Ace felt like his head was throbbing after being knocked unconscious. When he came to, he suddenly found himself bound by ropes, and that he was locked away inside of a dark room with only the light of torches on the outside of the room itself providing some light. He sat up, also noticing his legs had also been bound up. He struggled to try and move out of the bindings, but all that the Cinderace could do was struggle while the ropes had clung tightly around him.

"I would stay still, if I were you," a feminine voice said within the darkness of the room. Ace was quick to turn to the source of the voice, and sitting there in the corner was the Meowscarada he met with earlier. She was busy picking at her claws as she was talking, saying "You're only lucky I decided to spare your lives."

"Who are you?" Ace demanded. "What is this place?"

"If you must know, you are directly beneath Esther's very own Moon Guild," the Meowscarada explained. "Every major guild keeps with them a dungeon beneath the main building that acts mainly as a jailhouse for the criminals that tried to do anything to harm the players. Heh, originally, this was built for the general purpose of taking on bounty hunting missions to apprehend NPC outlaws. Unfortunately, we've also had our rare cases of hackers trying to cheat the game or scam players, so this acts as a backup so we can suspend and ban their accounts."

Ace took a look around the room he was in, noticing how…empty it turned out to be. "Seems like this place hasn't really been of any use for a while," he mentioned.

"Because we hardly ever get many hackers in the eastern territories," the Meowscarada said, turning to face Ace directly and inspect him. "Though, naturally, we intend to use this in case we find and capture Zeraora up in Mt. Sanda. But in the meantime…" As she leaned in close to Ace's face, she asked him "…why don't you tell me what you and LucarioTrainerJ were doing near Mt. Sanda to begin with?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ace exclaimed. "We are not Team Inferno!"

The Meowscarada smirked at his response, stating "You think I can believe that just by your word alone?"

"Listen, lady, you have the wrong guys, I swear!" Ace said. "I don't know if it was obvious, but Team Inferno doesn't actually have a Cinderace in its party."

"Silence!" she snarled, holding her claws really close to Ace's face. "I think I would know how Team Inferno works. Obviously, it is led by a Lucario named LucarioTrainerJ, and he is always present in the company of a Fire-type to represent the 'inferno' of their team name. But if you believe I am mistaken, then please, go on. I'd very much like to hear you make up excuses before Spectro makes his return here to verify things."

Oh, great. I'm in the presence of a psycho woman, Ace thought. Not how I thought my day would go, if I'm being honest.

The Mewoscarada was kind enough to move her claws away from Ace's face before backing away and crossing her arms. She grinned wide from ear to ear, taking great pride in her capture. "Oh, I do enjoy playing the part of interrogator. It feels absolutely thrilling. I could do this all day and never get bored of it!" She then started to laugh to herself as she ended up feeling like she had just won first prize at a beauty contest.

Come on, Ace, think! How are you going to get out of this mess? There's got to be some way to cut loose. He shuffled around for a bit before he then looked towards his bound-up legs. If I could just get my legs free, I could fight her off. Oh man, what am I supposed to do, Josh? What am I supposed to do?

Try and think outside of the box, Ace, the imaginary depiction of Josh in his head rang out. Think about what's in the room with you at the moment. Study up on everything, but stall for time so that it doesn't look like you're coming up with an escape plan. You don't want to disappoint me, now, do you?

Of course not, Josh, Ace thought back. But if it wasn't already obvious, this lady might be crazy enough to slash at me with those claws of hers if I say something to tick her off… Wait… What if…?

Oh? You thought of something good?

It might be risky, but it's the only option I seem to have. I just need to find a way to fluster her into attacking me. Just like you taught me back then: plan, deceive, attack.

That's the spirit! Now, whatever plan you have in that head of yours, carry it through!

After taking a deep breath, Ace then asked "So, what time is it currently?"

The Meowscarada stopped her cackling before checking up on the time. "We captured you two a couple of hours ago, so I'd say it's around 8:30 PM. Why do you ask?"

"And you're saying that because you happen to live in the United States, right?" Ace brought up.

"Pfft! Obviously! Do I look like a fool to you?"

"I'd say you're a fool for not taking up on my little proposal," Ace bluffed with a smile.

This caught the Meowscarada's attention. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is I would like for the both of us to start out on good terms. My name is BlitzAce, though everyone just calls me Ace, if you wish."

"Is Ace your actual name, or the name you just so happen to go by in the game?" the Meowscarada asked.

Ace shifted his eyes back and forth to find out how to best answer that one. What came out of his mouth was "Yes." He then leaned a little bit forward, asking "And to whom may I be addressing this fine evening?"

"Ugh…" The Meowscarada groaned as she saw how Ace was starting to feel slightly peeved by his sudden advances. Eventually, though, she caved in and introduced herself. "I'm the leader of Team Sakura. I go by the username Cerafleur."

"Oh, come now," Ace said with a smile. "I'm sure with a rather dashing lady such as yourself, you must have such a pretty name you go by. Now, what is it?" He then inspected her for a good while before saying out loud "You're a Meowscarada, so you must either love cats, magic, or flowers. I'll bet you were named after a flower, right? What is it? Lily? Daisy? Violet?"

"Cereza," the Meowscarada answered quickly. "My name is Cereza."

"Cereza! Right! I knew that!" Ace said with a smile. "I mean, sure! It was just so obvious! From the…uh…"

The Meowscarada glared at Ace, and mentioned "I hope you have a good point you're willing to make if you want to know my name, Ace. What do you want?"

Ace soon steadied himself, cleared his throat, and thought to himself Now or never, Ace! This is the only thing you can think of, so do it! He then gave a flirtatious smile towards Cereza, and said "I would love to go on a lovely moonlight serenade with you, my dear."

Cereza was just shocked to hear this, blushed profusely, and just stared at Ace with unease. "What?"

"You, and me, under the moonlight as we waltz around the gentle streams of the Milotic River," Ace continued. "You have this wonderful disposition about you that is just…oh…" He then gave a playful cat purr, which ultimately made Cereza blush even more, leaving her slightly irritated.

