Sorry for the late post. I was making sure that this chapter was perfect and was busy with work. It got started again and there was a lot to do. Now on to chapter 20.
Chapter 20
A Day As An Outlaw
Oliver P.O.V.
We walked through the desert most of the day and it was late in the afternoon when we got back to Mantaic. "Phew… We're finally here. I've seen enough sand to last me a lifetime." Rita said to everyone. "You're telling me." Karol said to Rita. "Look... there are people outside the town..." Estelle said to us. Then we notice some people getting loaded into a carriage. "Wonder if that means the curfew's been lifted." Rita asked everyone. "No look." I said as I pointed to one man. They all followed my arm and noticed Cumore standing there.
"Cumore!" Rita said as she got ready to fight. "Easy now. Haste makes waste..." Raven said to Rita. "Indeed. We need to be cautious here and see what's going on." Patty said to everyone. "Quick everyone over here." I said leading them behind some palm trees and plants was big enough for all of us to hide and we could hear Cumore talking.
"Hurry, hurry, all aboard. Let's all enjoy a nice little tour of the desert, shall we?" Cumore said to some people that he was behind, forced into a carriage. "But while we're gone. The children…! A man asked Cumore. But was interrupted by Cumore. "I promise riches to anyone who can bring me the remains of that giant, winged monster. Then your children will be able to live in the lap of luxury." Cumore said to the people. "Please, don't make us go!" A man said to Cumore. "Stop your whining! I told you vermin to get aboard! Now get moving this instant!" Cumore said to the people.
"That's just how we were sent into the Desert, the only difference is that they knock out our Hippowdons first before forcing us into that carriage with them dragging our Hippowdons." The Father of Alph and Layla said to us. "Why don't they get on board themselves?" Patty asked the parents. "Because they must know just how dangerous this desert is. Just like what happened to us." Yuri said to Patty. "That and Cumore is a monster. He gladly kills people he thinks are lower than him if it means he gets what he wants. And now he wants a giant. Winged monster." I said to everyone.
"The giant, winged monster must be Phaeroh." Karol said to us. "Yeah, but what's he want ta capture Phaeroh so bad for?" Raven asked Everyone. "Don't know, but we have a big problem at the moment." Ava said to Raven. "She's right, what are we going to do? We can't just stand by and watch, can we?" Judith asked everyone.
"I'll…" Estelle said, but was interrupted by Patty. "I don't think it's a good idea to go right now." Patty said to Estelle. "I'm afraid that idot isn't going to listen to anything a princess would say." Yuri said to Estelle. "Yeah, chances are that Comure would kill you the second you show your face, all to hide what he's doing." I said to Estelle. "He would do that?" Estelle said to me. "He tried that in Heliord." I said to Estelle. "Then what should we do?" Estelle asked everyone.
"Karol c'mere a sec." Yuri said to Karol. Karol then walked to Yuri. Yuri then whispered something. "What? Yeah. I could do that… but I'd need tools… Wait, you mean…?" Karol said to Yuri. "Care to fill the rest of us on the plan here?" Hugo asked Yuri. "Yes. Perhaps this will help." Judith said as she pulled out a wrench out of nowhere. "How convenient…" Karol said, lowering his head. "Where did you get that wrench? And what's the plan?" I asked Judith as Karol took the wrench. "Karol is going to sabotage the carriage." Yuri said to me.
"You guys better bail me out if this goes bad." Karol said to us. Then we all nodded yes in our own ways. "So where did you find that wrench and when were you hiding that?" Ava asked Judith. "I just found it lying on the ground and I thought it might be useful. And I just had it in my pockets." Judith said to Ava. "What pockets?" Ava asked Judith. "Ava, you can ask Judith about her wordro later. For now let's just get ready to save Karol if or when things go south." I said to Ava as we turned to Cumore.
"What is it with these commoners? They're slower than slugs. Get aboard, damn you!" Cumore said to the people. "Sir Cumore. Everyone is aboard!" A knight said to Cumore. "Everyone except yourself." Cumore said to the knight. "Wait.. ." The knight said to Cumore. "Those who do their jobs slowly will never learn without punishment." Cumore said to the knight. "Sir Cumore, please, I beg of you! I have a wife and daughter." The knight said to Cumore. "If you'd like to stay here. I'm sure I could arrange for them to go in your place." Cumore said to the knight. "Now. be gone with you!" Cumore said as I then noticed Estelle looking sadder with every passing word.
"Karol." Estelle said hopping Karol would help everyone. "Don't worry. That young man is very capable." Judith said to Estelle. "That or his meddling will be a good distraction for us to ambus Cumore." I said to Estelle. "Oliver." Estelle said looking at me. "What?" I said to Estelle as all front wheels fell off the carriage.
"What's going on?! Who was it that readied this coach?!" Cumore said to the nights looking at the knights. "Gaaaah! Fix the blasted coach! I will find out who's responsible for this!" Cumore said to the knights as he left.
"I've gotta hand it to the little runt." Rita said watching Cumore leave. "You did it." Yuri said to Karol as he ran to us. "Whew… My heart was pounding like a drum." Karol said to us. "This won't do anything more than buy us some time, though." Rita said to us. "I think it's about all we can do at the moment." Judith said to Rita. "We're still in the middle of our journey, after all." Patty said to everyone. "Yeah we have to meet Belius tomorrow. And she can help this town." Hugo said to Estelle.
"Hopefully, after all us vs a squad of knights might not go well." I said to everyone. "Yeah, Captain Karol'd start crying if we tried to tackle the Knights head on." Yuri said to me looking at Karol. "How 'bout we make ourselves scarce before people start gettin' too curious?" Raven said to us. "I suppose we'll be on our way, then…" The Father of Alph and Layla said to us.
