Infernape's eyes flickered open to see a blurry mess of gray. He groaned as pain echoed through his body. He would occasionally twitch, which is to be expected given what happened to him. A bright light then shined into his eyes. Infernape cringed as his eyes adjusted and he saw two black figures looming over him behind bars. His vision finally cleared and he saw the Electivire and Trevenant. Infernape tried to escape but his hands were held back by chains stuck to the wall as were his feet, he yelped in pain as he felt a small set of spikes on them, forcing him to give up. He noticed that there were no cameras in this chamber. Infernape tried to put up a facade of confidence,
"He he, come on guys. Talk about customer service. I don't even have a bed." he chuckled nervously.
"There's no need to act, we all know you're terrified." Electivire remarked, "after all, someone wants to thank you."
Infernape shuddered after hearing the news as Trevenant left the room. He became worried sick and his facade began to break down.
"What do you 'thank you?!'" He yelled. Electivire grabbed Infernape by the shoulder and sent an electric shock straight into him. Infernape screamed in pain before going limb one the shock was over.
"You should be grateful, he is never this vocal about this gratitude." Electivire said. Trevenant came back with a small television and he held up In front of the fire type. Infernape was confused but terrified as Trevenant turn the TV on.
A dark room with a desk appeared on screen. Footsteps echoed as someone approached the desk. Infernape squinted to see if he could make out anyone but he couldn't see anything.
"You're Son Lièyànhóu, right?"
Infernape froze, his body moved on its own, trying desperately to escape. In his head he was trying desperately not to go into a frenzied panic.
"It's fine. It's fine, why am I freaking out like this?" he thought to himself.
"I apologize for the unfavorable position you are in. However, I am glad to see you. In fact, I even bother to remember your face and name, Lee." The voice revealed to the fire type. Infernape was defiant however, now composing himself.
"You decided to hop on board the Senshi train and you dismantled the Black Masks. I never thought I would see the day." The voice monologue continued. Infernape gulped,
"W-what do you mean?" he asked.
"Why, because of you, the biggest obstacle in our way." The voice smirked. Infernape was horrified that he was responsible for a criminal organization's rise to power. He was the one to kill Pangoro. He looked back at his own hands and cringed.
"Don't be like that, be happy. After all..." a figure then sat down. Infernape struggled to make it out but he saw one thing:
A terrifying and uncanny smile. Unnaturally large yet no other part of the mouth was even remotely visible. Teeth razor sharp that more closely resembled knives than part of the body.
"You are one of the elite few that will meet me." he congratulated, "Please, call me Donquixote." Infernape frowned at Donquixote,
"Why are you here? Why do you want to see me?" He demanded. Donquixote chuckled at the fire type,
"Isn't it obvious? I want to reward you for getting rid of our greatest obstacle." Infernape was now intrigued, he was gonna say no, no matter what, but he was curious.
"I can tell you are a man of ambition, Lee," said Donquixote. The use of his real name sent shivers down Infernape's spine. "You see, men of ambition perform best when at each other's side, and I, I have a desire to change this world for the better. My offer is simple, you shall help me achieve my dream, and I shall grant you a role in this utopia."
Infernape would've laughed had he not been within the depths of the enemy lair. Ambition? All he wanted was to get back to normal. It was like telling a joke to a judge in the middle of court, a complete and total misjudgment of someone's character. As if that wasn't enough, the tension in the room could be cut with a knife. This was clearly a man that wasn't to be trusted to high-five, let alone pledge his allegiance to, all for some vague notion of a dream. His decision was made.
"I think ambition means something very different between two people, Donqxuiote," said Infernape in a low tone. Even without seeing his face, Infernape could tell that Don was scowling at him. But then that chilling smile grew back onto his face. Now fearing for his life, Infernape quickly began to backtrack his statement, but was quickly cut off by the monster before him,
"Need I remind you that you did not come here alone."
The fire type's heart froze. Lopunny! She was in just as much danger as he was. Infernape immediately pulled against the chains,
"DON'T HURT HER!"
"I might have to. But since I am a reasonable man, I shall give you another offer. I have men where it matters most, so either keep you and your beloved's mouth shut or…suffer." Infernape couldn't Lopunny be hurt for no reason, so without hesitation, he answered,
"Anything! You have my word!"
Many years of isolation make that special connection to become more valued.
