Where are we now?
Well. I've said somewhere that this arc focuses more on Team Ion than Arc 2 did. And this is true. But that doesn't mean that other characters aren't doing important stuff too.
Say hello to Team Voyage! That's right, we're following them as well!
"Oh. My. Gosh." Jet said in relief.
"Hear-here!" Boom agreed. "Oh my gosh, we're finally here."
"Do you two think you're funny or something?" Blossom scoffed. "Oh my gosh, if you start copying me!"
"You'll what?" Jet asked, peeking out from the ground he had sagged to.
"I'll start saying HEY-HEY really loudly," she threatened.
"Hey, don't make fun of my verbal tic!" Jet snapped, flapping his pincers threateningly.
"Don't make FUN of my VOICE!" Boom boomed. They stood together, a stalwart pair glaring at the cruel and unusual leader that was Blossom.
"…yup-yup."
Jet and Boom shared a look. "Get her."
They ran laughing into Blackstone Village. It had been a long journey. A long journey of quips and jokes and all sorts of messing around with each other. As their destination was straight and true, there were no detours, and they made it to the town a lot faster than Team Ion had all those months ago.
Blackstone Village. The headquarters of Clefable's Guild, sort of, and the last place of law before Fissure was well known for its ruggedness.
Thanks to attacks from outlaws, either seeking to harm the guild, make a point, or even break someone out of their prison, the place was built to rebuild.
Which was fortunate as something in town was always falling apart. There was only ever so many resources, and nothing could be put back together entirely. Once something was good enough to last a little longer, it was off to the next thing.
And the town wasn't exactly a big tourist location, due to the aforementioned outlaws nearby. Still, the town more than made do with what it had.
And Fissure wasn't actually that big of a deterrent. More than anything, there were pokémon who came through seeking to go to Fissure.
Regardless, the place was designed to recover from damage.
And what a time it had experienced.
Treasure Town had suffered a considerable attack from ferals, but few dungeons close enough to the town were filled with particularly powerful ferals. It was sheer numbers that were dangerous and the fact that the majority of the town was asleep and helpless.
Blackstone Village, along with Towny Town, had endured an exceptionally powerful horde of ferals. The townsfolk and the guild had been stretched thin protecting both towns, and severe damage had still been dealt.
Even months later, the town was a shamble. There were still pathways closed off due to instability and clutter and homes and buildings being patched back together.
More than a few pokémon were getting to know others a lot closer than they had anticipated as people hosted other people while their homes were being rebuilt.
Most of the town was functional. However, the prison had taken a beating from the attack as well, and prisoners had escaped. The guild had been stretched to breaking, running out to recapture and contain everyone who had escaped.
And then all the opportunistic pokémon who acted when the world was falling apart.
Walking into town, Team Voyage received weary but curious glances from the locals. Serperior and Arbok lugged a caravan up to Houndoom.
Meowstic busily levitated tools and lumber up to Azumarill, who hammered away fixing a shop.
Flygon flew with a heavy backpack further into town, sending a buzzing song in her sandy wake.
Manectric and Houndoom roasted fruits for Samurott, having evolved from Dewott during the attack, to spear on sticks and hand out to hungry workers.
He looked awfully scarred now, but there was a smile on his face.
The trademark black stone of the town had been mulched into gravel by the attack. Still, the eye of an artisan had created some very pleasant trails using the dark pebbles, running in pathways along the streets of the town. Green grass sprouted on either side, giving a lovely mix of black and green.
If one was to ignore the buildings barely hammered together, it could be mistaken for quite the sophisticated place.
The place was lively. Three newcomers got a few glances, but they made it pretty far into town before someone looked free enough to approach.
"Hello," Blossom said pleasantly, spotting the piplup standing guard most proudly on a tree stump. He wore a big blue badge. He guarded the bazaar from all threats. He saw all.
"State your business," he chirped, trying to sound imposing. Which was difficult for a little penguin smaller than her.
"We're here to talk to a few pokémon," Jet answered, deciding to try some Water-type solidarity. "Any idea where we can find Indeedee?"
"Indeedee is very busy!" Piplup retorted. "She is carrying the duty of two pokémon today, and those pokémon carry the duty of at least four pokémon each!"
"Well, we GOT to talk to her!" Boom snapped, but Blossom shushed him as it looked like Piplup was ready to puff up like a drifloon.
"If she's busy, we understand," she said. Piplup narrowed his eyes at her. "We're just here on some business to track down an outlaw."
"Indeedee doesn't have the time for that!" Piplup snapped. "Go to the Clefable Guild. They could use you."
"She knows we're coming," Jet edged in, taking Piplup's glare. For a moment, he didn't seem so small.
"Then you can wait for her to contact you," Piplup snapped.
"Can we at least let her know we're here?"
"Knows you're coming but doesn't know when?" Piplup grumbled, hopping down off his stump. He muttered some more things that Blossom pretended she didn't hear. He puffed up and shouted, but not at them. "LOPUNNY!?"
"What do you want?" Lopunny shouted back from across the bazaar.
"SOME POKÉMON WANT TO LET INDEEDEE KNOW THEY'RE HERE."
