Chapter 6|A Steep Climb
Baino Village
Aviary Tucked Between the Mountains
"Corvus is alright now!" exclaimed Saphira, so loudly that the entire village could hear it.
"Calm down," said Clef, who was grinning nonetheless. A Chatot exited a nearby building, her vibrant feathers easily seen through the fog, a white headband tied around the music note on top of her head.
"Where is he?" asked the Chatot, with a soothing but worried voice. "I'm the doctor in Baino."
"In the cave, unconscious, boing!" indicated Saphira, grinning. The Chatot looked at her in disbelief.
"He's what?" asked the Chatot, flapping her wings.
Riley shook her hands in defense, "No, no, no, it isn't what you think! We had to defeat him to free him from the mind control!"
"Mind control?" sputtered the Chatot, breathing heavily. "What on earth?" Suddenly, she passed out.
"Now she needs a doctor," said Saphira, frowning. Once she came to, they explained everything to her. Kiz was her name, and once she saw Hix's injuries, she was suddenly alert again, making short work of his bruises with berry paste.
"Poor thing, I can't believe Corvus would do something like this!" tutted Kiz, still flustered by the whole ordeal. I'll tend to him right now."
"Thank you so much, Nurse Kiz," said Saphira, bowing. Riley, Richard, Hix, and Clef followed suit.
"It's no problem. You got our leader back!" said Kiz, taking her basket and heading to the hole. "Have a safe walk home, it's almost sundown!"
"Hopefully I didn't kill him," whispered Riley. "That would be awkward."
Richard chuckled and walked out the building.
"Y- you folks actually did it?" stuttered Robin when they reentered the house. "Thank goodness you're okay." Hix did a great job of hiding his limp when he ran into his grandmother's arms. "He didn't get in any trouble, did he?"
"No, not at all!" said Riley. Richard and Clef nodded. "It was nothing."
"Yeah!" exclaimed Saphira. Robin looked at the clock, five 'til four.
"I guess you young 'uns better head off before it gets too late," croaked Robin, coughing a bit while Hix held her wing. "Would you like some supper before you leave?"
"Yes, please," said Richard, hopping into an empty chair. Saphira frowned and scanned the room. It was sad, as the cupboards were bare, the pot was empty, and Hix and Robin looked like they hadn't eaten in a while. "Have you guys been eating, boing?"
Robin sighed, the dark rings under her eyes more pronounced than before. "We ran out of food yesterday since we can't go outside." Saphira smiled, excitedly opening her bag, as she was the one carrying the food.
"We have some extra! Please, take them, boing!" she exclaimed, pulling two apples and two loaves of bread out of her bag.
"Yeah, we aren't that hungry anyways," lied Riley, whose stomach was growling.
"I'll manage, and we'll probably find some more on the way to the ruins," said Richard.
Clef nodded, "Take it, I don't eat too much."
"Yes, thank you very much!" replied Robin, eagerly taking the bread and an apple. Hix took the other two, staring at them but not eating.
"Is this all you have?" he asked quietly. "If so, I can't take it."
"Eat up! We had a huge lunch," said Richard, patting his back. "You'll need it."
Saphira looked in her bag and shrugged, "Eh, we got two more breads and three more apples. Plus we got four tarts."
"Thanks, you guys," he said, finally digging into his food. Richard looked outside at the thinning fog, cracking his knuckles.
"Well, enjoy the food, we're heading out," said Richard as the other three got ready and chattered a bit.
"Take me with you," said Hix, putting down his bread. "I can hold my own in a fight."
"No, you are not! Don't make your poor, old grandma any more worried! The brave guild members can do it on their own," insisted Robin.
"They don't know how to get back up through the clouds," said Hix. "I know a safe way back up the mountains."
"No," said Robin. "They can handle it."
"I'm thirteen! I'm old enough!" exclaimed Hix. "We've been sitting here, useless, for three days. I'm tired of acting depressed in the corner, this is a chance to get Li and the others back! I want to be part of it! You guys will take me, right?"
"Sure, if you want," replied Richard, smirking, "I'm only fourteen, by the way."
"See?" said Hix. "Please, I swear I'll be back!" Robin looked away and said nothing.
