Chapter 4|The Bandit's Den
Eko and Zoran woke up early the next morning, ready for whatever the day had in store for them.
"Ready, Eko?" asked Zoran excitedly.
"Yeah," said Eko, messily tying the scarf around his neck, "I don't know if they do introductions or stuff like that."
"We'll be fine," assured Zoran, "Just act yourself and it'll be fine." The two reported to the mess hall after getting ready. There were a ton of Pokemon there, and all the tables were nearly full. They found a seat next to Justin, who was with the other members of his team.
"Hey guys!" he greeted. At the table was a Weavile, a Skarmory, and a Golduck, who were all members of Team Ace along with Justin. Eko noticed they didn't glare at him or act funny, so Justin probably told them about him.
"Hey, we've heard about you!" confirmed the Weavile, leaning over the table to shake Eko and Zoran's hands. For an ice and dark type, she was quite bubbly. "I'm Winter, Team Ace's leader. Nice to meet ya!" They returned the greeting, and Justin explained some more.
"So, this is our team! That Golduck's name is Charlotte. She's the quiet one of the team, so don't expect her to talk much. The Skarmory's name is Wyler," he said, introducing them in turn. Apart from Wyler, who hesitated a bit, they surprisingly acted normal around Eko.
"How long have you guys been a team?" asked Zoran.
"Oh, for about three years!" replied Winter. Just then, Guildmaster Alice came into the room.
"Hello, guild members!" she greeted. "The only announcement we have today is that we have two new guild members, Eko and Zoran from Team Endeavor! Please make them feel welcome here. Well then, you know what to do! Let's have another great day at work!"
"So, what do we do now?" asked Eko.
"Oh, you get your assignments from the board," replied Justin, "Well, we'll see you around. Good luck on your first mission!"
"See ya," said Zoran, "So, shall we get going?"
"Yeah, bounty or a mission?" asked Eko as they tried to squeeze through the crowd of Pokemon. "They should make this room more efficient."
"Let's go for a mission, seems easy enough," replied Zoran, emerging from the crowd. Eko nodded and snatched a mission from the board.
"Let's move somewhere else, it's way too crowded in here," said Eko. They made their way back to their room after grabbing a bite to eat. "Let's see here… we have to go retrieve pecha berries from the Solemn Woods and deliver them to Leafre. Seems a little boring…"
"Who knows? Could be interesting. Where's Leafre? That's where I said I was from, right?" asked Zoran.
"Yeah, it's just to the east of here. Near… never mind," said Eko quickly, grabbing his bag.
"Have you ever been there?" asked Zoran, sloppily slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"Nah, I just got to Mysteria a month ago," said Eko
They made their way to the east gate again, this time heading straight towards Leafre instead of turning right to the beach. The meadows nearby gave way to the tall oak trees that made up the Solemn Woods. Wild pokemon cheeped and crowed from the canopy underneath the leaves.
"I just realized, why are some of the Pokemon feral? You all seem to be living like, well… humans!" asked Zoran.
"I guess they just do… As for living like humans, I don't know about that," replied Eko.
"Can they speak?" asked Zoran.
"Some can learn, but most just growl, chirp, or whatever," said Eko. "It's weird how it works."
They followed the path for about an hour before meeting a large gate. It was much like the one at Mysteria, except it had the inscription of a leaf on it. This was the grass-type town of Leafre. Instead of the small, curtained buildings of Mysteria, Leafre's buildings were more open. Tall, wooden buildings with open windows lay scattered everywhere, much more spread out than the ones in Mysteria. The city seemed to be built around a large river, which divided the city into two halves. There was also an upper section which was built on a cliff, the river cascading into a short but crystalline waterfall. Large, twisting trees were used like terrain, with buildings, stairs and rope bridges built along the gigantic trunks. Like a stack of building blocks, some of the towers were built a little crooked. The only reason they weren't falling was because of the trees running through them. Mostly grass type Pokemon walked the streets, so as usual, Eko was stared at.
"Woah, this place is cool," said Zoran, looking up at the roofs of the towers.