Lopunny was met with a gray ceiling as she woke up. She yelled in fear only to quickly relax once she realized she was safe. Her arms were chained to the bed. Once she had calmed herself, she looked around. To her horror, her fur dye was gone, presumably when she got soaked. The gray room she was in was very blank and empty with only a bed and literally nothing else. A faintly coppery smell. What struck her as odd was the lack of security cameras. Suddenly, she felt someone trying to hold her down,
"Calm down, you're safe." A comforting voice said to the ice type. Lopunny looked over and saw a bipedal pink and cream Pokémon. Her fur was similar to a nurse's gown. Lopunny should've been afraid but instead, she felt a strange sense of calm.
"Who are you?" Lopunny asked the Audino.
"Please refer to me as Sunday." Audino insisted. The rabbit nodded but had to ask an urgent question,
"Where's Infernape?!"
"He's being watched by Mangrove and Blackout." Sunday elaborated, "Don't worry, I'm going to help you and your partner get out of here. I don't trust the boss to follow through with any sort of deal."
Lopunny had so many questions she wanted to be answered and thankfully, Sunday was willing to answer. Sunday explained that Infernape was currently talking with Donquixote and their plan. At the end of the day, she'll loosen Lopunny's chains, and then she would break out. Then she would rush to free Infernape and both escape. The warehouse they were in had several underground floors so they had to sneak through at least three or four floors.
However, they were interrupted by someone walking in. It was Mangrove.
"Well, well, well, looks like you two are getting along." he mocked. Sunday scowled at the grass type,
"What do you want?" Mangrove laughed at the two,
"I just wanted to update our prisoner on her partner's condition." Mangrove then squatted down to the two.
"She had nothing to do with this. You know what Donquixote said. They are to go free" Sunday argued, standing up defiantly. Even with Mngroveunder half his height, Sunday was still eclipsed by him in height. Marshall just nudged the fairy type out of the way,
"Well, Don wants to keep them here until sundown, just in case they try anything." Trevenant then saw Lopunny and finally took into account her appearance,
"Wow. Lotta work to keep that maintained." Lopunny, thankfufl that he hadn't realized it yet, recalled the lessons Blastoise taught her from childhood and responded with,
"It is. It's about four hours to make sure the dye really sets in." She answered.
Trevenant then faintly squinted as he got onto one knee,
"Sounds expensive. I wonder how you pay for all of that?" he questioned. His eyes narrowed. Lopunny could tell that Trevenant had his suspicions, and she had to crush them quickly, lest she leave with either a price tag or a toe tag. Luckily, Blastoise was thorough,
"My dad runs a chemical plant that makes this stuff," she said, "He's able to get the stuff for me for free."
"Where is this chemical plant?"
"In the United Regions. Sunnyshore." Trevenant's eye expanded a little. That threw a wrench in his questioning. He didn't understand Galarian at all, so even if he could access the factory, he could read any of it. It was too much effort for someone who clearly just preferred a distinct look.
Audino then chimed in,
"What's the name of the place?" Lopunny immediately glared at Audino, who didn't visibly react. Trevenant then looked back at Audino and grinned,
"Appreciate it. Now, answer the question." This was bad. She had the answer that Blastoise had prepared, but this was a large criminal organization. With a name, they could probably figure out that she was bullshiting them, which would mean her death or worse.
"I'm not telling you," hissed the now infuriated Lopunny. Trevenant then smiled,
"Why not?"
"Because it's my dad. I'm not ratting him out." That sentence stung more than it should've for the rabbit. However, Trevenant didn't let up,
"I don't care. Tell me or I'll tear an answer out of you!" he demanded.
"MANGROVE!" Electivire yelled from outside the room, "We've got a delivery. It's the big one." Trevenant looked back towards the door, then back at Lopunny, venom in his eyes. Lopunny stuck her tongue out, which further angered the tree. He stomped off and ordered Audino to stay.
Once Trevenant was out of earshot, Lopunny ripped into Audino,
"What the hell!"
"I had no choice." Audino insisted. Lopunny began to fight against her chains, much to Audino's dismay.
"Please don't do anything, you'll be freed by the end of the day." she reminded. Lopunny shook her head,
"I don't trust you. You nearly ratted me out."
"For what?"
"For being a hybrid! Do you have any idea what these people would've done to me if they knew?"
Audino froze for a moment, processing that bombshell. Now realizing her mistake, she apologized,
"I'm sorry, but I'm on your side."
"Why should I believe you? You work for the fucker!" Lopunny argued. Sunday couldn't say anything.
"Please," Sunday begged, "You don't understand, I can't let you ruin this for me."
Lopunny's expression softened as she saw the fear in Sunday's eyes. She went down to Sunday's level,
"What do you mean?" Lopunny asked before looking into Sunday's eyes. Her eyes then widened in realization and she walked back to the bed.