"Fine," she surrendered, "You four better not lose my other child." Riley and Clef looked at eachother, trying to find a release from the tension in the room. She could tell that Hix was really nervous despite putting up a fight to leave with them, as she could see his feathers shaking slightly.
"We aren't leaving yet, though. You better get ready, Hix," said Riley, scanning the house.
"What is it like in Baino without all the fog?" asked Clef, looking out one of the crooked windows.
"It's a tight community," sighed Robin. "Children always play outside while us old Pokemon talk and prepare meals. Sometimes we play cards as well."
"So it's pretty different from Kungwei," said Clef.
"How so?" she asked, squinting her eyes. "It's probably much nicer than here."
"I mean…," began Clef sheepishly, "Baino's probably way more lively. Everyone in Kungwei works and works and has a strict routine."
"You can say that again," said Richard, "My dad works as one of the bodyguards, but we rarely even talk anymore."
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Robin.
"It's normal for parents to let their kids go off on their own once they become mature at ten," sighed Richard. "It's rough, but it's how we survived the Great War, according to our Sensei."
"I was caught in the midst of it as well," Robin said. "I didn't fight, but I lost my husband in it."
"I bet he fought well," said Riley solemnly, beginning a few seconds of silence. Robin looked at an old clock on the wall, which read 3:30.
"You folks better head off now, before the fog clears and the birds can getcha," she said, laughing grimly. Hix walked over to her and spoke determinedly,
"We'll be back… With Li and the others."
Robin wrapped her wings around him and pecked at his plumage.
"I know you will, you're a strong boy," she said, tears starting to form in her eyes. Clef pretended not to see anything to prevent the tears from coming out, but Richard and Saphira let it loose.
"We'll get 'em, boing!" she exclaimed, shooting her fist into the air. Riley laughed and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Yeah we will, Saphira," she said, walking towards the door.
"Ready?" asked Richard, following Riley and looking to Hix.
"Of course," he said, jogging over to join the group. "See ya, grandma."
"Goodbye. Be brave," she said, waving sadly as the door closed between her and her grandson. Riley expected Hix to look somewhat sad, but he looked… angry.
"Where are we headed to? I should know the best way there," he announced. Riley flung her tail in front of her to light the way.
"Do you know where the ruins of Draak Castle are?" asked Riley. Hix nodded immediately.
"I've been to the foot of the mountain, but it's really hard to climb up there. I heard there's a staircase somewhere that leads up to it," said Hix, leading them north.
"I swear to Arceus, more stairs?" wailed Saphira. "My legs can't take it."
"Your legs are longer than mine," said Riley, noticing Pokemon peeking out of their homes at their soon-to-be saviors.
"Yeah, well you can fly, boing!" exclaimed Saphira.
"Shut up," snapped Clef, "I'll bet the people back home in Kungwei could hear you, Saphira!"
"I'm just a loud Pokemon! You got a problem with that?" said Saphira.
"Yeah. I'm personally not a fan of getting attacked by those Vullaby," said Clef. Richard looked at Hix and smiled.
"They're always like this," he whispered. Hix smiled back at him. Finally, they left the village.
"You said that Dark Explosion was Corvus' Signature back there," she asked. "What's that?"
"You don't know what a Signature is?" asked Clef. Even though she barely remembered anything about her personal life, she remembered some basics.
"Is it sort of like an Ability?" she inquired. Clef looked confused.
"You mean a Move?" he puzzled.
Riley shook her head, "Nevermind, I guess you don't have them here. They're just special attributes that are given to Pokemon, like being able to heal from fire damage."
Clef was genuinely curious now, completely distracted from the incident.
"Those sound cool, boing! What would mine be?" asked Saphira.
"Thick Fat," answered Riley, trying not to laugh. Clef burst out laughing, ignoring Saphira's wails and punches. "Hey, hey! It lowers the opponents attacks if you get hit by an ice or fire attack!"
"I can't believe you, Riley!" she exclaimed. Even Hix began chuckling, although no one bothered to explain that Riley was a human to him yet.
"So, what's a Signature?" asked Riley over Saphira's complaining. Clef seemed to completely forget about the question.