"You look like you're from here, too," said Eko, pulling out a map from his bag. "So, according to the map, the Berry Woods are just east- I mean south of here." They passed several shops along the way that sold weird trinkets, like enchanted blue amulets and cursed rings. Eko figured it was all bogus.
"Could we get something?" asked Zoran, the window displays catching his eye.
"Nah, I don't have money, but we'll definitely get some for this mission," replied Eko. Suddenly, they heard a commotion around the block. As they hit the crowd of pokemon, Eko flew up to get a better look at what was going on. An ugly Fearow had its talons clenched around a Lurantis' bag. She and several other pokemon desperately held onto the strap to keep the bird from soaring off with the bag. The strap broke, sending the Lurantis and others falling backwards. The Fearow took off towards the edge of the city.
"Get back here!"
"Someone go after it!"
"Damn bird."
"Is anyone here a flying type?"
"Where's the guild when you need them?"
Eko knew what he had to do.
"Zoran, let's chase down that bird!" exclaimed Eko.
"What about the mission?" asked Zoran.
"No time, we can do that later," said Eko, kicking off from the ground. "You run, I'll fly."
As Eko streamlined towards the Fearow, Zoran realized he was being stared at. He rolled his eyes and sprinted after Eko. Eko didn't realize how big the city was until he was chasing down the Fearow. The bird weaved in and out of buildings, underneath bridges, and up above the crowds of Pokemon.
'Where was the Sawsbuck Guild?' thought Eko. It was supposed to be the exploration guild of Leafre, but no one showed up to help.
It was up to him. He tried to fire a Boomburst at the Fearow, but it dodged easily. Eko furled his wings in, feeling the air currents carry him forwards. He spread them out quickly, stirring up the air as he used Tailwind.
With the extra speed, Eko zoomed towards the Fearow. The bird squawked in surprise as Eko pounced on it. Eko slashed with his Dragon Claw midair, the purple energy barely grazing the bird's feathers.
The bird pecked down on Eko's chest, giving him enough time to gain a bit of distance.
Zoran followed them throughout the city, looking up as the bat and bird wove in and around the thick vines that held buildings in place.
Eko made sure not to cause damage to the city, firing Air Slashes in the bird's direction. It easily dodged, although it forced the bird to ram into vines and signs that hung below windows in some of the towers. Even with Tailwind activated, the Fearow outmaneuvered him, turning corners tighter than Eko was able to. Awkwardly trying to regain balance after an attempted quick turn, he streamlined towards the Fearow.
Suddenly, it darted upwards towards the sun. Eko followed, but was stunned by the blinding light which was straight up. He realized that it was using Sky Attack, but it was too late. The Fearow dove straight down and grazed Eko's left wing. It continued to dive before leveling out just above the river. The Noivern fell a bit before regaining his energy, noticing Zoran on the bridge the bandit was about to fly under.
"Get him!" exclaimed Eko. Zoran had no idea how to use moves, but he thought of one Sceptiles could use, the ones that resonated in his mind when he wrote down his moveset during the guild application.
'Leaf Storm!' thought Zoran, pointing his arm down at the Fearow. It worked. Zoran felt a surge of energy enter his arm, and leaves pelted the Fearow out of nowhere. The Fearow squawked as the sharp leaves cut it up. The wind from the attack sent it flying up into the air. It quickly regained it's balance, but it was bleeding a bit. Zoran was too distracted by the fact that he just used a move. The Fearow bolted straight into the forest nearby. Zoran heard the scraping of claws on wood behind him.
"Get on my back," said Eko, leaning forwards onto his wings.
"W- what?" asked Zoran, stumbling backwards. He was pretty much the same size as Eko.
"I can hold you… probably. Let's go!" he exclaimed. Zoran awkwardly climbed on Eko's back and held on to his shoulders.
"Hold on tight and watch the mane," said Eko, soaring after the Fearow.
The Fearow disappeared into a misty forest area different from the rest of the woods, with Eko and Zoran tailing it. Eko slowed, but his wings caught the wind and sent him tipping over.
