Chapter 39: Under the Sea
As clouds obscured the moon and stars from the night sky, Nagant's frigate powered through the choppy waves in the southern sections of the Spear Stream, the green-sanded shores of Mengir Island beginning to poke over the horizon. Although it blotted out the expected waxing moon for the season, the blanket of clouds provided much-needed cover for the ship and its teeming deck. Every deck hand's claws were occupied, including those of the Clawlitzer perched on her tail at the bow of the ship, peering intently through a scope that had been mounted onto the railing.
Through her spyglass, she could see a needle-spired island green sands. Past its shoreline, it was flecked with faint lantern-lights and a few signaling flares lit on bluffs—ones presently being used to guide a large three-masted vessel lavender sails into port. The form of a metal bird in the air passed in the foreground, most likely a notary from the ship or some other square-neck.
Nagant remained at her scope, watching as the ship pulled along into port as movement broke out along its deck. She reasoned that she'd seen enough by that point. The Clawitzer turned away with a low grunt, hopping on her tail over to a Beedrill with an indigo scarf bearing a twin-leaved design waiting beside her on the deck.
"Have the anchor dropped and get everyone around the bridge," the Clawitzer huffed to the Beedrill. "I have an announcement to make before heading ashore, and I only want to give it once."
The hornet buzzed back an affirming 'aye, Captain' and quickly barked out orders to the other Pokémon as the crustacean made her way back to the ship's bridge. Along the way, the splash of the stone anchor hitting the water rang out, and the escorting flyers and swimmers quickly whipped up currents and gusts to slow the ship to a halt. As the deck settled, the various Pokémon aboard began to crowd around the bridge to hear their captain speak. The escorts in the sky and sea also began to take their places, including a Tentacruel and Sharpedo who sidled up against the ship with their peers and looked up curiously.
"I wonder what this is about?" the Sharpedo began, only to be cut off by a shush from the Tentacruel.
"Katyusha, just listen up!" she chided. "It's probably something important!"
Nagant clambered onto a barrel and hopped up onto her tail, propping herself up to better see her audience. The shrimp cleared her throat, and shook her head as she began to speak.
"It looks like the leads I picked up from that hive of scum and villainy were worth something," she began. "Commissioner Lyn is pulling into port on Mengir right as we speak."
The Water-Type looked around and scowled after noticing that a perturbingly large number of blank and puzzled stares were floating around the gathered sailors, as they wondered aloud as to who this 'Lyn' was.
"Er… who is he again?" a Lampent asked.
"Well he's a Company Commissioner," an Aipom answered.
"I know that, but what's that have to do with the 'god' we're following?" the Lampent chastised.
"For those of you who need a reminder," Nagant hissed, "'Commissioner Lyn' is currently our path to finding out where this god the Company is pursuing is."
The Clawitzer clicked her firing claw and twitched her barbels, before shooting a determined gaze out over her subordinates and speaking up.
"He's a petulant Company pup who's gotten a bit lucky over the years," the Water-Type scoffed. "And I'll be heading in to try and put a damper on that for Queen and Country."
"And due compensation, I take it?" Niilo asked.
The shrimp paused at the Sandslash's words and thought of the Marchioness title she had coveted since her family's house had come crashing down so many years ago. A sea god would be but a trifle for climbing the nobles' hierarchy, and it would finally give her the chance to set fate's cruel caprices right. With a playful twitch of her feelers, a small smile began to spread over the sea bug's mandibles as she continued on.
"Well, something coming my way out of it wouldn't hurt either," the Clawitzer replied. "I might have something in mind for myself."
"And the rest of us too," Niilo shot in. "Right Captain Nug-?"
The Sandslash heard a loud thump and jumped back with a start after seeing that the captain was leveling her shooting claw at him, and giving a withering glare.
"Finish that statement, and the only compensation you'll be getting from me is a night licking wounds in the sick bay, Niilo!" Nagant hissed. From the water, a bobbing Tentacruel and Sharpedo watched as the pangolin jumped back and hastily darted deeper into the crowd. As the shrimp eased back into her speaking stance, a question began to flicker across the Sharpedo's mind.