"It's sort of like a powerup to specifically one of your moves. You can modify, amplify, or add a new effect to it depending on what you want. There are limits of course. You have to gradually train up or experience a near-death experience to form Signatures, " said Clef. "You can't forget the attack once you've learned it, so most Pokemon wait a while before creating one."
"Wow, so they're unique to each Pokemon," nodded Riley. "That
"Do any of you have a Signature yet?" asked Riley to the rest of the group. Clef nodded.
"I've got mine on Mega Drain, but I haven't used it enough to perfect it," he replied, twiddling his vines.
"What does it do?" asked Riley.
"It's like Mega Drain, but a rapid fire gun," he said. "More damage and velocity, but less draining."
"Oh, that's cool!" exclaimed Riley. Saphira looked excited.
"I'm gonna get mine soon, boing!" she exclaimed, bouncing in front of Richard.
"You better think carefully, because you can't forget it!" cautioned Clef.
"Speaking of forgetting, how does forgetting moves work here?" asked Riley. "In my world, it was like hypnotism."
"Same here," said Clef. "You can only forget and learn a move once a month, though, so you can't just switch whenever you want."
"Oh," said Riley, recalling that they could do it whenever they wanted back in the human-pokemon world. It seemed really cruel now. She went silent for a while after that, trying to remember anything else from her world.
"Looks like it's clearing up," observed Richard, noticing the thinning fog.
"Yep," affirmed Hix. "We'll be there soon. If you look up, you'll easily see it… once the fog clears."
Riley had to crane her neck really far backwards to see the top of the mountain. From her angle, it was like a pillar that stretched to the heavens. Just looking up at it gave her vertigo. Black scorch marks were engraved onto the rock like tattoos and rubble littered the rolling hills like tombstones, reminders of the war.
"There it is," said Hix. "You can't see the fort, but it's up there. There used to be a bridge that connected Draak to the rest of the mountain range, but it was destroyed by the Paragon Alliance. There's a staircase somewhere here that wraps around the mountain, you can see some of it up there." Riley's neck began to ache, but she managed to pick out the tiny set of stairs carved into the rock face that spiralled around the mountain.
"I can already feel my legs aching," groaned Saphira.
"Ohhh, yeah," sighed Riley, "I can't wait. You still up for it, Hix?
"Of course," he said, taking a deep breath. He looked over at Saphira. "I should be asking you that question." They wandered around the mountain, straying from the path until they found a gate, with a pebble path that trickled out from the mountain a bit. It still stood tall, with quartz supports and a decorative, imperial keystone with no lettering on it. Riley looked straight up the side of the mountain, as they were now directly beneath it.
The stairway up was a lot wider than the footpath they took to run away from the Vullaby. These stairs had witnessed the rise and fall of the Dragons, several stairs askew from the lack of use. If they hadn't been moved, there would be skeletons scattered throughout the climb. It wasn't jutting out the side of the pillar-like mountain, but it was carved into the rock as if someone took a giant blade and dragged it in a spiral to the top. The staircase was like a tunnel, the right wall completely made up of smoothed stone while the left was exposed to open air, apart from ornate pillars here and there.
"What happened here?" asked Riley. "Do you know?"
"I read that this was the target Kungwei's counterattack after they defended off a siege in the city. They charged across the bridge to begin the first attack, and foot soldiers picked off Pokemon trying to escape down these steps," explained Clef. "Must've been a trek for them."
"Yeah, imagine charging uphill, you'd have a huge disadvantage," pointed out Richard.
"We still won the battle, but we had a lot of casualties," said Clef.
"How do you know my sister is being kept up here?" asked Hix, who didn't even look tired from all the climbing.
"It's a long story," sighed Riley.
"Riley here got some intel that there are Dragons and their supporters using this castle as a hideout," explained Richard as a flock of birds swooped up past them. "That was close."
"It looks like they're all gathering up there," acknowledged Hix, peering up at the ring of birds orbiting the mountain. Richard pulled him back, as he was teetering dangerously too close to the edge.
"Watch yourself, it's a long fall," said Richard.
"Yeah, thanks," said Hix. "What if we flew up?" Riley wasn't sure she could fly for that long, and she didn't want to risk it.
"Those birds will knock us out of the air," she reasoned.