"Agh!" he yelled as he and Zoran tumbled to the forest floor, cracking twigs and leaves as they rolled.
"Oof!" exclaimed Zoran, "I'm never doing that again."
"Sorry…" groaned a voice from beneath him. Eko lay with his wings sprawled across the ground. "That was my bad."
Zoran helped him up, taking note of their surroundings. It was just thick trees as far as the eye could see, which wasn't very far due to the fog.
"I don't think I can fly in here, the canopy is too low for that," said Eko.
"Then we'll have to go on foot," said Zoran, and into the mist they went. They walked slowly, ducking behind trees for cover. The Fearow was nowhere to be seen, but two pokemon, a Nuzleaf and a Liepard, were patrolling the area near a campfire.
"I think this is a bandit's hideout," whispered Zoran. "Should we report this back to the guild?"
"After," replied Eko, "The Fearow probably told the rest of them that we might be coming."
"What do we do with those bandits?" asked Zoran.
"Let's try to take 'em out. They already know we're coming," said Eko. "You got Leaf Blade?"
"I'll try it," said Zoran, 'Leaf Blade.' Energy coursed to his right claw, where a green blade appeared.
"Nice, I'll have to use Dragon Claw," said Eko.
"We won't… kill them, right?" asked Zoran.
"Of course not," said Eko.
"Good, I don't want to be a murderer yet," replied Zoran.
"Let's do it then," said Eko, turning his claws purple. They slowly crept up, ready to slash the two unwary dark types. Suddenly, the Liepard saw them out of the corner of its eye. As Eko slashed at her, she dashed behind them.
"This is what you get for spying," said the Liepard, knocking them to the ground with a single move.
"That was Fakeout," groaned Eko, getting back up. "Boombu-!"
He was cut off by the Nuzleaf, who jabbed Eko's throat. He felt like his neck had collapsed in on himself. He wouldn't be able to use Boomburst. He noticed Zoran getting up and slashing the Liepard once with Leaf Blade, leaving a light gash in its side. The Nuzleaf kicked Eko again and again in the throat, but he noticed that Zoran was getting the best of the Liepard. After winking at the Liepard, the Nuzleaf slowly walked up behind Zoran.
"Zoran!" coughed Eko, but no noise came out of his mouth. His throat burned. The Nuzleaf balled up his fists and Sucker Punched Zoran in the back, launching him into the Liepard, who bit on Zoran's leg to hold him down.
"Help!" yelled Zoran, before the Nuzleaf punched him once more in the head, knocking him out.
"NO!" mouthed Eko, before scrambling up to attack again. He threw an Air Slash at the Shiftry, but it dodged. Out of nowhere, the Liepard tackled Eko down to let the Nuzleaf deal the last fatal blow.
"Don't mess with us," he laughed before Sucker Punching the lights out of Eko.
The two woke up some time later, but they weren't dead. Both were tied to a tree and blindfolded, although Eko's basic echolocation rendered the blindfold useless. Eko overheard talking between the Nuzleaf and another deeper voice. Through his echolocation, he knew that the second figure was much bigger than the Nuzleaf. The Liepard was nowhere in his range. His throat still burned, but it seemed like the effects of Throat Chop wore off.
"Why would you bring them here?" boomed the voice. "We don't want to fight innocents."
"They aren't innocents, dad-" said the Nuzleaf before he was cut off by a loud smack.
"Don't call me dad! It's sir," replied the deeper voice.
"Ow, sorry. They aren't innocents. They tried to recover the bag that Pearson stole," said the Nuzleaf.
"Good, I'm sorry for doubting you. These two were probably an exploration team, so they're just do-gooders. They can't know what's inside. But, that Noivern… Is he one of them?" asked the deep voice.
"Of course he isn't, he tried to take us out! He's probably a deserter," said the Nuzleaf. Deserter of what? And one of who? He had the faintest idea, but it was the last thing he wanted.
"Is it strong like the rest of them?" asked the deep voice.
"Nah, one Throat Chop and it was out. Raven and I dealt with them quickly. Dragons are weaker than I thought." Eko had spent the last few minutes planning out a retort, and it still came out a bit shaky.
