm and collected, none of which helped the enraged Breloom calm down.
"From the looks of it, it's a profession you flunked." Rachiel growled, "Come on! Let's go catch the escapee before she makes it to the outpost."
By silent agreement, the group turned and trudged down the road. Ralph kept his ears pricked up. He could sense a whispering noise... was it just the trees? He walked on a bit further and stopped. He turned and studied the trees. He could see the pulsing blue aura of three Pokemon crouched behind the oak trees, and of course, the purple Exploud who obviously thought he could blend in with the rocks. Three plus one... only four Pokemon for an ambush? Ralph shrugged. Maybe the Shadow Force got overconfident.
Hefting a glowing ice-blue Aura Sphere with one hand, Ralph quickly launched it towards the trees. There was a tiny explosion, and four Pokemon spilled out onto the road. There was a Linoon, the Exploud, a Shiftry, and a Mightyena.
"Get them!" Ralph ordered. The Revolutionists turned as one and charged towards their attackers.
"Ralph!" Rachiel yelled, "What if it's just an act to keep us from looking for the escapee?"
Ralph thought it through carefully. "Victor! Come with me!" he shouted over the noise of the battle, deflecting a Shadow Ball with a Metal Claw, "The rest of you, don't let them escape!" Together with the Snivy, they hopped off the road and plunged into the forest.
"She can't be far from the road." Victor deducted, "If she was smart enough to break out of prison, she probably knows better than to march through an uncharted forest. She'll most likely keep the road in sight and try to move to Accumula Town, or other towns."
Ralph nodded grimly. The two raced on silently. As he did, Ralph concentrated fiercely and looked for any possible signs of life.
It took some time, but he finally located it―the blue aura of the Mawile escapee trudging warily through the woods, her eyes flicking from side to side. She wore a dusty brown cloak over her shoulders, and she had neat bandages patched upon her sides.
Ralph tapped Victor with one paw. The two ducked down behind a rotting log as the Mawile paused, looked around, and shuffled on.
Ralph gestured with a paw, telling Victor to grab her from behind. The escapee was obviously disorientated, and badly hurt. He felt a tinge of pity for her. It probably wasn't her fault that she was fighting on the wrong side. He made a memo to tell the Accumula Revolutionist guards to treat her well at the Accumula jail.
Victor extended his vines, slowly sending them creeping across the ground like a twin pair of snakes. His vines slipped around the undergrowth, reaching towards her.
The Mawile must've been well-trained, or maybe she wasn't as disorientated as she looked. She turned around and blasted the vines with an Ice Beam just before Victor made his move.
"What are you waiting for?" Victor snapped and cursed as he tried to free his frozen vines, "Get her!"
Ralph sprang lightly across the ravine, tackling her into the ground. He tried to pin her down, but her huge back jaws snapped at him, nearly taking off his head. He jerked backwards, the gleaming teeth missing him by inches, just in time to be smacked across the clearing by a Charge Beam. The Mawile ran for it, but tripped as Victor finally freed his vines and whipped her down.
"Let me go!" she yelled and wiggled, her jaws snapping in a frenzy, demolishing a dead branch. She started to use Fairy Wind, but Victor blasted her straight in the face with a maximum-powered Solar Beam. She yelped and staggered backwards. Ralph stumbled and aimed an Aura Sphere at her. She slipped on the wet ground and was sent flying by the attack. Victor summoned a Leaf Storm and slammed her into the trees.
Ralph couldn't say he didn't admire the officer's courage as she staggered to her feet, trying to ward off Victor's attacks. Her cloak had been shredded, and her bandages were ripped, showing ugly scars where her wounds had been. She turned, trying to aim a Dark Pulse, as Victor quickly attacked with Energy Ball.
"Should I finish her off?" the Snivy yelled, "She just won't surrender!" he ducked as an Ice Beam went over his head.
Ralph hesitated. He didn't want to kill the escapee, but she obviously wasn't going down with a fight. "Can you knock her out?" he shouted back.
"I―" Suddenly, there was a shrill, whistling sound, and a barriage of Magical Leaf zipped back. Victor yelled as he fell backwards, hitting the dirt. A darkly-clothed Pokemon lep down from an overhead branch and slammed into the Snivy with a super-effective Aerial Ace. Victor staggered up, but the mystery Pokemon slammed a gold-colored paw into the side of his face and he toppled to the ground in an undignified manner.
Ralph only had time to say, "Who―" before the Pokemon turned on him and sent him flying with a Seed Bomb. He hit a tree and found himself incased in long green undergrowth―Grass Knot.
He braced himself for a final attack, but it never came. The gold-pawed Pokemon nudged the officer to her feet and jumped away, disappearing faster than it had arrived. The Mawile snapped her jaws at him, looked at the place where the mysterious figure had vanished, and stumbled off.
Oh, just great. Ralph sighed, trying to cut his bonds with Metal Claw, as the officer made her escape. Then he looked at the place where the darkly-clothed Pokemon had disappeared. Just who are you? he wondered, And whose side are you on?
Far away, on the Sirins' Island...
Marcus knew he was being tricked into seeing his dreams, thanks to the Sirins' songs, but the scene was so real, he couldn't help but believe that it was real.
He saw the Forest Bar, as bright and cheery as it used to be in the old days, when there was a crosspath on Route 1, one leading to Accumula Town and the other leading to the bar. Around the counter, three Pokemon sat primly in the leather seats, smiling and welcoming him.
