Chapter 5|Home Sweet Home


The two were sure to wake up and eat a big breakfast, as Alice was expecting them in her chamber at noon. Eko was still not ready, even though he constantly told himself that he was. He never wanted to go back and deal with it, even though it was the best option. What if they were found out, though? No, they just wouldn't get caught.

"Are you two ready?" asked Alice, "Do you know where you're going?"

"Y- yes," Eko replied, hesitantly. "We'll contact the nearest guild if we need to."

"Are you boys nervous?" asked Alice.

"A bit," said Zoran, shaking out his arms.

"Y- yeah, I guess a little," Eko said, undermining all his other feelings at the moment.

"You guys just beat their leader! If you find out who they're delivering it to, report back to me," she said, scribbling a note. "Well then. Your official mission is to retrieve the stolen artifact and attempt to uncover this secret plot.

According to Guildmaster Mason, it glows green and is pyramidal in shape. His archivist stated that it was an artifact found deep within a grove somewhere in Leafre. It is not the only rune of its kind, however.

At the moment, seven other runes have been secured by the guilds. Two of which belonged to the Alakazam Guild before they were stolen.

Researchers and scientists across Arceia have spent years trying to decipher their purpose to no avail. However, due to them sporting different hues, it is assumed that each correlates to one of the eighteen elements.

We do not know what group is trying to secure these artifacts and what purpose, but whatever it is, it will not be for the good of Arceia .

Well, then, boys. I'll leave you to prepare. Good luck,"

"Thanks… We'll probably need it," said Zoran.

They retraced the path to Leafre for the third time, hopefully not their last. "I don't think I'll tell the kids about this one."

"You should try making up a cover story instead, you're great at that," laughed Eko, glad that Zoran could lighten up the mood. He had been dreading this moment, even though he hoped it would never happen. How would his father react? How would he react to the fact that he joined an exploration team? How would any of his siblings react?

"Where exactly is your house?" asked Zoran calmly. Eko wished he could be as calm as him, trying to not sound worried.

"It's somewhere around Leafre," replied Eko. "I think it's northeast of it, by a lake. It's in the darker part of the forest."

"Good thing it's still daytime, it'd be a nightmare to navigate the forest at night," said Zoran.

"Yeah," replied Eko. The two tried to make their way through Leafre without getting too much attention drawn to themselves, but after the incident the day before, it was pretty hard. They told everyone that they were on a mission, which drove the crowd back to whatever they were doing before. They exited from the northern gate after climbing the staircase that led up the cliff. The gate was actually right behind the Sawsbuck Guild. The bright oak trees gave way into thick pine trees as they made their way north. Instead of a cobbled path like the east and west gates were, this one was a winding dirt road that led towards the desert.

"This way," said Eko, gesturing his wing towards the right side. "We're going off-road." As they trekked through the undisturbed terrain, the sound of birds grew quieter and quieter, eventually going silent.

"You said you had a bird friend," said Zoran, his voice piercing the eerie silence, "but there doesn't seem to be any birds around here."

"She was abandoned at the lake by her parents, which was where I found her. She eventually made her nest by the lake and visited our mansion every now and then."

"You live in a mansion?" gawked Zoran.

"Yeah, it's pretty old, but my siblings and I kept in good shape," said Eko.

"You never told me about your family. How many siblings do you have?" asked Zoran.

Eko thought for a moment and answered, "Six. I'm the third youngest."

"Geez, your house must be a wild place," said Zoran.

Eko shuddered. "It was. My older sister Olivia and younger brother Radar were the only ones I got along with, and I sort of miss them. The rest of them were terrible, spurred on by my dad."

"Yikes," said Zoran.

"I spent most of my time with Archer and Radar. Radar was also picked on by my siblings for being so quiet. He's just… uh, timid, I guess," said Eko. "I wonder how he's holding up."

"So he's pretty much like you, right?" asked Zoran.

"I talked back much more than him," said Eko. "He'd never go against my dad."

"After all of that?" Zoran asked. "I'd get out of there like you."

"We're gonna try not to interact with any of them, though," said Eko. "Archer, rune, then we're out."

"I highly doubt that's how it's going to go," said the Sceptile, noticing a scratch mark on a tree.

Eko informed. "We're nearing the lake."

The lake was easy to find, since it was a clearing in the thick pine forest. The sky was as clear as the crystal water below.

"How do we find Archer, do you think she waited for you for a whole month?" asked Zoran.