"Alright, I'll stay." Lopunny agreed, now that she had learned Sunday's secret.
"YOU HAVE A MOLE?!" Gardevoir, Garchomp and Aggron yelled in surprise. Toxicroak grinned,
"Took a helluva lot of effort but we got one. She can take her time though, no need to rush things." Blastoise approached Toxicroak with anger in his eyes,
"I appreciate your efforts but Infernape and Lopunny are in danger." He argued. Toxicroak picked up a cigarette and a lighter,
"Don't get me wrong, I understand your concern but relax." he insisted as he lit the cigarette and smoked it.
"Why should I? How do I know that they're safe? What if your double agent can't do anything but watch them get killed?" Blastoise argued back. Gardevoir meanwhile thought for a moment before stepping forward.
"I think that Infernape and Lopunny are relatively safe." She stated. Fascinated, Blastoise looked over towards the psychic type. Wondering what she meant.
"Remember, Infernape was the one to take out Pangoro. The Black Masks were the Phantom Corp's greatest enemies. At the very least, we know that Infernape and Lopunny are alive if only because Donquixote would like to meet whoever beat his greatest enemy." Gardevoir explained. Toxicroak, pointing towards Gardevoir,
"Bingo." Garchomp then stepped forward alongside,
"In any case, we can't wait any longer. Who knows what unspeakable acts Don and his crew are doing to them now. Lopunny is an incredible amount of danger right now." Garchomp pointed out ferociously. The other nodded and looked over a Toxicroak for any information.
"Alright, I guess this is the direction we're going. There is this warehouse that a suspected Phantom Corp agent bought out years ago. I'm sure that's where we'll find them." Toxicroak said to the group. Drapion had to give some input,
"Remember this is incredibly risky. If we mess this up, there is a real possibility that we could lose everything we've worked for. Under no circumstances should you reveal that we know about all of this. You're just a gaggle of misfits who want to rescue your friends." he pointed out. The others knew this danger and accepted it. If they wanted to save their friends then they had no choice.
A huge mansion lay hidden in the woods. The combination of hills, trees, and vegetation made it almost impossible to see. However, it was in tip-top shape, clean, and well put together. On the top floor was a rather well-decorated office. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, well except for the man on the phone. Donquixote was making an important call regarding the Poketopia division's expansion when someone walked in. He chuckled lightly as he finished the call and placed the phone down.
"Well, well, what did you need, Vida?" He asked his secretary. She was floating with her little bee wings with a yellow and black body. From the hips down, it appeared she had a gown on. She wore a secretary's uniform and glasses,
"Master, Jester wants to see you." She said to Don. He pursed his lip, not at Jester, but at Vida. He didn't like the title "Master" but it wasn't worth making a fuss about.
"Bring him in," Don commanded. Alvida bowed,
"Yes, Master." before leaving.
Jester walked into the office, he sat down on a chair in front of Don.
"First of all." Donquixote began before he slapped Jester. Jester yelped in pain,
"Geez, it wasn't that bad." he groaned.
"That was extremely dangerous and you could have been caught. You know our secrecy must never be violated," he said coldly. All Jester could do was grin,
"But hey, they all trusted me." Donquixote chuckled,
"I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh. You could've convinced them about our plan for the future," he jested. Jester rolled his eyes but there was a hint of sadness within them.
"Anyway, how would you like to go to Tetrador?" Donquixote asked. Jester was naturally confused at the question.
"Why?" he questioned suspiciously.
"There are some deputized Senshi in the area. Surprisingly, the guy who killed Pangoro was there. He and his girlfriend are in that warehouse but I want you focused on the Senshi. They need to be taken care of before word gets out" Don explained. Jester smiled a really really really wide smile.
"Yes of course. I mean why wouldn't I? Sounds fun." Jester accepted immediately as he left the room. Donquixote frowned,
"What's the rush?" Jester froze before turning around,
"I'm sure the Senshi aren't going to wait that long to save those two," said Jester. Don reluctantly gave Joker the go-ahead to get teleported to Tetrador and he left the office as Vida entered again.
Alvida noticed Donquixote's expression,
"What's wrong, Master?" she asked Don. Donquixote looked over at his secretary,
"The Senshi has made Gengar soft. Hopefully, he'll get over this." Don replied, "in the meanwhile, set up a camera feed of that facility. You should also head to the Silverind Mansion for your little project."
(A/N) Just so you know, depending on certain factors, next week may see the return of the Saturday morning release date. I'm not gonna say why though. You'll just have to wait and see