One of the Pokemon was Mark, who was holding one of Marcus's old liquor mixtures that he used to be so proud of. His best friend grinned at him, holding out his claw as if wanting Marcus to step forward.
The Pokemon sitting in the middle was his grandmother Noni, her eyes sparkling with amusement like they always used to when he accidentally blew something up. She too, held out a paw, smiling, to welcome him.
The last Pokemon was Harmony. Marcus's heart seemed to stop when he saw her, alive and beautiful, her eyes glittering with excitement, like it always did before a top-secret mission...
Marcus blinked twice. No, it couldn't be Harmony. She had already passed on... His heart twisted with guilt. Her death was his fault, and he knew it. If he hadn't been so stubborn. If he hadn't been so intent on destroying the Shadow Force. If he had only been smarter...
He remembered the shocked look in her eyes as the explosion ripped through the room like it was made of paper. He remembered reaching out desperately to grab her, but touching nothing. He remembered searching the ruins with Mark, filled with guilt, looking for her although he knew she was already dead...
Marcus shook his head, and the image faded. All he saw was the three birds, their eyes glowing green like their pendants, ready to feast on another victim. Green mist swirled around him. He growled and launched an Energy Ball at them.
The Sirins scattered and the song faded.
Aria the Altaria screeched with rage. "Why? How were you able to break through?" she snarled. For a supposedly pretty bird, she lookeed downright ugly when she was angry. Her pendant flashed, smoking green smog.
"The pendants." Marcus demanded, "What do they do?"
"Why would a kid like you want to know?" Songia the Unfezant sneered.
He lunged at her. She shrieked with surprise and ducked away, one wing held over her pendant, protecting it.
"Since you've been surprisingly strong-willed, I'll tell you." Serene the Swanna laughed, "You're lunch, anyways." Her eyes flashed green. "Our beautiful pendants keep us young and alive." The other two Sirins laughed and touched their pendants. Green smoke curled out from the emeralds. "Without it, we would've died long ago." she hissed, "And really, our pendants are really easy to take care of! They only need one thing―"
"Life energy." Marcus realized, "That's why you've been alive all this time! You're using your musical talent to draw sailors close, just to supply your pendants?" He felt disgusted. The three birds could've been famous singers, remembered and loved by all Pokemon, instead of disgusting cannibal aves that lured innocent Pokemon to their deaths. What a waste of talent.
Noni hadn't called Marcus the Tactician for nothing, though. Maybe he wasn't as commanding as Ralph, or as quick as Rachiel, but he did get good ideas from time to time.
He jumped at Serene first. Like he'd expected, she was late anticipating his moves. The Sirins probably hadn't had a fight in a million years. They were seriously retarded and outmatched. Marcus hit the Swanna with a Leaf Blade, twisting so that the glowing green blade slashed across the green gem, smashing it into the ground. Serene screamed and collapsed.
Aria flew at him, sending him crashing backwards with Sky Attack. He didn't counterattack, which made her shriek with victory and lunged at him, her beak open, spilling out another beautiful melody. Songia joined in, and the music wrapped around the Leafeon like a robe.
Marcus wasn't fazed by the singing this time, he hit the ground as she flew over him, and as she passed by, he jumped up and slashed through the black ribbon that held her pendant. Aria screeched and dove after it as it fell towards the ground. Marcus hopped off her back and faced Songia.
Why the three birds were stupid enough to face him seperately, Marcus didn't understand, but it sure made his life a lot easier. Combined, the three Bird Pokemon would've been more than he could chew, but divided, they were nothing but another weak, outmatched opponent to him. Songia went down with a single Aerial Ace. Her pendant shattering as Marcus swiped his claws across it.
The Leafeon landed lightly on his toes and turned around to see the three defeated bird Pokemon slumped on the ground.
"What have you done?" Aria rasped. Shocked, Marcus realized that she was slowly fading, becoming transparent. She stumbled towards the remains of her pendant, which was now in pieces after hitting the ground. Songia and Serene both wailed over their broken pendants, each of them becoming fainter and fainter.
"What have I done?" Marcus replied firmly, "You three all had beautiful voices. You could've made it big. But was it really worth it? Being on this lonely island, trapping Pokemon sailors, alone forever, with no Pokemon who appreciated your songs? Maybe you would've had a short life as a star, you three would've been remembered forever, your songs sung today by current stars, and the memory of you three would've resided in the hearts and minds of every Pokemon. But instead... you chose immortality."
Aria looked up at him, slowly fading, as she was supposed to be dead thousands of years ago. Her dark eyes glittered with regret. She stumbled over to her friends.
"I'm sorry." the Altaria said, her voice becoming faint. She was just a flicker of light against the dark craggy beach now. "For dragging you two into this. For thinking that immortality would be the key to happiness. For ever even looking for those three pendants. It's my fault we're like this now. I'm sorry." She bowed her head. Only her eyes could still be seen, and the fading blue that was her body.
"It's okay." Songia struggled with her words. "I forgive you. It wasn't all your fault. I was the one who found out of the pendants."
"If it's anyone's fault, it's mine." Serene groaned, "I was the one who wanted to be alive forever."
"I forgive you." Aria said.
"Me too." Songia echoed, then the three looked directly at Marcus. Their bodies faded, along with the other three. The pendants crumbled to dust, and the island shuddered as it starting sinking back into the sea.