"Why are you telling me, I'm not Indeedee!?"
"I WANT YOU TO LET HER KNOW!"
"Let her know yourself, do something useful than just standing on the stump trying to look big all day."
"EXCUSE YOU, I'M GIANT!"
"You're a piplup; get over yourself."
"WHEN THE CRIMINALS ROB YOU, I WON'T SAY ANYTHING!"
"Oh please, if any criminal even try, you know I'll waste them."
Piplup grumbled. He couldn't argue that.
"Fine," he grouched. "But if criminals come when I'm not at my post, this is on you!" He waved a flipper threateningly. "Do something useful and hold guard until I'm back. You might not be able to see as much as me, nor have my exceedingly sharp eyes for trouble, but you'll do for a few minutes at least."
He waddled off, losing his badge in the process and failing to notice.
Team Voyage couldn't help but smile when he strutted off. He was gone for a while, so they did as he asked and watched.
There was plenty going on, but nothing that really required a trio of guards.
Dragonite tripped and cursed out Flareon.
Drifblim hit on Bisharp and tried to hug him.
Arcanine raced Torterra and lost.
Spiritomb served Umbreon and Sylveon juice.
It was a nice place, all things considered.
Piplup came back, glancing about surreptitiously until he spotted the badge and plucked it up victoriously. Once he noticed Team Voyage staring at him, he coughed smartly. "Aha. You passed the test." He put the badge on.
"What test?" Jet asked.
"The test," Piplup said smartly. "Anyway, I spoke to Indeedee. She can see you in about two hours; she's set aside some time. Mentioned it makes more sense for you to go to the Clefable Guild first as you'll be seeing her anyway and easier to not make two trips or something like that? I don't know. Was there trouble?"
"Finally!" Boom said, overly loud. More than a few pokemon paused to look at them for being so loud. For once, he actually ducked in embarrassment. Treasure Town was accustomed to his volume; other places were not.
"Thank you, guard Piplup," Blossom said, appeasing the penguin and perking him up.
"Of course, of course, just part of the job," he said, puffing up proudly and brandishing the badge. "Now, run along. Get to your business. I'm always watching."
"Quick question, what way to the Clefable Guild?"
"Just follow the path out to the east of town. There are a couple signs; you can't miss it." Piplup waved dismissively in the general direction, and off they went.
"The nerve of that guy," Loudred grumbled.
"I could introduce him to my pincers, hey?" Jet suggested darkly.
"He really wasn't that bad," Blossom giggled. "Not all guards are into feet and talking loudly, you know?"
"I am NOT into feet!" Boom yelled, causing approximately everyone in Blackstone Village to decide he was into feet. "I'm NOT!" he insisted when a lot of eyes fell on him.
Blossom rubbed her face with her arms for a moment. "Just smile and wave, boys, just smile and wave."
If one was walking quickly, it could take about an hour to reach the Clefable Guild from town. If you weren't or were not built for speed, it would take longer.
"Uuugh. We're LOST, aren't we?" Boom bemoaned, looking around at the cheerfully green foliage.
"The path still goes on," Blossom said, gesturing. "Just clench your scrawny legs and hop to it."
"Scrawny?" Boom gasped, appalled.
"Legs?" Jet asked, unimpressed. "He only has two."
"Two is plural," Boom growled.
"I have six," Jet replied. "I have legs. You two have stalks."
"Stalks?" Blossom gasped, appalled.
They continued like this, as they did on the trip to Blackstone Village until they reached the guild.
In harsh contrast to the bright and welcoming Wigglytuff head that was also a little creepy, the Clefable Guild was harsh and foreboding right from the get-go.
Despite Blackstone Village being the name, it only had a relative dusting of the traditional obsidian-coloured stones scattered throughout it. Now, mostly for fancy gravel.
This was where the black stone had gone.
The Clefable Guild was part guild headquarters, part fortress prison. It was tall; it did not sink into the ground like the Wigglytuff Guild did. Instead, it sprawled out, square, and flat, blocky buildings stretching out further than their eyes could make it. The nature around it had been caved away. Trees still ringed the place, but a healthy twenty-meter perimeter only had grass; anything else had been destroyed to minimise risk.
There was only one entrance to the Clefable Guild, at least to the public. And it was guarded by two guardsmon.
"Halt!" the two, a bagon and cramorant, called.
"The Clefable Guild has a strict visiting policy," Bagon said as they came to a stop. "State your name and business."
"This looks like Team Voyage," Cramorant whispered, perfectly audible. "Weren't we contacted ahead of time?"
"No. Don't do this again. Every time. Don't."
"But this is wasting time; we were taught not to waste time."
"Hi," Blossom said, waving happily. "I'm Sunflora; this is Loudred and Corphish. We're Team Voyage! Were you expecting us?"
"We were," Cramorant said pleasantly. "Welcome to the Clefable Guild. Thank you for coming this far, Team Voyage. We've been stretched to snapping lately."
Bagon just sighed and also stepped out of the way. "Just gabble on why don't you? Tell Mienfoo your business and do NOT cause any trouble."
They both looked worn down, but Cramorant kept up some cheer as they passed through.