"Yeah. I'm sure your kids will be so happy to see you. But there won't always be someone around to save you." Yuri said to the parents. "That's Yuri's way of saying be safe and take care of the kids." I said to the parents. "Thank you again for all your help." The Mother of Alph and Layla said to us as they bowed and left with the Hippowdons. "Guess we should lay low at the inn for a while." Yuri said to everyone. "Agree let's go." I said as we went to the inn.
A few minutes later we walked into the inn. "Ohh…! You've returned safe from-!" The innkeeper said when he saw us, but stopped when he turned to the knight standing guard. "W-welcome back." The innkeeper said to us. "Looks like they still got guards watching him." Karol said to me. "Just play along for now." I said to Karol. "You must be tried. Please enjoy your stay." The innkeeper said to us as we all went to our room.
After the sun went down and the knight left we talked in the room. "That Cumore punk is a really lousy guy." Rita said everyone. "You're just realizing that." I said to Rita. "Why are there so many lousy guys in the world?" Patty asked everyone. "It's probably some kind of disease." Judith said to Patty. "It's gotta be the disease they call stupidity." Patty said to us. "So you do catch on! I'd bet your right." Rita said to Patty
"No it's balance. Where there's good there's bad. The only difference between our worlds is that the bad people are louder then the good people." Hugo said to everyone. "That and the fact that the people of this world are too scared to take a stand. Like here I'm sure that once they show some backbone they can easily scare Cumore away." Ava said to everyone.
"I wonder why they're trying to capture Phearoh." Raven asked everyone. "I don't know but… at this rate, they're going to send all of the adults in the town out into the desert." Estelle said to us. "And once the adults are gone, it might be the children's turn, next." Judith said to Estelle. "No, that can't happen!" Estelle said to Judith. "But it will. And it's all thanks to Cumore." Ava said to Estelle. "If I just spoke to him as a representative of the imperial family…!" Estelle said, but was interrupted by me.
"That will not work. Cumore doesn't care about you or your title. Remember in Heliord he was more than happy to kill us in order to keep his secret about tricking the townspeople into becoming his personal slaves for nothing." I said to Estelle, making her quit. "I agree with Oliver. Cumore is a mad man who thinks his title allows him to get away with everything. I doubt you can do anything to stop him. And anything you do try will only make him want to kill you more." Ava said Estelle. "And we have to meet Belius." Hugo said to Estelle.
"So should we help the townspeople, or should we help ourselves?" Rita asked everyone. "Rita." Estelle said to Rita. "Don't you want to know what the Entelexeia is thinking? If so, you should put this whole business with Cumore out of your mind for the time being." Judith said to Estelle. "I agree with Judith. We need a better plan than just you talking to him and hope for the best." Hugo said to Judith. "It's a strange feeling to be agreeing with you two, but… I think we should focus on meeting Belius for now." Rita said to Judith, Hugo and Estelle.
"Your right, that does feel strange." Hugo said to Rita. "Even if we captured Cumore, we wouldn't have the authority to try him for his crimes." Rita said to everyone. "And even if we bring him in. What crime will he be guilty of? Cause from how I see it besides tricking the townspeople of Mantaic and Heliord to do his dirty work. Cumore hasn't done anything wrong in the eyes of your laws. And if he has there's no proof that he did." Hugo said to Estelle. "If we can't do anything about him, we should focus on what we actually can do." Rita said to Estelle, making Estelle feel bad.
"If only Flynn were here…!" Estelle said but was interrupted by me again. "To get killed with you. Estelle, Flynn may have good intentions, but I think he's lost them the moment he became captain. Power corrupts absolutely. And Flynn is no exception." I said to Estelle. "I agree with Oliver. If Flynn was here he would only get killed or get Cumore to leave, that wouldn't solve the real problem." Ava said to Estelle. "What problem?" Rita asked Ava. "The problem is Cumore, walking around free. And the only way to solve that problem is to lock him up forever." Ava said to Rita which made Estelle feel worse.
"I'm sorry, Estelle… we don't mean to be ganging up on you." Rita said to Estelle. "Yeah we're just letting you know that not everyone is nice and they'll listen to what other people have to say." Hugo said to Estelle. "It disgusts me, too, to imagine that jerk snoring all nice and cozy in his bed right now. But…" was interrupted by Hugo. "If we do anything we're criminals of the Empire and will be arrested on sight." Hugo said to Rita. "Rita… Hugo… I understand." Estelle said to them.
"And Hugo is right. If we lock up a guy like that, and as soon as he's released he'll just end up doing the same thing again." Judith said to Estelle. "Yep. you know what they say… the only cure for stupidity is death." Raven said to everyone. "That or a good bet down." Ava said to Raven. "The only cure for stupidity is death…" Yuri whispered but no one heard him. But me, Ava, and Bisharp heard him and we looked at each other knowing where he was going and not liking it. Soon we all went to sleep, but me, Ava, Bisharp, and Yuri were only pretending to be asleep.
NO P.O.V.
After Yuri though everyone was asleep, he got up and he looked at his hand. "I guess I'll have to play by my own rules…" Yuri to himself before he left. As soon as the door closed Oliver, Ava, and Bisharp got up and went after Yuri from the shadows. But what they didn't know was that as they got up they woke up Banette, who was confused and followed close behind them.
A few minutes later Yuri was in the building Cumore was sleeping in holding his unsheath sword, with Oliver, Ava, and Bisharp looking through one window, and Banette looking through a different window wandering what Yuri was doing. "Cumore." Yuri said to Cumore before kicking his bed walking him up. Cumore then opened his eyes and was surprised to see Yuri standing there. Cursor then jolted up. "Y-y-you're…! No! Yuri, it's you! Wh-what are you doing here?" Cumore neveriestly asked Yuri, before he noticed the sword in Yuri's hand completely scaring him.