Marcus stared out at the crystal-blue ocean as the island disappeared behind him, his paws on the wheel. He knew he would never forget the Sirins, even though he'd only met them for seconds. And he knew that he definitely wouldn't forget the look in the three singers' eyes. As evil and selfish as they'd been, he knew that they'd turned over a new leaf in the final moments of their lives. He knew that because in the last light that their eyes held, he saw one thing.
Gratitude.
Seriously? Since when did I act like a priest? Marcus thought, trying to turn his thoughts away from the Sirins, This is gonna be a long while. At least I helped relieve a soul today otherwise it was blanking boring.
Back at Route One...
Rob ducked as Gran was thrown over his head. Beside him, Jazz yelped and scurried away as the Houndoom rebel blew fire.
Group R was losing, despite it being four to four. They simply couldn't get the upper hand. The four rebels seemed to be an elite killing squad―showing no mercy as they trampled, crushed, and beated his teammates into the ground.
He knocked the Riolu rebel aside with a hefty swing. An old trick crept slowly into his mind, a trick so old, he wasn't sure it would even work. But he had no other choice. He had to save Annie.
"Retreat!" he snapped.
"Bu―" Gran stammered. Rob gave him a long, hard glare. The Shiftry turned and ran. Jazz was only too glad to make her escape, while Demo lumbered after them at the order.
Rob trotted away last. The rebels cheered and yelled taunts as they raced after the battered officers.
"Plan Malitia!" he suddenly yelled.
As one, without any complaints or comments, Group R turned and raced back towards their enemies. What had happened to make those three listen to orders so well? The rebels ran forward and overshot their targets as the officers jumped straight over them and landed in the trees.
"Wha―" the Breloom spluttered and flew backwards as Rob knocked her back with a Shadow Ball.
"After them!" the Houndoom shouted, but Demo roared loudly, and the sonic airwave blew the rebels back twenty feet―right into their own truck.
Rob wove through the trees, his bushy tail streaming out behind him as he tracked the Lucario's scent. It was fairly easy to track, as the rebel obviously didn't have much experience with trackers.
"Rob!" Jazz yelled as she skittered to a stop in the middle of a clearing. "Well, well. What do we have here?" she hissed.
Rob stopped and surveyed the clearing. The Lucario was bound from neck down in Grass Knot. The Snivy was knocked out like an apple. He looked desperately for Annie. All he could see was torn, bloodstain bandages in a smoking crater.
"Rob..." Gran swallowed and pointed at the crater. "Do you think...?"
Rob's vision was filled with so much rage, he literally felt smoke curling off his pelt.
"You!" he roared, slamming his paw against the Lucario rebel. The blue fox Pokemon yelled with pain, trying to cut through his bindings. Anger edged the lieutenant's vision. This Pokemon... this tiny, insignificant Pokemon, had dared to kill his best friend and adviser.
Rob vented all his anger from his past onto the Lucario; Kona dying, the rebels, the rogues, the death of Mali. He remembered the shocked look in Nova's eyes before she turned into her Berserk Mode. He remembered the lost look in Ero and Mina's eyes when they woke up and found their leader dead. Kona had told him everything would be alright. And then she'd died. And he hadn't been able to do anything. And now Annie was dead as well. All the deaths, all the pain he'd felt, and his uselessness, he merged with his attacks and slammed into Lucario again and again.
Filled with rage, Rob didn't actually know what he was doing until he heard Jazz calling his name. Her voice was panicked. "Rob? Rob! Y-You're killing him!"
That snapped him back to reality. The Lucario was slumped against the oak he was tied to, bruised and battered like a limp Pokèdoll. His eyes rolled back in his head, and his head was drooped against his chest. His breathing was unsteady, rasping gasps.
"He couldn't have killed Annie if he was tied up." Jazz pointed out.
Rob stepped away from the rebel, horrified at what he'd done. He'd almost killed an innocent Pokemon. His paws shook with rage and sorrow and guilt. What would Kona say if she saw him like this? Since when was he so merciless?
"I-I'm sorry..." he tried to say, "I didn't want... I didn't mean..."
"Get them!" The Houndoom rebel jumped over a rotten log and plowed into Gran, taking him down in a swirl of flames. The Breloom jumped Jazz and kicked her into a small forest of toadstools. The Riolu brained Demo with a waffle (which was brave, but quite ineffective) and the Blaziken kicked him into Rob, the two toppling over each other like bowling pins.
"Attack!" Rob yelled. "We can―"
BAM!
Jazz cried out as a dark shape pulsed through the woods and slammed into her. Charnette materialized and gave Rob a fanged smile.
"Long time no see." the traitor purred, "We're the backup patrol." She added as a Chandelure, Raichu, Treecko, and Amethyst the Braixen stepped out of the woods.
Group R was beaten so easily that it was almost comical. Charnette and Amethyst knocked Gran out with a combo attack. The Raichu and Treecko worked together and took Demo down. The Houndoom and Breloom chased Jazz into the woods, with the Riolu hobbling after them, screaming and throwing waffles.
Rob lunged desperately at them, but Charnette hit him expertly with a False Swipe and sent him crashing onto his nose. A fiery attack scorched his fur. Then was a hard kick in his side, and he slammed into a tree, blinking dark spots out of his eyes.
Rob couldn't let them capture Group R or himself. The Shadow Force needed them. He grabbed a smoky purple orb that had been hidden in his thick fur.
"Group R, retreat!" he ordered, and launched the orb like a ballistic missile. Smoke exploded throughout the clearing. The rebels coughed and gagged.
