"Luskt!" a voice called out, making James look up.
A Mightyena jumped from the dark fog onto the Gengar, chomping down on its back. As it did, its silver and jet-black lined fur on its back danced into wavy lines.
James kicked Gengar, but it refused to let go.
As the Mightyena crunched down on the Gengar once more, a shadow peered over James. He could barely see anymore. His vision was blurred, and his ears were ringing. Gengar noticed the spectator and broke free from Mightyena with a glorious cry. It charged towards the shadows and disappeared into the moonlight.
James was grabbed by his shirt and pulled up. Charleston stared at him shoved him against the wall aggressively before slapping him across his face.
"Runt, you dare to challenge my rules? Did the Gengar hurt you?" she barked aggressively.
James squirmed, attempting to kick her. The bite ached to the extent that moving his leg felt exhausting. "No. Now let me go! I didn't need your help! Okta and I had it completely under control!"
"You are bleeding," she replied, wiping the blood off her fingers onto his cheek.
"A nosebleed? I never have nosebleeds. What is wrong with me tonight? First, I started hallucinating and woke up on the floor, and then the Gengar attacked me and then I had a nose bleed! Let go of me!" He squirmed a little more but was slapped once more.
Charleston raised her hand up once more to strike him. She glared at him like an Arbok that had cornered its prey.
"Wait..." James sighed, realising his protests weren't going to help him escape. "Please don't hit me again. I am sorry."
He heard footsteps from behind Charleston. Sutton had just arrived – panting. She turned to speak to him. James seized the moment and kicked Charleston as hard as possible, making her drop him. James dove under her arm and sprinted towards Sutton. He knew he could outsmart the somewhat slow Sutton, but that wasn't his plan. His plan was to rescue his friends via the guilt trip.
"Don't let her feed me to Mightyena," James said in an intentionally pathetic tone. "I didn't mean it. Gengar started it. I was scared. I don't like the storm." However, he saw Sutton raising his hands up to his chest to let James know he had just about had enough of excuses that night.
"Luckily for you, I am the one making the decisions tonight," Incaresta Sutton sighed. "Including doing the paperwork... Happily married, two kids sent here to keep an eye on things until Madison is defeated, and what do I end up doing?" he sighed again.
"Wow, you are that old?" James laughed.
"I am only twenty-seven. So only thirteen years older than you," Sutton replied in a little bit of a daydream. "You are coming with me. I should arrest you, but honestly, it would be a waste of my time. Oh, and I know that you passed out even before you mention it," Sutton said while still looking up at the stars. "Kitiku told me everything. Let's move." His accent made his words a blur to James's ears, shunting him forward gently.
"How bad did he squeal?" James asked, knowing the answer.
"Like a Rattata with its tail on fire."
James rolled his eyes and started to fidget as much as he could. Before he could break free, the grip on his scruff tightened once more. "No. Can you not squirm? I really don't want to cuff you or electrocute you, as it would be a waste of my time. Also, you will fix the massive amount of damage you did. It will be fixed by the end of the month."
James's jaw dropped. He had obliterated a couple of houses and had damaged the cobbles.
"All of it," Charleston smirked. "If one thing is out of place, we will ensure the Elite Guard have fun with you. They will probably make you polish the entire castle."
"I could have been killed, and you want me to fix the damage I made defending myself? You give me mixed messages. How am I meant to be a 'good prisoner of the disgusting Southern Army who stole the town in which I live' if you keep telling me different things‽" James spat.
James was shoved forward by Sutton in a more nervous manner than usual. After all, tonight was the night before the festival Hakahra Liopfar Ha, which was banned by the Southern occupiers. In fact, using Pokémon at all without permission was illegal in most of the Northern locations.
"Mister Sutton? Can I go home now?" James asked, seeing Sutton in thought for a moment. It was clear he didn't want to let the boys off the hook tonight without some proper form of punishment for all the commotion. Still, he also already had promised Kitiku that he wouldn't do anything to hurt him.
"Hmm?" he sounded irritated, "What is it?" Sutton said quietly as they approached the cell where the other three were being held. "Ah, okay, so now I have all four of you..." He pushed James down onto his knees next to his friends. "Firstly, seeing as three of you are on your final warning, I shall allow you one final chance... after all, a new Captain is coming here in the next few days. I will inform him of your actions. I am sure he will punish you appropriately."
Andrew hung his head in shame before getting up and walking over to Incaresta for a hug.