"That was a fluke," he said. He could tell the two were alarmed.
"Yeah, Eko can take on a hundred of you!" added Zoran, hyping up his teammate. "We went easy."
"We'll fight you two. If we win, we'll take back the purse. If you win, you can do whatever you want. If you decline, I'll-I'll kill you two," said Eko more confidently than he felt, but the stutter messed up the delivery. As everyone knew, killing was very rare nowadays in a time of peace. The Nuzleaf laughed.
"Deal, but do you really think you could kill us? Do you even have the guts?" asked the deep voice.
"I have the guts," replied Eko, knowing it was too late to back down now. "And I could kill you if I wanted to."
"An open threat. Sean, take off their blindfolds and cut them free," said the deep voice. After doing so, it revealed the two figures and the battlefield, the Nuzleaf named Sean, and a huge Shiftry, much bigger than Eko or Zoran imagined. Towering at three times the height of Zoran, he was definitely a strong foe. They were in a grove of tall trees that still overshadowed the giant Shiftry.
Zoran said, "Why are we doing this?"
"We have to," said Eko. "It's our job."
"Fine," sighed Zoran, who still had no idea how to battle correctly. "Before we begin, who are you?"
"I'm Ivan, the Forest Brigand," said the giant Shiftry, smirking. "Ready to fight, dragon?"
Ivan took out his left hand… or leaf, and formed a giant green sword nearly the size of a tree.
"That's the biggest Leaf Blade I've ever seen," said Eko. "That has to be a Signature."
He felt a disturbance behind him, but it was too late to dodge Sean's Feint Attack. Meanwhile, Zoran unsheathed his own Leaf Blade, barely blocking the large Shiftry's sweeping blade. The impact knocked him backwards, but the attack didn't land, luckily.
Meanwhile, Eko retaliated by slashing his claws backwards, grazing the little Nuzleaf's chin. He followed it up with a Boomburst, directly hitting Sean in the face and sending him flying into a nearby tree, knocking him out.
Eko's heart was beating like mad. His mind was torn between anxiety and adrenaline, but he shook it off, soaring off to help Zoran, leaving Sean's unconscious body undisturbed. It hit Eko that Ivan was right, he didn't have the guts to kill someone. No, it wasn't guts… it was just called having a conscience.
"I can't do anything!" It's huge!" said Zoran. The giant green sword sliced down a tree that the Sceptile was hiding behind.
"Have you tried using any other moves?" asked Eko, backpedaling out the way of another slash.
"Quit your chatter and fight!" exclaimed Ivan, slicing the tree down the middle.
"Hold on," said Zoran, trying to remember moves. As he dug through his memory, four moves stood out: Leaf Blade, Leaf Storm, Pursuit, and X-Scissor. Bug type moves would completely obliterate this Dark and Grass type! The only problem was getting close enough without getting sliced in half. "I've got a move, but I can't get close enough."
"I can tank a Leaf Blade, so I'll distract and try to get some Air Slashes in," Eko said, kicking off the ground again. As he soared around the giant Shiftry, Ivan swung several more times with his attack, two of them hitting their mark. Eko stumbled in the air with two cuts along his chest. They weren't bleeding… yet. Even though he was resistant, it still did a ton of damage.
"I was not expecting that," winced Eko, hovering in the air to prepare an attack. He slashed twice with his wing, sending a blade of wind hurtling towards his target. Ivan tried to block with his sword, but he was disarmed by the first projectile, its predecessor slicing Ivan's chest. Ivan roared in pain.
"Screw this forest, we were moving out anyways," growled Ivan, roaring a second time that nearly burst Eko's sensitive eardrums. Meanwhile, Zoran was trying to get closer to the opposing Pokemon. Without time to react, he was knocked off his feet and sent flying by an unknown force, objects slicing him everywhere.
"Argh, what the hell?" he exclaimed, bleeding next to a tree. Eko was knocked out of the air and sent flying into Zoran, who let out a grunt of pain.
"Arceus, he's using two attacks at once. He must be desperate," said Eko, before noticing his friend.