"I get you think I'm a bad friend for leaving her behind, but I still have hope that she remembers me," hissed Eko. "I hope she still remembers the call." Eko took a deep breath, stuck his tongue between his bottom two fangs and whistled a short little tune. The melody echoed throughout the forest, and Eko hoped that his family would dismiss it as a lost bird. After the sound died down, there was a complete silence. Eko's heart dropped, but he still hung onto the bit of hope he had left. Zoran looked crestfallen, but then, the tiniest noise was picked up by Eko's sensitive ears: a returning call. "Yes!"

"She actually waited for you," commented Zoran. At the opposite side of the lake, a small grey bird with a red head darted over the water.

"Archer!" called Eko. The bird darted down hard at the Noivern, and Zoran almost thought she was going to kill him. Instead, it rapidly pecked Eko's head and ears angrily. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot to come back for you. I was a terrible friend," said Eko, wincing and holding out his wing.

"This time, you're coming with us." Archer flew down and perched on his outstretched wing, hopping and chirping happily. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Ask if she can help us find the rune," said Zoran.

"She can understand you, you know," said Eko, brushing her feathers with his free claw. Archer cocked her head sideways, which meant she was confused.

"Oh, this is Zoran by the way. He's a Sceptile and a member of my exploration team. I'll tell you the rest later. Now, we need your help. We're on a mission to steal something back from my dad. Could you possibly help us?" Archer chirped with a determined look in her eyes, tired of the boring routine of eating and sleeping.

"Great, I'll take that as a yes," Eko smiled, explaining the plan. "We need you to try to find an item. It looks like a pyramid. We'll wait nearby, behind the house. Once you've found it, come back and point us towards the closest window. It's daytime, so my family's asleep.

"Why aren't you nocturnal, then?" asked Zoran.

"I switched my sleep schedule to match Archer's. It also helped me avoid my family," explained Eko.

"That's sweet," said Zoran.

"Do you think you can do it for us?" asked Eko to Archer, changing the subject. Archer chirped twice happily, which meant yes. "If you can't find it, just come back to us and we'll think of something else. Okay, let's go to our meeting place." The majesty of the mansion wasn't hindered by its weathered tiles and chipped paint. The structure was massive, a lonely castle in a sea of trees. It had three spires, the middle one reaching higher than the rest. The balcony lay on the second… no, third floor of the huge estate, shading the veranda below. They made their way into the shadow of the structure, the backyard. There, Zoran saw a door down to the cellar, a withered garden that looked forgotten for several years, a rickety tool shed, and a door into the house.

"The shed will be our meeting place," said Eko. "If it doesn't work out, come back here, alright?" Archer chirped and flew off.

"Too bad she can't talk, I still don't get that, does she have vocal chords?" asked Zoran.

"I don't even know," said Eko, heading behind the shed. "Let's get back here, just in case someone looks out the window."

"Good idea," said Zoran, finding a comfortable place to sit. "Do you think she'll be alright?"

"As long as she doesn't go inside, they'll brush her off as a wild Fletchling," said Eko, wiping his head.

"What do we do if this doesn't work?" asked Zoran.

"I don't know!" hissed Eko.

"Well, are the doors locked?" asked Zoran quietly.

"The front and back are locked, but the cellar has a weak padlock. The only problem is that if we break it, they'll know someone's been there," answered Eko.

"Won't they already realize someone's stolen the rune, though?" asked Zoran.

"Fair point," said Eko. "That could work, although we'll have to sneak around the house."

"We'll have to do that anyways," said Zoran.

"Sorry, I'm being stupid right now," said Eko.

"Are you okay?" asked Zoran.

"Yep," said Eko, realizing how heavily he was breathing. This place brought back so many memories, bad and good. "I don't think this is going to work, he's probably hidden it inside something. Archer can't possibly find it."

"We'll just wait and see," said Zoran, staring up into the trees. "Is it normally this quiet here?"

"Y- Yeah, but at night, all the Zubats and whatnot come out. They're sort of like our guards, but they're also asleep right now. Let's make sure we aren't here by nightfall," said Eko, picking up a sound. "It looks like she's back." Archer touched down onto the ground in front of the Noivern. "Did you find anything?" The Fletchling nodded, but gave another worried cheep. "What is it?" Archer hovered into the air, wanting Eko to follow. "Wait here, Zoran, she's showing me where it is."

"Okay, don't get caught," said Zoran disappointedly, wanting to do something. Eko and Archer took off, just like old times and circled to the front of the house. Eko's dread rose with their altitude, as his family's rooms were at the top floors. Archer stopped at the middle window on the middle spire. Eko's heart dropped all the way back down to the ground. The window was curtained off, but he noticed a faint green glow coming from behind it. Also in the curtains was the silhouette of a large figure hanging from the ceiling: Eko's dad.