The guild was extremely bare on the inside. Although there was now a splash of battle damage. Scratch marks, burn marks, cracks left by water, grass, almost every type had left some sort of visible scar within the guild's foyer.
A small mienfoo rubbing her head busied herself with paperwork. She had some small spectacles on, not that Team Voyage could know she hadn't needed them before. It was not from strain from reading at night; rather, a weezing had spat poison in her face during the feral attack.
The fur on her face was a little patchy too but mostly grown back in. "Good afternoon," she said, not looking up. Her voice croaked a little. She cleared her throat. "Name and business?"
"We're Team Voyage," Blossom said respectfully. "We've taken the mission regarding a former prisoner here, Pyroar?"
"Right." Mienfoo nodded, pulling something out. "Sign this, please." She offered a piece of graphite. Loudred had the neatest handwriting, so he stepped forth. A quick scan of the paper told him that it was just a mission statement. They'd signed one already, but the Clefable Guild had their own process.
Once it was signed, she hopped out from behind the desk. "Follow me."
She led them out the doorway to their right. There was no door anymore, and into the outside. The training fields of the guild were further in, but there was an old statue that was now rubble. A plaque still stood.
She led them past it, back inside, and then out two times before they arrived at the heart of the Clefable Guild. "Clefable?" She knocked smartly on the door. "I have Team Voyage here."
Clefable's door was charred, blackened, and nearly falling apart.
"Show them in," came the voice from within. It was tired.
Unlike the bare-bones lobby, Clefable's personal office was a lot more decorated. Wanted posters with the images crossed out covered the walls, detailing every outlaw Clefable had brought to justice herself. The walls were damaged, and much of the papers were remade, others showing the signs of damage. The attack had gotten so far in?
Clefable sat behind a mahogany desk. She loomed over it, larger than your usual clefable and a permanent severe expression fixtured on her face. Her body wore the signs of battle, fierce and long, with old scars, patches of thin fur, and muscle.
"Thank you, Mienfoo," Clefable said, nodding her thanks. Mienfoo bowed and closed the door behind her.
Three stools floated off a rack of them in the corner, setting them down in front of her desk, and Clefable greeted them as well as they took a seat. "Team Voyage, newly minted. It's good to meet you. You bring high regard from the Wigglytuff Guild."
It was still the Wigglytuff Guild. No matter who the Guildmaster was.
They smiled at the commendation. "Thank you," Blossom said. "It's wonderful to meet you in person as well, Clefable. I had no idea we would actually see you. The Warden herself."
Clefable gave her a crooked smirk. "Says a lot about you that that's the title you chose."
"Really?" Blossom asked curiously. "What does it say?"
"That you value what I do," Clefable said smartly. Blossom beamed and nodded. "And curious because you're here because someone broke out." A warden who couldn't even keep the inmates locked up.
Blossom froze. "I…."
"We're not here to chill out and giggle," Clefable said. "You're here because you've taken a murder case. Some scum has killed some other scum, and we haven't been able to crack this down. Call it what you want. The guild has been stretched thin with cries for help over the entire continent. Ultimately a case like Pyroar's had to be dropped in favour of others. I've got you the information we were able to gather, but there is little to nothing to be found."
Clefable pushed a small folder across the table. "Three suspects, all questioned, all cleared. You're welcome to question them yourself."
Quietly, Blossom opened up the folder for the three of them. Near the top were the pokémon of interest.
Someone called Liepard from Towny Town. Blossom had a feeling she might know of this person. Delphox, resident of Fissure. She had no idea. And Mayor Indeedee of Blackstone Village.
Blossom blinked. "Why are these three suspects?" she asked.
Clefable rested a head on her hand, elbow on the table. Her eyes were very dark, with lines under them. "The mayor knew Pyroar was locked up, and very few did. Liepard has a motive; she's the runner of the brothel and had a negative run-in with Pyroar. Delphox is the enchanter we pay to enchant our prisons. Pyroar suddenly got out with no warning, and the enchantment is gone before it should have been, so that was curious. His body was also found burned. All three have alibies, so you'll see if you can learn anything useful. Talk to them if you think you'll get anywhere."
"Aren't there others who knew Pyroar was in?" Jet asked.
Clefable narrowed her eyes briefly at him but relaxed. "I've gone through the whole guild for securities sake. Once you find nothing with them, you're free to talk to people here. There aren't many though, we're running on a skeleton crew doing the work of ten pokemon each. Everyone else is across the continent; the rest are holding the jails shut."
"Can we look at where Pyroar was placed?" Boom asked.
"No."
"Pardon?"
"I said no. No one's going in since he got out and the ferals attacked. And their attack collapsed a big portion of the prison. It's all rubble now."
Blossom swallowed and nodded. Clefable didn't seem overly thrilled to have them here. "Is there anything else?"
"That's what I should be asking," she said. "And no. Everything's in that folder. Good luck. You are going to need it."
And with that, they were dismissed. Mienfoo was waiting for them out of the door. No one was allowed to be alone and not a part of the guild anymore when on its grounds. There were no patrolling pokémon; anyone left would be in the prison area.