"You are in no position to be flirting with your captor, you…you…!"

"Oh, come now. I can see from the flush of your cheeks, and the trembling of your lip that you think I'm handsome," Ace flirted. "After all, fate is what brought us here together, and it will never tear us apart, Cheshire."

This was starting to rile her up, as Cereza was feeling like she was ready to snap at a moment's notice. "Don't you ever call me Cheshire! You will address me as CE-RE-ZA!"

"Oh, my apologies," Ace said. "I was just thinking that perhaps we could share a romantic evening together, have a little song and dance, watching as the Volbeat and Illumise flutter by the wayside. We were practically made for each other, my lovely. I loved you from the very moment I laid eyes on you, Cereza. Or better yet, let's just skip the date, and head fight for the kiss!" He then gave a little smooch to sell the effect.

Cereza got so infuriated, her claws soon extended as she walked forward out of anger. "Oh, I'll give you a kiss alright!" she said, seething with bitter fury. She then went for a Slash attack aimed directly towards Ace's face.

Now! Ace grinned as he leaned back, lifting his legs up to where his face was originally, and Cereza's Slash attack ended up slicing at the bindings that held his legs tightly, before the rope soon disintegrated in a series of pixels. Cereza barely had time to react as Ace instinctively kicked her to the other end of the room, knocking her to the floor.

Ace soon stood up onto his feet, lifting a single foot into the air, lit ablaze with fire as he then said "Sorry, but unfortunately, you're not really my type."

Cereza growled in frustration as she soon got herself back up. "You little scamp! You tricked me on purpose!"

"Yes, thank you for pointing out the obvious," Ace remarked. "But I'm afraid I am not going to be leaving here without my partner. Now…where is he?"

"As if I'd ever tell you where he is," she fumed. "You'll never escape here! Once Spectro finds out that you've escaped before you began questioning, you're going to suffer the consequences!"

Ace gave a cheeky grin in return. "I'll take my chances."

Cereza then waved her hands towards Ace, and magically, a bouquet of flowers is shot straight at him, which Ace soon deflected with Blaze Kick. The flowers were then set on fire and kicked towards the wall to Ace's right, before he then spun around and fired another Blaze Kick towards Cereza's face, kicking her aside. She smacked against the wall, and was knocked unconscious.

Ace sighed with relief, knowing fully well he was now out of one intense situation. "Okay, Ace," he said to himself. "Phase one if over. Time for phase two: break out of the bindings holding your arms in place and rescue Canis." Maybe I should've coerced her into cutting my arms free as well…

Ace soon kicked down the door holding him to the cell after a few attempts with Blaze Kick, before he then made his way into the corridor, which was a rather long, and dark tunnel system that was only illuminated by the various torches that lined up against the walls. As he turned to face each direction of the long and narrow corridors, before he then decided to head a little deeper into the dungeon.

Chapter 35: Aces High

Ace wandered the corridors of the dungeon for a good while, searching far and wide to locate his partner. All of this exploring was already starting to put a strain on the Cinderace, which wasn't at all helped by the fact that his arms were now locked in place due to the ropes around his torso. His legs were already fine enough to perform basic attacks, sure, but he would love to find a way to gain extra mobility as soon as possible with his arms freed. Though, he knew for certain that that would be a long time coming.

Man, how deep does this place go? Ace thought to himself. I had no idea that something like this was beneath the city of Esther.

Say, have you ever checked out the Catacombs of Paris? imaginary Josh asked in his head. I heard that the place is like a massive tomb beneath the streets of Paris itself. Just imagine being buried under there, while people go about their daily lives directly above you.

Not helping with my claustrophobia! Can we change the subject, please?

Very well. Did you know that the entrance to the Catacombs of Paris is relatively close to what is known as Barrière d'Enfer? It is translated as the Gate of Hell, which seems fitting, considering what you seem to be going through in order to rescue me at the moment.

Why must you be so pessimistic all of a sudden?

Dude, I'm just a figment of your imagination. Why are you being so pessimistic?

Ace soon shook his head to ignore those thoughts entirely, and he soon stopped his running for a bit as he saw the entrance to a place that read "Storage Room" above the door. He saw that the door had a window, so he peered inside, and he found that the place was pitch dark on the inside. He adjusted his head to the side of the window so that some light could pour through, and the sight of the room wasn't really that much better.

However, one thing he did make out in the room was that both his and Canis's cloaks were hanging up by one of the shelves that was to the side. That could only mean that their bags of items were also in there as well. Maybe one of those items could help in this situation.

Either way, he clearly wasn't going to open the door without the use of his arms anytime soon. So instead, he began to think about where his partner should be in this situation.

"My my. A little lost now, aren't we?" a mysterious voice called out from inside of the caverns.

This instantly made Ace alert, as he turned his attention towards the caverns, unable to figure out who it is that's calling to him, or from where. He turned his head from left to right, nervous about who might be in there with him, and backed away towards the door to the storage room. "Who's there?" Ace called out. "Where are you?"

"You came in here with a Lucario, correct?" the voice continued. "If you are looking for him, he's only a little further down. Of course, before you leave, I do have one question I would like to ask of you."

Ace rested his back against the door, and lifted one leg as he was ready to counterattack with a Blaze Kick at a moment's notice. He could feel his mind race at the possibility of his opponent coming in from just about any direction, but is unable to do much of anything to really focus and get his bearings on what his opponent is supposed to look like. Instead, he knew that in order to get a grasp on who he's dealing with, he has to lure him out.

"Look, I am warning you," Ace said anxiously. "I am not afraid to fight my way out of here if you plan on keeping us here. That Meowscarada was crazy enough as it is."

"Oh, so you met with Cereza? Well, lucky for her, you told her you were not Team Inferno. I should know…because I know for a fact that LucarioTrainerJ had an Incineroar for a partner."