'Oh, lord Arceus, it's up here,' swore Eko, soaring back down to meet Zoran.

"Did you find it?" he asked eagerly.

"We sure did," said Eko with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "You're not going to like where it is."

"Where?" asked Zoran.

"In my dad's room by the window," said Eko. "This will be impossible."

"We can sneak by," said Zoran. "I know we can."

"How do you know?" asked Eko, dropping his wings down frustratedly.

"Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night these past few weeks?" asked Zoran.

"N- no, why?" asked Eko.

"I've gotten up at night to get some water in the guild hall, and you didn't notice me leave. Y'all are deep sleepers! Your dad'll be fast asleep!" exclaimed Zoran.

"Yeah, but I'm lazy," replied Eko. "My dad fought in the Great War, he should always be on alert."

"Well," began Zoran, "We won't know until we try."

"Okay, great, fine! Let's just get in and get out," said Eko exasperatedly. "You stay here, Archer." Archer gave a sharp tweet of disapproval, even Zoran could understand that she wanted to come too. Eko rolled his glowing yellow eyes. "Fine, but it's on you."

"Well, captain, lead the way," said Zoran, beckoning towards the cellar door. Eko scoffed at his new title and lightly Dragon-Clawed the chain, breaking it easily and heading down the stairs into the pitch black cellar.

'I can't use echolocation too much or else they'll pick up my soundwaves,' thought Eko, having to suffer through the darkness that was only relieved by the sunlight from the entrance.

"I can't see a thing," whispered Zoran. A soft tweet of agreement was heard as well.

"Okay, the staircase leads to the foyer," whispered Eko, using a quick burst of echolocation, revealing the shelves of items and the staircase to the house. "After we go up there, we can't make a sound. They have sensitive hearing, my oldest brother especially. If we need to say something, we'll have to whisper and pray they don't hear us." Zoran nodded. They walked out from underneath a shaped staircase in the large foyer. Once it reached the back wall, it split into two more U-shaped staircases. Above the wide, wooden stairs was a chandelier, its candles snuffed out. The only light illuminating the house was coming from the windows around the front door. The faint odor of blood drifted from one of the rooms nearby, probably the kitchen. As they climbed up the staircase, taking good care to make a creaking noise, Zoran noticed a giant wall of paintings on the back wall, each depicting a member of the Noivern family.

At the bottom were seven paintings of the newest generation, all signed by a Smeargle. Zoran didn't know if he was more surprised by the fact that they managed to get someone to paint their pictures or that Eko's painting wasn't taken down. As they got closer to the portraits, Zoran noticed slight but noticeable differences between the siblings. It seemed that Eko and Radar were smaller than the rest, and Niko was still a Noibat. He looked up the wall to the previous generation. Eko's dad, Nokori Noivern, looked menacing, with deep, narrow golden eyes glaring into the camera Yet still, he was smiling in his picture, fangs as sharp as daggers peeking from his lips. He really didn't want to wake him up.

They followed Eko up the staircase and into the second floor hallway. Along the walls were Eko's siblings' rooms, Eko's being boarded up. Zoran had so many questions that he couldn't ask, still remaining silent as they tiptoed across the hallway. Archer was perched on Eko's shoulder, sitting nearly still. Just then, Zoran stepped on a loose floorboard, which snapped. The trio flinched, hearing stirring from the nearby rooms. Eko hoped that they were in a deep enough sleep when suddenly, another creaking noise was heard. It was a door being opened. Eko, Zoran, and Archer froze in a pitiful attempt to avoid being spotted.

'We're done for,' thought Eko as a smaller Noivern popped his head out of his room, a small feeling of relief flooding him.

"Eko? Archer?" mumbled the Noivern quietly, his eyes jolting open once he was hit by reality. Eko promptly shushed him, pushed him into his room, and shut the door quietly. Eko knew that this was going to be a complicated discussion with his younger brother Radar. Right off the bat, Eko noticed that his brother had cuts and bruises all over his body and wings.

"Please be quiet, and I'll answer your questions," pleaded Eko.

"W- what are you doing here, Eko?" stuttered Radar, looking over at Zoran, "Who is this?"

"I'm Zoran," said the Sceptile quietly, standing to the side.

"I formed an exploration team with him," said Eko. "It's one of the reasons I left."

"Oh, so you're not staying?" asked Radar, cocking his head.

"No, I'm sorry, we came for a mission. Dad stole something," explained Eko.

"You're lying, Eko. Dad would never steal something!" exclaimed Radar, his voice getting a little too loud.

"Shh," hushed Eko. "We just came to get it back."