She led them back to the guild, and they were free to go. Blossom thumbed through the folder as they walked before handing it to Boom to read to Jet. Boom was an excellent narrator, after all.
About two hours is what the trip would take for a faster group. They were closing in on three by the time they made it to the mayor's office.
If Indeedee was ready to see them right away, they could start with her. Which was perfect. Blossom had already planned to ask if she could tell them anything useful about Pyroar's murder, so a little more formal questioning wouldn't be a leap.
Indeedee's office was a pleasant little building near the middle of the town. Perhaps mirroring the guild, or maybe the guild mirrored it. They knocked on the door, and without a moment passing, they were called in.
"Goodness gracious, I was worried," Indeedee said as they ducked into her working space. She was the receptionist today, as well as the mayor. As well as about seven different things. "Did you get lost, or was the guild a little more difficult than usual?"
"Uh, a little of both," Jet explained as they came in. There were three seats already prepared for them, significantly nicer than the stools Clefable had. These had cushions and armrests and everything.
"So?" Indeedee said, scribbling away at something. "I imagine Clefable has given you the rundown of the situation at hand?" she asked, the paper floating up and away to file itself.
Blossom nodded, holding the folder still. "We've read over what information they had, gruesome as it was." There was a description of the crime scene. They wanted to visit it themselves, but just the report would put them off dinner tonight.
Indeedee nodded sadly. "Yes, word spread that it was quite the grizzly scene. Pyroar didn't deserve that. But, I suppose I shouldn't say that. I am a suspect in this case, so what would you like to know?"
She was upfront about it, which was a relief as all Team Voyage felt awkward about approaching Indeedee with this subject. Chimecho had spoken highly of them to her, and Indeedee smiled in understanding. She could sense the awkwardness and then relief.
"Here, Jet." Blossom passed their notepad to him and a bit of ink. His legs were pointed quite well to write without wasting a lot of ink. "If we can start then, we don't want to take up too much of your time. What were you doing the night Pyroar was murdered?"
"I was working here," Indeedee answered. She stopped doing paperwork to answer them without distraction. "There is an unfortunate amount of paperwork to be done, and I had was behind a substantial amount, so I was staying here longer to catch up."
"Why were you behind?" Boom asked.
"I had taken some time to give some help to Team Ion to track Pyroar down, oh…a couple weeks before? Turns out even a day can set you back a lot. Chatot and I, he's my assistant, had been staying back late nearly every night working through things."
Blossom nodded. "Can Chatot confirm this?" She knew he could. It said that in the notes.
Indeedee still nodded. "That he can. At the moment, he's not here, however. He's attending some duties in Towny Town." She couldn't help but smile at the name. "Still can't get over that name. He should be back in the next day or two."
So far, it was matching up to what was written in the notes. Indeedee's statement when interviewed last time.
"Did you want Pyroar to pay?" Boom asked as Blossom was chewing over what to go with next. "Because of what he did?"
Indeedee blinked. "I don't know much of why he was being imprisoned. I'd seen enough to understand, but it wasn't really my business."
"You helped Team Ion pretty good; they said you were the most helpful person on their journey."
She smiled at that before saying. "It's sad that they had a difficult time from pokémon to get here, but there wasn't anything I could 'need' out of them. I enjoy helping. And if you want another reason, indeedee subsist on gratitude. Helping is how I live."
Boom nodded and glanced to Blossom.
She sighed and smiled. "I know you've heard all these questions before," she said apologetically, and indeedee nodded. "We'll talk to Chatot just to be proper about it. Were there any unusual pokémon around at the time or anything going on?" it was a bit of a vague question, and Indeedee couldn't really answer it.
"I'm afraid I am cooped in my office most of the time. When I leave, it's usually to attend to a matter someone is calling me for. You'd find better luck asking the villagers, but it was a time ago. You might find something, though! They are good pokémon out there. Very good."
They nodded; there wasn't much else they could ask. "If we think of anything else…?" Blossom asked.
"You're free to ask me any time." Indeedee nodded. "I wish I could offer more help, but Clefable gave me a stern talking to about what is and is not my business due to being a suspect, and I am terribly busy." Things began to move again, signing and filing.
She seemed tired. Her fur hadn't touched the sun very much lately.
"Hey, what's that?" Jet had packed the paper up and had wiped his pincer off. Looking back, he saw something over to the side of the doorway.
"Oh, that beauty. Normally I have something hanging over the door, but a sword would be a little poor taste. Just imagine if it fell…."
It was a sword. Very nice sword too, a mahogany hilt with a gleaming silvery blade beaten into a deadly shape.
"I was once an adventurer, you know?" Indeedee asked, a taste of excitement entering her voice. "Oh, it was such a long time ago now. I found so many interesting treasures; I like to dig them out every so often and change what I have in my office. It's nostalgic to be surrounded by the past, my own as well as older."
She levitated it over and set it on her desk proudly. "Humanity loved their swords and weaponry, history and more recent accounts from humans lately state that they had little to no abilities that we pokémon do, but the boiling of combat still bubbled in their blood, so they found a way."
"No way," Jet and Boom gasped. "Human artifacts? Those are so rare."
Indeedee allowed a moment of smugness before giggling. "I did say it was a long time ago that I was an explorer."