"You're right," he said. "Do you know if those birds are being controlled by whoever's up there?"
"We're just as clueless as you about the bird thing," said Riley, "I can't think of any Pokemon that can mind control this many birds. And from that distance!"
"What if we're getting ourselves involved in something way bigger than just an assassination attempt and some kidnappings?" asked Clef. "Like-"
"Just an assassination attempt and some kidnappings?" interjected Richard. "We're doing this to save some Pokemon, what could be bigger than that?"
Clef quickly replied, "I don't mean that this is not a big deal, but I get a bad feeling from all this. It's just… I dunno."
"I do too," said Riley. "What if I'm involved in this? The timing of these events can't be a coincidence, can they? I lose my memories and randomly show up in a cave, a guild member's son has been murdered, that same guild member is missing, and several Pokemon have been kidnapped, all the while wild Pokemon in this area are behaving restless?"
"Wait, what?" asked Hix, who was drowned out by Saphira.
"Stop! I'm already nervous about doing all this!" she exclaimed, dramatically pulling her ears down. Everyone ignored her.
"Why would they kidnap some kids? Why would they try to kill a guild member's son and kidnap them? It can't be for revenge, since Baino had nothing to do with the war," said Hix.
"It can't be good," said Riley, her head starting to hurt.
The air grew thinner and thinner as they ascended, and although they expected a tiring but uneventful climb, they were completely wrong. Loose bricks tumbled down the steps from above with seemingly no source.
"You guys see that?" asked Riley.
"See what?" asked Clef.
"Those rocks," she replied, pointing ahead of them.
"Yeah, what about them?" he asked. Saphira shushed them, to Clef's annoyance.
"The loudest one here tells me to shut up," he hissed. Saphira pointed ahead as well, trembling a bit. For the first time, she actually spoke quietly, revealing,
"There's something in front of us," she whispered. "I hear three sets of footsteps."
Chaos began out of nowhere, three Greninja leaping around the bend and throwing water shurikens at them, two blue ones and one black one, wearing hoods and capes to protect their identities. Saphira screamed, but Riley and Richard were prepared. The Machop crossed his arms and blocked with a Protect, and Riley spewed red-hot flames up the path. It looked like it hit its target, but there didn't seem to be any effect on the sneaky Greninja.
"Those won't be very effective!" yelled Clef from behind, falling back with Saphira. "Richard and Hix'll do the most damage to them!" Richard took a hit from one and yelled,
"Aren't you a grass type?"
"Yeah, but you know I can't land my vine whips or razor leaves!" he called back. Richard rolled his eyes and dashed up the stairs, dodging water shurikens left and right. As he neared them, they retreated up the path to his annoyance.
"Follow them!" he exclaimed angrily, leading the charge. Richard picked up one of the larger bricks and used it to block some of the razor sharp water shurikens, with Riley covering him with some well-aimed air slashes. The Greninja were obviously well trained and insanely agile, as nothing hit them. Still, they were pushed far up the stairs by the team. It didn't look like they were trying to kill them. They could've easily pushed them off the cliff that lay treacherously close.
"Stop! I'm tired!" puffed Saphira. Clef was panting, but didn't say anything.
"We can't let up now, they're getting away!" exclaimed Richard from ahead.
"We're not trying to hurt them, right?" asked Hix. "We're only trying to get up, so let them run."
"One of them tried to kill Romulus," growled Richard, freezing and turning around. "Fine."
"Let's take a breather, I'm exhausted as well," added Riley. Richard scoffed.
"You guys need way more stamina," he commented, taking a seat on the stairs and looking out into the horizon. The air was getting thinner and colder as they climbed, as it looked like they were about halfway up.
"That was close," said Clef. "How did they know we were coming so fast?"
"They could just be guarding this place after the assassination. What a bunch of cowards! Attacking a child and running away to their little hideout," said Richard. "Riley, I'm almost certain that this is the place in your hearing."
"I told you, I haven't hidden anything from you!" she exclaimed, still winded from the fighting. "Let's head up and be careful."
The Greninja were nowhere in sight until they reached their first landmark: a cave that led inside the mountain.
"After you, Riley," said Richard, "You can light the way."