"I hate orbs!" one rebel choked, "Blue orbs, purple orb, UGH!"
Rob darted out of the smoke, with Gran and Demo following him. They took down the Houndoom and Breloom, freeing Jazz, and fled.
Group R didn't stop running until they were nearing Accumula Town.
Rob slowed his pace, panting heavily, and looked back mournfully. The Smoky Orb had been one of Kona's special and last inventions. Now it was gone, thanks to those rebels.
What was worse, though, was the fact that they hadn't been fast enough to save Annie. They didn't even know if she was dead or alive. And Rob... he had almost killed the rebel leader. He didn't know if the Lucario survived or not. Even if he did, it was an unforgivable act.
We're the protectors of the innocent, Kona had once said to him, during one of their training classes, It doesn't matter which species the victim is, we don't kill.
Rob closed his eyes briefly, then opened them to survey his team. With a wave of his tail, they stopped running.
Demo looked too out of breath to say anything. Again, he'd never been the talkative one, so that wasn't unusual. Gran had a new scar down the left side of his face, and his white hair was scorched and charred.
Jazz hadn't fared off better, either. Her fur was smoking and blackened. One of her eyes were swollen shut. But it had pretty much been the first battle she tried her all in, so Rob didn't hold her defeat against her.
The Linoone growled and pawed at the ground. "We were too late!" she snarled, "I can't believe we couldn't save Annie!" She looked on the verge of tears. Although Jazz had teased Annie and constantly wrecked team morale, it was true that she cared a lot for the Mawile. Rob suspected that Jazz saw Annie as more than a best friend―a sister.
"She might not be dead." Gran said half-heartedly, "We know the rebels couldn't have killed her. The Snivy was knocked out like a rock. The Lucario was tied up like a Christmas present. She must've defeated them, or something, and ran off."
"Rawhr." Demo agreed.
Rob sighed. "I just can't believe that she's gone, and we weren't able to do anything." He dug his claws into the dirt road. "Why do I always fail those who need me?"
"Who always fails?" A weary voice sounded as a battered Mawile cloaked in a dusty brown robe stumbled towards them.
"Annie!" Jazz raced over and hugged her.
The Mawile grinned. "Yup, I'm alive." she said cheerfully, "But I didn't know Miss Sarcastic would miss me so much." she added with a sly grin.
Jazz huffed and backed away. "You're the most annoying sister I've ever had. Why would I miss you?" she retorted, but her eyes glimmered with relief.
"Oh, yeah!" Gran punched a fist into the air. "There you go, rebels! Eat this!" He started doing a dance that was probably supposed to be his victory dance but ended up looking like Hokey-Pokey gone wrong.
Rob laughed with relief as he walked over to Annie. "I'm glad you're safe." he said, "I thought we'd lost you forever! How'd you escape?"
"Long story." Annie replied, "Some of which I'm still trying to figure out. But for now, let's make our escape while we can."
And they did, quickly running towards the outpost, with Rob in the lead, as always, Jazz and Gran flanking him, and Demo bringing up the rear, with Annie perched on top of his head.
Back in the forest...
"Dude! Hello? You awake?" Ralph slowly blinked black spots out of his eyes. He stared around in confusion. He was propped up against a rotting log, with Lumiere hovering over him, applying a healing paste to his wounds. Jason was waving a poffin in his face as he stuffed some Gummies into his mouth. Charnette and Rachiel were in some sort of an argument on the other side of the clearing, while Billy and Jebodiah were both coughing, cursing blue and purple orbs.
Ralph tried to stand up, but fell down again. The others quickly gathered around him. Lumiere was there, with Jason, Charnette, Amethyst, Xeno, Rachiel, Billy, Jebodiah, Mark, and Victor, whose head was newly bandaged.
"Wha―?" Ralph tried to shake off the naseous feeling in his head. "What―why... how?"
"Oh, just another brilliant observation by moi." Charnette said, "I sensed that you were in trouble, so I got the others to come as a reinforcement patrol."
"Ralph, what exactly happened?" Victor asked, frowning, "I remember attacking the Mawile, then the mysterious guy... and... I think I blacked out."
"Mysterious guy?" Charnette repeated, "Interesting. Ralph, tell your story."
And he did. He describe the Shadow Force patrol's ambush, attacking the Mawile, the cloaked figure's alliance with the escapee, and the Mightyena, his eyes full of hate, striking blow after blow against him.
Xeno shivered. "I never knew that the Shadow Force would be this vicious." she muttered, "Battling―that's natural. But attacking a tied-up Pokemon? No humanity. No mercy."
"But the figure who helped the escapee." Billy pointed out, "Who was he? And why's he on the Shadow Force's side?"
For some reason, everybody looked at Mark.
"What?" the Blaziken demanded.
"Well, you're the only one who knows about the whole secretive/spy/assassins thing." Xeno pointed out, "Do you think it was Lunis? Or one of your old... colleagues?"
Mark frowned. "You said he had gold paws, right? Was it a Ninetales?"
"No..." Ralph tried to remember, but his mind was cloudy. "The paws were a different color from the body. The body was light yellow, but the paws were gold."
"A Kadabra?" Mark suggested, "Or an Alakazam?"
"No, the Pokemon was quadruped." Victor answered.
Mark looked confused. "I'm sorry. I don't think the group has a Pokemon like that."