Ace gasped suddenly as a webbed hand ended up grabbing him from behind and covering his mouth, preventing him from screaming at the surprise attack. Ace wanted to grab at the hand, but was unable to because of how he was currently tied up. Not only that, but he was forced to face away from the window, so he couldn't exactly get a good look at his attacker.

"Shut up, otherwise we'll both be in trouble down here," the mystery player said gently. "Look, I don't have any idea who you are, but clearly, my brother is being stubborn and refusing to give us any information regarding the identity of Team Inferno apart from LTJ, how he's a Lucario, and that he had a Fire-type partner. Lucky for me, when he was able to visit me in the game after being locked up down here, he gave me the details of everything."

Ace then tried licking the hand that was covering his mouth so he could speak, but unfortunately, it didn't really seem to faze this player. "Licking my hand isn't going to break you out of my grip, dummy. Nor is it going to do you any good if you want an ally to help you escape from here." Ace, upon realizing he was given no other option, soon stopped, and listened carefully.

"Good. At least you're willing to listen. Now, if you want to find your friend, I'd suggest that you follow the corridor to your left. Once you reach the intersection there, turn to the right, go straight on the next intersection, then turn left. Your Lucario friend is locked in Cell J-09, under watch from that Golisopod that's partners with Cereza. You seemed to be smart enough to break the bindings to your feet, so if you play your cards right, you might just break out of the ropes holding your arms. Once you get your partner out of that cell, return here. I'll leave the door unlocked for you so you can grab your stuff and bail. Do I make myself clear?"

Ace nodded, wanting to get a move on as soon as possible.

"Good. Now, I'm going to let you go, and until you come back here, I'll be waiting." The player then let go of Ace's mouth, giving the Cinderace some time to breath. Ace turned to face the window, and the only thing that he could see within the darkness of the room was a faint silhouette that blended in with the shadows. "Now go, and get your friend. My team and I will help you out the best that we can."

"Team?" Ace questioned. "What team?"

"Team Nagi," the player said. "I don't have the time to explain myself, but I know you will learn soon enough that one good deed deserves another."

Ace had no idea who this player was, but he seemed friendly enough. Curious, he asked "Who are you? Why are you helping me?"

After a bit of silence, the mysterious player said "Because my brother was placed under arrest in the real world a few days ago. Apparently, he tried to go so far as to hack into a bank's software to steal some cash for this new so-called 'solution' to rescue me. He got caught. I heard he was given a 10-year sentence, with a fine of ¥500,000."

"Five hundred thousand…yen? Hold on. You're Japanese?" Ace questioned.

Silence followed after that. Ace sighed and nodded to the figure in the room. "Okay. Whoever you are, you seem friendly enough. Now, how do I know this isn't a trick?"

"What reason do I have to lie?" the player asked him. "The only people I can really rely on now are my team. Thankfully, two years of living in this game have warmed them up to me. I can trust them with my life. But you… You seem to know who Team Inferno are, since you seemed to give the detail that you know for certain you aren't involved with them. I know for a fact that Team Inferno has a Lucario and an Incineroar. Judging from your expression, you seem to have some connection to them that you yourself aren't so sure of."

"What do you mean?" Ace asked.

"What I mean is that you seem to have an old friend that's a part of that team. It's really quite obvious once you figure it out. That team has someone you can trust. A close friend that you seemed determined to reunite with. I'd say that's reason enough to trust me, since I hold no ill will to them…nor to you."

"And…what does that make us?"

"…Mutual partners. Let's just leave it at that."

Ace averted his gaze, and looked down the corridor where he was supposed to go. Realizing that he had no other choice but to trust this mysterious player, he could only hope that this guy could guide him down the right direction. Whoever he was seemed to have an understanding of the layout of this dungeon, so he obviously had no choice but to trust him regardless. But part of his mind was kept extra cautious, as he was not so sure on whether or not this player was friend or foe.

Thankfully, though, it appeared that the mysterious player guided Ace down the right path, as he saw the cells that were guarded by that Golisopod from earlier, just like the mystery man said. Ace peered over the side of the wall, realizing he needed to approach this guy carefully. Okay, how to take out this guy…

What you need to do is free yourself from those bindings, the imaginary Josh said in his head. Of course, that's only if he has some sort of slicing attack.

That's true… But if that mystery man said that this guy could be my ticket out of these bindings, I'll need to be sure I get one of those slicing attacks ready and avoid taking extra damage as a result.

Let's not forget, he technically moved first and knocked out Canis in one hit. That would be First Impression. The long and short of it: don't let him go first, otherwise you might get hit pretty badly.

Let's see… If I remember correctly, didn't he also use something like…Liquidation against me? His arm got coated with water as he smacked me.

In that case, he must have a slicing attack somewhere… How about something like Slash? Or Razor Shell?

It's a gamble, but I guess I have no choice but to find out. But first… How about I kick me a goal?

That's the spirit! Go and light him up!

Ace soon found a tiny rock on the ground, and instantly started kicking it up with his feet. As he kicked it repeatedly in the air, flaming sparks ignited around it, until it soon is lit ablaze into a flaming ball, which he soon sets down on the ground with his foot. He peered over the corner again, assessing his target, realizing that if he screws up this shot, he's not going to make it. He soon took a deep breath, turned the corner, and with all of his might, kicked the Pyro Ball towards the Golisopod.

The Golisopod soon took notice of the Pyro Ball flying towards him, and he ultimately reacted quickly by conjuring up a sword made out of water and slicing up the attack in two, with a pair of explosions erupting behind him. Ace grinned at the sight of that. Razor Shell. Just the thing I need.

The Golisopod glared at Ace, and yelled out "How did you break out of your cell?"

"Oh, it's really quite simple," Ace started. "I was able to be let off of the hook thanks to that lovely cat that bosses you around. I must say…she has her way with words."

"You beat up Cereza? How…how dare you!" The Golisopod soon started charging towards him, holding his water sword in his claws. "Let it be known that I, IsoShogun, will not tolerate any harm done to Lady Cereza!"