"Gee, thanks," replied Riley, walking into the precarious passage. The damp feeling of the cave made Riley shiver, reminding her of when she woke up in Luminus Cavern. As the light from the outside faded behind them, Riley's tail was the only light source.
"This is my first time in a cave," said Clef. "It's a lot darker than I expected."
"Same," said Hix quietly. "Watch out, the Greninja would take advantage of this darkness."
"I agree," said Riley, cautiously inching forwards. Saphira's sharp ears were met with the sound of rushing water, to her confusion.
"You guys hear that water, boing?" she asked. "It sounds like a waterfall." Riley paused the group.
"It probably opens up into a cavern up ahead," she said. "They'll probably ambush us there. Plus, there's water, which boosts their attacks in this world too, right?"
"Yeah," replied Richard.
"Why did you say 'this world'?" asked Hix.
"Don't worry about it, kid," said Riley, looking forwards as if he never asked the question. The ceiling slowly gave way into an abyss above, while the floor abruptly ended at a large pit inside the mountain, like a core that was gouged out of an apple. Water cascaded from an unseen source from up above and plummeted into the inky depths below. A single wide rope bridge connected their end to what was probably another tunnel, but visibility was limited.
"This is sketchy," whispered Riley, staring at the bridge.
"Yeah," agreed Hix, "I'll bet you that they'll cut it down when we cross. It'll be an easy way to take us all out at once."
"What do you suppose we do?" asked Richard. "You could fly us across."
"I don't trust myself," she said simply. "Anyone got any ranged attacks that aren't fire-based?"
"I can use Mega Drain," suggested Clef. "It'll be super effective, too."
"Just aim it right," said Saphira. "Straight down the middle."
"I know!" hissed Clef, summoning his vines.
"Wait, not vine whip!" warned Saphira.
"I know that too! It's my Signature," he said, channeling a dull green glow at the end of his vines. Like pistols, he fired bullets of green energy into the darkness. After a few seconds, Clef shook. "I call it Siphon Shot. They hit, I felt energy come back to me."
"Keep going!" exclaimed Saphira a bit too loudly. Suddenly, much bigger water shurikens whizzed towards them. Hix and Saphira hit the deck, but for once, Clef stood his ground, firing his mega drain bullets over and over again. He took several water shurikens until one drew blood on his leg.
"ARGH!" he screamed, rolling onto the ground, tying a vine to stop the bleeding. "I- I think I got one of them. I couldn't feel any energy from hitting those shots."
"You okay?" asked Riley, staring right into his eyes. Clef nodded and stood up.
"Let's head across quickly and take them out!" said Richard boldly. Riley and Hix, be ready to fly just in case. "Run!" All five of them bolted across the rope bridge, Clef lagging a bit behind due to his limp. It was still really dark, but they didn't need to see far. Richard, who was in the front, noticed the Greninja on the other side first. One of the normal blue ones was knocked out while the other two were working on hacking away at the bridge.
"They're cutting it down!" exclaimed Richard, who sprinted faster. Everyone stopped as the bridge swayed, Saphira screaming when the bridge dropped lower than normal. One of the Greninja, the black one, had finished cutting the left line and took the unconscious one out of the cave. Clutching onto the rope railing, Richard shimmied over to the ledge and punched their soon-to-be murderer. He backpedaled and whipped out a watery knife, which was just an altered water shuriken, to fight from close range. Richard tried blocking a slash, but it still left a gash on his forearms. He staggered as Riley and Hix reached the end to help him. Knowing he was outnumbered, he retreated to their relief. That was, until they realized what had happened. The Greninja threw the water shuriken.
It all happened in a flash: Richard was yelling Clef and Saphira's names as the bridge snapped, buckling down with the two on top of it. Riley immediately took initiative and took off, flapping her wings and diving as fast as she could to get to them despite her fear of heights. Saphira still hadn't processed what was happening, freezing as the planks dropped beneath her. Riley grasped her round, soft paw hard with her claws as she fell several feet, making Saphira wince in pain. Her moment of relief was wiped away by the thought of Clef, who was nowhere to be seen.