"How old are you?" Boom blurted out. Blossom gasped and kicked him.
"You shouldn't ask a lady her age," Indeedee chastised before smiling in amusement. "Old enough to look like my mother. Ah, she was quite the storyteller…mmm. Never mind me. I'm not sure what this is made of. It's very light but extremely hard. It was very dirty when I dug it up, but some tender loving care and a hammer knocked it back into shape. Have a feel."
She let Boom hold it, and he whistled; it was something special.
"I'm glad you appreciate it," Indeedee said, sighing a little. "It's very much an outlaw guild town here, not as much appreciation for treasure. Maybe I'll dig something else out, show you something else if you stop by again?"
"That'd be great!" Boom said, placing the sword back.
"I guess we shouldn't take up more of your time," Blossom said. She was pretty impressed by the sword as well, not as much as the boys who looked ready to drool. "I don't think there's anything else we can…" A thought struck Blossom.
"But…hmm." She paused. "You're part of the Psychic Network."
It wasn't a question. They knew this, and Indeedee nodded as she levitated the sword back.
"Did you tell anyone about Pyroar being imprisoned?" Blossom asked seriously.
Indeedee paused as well. "I…no…?" She frowned. "I'm not a gossip; it's not me to go about talking to others about things like that."
Blossom opened her mouth.
"But I did let Chimecho know that Team Ion had completed their objective," Indeedee continued; she raised a hand to her mouth. "Oh, dear. It wasn't needed. Abra had already informed her, but her mind met mine, and she asked about them."
Blossom nodded wisely while Boom and Jet looked blank. "Chimecho has told me a lot about how it all works," she explained. "I didn't really understand it all, but I get the gist. Someone could have listened in, right?"
Indeedee frowned, and a flash of concern crossed her face. "It…is. It's unlikely, I will say." She swallowed, looking most unsettled. "But yes. It is possible to do that."
They all shared a glance, even with Indeedee.
"I might do some thinking," Indeedee suggested, returning to a calm look, her neck exposed some tension, however. "Is there anything else I might be able to help you with?"
"No…I think that should be it. Thank you, Indeedee. We might travel to our next person of interest."
She nodded. "Best of luck."
Towny Town did not live up to its name.
No matter what warnings were raised or stories were told, no one could walk into Towny Town and not expect there to be something ridiculous. Everyone wearing pants. Or a single sequinned glove. Or were coloured yellow.
Something silly.
But no. The place was grungy at the best of times. If Blackstone was a constantly broken but repaired place, Towny Town was just broken. And not just from the feral attacks, although that didn't help matters around here.
Pokémon eyed Team Voyage suspiciously as they entered the town, exploration badges displayed proudly, Treasure Bag at Sunflora's side. Looks of singular determination on their faces.
And no one approached. No one said hello or offered a friendly smile. Pokémon edged away from them, and few eyes were raised.
"Hey…this place is pretty rough," Jet murmured. Boom nodded; he suddenly didn't feel like talking and attracting attention. The town was pretty quiet.
"Let's just…keep our heads down and find our way to…uh. The Comfort Inn?"
Liepard's place of residence was also her workplace. Everyone knew this. No one liked to think about why they knew this.
"It's an inn?" Boom asked, confused. "I thought it was a brothel?"
Jet and Blossom remained silent. They glanced at each other.
'Should we tell him?' Jet's eyes asked.
'No,' Blossom's returned.
And so they didn't.
Not everything was quiet and distant in the town, however. The sounds of murmuring and the splash and clash of water attracted their attention.
Past a street, they saw a sparkling spray of water and hastened their step.
Maybe the town was just busy, and that's why it was so quiet?
Because it looked like there was a decent number of the locals in a cosy little corner of the town. Upon a wooden stage danced a totodile, balancing on a bubble of water, on another bubble of water, with constant sprays of water from his maw, creating a brief circle in the air that a krokorok leapt through.
His tail swiped and struck the water, sending another glittering spray into the air, cascading down in a brief rainbow as he landed and slid around.
It was some impressive agility for a krokorok, and he rolled along a curve of his body to slide back onto his feet. The stage was soaked by this point, and it might have been uncomfortable for a Ground-type, but there wasn't even a grimace.
Totodile began to run in place, swirling the water ball he balanced on and began to rotate the lower one too. "Big finish coming up," he panted, droplets falling off to ripple on the side of the sphere.
Krokorok smirked, and a small dart of earth poked up and popped the middle sphere right as it really began to churn. The pop was a lot more momentous than expected, launching Totodile up and bursting the smaller sphere, launching him further.
He eeked as water poured down, flapping his arms in panic.
"Oh my gosh!" Blossom gasped and tried to eye where he'd fall to sprout something to catch him.
"Wait, look," Jet said, pointing. Totodile had recovered in mid-air and was doing some flips.
He flipped faster and faster as Krokorok moved, slipping down the stage and blasting some sand up. A dust devil caught Totodile as water flicked off him in streams, turning to mud. A blast of ice from Totodile flash froze the mud devil, freezing it into a slide that he slipped down and did one last somersault. "Tada!"