"'Lady' Cereza?" Ace smirked as he charged forward. "You really need to get your priorities straight and get a girlfriend, buddy!"

The two charged towards each other, until Ace was within striking distance. IsoShogun sliced at Ace, only for Ace to slide forward on his knees and lean back. The water blade ended up missing his chest and face, but thankfully, the rope got cut just like he was hoping for. With a hearty laugh, he slid under the Golisopod's legs, turned around, and skidded to a stop thanks to finally using his arms as brakes.

IsoShogun turned to see that Ace was heading straight for him with a Blaze Kick, which he ended up bracing for by raising his arm in defense. After the impact, Ace leapt back, and to his surprise, he also inflicted a burn status from that attack onto his foe. Ace smiled, thinking he was given the upper hand. However, that soon faded when IsoShogun started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Ace asked.

"Oh…you just made a terrible mistake, buddy," IsoShogun proclaimed, walking menacingly forward. "Because now, you've just given me the edge here."

Suddenly, IsoShogun charged forward, and he seemed to be glowing in a bright orange aura around his body, ready to strike one of his clawed hands at Ace. Ace could only brace for impact since he didn't react in time, but the moment he did, he realized that the attack that struck him was far more powerful than he could've realized, as he was flung back towards the wall, leaving visible cracks into it.

Ace slumped down onto the floor, barely able to catch his breath as he now remembered what it was that struck him. Facade… Not good… One more hit like that, it's over for me…

IsoShogun menacingly walked forward for a bit before standing firm in place right next to the very door that Ace was supposed to go to. Ace struggled to his feet, and with a glare towards his foe, he stoically walked towards him. "I guess you leave me no choice, then…"

"Hoho! You dare to approach me?" IsoShogun taunted. "I literally have you where I want you, and you still walk towards me?"

"That's because the only way for me to smack your face in is to walk closer to you," Ace explained.

"Then by all means, approach as much as you like," IsoShogun taunted, walking towards Ace, ready to finish him off.

The two slowly approached one another, intent on taking each other out, each step that they took feeling more intense than the last. They closed the distance, coiled like springs as they were ready to strike each other. IsoShogun glowed an orange aura around him, while Ace had a light-blue aura emitting from his body. The two soon made their move, as IsoShogun struck towards Ace with the intent to smash him onto the floor. Ace was quick enough to see this coming, however, and leapt into the air, visible cracks showing on the floor where the Golisopod's arm struck.

Ace jumped up to the ceiling of the cavern, before he then started moving so fast that his foe couldn't keep up as Ace struck him multiple times, bouncing from wall to wall with each hit striking against the Golisopod rather hard. He kept this up, which staggered the Golisopod back before the fearsome foe ended up falling to one knee, panting from exhaustion, before Ace then made one final leap and kicked his foe from top of his head, smacking him to the floor.

IsoShogun smacked hard against the stone floor, leaving him partially dazed, before he then felt Ace's foot on top of his head, holding him in place. As the Golisopod looked up, Ace seemed to be rather intense as he glared right into his face. This caused the Golisopod to wish he could run away and ask for backup, but no matter what happened, he was firmly stuck to the floor.

"Don't even bother calling for help, because you're not getting any," Ace stated. "I know fully well that a Golisopod's ability is Emergency Exit. You can take a beating, but when you seem to be in danger, you can instantly tag out for somebody else. Well, I've got news for you, big guy." Ace leaned towards his foe's face, and with a smirk, he added "I've got you beat."

"How…?" IsoShogun struggled to say. "This is impossible…"

"Ever heard of Acrobatics before?" Ace said with a smile. "The move is twice as powerful without any equipment. And guess what? I'm not wearing anything." He then forced his leg further into the Golisopod's face, almost crushing him, before saying "Now, I'm going to get my partner out of here, and then we're going to leave. After the bad reception we've been given by your team, let's just hope that we don't cross paths in the near future."

"Ggh… Why are you telling me this?" IsoShogun asked anxiously.

"Because this time, I'm not messing around," Ace said with an intense glare, before lighting his feet on fire. He then lifted the foot holding the Golisopod in place, before kicking him into the air. Ace then held himself up by his hands, and proceeded to repeatedly use Blaze Kick in rapid succession, his whole body lit ablaze, screaming as he released his flurry of kicks. Then, with a final swift kick to the head, the Golisopod was knocked back, and Ace soon switched to using Acrobatics again, giving a powerful last kick that IsoShogun had no time to react to, before the mighty Golisopod disintegrated in a series of pixels.

Ace panted hard over his well-earned victory, before lowering his foot, turning back to the spot where IsoShogun was, and in his place was the message "IsoShogun has fainted," validating his victory. Ace sighed with relief, the flames surrounding his body diminishing shortly afterwards. Now to get out of this crazy place.

Ace soon approached cell J-09, and opened the door, pleased to see that Canis was there just like he was told. The Lucario looked up at him, and asked "I was wondering what that racket was outside. Who would've guessed it was you?"

"Well, you know me," Ace said, rubbing his nose. "Always wanting to give a flashy entrance."

Canis smiled at his partner, saying "That's great and all, but…would you mind cutting these ropes off of me?"

Ace took a moment to realize that much like he was, Canis was bound tightly by ropes, unable to really move. Ace chuckled a bit, before he then walked forward, and tried to find the knot holding him there. As Ace struggled with the knot, Canis mentioned "They kept on confusing me for this LucarioTrainerJ. Is it because I look like him?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who just fought a Golisopod single-handedly just to hear you spouting your theories," Ace said. "But yes. A simple mistake in identity, that's all."

"Well, fantastic…" Canis argued in irritation. "I visit Esther for the first time in months, and this is the welcome I'm receiving. I swear, that Zeraora is causing more trouble than it's worth."

"And I agree," Ace said. "But on the bright side, I think we're in the clear now!" But just as soon as he said that, the door closed behind them, and the room grew dark. Ace groaned, and said to himself "I have got to stop talking."