"So, you're headed out alone here?" she asked. "Or-"
"No, and that brings me to the real order of business," Nagant huffed. "I'm going to need a team for infiltrating, just like in our run into Kenobi. This isn't exactly Boisocéan with its neutral territory."
"Aha! So that's where 'mons like me get to shine again!" the Tentacruel cheered.
"And the rest of us are watching the ship out here, I presume?" the ship's Beedrill first mate asked.
"No. You're going to Otvaga with the ship," the shrimp corrected. "The rest of us will travel in a caravan and meet up with you there when our business is done here in Fensedge."
"Mwo?! But Captain!" the Bug-Type buzzed startledly. "Why on earth would you want us to pull the ship in a full day away from you?!"
As if in answer, a gust kicked up a high wave out of nowhere, rocking the ship and knocking most of the startled crew off of their feet.
"That's why, Jun!" Nagant grunted. "Remember this place gets storms frequently!"
"That's… fair enough," the Beedrill said, shaking his head. "Though you will be keeping our lack of proximity in mind, yes?"
"Was that really a question?" the Clawitzer replied. "After all, I already have candidates for this run in mind…"
She searched the crowd for the Pokémon she was thinking of, before settling her gaze upon a Ponyta pawing at the deck with his hooves.
"Berecien," Nagant ordered, gesturing at the Fire-Type. "Grab some red and white dye with the others and throw it over that scarf of yours, you're coming along."
"Mrph, right!"
"Niilo, since you like being a smart alec tonight, you can help dig us a way in once we hit land!" she barked, turning her gaze to a Sandslash now buried in the middle of the crowd. "And don't ask me about pay until after we get back!"
"Blurgh… tell me that you're at least going to let me start once we're away from the seashore," Niilo grumbled.
Nagant continued to rattle off names, pointing out one Pokémon after another in the gathered crowd. The courier Drifblim floating lazily among the masts, a Bewear lurking at the back of the gathering, a Gorebyss from the sea escorts…
The Clawitzer's pace slowed and she grew more deliberate as her choices narrowed down to one final candidate, the shrimp casting a brief glance at an expectantly waiting Tentacruel in the sea.
"-aaaand… Cabot," the Water-Type said, pointing out a Cranidos in the front row. "I want you on point with Berecien. If your family's skills at box busting rubbed off on you at all, we'll need them."
"Aye aye!" the dinosaur cheered. "It'll be a pleasu-"
"Wait!"
A flustered, gurgling cry came out beside the ship, as the Tentacruel from the water waved her tentacles desperately for attention.
"Captain Nu- er… Nagant, aren't you forgetting someone?" the jellyfish insisted. The Poison-Type's eyes brightened, as she gave an innocent stroke at her bell with her tentacles, only for Nagant's expression to remain firm and unmoved.
"No, I don't believe I am, Cyanea," the Clawitzer replied. The Tentacruel blinked and bobbed silently in shock, before shaking her bell and hastily raising a tentacle in spluttering protest.
"But- But I was part of your Kenobi team!" the jellyfish exclaimed. "And I've been a solid team player on every mission I've taken!"
"Yes, and I'm aware of that, Cyanea," Nagant sighed. "And I need your talents to stay and defend the ship."
"B-but I've got one of the best records on the sea team! And-"
"And I'm the Captain!" the Clawitzer bellowed. "And I say that you defend the ship and let everyone do their share instead of showboating!"
An uneasy silence filled the air as Nagant and Cyanea traded piercing glares with each other, neither willing to back down from their stand. The Beedrill first mate saw the barbels on his captain's whiskers twitch and Cyanea's tentacles began to tense in anticipation, prompting the Bug-Type to hastily intervene with a buzz before the two could get physically aggressive.
"Look at it this way, Cyanea. I could use your help in keeping this hull in one piece in Captain Nagant's absence," Jun offered. "And besides, if too many Pokémon get spotted repeatedly popping in and out of Company ports, it raises the risks of getting exposed."
