Chapter 4: Taguel, You're It!
Their manakete hadn't been seen since she left the castle to check the village. On Lord Chrom's advice, Marth and Gregor entered the village with a woman as tall as the redhead man. The brunette woman had rabbit ears poking out of her hair. Her onyx breastplate covered her chest and torso while fur covered her private area and she wore armor around her legs, except for her bare feet. Little did they know what Nowi faced before disappearing. In the village, they received a lead about Nowi's last whereabouts taking them to the forest before. To Marth, her apparent father discovered someone in the forest. "So this is where Chrom, Lissa and Fredrick found their tactician," she realized. The rabbit-eared woman began to believe Marth's theory.
"Emmeryn's brother's finding was indeed a blessing, especially in the war against Plegia," she acknowledged. "I believe he and Anna may provide the best assist should other nations challenge Ylisse." Marth nodded, believing the other woman.
"No question, Panne. I do wish I had someone help me when Grima awakened back in my time." Gregor returned to the women, his sword having dust on it.
"Risen in trees," he reported as he sheathed his sword. "Nothing Gregor cannot handle. Any scent on Nowi, Panne?" A pained huff from Panne wasn't pleasing.
"Try not to rush me, man-spawn," she groaned. "I'd have an easier time sniffing out a carrot patch than manaketes." Panne led the way with Marth criticizing Gregor's impatience.
"I understand your concern for Nowi," she comforted. "But it's ill-advised to push someone to find what we're looking for." Gregor mulled to the soft scold.
"Gregor know but Gregor cannot feel but sickness not knowing if Nowi is alive or dead," he expressed. Marth nodded, understanding his worry. Panne continued to lead the group when she stopped near the trees where a fluctuation emerged before.
"Her trail ends here," she discovered. Gregor studied the spot, adding the Risen who he encountered.
"Risen were weak, though they came by number. Nowi could battle with two Dragon Stone, that much Gregor know." The women looked around for any sign of struggle.
"Something doesn't seem right," Marth pondered. "I don't see blood anywhere." Panne resumed sniffing around when she reached out, her hand phasing through a distortion. Marth and Gregor saw it, a hint of where Nowi may have disappeared to.
"What's this?" she wondered. Even Marth wasn't sure of the discovery.
"I wanna say a rift or a tear like the one I came through to save Lissa. Could Nowi have escaped using this?" To Gregor, if the Risen cornered her here, this distortion may have been her only method to flee.
"Nowi's age bring great wisdom," he studied. "Her entering here may be ticket to find her." With this finding, Panne now questioned Marth's future from wince she came."
"You were able to preserve the Exalt's life to cause a distortion in time," she suspected. "Was not knowing Nowi's fate part of this paradox?" Marth had been questioned by Chrom about her claims of the future in which Emmeryn's life was on borrowed time may have resulted in changes to the future. Even now, she had no method of determining the fate of their changeling.
"It may be," she briefed. "If Nowi did cross, we should find her." Without hesitation, Marth entered the rift before Gregor and lastly Panne. On the other side, the three landed softly on the ground where Nowi's first encounters saw them. Marth and Gregor panned the area, not finding too much of a difference from their place.
"Gregor not finding difference from Ylisse," he expressed. Panne took a whiff, picking up a familiar odor.
"That smell…" she picked up. "Our manakete was here." To the other two, they're on the right track.
"The gods want us to find her, no doubt," Marth murmured. "Nowi… please be safe." Overhearing the blue-haired woman was Patrat and Lillipup. The Pokémon called to the trio of rescuers, which Marth looked down. Needless to say, she became curious. "What in the world..?" Patrat barked profusely, pointing to the path where Nowi traveled with her new friends.
"Never seen these creatures around Ylisse. Though I believe they know something about our missing Shepard." The Pokémon led the three down the road where they found Team Rocket's destroyed machine. Gregor gulped at the size of what was a trap-maker.
"Boy, something not seen in Ylisse as well," he awed. "But no longer use. Whatever thing is, it kaput!" Panne's nose got a massive whiff at the cause.
"Nowi turned dragon and destroyed it. Her flame still smolders among the remains." This proved Nowi was there.