"Woah, you good, Zoran?" he asked.
"Sure, never felt better," rasped Zoran, getting back up. Without time to rest, the familiar Leaf Blade grazed the top of their heads. Looking back towards the clearing, they noticed that all the trees were gone, chopped by the Shiftry's attack. A cloud of razor-sharp leaves surrounded the Shiftry, who had seemingly gone into a raging frenzy.
"Keep dodging for now," said Eko, "I'll think of something."
"Sure thing," groaned Zoran, now wondering if he would survive this. Eko deflected multiple slashes with his own Dragon Claw, but there was no way he could get a projectile into the storm. Hurricane was still active, so it was impossible to fly in there also. Their best chance was to wait until he got tired. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he would any time soon. The giant charged them down, his blade chopping down more of the forest.
The blade hit Eko in the chest, knocking him down. He had another idea to get rid of the leaves. This was a move that Eko never really used, as he thought it was useless. He was tired and in pain, but so was the Shiftry. Now, it seemed like his best chance. He kicked off the ground again, soaring above the now-open canopy. There was a giant hole in the treeline, created by yours truly, Ivan.
'It's now or never,' thought Eko, suddenly becoming self conscious about how cheesy it sounded in his head. He flapped his wings hard, screeching and unleashing a heavy tailwind from behind him. The cyclone of leaves circling Ivan were swept away by the strong winds, clearing a path for Zoran to get in. Eko kept bombarding the Shiftry with Air Slashes while Zoran pushed towards the target with great speed, thanks to Eko's Tailwind. Eko ran out of energy, touching down on the ground to see Zoran leap towards the Shiftry, who's blade was being parried by the onslaught of sharp wind blades.
"X-Scissor!" yelled Zoran, summoning two light-green daggers in his arms.
"No!" exclaimed the Shiftry. Zoran crossed his blades and slashed them across the Shiftry, yelling with triumph. It was super effective! The energy from the bug-type attack coursed around his body, leaving a gigantic x-shaped wound that wrapped around his body. Zoran landed, preparing to finish off the bandit for good. The Sceptile looked over at Eko and nodded, unsheathing his blade.
"Wait, where's Sean? What did you do to him?" asked Ivan
"Relax, he's knocked out," said Eko smugly. "You were right, I never had the guts." The Shiftry calmed down and regained some of his swagger, chuckling.
"You do have guts for trying to take me down," he said, "But you guilds can't stop what's coming." The Noivern cocked his head sideways, curious but dreadful.
"So you don't know," laughed the Shiftry. "Take me out, it won't make a difference. Raven and Pearson are already delivering what they need."
"Who's 'they', and what are they delivering?" asked Eko.
"I won't say," sighed the brigand.
"Wait here," whispered Eko to Zoran. Eko followed the aftermath of the battle to the starting area, the clearing and found Sean's unconscious body.
"What are you doing?" asked Ivan. Eko soared high into the air with Sean in the clutches of his talons.
"Hey, do you see me?" asked Eko.
"Eko! Don't you dare," hissed Zoran. Eko still heard it and just carried on.
"You will not," said Ivan shakily.
"I will, unless you tell us who you're working for and what you're giving them. He is a criminal" said Eko, the muscles in his legs twitching. It was as if something inside wanted to drop the Nuzleaf.
"Alright, it's not worth enough," said Ivan finally.
"Good choice," said Eko, in relief. "Questions first, what are you delivering?"
"Pyramidal relics, I don't know what they do, but I was paid a lot of cash to steal one from one of the Sawsbuck guild's historians," replied Ivan, talking quickly.
A memory arose from Zoran's brain, "Did you say pyramidal relics?"
"Yeah, they're unbreakable, which is weird. Why do you need to know?" asked Ivan.
"Never mind that," said Eko, who noticed Zoran's sideways glance.
"Who are you working for?" yelled Eko.
"That's our business," said Ivan. Eko was actually on the verge of dropping the annoying Shiftry, but he remembered his hypothesis from earlier.
"You said I was a deserter, what did you mean by that?" asked Eko.