The Tentacruel sank into the seawater, blowing huffy bubbles that reached up to the surface before she grudgingly answered the Beedrill.
"Ugh… otlichno," the Poison-Type muttered. Nagant rolled her eyes, before turning back to address a team of infiltrators who were just finishing up the process of changing into white and red scarves.
"Let's get a move on!" she snapped. "That Commissioner isn't going to be taking his time with that god!"
The Clawitzer hopped over to the railing and sprung off into the water. The team of saltire-patterned Pokémon followed suit, fliers heading out over the water, and more land-bound members carefully clambering down onto waiting swimmers.
As Nagant and her team of fellow infiltrators swam off for Mengir in the distance, Jun called out to get the ship moving. The anchor was raised, the sails lowered, and the ship lurched forward, turning around in a wide arc for the direction of Otvaga Island. The sea escorts moved along with their craft, including a still-fuming Cyanea who trailed the ship's wake along with Katyusha.
"I can't believe she snubbed me like that!" the Tentacruel grumbled. "How can that old shrimp be so stubborn?!"
"Lighten up a little, Cyanea, think on the bright side!" the Sharpedo reassured. "We get to slack off for a few days while Captain Nugget's in port!"
"Not helping, Katyusha!"
Out in the sea between Mengir and Otvaga, Dimitri continued his dive down deeper into the water, much as he'd done many times before. This time, his journey included four passengers on a bubble on his back. In spite of their perch being the same size as Pleo's flights into the sky, Team Traveller's journey underwater felt a lot more claustrophobic than usual. As the scythed crab made his way further and further into the deep, the four noticed that their air bubble was slowly but surely shrinking, an unnerving experience that was only worsened by the groaning from their Growlithe teammate.
"Ugh... are we there ye-?"
Before Elty could finish his complaint, he felt a dull blow against the back of his head and yelped. After turning his head back, he saw the scowling Cubone just behind him pulling her club back from a fresh swat.
"Oi, weren't you the one who told me to stop asking that in the air?!" Guardia fumed. "Now it's your turn to shut your trap!"
The clash between the bone lizard's indignance and the little dog's discomfort quickly dissolved into heated bickering. Nida lowered her ears and buried her face in her paws at her teammates' antics, only for things to settle once the Kabutops cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Easy! Easy! We're almost there!" Dimitri reassured. "Sorry if this was taking longer than you expected... The water gets denser the further down you go, so we have to take our time to let the air in that bubble adjust."
The crab continued on as the already scant light from the sky above grew dimmer and dimmer with the water's depth. A few shapes moved through the water, some lazily along, a few abruptly swimming away after being passed. Were those ferals? What would happen if one of them attacked them in the middle of their dive?
As paranoid and frightful possibilities popped into the minds of Team Traveller's fraught and harried members, Guardia began to notice that strangely enough, there were faint lights coming from below. The Cubone squinted, and saw that the lights seemed to be getting closer.
"Eh?! What's that down there?" she cried, pointing her club off at the faint lights.
Her teammates peered off after her club and squinted as well, though it was not until a little while later that they too saw a trail of yellowish flecks of light. Evidently, the Gardie and spike lump weren't able to see ahead as well as she could. The lights dimly lit up parallel rows of seaweed on opposite sides of a long tube that snaked along the seafloor.
Dimitri lowered himself down towards the tube, and Team Traveller began to see the water outside thicken with small bubbles. Strangely enough, the walls of the tunnel didn't seem rigid, but shifted slightly to and fro in the currents of the water. After a careful peck at the wall of their air pocket, and a glance at the tube below, Pleo suddenly realized that the 'tube' was…
"Ah! It's a giant bubble!" the Lugia exclaimed. "And those plant things are making all those little ones!"
"Wait, but why is it there?" Nida asked.
"That's the Subway," Dimitri replied. "It's how Pokémon like you are able to breathe while visiting Pokémon like us down here."
The Kabutops began to circle over a section of the tube and swim around cautiously, carefully eyeing the tube-bubble below him. By chance, his scythe happened to poke the wall of the tunnel, which sent a small spigot of water inside before he yanked it back with a start.