"I am sorry, but rules are rules." Sutton nudged Andrew back down onto his knees, looking sad. "I suggest you clean up the mess you all created, and if you do that well enough, I might forget to mention it... I should also inform the Elite Guard tonight of the actions of all four of you. You could have killed somebody. I am sure they will find some sort of punishment. They will probably set Kitiku on his final warning immediately. As for you three... I don't know what they will do."
Kitiku was shaking. James shuffled over to comfort his friend, who had started to panic. He had gone ghost white and flopped to the floor.
"Do I need to separate you four while I get a member of the Elite Guard? I think I should. It is probably for the best," Incaresta muttered.
Before Sutton could make his move to separate them, a tall, fair-skinned man brushed past. He was in a white lab jacket and midnight blue trousers. His glasses appeared to be sliding off his nose. James would have made a smart remark to insult the man in usual circumstances. This man was no man to insult. However, this man wasn't just a doctor either. He was a doctor in the Elite Guard. He towered over Sutton and stared blankly at the boys. He held a book in his right hand, which he clearly had been enjoying as the spine had been broken and the pages were musty.
"My Lord." Sutton kneeled down on his right knee and placed his right arm across his left thigh. His left hand was touching the floor with his left boot. His head was bowed down. "These children had broken the laws established here when we arrived. Some of which are on their final warnings. However, there has been an incident involving a Gengar. I believe it is in everyone's interests if you..."
The Elite Guard thumped Sutton on the head with his book.
"I didn't say you could speak yet." His voice was strict and foreboding. As much as James hated Sutton, he felt sorry for him. The Elite Guard was much worse, in his opinion, than goofy Sutton.
Andrew had also started to go pale. He was squeezing Lioa's arm so tightly that he winced in pain.
The Elite Guard approached. He was maybe four or five steps away. "Do you, children, know no respect?" He straightened himself up in an attempt to make himself seem more fearsome. "Why aren't you bowing to me? It is disrespectful to not bow down to your betters."
Kitiku's panic rapidly worsened. His breathing became uncontrollable and unpredictable.
"What is wrong with him?" the Elite Guard hissed.
"Leave him alone. He didn't have anything to do with this. Neither did the others. The Gengar chased me. I woke them up because I thought it would get us all. How did I know it just wanted me?" James snarled.
The Lord ignored James's protests and knelt down next to Kitiku.
"I said, leave him alone. Give me Okta, Sutton. I want to fight this disgusting bully," James continued.
The man placed his hand on Kitiku's cheek as James tried to get closer to protect his friend. "Are you okay?" Kitiku looked for James to answer for him. "I am not asking him. I am asking you. He doesn't know how you are," the Lord spoke abruptly, turning to Sutton. "Get up, you pathetic soldier. I suppose I have to do everything?"
"Do what, my Lord?" he replied, confused.
"Seeing as we have a mute or an idiot, I am not sure which, proceed with punishing them. I cannot be bothered with paperwork, and I doubt you know how to spell your own name..."
James coughed a laugh.
The Lord stood up and whacked James on the head with his book. The thud echoed a little in the otherwise dull and life-less looking cell. "Give them a beating or something."
"This boy isn't very well. Are you incapable of determining the basic signs of illness and stress?" Sutton argued. His voice rose in pitch as if his throat tightened. "Perhaps I should inform Elite Lord Piscar via complaint of your inadequacy." He stood as tall as possible and tried his utmost to appear brave.
The Lord, who clearly hadn't been fooled by his act, simply scowled for a few moments. He then sighed and took his glasses off. "Perhaps I misjudged your stupidity. However, considering the circumstances, no, I shall investigate the probability that the child is suffering from some form of extreme stress. I shall hold you personally responsible if my time is wasted. If my time has been wasted, I shall ensure you are sent to the hot spot. I hear Madison has a decent defence there. Only one in ten of our regular soldiers like yourself are surviving." He removed the cigarette from his mouth, "Punish the other two. These two will remain with me. Get out!" the Lord barked.
"There is something wrong here, with you, I mean," he whispered to Kitiku, who squeezed James's arm ever tighter.
"Leave him alone!" James shouted aggressively, "I will fight you. Just leave him alone."