"Sean said that," growled the Shiftry, the amount of blood still rushing out of the Shiftry was alarming, but it would clot… eventually.
"Yeah, and what do you mean by that?" asked the Noivern once more.
"You're catching on, eh?" smiled the Shiftry.
"I'm bringing Sean down, Zoran, contact the Sawsbuck Guild, they've got two new members to their prison."
The guild of Leafre lay inside a giant tree in the upper part of the city. The lobby lay on the first floor, the hall on the second, and all the rooms were in the upper floors, with the guildmaster's chambers at the very top. A Scizor named Rahel, the head of defense, carried the Shiftry and Nuzleaf to the giant dungeon underneath the waterfall. Eko and Zoran never got to see it though, as Rahel told them that the guildmaster wanted to see them.
Waiting for them in the circular guildmaster's chambers was the guildmaster, Mason Sawsbuck along with the Lurantis. Eko and Zoran were still in pain from the battle. Scars from the Leaf Storm littered their weak bodies. Eko had an especially large on across his purple scaled chest from his right shoulder to his left hip from that Leaf Blade.
"Thank you for your services, Team Endeavor of the Alakazam Guild," said the guildmaster of the Sawsbuck Guild, Mason Sawsbuck. Eko was glad to see another Pokemon not overreact to seeing a Dragon type.
"It took them long enough," rasped the Lurantis, who gave Eko the same impression as Maggie.
"Don't mind her," said Mason in his deep, royal voice, "She's still traumatized, being our historian."
"About the bag… we couldn't return it. Two more bandits delivered it somewhere," said Zoran gloomily.
"Don't be ashamed, you did well," said the Sawsbuck, pacing the circular room. "Don't, Luna. They did all they could." He glanced over at the Lurantis, who seemed to have calmed down a bit.
"I'm happy to tell you that Ivan has a bounty on his head for petty theft around Leafre. Does 100 gold sound fair to you?"
"Of course," said Eko, accepting the ten small gold coins from the guildmaster's hoof. From habit, he greedily stared at them for a while before snapping out of it."Although, we can do more."
"Oh?" asked the Sawsbuck curiously.
"We can try to return the runes," said Eko, handing the coins to Zoran, who then stuffed them in his bag.
"How do you know what was in the bag? Did you steal it for yourselves?" asked the Lurantis angrily.
"No, no! We did some interrogating," said Zoran.
"Yeah, it's how we found out where they were heading," said Eko.
"And where is that?" asked the Sawsbuck. Eko wanted to kick himself for not realizing this. Was it worth revealing the location?
"We don't have an exact location, but we do remember which way they were headed," lied Eko. "We can go after them."
"You need permission from your guildmaster for that," Mason replied. "Also, your actions today are technically illegal, since you don't have a flying license and soaring at over 80 kilometers an hour through our city."
Eko's eyes shot wide open, "There's such thing as a flying license? I am so sorry, Guildmaster."
"Because of your actions, I let it slide. Alice told me that you are a new exploration team, right? Ahem, you can leave now, Luna."
"Yes guildmaster," bowed the Lurantis, hurrying down the staircase.
"Yep," said Eko. "This is Zoran and I's first day."
"Impressive, I'll expect to hear about you more often, then," said Mason.
"We're just doing our best," said Zoran.
"That's good to hear," smiled the Sawsbuck. "Good luck on your future missions."
"Thanks!" yelled Zoran as they headed down the staircase.
Mason smiled to himself, 'You were right, Alice. Those two are going to do great things. Even for a Dragon, he's a great kid. So is that Zoran fellow, although I don't remember seeing him around Leafre…'
"I need to tell you something, Zoran," said Eko on the walk back to Mysteria.
"I've been meaning to tell you something too, but you go first," replied Zoran.
"I know exactly where they're taking the runes, but it's going to be tricky," said Eko, twiddling his claws.
"How did you know where they were taking it?" asked Zoran.
"After Ivan asked if I was 'one of them', I got suspicious," said Eko, looking around for anyone that could overhear. "My house is near Leafre, Zoran."