"Clef!" echoed Riley, her heart dropping as soon as she looked down, the world starting to spin. There was no way he'd survive the fall. Saphira's hand was now bruised from Riley's grip, which only strengthened as she got more scared. Still, she needed to get back up before she passed out, killing her and Saphira. Richard prayed that he'd see two of Clef's vines clutching for dear life on the edge of the ledge. He felt relief as he heard a groan from beneath the ledge.
"Thank Arceus," he sighed, leaning over to help his friend up. His face went limp as he saw Riley carrying Saphira and Saphira only back up to safety.
"Did you get him?" he asked just to give himself hope. He already knew the answer: Clef fell. Hix still couldn't believe it.
"There's a waterfall, right?" he asked. "What if there's water at the bottom?"
"Falling into water from this high is like hitting solid rock," sighed Riley. "I can still check if you want."
"Go," said Richard doubtfully. "If he is dead, at least bring his body up here."
"I'll come with you," said Hix. "I can fly too."
Riley shook her head, "If he is dead, you don't want to see his body."
"I don't think he's dead," he denied determinedly. "We'll bring him back up here, right?"
"Y- yeah," said Riley, looking down into the abyss. Hix went first and leapt down, arms spread out to slow his fall. Gulping, but committing to save her friend, she stepped off and hovered down slowly.
"T- t- that was scary, boing," she shivered, apparently not hearing their conversation. "Is Clef okay?" Richard didn't reply, Saphira's eyes beginning to tear up. "No! He's not dead! He was so brave out on the climb up, boing! Wait, where are Riley and Hix?"
"They went down to check if he's alive, although I highly doubt it," said Richard. "We shouldn't have crossed the bridge."
"It's not your fault! They'll get him for sure!" she exclaimed, wiping her eyes. "Don't be so negative, it'll only make you feel worse!" Richard's heart raced as he looked over the edge. There was still hope.
"There's nothing we can do but wait," said Richard coldly. "They'll bring him up alright, either dead or alive."
Riley and Hix slowly glided down the pit, completely swallowed by the darkness and dread that awaited them. What if there wasn't water, a bloodied mass splattered on the granite? Riley's heart pounded with anxiety, which completely overwhelmed her fear of heights at the moment. It only made her descend faster, the air pressing against her from the bottom. Hix slowed his gliding and hung onto one of the emerging stalagmites, signalling their arrival at the bottom.
He frowned, scanning the area below him, "I don't see any signs of movement except for some Roggenrola, but can you bring your tail down here?"
"Yeah," quavered Riley, eager but not eager to find Clef. Her flame's light stroked the now-revealed water surface and the stalagmites beside the underground river. The sound of water reverberated, being thrown around by the massive chamber. She'd bet if she yelled, Saphira and Richard could hear them all the way up there. Hix jumped from stalagmite to stalagmite like an Emolga jumping from tree to tree, searching for any sign of Clef. He gasped and called Riley over, revealing the remains of the collapsed bridge mangled in the rough floor, although it was only half of it.
"He's not here!" perplexed Hix, who's eyes shot open with hope. "He must've been dragged downstream!" Riley, spurred on with newfound hope that bubbled up in her chest, almost hearing Clef's struggling breaths for air.
"Let's go before we lose him!" she exclaimed, denying the fact that she was exhausted. With Riley in the lead, they traced the river as they flew, Riley gaining a new sense of air-awareness.
"Where do you think this leads?" asked Hix.
"I don't know," huffed Riley, pushing herself to the limit. They flew for what seemed like minutes, but was only a couple of seconds.
"How long ago did Clef fall?" questioned Hix.
"I dunno, like ten minutes?" guessed Riley just as her light grasped the edge of an object floating on the water surface. "I see the rest of the bridge!"
"Clef!" exclaimed Hix. Green vines clutched the piece of slowly drifting wood and rope, with a Servine bobbing gently in the water, which was slowly becoming polluted with blood.
"He's alive," exalted Riley, as Clef's vines would retract if he wasn't. "Thank Arceus." Hix landed quickly on the shore of the river, beaching the drifting raft along with Clef. Quiet coughing confirmed to Riley that he was going to be okay.
"He's bleeding!" informed Hix urgently, clutching Clef's arm, which had a huge gash on it.
"Am I dead? Please no," he said, his eyes closed.