Towny Town clapped, hooted, and cried things that should not be cried in public.
Totodile did a bow, Krokorok raised the scarf fashioned into a hat and contained the coins being tossed their way.
Totodile laughed off the compliments and kicked Krokorok with an icy foot when only a few eyes were on him.
Krokorok snickered, satisfied with the tomfoolery for the hour.
It was a nice show, even more pleasant to see some smiles on the townsfolk. But they had to move on.
Blossom was well informed of many different places and, with a keen eye for geography and the ability to read signs, led them to the Comfort Inn.
Unlike most of the architecture of Towny Town, old, grungy, and somewhat old with some severe battle damage on the outskirts, the Comfort Inn was bright and classy. The windows had been smoked up, and no rubbing would remove it, but the paint was fresh and subdued, the letters were painted in gold, and the doors were waiting merrily with fancy knockers.
"Do we…knock?" Jet asked. He got shrugs, so he did.
They waited for a moment. There was no immediate response, and they all shared an uncomfortable look to be loitering outside of this place, but then a soft voice reached them.
"Come in…."
Satisfied, Blossom quickly pushed the door open. They were hit in the face with some sweet-smelling smoke.
Within the dimly lit interior lay two salandit, smoke seeping off their tails as they lazily soaked in the heat from some sort of stone, warmed by an unknown mechanism.
"Why hello," the salandit to the left giggled. There was a masculine tilt to his voice. "Welcome."
"What…can we do for you?" the other one hissed. It was harder to tell with this one.
"We'd like to see Liepard," Blossom said. "We're here on official business."
"They always are," the male salandit giggled. "What if she is too?"
"She's often busy," the other agreed, tongue flicking out. "Things to do. To complete. To finish."
"Stop talking in innuendos, please," Blossom asked politely. They both giggled at her.
"Liepard is to the right." The ambiguous one said, pointing a tail towards a door. "Best to knock first."
Giving their thanks, they walked to Liepard's office without loitering. The smell was strange, and they really didn't need to huff anymore of it.
Boom knocked.
"Come in," a voice that could only be described as sultry met their ears. "Welcome to the Comfort Inn. What can I do for you three?"
Liepard was not the receptionist. One wasn't required to talk to her to…book any time here. So, those who wanted to see her had other things in mind.
Still, she enjoyed playing around with them, nonetheless.
"Liepard?" Blossom asked. "We're here on guild business. Investigating the murder of Pyroar."
"Ooh, I thought that had already been closed," Liepard said, stretching out her whole body. She rested on a comfortable cushion with a fire burning in her room. There was none of that sweet-smelling smoke in here, but the energy was still different to outside.
Her claws popped out briefly, long and wicked sharp, before being pulled back in. She yawned before settling down. "Well, alright. Ask away, Team Voyage."
"How do you know…?" Blossom began.
"Hey-HEY?" Jet asked, alarmed. "How do you know who we are?"
"Word spreads," Liepard yawned. "I like to know who's going about, in and out. In and out. Another vague innuendo here." She smacked her lips and smirked. "Is knowing how I know about you one of your official questions?"
"No…," Blossom said, a little unsettled. "Just odd. But, doesn't matter. We've taken this case and are interviewing the suspects the Clefable Guild determined."
"Yes," Liepard interjected. "Myself, Mayor Indeedee, and that sly Lady Delphox. Heh. I don't know if the guild doesn't realise her work is a sham, but I suppose even if they do, it wouldn't matter."
"What does…?" Blossom shushed Jet.
"What were you doing the night Pyroar was killed?" Blossom asked.
"The night he was murdered, you mean?" Liepard asked, eyeing her with her while licking a paw. "I was conducting business as usual. Inn's do not close after all. The Comfort Inn does not, at least."
"What business?"
"Oh, much the same as Indeedee, I imagine. Paperwork. Determining who goes were. Who entertains who. Who fucks what. Reviewing information of my clients, new and returning for any dangers. Ensuring my workers are taken care of. It's a very good workplace here, with support and community. Teamwork is quite popular, as you could probably imagine."
They didn't really want to.
"I don't think Indeedee determines who fucks what," Boom said lowly.
Liepard laughed. "You'd be surprised! She's quite the micromanager at times."
Shaking her head, Liepard settled down. "I was just in my bedroom." She nodded to a door to the side. "Getting ready to sleep after a long hard day. Then next thing I know, I'm woken up by guild pokémon panicking and demanding to search the premises. It was extraordinarily rude, this is a home as well as a business, but they didn't take no for an answer. I lost some hopeful customers due to it, but maybe I've gained some new ones thanks to what they saw." She winked.
Team Voyage decided to avoid searching the premises if possible. Or maybe that's what she wanted.
"Okay, hey, can anyone confirm you were here?" Jet said, clicking his pincers anxiously.
"Everyone can," Liepard answered. "Including the guild. They saw enough, that's for sure."
Blossom frowned. "Why would you be a suspect then?"
Liepard raised an eyebrow. "I see you've brought a little folder in with you." Blossom had given it to Jet again to brace against his paper to write on. "Is that not enough information?"
"We want to hear it from you."