"Couldn't you tell the Guild to go get them, then?" asked Zoran.
"Even though I left them, I promised not to rat them out," said Eko. "Plus, they won't kill me. Dragons are rare enough these days."
"Okay, but we aren't just going to go up there and ask them for the rune back! What's the plan?" asked Zoran.
"We're gonna have to sneak in there," said Eko, "Although we're probably going to be discovered somewhere along the line. That's when we'll go out with a bang."
"We're gonna blow up your house?!" exclaimed Zoran.
"No, I meant that we're just going to get the hell out of there," said Eko.
"How are we going to find the rune, though?" asked Zoran.
"A little bird can tell me," said the Noivern, still looking around for anyone nearby. Zoran burst out laughing.
"Great," chuckled Zoran sarcastiaclly. Eko chuckled,
"No, seriously. I know a Fletchling I named Archer that lives around there. She was my only friend before you."
"And you just left her?" asked Zoran. Eko's face grew extremely hot.
"It's complicated. She's feral, but she still understands us," said Eko.
"And you just left her?" repeated Zoran.
"Okay, I didn't realize what I had done until after I left, and it's not like I could've gone back!" explained Eko. "I'll take her with us when we go. If she'll still listen to me, she can show us where the rune is."
"Good, but do you know why your dad wants this rune?" asked Zoran, still vividly picturing the eighteen different pyramidal relics.
"No idea," said Eko honestly, "Dad never told me anything. After mom died, he never stopped yelling at me."
"I can see why you left," said Zoran, feeling uncomfortably jealous. He knew it was a pretty bad life, but at least he could remember it.
"Do you think I'm a bad guy?" asked Eko out of the blue, recounting that last battle with Ivan.
"Of course not, why?" asked Zoran, taken aback.
Eko sighed, his eyes getting watery. "I've been thinking about what happened with Ivan in the forest. I actually wanted to drop Sean and kill Ivan. He said it himself, 'Aren't you supposed to be the good guys?'"
"Hey, I would've dropped Sean too with the way Ivan was talking to you," said Zoran. "Compared to those guys and what you've told me about your dad, you're literally the opposite of bad."
"Thanks, Zoran. What was it that you wanted to tell me?" the Noivern asked, changing the subject.
"Before I woke up, well, before you woke me up, I was floating around in darkness. Then, I saw eighteen of those same runes. Whatever your dad wants it for, it can't be good, and I have something to do with it," said Zoran, brushing a leaf off his head.
Eko recalled Crispin saying that a relic was stolen from the treasure room, could that be one of the runes too? Everything was coming together… no, everything was caving in on those two.
"I think it was destiny that allowed us to meet on that beach," said Eko, "Whatever this mess is, we're going to have to fix it."
"I think we should tell the guildmaster about this," said Zoran.
"I agree, this is getting serious," said Eko as the two escaped the canopy of the Solemn Woods. "Although, we never got to deliver those berries, did we?"
Zoran snorted at the rapid change of subject, "Someone's gonna be pissed."
Team Endeavor was back at the guild for dinner, where everyone seemed to have found out about the battle between the exploration team and the giant bandit, although the details were exaggerated a little. Alice must've told them. The younger expedition teams kept bombarding them with questions.
"Was the Shiftry that big?" asked a young Squirtle.
"Yeah, it was ten times your size!" exclaimed Zoran, going into full detail about the epic fight. "He had this giant sword the size of a tree!"
Eko whispered to Zoran that he was going to go talk to the guildmaster.
"You can keep them entertained if you want," grinned the Noivern, heading up the tower once more. Alice was there in her chamber, trying hard to hide her smirk. Eko laughed.
"You told them, didn't you?" asked Eko, grinning as well.
"Perhaps," she smiled, "Where's Zoran?"
"He's keeping the children entertained down in the mess hall," chuckled Eko. "He's quite the storyteller."
"I see. Now, what do you need?" asked Alice, leaning forward on her desk.
"Um... Well, after we defeated Ivan, we asked him a few questions. It turns out he was delivering a pyramidal rune to someone," explained Eko.
