Gardevoir was still in rough shape but Sceptile was making sure that she was stable. The next morning however, would quite the intriguing one indeed.
Infernape woke up to see Lopunny laying down facing away from him. He gently nudged her, lightly pushing on her shoulder. Lopunny quickly looked over but relaxed once she saw Infernape,
"Morning Infernape." she greeted. Infernape silently took note that she looked quite tired.
"Good morning." he waved as he looked out from the tent, "Jeez, we woke up early. The suns not even up." Lopunny poked her head out and saw for herself, the sky was still black but the stars gave the night a slight purple glow.
"I guess since we're awake, might as well say it now." Infernape began, leaving Lopunny confused.
"I'm sorry for yesterday. I'm not sure why but I was just... angrier." Infernape apologized. Lopunny was glad that this was resolved but she still had questions that needed to be answered.
"Infernape, what happened? How did you escape?" she asked softly, hoping to get answers. Infernape leaned his head into his hand as he racked his memory, trying to answer that question himself. He looked back at the ice type,
"I don't know. All I remember is those guards talking to me then being outside of the cell." he confessed.
"Tell me what they say?" Lopunny ordered gently. The fire type froze, he was worried how she would react.
"I can handle it." She comforted, placing a hand on his shoulder. Infernape grinned at the gesture and bit the bullet.
"They were saying that there were going to try and rape you." he admitted.
What sounded like water lightly pouring from a faucet echoed through the darkness. Lopunny raised her hand and stared at it for a minute. Infernape got onto his toes to catch a glimpse as to what was happening. He lightly gasped as he saw what had just occurred.
Lopunny had been cut from all that edge.
Lopunny scoffed at Infernape,
"Honestly, you don't need to worry about me. I can fend for myself. What are they gonna do? Besides, the author would never do that."
"What?"
"What?" The two stood in silence for a moment, awkwardly standing there like dogs after making a mess. It seemed like even Lopunny forgot what she just said, almost like the author wanted to move on and never address that subject again. She giggled and offered to lighten the mood,
"Come on Ferny, smile." she jested as she put her fingers to Infernape's lips, trying to make him smile.
"Come on, stop it." Infernape laughed.
"Smile." Lopunny playfully demanded. Infernape laughed even louder. Lopunny then remembered, "Oh! Could you give me your WristOn?" Infernape agreed and waited as she went into the Find My WristOn app and put her number into it,
"There we go, now I can find you in case you get in trouble again."
"Can you two pipe down?" groaned Sceptile. The two got quiet as Sceptile stepped into view.
"Yeesh, you look tired." Infernape pointed out sympathetically. Sceptile rubbed his eyes,
"I'm a licensed medic. It's to be expected that I have to work late." he explained. Lopunny frowned,
"How's Gardevoir?" she asked, trying to change the subject. Sceptile looked back towards his tent,
"She's safe from frostbite, for now, thanks to you Infernape. However, the injuries from Electivire were a lot more severe. She definitely has broken bones and Arceus knows how bad it is on the inside." Sceptile lamented. Infernape and Lopunny were both saddened by the news but Infernape appeared to take it especially hard.
"Can I see her?" Infernape asked, to which Sceptile obliged and led Infernape into the medical tent. Lopunny followed close behind, ready to comfort him at any moment. Infernape gulped as he entered the tent. Gardevoir lay on a makeshift bed, unconscious and motionless. Infernape sat down next to her.
"I hope you're okay," he whispered to her, knowing that he would not get an answer. Sceptile squatted down next to the fire type,
"She'll recover. She's a resilient woman." he comforted.
"Anyway, we'll need to adapt if we are gonna fight the Phantom Corp. They'll be gunning after us soon" Infernape pointed out, "From what Garchomp told me, they had a variety of attacks that they could use to counter their own weaknesses."
"I don't think we need to worry about that," said Lopunny. Both Infernape and Lopunny looked over at her in confusion,
"What do you mean?" asked Infernape, "We know about them. I saw Donquixote. Why wouldn't they be after us?" Sceptile was just as confused,
"That's a bold statement to make. They've never let anyone go." Lopunny paused for a half-second before saying,
"Well, Infernape took down Pangoro. Donquixote went out of his way to meet him. He could've killed us right there and then, and if the Phantom Corp is as dangerous as you say, then they would've already found us because Infernape was bleeding." It was a sound answer but one that Sceptile wasn't satisfied with,
"How can you possibly know that?
"She's right," said Blastoise who walked in. Infernape and Sceptile were especially shocked to hear this. He elaborated further, "It would be more trouble than it's worth to engage the Senshi directly. They're with us and knowing that, the Phantom Corp wouldn't take that risk." Sighing, Sceptile went back to work. Meanwhile, Infernape was surprised but kept quiet, focusing back on Gardevoir.
Blastoise and Lopunny both looked at each other. They knew something that no one else knew, and they were planning to keep it a secret. Soon, Blastoie would tell Sceptile and only Sceptile the truth.
The truth that Loppunny had done something incredibly brave and incredibly stupid.
Just an hour and a half earlier.
Lopunny blinked herself awake from a bad dream. Sitting up, she looked over at Infernape. His flame had been extinguished, revealing long white hair that matched his fur. Facing her, his mouth hung ever so slightly open. He looked adorable sleeping. Grinning, Lopunny sat up and looked around. A candle was the only thing that lit up the cave they were hiding in. Around the corner were the faint grasps of another light flickering. In that room was Sceptile, busy at work helping Gardevoir with her injuries.
Looking around, she decided that she needed some fresh air.
It took a lengthy period of time but she finally found her way out. Outside was a beautiful full moon, only ruined by the fact that they were in a swamp. She smiled slightly but couldn't ignore her ugly environment. They didn't have showers so at least, her dye meant that her fur wouldn't get stained. A nearby tree stump provided her the perfect thinking spot.