Cumore then back away from Yuri, and fell off the bed. Cumore then backed away from Yuri until he reached the wall next to the back door. "Someone! Someone come quick!" Cumore said as he got up and called for help. But no one was coming. Releasing that no one was coming. Cumore got even more scared. "Y-you would cross swords with a noble? V-very well. I accept your challenge." Cumore said to Yuri as he nervously drew his sword.
Yuri then walked to Cumore and easily knocked Cumore's sword out of his hand and knocked him to the floor. "N-no! How could this…!" Cumore said to Yuri. "Oliver was right, Cumore your nothing special. And you will have a unmarked grave in the middle of nowhere." Yuri said to Cumore, pointing his sword at Cumore. "D-do you have any idea the trouble you're in for even pointing that thing at me?!" Cumore said to Yuri. But Yuri was unfazed by Cumore's words and started to walk again. Cumore then screamed and ran out the back door. Yuri followed Cumore out of the building with Oliver, Ava, and Bisharp moving to the side of the building and Banette moving to the roof to see what was going to happen.
Cumore then ran to an edge of town that was a sinkhole that was slowly draining sand. "W-wait!" Cumore said to Yuri, making him stop. "I'm not the one to blame! I've just been following orders! I had no choice!" Cumore said to Yuri trying to save his skin. "Then don't hate me. Hate whoever gave you your orders." Yuri said to Cumore unfazed.
"W-wait! How about this?! I could use my authority to pardon all of your crimes! A fresh start! I may even be able to have you reinstated as a Knight! I have no shortage of money. With enough money, I'm sure I could satisfy your every wish. Go ahead! Tell me what it is you want!" Cumore said to Yuri trying to stop him. "There's only one thing I want from you." Yuri said to Cumore. "A-and what might that…? Cumore asked Yuri, but stopped when he noticed the look in Yuri's eyes.
Then Yuri walked forward. "N-no, stop… Stay back! Don't come any closer, you beast! I am Cumore, a captain of the Imperial Knights! The man destined to become Commandant!" Cumore said to Yuri, trying to scare him away. But Yuri wasn't scared, he just kept walking forward. Cumore then backed up, forgetting that his back was against a sinkhole. "Uaaaaaagh!" Cumore yelled as he fell into the sinkhole. Yuri then walked to the edge.
"I-I beg you! Spare my life!" Cumore begged Yuri. But Yuri just looked at the rope nearby and did nothing as the sands started to swallow him. "P-please, no! Not like this! I-I don't want to go like this!" Cumore begged again. "Tell me, how many times have you heard those very words?" Yuri asked Cumore. "Aaaaaah!" Cumore yelled as the sands pulled him under.
That yell made Oliver and Ava close their eyes and hugged each other tightly. Bisharp just looked away with a disappointed look on his face. And Banette was confused, after all he didn't think Yuri would do something like this, so he went back to the inn to think. Yuri just stared at the sinkhole in silence. Then Flynn came up behind Yuri, and Rookidee and Riolu weren't with him. And Yuri didn't have to turn to know it was Flynn.
"My people have taken control of things here. The residents of this town won't suffer any longer." Flynn said to Yuri. "That ought to put you one step closer to your next promotion." Yuri said to Flynn not looking at him. The two of them just went silent for a few seconds. "I'm heading back to the other." Yuri said to Flynn as he started to walk. "Yuri, we need to talk later." Flynn said to Yuri. "I know." Yuri said, still walking. "I'll be waiting… down at the lake." Flynn said to Yuri. Soon Oliver, Ava, and Bisharp started to run back to the inn.
It wasn't long when the town came alive in the night. Celebrating the fact that the town was free from Cumore and his troops. But they all thought that Cumore ran away, not knowing the truth. Soon everyone was having fun dancing and music filled the town. But Yuri, Oliver, Ava, Bisharp and Banette didn't feel like celebrating. After a few hours everyone, but Rita, Patty, Metang, Duosion, Cramorant, and Slowpoke was in the inn.
"Who'd have guessed this town could ever be this lively?" Karol said as he, Skiddo, Mawlie walked into their room. "Yes. It's a great relief to know the people here can live freely again." Judith said to everyone. "Yeah, glad to know that saving this town is no longer on our to do list." Hugo said to Judith. "I'm still shocked that Flynn actually came." Estelle said to everyone. "That was amazing timing." Karol said to Estelle.
"But Cumore might just cause more pain somewhere else." Estelle said to everyone. "I doubt Cumore will be free for much longer. After all there's not a lot of places where he can run to, out here." Hugo said to Estelle. "You watch. Flynn'll have that guy behind bars in no time. Right, Yuri? Oliver?" Karol said to them. "Oh, uh, yeah." Yuri said to Karol. "Yuri?" Karol said to Yuri. "He's just tired Karol. It's too late for this party." Oliver said as Raven, Drilbur, and Sableye passed out on the floor. "See." Oliver said to Karol. "Raven, Drilbur, Sableye you're gonna catch a cold." Karol said to them.
"They wore themselves out playing with all the children. You'd think they would all be little kids." Judith said as Rita, Metang, and Duosion walked into the room. "Welcome back." Estelle said to Rita, Metang, and Duosion. "They're still going out there. I can't keep up with them." Rita said to Estelle. "What happened to Patty, Cramorant, and Slowpoke?" Judith asked Rita. "They're still dancing . I really don't get kids." Rita said to Judith. "I saw you having a good time, though. You're an awesome dancer, Rita." Karol said to Rita. "Shut up." Rita said, hitting Karol. As RIta hit Karol she noticed Raven, Drilbur, and Sableye passing out on the floor.
"Huh…? The old man's asleep already?" Rita asked everyone. "Yeap." Hugo said as Yuri got up. "Yuri?" Estelle asked Yuri, as everyone turned to him. "Just gonna go have a word with Flynn. I'll be back. Bisharp, Banette stay here." Yuri said as he left the room. "Ava why don't we go for a walk." Oliver said to Ava. "Ok let's go." Ava said to Oliver as they left.