"So we must be closing in," Marth concluded before kneeling to Patrat and Lillipup. "Tell me, where did this dragon run off to?" Patrat pointed and Lillipup faced the same path which Ash and his friends helped out. "I see. Thank you." With the lead, Marth prepared to bring Nowi back to Ylisse.
"Lead the way, Legendary Hero-King." Marth nodded as she lead, her mind mulling over her apparent secret.
'Soon, everyone will know that I'm not the Hero-King, more the heir to the next Exalt after my father.' As they resumed their pursuit, their target joined Ash inside an arena where booths strewn the floor. A brunette Connoisseuse wearing a beige version of Cilan's clothes petted Pikachu as Ash and Nowi watched.
"Remarkable!" the brunette awed while a man with faded brunette hair watched on, wearing all black. "You and Pikachu have the best chemistry I've seen in a long time. Your time with each other, not to mention the firmness of Pikachu's cheeks, are indeed homages to my findings." Pikachu squeaked happily to the compliment.
"Thank you," Ash smiled. Both stood up where the Connoisseuse and Ash shook hands.
"There's nothing more than saying that I wish you two stay together for the rest of your days." Ash chuckled to the appreciation.
"Me and Pikachu, both." The other brunette worked on the clipboard, tallying by using a pencil on a clipped paper.
"Thank you, Ash!" he praised. "Her performance will go to the committee for her evaluation." Nowi came forward, eager to know the score the younger brunette received.
"Did she pass the test?" she asked. The elder chortled to Nowi's request.
"She has a few more trainers to evaluate before her results are concluded."
"Gotcha." Once Pikachu remounted on Ash's shoulder, they left the booth. "That's the fourth Connoisseur in an hour. So far, their evaluations have been the same regardless of Pokémon." Ash understood Nowi's boredom and repitition.
"I know how you feel," he consoled. "Still, each Connoisseur is different. I may come across one who may say that Unfezent is a better fit to Iris over me or her Excadrill in a bit of the other way around." Nowi took notice of Ash's explanation.
"So Connoisseurs are like snowflakes? No two are the same?"
"Pretty much." That's when Iris came around. She seemed upset as she returned to the two.
"There's no way I'm giving Emolga up!" she stammered. To Ash and Nowi, Iris' evaluation with her Connoisseur saw little connection between her and a black flying squirrel with yellow cheeks in her arms.
"Some sort of disagreement, Iris?" asked Nowi. Iris billowed a sigh from the evaluation.
"I've been evaluated by three Connoisseurs. Two of them saw me compatible with Axew and Excadrill… but the last one didn't see me and Emolga as a match!" Ash shrugged to how he could treat Iris' frustration.
"Someone may think your Emolga is irreplaceable in your party," Nowi offered hope.
"Yeah, I guess. At least I wasn't evaluated by Burgundy." Ash lofted a sigh, recalling past moments with the violet-haired.
"No doubt she'll berate Pokémon that aren't even with me like Palpitoad or Boldore," he listed. Nowi blinked at the newly-mentioned Pokémon.
"You have more?" she questioned.
"Yeah, but they're with Professor Juniper on the other side of the region… and I got more back home with Professor Oak." Nowi's eyes widened to what Ash raised.
"Any dragons?"
"One: my Gible." Iris gasped at the name of a Pokémon back where he lived.
"Gible, from the Sinnoh Region?" she guessed. Ash nodded. Suddenly…
"Burgundy, you're through!" a man bellowed. Everyone and their Pokémon turned to Burgundy being scolded by a gray-haired mustached man, also dressed like a Connoisseur in gold. "Not only did you disavow your rank where you're required to have a guide, you use your bias and passion to degrade trainers' Pokémon!" The rage coming from the man even drew the interest of Cilan at a booth with a girl holding a puff of white cotton with red eyes.
"I believe Burgundy's evaluation is over," Nowi shuttered. Burgundy wasn't letting her dismissal go without a fight.
"Yeah?!" she yelled. "I warned every Connoisseur that I'm far better than your so-called 'rank!' You call my evaluations bias?! Listen to you! It's not my fault these trainers can't find compatible Pokémon!" The man gave Burgundy the scariest face that even Nowi trembled. His murderous eyes was enough to freeze Burgundy in her place.