"Er… oops," he murmured. "The whole 'getting in' part is the trickiest bit."
Elty and Guardia shifted uncomfortably at the sight of the pool of water in the tunnel slowly receding into the sand underfoot. If a little knick was able to do that… what would an entire group of five Pokémon do to it?
"But you caused a leak just by touching it!" Guardia exclaimed. "How are we supposed to get in like that?"
"Yeah, you're supposed to take us to a hideout, not drown us!" Elty yipped, folding his ears back at the sight of the water in the tunnel.
"It'll be fine!" Dimitri insisted. "I've done this before!"
The four Pokémon turned uneasily to each other, looking at the water all around them. After a long pause, Nida twitched her whiskers anxiously and finally broke the silence…
"A-Alright…" she answered uneasily. "Take us in!"
"Mrph, right!" Dimitri grunted back. "Just hold tight for a minute…"
The crab began to sidle over the top of the tube, and aligned himself carefully with the bubble wall. The creature paused and treaded water, before dropping down. There was the sound of a splash, the smack of seawater, and a hard landing which made the Kabutops' passengers cling on for dear life.
And then, the feeling of water dripping off of them, and the realization that there was now a much larger and taller bubble overhead lined by rows of seaweed.
"Ah!" Nida squeaked. "We made it in!"
The Nidoran turned and chanced to see Elty and Guardia panting, wide-eyed. After realizing that they had passed through, the pair's demeanors changed, with Elty's expression starting to slip into one of annoyed disgust.
"I thought Pokémon came down here to not get drenched," the Growlithe groaned. The Fire-Type flicked some seawater off of his forepaws, as Guardia looked around uneasily at her surroundings.
"The colony's lore never said anything about there being places like this..." she murmured.
Pleo let go of Dimitri and, after a few false starts, hopped onto the soggy ground. The young Lugia lowered himself and let his weary passengers dismount, flopping forward onto the Subway's floor out of exhaustion. One-by-one, the lot shook themselves dry and began to scrape wet sand off their bodies, their Kabutops guide coming from behind to gently nudge them back up to their feet.
"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Dimitri cheered. "Come on, let's get you all over to that station so you can rest. You all look like you could use it."
The Fossil Pokémon scuttled ahead, leading Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia to shuffle off along the tunnel. As the five carried along, they looked about their surroundings, mesmerized by the bubbly passage and the water all about them. Even so, one question lingered on, which Guardia eventually managed to articulate to the rest of the group.
"How is this possible though?" Guardia questioned. "How could there be a space with air all the way at the bottom of the sea?"
"By grinding up aircrystals and spreading it along paths like these," Dimitri answered. "Just like any other route down here in the Subway."
"Aircrystals?" Pleo wondered.
"They're crystals that form in stones and the like in Mystery Dungeons out here in the sea," the Kabutops replied. "They attract air bubbles that, with a little creative arrangement, can form passages big enough for surface dwellers like you to breathe in."
"What's up with this kaisō here, then?" Guardia asked, gesturing at the strands of seaweed along the tunnel's walls. "It's making bubbles, too. Doesn't that have some part in it?"
"That's right," Dimitri remarked. "It's called 'bubbleweed' for a reason. When you grow seaweed on top of seabed treated with aircrystal, some of it gets embedded in the leaves, and the air that bubbles out helps keep these tunnels steady."
The vampire crab paused at a clump of seaweed along the edge of the tunnel and stuck a scythe through the lining. With a swift flick, the creature took in a spurt of water, along with a few laminae, still bubbling in the water they lay in as Team Traveller gathered around to curiously eye and poke at the detached blades of seaweed.
"See? Like that. And they do have uses beyond helping to anchor Subway routes down here," he said. "If you're ever in a pinch and wind up stuck outside one of the tunnels, keep one wrapped over your snout and you'll be able to breathe for a couple minutes, even if it smells like seaweed."
"Ugh, thanks for convincing me to never come back here," Elty spat.