"Ace, shh!" Canis stated, and the Cinderace silenced himself. Canis looked around the room, before saying "We're not alone in here."

Ace cautiously stopped with trying to undo the knots, before asking his partner "How many?"

"Just one," Canis said. "He's right by the door."

Ace nodded, and readied a Pyro Ball, kicking the sphere up as the room quickly illuminated, and standing by the doorway was what appeared to be a Greninja, complete with a blade made of water in his hand. Ace quickly reacted and kicked the Pyro Ball towards the assailant, but the Geninja used Substitute and was instantly replaced with a stuffed doll that Ace damaged instead. "Oh, crap!" Ace yelled out, as he could tell by just the corner of his eye that he felt this Greninja rush past him and towards Canis, before the Geninja slashed at the Lucario with his water blade. Ace was close to panicking, and Canis winced as he wasn't sure what was going to happen, but as it turned out, they both had nothing to worry about because this Greninja ultimately slashed apart the ropes holding Canis in place. Ace lit up his foot in preparation for a Blaze Kick, but the Greninja held out his hand, stopping Ace from moving. When Ace and Canis looked at what happened to the ropes, they fell to the floor before disintegrating.

The Greninja soon disposed of the water blade, and gave a glance towards Ace. "Is hostility really the only option you have against your rescuer?"

"Rescuer?" Canis repeated in slight confusion.

Ace soon lowered his foot down, but kept it lit as the Greninja was in focus. Ace kept his eye on him, cautious about what he could pull. "Who are you?"

"…A mutual partner," the Greninja said as he faced Ace. "I must say, I'm actually impressed. You took out Heath like he was a total pushover. I would've helped, but I'm afraid that would put me under bad raps from Spectro." The Greninja soon held a hand for Canis to grab and helped him up onto his feet. "Unfortunately for me, I'm confined to this town until further notice regarding Zeraora's presence is made known. He's so close to town, it'd be a death sentence to approach him as is."

"Wait, what so you mean it's a death sentence?" Ace asked, still cautious regarding this new ally.

The Greninja sighed, shrugging his shoulders as he mentioned "I'd answer, but for now, we don't have the time." He then approached the door, and opened it, checking both directions of the corridors to see if they were in the all-clear. He then waved his hand, silently insisting that Ace and Canis followed him out of the cell.

It didn't take long until the trio soon made their journey towards the Storage Room, and much to their surprise, there were no signs of any other players in the dungeon with them. As they walked on in relative silence, however, Ace still felt immensely uneasy regarding this player. "You know, you still haven't told us your name."

"Well, if you must know, my name is Ryutori. The younger of the Ryuga brothers, also known as the Geninja Siblings," the Greninja said through the introductions.

Username: Ryutori Species: Greninja Team: Nagi

"I believe you also mentioned you had a brother here," Ace brought up. "How he got imprisoned because he wanted to help you. Why is that?"

The Greninja was mostly silent for a good while, but after they walked a good distance, he then asked the two of them "Are you both familiar with the Osiris Scam?"

"The one Team Inferno took care of?" Canis asked. "We've heard of it, but didn't think of it that much."

"Yeah, well…my brother, Nagi (which the team I formed later is named after), was the perpetrator of that incident," Ryutori explained. "He claimed that he would create clones of Greninja from cards as a form of mugging players for their items and currency, even wanting to offer me a card in case I needed the extra security." The Greninja soon gave a slight chuckle. "I refused, obviously. I thought what he did was asinine. It would only cause more trouble if he ever decided to use it. Spoiler alert: it backfired heavily for him. Team Inferno was clever enough to see through his little ruse, saving thousands of players before they could ever use those passes for themselves. As for Nagi, he got sentenced to imprisonment, and to my surprise, he got sent here. It was then that he spilled the beans on Team Inferno taking him out. He mentioned LucarioTrainerJ by name, but couldn't even recall his partner. All he remembered was that he was a Fire-type."

"Do I look like a hulking tiger to you!?" Ace shouted, feeling offended.

"Yeah, sorry… Cereza only got the abridged version of the events," Ryutori said with a sheepish grin. "But not to worry! I did my research, as did anyone else with half-a-brain cell. Cereza is just too full of herself to even be taken seriously at points." He then turned to look back at Canis and Ace apologetically, and said "Don't tell her I said that."

"I wouldn't dream of it…" Ace pouted.

"Regardless, we thank you for helping us get out of here," Canis said.

"Just be grateful you chose not to sleep in Hotel Cascade tonight," Ryutori stated with joy. "If you logged off after checking into that place, your asses would've been sent back here in a heartbeat."

"Uh, yeah… I have a question," Canis said. "How long until those players that captured us come back here?"

"Hmm…" Ryutori took a moment to think about that, and began to think carefully. "Ace technically only knocked out Cereza with a kick to the head. Heath will probably think about waiting for Cereza for a few minutes before deciding to do a soft reset back at the guild, in which case he'll just run back down here anyways. So my guess should be…about five minutes."

"What!?" Ace screamed in shock. "Then what are we just walking along for!? We've got to get our stuff before they get-"

"We're here!" Ryutori said as he stopped in his tracks, showing the Storage Room to Team Alpha with a smile.

Ace comically just said "-back…" before slouching from slight embarrassment.

"Well, that was a short walk," Canis stated. He then patted Ace on the back, mentioning "Let's get our things."

The three of them soon entered the Storage Room, which was as pitch black dark as ever. Ryutori turned to find a small oil lamp which he turned on to let in some light. There was enough light for them to find Ace and Canis's cloaks and bags, all tucked away and hanging up on one of the shelves closest to the door.

As Ace and Canis both got to work with putting on their things, Ryutori soon questioned "Why do you guys where cloaks, anyways? Isn't that a little difficult to navigate in?"

"It's a personal preference," Canis answered. "We go out camping in the wild a lot, only stopping by towns to gather supplies or new missions."