"I'm not sure if there is a Pokemon like that." Lumiere put in, "Unless that Pokemon was affected by Aurum Vitiligo."
"Um, au-ru-what?" Jason questioned.
"Aurum Vitiligo." Lumiere replied, "Vitiligo is basically a disease that occurs when skin pigment cells die or are unable to function. The affected Pokemon's skin usually turns white. It's actually one of the most obscured diseases in the world, as we doctors don't know the cause, but its most likely caused by genetic mutation."
"Erm... but aurum is gold." Xeno put in, "I'm guessing Aurum Vitiligo turns the skin gold? Like Midas gold?"
"Yes." Lumiere said, "But Aurum Vitiligo is a different matter altogether. It only affects Grass types, and it almost never affects the whole body. The Grass types who are affected turn gold, yes, but normally, it's the chlorophyll in their body that turns gold-colored. For example, if Victor here got Aurum Vitiligo, the chlorophyll on his back, top of the head, and tail would turn the same color gold as the yellow markings around his eyes and the stripe that runs down the length of his back."
"Okay, that's great, Mr. Know-It-All, but how exactly does that help us? I'm pretty sure there are no green-pawed Pokemon in the world with Aurum Vitiligo." Amethyst said.
Lumiere shrugged. "Aurum Vitiligo is usually hereditary. The descendent of a Grass type with Aurum Vitiligo would most likely appear all gold, except for its main body color, which, in this case, was light yellow."
Everybody looked at Mark again, which made him roll his eyes.
"Look, I didn't know the disease aur-whatever existed until today, and I'm pretty sure I've never met a Pokemon like that, or I would've had a strong impression of him." the Blaziken huffed, then frowned, "I think Harmony was like that, but she's dead now. Maybe it's her brother... except she doesn't have a brother."
"Or her relative." Rachiel put in, "But she's against the Shadow Force, right?"
"Definitely." Mark agreed, "They killed her family... and then they killed her."
"Or it was a disguise." Jebodiah suggested.
"That's true." Lumiere admitted, "Which puts us at a dead end again."
"Okay, I love all the chit-chatting, but that's not the point." Charnette broke in, "The officers escaped. What are your orders, Ralph? Do we go after them?"
"Reminder: Ralph can't go after them." Lumiere said, "I can stem the bleeding and apply healing paste, but he needs more advanced medical paste. I knew I should've brought my entire medical kit! Idiota!" he cursed and rummaged through his medical bag.
"Let's just go back to Accumula to map out a new battle plan for freeing Striaton City." Ralph said warily, "I think one adventure a day is really enough."
With silent agreement, the group turned and trudged through the trees.
"Um... guys?" Rachiel suddenly stopped as they reached the road. "Don't you think that... the road looks weird?"
"The ground looks weird?" Xeno looked completely baffled. "Whaaaa?"
Lumiere floated over, examining the ground. "You're right. This wasn't here before." He nodded at a small rock in the middle of the ground.
Xeno groaned and facepalmed. "Well, if you're gonna go talk about rocks, go ahead. I'll be in the car." She bounded away and slammed the door.
Charnette walked over to it cautiously. "Hm... I'm pretty sure this is familiar. There's some writing on it..."
"Umbra Impetus." Ralph read, "What do you suppose it means?"
"Hmm..." Lumiere said. "Translated into Notiqua, umbra is shadow, or darkness, and impetus would be..."
"Force!" Rachiel yelped, backing away, "Tra―"
Then the ground opened up and swallowed them, trucks and all.
A hundred feet beneath the ground...
The cavern they'd fallen into was dimly lit, just light enough so the Pokemon could see each other.
"Ow... " Ralph groaned, "Jason, get off me!"
"That's not me!" Jason complained, "It's Mark!"
"No, it's me." Victor said, "Mark's on top of me."
"Okay, who's on the top?" Rachiel coughed.
"Me." Lumiere said, Naturally. He was levitating above them.
"I'm not on the pile." Xeno added. "I'm next to the vans."
"Great." Rachiel growled, "Who's on the top of the pile?"
There was some shuffling and murmurings. "It's Jebodiah." Lumiere answered.
"Okay, who's below Jebodiah?" Rachiel asked.
"I think that's Amethyst."
"You betcha that's me! Get offa me, ya electric rat!" Amethyst yelled.
"Erm, I'd love to, but my tail's stuck under the truck." the Raichu replied drily.
"Guys, I can move the truck." said Xeno. There was a rustling sound, and the clanging of metal. Then Jebodiah got off of Amethyst, who untangled herself from Charnette, who jumped off of Billy, who extracted himself from Rachiel, who growled and vaulted off Jason, who toppled off of Mark, who got off of Victor, who helped Ralph up.
Charnette surveyed the cavern darkly and pointed with her tail. "The ceiling is structurally unstable. There's only one exit." she gestured at a tunnel, lit with blue torches. "It's obviously a trap. But do we have a choice?"
"No." Lumiere answered, "I'm sensing that this is a magical trap."
"Agreed." Charnette's green eyes glowed. "Well? Let's go."
"Hey―we can't leave the trucks!" Jason interrupted, "Ron's gonna kill us if we ditch his precious truck, plus, I'm not walking back to Accumula."
"You carry it, then." Charnette snorted impatiently, "We can't carry a vehicle that big and heavy."
"Allow me, then." Lumiere pulled out a vial filled with dark blue potion.
"Miniaturizing potion?" Rachiel asked, "Saw one once. Not good stuff." She made a face.