Elty pinned his ears to the sides of his head and hurried along with an impatient, agitated gait. After a moment's pause, the team continued on, clambering up a portion of rocks which made Pleo cry out after one of the stones brushed his still-bandaged left wing. After rushing back, Nida hastily helped the little Protector along, she noticed that all along the path there hadn't been any real alcove or place to rest beyond a couple mats of dried seaweed…
Dimitri wasn't going to make them sleep in that, was he?
"Er… Where exactly are we staying though?" the Nidoran asked. "I haven't seen any place so far that looks like it would be comfortable to sleep in."
"Oh, we're not staying here. It'll be up at Seaspear Station," he explained. "It's a rest stop down here in the Subway with a hostel where we can spend the night."
"Huh?!" Elty exclaimed. "Then why didn't you swim us directly there?!"
"Because I wasn't sure if your bubble would make it through the moon pool intact, and going in like we did earlier wouldn't work either. The shopowners there don't like it when you drop in and get all their customers wet," Dimitri answered, giving a sheepish tap of his scythes. "Besides, it's not that far of a walk ahead."
The group carried on up a steep slope, the tunnel switching back and forth in hairpins up a bluff. Dimitri and the children plodded up the switchbacks one by one, nearing the top of the bluff. There, they chanced to see a sleepy-looking Carracosta with a belt clinging to the creature's neck keeping watch over a bubble propped up by seaweeds flecked with yellow light. Further off in the distance, a beltless Mantine and attached Remoraid swam past casting curious glances at the space, which prompted Team Traveller to pause and peer at the bubble.
Inside the dimly lit space was the form of a vertical metal slab with damaged flaps, attached perpendicularly to another bigger slab. The four squinted at the slab with the damaged flaps, and upon closer examination found that it had fresh cutting marks at the end.
"Eh?" Guardia asked. "What's that?"
"Oh, that's a dig site that some salvager found," Dimitri replied. "It's the skeleton of a human skyship."
"Skyship?"
"A craft that humans used to soar faster than the winds far above the sea among the clouds. It's made out of all sorts of metal, including some 'aluminum' your fellow air-breathers really value," he answered. "Heh, who knows? If you do some work around here, maybe you'll be able to take a hunk and hock it when you get back up to the surface!"
The Kabutops' cheerful exclamation stung Team Traveller's ears like a Weedle's jab. Could they even go back up to the surface? After everything that had happened? It seemed that no matter where they ran, back above the waves, the Company would soon be upon them. One by one, Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia began to droop and grow downcast, which did not elude their guide.
"Something the matter?" Dimitri asked.
"I'm… not sure when we can go back," Nida muttered. "We've been through a lot lately…"
"Aw, come on, I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle-" the Kabutops began, only to be cut off by Guardia piping up.
"We almost got killed by a bunch of bugs! And those purple knot-necks were gonna make us pick Apricorns!" she exclaimed. "And that was just on the last island!"
"Well, if you need to stick around, I'm sure that you could find friendly fins down here," Dimitri offered.
"Ugh, talk about a fate worse than death," Elty growled. "And besides, nothing's keeping the Company from tracking us to here. They already did back at Boisocéan!"
"But there's no shortage of places around here you could stay!" the crab insisted. "I mean, sure, it's not quite as interesting as your islands, but there's tons of spots you can slip to!"
"But… I won't be able to practice my powers here," Pleo murmured. "And if I don't, Nida and I won't be able to go home…"
The realization seemed to suck the oxygen out of the tunnel, quickly dispiriting the party of undersea travellers. Pleo hung his head, visibly dejected. Nida's breath slowed, her eyes widening anxiously. Guardia bowed her head in sympathy, while Elty sat down to avert his gaze in silent frustration.
"... I think your wounds must be getting to you," Dimitri sighed. "I think we should get you some rest. The station's just over this ridge, anyways."
As the group continued along, they came to a drop where the Subway passageway entered a winding circuit down to a patch of water filled with blue flecks of light in the distance. There, amid the pale, blue glow was a tall bubble propped up by large strands of kelp and… a cluster of buildings?
"It's… an underwater town?" Guardia asked.