"Ah, living the lives of young adventurers, I see," Ryutori said with enthusiasm. "That's pretty neat!"

"I ain't young," Canis admitted. "I'm in my mid-fifties."

"Is that so?" Ryutori soon started to inspect Canis carefully, asking "So what is an old geezer doing playing PMDO to begin with? Normally, the older players are ex-military or professional programmers of the game."

Canis sighed, adjusting his cloak so that it's snug on him. "It's personal. Let's leave it at that."

"Fair enough." Ryutori soon turned to face the Cinderace, and asked "So, what's your story? Why team up with an older gentleman?"

"Mostly the same reason," Ace mentioned. "Though, it's because I want to help save my friend."

Ryutori then lit up like he had a sudden thought pop into his head, and beamed with a sudden confidence. "Oh, that's right! I technically needed to ask you a question that was rather important."

"Well, if it isn't at all related to wanting to help us track down Zeraora, we're not interested," Ace said as he placed his hood over his head.

"Oh, I think it's important to ask anyways," Ryutori pointed out. "Tell me, you both know Team Inferno, right? Are you familiar with their origins?" From the looks of Ace and Canis, he could tell that they didn't know much about this, and both ended up paying close attention. "Well, rumor has it, they only happen to have appeared out of nowhere, shortly after Team Ignis ended up flying off to the Zero Isles on the back of a Charizard."

Canis and Ace both gave each other sideways glances for bit, before they both looked back at Ryutori. "Your point being?"

"Team Inferno's members are a Lucario named LucarioTrainerJ, and an Incineroar named BlazeTiger, right? But get this…Team Ignis was a Riolu and Torracat."

"You're wrong," Ace interrupted, surprising the Greninja completely. "Team Ignis didn't have a Torracat at all. That was just his brother. If you're looking for other members of Team Ignis, I was one of them."

All at once, Ryutori gave an intrigued look at the two of them. "Very interesting… The plot thickens." He then chuckled to himself, throwing Canis and Ace off guard completely.

"Why are you laughing?" Canis asked.

"I'm laughing because the two Pokémon that went to the Zero Isles were a Riolu and Torracat named EmanationJ and FireKat. What came out were the Lucario and Incineroar pair of LucarioTrainerJ and BlazeTiger." Ryutori gave the biggest grin he could to his accomplices. "If you think about it, even a 10-year-old could figure this out."

All at once, Ace and Canis started to put the pieces together, and the two of them looked at each other eye-to-eye and both came to the exact same conclusion. Ace, for the first time in years, now knows the truth of the matter. Josh… You're LucarioTrainerJ! I had no idea! I thought you just disappeared! Then…if we can get to Talis…if we can seek an audience with Team Inferno, we'll be able to see him again! I'll see my friend again! And Canis…he gets to reuinite with-

His train of thought was then interrupted by a good smack to the face from Canis, who knocked him down to the floor. Ace sat up and rubbed at his cheek, looking up at Canis, who appeared to be almost seething with anger at this point. "What was that for?" Ace asked.

"We've literally been on a wild goose chase…FOR THREE YEARS! And all because you didn't put the pieces together soon enough!?" Canis yelled out.

"I didn't know!" Ace admitted, standing up to argue back. "And judging from the looks of things, you didn't think hard enough about this either!"

Canis groaned as he placed his paws up to his face. "URRRGH! I've been following the guidance of an idiot this whole time! What has my life come to!?"

Ryutori just stood there as this was all taking place, almost at a complete loss for words. He was just as perplexed about this as any sane person would react in this given situation. "I take it I might be missing something here?" he questioned awkwardly. "Are Team Inferno really that important for the both of you?"

"YES!" Canis and Ace said at the same time.

Ryutori blinked in silence, and held up his hands as if trying to back out of a heated discussion. "Well…that should complicate things. In case it wasn't obvious already, due to shenanigans regarding the Mount Ebott Incident, Talis's very own Team ESP have been temporarily suspended from using their teleportation services. So, if you wanted to rush over to Team Inferno now, they're over in Talis, preparing for a battle competition with Team Delta. It's literally being broadcast to every player in the game."

Canis was quick to then grab the Greninja by the shoulders and drag him forward. Canis had this look of desperation in his eyes that told Ryutori everything he needed to know: Team Inferno were really important to him, and he's been wishing to see them for a long time. "When? At what time!?"

"Tomorrow, at Noon!" Ryutori answered nervously. "Of course, it's a two-day hike to get to Talis from Esther! A day-and-a-half if you run there!"

Canis growled in frustration, and let go of Ryutori as he started walking towards the door. "Ace! We're leaving."

"Wait, you want to go now?" Ace asked.

"Yes! Don't you see? Josh and Adam are over there! They're alive, and I don't want to miss this opportunity! I have so much I want to catch up on with them!" Canis said as he was about to reach for the door handle.

"And Zeraora?" Ryutori mentioned. "You're going to leave the creature that nearly killed them on the run?"

All at once, Canis hesitated, and he stopped dead in his tracks. The mention of Zeraora soon brought attention to the wanted poster he and Ace picked up near Volcanica. He lowered his paw, and he clenched his fists tight and gritted his teeth in agitation as memories started to pour back in.

Three Days Ago: Hotel Chimney, Volcanica

Canis was busy inspecting the poster, considering his options regarding what to do next to protect me and Josh. He studied up on the picture of Zeraora, memorizing every detail of the Pokémon's face. Realizing he was responsible for a few player deaths already, he grew worried. He double, triple, quadruple checked every minute detail he could've missed, both in reality and in the game. Thankfully, news of Zeraora being inactive for some time reached his ears, and as he looked at the poster carefully, he decided that now would be the time to find him and prevent further casualties.

Ace walked up to him, and sat down by his side as they both got a couple of gummi shakes. Ace was quick to ask "So, what's the plan?"

Canis mulled over his options long enough. He took the poster, stuffing it into his bag, and asked "Did you get any information on Zeraora's whereabouts?"