"As a doctor, that would be very irresponsible. I am a member of the Elite Guard; however, I am also a doctor. Therefore, healing comes before killing – usually." He grabbed James's shoulder, "However, if you don't stop talking, I will make an exception. What are your names? First and last names. Don't think about lying. If you lie, I will punish you. I have all today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow... I have until the day I die. I doubt you can hold on that long. Either way, I suspect this boy needs a drink of water and a lot of rest." The Lord pushed Kitiku's hair so it no longer covered his face.
"Give me Okta first, then we talk about names." James puffed some air up to move his hair from his eyes.
"You are not in any position to make demands to me. Do you not want to help your friend? He could be dying, and you deny him the medical help he requires for your own selfish need?" The Lord raised his eyebrows.
"Wanting to feel safe is not selfish. I would keep both of us safe from you," James glared. "Your manipulation will not work on me. I have heard it all before. Lies, broken promises, deliberate attempts to trick us into doing what you want."
"That is what a trick is. You are clearly ill-educated," the Lord snubbed James. "You have courage..." He handed Okta over to mock James. "If you think you can defeat me do it. You lose, you get executed. Courage is stupidity unless it is controlled. Do you understand?"
"I understand you are the enemy, but…." James turned to Kitiku, who was motionless "… if Kitiku needs your help, I will allow that. I am James; this is Kitiku. We live in the Bryson household. I am fourteen, Kitiku is thirteen. The head of our household is Tak Bryson, his wife is Nashe Bryson. Please don't tell Ta- I mean our father. He will be angry. We are just disappointments to him."
"You two are brothers? I am concerned about your brother's wellbeing. He is showing signs of... damage. You do not mind if I examine you both? I will do so with or without your consent; however, I would much rather you both consent to save me time and to save you both a lot of stress."
James and Kitiku were dragged up the dark grey stairs and into a small room. The walls were painted a ghostly white. An examination table made from rusty metal rested against the wall on the far side. A table with a leather briefcase rested on the left wall.
"I shall be running a few basic tests if required – mainly testing your cognition and your abilities to resolve minor medical issues. The average times for which I have here. Do not feel obligated to meet these times; however, these times will be important in discovering an actual issue or whether you are just pretending to be ill. If this is the case, I shall ensure some extremely memorable and rather influential punishments are issued. If you are truly ill, I shall ensure that the right treatment is given. I suspect that you are both slightly damaged by your fear – most probably fear of being placed in jail for a short amount of time," the Lord said, finally turning around to face them. "Who is going first?"
James protectively stepped in front of Kitiku. His bite was burning, but he had to pretend to be okay. "What do I have to do?" James asked suspiciously and was scared as he pulled himself up with relative ease onto the table.
The Lord then released a Pachirisu from his capsule. The Pachirisu's blue stripe coat added a vast spread of colour to the room. The Lord then called out a command, and a bright burning light filled the room for a few moments.
"I can't see. Why did you do that?" James shouted, irritated and fearful.
"Tell me where the red dot is on this sheet," the Lord Said.
James's eyes stung. All he could see was an ocean of burning light, and central to it all was a red dot.
"Point to it for me. Don't think about the time it has taken you," the Lord Said.
James reached forward and touched the sheet.
"Eighteen seconds. Much faster than average. Good boy," he said, patting James on the head.
James begrudgingly accepted the praise.
"Now get off," the Lord snarled.
James slipped off the table. He was slightly dizzy from the light.
The Lord tugged him and sat him in the bottom right corner of the room before dragging Kitiku onto the table and repeating the experiment. When James opened his eyes from the second flash, he could make out that Kitiku was sitting on the table and the Lord was holding the sheet out in front of him. Kitiku seemed flustered and confused by what was going on.
"Where is the dot? Point to it," the Lord whispered.
A lifetime appeared to have passed before Kitiku reached forward and touched the dot. "Six minutes, forty-seven seconds." Pachirisu was then petted gently before being returned. "The average time is thirty-nine seconds." The Lord pulled James up gently before sitting him on the table. "Your time suggests there is nothing wrong with you – as a matter of fact, it means you have highly developed reactions according to our research.
On the other hand, your time was worrying. It suggests that there is something incredibly... odd." He reached out and stroked Kitiku's head. "Do you panic a lot or become easily upset?"
Kitiku nodded.
"Once you start to panic, you can't think of anything else but death or your worst fears coming for you?" he continued.
Once more, Kitiku nodded.
His voice softened a little, "You dislike people, noise, bright lights? Do you dislike people or things interrupting what you are doing to the point it makes you stressed?"
Kitiku nodded again.