"I guess you could think of it like that," Dimitri said. "But you've been through a bit more than I was expecting. Why don't we all get some sleep and we'll try to tackle things on a brand-new day?
"I think we'd all like that…" Nida replied.
Dimitri continued on, prompting the children to trudge on after him for the town in the distance. Their movements came slow and labored from their aching wounds, grateful for a lull in a pursuit that had left them ragged.
Back on Mengir Island, the storm in the sky had largely subsided, only for a storm of a completely different nature to continue brewing inside the wooden fort overlooking Fensedge Village. Within Zorn's waterlogged chamber, six Pokémon had tensely gathered on the stony outcroppings: a bound and gagged Salvini along with her teammates, a tense-looking Commander Briggs, and Darzin. The water was similarly occupied by the irkedly circling form of Mengir's Gyarados Administrator. The sea serpent stopped and reared up in his pond, lowering his head to shoot a tired and unamused glare at the Armaldo Third-Rank.
"I believe you owe me some explanations, Commander Briggs," Zorn growled. "Why did you decide to detain those prisoners in a room of the medic's hut? Why was an itinerant traveller able to foil your defenses? And how did one Pokémon you chose to carry out this mission turn around and compromise it?!"
The Armaldo blanched and began to stammer the beginnings of an excuse, only to be abruptly cut off by the bellowing voice of the other Administrator in the room.
"Zorn, please. Get your facts straight," Darzin snarled. "This gecko here didn't compromise that mission, she betrayed it!"
"That is enough, Darzin! I was asking Briggs for his explanation!" Zorn snapped, before shifting his eyes to the still-uneasy looking sea bug.
"Well?"
"Ehm... well you see Administrator, I felt that Captain Hertsog here was the best candidate for carrying out this mission, and gave him the liberty of picking out some candidates for helping him," Briggs gulped. "Obviously, some complications that neither of us were expecting came up during the mission, and I shall see to it that they are rectified permanently. You are of the same mind, aren't you, Hertsog?"
"Now hold on a minute, Commander!" the Mienshao interjected. "I think we might be getting ahead of ourselves a bit."
"Eh? What do you mean by that, Captain?" Phyllis asked.
"Yeah, Salvini here's being accused of treason!" Payak exclaimed. "How much more ahead could we be getting?"
"Well, let's take a suggestion from Administrator Darzin and make sure we have our facts straight," Hertsog insisted. "We know there were multiple witnesses who saw that so-called 'Immortal' helping the prisoners escape. Skarmory aren't exactly soft and cuddly creatures, and there's nothing that could have kept him from cutting those ropes himself."
"Hertsog, I know that you stand by your subordinates, but be reasonable here!" Briggs snapped. "This stonewalling isn't doing either of us any good!"
"And I would appreciate it if you didn't insult my intelligence, Captain!" Darzin growled, angrily stamping his feet. "I saw her in that room myself, and I have the marks to prove it!"
The Dragonite irately pointed at his scrape on his neck, only for Hertsog to raise his palms in a calming gesture and continue on.
"Administrator Darzin, please… bear with me a moment," he pleaded. "We know you were thrown through the window as that Skarmory fled with our targets, and the guards you fell on are still getting their wounds treated because of it. Isn't it possible that perhaps this is all a big misunderstanding?"
"I don't follow how this adds up to a misunderstanding, Captain Hertsog," Zorn said.
"If the Skarmory threw a Confuse Orb before breaking in, neither Administrator Darzin or Salvini here would necessarily be able to clearly remember what happened, and it would explain how the two wounded each other," the Mienshao reasoned. The creature paused, and looked intently down at the bound and gagged Grovyle.
"Is that what happened, Salvini?"
The Grass-Type gave a muffled grunt from under her gag, and lowered her head, her eyes closed. It was an explanation that seemed to make sense, except the Dragonite Administrator in the room was having nothing of it.
"Don't try and worm your way out of this, you treacherous skink!" Darzin bellowed. "It was just you, me and those prisoners in that room until that blasted bird broke in!"
The Dragon-Type's words drew a noticeable pause from Zorn, as well as a twitch from his barbels. The fish narrowed his eyes into a skeptical glare, and turned his attention to his counterpart.