"You're fine," assured Riley unconfidently, his blood spilling out faster than she could wipe away. Hix's beak chattered as he tried looking for something to stop the bleeding. Riley figured she could do this, but really didn't want to. She didn't have a choice, though. "Clef, I'm sorry about this." The Roggenrolla, now hidden behind some stalagmites watched curiously as Riley stretched her arms.
"R- Riley? What are you doing?" asked Clef, dazed.
"Hold him down and get ready to splash water on him," commanded Riley. Hix nodded nervously and put his wings down on the Servine's chest. Riley took a deep breath and pinched her claws to seal the wound shut. Clef winced but didn't scream. Well, he didn't scream until Riley brought her tail out with her free claw. She gently seared the gash closed, nearly crying as Clef screamed and twitched, Hix trying his best to hold him down. Once the blood had been dried and seared and the wound cauterized, Riley sighed, falling backwards and grinned despite herself.
"He passed out," said Hix, whose feathers were ruffled from Clef's convulsing.
"Let him rest," she said. "I never thought he could do what he just did up there. Plus, I'm exhausted too."
"Okay," replied Hix, wiping sweat off his head with his wing. "I can head up first to tell the others."
"Do that, I'll just be here for a while," said Riley, watching the shy Roggenrola emerge from their hiding places peacefully.
Several minutes later, the five continued their ascent up the mountain. Clef was already feeling much better.
"Thanks for that down there," said Clef, looking down at the stairs as they climbed. Riley rubbed her neck, replying,
"No problem, but sorry about the burns," she said. Clef inhaled quickly.
"That was some quick thinking though," said Clef, pointing at the wound on his arm. "Thanks to you, I didn't bleed out."
"Wait, how are you already better?" asked Riley, noticing that the cauterization wound was now just a black mark on his arm.
"Pokemon heal fast," he explained. "They don't in the human world?"
"I mean, yeah," said Riley, realizing that she was comparing them to humans. "They don't… die often either."
"It happens," said Richard, who was relieved that Clef was alive. "You are so, so lucky that there was water down there."
Clef chuckled half-heartedly, "Yeah." Riley had no doubt that he was completely scarred from that experience, and she was, too. She noticed that Clef seemed way more calm when he was explaining things. She'd keep that in mind.
Once they had arrived at the opening that took them to the peak, Riley stopped them.
"You guys ready?" she sighed, trying to sound like a leader, as she was probably the oldest one there. She looked up past the top of the staircase, which seemed to emerge from a giant rock. They could see the top of the castle, the flagpole still standing strong, albeit missing the black and red flag of the Dragon Army. Surrounding it was a flock of birds, now a mix of several different Pokemon including Fletchinder, Taillow, and Staravia.
"Someone powerful is up here," said Riley, her head hurting like crazy. Richard noticed her clutching her head with her claw.
"Is it happening again?" he asked. "You hearing things?" Richard was right, and if he didn't ask her, she wouldn't have even noticed the distant, inaudible voices lurking in the outskirts of her awareness. Suddenly, a voice screamed, splitting her head open. She hadn't realized she was screaming until Saphira splashed water on her face.
"Oh, thank Arceus. You were screaming for five minutes!" exclaimed Richard.
"What?" asked Riley. "I just heard a scream."
"A single scream? Nothing else?" asked Clef. Riley nodded. "You were out for that long for a single scream?"
"I don't know, maybe there was more, but I don't remember it…" said Riley, breathing heavily.
"Whose screaming was it?" asked Richard. "Was it a girl or guy?"
"It was definitely a guy, but it sounded too young to be the Lucario," said Riley. "I have no idea who it was."
"Did something trigger it?" asked Clef. "Did you look at something?"
"The flagpole, I looked at the flagpole," said Riley. "It must be triggered by sight. It happened when I looked at Romulus." The memories made Richard silent for a moment, but he replied,
"It might have to do with someone in those ruins, then. Maybe it was a kidnapped Pokemon from Baino," suggested Richard, looking at Hix, who had flinched at the mention of his village.
"Probably," said Riley, dropping her claw from her head slowly. "C'mon." She rose and climbed the rest of the stairs.
"Wait, you aren't going to say a cool one-liner before we raid those ruins?" asked Richard, crossing his arms. "Okay, boring."