A few minutes later Yuri made it to the lake where Flynn was waiting alone. "Why don't you have a seat?" Flynn said not looking at Yuri, but knowing that it was him. Yuri then sat down with his back against Flynn. "You said we need to talk?" Yuri said to Flynn, either of them looking at each other. "Tell me… why did you kill Cumore? You know it's not our place to pass sentences on the crimes of others. He was to be punished in accordance with the laws!" Flynn said to Yuri.
"And just what laws do you think would have punished him?! The same laws that failed to punish Ragou? Give me a break." Yuri said to Flynn as he got up. "Yuri, you…" Flynn said, realizing what Yuri did. Yuri then walked to the edge of the lake. "The laws have always been the tool of whoever happens to hold all the chips." Yuri said to Flynn looking at the lake.
"Just saying that doesn't make it right for individuals to judge right from wrong, or for you to operate your own private court of law! If the laws are at fault, then fixing those come first. It's for that very reason that I'm still with the Imperial Knights!" Flyn said to Yuri moving in front of Yuri so they could look each other in the eyes.
"But you can't deny that lives were saved because those bastards were put down. You'd rather tell those people "Sorry you have to die today, I promise we'll change things soon"?" Yuri said to Flynn. "That's not what I'm saying at all!" Flynn said to Yuri. "They're out there, you know. People so bad they'll just go on hurting others. What can the average person do, but be victimized by people like that? You know it was the same way with our people in the lower quarter." Yuri said to Flynn.
"Even so, Yuri, what you're doing isn't right. Do you intend to rain your justice down on all the villains of the world? That's the behavior of a common criminal." Flynn said to Yuri. "I recognize it for what it is, and I've made my choices. Muder is a crime." Yuri said to Flynn. "And even knowing that, you intend to dirty your hands." Flynn said to Yuri. "Intend to? I already have." Yuri said to Flynn. Then things went quiet. "So this is the path you've chosen." Flynn said to Yuri breaking the silence. "Don't make me repeat myself." Yuri said to Flynn.
"I won't. But it seems you don't yet understand the full weight of your choices..." Flynn said to Yuri but was interrupted by a voice. "Or maybe you don't understand the weight of his choices." A male voice said to Flynn.
They both looked back and saw Oliver and Ava standing a few feet behind them. "Oliver, Ava, how long have you been standing there?" Flynn asked them. "Long enough to see Yuri kill Ragou. Long enough to see him kill Cumore. And long enough to hear the whole conversation." Oliver said to Flynn. "You knew?" Yuri asked them. "Yes us and Bisharp. We know everything." Ava said to Yuri.
"If you two knew then why didn't you tell anyone?" Flynn asked them as they walked to him and Yuri. "Because what would be the point. You couldn't do anything to Ragou even when we had solid proof of him committing treason and mass muder. Your Empire is designed to let the poor suffer for just living. And let the rich do whatever they want without any consequences." Oliver said to Fylnn. "But that's why I'm working through the ranks of the knights so I can fix that." Flynn said Oliver.
"But you haven't moved up the ranks. If it wasn't for us, you still would be that no name knight we meet in Nor Harbor. Because from what I remember. It was us that saved Halure. It was us that drove Ragou out of Nor Harbor. It was us that that saved Ioder. It was Yuri that let you stop that battle. It was us that battled Barbos. It was us that disrupted Cumore's plans in Heliord. And it was us that held the line of monsters in Nordopolica, while you gathered your knights. Sure you played your part in some of that, but everything you are, everything you done, is because of us." Oliver said to Flynn, making Flynn look down.
"Even so Yuri killed people, how can you two be ok with this?" Flynn asked them. "We're not. We don't like that fact that Yuri killed them. But what other option was left. Ragou and Cumore were both bad people, who murdered a lot of people for fun. And even if we brought them in, what would your Empire do to them, after all you let Ragou go with just a slap on the wrist for treason." Oliver said to Flynn. "And me and Oliver heard Ragou talking about making you pay for bringing him in. If it wasn't for Yuri. You would be the corpse in the river not Ragou." Ava said to Flynn, making Flynn clench his fist.
"And Yuri was right. Your Empire is bleeding people dry for fun. And by the time you have the power to do anything yourself. Everyone you want to save will be dead. The best thing to do is to buy you time, and Yuri is doing that." Oliver said to Flynn. "By killing people." Flynn said to them. "Flynn, did you know that big Y shaped bird that destroyed Heracles. Was a Pokemon. And not any Pokemon his name was Yveltal the master of Destruction, and he destroys everything so Life can begin again. In this case with Ragou and Cumore gone. Things can get better for everyone." Ava said to Flynn.
"But still Yuri has to face justice." Flynn said to them. "Justice? What do you know of justice? You are nothing. You can't do anything to help people. Your knights may think your someone important. But I can see you for what you really are. A fool who thinks that he can fix the system when he only became another broken piece in the system." Oliver said as he and Flynn locked horns. Soon Sodia came running to them.
"Captain, I've finally found you." Sodia said as Flynn backed away from Oliver and walked to Sodia. "What is it?" Flynn asked Sodia. "Our barricade of Nordopolica has been completed. Aslo, it appears that the Hunting Blades are on the move. Sir, we must go to Nordopolica quickly." Sodia said to Flynn. Flynn didn't say anything. "Captain?" Sodia asked Flynn. "Understood." Flynn said to Sodia. "Sir." Sodia said to Flynn before leaving. Then Flynn turned around and saw that Yuri, Oliver, and Ava were gone.
"Yuri? I know you better than anyone alive. Yuri, if you insist on walking down the path of a criminal and drag Oliver and Ava with you then..." Flynn said before looking at his armor. "I'm not nothing." Flynn said before he left. As soon as he was gone Yuri, Oliver, and Ava came out of hiding.