"Do they do something?" she asked.
"I don't know much, but Ivan told me about them," said Eko. "By any chance was one stolen from the guild that night I… uh, dozed off?"
"Yes," she replied gloomily. "It was Crispin and I's fault for overworking you."
"It's fine. This next bit gets weird," said Eko, "Can I trust you?"
"If you want," teased Alice. Eko felt stupid for asking that; she trusted him when he arrived at the guild.
"I'll take that as a yes. It's about Zoran," began the Noivern. "Well, he's human. I found him unconscious at the beach, and he told me he became a Pokemon. He lost his memories, too."
"I knew he wasn't from Leafre! Go on," said Alice, intrigued.
"Wait, you believe me?" asked Eko.
"I'm a psychic type, I'd know if you were lying," smiled Alice. This made Eko way more comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time.
"While he was passed out, he saw eighteen of these runes. Do you know what they are?" asked Eko.
"No," said Alice, standing up. "But thank you for telling me, I'll alert the other guildmasters."
"Wait," said Eko. "We want to help."
"I figured as much," said Alice, pacing the study. "I've seen your Aura, Eko. You are a great and strong Pokemon, and I can't ever forgive myself for doubting you when I first met you." Eko was taken aback by this onslaught of praise that he's never received before. Tears nearly filled his eyes, but she kept going. "I don't know what these runes are, but I'll arrange a special mission for you. Meet me here tomorrow morning."
"Yes, thank you so much, Mrs. Alice," said Eko, leaving the room. Zoran was standing on a table in the mess hall, where he amassed a large group of young explorers.
"We were exhausted, watching the Shiftry fall to the forest floor. We thought the ordeal was over after Eko's giant Air Slash. But no, he got up again and ROARED!" some of the young Pokemon squealed. "He went into a rage, summoning not only a Leaf Storm, but a Hurricane! The two attacks combined, creating a cyclone of leafy hell! It tore up the forest, turning it into a tree graveyard of logs and stumps! You couldn't see the sun because of how many leaves there were! They were as sharp as knives, slicing both of us constantly, every part of our bodies were in pain. We fell to the ground, almost fainted. It was then when my fearless leader Eko worked up a final plan. He leapt off the ground, and with a mighty flap of his wings, he unleashed the fury of a Tailwind to send the leaves flying to the horizon! After he removed the shield, he went over to the nearest fallen log and picked it off the ground with his talons!"
Eko didn't know whether to feel embarrassed, entertained, or excited at the moment, all three feelings swarming him as he stayed to the side of the room while Zoran finished his exaggerated recap.
"He launched the log into the air and sliced it in half with his Air Slash, sending them flying towards the gigantic Shiftry. I leapt onto the flying logs, jumping between them as I dodged his sorry excuses for sword swings! As the logs breached his defenses, I leapt once more, engaged an X-Scissor, aaaand slashed that Shiftry's stomach, instantly fainting him." The audience cheered, although there were a few scoffs that came from the Fairy type team. "And there's our fearless leader right there, battle scars and all!" yelled Zoran, pointing in Eko's direction.
'I'm gonna kill you for this,' was Eko's last thought before he was bombarded by the questions and compliments from the young Pokemon, answering them awkwardly and giving Zoran a look. At last, the Beartic came in to get everyone to bed, and the two returned to their room.
"Was that necessary?" laughed Eko, tossing his bag onto the rack and taking off his band.
"Of course, everyone should get to meet the fearless leader!" exclaimed Zoran, falling onto his bed.
"I don't remember the part where you jump from log to log to finish him off," said Eko.
"You must've taken some serious head damage from the battle, how do you not remember that?" joked Zoran.
"It's like it never happened. But seriously, great storytelling," complimented Eko, counting the coins they received. Old habits die hard.
"Don't we have to give half to the guild?" asked Zoran.
"This wasn't really a mission. We were supposed to deliver some berries. Besides, what the guild doesn't know won't hurt them," laughed Eko. It was then they retired to bed once more, the thoughts of returning home keeping Eko awake late into the night.