"Your badge!" Out of intimidation or denial, Burgundy hesitated to relinquish her badge. It was a gold circle with a red "C" in the middle.
"One day, Cilan," she murmured under her breath. "You will lose to me." Nevertheless, she bowed as she handed the badge to the man in question.
"This is the first time a Connoisseur, less a Connoisseuse, has been expelled from the Committee. And don't bother trying to ask back. You've been permanently banned." With Burgundy's former badge, the man walked off while leaving the violet-haired in tears.
"Little kids can't accomplish much when they act the part," Iris teased. Ash coughed a sigh to her mock.
"I've seen my fair share," he muttered. The sulking former Connoisseuse waddled pass Ash and the other girls who began to feel bad for her.
"Think we should cheer her up?" irked Nowi. Cilan finished his latest evaluation on the trainer. The outburst grew an interest to him that he felt distracted. His spotter, an elder brunette Connoisseuse, believed he needed a break after his string.
"Why don't you take 30 minutes to refresh yourself," she suggested.
"Yeah, thanks," he accepted before standing up to finally see Burgundy exit the building in front of a handful of trainers. To Cilan, Burgundy didn't learn any lesson. "No matter what I tell her, it's like her ears are connected straws: in one end, out the other." There's nothing the group felt they could do to aid Burgundy.
"She doesn't know what a problem is when it's in front of her face," Iris threw one more insult. No one noticed Pikachu's head turned. He saw someone which a squeak alerted the rest.
"Pikachu?" called Nowi. Seeing Pikachu facing a path, everyone turned to a pink-haired girl wearing a puffy yellow hat. She wore different hues of green in her clothing from her shirt and vest, skirt, knee-socks and boots. Iris cringed at the sight of her.
"Great… it's Georgia." Axew peeked out of Iris' hair but seeing Georgia forced it to retreat. Georgia came to the group, her mug reading disgust.
"If it isn't the wannabe Dragon-Type failure," she insulted. Iris growled at the mocking, her Axew joining as well.
"Let me guess, you're here to see how your Pokémon are evaluated, right?" Instead of words, Georgia leaned in, sniffing her like a dog. She took a whiff of Axew, but backed her head. Axew watched on, befuddled.
"It's not Axew I'm smelling… and I doubt you have another Dragon-Type, is that right?"
"That's nothing a little kid like you needs to know!" Rather than ask Iris again, Georgia turned to Cilan since she felt better asking him.
"It's not you, either?"
"I'm afraid none of us have any new Dragon-Type Pokémon, Georgia," he replied nervously. Regardless, Georgia did a quick nasal investigation.
"I believe you." Iris furrowed her brow as she next sniffed Ash. She squatted and sniffed Ash's groin area, freaking the trainer and Pikachu to shield the part.
"Georgia, slow down!" he shrieked. Iris gasped to Georgia's inappropriate nosing. Georgia never became bothered by her portion of investigation.
"I'm closing in." Lastly, she sniffed around Nowi. A scent entered her nose and then her mind. "I found it!" Iris and the boys stood dumbfounded by Georgia's discovery. Something didn't feel right for anyone for plenty of reasons.
"Georgia, Nowi doesn't have a Pokémon, let alone a Dragon-Type," Cilan reminded. "We understand that you're a Dragon Buster..." Georgia turned to Cilan, a great question on her mind.
"Then perhaps you can explain the unusual scent of dragon on this pointy-eared girl?" To Nowi, her secret couldn't hide from Georgia and now had no choice but to come clean about herself.
"Looks like I need to admit who I am and where I'm from," she shrugged before digging in her skirt to pull out the Dragon Stones. "Take a look at this." She flicked the stone to Georgia who saw the head of a dragon marked on it. Georgia seemed intrigued by the item.
"That's pretty cool." Finally, Nowi confessed.
"In truth, I'm a manakete… I turn into a dragon." Gasps from Iris and the boys could be heard from the other side of the large room. Nowi came clean about her identity but wasn't aware of others coming to bail her out of this world. Unbeknown to anyone, watching eyes and ears heard the confession.
TO BE CONTINUED...