"So now what?" Yuri asked Oliver and Ava. "We get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow will be a long day." Oliver said to Yuri. "What do you mean we? Do think it's good to travel with a known criminal." Yuri said to Oliver. "Yuri, while I hate the fact you killed them. It doesn't make me think any less of you as a friend." Oliver said to Yuri. "Why not?" Yuri asked him. "Yuri, those two were monsters and we kill monsters. The only difference between them and the monster we fight is that they had human skin." Oliver said to Yuri. "Besides you didn't kill them for power or profit. You killed them to save lives." Ava said to Yuri.
"And that's why we're friends. Because you care about people and won't sit by and do nothing while people suffer, unlike Flynn. And while I wish you didn't kill them. What's done is done. So there's no point in worrying about it." Oliver said, placing a hand on Yuri's shoulder. "Are you sure you want to be friends with a criminal?" Yuri asked them. "Not just us. You can come out now." Ava said as Estelle and Repede came out of hiding.
"How did you know we were here?" Estelle asked Ava. "Estelle, your white dress doesn't blend in well at night." Ava said to Estelle. Then Estelle turned to Yuri. "Yuri." Estelle said to Yuri not knowing what to say. Estelle then walked to them. "So you heard it all?" Yuri asked Estelle. "I'm sorry." Estelle said to them. "I'll take that as a yes." Oliver said to Yuri, as Yuri walked to Estelle.
"Are you afraid of me, Estelle?" Yuri asked Estelle as he got close to her. Estelle didn't say anything. "If you are. You can quit right here. Join Flynn and go back to the castle." Yuri said to Estelle as he started to walk away. "I'm not going back." Estelle said to Yuri, making him stop. "Hey." Yuri said, turning to Estelle. "It's true the things you've done are against the law. But I… I'm confused. It's also true that your actions saved the lives of others…" Estelle said to Yuri as they all looked around at the still parting town.
"That Estelle is the paradox of life. The only way to save life is to end it." Oliver said to Estelle. "You never know. Someday I might turn my blade on you two." Yuri said to Olver and Estelle. "You'd never do something like that without a reason. If you ever end up pointing your sword at me, I'm sure I will have done something to deserve it." Estelle said to Yuri. "And I will never fight you Yuri. So if you want to kill me you won't find a fight." Oliver said to Yuri, making him go quite.
"If you're going to go with Flynn, now's your chance. He seemed like he was in a hurry." Yuri said to Estelle. "No. I'm going to continue on this journey with you. It's what I want. Traveling with you, I know I'll find the right path for myself, too. So what I'm thinking is..." Estelle said to Yuri as she walked to Yuri, holding her hand out. "Here's to the road ahead." Estelle said to Yuri. "And we will be with you no matter what comes." Oliver said to Yuri placing his hand back on Yuri's shoulder. Yuri just looked at his right hand. "Thanks." Yuri said before shaking hands with Estelle. Oliver then put his hand on top of their hands.
"Everyone hold still." Ava said as she pulled out some ink. Ava then revealed some skin on all three of them. "You will protect life with your kind heart." Ava said drawing and X on Estelle's arm. "You will protect life with your will to do what must be done." Ava said as she drew a Y on Yuri's arm. "You will protect life by keeping your mind open." Ava said as she drew a Z on Oliver's arm. "I hope with these marks that you three will continue to be friends even when the world turned against any of you." Ava said to them.
"That's sweet Ava. What does it mean?" Estelle asked Ava. "It's something I learned on my travels. It symbolizes that even though you all are different, you all still care about each other and about others' lives and that is what makes you as strong as Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde." Ava said to Estelle. "Come on let's head to bed. Everyone is waiting for us. And let's keep this a secret from them for now." Oliver said to everyone. They all nodded yes and went back to the inn, and got to sleep.
Oliver P.O.V.
The next day we all woke up some time before lunch. "Haven't sawed logs like that for a good long while. *Yawn*" Raven said to everyone. "Yeah, it's called oversleeping." Rita said to Raven. "It's a side effect of partying until you drop." Hugo said to Raven. "We're ready to hit the road, so get that sleep out of your eyes." Yuri said to Raven. "Hey, old man, your eyes are all droopy." Patty said to Raven. "What?! That's not good!" Raven said to everyone. "Geez." Rita said not looking at Raven.
"Ok enough picking on Raven. We have to get moving if we want to meet Belius tonight." I said to everyone. "Huh? There are fewer knights than before." Karol said as he noticed a lot of the knights were gone. "Yeah. Flynn and his crew went back to Nordopolica." Yuri said to everyone. "That must mean they were traveling by night." Judith said to everyone.
"Was there some emergency they had to deal with?" Karol asked everyone. "They wanted to eat some fish, so they went back to Nordopolica." Patty said to Karol. "No Patty. From what me and Ava heard during our walk. The Hunting Blades are heading to Nordopolica as well." I said to everyone. "That can't be good." Judith said to everyone. "No it isn't." Ava said to Judith. "But why would the Hunting Blades be heading to Nordopolica?" Karol asked everyone. "I think I know, and if I'm right. Then we got to move." Hugo said to everyone.
"I agree with Hugo we gotta move. Flynn said something about a barricade." Yuri said to everyone. "Barricade? What could that mean?" Judith asked everyone. "It means that they're going to attack Nordopolica. I told you the Knights would need a distraction to be us and I think they're going to use the stupidity of the Hunting Blades as a distraction." Hugo said to everyone. "This just keeps getting better and better." I said to everyone.
"Maybe we should think twice about headin' back ta Nordopolica for now." Raven said to everyone. "No. As a member of Palestralle I have to go and help Belius." Hugo said to Raven. "And if I can't go to Nordopolica. I can't get on a ship. If I don't get on a ship, I won't be able to find the Maris Stella or recover my memory." Patty said to everyone. "Don't worry Patty, remember we have a ship. But I don't know if it's been stolen or confiscated by the knights." I said to Patty.