As for thinking, Lopunny preferred to keep her thoughts to herself. Alone time is important after all. She didn't want to burden anyone with her thoughts anyway. However, she frowned. Staring up at the moon, Lopunny sighed before resting her face in her own hands.
Someone slammed Lopunny into a nearby tree. She tried to scream but a metallic hand covered her mouth. Her throat was being crushed so even if her mouth wasn't being covered, her voice would be reduced to whimpers. Finally, she could make out the appearance of her assaulter.
Holding her was a blue and red scaled alligator. Tall with sharp teeth. However, this Ferligator wasn't normal. For lack of a better term, he had seen some shit. His arm had been replaced with a metal one. It was bulky, but not cumbersome. Robotic pieces were all over the left half of his body. Scars, both huge and small, peppered him. One of his eyes was a black screen with a red iris. Lopunny couldn't even bring herself to fight. From his grip alone, she knew she didn't stand a chance. No one did.
"Who did you tell about the Phantom Corp?" asked this Ferilgator. He allowed to speak, which she used to say,
"Kiss my ass!" Ferligator slammed her into the tree again,
"Answer the fucking question!"
"No one!" said Lopunny.
"Bullshit! I know you and your friends ran for the hills. The blood trail leads here. I know you're here! Who did you tell?!" Hissed Ferligatior. Lopunny squirmed under his grip but remained determined,
"No one!" she yelled, or at least attempted to. All that came out was a pathetic whimper. Angered, Ferligator threw her to the mud. She squeaked in pain before looking up at that man. Trying to stand up, the mud suddenly wrapped around her arms, restraining her. She could only watch as this Ferligator turned around.
"If you want to be a coward, then I'll get your friends to talk, starting with that pathetic monkey!"
As he turned to walk away, Lopunny fought as hard as she could. She normally wouldn't struggle like this, but there was something around the mud that held her in place. Some mysterious force she couldn't quite see. Her friends were in urgent danger. She could just tell that the gap between them and Ferligator was too immense. If he found them, they stood no chance. She couldn't let that happen. No one else needed to die for her. No other options were left. There was no other choice.
With the last of her strength, she screamed out,
"I'M A HYBRID!
Ferligator paused the moment she said it. The mud around her arms fell to the ground, allowing her to stand. She coughed, bending over to catch her breath, before standing back up. A touch of blood was on her lip.
"I'm a hybrid. A normal-ice hybrid. I want to make a deal. Ok? I'm more valuable than everyone here combined. I'll let you take me. I won't fight back, but only if you spare everyone else. Infernape, Gardevoir, Aggron, and Garchomp. Got it?" she said. Time stood still for a few moments. In her head, Lopunny was already saying goodbye to everyone. To Aggron. To Garchomp. To Ampharos. To Infernape, and to grandpa. But this had to be done. If it meant protecting everyone she cared about, she'd gladly throw her life away.
"Do you have the faintest idea of what you just did?" asked Ferligator, not turning around to face her.
"You're goddamn right, I do," said Lopunny without a glimmer of hesitation.
"Do you have any idea what Vida would do to you if she ever found out that you were a hybrid? IF you are a hybrid." asked Ferligator again. Once more, Lopunny answered,
"You can remove the dye off my fur and see for yourself." For an agonizing minute, Ferligator was silent. Lopunny closed her eyes, apologizing to everyone for what she was about to do. Then Ferligator turned around, his red eye locking with hers,
"Did you or any of your comrades tell the police, the Senshi, or any law enforcement agency?" he asked for the final time. Lopunny answered,
"No." Hearing this, Ferligator
"Listen, cadet. It takes a lot to do what you just did. In a world of cowards who run from danger, you stared a fate worse than death dead in the eye and welcomed it for your fellow soldier. That is worthy of respect. The world needs more people like you. Whether or not you are lying to me doesn't matter anymore. I'll call off the search. You and your friends get to live. Enjoy your lives, but should you ever run afoul the Phantom Corp again, I will not give you the same kindness. Farewell." He turned back away from her and walked away.
Lopunny immediately collapsed onto her knees. Finally able to breath, Lopunny took some time to just relax. One may be tempted to say that Lopunny regretted saying what she did, but that couldn't be further from the truth. She did however, have one question,
"Why?"
She told Blastoise. It wouldn't be right if he didn't know. She told him everything that had just happened. About Ferligator, about the deal, about how he just left. When she finished, Blastoise was at a loss for words. His jaw hung open. At this point, Lopunny began to apologize,
"Grandpa, I'm-I'm so sorry. I just…I just wanted to protect you. To protect Lee. To protect everyone."
"Do you know the first thing I learned in training?" asked Blastoise. Lopunny shook her head no. Blastoise told her, "Never leave a soldier behind." It was Lopunny's turn to be stunned,
"You're-You're not mad at me?"
"I am blindly furious right now, but I would be a hypocrite if I punished you. I did something equally stupid when I was your age. I guess you have more in common in me than I thought. I'll let you join the Senshi."
"Wait, really?" asked Lopunny.
"What you did was perhaps the most heroic thing I've seen in years but under no circumstances are you to do that again. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?" said Blastoise. Lopunny, rightfully scared with how livid he was, nodded ferociously,
"YUP! You got it!" she exclaimed fearfully. However, she couldn't help but smile. She hugged Blastoise as tightly as she could. Blastoise returned the favor. His anger towards her was matched only by how proud he was of her. They decided not to tell anyone. Not now at least. They needed some time to rest.
They had no idea the bullet they had just dodged. That Ferligator went by another name. Dreadnought. Donquixote's right hand man.