"Rachiel, you hate all magical items." Xeno said, "If it'll miniaturize the truck so we don't have to tow them through this cavern, that's fine with me."
Lumiere dripped a bit of the potion onto the two trucks―the one that Ralph took and the other one that the reinforcements took―and the two vehicles promptly shrank to the size of toy cars, which Jason pocketed.
"Cool!" he said.
They walked through the tunnel, met a crosspath, went left, and met another crosspath. After the scene repeating itself over and over again, Lumiere stopped.
"Something's not right." he said.
"Well, duh." Rachiel grumbled, "We've taken so many turns that we're basically just running in circles."
"No, it doesn't work that way." Lumiere contradicted, "There's some force working here, some kind of..."
"Magic." Charnette finished, "It's an illusion. We're being made to run circles in the same cavern over and over again."
"Erm... seems pretty real." Rachiel flicked her tail, impaling it in the wall of the tunnel.
"Obviously, because you weren't born to magic." Charnette chanted a spell, and the tunnels melted away, showing the same dimly lit cavern with one tunnel leading out. "There's some kind of enchanter or enchantress here, working magic. One of them is in here right now, warping reality. We need to defeat him or her before we can move on."
"This feels like a video game." Jason groaned, "Can it not be like a video game? With levels and stuff? And a boss?"
"Shhh." Ralph closed his eyes ruminated his surroundings. He could sense an inky, fog-like aura in the corner of the room.
A Mismagius. Charnette telepathed.
Level 52. Lumiere said, Female. Chanting a spell.
Kill her? Amethyst asked mentally.
How are you guys doing that? Ralph thought.
There was a silence.
We're all... magical? Amethyst suggested.
Ame, you're not magical. Charnette said, But you're my best friend, so I allowed this conversation to be heard by you.
"Um... hello? Jason to Ralph. Come in, Ralph." Jason was waving a paw in front of him. "What do we do? We're not magic."
Lure her here. Charnette said.
How? Ralph asked.
She doesn't want to be noticed. Walk towards her and force her to retreat.
Ralph started walking towards the inky black aura. Like Charnette had said, it shifted away, moving towards the tunnel.
Immediately, he shifted directions, angling his steps so that the Mismagius was forced to move away from the walls.
Amethyst. Charnette said.
With pleasure. the fox replied. A single fire stick blazed to life and she swung it like a baseball bat, smacking the Mismagius out of the air and sending her flying face-first into the wall.
"Ack!" she screamed, "You miserable fox!"
"Long time no see, Circe." Charnette said coolly, "Still working with weak magic, huh?"
"Traitor!" Circe snarled, "I'll kill you myself!" Mist wrapped around the room.
"You and your illusion tricks." Charnette sighed, "Amusing, but pathetic."
"You can't defeat me!" Circe hissed, "I've grown stronger! I am unbeatable!"
"Above you." the Liepard replied calmly.
"Wha―?" Circe looked up. "There's no―" Then she abruptly turned into stone, dropping to the ground with a clonk!
"Ya know, it's been like, two years, and you still defeat her in the same way." Amethyst commented.
"That Medusa spell never gets old." Charnette replied, "Well? Let's go, then."
Ralph almost wished they didn't.
Through the tunnel was a huge maze, filled with traps, magic, and sorcery. Now he understood why Rachiel hated magic. It simply did not apply to the laws of physics.
"I hate mazes." Victor grumbled.
"This is the Labyrinth." Lumiere replied, "Or at least a replica of it. It's designed to kill those who are inside. Lots of magic here!"
Rachiel looked like she was going to be sick. "Duck!"
All eleven Revolutionists hit the ground as arrows flew by over their heads. Then they got up and started running again.
"So how do we get out?" Jason panted, "Agghhh! Jump!" He hopped over a chainsaw that would've sliced him in half.
"There's always an entrance." Charnette replied, easily weaving through a maze of spikes, "Usually in a large room, and it's invisible and protected by strong magical barrier that prevents them from being detected."
"I hate magic." Xeno grumbled.
"Now you realize." Rachiel jumped over a opening in the ground. They entered a large cavern.
"Oh, those aren't magic traps." Lumiere said, "They're not deadly at all." Easy for him to say―he just simply floated over all kinds of traps. "Magical traps would be like..."
"DUCK!" Jason shrieked as bright beams of multicolored light shot out from all around them. Xeno screamed as she was hit by one―and immediately turned into an ice statue. A red beam went straight for Ralph, who was paralyzed with horror. Just before it hit him, Billy tackled him out of the way, sending the Treecko flying into a wall, surrounded by a blazing orange bubble. He cried out shrilly.
Charnette yelled something as Lumiere cast a disabling charm, and the beams slowly ebbed.
"I hate magic." Rachiel muttered, "Um... guys? Somebody fix Xeno please."
"On it!" Lumiere floated over and pulled a red colored vial out of his medical bag. "Okay, but she'll need to rest for a bit."
"The restraining spell won't last." Charnette warned, "The exit should be near here."
"Guys! Help!" Jebodiah was frantically zapping the fiery bubble that surrounded Billy. Charnette cursed (not magically) and raced over.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not an expertise in healing." the Liepard admitted as she surveyed the bubble, "It's a pyro papula, made to burn or eternally damage the victims. It's actually a pretty advanced spell, but one can only cast it once a year, and not all―"
"I don't need to know! Get him out!" Jebodiah cried, "Lumiere!"