"Why would you join an exploration team when we've got everything we want here?" asked Radar.

"Don't pretend, Radar. I've seen the others bully you like they did to me," said Eko.

"T- they said it built character," said Radar, even though Eko knew it was a lie. I want to do anything to impress dad."

"As for why I left, I was sick of dad's anger. You saw how he treated me after mom died," said Eko, his voice dragging off at the end.

"Y- you're just a wimp," said Radar in denial.

Eko rolled his eyes, "You're better than this, Radar. Nevermind, can you just not tell anyone we've been here, for the sake of me not getting my ass beaten to the underworld?"

"Fine. But only because you were nice to me," chuckled Radar when suddenly, footsteps were heard in the hallway. Eko, Zoran, and Archer stood against the wall behind the door when it opened.

"Radar, are you talking to someone?" asked a familiar feminine voice. It was Olivia, another nice member of Eko's family. Although she was strong, she was gentle towards the youngest three. Radar had positioned himself to make it look like he was staring out the window.

"Hm? No," said Radar sadly. Eko was glad that he was a great actor.

"Are you pretending to talk to Quinny again?" asked Olivia, walking over to Radar. Eko knew she was going to see him when she left, but was also touched by the fact that Radar did this multiple times. Zoran shot a look at Eko, wondering who she was talking about.

"Yeah," sighed Radar. Olivia put her arm around Radar.

"I miss him too. He was funny, telling me stories about how he was going to explore the world," she said, looking out the window, sadly. "I don't blame him for leaving, dad and the others were terrible on him. I wish he was here."

"Y- yeah, said Radar, glancing at Eko, who nodded in return.

"Welp, sleep tight, Radar," she said, turning around.

"Well, you got your wish," laughed Eko weakly when they made eye contact. She shut the door quickly.

"Quinny? What are you doing back here, dad and the others are going to kill you!" she hissed quietly. He was lucky that the other's rooms were further down the hall.

"I made an exploration team with Zoran here, and we're returning something that was stolen," said Eko, explaining it a bit more.

"You actually did it, little bro." He was surprised she handled it that way, but Eko knew that she was always supportive of him. When they were kids, after he got beat up by his older brothers, she would help him heal. Although she tried not to show that she cared about him because of her brothers, she really did. "But good luck getting the rune back, dad'll never let you get it back."

"You know what it is?" asked Eko, hoping someone could finally explain the mystery of the runes.

"I wish. Dad only told Nevan, and he kicked the rest of us out of the house while he told him," said Olivia quietly.

"It's that important?" asked Eko.

Olivia sighed, "Seems like it."
"Could you help us get up there?" asked Eko.

Olivia looked stunned, shaking her head and claws. "I couldn't, dad trusts me way too much. I like you, but I don't like you that much. I don't think I like anyone enough to get dad angry for them."

"Okay, can someone tell me why she's calling you Quinny?" asked Zoran.

"Keep your voice down," winced Eko. "Quinn was my original name that my mom suggested, but my dad named me Eko to have all of our names spell out "Noivern."

Zoran's eyes widened. "Ooooh! I see now!"

"So yeah, my mom still called me Quinn every now and then," explained Eko. "Olivia took after her."

"Yep, I like Quinny better anyways. Also don't worry, they won't wake up. Dad sent them out hunting and had them clean the basement last night, they're out cold," explained Olivia, smiling at her brother.

"O- okay, but we're still going up there to get it," said Eko.

"You're still the brother I know," signed Olivia. "Do what you must, I won't tell dad that I saw you."

"Nor shall I," added Radar.

"Oh, but I will," said a deep, booming voice from behind the door.

"Oh, Arceus," all four of them thought. The door swung open violently, sending dust flying from the walls. A large Noivern squeezed himself through the doorway that was slightly too small for him. Although it wasn't his dad, Eko knew that Inigo would snitch to him.

"Hey little bro, long time no see," he smiled with a murderous glint in his eye, promptly slashing Eko across the face, making him stumble backwards while Zoran was still cowering in the corner. Olivia immediately grabbed her older brother and shoved him against the wall while Radar and Zoran watched in horror, knowing this would wake the rest of the family

"Do that again, Inigo, and I swear..." hissed Olivia.

"Ow, what was that for, Olivia? Did I hurt your little brother?" teased Inigo, as an ear-piercing screech shook the room's walls. "Whoops, looks like it woke dad. He's not gonna be happy to see your pathetic ass back here, Quinny." Scratching noises from above startled the unfortunate exploration team.

Olivia stared terrifiedly at Eko, still holding a struggling Inigo against the wall. "Run, you two!"