"Mm. Say why it makes sense to me? How tricky, how tricky indeed. But very well. I have the motive to do it, after all." She smiled; it was not a friendly smile. "And, maybe, in fact, I was entertaining a few ideas at night of how it could be done. He hurt one of my workers, and that…well, that's not allowed here. Why would I be a suspect? Well, revenge is a common reason, is it not?"
That was a little unexpected for her to be so forefront with it, and no one knew what to say for a moment.
"Then…why didn't you?" Boom was the one to ask it.
Liepard blinked slowly, her eyes slipping off Blossom to meet his eyes. He swallowed. "Dunno. Busy, I guess."
"Are you seriously saying you would have killed him?" Blossom asked in disbelief.
"I'm not saying that," Liepard said, a little sing-song in her voice. "But if I did, I would have considered a few options. Why would I? Well. He deserved to be put down like a mongrel feral as, apparently, he was little more than one. I hold no sympathy for what happened to Pyroar. I'm quite happy he received his just desserts. But I did not do it. I suppose that's the only unfortunate part of it all."
Team Voyage all shared a look. Was she serious here?
"… She's only a suspect," Blossom muttered to Jet and Boom.
"That I am," Liepard agreed, disregarding that it was clearly not said to her. "For the obvious reasons I have outlined. Yet, despite being a suspect, the guild knows I did not do it."
"Did you hire someone to do it?" Jet asked.
"I thought about it, but nothing was decided."
"Are you SERIOUSLY admitting you were going to kill him?" Boom demanded.
"No. Tell me, have you thought about the services my establishment offers?" she asked. Boom paused. "And if you have, does that mean you have or will engage in them?"
Boom shifted down, a little cowed.
"From everything I knew of him, he deserved this fate," Liepard said, her tail flicking to admit the only flicker of anger she was withholding from her voice. "From what he did to Precious to the suffering he inflicted upon poor little Mane. And countless things in between, I'm sure."
"What about Morpeko?" Boom asked. "Could he have anything to do with it?"
"That scum should join his son," Liepard snarled. "His...dead son, to be exact. Unfortunately…." Her claws popped out again. "I've been unable to determine his location. A pity, really. I would love to have him by the neck and place him in front of Mane."
"Why would you care about Litleo?" Blossom asked, unable to help herself from pouncing on a mention of one of her friends. She knew his name. Everyone knew Team Ion's names at this point.
Liepard turned her lidded eyes back to her. "Well, if he's going to be my son in law I ought to care. Give him a better mother than his own disgusting parent."
"…wut?"
Liepard cocked her head. "Hm? What's so confusing about that."
"… Litleo's in a relationship with Shinx and Meowth. He's not going to…be one of your 'children'."
Liepard smiled and rolled her eyes. "Oh, that. You seriously haven't heard? Scout is my son, by extension that makes Raigeki and Mane my sons in law. Poor dears, they both lost or never really had parents. I'll be a good mother!"
Once again, Team Voyage just stared.
"Scout…is not your son."
"Evidence speaks to the contrary," Liepard countered.
"He's a meowth!"
"Incorrect again. He's a Dark-type. There are no Dark-type meowth."
"What? He's a meowth!"
"He's a purrloin with many meowth traits. I imagine his father's genes must have been strong; I don't sleep with just anyone after all. I wonder which Persian it was…? There were a few that night."
"Scout is NOT your child!"
"I'm afraid all the evidence is there, dears," Liepard said patronisingly. "Dark-type. He's a known Night Mate, spreading the good word of the oldest profession. You can imagine the turning of opinions a two-time saviour has made to this profession! Why, Krokorok was performing on the streets, I hear! Although, not his usual trade as it turns out."
Team Voyage shared looks of pure bafflement. "Scout…is…not…."
Liepard smiled. "Come now, Blossom. You're a well-known information spreader. You were the one to spread it initially! I must thank you for that."
"It was a mistake. A joke. A mistake on his part, he didn't remember."
"And you reminded him. Truly, I must thank you."
"You are not Scout's mother!"
"In the eyes of the people." Liepard smiled. "I might as well be."
Blossom looked dizzy from the amount of bullshit that was going on in front of her. She would argue until the tauros walked home, but Jet reminded her that they were here for a reason.
And not the reason Boom thought they were here for.
"Okay. You're distracting us now," Blossom said, mentally setting it all aside. "And I don't like that."
"All I'm telling is the truth," Liepard said, stretching again. "Scout is my baby, and Pyroar deserved to die, but I had no role or paw in it. Whoever killed him, I would almost applaud them if it wasn't so utterly horrific."
That caught their attention. A troubled frown on Liepard's face as she remembered.
"Pardon?"
"I went to see the crime scene in person, eager to see the work that had been done upon Pyroar. Once I arrived, I realised that my glee was…mistaken, even. I don't say for a moment that he didn't deserve to die, but the way he died is…disturbing."
There was only so much detail in the folder, and they looked to Jet, who had it.
"Hey-hey? What are you looking at me for?"