Lumiere had unfrozen Xeno and floated over. "I'm sorry, Jebodiah. I don't have the kind of spell. Normally, these kinds of spells and traps can only be dismantled by the caster, or by a special potion. With a few hours, maybe I can whip up the right recipe. But we don't have the time... or ingredients."
"Pyro Curatio." said a voice in a rather flat tone. Everybody looked up.
A Noctowl was hidden in the corner of the room, trapped in a birdcage. He tilted his head to one side. "Pyro Curatio. Healing potion. Ingredients: Lum Berry, Rawst Berry, Mystic Water, ice crystal, Occa Berry, Pinap Berry, Nanab Berry, and Maranga Berry. Three of each berry. One ounce of purified Mystic Water and powdered ice crystal. Boil at 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Add one ounce of purified Mystic Water and powdered ice crystal every day at noon for three days. Best brewed when Mercury is in the 6th house. Potion. Pyro Curatio. Cure. Fire cure." He held out a glimmering purple potion.
"Can we tru―" Jason started to say, but Jebodiah rushed past him and snatch the potion. He dumped it on the fiery bubble, and it slowly melted down, dropping a badly burned Billy to the ground.
"Heal him!" Jebodiah demanded, holding his best friend's body.
"Those are magical burns." Lumiere replied, "Hard to heal, and unpredictable. I'm not sure if..."
"Unhealable. Condition severe. Damage can be restricted. Not cured." the Noctowl said.
"We have three minutes before the restraining spell breaks." Charnette warned, "We need to find the door. Now."
"Easy." the Noctowl said.
Lumiere studied him with a entirely new interest. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Vindictus." the owl replied, "Derived from Vindictive. Meaning: vengeful, revenge."
Jason raised a paw. "Um... and what exactly are you doing in that cage? I'm guessing that it's not for fun?"
"Two minutes and forty seconds!" Charnette said, searching the walls.
"Captured." the Noctowl replied, "Cage can only be broken by Aura Pokemon. Lucario. Lucario. Ralph." He fixed his unsettling eyes on Ralph. "Break cage."
Ralph obliged, breaking it with one Aura Sphere. The huge bird Pokemon hopped out, flapped his wings. A leather satchel was strapped to his back.
"Um... I don't want to startle you, but we have two minutes." Charnette said drily.
"Why exactly were you here?" Lumiere asked.
"Trap. Cage. Labyrinth." Vindictus replied, "Officers put me here. Magical traps are motion-activated so I can't escape. But maze was put up to capture the Liepard. Black magic. They're angry. They want you on their side."
"Yeah, well, I'm not going back. Not enough fun." Charnette snorted, "We have one minute and thirty-five seconds."
"Officers." the Noctowl said.
"What?"
"GET THEM!" There was a roar and a swarm of Banettes, Sableyes, and SF officers poured through the tunnel, flooding the room. Mark yelled and blowtorched a entire unit, but more kept coming. Ralph tried to protect Billy best he could, but he was still tired and drained from his scuffle with the Mightyena. He pushed Billy to the ground as a Shadow Ball roared by overhead.
Lumiere was yelling and blasting a legion of Dusknoirs. Amethyst and Charnette had created a mini tornado and was tossing officers left and right. Victor was cussing and hitting a Banette with his tail, screaming, "Go away! I hate magic!" Rachiel and Xeno were trying to get the group together, shouting and smashing officers aside.
"Don't get separated!" Rachiel yelled, "Stay together!"
The Revolutionists slowly managed to regroup and stood back-to-back as the officers surrounded them.
"Fifty-five seconds till we're all dead." Charnette informed, "And I bet that those traps were altered to not hit the officers."
"Conductri bomba!" Vindictus yelled, and threw a potion. Several Shuppets went up in a flare of electricity.
"Does anyone have a paralytic spell?" Lumiere yelled, throwing random medical supplies braining a Duskull with a roll of gauze and slamming another to the ground with a box of bandages.
"Force Palm!" Jason shouted and smashed a Sableye to the wall with a glowing yellow palm.
"That can disable all of them?" Lumiere asked, hitting a Dusknoir in the eye with a container of cotton balls.
"Nope." Vindictus answered, throwing random potions and blowing up the officers in burst of red, white, and blue.
"Hit the ground!" Charnette yelled. She spoke a spell, and all officers sudden lost control of their limbs and crashed to the ground.
"Erm... Charna?" Amethyst said nervously, "If I'm not wrong, we have twenty seconds left?"
"Door." Vindictus suddenly took flight, soaring across the ground with his great majestic wings spread wide―and flying straight into an invisible object suspended in the middle of the room. "Owch. Invisible door."
"What an idiot." Xeno muttered, still shivering from her time as an ice statue, "ACHOOO!"
Charnette quickly chanted something, and the door appeared, covered in chains and locks.
"Hurry!" Jebodiah urged. Ralph was holding Billy, who wasn't responding. He was anxious for the Treecko. Billy had sacrificed himself to save Ralph. Ralph couldn't let him die.
"With the right spell, I think I can open it." Lumiere was flipping through a spellbook.
"Or," Charnette's eyes flashed. "Stand back." Her eyes momentarily flashed white, and the door melted into a silvery puddle, chains and all. Then all of them were sucked into the door just as the magical beams blazed to life.
Above ground...
The Revolutionists appeared above ground.
Unfortunately they appeared in the middle of a Shadow Force lunch party.