"Yeah," Ace answered. "Apparently, the Top 5 managed to do a serious number on him. He got away, unfortunately, so he's retreated back to whatever hiding hole he was able to crawl into." He then took a sip of his shake for a little bit.

"Anything else?" Canis asked, curious to know further details.

After Ace finished his sip, he added "He got away using a Warp Seed, according to reports. Rumor has it, he's still hiding up on Mount Sanda." Ace then reminisced, and started to ponder things over. "Hard to believe that an AI we fought against long ago could cause us so much trouble…"

"Fought against and won, mind you," Canis pointed out, pulling a small yellow talisman from his bag, emblazoned with a lightning symbol on it. "I guess you and I were lucky we took on that challenge before Zeraora disappeared a few months ago."

"Yeesh! Don't remind me…" Ace shuddered a bit as he took another sip of his drink, thinking back on how Mount Sanda had so many raging thunderstorms throughout. All of the lightning. The traps. The rain. And Zeraora wasn't the only Pokémon they had to fight against either. He could remember fighting some pretty tough opponents in there, including the likes of Raikou, Zapdos, and even Thunderus, who all took advantage of the thunderstorms to boost their own power. However, the one Pokémon they were forced into combat with by the end was Deoxys, oddly enough. The main idea (at least, what we are rumored to believe) is the idea behind Mount Sanda's draw of electricity was that the very peak of the mountain housed a meteor that had crashed down long ago. And it turned out, pieces of that meteor were scattered across the mountain that ended up drawing in electricity like a sponge. The toughest gimmick of the dungeon was that if you decided to take on the challenge, if you were hit by any kind of strange electromagnetic current while scaling the peak, you were unable to use any orbs to turn the tide of the battle. Not to mention the fact that Deoxys can change form at any time and even multiply into copies of itself. Ace and Canis barely managed to defeat Deoxys as it is, with Ace pulling a last-minute victory against this dangerous foe, earning them the Electric Medal as proof of their victory. He almost passed out after barely managing to squeeze a victory.

Of course, now that Zeraora was a rogue, the challenge itself was placed on hiatus, so that meant that the only players who even managed to earn a victory at the peak were the ones who earned their medals prior to Zeraora's disappearance. Ace and Canis considered themselves lucky in that regard. The mountain itself was still able to be explored, but one of the Pokémon that was technically part of the challenge for the Trials of Arceus vanishing completely put the whole thing on hold. Nowadays, it's practically impossible to do the challenge itself (according to the developers).

Now, Zeraora was revealed to be back, only this time, he's out hunting down and killing players that were trapped in the game itself. Just thinking about that worried Ace like there was no tomorrow. And judging from Canis's expression, it worried him as well.

Canis placed their little proof of victory on the Trial of Thunder away, and he mentioned "So if Zeraora used a Warp Seed while on Mount Sanda, then that would mean he's still there at Mount Sanda. He's nowhere else?"

"Last I heard," Ace answered. "Though, I was kind of curious how you plan on going about this."

Canis gave a cheeky smile towards Ace, taking a small sip of his own shake, before suggesting "We're going hunting, Ace."

"Huh? You want me to go back to Mount Sanda and find that Zeraora with you?" Ace asked with concern. "One visit to that mountain was enough to make my fur stand on end, and not from the electricity…"

"I mean, you don't have to come along if you don't want to," Canis said calmly. "After all, I have every right to hunt down that monster to prevent any further casualties." He sighed. "Alrighty then. Let me face a terrifying killer alone, and when I lose and he gets loose, Josh and Adam's lives will be put in mortal jeopardy again. If they die, their blood would then be on your hands, not Zeraora's." He then got up from his seat, and started walking towards the door. "But sure, you can spend some time with your father if you really want to and leave me to face Zeraora alone. Don't blame me if Josh and Adam get massacred if I fail."

Ace hated how Canis was guilt tripping him into tagging along with him. Ace could feel his nerves were shaking. He didn't know what was worse: Zeraora running loose, or the fact that he's being coerced into chasing him up Mount Sanda again. He groaned in frustration, and the next thing he could remember, he was chasing Canis right out of the door. "Hey! Wait! Canis!"

Canis felt guilty for thinking of placing more innocent lives in danger if Zeraora was let loose again. He couldn't allow that. Not after what he nearly did to me and Josh. He then felt the hand of Ryutori on his shoulder, before the Greninja held up Canis's paw, resting it on his chest.

"My brother wanted to protect me," Ryutori said. "He just went about it the wrong way, and nearly put more innocent lives at risk. I can't let that Zeraora loose. However, like I said, I can't confront him, since I'm confined to this town."

Canis's expression soon changed to sudden surprise as he felt something inside of Ryutori's chest. A heartbeat. The Lucario gasped, and quickly pulled his paw away out of shock. He looked at the paw for a few seconds, before asking Ryutori "This was why…?" However, he then tensed up, turning his attention towards the door of the Storage Room, and closed his eyes, his aura sensors being lifted. Ace knew what this meant before Canis even had a chance to speak. "They're coming this way," he whispered. "That Meowscarada and Golisopod."

"Ah crap!" Ace exclaimed under his breath. "They're going to cut off our only escape route!"

"Not to worry!" Ryutori said with confidence as he approached the back end of the room. "I mentioned that I've been confined in this town. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that I don't have a way out in case I want to avoid getting caught speaking with my brother. So naturally, one of my teammates helped to dig a secret passage for my various visits." He then approached the stone wall, banged his fist against the groove, and a small tunnel ended up opening that was large enough to crawl through. "This passageway can lead you to the outskirts of town, just behind some trees so nobody notices. If you follow it all the way through, then Mount Sanda is literally a couple of miles east from the exit."

Canis and Ace were rather impressed with the ingenuity of Ryutori in this instance. The sounds of footsteps on the outside of the room were fast approaching, so with literally no other options left, both Canis and Ace made their way into the hidden passageway. Ace was the first to go through, lighting a small Pyro Ball to light the way, before he crouched down and started walking through the hole.

