After the Elders had left, the six assigned Guardians made their plans on how to approach the task at hand. It was Damon who came up with the first method of approach. "We should barge right on in and announce our presence!" He exclaimed in triumph.
Jean and Bianca exchanged glances and rolled their eyes. Both of them did not like Damon. They did not understand why the Elders would want to include him on the mission that might decide the fate of Rota. Sarah sighed, "No, Damon. We will not go in the castle like rebels. We will act civilized."
Siegfried nodded his head. "She's right. Now, if you will, let us be on our way toward the castle." He reached for a leaf and looked at it. "If I were you, I suggest we fly. Get there before night falls." With that, he blew on the rim of the leaf, making it buzz.
"That's not a bad idea," Rudolf agreed.
Bianca reached out and grabbed Rudolf by the arm. "Do not call Zapdos to you. We are sure to call a lot of attention to ourselves if you show up with an army of legendary Pokemon. Let's call some of the other allies."
"Right," He nodded as he reached for two rocks. Rudolf clacked the two together and created sparks.
Jean reached into a sleeve and unlatched her flute. The flute looked similar to a Dragonair, with the tail as the mouthpiece. Along the backside of the Dragonair shaped flute was several holes that Jean could block with her fingers to make different pitches. She blew on the tail piece and the flute released a shrill note. The note was answered by a whinny that was not too far away.
Slowly, and in different methods, the Pokemon that was used for travel by the Guardians appeared. Jean's Rapidash trotted up to her and snorted at Sarah's Fearow in what could be called a friendly manner.
Bianca had summoned to her the faithful Staraptor. The predator Pokemon landed next to Sarah's Fearow and squawked at her. "Now, Staraptor, be nice. We don't want to cause trouble, do we?" Bianca said gently.
Rudolf smiled as his Pidgeot landed next to him. "Thank you for coming. We have a mission." The Pidgeot cried out in excitement.
Siegfried finished blowing on the leaf and looked up. He had to shield his sensitive blue eyes against the setting sun's rays. "There you are…" He muttered to himself, watching as a Charizard flew overhead. Once the Charizard landed, Siegfried walked to him and climbed on his neck. "I'm good now. When shall we go?"
Damon, grinning, used his sickle-like staff to strike the ground hard. The bottom of the staff connected against a rock. Right on cue, a Skarmory appeared. The steel Pokemon had been hunting on the ground, unusual for a bird Pokemon. "I'm glad you have come to me. Now, let us go," Damon said, looking at the other Guardians.
Jean had already mounted Rapidash. "Very well," she answered, placing a hand against Rapidash's neck. "It is time," she whispered to him, stroking his neck.
Bianca, Damon, Rudolf, and Sarah's bird Pokemon all took off into the sky. Siegfried's Charizard followed them, wings spread wide and tail thrashing. Jean's Rapidash, who couldn't fly, would have to keep up with them on the ground. That was okay, though. Everyone knew how fast a Rapidash could run. He would be able to keep up with them without any difficultly.
Up in the sky, the four bird Pokemon and one Charizard had to deal with the lack of wind. Being that it was dusk; the warm air that allowed thermals to form didn't exist. Meaning that it was constant flapping all the way to the castle. However, to make up for the exhausting flight, the view was breathtaking. The forest extended for miles. Rivers snaked though the landscape. A small herd of Stantler could be seen running down below. "Boy, I forgot how fun it is to fly," Bianca exclaimed.
Rudolf, who had always loved to fly, looked up. "Look. You can see the moon" He pointed skyward and grinned. His armor clicked slightly when he turned around to stroke Pidgeot's head. "Good job. I can see the castle. We're almost there."
Sarah bit her lower lip. She was hoping that her brother, Aaron, had reached the castle in one piece. If he wasn't there, she would know that the worst had happened. Either he had been killed, wounded, or fled. The latter option was unacceptable. Never mind that. We must complete our mission, she thought.
Siegfried noticed Sarah's worried look. He hesitated before saying, "Don't worry. I'm sure your brother will be safe. He's Aaron, after all. He can survive anything." Even though his words might have sounded unafraid, Siegfried was indeed nervous. He didn't want to see Sarah cry. And if Aaron was truly dead, then Sarah would cry. Obviously, she would cry, he grumbled to himself.
Meanwhile, down below, Jean and Rapidash raced toward the castle at blinding speeds. In order to avoid being struck in the head by low branches, Jean had to lean forward and keep her head low. Her face was right next to his flaming mane, but Rapidash would never burn her. "We're almost there. I can see the front gates," she exclaimed. Rapidash whinnied and moved faster. "Whoa!! Rapidash! Stop!" Jean yelped. The brick wall of the gate appeared quickly and Rapidash slowed to a stop.
Right on cue, the others shot down out of the sky. Siegfried's Charizard landed with a roar. "Good job. You may go," Siegfried patted the dragon's arm. The Charizard bellowed and flew off. After watching the Charizard fly out of sight, Siegfried turned to face the others.
"So now what do we do? Walk up to the guards and ask them to let us in?" Damon wondered.
Jean and Sarah exchanged looks. Both nodded and Jean rode Rapidash out in the open. The guards noticed her and reached for their swords. "Who goes there?" They demanded.
"I am just a mere woman.' This was Jean's answer.
Rudolf almost started laughing. "That's a lie if I ever heard one," he chuckled.
"'A mere woman'?" The guards echoed and began to laugh. "You have a sword on you and your Rapidash is healthy."
Damon growled, "They're not buying Jean's excuses. Looks like I'm going to have to interfere." With that, he leaped from the bushes. "May the power of Darkrai place you all in a deep sleep!" Damon yelled, raising his sickle over his head.
Rudolf saw that Jean was right in the path of the spell. "Jean!" He yelped, running out of the underbrush. He knew that if Jean was caught by the spell, she would fall into a deep sleep. Rudolf rammed his body into hers, sending both tumbling out of the way. The spell that Damon cast caused both guards to fall asleep.
"There you go. That was easy," he said, walking calmly toward the gate. He caught a glimpse of Jean and Rudolf lying on the ground. "Pathetic…"
Rudolf, who had Jean pinned underneath him, glared at Damon. Then he asked Jean, "Are you okay?"
She nodded and smiled, "Yes. Thank you." Her eyes locked into his. His locked into hers.
"Jean? Rudolf? Are you two coming?" Bianca asked as she walked by. Both of them nodded.
"Yes. We're coming," Rudolf said, getting off of Jean and helping her up. Then he turned to see Damon using his dark magic to unlock the main gate.
"And we are in! Excellent job, Damon. You are very welcome, Damon." Damon was too busy congratulating himself to realize that as he walked past the gate, there was a wall that he had to go around. He ran into the brick wall with a thud.
Bianca silenced a laugh that threatened to come from her. "Well then…." She almost giggled as she walked past the wall. Damon grumbled to himself and followed her.
Everyone stopped and looked around the outer courtyard. There were numerous buildings and trees that seemed to spring up from the ground. Most tress had various fruits that looked ripe on the branches. Damon grinned and swiped at one tree with the blade of his sickle. The fruit was impaled by the blade and drug back down. "That was easy," he said, grabbing the fruit and taking a bite out of it.
"You do realize that that is stealing from the Queen, right?" Sarah asked.
Damon shrugged, "We all have to eat, right?"
The band of Guardians reached the inner courtyard. This region was filled with buildings and vases of flowers. "There is the palace. That's where Rin will be," Bianca said.
"And then we will have to tell her about Aaron…" Jean whispered.