"That's all well and good, I'm just not in a hurry ta get tangled up with that armor wearin' bunch." Raven said to everyone. "Me neither." Yuri said to everyone. "Well then you two better pick up the pace because the only path forward is through the Knights." Ava said to Raven and Yuri. "We'll just have to be careful, like always. No use panicking about it." Karol said to everyone. "What do you mean careful? When are we ever careful?" I asked Karol. "Fair point." Karol said to me.
"Don't forget, I want to take a look at the aer krene in Cados." Rita said to everyone. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten." Yuri said to Rita. "But it will have to be a quick look. We have to get to Belius soon." I said to everyone. "All right, let's head out." Yuri said as we all started to move. Then I turned my head to see Banette moving slowly. "Come on Banette we got to move." Yuri said to Banette. "Banette." Banette said as he started to walk faster. 'I wonder what's up with Banette?' I thought as we walked to Cados.
An hour later we ran into a merchant riding a giant brown horse with long black hair with orange ends and giant orange hooves. "Good day!" Estelle said to the merchant and the horse. "Mudsdale." the horse said to Estelle, stopping. "Cool a Mudsdale." Hugo said petting the side of the horse. "Mudsdale?" Estelle said looking it up in the Pokedex.
Mudsdale
The Draft Horse Pokemon
Ground
It can trudge mountain roads without rest for three days and three nights, all the while dragging a 10-ton load.
"Are you going to the Weasand of Cados?" The merchant asked us. "Yes, we are, why do you ask?" Yuri asked the merchant. "The Imperial Knights have sealed off passage through Cados. It's not just here-. They've set up blockades at all of the routes through the mountains." The merchant said to us. "Blockades…? Why would they…" Rita said but was interrupted by Hugo. "It's a trap. Do you know anything else" Hugo said to Rita and asked the merchant. "Sorry no, I just heard something about a danger in Nordopolica." The merchant said to us.
"What should we do… We need to get to Nordopolica today." Estelle asked everyone. "I wish I could help, but they wouldn't even let us through, and we have a travel permit." The merchant said to us. "Are you two members of Fortune's Market?" Karol asked the merchant. "Yes" The merchant said to us. "Mudsdale." Mudsdale said to us. "How'd you get your permit?" Yuri asked the merchant.
"The Empire issues travel permits to Fortune's Market so that its members can travel wherever they want… at least, that's how it's supposed to be…" Karol said answering the question instead of the merchant. "Right, but the Imperial Knights wouldn't let us go any further. We're going back to Mantaic, since there's no way to get around them." The merchant said before he and Mudsdale left.
"Should we go back to Mantaic and chill out too?" Patty asked everyone. "Hmmm, what are we gonna do?" Raven asked everyone as he rubbed his chin. "We're gonna have to fight through them. You all can go if you want, but Nordopolica needs me." Hugo said to everyone. "No Hugo you're not fighting through that blockade, at least not without me and Ava." I said to Hugo. "Yeah remember with the three of us working together, not even a blockade can stop us." Ava said to Hugo.
"Do you think Flynn ordered the blockades?" Estelle asked everyone. "Hmmm. I couldn't say." Yuri said to Estelle. "Yeah either Flynn or someone higher rank than him ordered it." I said to Estelle. "Either way, we can't afford to be stuck here for much longer." Yuri said to everyone. "Yeah we don't have time to wait we have to get through them." Hugo said to everyone. "But I don't think they'd let us through, even if we asked nicely." Karol said to Hugo.
"Well, to be honest, we can go take a look and think about how to get in… The hard part will only come once we've gotten inside." Raven said to everyone. "What do you mean, "once we've gotten inside?"." Estelle asked Raven. "They set up blockades to make it hard to get outta the mountains… gettin' inside should be nearly as tough. I think that much is safe to assume." Raven said to Estelle. "Well then, should we go back to Mantaic to do some final preparations?" Rita said to everyone. "No, we're fine. Let's go like we are." Yuri said to Rita. "Yeah we just have to be smart. If we play our cards right we should be able to avoid fighting the knights." Hugo said to everyone as we started to move.
An hour later we were in The Weasand of Cados. When we got there we saw Sodia, a few knights, and a bull with light brown fur, silver horns, a main of grey hair around its neck, and three tails. "The Flynn Brigade." Estelle said to everyone. "With Sodia, and a Tauros standing guard. "Tauros?" Estelle said looking Tauros up.
Tauros
The Wild Bull Pokemon
Normal
A rowdy Pokemon with a lot of stamina. Once running, it won't stop until it hits something.
Then I heard Sodia talk with one of the knights. "I don't know why you have this monster. They're a disgrace to the Imperial Knights." Sodia said to a Knight that was petting the Tauros. "Because he is strong and he saved my life. Pulse this is what makes the Flynn Brigade great. They're the only Brigade that allows us to fight with Pokemon. Isn't that right buddy?" The knight said to Sodia. "Tauros." Tauros said cracking a smile.
"So that's the blockade?" Judith said to everyone. "Yeah, looks like it was Flynn's Brigade's doing, after all. But what is that Pokemon doing here?" Karol said to everyone. "From what I heard from that knight. The Flynn Brigade is the only brigade that works with Pokemon." I said to Karol. "That probably means that a few of Flynns knights only follow him because he let's them work with Pokemon." Ava said to everyone. "But why are there so many Knights here?" Karol asked everyone.
"With hardcore tactis like this, there ain't any doudt in my mind this has something to do with the talk of Belius engineering the Great War." Raven said to everyone "So how do we get past this checkpoint?" Karol asked everyone. "We need to distract them. And I have an idea. We just need to startle the Tauros when we can sneak past…" I said, but stopped when I heard Raven say something. "Seriously?! Let's do that! And then?" Raven said as we all turned to him and Patty, who were whispering to each other.