"I suspect I know what is wrong, but I cannot be sure without some of your blood. Are you afraid of me? You don't like to speak to people, do you? Well, I am not like other people. I am going to help. I will need to transfer your medical records onto my personal patient list; however, I need you to verbally agree," the Lord reacted.
Kitiku looked at James, who was looking at the Guard suspiciously. "I agree..." he squeaked.
"Fantastic. I will take some blood now, and I will undoubtedly speak to you about the results the day the new Captain arrives. Now I believe the buffoon is back, so I will send you on your way. Do not break the rules again. I will let this go tonight because there is something wrong with you. If it happens again, however, I will provide double punishment. Is that clear?" the Lord said coldly.
The boys both nodded as Sutton appeared to take them home.
As the boys walked alongside Incaresta Sutton along the dark cobbled streets, James concocted a plan to gather whatever information he could from Sutton about the 'new Captain'. He needed to know how to get rid of them. If he was successful, the South would look stupid.
"So... there is a new Captain?" James asked Sutton cheerfully.
"Classified," the Sergeant provided a dreary response as he tugged his cap harder on his head.
"So, yes?" James pressed.
"Drop it, Hamés. It is classified information," Sutton responded, tired. "If you keep asking questions, he will be the next person you see as you will be placed in a jail cell, and I will happily throw away the pin number."
"So... he? If he likes to get stuff done straight away, he will be busy. Does he have lots of strong Pokémon to help? I mean, like Machamp? Or Houndoom? What about Hypno? Those things are creepy..." James quizzed.
"Hamés be quiet," Sutton whispered.
"Why won't you talk about it? You are usually one of the only people who actually interact with us. I hate you, but I prefer you to most of them. What is wrong with you?" James tugged his arm.
"Hamés, I could have been sent away, and I would have probably been killed because of what you and Kitiku and Lioa and Andrew did. Just relax a little, okay?" He walked them back towards the Bryson household. "You have a few days before the Captain punishes you... if he decides to."
James was suddenly hit by a feeling beyond exhaustion but felt Sutton grabbing him his right hand by the scruff of his neck.
The door of the Bryson household was a dark wooden colour. The bricks were cleaned on the outside. Tak did his best to make the house presentable to the world regularly. The house was tiny; It had an upstairs, there were four windows only. The roof was slate and crumbling. It was dark inside, perfect for arriving undetected.
"Now what? You knock on the door, I get kicked out of the household... and Kitiku gets grounded until he is ninety?" James panted.
"Are you okay? I suppose it would be a little harsh. Well, I expect you to remain at home now and not break the curfew again..." He released both the boys, "I wish you goodnight."
The boys scrambled up the drainpipe into the bedroom window into their small shared room. At best, it was two metres by one-metre three-quarters. James's bed was on the right when you entered the room by the door, and Kitiku's bed was left. James's bed had a musty white pillow at the window end. His duvet was a faded red. It was woven Mareep wool. He pulled his shirt over his head and tugged his shoes off and his socks. He dragged himself into bed and pulled the duvet over his chest. Kitiku's pillow was a fading grey also at the window end. His duvet was a light soft blue, also woven from Mareep wool. The wool was quite scratchy, but it was cheap. He put his pyjamas on and tucked himself in quickly without a sound.
"Kitiku?" James whispered.
"Hmm?" the timid boy responded.
"Tomorrow is going to be a big day, isn't it?" James asked.
"I am not going. Nothing you can say will convince me to go," Kitiku said, narrowing his eyes.
"I can't find it without you... we can't find it without you. You are the only person I know who can read the old language," James pleaded.
"I can't read it..." Kitiku sighed, "I can understand fragments and only fragments."
"So you will help us find the entrance? It is hidden for a good reason. I really want to find the festival grounds. I want to be considered more than what I am now..." James suggested.
"Fine. Just let me sleep, okay? I am tired, and I am scared, and I really don't want to die when the Captain punishes us for your grand schemes," Kitiku hissed.
"Are you okay?" James asked. It was really out of character for Kitiku to speak, let alone hiss. Kitiku just rolled over. "I suppose we are lucky..."
Kitiku was upset. He didn't respond for a moment or two. "James, I really don't want to die. At the rate you are going, we will all be dead before I turn fourteen." He rolled onto his back and looked at James. "You will win the tournament. I am counting on it." He smiled a fake smile and closed his eyes. James puffed a sigh before closing his eyes.