"You have the information in pincer," Liepard said. "But I have it from memory. Whoever killed him killed him sadistically, and nothing I would ever even entertain would be so brutal. I would offer my paw of assistance to the guild, but not only would they not take it, but I wouldn't offer it anyway. I'm not getting mixed up in whatever freak has done this. You can talk to anyone you want here, and that's including much of the two towns and guild. I had no role in this, nothing you can prove because there is nothing to prove."
Blossom cursed under her breath, glancing to her teammates for any idea. But, really, they had nothing. It was beginning to dawn on them just how difficult of an assignment they may have undertaken here.
"But before you go running off on whatever idea you have next," Liepard said, taking their attention back to her. "I think something else is worth painting in a different light."
"What do you mean?" Blossom asked.
"I mean, consider the bigger picture here. You are focused on finding the killer and bringing them to justice. Yes, bravo, brave pokémon bringing the twisted to justice. But I feel like you, as have the other guildies, have overlooked something."
"Out with it then," Jet snapped, eager to leave now.
"I'll get there when I get there," Liepard replied coolly. "You can't rush to the end with everything. No. Think about it. Actually, think for once. Why? Not even who…but why?"
As Jet and Boom frowned, Blossom did think.
"Why kill him?" Liepard continued. "That's the first point here. Why him?" she emphasised that word.
"He was the most recent pokémon incarcerated?" Blossom suggested.
"Yes. But why? Who concocted a scheme to release him and then murder him? This was no vengeance or honour killing. Even I would have 'merely' cut his throat and bled him to death in any such imagined acts of vengeance. He was murdered, but there were no signs of a struggle? And that's our second point."
"Murder?" Boom asked. "…Why is that so important? Why murder instead of kill?"
She gazed at them coolly, speaking so levelly of murder. "Because there was no fight there. This was a murder, no question asked. So, you have to wonder…Pyroar was powerful, without question. It took the entirety of Team Ion to defeat him, and they are not simply 'any' pokémon."
They could have smiled at the compliment to their friends had the subject matter not been so grim.
"Yet, there was no signs of a struggle. Whoever did this, and we must assume this, must have been so powerful that he could do nothing against them. Pyroar, born of a Shadow Pokémon, was raised to hate, powerful enough to injure Team Ion badly. Could. Do. Nothing."
Even Liepard shivered slightly. "And what do you think the third point is here?"
Blossom opened her mouth but had nothing to say.
"He was injured from their fight?" Jet suggested weakly.
Liepard rolled her eyes. "Fire. He was burned to death. To burn a Fire-type to death…no, this was no honour killing. Whoever did this didn't do it for revenge. There is revenge, and then there is simply sickness."
She smiled a cold smile that was a grimace as her fire crackled and popped, scattering her expression in brief flickers of shadow. "In my field, I come into contact with sadists. Even the kindest of personable people may have that urge, and we help them work through it in healthy ways. We are a service, after all. I've seen some intense stuff, though, and this outclasses anything I've seen, but sadism is what it has to be."
She shook her head. "No one kills like that for anything less than the twisted thrill. Think about what kind of creature would do this. He was released and led to a place to die. There was no attempt to hide him. Whoever did this WANTED him to be found. Whoever did this wants to be found themselves."
That was a terrifying suggestion.
She closed her eyes, sighing deeply. "And, what is my last point? Who did she kill? The most recent incarcerated pokémon? Someone stupid who would trust a sudden escape root? A Fire-type that could meet that twisted thrill?"
She left the thought hanging. It was not finished.
"Or…the brother of a member of Team Ion," Blossom finished softly, her leaves were curling from the disturbing idea.
Liepard opened her eyes and her gaze bored into Blossom's. "I know you're kind. I know you're determined to bring this killer to justice. This warning won't stop you from searching for the killer. But, I'll say it anyway. This isn't someone you want to find, but this is someone who wants to be found. When a miraculous lead comes out of nowhere when it looks like you've run out of trails to follow, and I'm fearful one will appear to you, just remember what I've said. Alright? You may show yourselves out."
They were excused and silently withdrew, muttering a word of goodbye. The salandit were watching them as they came out. Any jokes or remarks were lost on forked tongues at the look on the teams' faces, and they let them go without bother.
Outside, they shuffled away from the Comfort Inn very quickly.
"Well, she's scary," Jet was the first to break the ice.
"Can't believe I thought…," Boom began, but he didn't finish the thought blushing instead. "Nevermind. Terrifying. I bet she did it."
"I don't know," Blossom said, eyeing the distance as if it would tell her what she was missing. "She seems so suspicious that I almost think it can't be her. I think we need to talk to the guild again about her, though. Even if she's not the killer, she's almost definitely illegal in other ways."
"As if they wouldn't know that," Boom snorted.
"Hey...hey? The guild then?" Jet asked.
Blossom shook her head. "There's someone else we need to talk to first, remember?" she said, gesturing onwards. "I think it's time we go to Fissure."
I like Team Voyage and I really like Blackstone Village. Haha. Majority of the townsfolk are actually references to the pokémon in my Trainer Fic! Not that that's published or anything yet.
But yes. Scout's mother was Liepard all along! What do you mean that's impossible? It's so obvious. Just a purrloin with a coin strapped to his head ;P
Good times. Back to Team Sunrise next chapter as they do a few important things and learn a few more.