"What could they be talking about?" Estelle asked me. "I don't know." I said to Estelle. "Old man, do you mind keeping it down?" Yuri said to Raven. "Or you can tell us what you two are talking about?" I said to Raven. "Nan, it's time to have some fun!" Raven said as he walked out of our hiding spot. "Raven what are you doing?" Ava asked Raven. "This." Raven said as he fired an explosive arrow at the wall behind the Tauros, freaking it out. "
What the hell?" A knight said as Tauros started to jump around. "Stop it! Get that thing to settle down!" Another knight said to Tauros' partner. "Easy buddy it's ok, it's ok." Tauros partner said to Tauros trying to calm Tauros down. With Tauros freaking out all the knights focus on him. This was our chance to get past them.
"Let's go now!" Judith said to everyone, as we started to run. "Get a move on old man." I said as I noticed Raven standing still. "Hey hey, don't leave this old man behind!" Raven said to me. "Then start running." Ava said to Raven, as he started to run.
Soon we ran past the knights. "What the-. Come back, you!" A knight said to us as they all noticed us. "Yuri Lowell! Oliver Forest!" Soida said to us with a disgusted look on her face. Then Patty through some thick smoke bombs. "See ya! Have fuuun! Raven said to Soida. "Vaporeon come out and use Muddy Water!" Hugo said letting out a small blue looking fox mix with a fish out of one of his Pokeballs. "Vaporeon." Vaporeon said as it slammed its tail onto the ground. Soon a giant wave of mud came up and cracked into the knights. "That will buy us a few minutes now, run." Hugo said to everyone as we ran as fast as we could.
"That was pretty slick, old man!" Yuri said to Raven, as we got to a safe area. "What are ya sayin'? That was all thanks to Patty. Humans work a lot harder when they get rewarded, don't they?" Raven said to everyone. "Reward? What are you talking about?" Rita asked Raven. "That's our little secret, it's just between us, Patty." Raven said to everyone. "So annoying." Rita said to everyone. "It's our little secret!" Patty said to everyone.
"What is that nonsense?" Rita said to everyone. "It's probably some useless promise of theirs" Yuir said to Rita. "We can talk more about this later Vaporeon and Patty bought us a few minutes so we have to move." Hugo said to everyone, as Estellep Pulled out the Pokedex.
Vaporeon
The Bubble Jet Pokemon
Water
It's body's cellular structure is similar to the molecular composition of water. It can melt invisibly in water.
"We don't have time for this, come on." Hugo said as he started to walk with everyone following him. We walked for a few minutes and we haven't run into any other knights.
"Hmm… it looks like they aren't following us." Karol said looking behind us. "Chances are they're still trying to recover from Vaporeon Muddy Water and Patty's smoke bomb." I said to Karol. "That was pretty fun." Patty said to everyone. "Hey, this is no game. Seriously." Yuri said to Patty. "Yeah and while the two of you were effective together, let's not try anything like again." Ava said Raven and Patty. "Now, that's what I'm talking about! Combining Patty's brain with my technique!" Raven said to Patty. "Two heads are better than one." Patty said to Raven.
"But something's bugging me." I said to everyone. "What?" Yuri asked me. "Shouldn't there be more knights here. There can't only be the knights we ran past here." I said to everyone. "Yeah, they went and sealed off a dangerous place like this to isolate Nordopolica. These guys mean business." Raven said to everyone. "But if they mean business then where is everyone else?" Ava asked everyone. "I don't know where they are, but it can't be good." Judith said to Ava
"I can't believe that Flynn would order something like this." Estelle said to everyone. "I can. Flynn is a knight and I'm sure that he was ordered to do this." I said to Estelle. "Hey, what kind of person is Flynn?" Patty asked everyone. "Oh right I guess you haven't worked with Flynn before." I said to Patty. "Flynn is Yuri's friend. I've heard they've known each other since they were children." Karol said to Patty. "He is also a Knight that will never stand up to authority. Chances are that he was given an order to attack Nordopolica and everything he's doing was in response to that order." I said to Patty.
"Flynn wouldn't do that." Estelle said to me. "Sometimes orders comin' down from the top don't make sense. The meaning can get lost going down the chain of command. When a brigade gets big and famous enough, things can start to get outta hand." Raven said to Estelle. "And from what the knight with Tauros said. It sounds like Flynn's brigade is the only brigade that let's them fight with Pokemon so the Flynn brigade must have a lot of members." I said to Estelle.
"You certainly know a lot about these things, Makes sense for someone in Altosk." Yuri said to Raven. "Don't be so sure. Raven takes orders from The Don only and can't give out any orders. He's like The Don's personal assistance." Ava said to Yuri. "While mean. Things can end up like that no matter what the organization." Raven said to everyone.
"What worries me… is how much of a hand Flynn had in all this." Yuri said to everyone. "Chances are that Flynn will get a promotion if he completes this." I said to Yuri. "No that can't be the reason." Estelle said to me. "Estelle, he believes that the only way to fix things is to be a man of high rank. And if this gets him closer to his goal then he will gladly do it." I said to Estelle. "I'm sure we'll get a good understandin' of that as soon as we can get to Nordopolica." Raven said to everyone. "That's right." Estelle said to Raven.
"But we should be on our guard. Even though I find it hard to believe that they've conquered Nordopolica by force." Judith said to everyone. "Yeah. I think the Palaetalle would have a problem with that." Karol said to Judith. "You got that right Karol." Hugo said to Karol.
"Sorry, Rita. you won't get much time to investigate the aer krene." Yuri said to Rita. "Grr.. oh well… I don't have much of a choice. It'd be bad if they caught up to us." Rita said to Yuri. "Exactly, come on. Let's get going." Yuri said as she started to walk. "Yuri sure is enthusiastic." Karol said to everyone. "He won't say it but I reckon he's just worried about his friend." Raven said to Karol. "I agree with Raven the Flynn Yuri knew when he was a knight is not the Flynn we know today." I said to everyone.