"… What were you doing there anyways, Darzin?" he demanded. "You had a post in Vollezee to return to. Why are you even still here?"
The Dragonite visibly froze, before giving a flustered bat of his wings and narrowing his eyes back at the Gyarados.
"Well, I've been feeling a bit under the weather since you froze me a few days ago, so I've been taking some sick leave!" Darzin spat back indignantly. "I happened to be around to pick up some medicine for the cold that you gave me. No sense in incinerating a batch of records with a sneeze back in Vollezee."
"But if that's so, why'd you say you were coming back earlier today?" Hertsog interjected. "I distinctly remember you asking about our cordon earlier this evening."
At the weasel's words, Briggs whirled to face Hertsog in a rage. The Armaldo stomped his feet and flicked his wings out, visibly seething.
"Hertsog, I told you that the mission was top secret!" Briggs hissed. "You mean to tell me that on top of everything that's happened in this debacle, you ran your mouth off about it?!"
"I did nothing of the sort!" the Mienshao snapped. "I didn't even say who we were keeping in that hut!"
Phyllis' expression turned puzzled and her ears flicked uncertainly. The marked Leafeon looked around and pawed at the ground uneasily as she realized that in the midst of Briggs' and Hertsog's argument... something didn't seem to be adding up.
"Wait, what's the big deal about this?" Phyllis asked. "Wouldn't Administrator Darzin have known about this mission anyways from Administrator Zorn? Commander Briggs did say it was important..."
"He wouldn't have, because I didn't inform him of this matter," Zorn growled. The Gyarados turned his attention to Darzin, and reared up and craned his head down, his sharp fangs coming hovering just inches from the Dragonite's snout.
"Let me ask you a question, Darzin," he demanded. "Just who told you where that bird and his little friends were, and what were you doing in their room?"
The Dragon-Type froze and blanched, as he quickly realized there really wasn't a good reason for him to know about their location… or at least not one that wouldn't instantly draw suspicion from the glaring Gyarados.
"I… Uh… Er…"
"Let me put a possibility forward," the sea serpent snarled. "What if it wasn't Salvini who was cutting those ropes? What if, for whatever daft reason you decided that you needed those prisoners for yourself?"
"Z-Zorn, th-that's preposterous!" Darzin exclaimed. "I'm a member of the Board!"
"One with a tenuous future, and I wasn't finished speaking," Zorn spat. "If you did have a reason for wanting them for yourself, and it was just you and that Grovyle there, what would be there to stop you? She'd be easy for you to overpower, and the story of a traitorous subordinate would form a plausible alibi."
"Th-This is ridiculous!" Darzin spluttered. "Are you seriously doubting my word over that of some First-Rank gecko?!"
Zorn glowered back at the Dragon-Type, giving a low growl. Considering how tenuous Darzin's position was, there was certainly reason to doubt his word over a First-Rank's. At the same time, laying out accusations of sedition and subversion would telegraph weakness among the Company to the Empire, a dangerous move to be made on such scant evidence…
Then that left only one answer, along with one solution.
"… No, I'm not," the fish answered. "Though I do think there's reason to think that these findings are inconclusive. As such, I will have to hand down a verdict accordingly."
"Huh?" Payak asked. "But sir, if things are inconclusive, why are you handing down a verdict?"
"Because there's been obvious malfeasance at all levels of this operation," the Gyarados growled. "Darzin, you can count that I will be reporting these… irregularities to the rest of the Board."
"Grr…"
The sea serpent watched as the Dragonite balled his claws and started to fume. In spite of his protest, the Dragon-Type seemed content enough to let the matter lie, which prompted Zorn to turn his attention to an anxious-looking Armaldo.
"Briggs," Zorn said. "You can look forward to me re-evaluating your current position in the near future."
"A-Aah!" the anomalocaris cried. "But Administrator, I-!"
"Signed off on a structurally flawed team for this mission," the Water-Type finished. "And we lost high-value detainees because of it!"