Canis was the next to go through, but he swiftly turned around and held out his paw. "Thanks for everything, Ryutori," he said with a smile. "I promise I'll repay you someday."

Ryutori smiled back, shaking Canis's paw in earnest. "Pay me back when you dispose of Zeraora for me," he remarked. "You guys are tough. I know you can do it."

Canis nodded, and soon, he crawled further into the tunnel, shutting the door behind him, where it inconspicuously blended in with the rest of the wall.

Ryutori smiled, and blew out the flame in the oil lamp, before making his way out of the Storage Room. As he exited, he saw Cerefleur and IsoShogun marching his direction. Nonchalantly, he greeted them by saying "Ah, good evening! You seem to be in a hurry."

"Can it, frog breath!" Cereza shouted at him. "We're looking for the Lucario and Cinderace. Have you seen them?"

"Hmm… A Lucario and Cinderace, you say?" he said ignorantly (rather believably as well, I might add). He soon thought for a little bit, before asking "And…why are you hunting down a Lucario and Cinderace, Cereza?"

"Well, obviously, it's because they refused to cooperate with us, and they are guilty under suspicion!" Cereza stated.

"Suspicion of what, per chance?" Ryutori questioned.

"You nincompoop! I'm talking about Team Inferno here!" Cereza huffed. "They were imprisoned here because we caught them near Mount Sanda!"

"Really? They were at Mount Sanda?" Ryutori asked innocently. "Don't tell me that Nick broke them out or something. I swear, that Charizard is a rather peculiar influence."

"Bah!" Cereza soon stormed past him and continued down the corridors. "You're useless! Heath, let's keep searching!"

"Yes, ma'am!" IsoShogun said, following close behind her. They kept moving further along on their own, before turning down the corner, out of sight and earshot.

Ryutori grinned wide, before pulling out his team badge. Upon hitting a button on the badge, he began to walk out of the dungeon.

(And for the record, he's communicating to the following people in Japanese, but for the sake of convenience, I've taken it upon myself to translate it for your convenience.)

"This is Gamabunta speaking," Ryutori stated. "Team Nagi, sound off."

"This is Monkey King, standing by."

"Papa Dragon, standing by."

"Black Mamba, standing by."

"Hawkeye, standing by."

Hearing the sounds of his team brought relief to his senses. "I've just managed to free a couple of innocent players from Samurai Shrimp and Mama Cat," he continued. "I've sent them down the hidden passage. Who's on standby at Storm Central?"

"That would be me," the 'Papa Dragon' answered. "So far, no signs of any activities regarding players approaching."

"Eyes in the sky show that the storms have diminished, so I'm taking an immediate survey of the stomping grounds," the 'Hawkeye' replied. "I should be able to get a proper layout at approximately 1230 hours."

"Plenty of time to allow our new companions some breathing room," Ryutori explained. "Alright gang, here's the mission: Operation Gekigami. Black Mamba, Monkey King, I want you both to gather out new friends at destination Bravo and escort them to Storm Central. They should go under the appearance of a Lucario and Cinderace with cloaks on, so they should be relatively easy to spot."

"Roger that," the 'Monkey King' answered.

"You can count on us," the 'Black Mamba' answered.

"This is also rather important: don't allow anyone from Home Base to know about your involvement in this operation. This is a secret Black Op. Whatever happens is kept between the five of us. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the entire team sounded off at once.

"Very good. I'll be keeping tabs on things here for the time being," Ryutori said. "I will update if something happens. Over and out."

(This has been your Japanese to English translation. Thank you.)

As soon as Ryutori placed his badge away, he smirked as he stopped in his tracks, thinking back about his interaction with Ace and Canis. "So…Team Inferno, eh?" Looking back to the direction of the Storage Room, he thought back to Team Alpha's reactions to the news of who Team Inferno really are. "Very interesting…"

As Ace led the way as Team Alpha crouched through the tunnel, they thankfully managed to reach a wider part, allowing the both of them to stand upright. Ace turned to look at his partner, and the moment that Canis saw that Ace stopped, he asked him "Why did you stop?"

"I just have to ask you something, if that's alright," Ace answered.

Canis crossed his arms. "I'm listening."

"What do you suppose Ryutori's goal is for helping us, anyways?" Ace questioned. "We hardly even know the guy."

"I'm only guessing that this wasn't the only time that he got people out of trouble with his guild," Canis assumed. "But more importantly, I feel he's desperate."

"About what?"

Canis thought back for a bit, and soon held his own paw up, staring at it. As he flexed his paw in front of himself, he said "The moment he rested my paw on his chest, I knew for certain why he needed our help. He reminded me why we went out on this hunt to begin with."

"Wait, he wants us to hunt someone?" Ace asked. He gasped as he jumped to the conclusion "Is he after Josh and Adam?"

"No, not exactly," Canis remarked. "I feel that he wants us to rescue the trapped players."

"Uh, duh! Isn't that what we're already doing?" Ace said bluntly. "We're trying to save Josh and Adam, which for the record, we only now realize didn't go missing, but in fact have evolved and changed their names…for some reason we don't know about… Not to mention that they're already in Talis about to fight Team Delta! If we hurry there, we might be able to come across them!"

"No…that's not what I meant," Canis corrected. "If we do this, we're not only saving Josh and Adam, but I feel we're also going to protect the other trapped players from future harm. At least, that's what I think, anyway."

Ace was slightly puzzled by what Canis was saying in that instant. "So…what did you have in mind?"

Canis gave a determined look to his partner, and he raised his paw in a confident gesture. "I'm saying we're going hunting!"

"I get that! What are we hunting, exactly?" It was only then that Ace finally realized what Canis was implying, and suddenly started to feel anxious. "You don't mean…?"

Canis nodded, and with a grin on his face, he uttered "For the sake of all of the trapped players, we are going back to our original plan. We are hunting down Zeraora."