General Nova looked at them, almost spewing tea. "Wha―?" Then her eyes narrowed. "Kill them!" she shrieked.
The officers scrambled for their equipment, yelling and slipping on their own lunches.
"Lumiere! Help me make a portal!" Charnette yelled.
"There's the witch traitor!" an officer yelled, "Get her!"
Charnette snarled in anger. The officer went up in purple flames.
"Witch?" Ralph asked, knocking a Dusclops away from Billy.
"Don't ask!" Amethyst snapped, torching some officers, "Fight!"
"Vindictus! Do you have a tele portare potion?" Lumiere yelled over the noise of the battle. General Nova shrieked and dove at him, but Xeno tackled the bat.
"Tele. Patiqua meaning: distant. Portare. Notiqua meaning: to carry. Tele Portare. Ingredient for portal. Yes, Vindictus has the portal ingredient." The Noctowl flew over and produced a glimmering, milky white potion, knocking two Murkrows out of the way. Charnette and Lumiere started casting a spell together, purple mist spreading out from them. Vindictus somewhat protected them by hurling potions and words of power (and books of power) at the officers.
"Kill!" one officer shouted, then got brained by a Notiqua dictionary. Another toppled over as the Noctowl hurled a potion at him.
Ralph did his best to keep the officers away from the unconscious Billy. He whopped one over the head with Bone Rush and sent one flying with a Force Palm.
But the Revolutionists were largely outnumbered. Xeno and Rachiel had their backs to the wall and were desperately fighting for their lives. Amethyst, Victor, and Jason were trying to protect Charnette, Vindictus, and Lumiere. Jebodiah was trying to blast General Nova, but she dodged his attacks with amazing grace and agility. Mark was busting out ninja kicks and sending officers flying, but he was surrounded by a legion of Palitoads who were blasting him with water.
"Everybody! Rally over here!" Ralph yelled, limping over to where Charnette and Lumiere were, "Quick!"
"Portal opens in T-minus thirty seconds!" Lumiere said, "Keep up the fight!"
The Revolutionists quickly moved to where the portal was being created, forming a ragged circle of defense. Ralph hurled Aura Spheres randomly while Lumiere fought aerially with Nova.
"Guys, it's opening! Get in!" Charnette shouted. Lumiere quickly disabled Nova, sending her into the buffet table with a shriek.
One by one, the Revolutionists hopped in. The Liepard went last, shouting curses at the officers.
Ralph did not like portals. The first one dumped them in the middle of a SF fiesta. The second one dumped them on Ron.
"Holy mother of Ar―" Ron yelled as they landed on him, "Ow! My back!"
"May!" Lumiere called, "Quick! Take Billy to the hospital."
The Gardevoir looked flabbergasted. She'd probably never seen eleven Pokemon materialize on a Treecko, but she nodded, grabbed Billy, and teleported away.
"Well." Ralph collapsed on the ground. "I think I'll just rest now." he mumbled.
"Who's the nerdy-looking owl?" Ron asked, rubbing his back.
Ralph cleared his throat. "This is Vindictus." he said formally, "Vindictus, would you like to join the Revolutionists?" he asked.
The Noctowl picked at his feathers. "Revolution." he muttered, "The Glorious Revolution. Industrial Revolution. Orbital Revolution. Yes. Revolutionists. Vindictus will join the Revolutionists."
Ralph grinned, both tired and hungry. "Well, that's that." he said, filled with relief, "Battle meeting tomorrow in Accumula Town Hall, with Mayor Mack from Nuvema. Busy day, huh?"
The others mumbled agreement and went their separate ways.
Somewhere, in a mysterious cavern and network of tunnels...
Lunis plodded along, filled from the tip of his nose to his tail with embarrassment.
He had been caught by a bunch of second-rate failures. He couldn't believe it. It just was not possible! He was one of the greatest spies in the group. There was no way that he, Lunis, could've been caught.
But he had been caught...
Lunis shook his head. It would be better not to dwell on his failures. After all, he wasn't just a spy. There were many, many other things that he could do.
He stopped at a door. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on it.
"Come in. Don't be affected by your chagrins." A voice floated through the door. "What do you want, fellow commandant?"
He walked in nervously. "I have a new mission for you." he said, trying to believe that it was the right thing to do. Beyond the door was an underground lake, glowing green. "I'm turning my spy mission with the Revolutionists over to you."
"Oh?" The water starting boiling. "Very well. I will take on the mission you've bestowed upon me. Let me collect my things and tomorrow I shall leave." There was a ripple in the water, and a huge shape, much, much taller than Lunis, rose out of the lake, its eyes glowing mysteriously, glittering with unknown secrets...
Far away...
Marcus took a deep breath as he set paw on the grass. The wind whispered softly in the night, and the moon shone down, brighter than ever.
Before him was a huge stretch of trees, a forest where no Pokemon made home. The emptiness made the place much, much creepier.
"Finally I've arrived." he told himself, "Fullmoon Island."
Above him, the wind rose to a wail, and the moon shone even brighter, as a silvery shape slowly came into sight.
Credits:
alpha2275: LoG Representative on Fanfiction and Fanfiction Manager
MarcusUCOD: Dialogue Writer
Esther Hung: The Mysterious Character in the Story, Chief Writer, Editor, Sort-of-Artist-Who-Is-Not-Good-At-Drawing, Video Maker, and Character Creator
Anisa Krieg: Writer, Artist, Character Creator, and Tweaker
(More TBD...)