"Do Flynn and Yuri really have that strong of a bond?" Patty asked everyone. "It's Strong but there are cracks in it and the cracks are growing." Ava said to Patty. "Come on we have to go or Yuri will fight all the knights by himself." I said to everyone as I started to walk. "He would do that." Rita said as everyone else followed me.
A few minutes later we made it to the aer krene. "Try not to take too long. Okay?" Yuri said to Rita as the rest of us stood guard. "Sure." Rita asid looking at the aer krene. "it's completely inactive now… And it was overflowing so much before. Is that how the aer was controlled? How could a monster do something like that…" Rita said to herself. "Is the aer krene safe now?" Estelle asked Rita. we'll be in trouble if aer shoots out of it like before!" Karol said to everyone. "It doesn't look like you have to worry about that." Rita said to everyone.
"So why'd the aer suddenly shoot out before?" Yuri asked Rita. "That's what's puzzling me." Rita said to Yuri. "Maybe it was just a natural phenomenon?" Estelle said to Rita. "Yeah like it was a surge of energy." Ava said to Rita. "The probability of that is low, at best. If that was the case, it should be emitting aer at regular intervals." Rita said to everyone. "If aer were emitted that frequently, it'd have an effect on the environment." Judith said to Rita.
"Like how the plants grew so unnaturally in Keiv Moc." Rita said to everyone. "Looks pretty normal 'round here to me." Raven said to Rita. "Maybe because the one if Keiv Moc was out of control for a long time and the one here was out of control for a few seconds." I said to Raven. "So perhaps something else interfered with the aer krene and caused it to discharge aer? But what could do that? Only a formula or blastia could affect aer like that." Rita said as Repede started to growl. "You might have to think about it on the way." I said as we noticed Sodia and a few knights all covered in mud coming at us.
"Damn, that would be our fan club. Seems like these knights are just as dedicated as the Captain himself." Yuri said to everyone. "I'm trying to figure out if that's a good or bad thing." I said to Yuri. "Rita, let's go. Are you done looking at the aer krene?" Yuri asked Rita. "Just let me think a little more." Rita said to everyone. "You can think while we run." Hugo said to Rita. "Mmm… all right, all right!" Rita said to Hugo. "Good now Vaporeon use Ice Beam on the water." Hugo said to Vaporeon. "Vaporeon." Vaporeon said firing an Ice Beam at the water freezing it. "There that should be us some time. Now run!" Hugo said to everyone as we all started to run.
Soon we hid near the exit and were surprised to see Leblanc, Adecor, and Boccos standing right infront of the exit. "Huh. Guess it's only natural they're guarding this end too." Raven said to everyone. "I wouldn't count those three as guards though." I said to everyone. "You know those three?" Hugo asked me. "Yeah their Leblanc, Adecor, and Boccos the leaders of Yuri and my knights fan club." I said to Hugo.
"Patty, do you have any ideas for getting through?" Karol asked Patty, who was looking through some binoculars. "Hmm." Patty said as she started to think. "Raven, can you do something like you did before?" Karol asked Raven. "Best not ta press your luck when the Knights're takin' their work so seriously." Raven said to Karol. "We can just fight right through them, they aren't that tough. It will take us a minute tops." I said to everyone. "Why do I get the feeling you're right Oliver." Rita said to me as we all went quiet to listen to them.
"I say, woe is me!" Adecor said to Boccos. "How has our illustrious Schwann Brigade ever been reduced to playing backup for Flynn?!" Boccos said to Adecor. "Enough complaining! If you don't like it, we'd better produce some results!" Leblanc said to Adecor, and Boccos. Then I turned my head to see one of those muddy knight coming at us
"There they are! Capture them!" the knight yelled as he saw us. "They found us." Karol said to everyone. "What is that?" Adecor said as he, Leblanc, and Boccos turned to us. "You three! Don't let them escape!" The Knight yelled to Leblanc, Adecor, and Boccos, as we moved out of our hiding place. "Ah, if it isn't Mr. Yuri Lowel and Mr. Oliver Forest!" Leblanc said to us. "Hey, Leblanc. It's been a while." Yuri said to Leblanc. "Ready for another round of electricity Leblanc." I said to Leblanc.
"A-and your Highness!" Leblanc said as he, Adecor, and Boccos got into position. "Wh-what 're we gonna do?!" Karol asked everyone. "Oh, well. Here goes nothing!" Raven said before he ran in front of everyone. "Wait!" Yuri said to Raven. "A-ten-SHUN!" Raven said to Leblanc, Adecor, and Boccos. "Y-yes, sir!" Leblanc said as he, Adecor, and Boccos stopped and saluted Raven. Then Raven ran past them.
"Not sure what's going on. But now's our chance!" Yuri said as we all ran past Leblanc, Adecor, and Boccos. Soon we ran past the exit. "Chesnaught uses Hammer arm on the top of that enetrince." I said letting Chesnaught out. "Chesnaught." Chesnaught said as she slammed hi fist into the top of the enetrince. This made rooks fall all over the entrance blocking it. "There that should hold them back for a few hours. Now Raven tell me? How did you do that trick with Leblanc, Adecor, and Boccos?" I asked Raven.
"Ahh. it's nothing. Enough standin' around. They'll catch up in no time if we don't get movin'." Raven said to everyone. "We can't miss this chance." Patty said to everyone. "Yeah. Let's head for Nordopolica, quick." Yuri said to everyone. "Right. Nordopolica and Palaetalle needs me. Vaporeon return." Hugo said as he returned Vaporeon. "Ok then let's start running. Chesnaught return." I said as I returned Chesnaught and we all started to run to Nordopolica and into danger. But when has that ever stopped us.
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