The Armaldo stood stammering in shock, staring off blankly as the Administrator's words sank in. Unfazed, the sea serpent turned his attention to the bound and gagged Grovyle before him.
"And as for you…"
Salvini felt her blood run cold as she watched Zorn's hulking form lurch over through the water. The Administrator craned his maw down, and moved his teeth to the Grass-Type's snout as she stared ahead, her limbs frozen and eyes widened…
And then his jaws shut, soon followed by the feeling of a jerking motion…
Rrrrrrip!
Along with the sound of her gag being torn away.
"A-Ack!"
Zorn pulled his head back, along with the now-torn remains of Salvini's gag. The creature spat it out into the water, before turning a hardened glare back at the still wide-eyed and startled gecko.
"You will be on bedrest, and reassigned by Captain Hertsog to a position outside of my jurisdiction as soon as you recover," the Gyarados said. "This incident will go on your record. After all, it was your handling of this situation that allowed those pirates to get away!"
"What sort of punishment is that?!" Darzin bellowed. "She committed treason!"
"Administrator Zorn!" Hertsog interjected. "That's-!"
"A lenient sentence considering the cloud hanging over her, Captain Hertsog-" Zorn began, only to be cut off by the sound of a commotion and the sounds of the guards' voices arguing with a harsh, bellowing voice.
"I'm telling you, just give it a few more minutes!" a nervous voice stammered at the door. "Administrator Zorn is- Ack!"
"Get out of my way!"
The doors were suddenly flung open, making way for a fuming Samurott to barge in and take center stage upon the wooden bridge.
"Administrator Zorn! I'm here for that bird!" Lyn bellowed. The Samurott waited, and after realizing that there was already an audience of incredulously staring Pokémon in the Gyarados' chamber, the otter looked around warily before seeking an explanation.
"What exactly is going on here?" he demanded.
"A meeting, which just ended. All of the lower-ranks here were just leaving," Zorn answered. "There's been a few... developments since you pulled ashore, ones which Darzin here will happy to explain to you."
"Grr..."
Darzin gritted his teeth and seethed under his breath as the Company Pokémon hastily took their places. As Lyn made his way over, Briggs begrudgingly made his way for the door, leaving Phyllis to hastily cut Salvini's bindings with her leaves, and the Grovyle to stagger up and lurch for the door, escorted by her teammates. The four departed as the doors gave a heavy slam behind them, and carried on down the hallway outside the room, where they started to hear the sounds of loud and angry-sounding shouts coming from the direction of Zorn's chamber.
"Salvini... what really happened in there?" Payak asked.
"Yeah, did Administrator Darzin actually try to set you up?" Phyllis questioned.
Salvini paused and shifted her gaze away. The Grovyle wrestled with her words for a moment, before she finally answered the Ariados and Leafeon.
"It's not relevant anymore," she muttered.
"What do you mean it's not relevant anymore?!" Payak spluttered. "It's a yes or no question-!"
"Hertsog!"
The four froze as the sound of heavy, plodding footsteps and angry hissing came from behind. Hertsog whirled around and watched as Commander Briggs came storming up the hallway, the anomalocaris visibly fuming.
"You just don't know when to quit, huh?!" the Armaldo snarled. "What was with that disgraceful display back there?!"
"Commander Briggs, my gut feeling gave me reason to doubt that the charges against Salvini were accurate," the Fighting-Type answered. "So I defended her accordingly- Gah!"
Before Hertsog could explain any further, he was cut off by a sharp pain in his gut. The weasel staggered and clutched at his abdomen before pitching forward onto the ground as Briggs drew back a claw still trailing white sparks from it.
"Your 'gut feeling' is going to cost me my job!" Briggs hissed. "If you'd simply let that shrub meet her fate, none of this would have happened!"
"Urngh… Commander, I can't let a Pokémon suffer for something she didn't do!" Hertsog countered. Any hopes the mustelid had of pacifying his superior swiftly evaporated, as the Fighting-Type's words threw the Bug-Type into a seething rage.
"Since you can't be bothered to accept reality, I'm gonna do what I should have done when you insisted on dragging that blotch-head into this matter!" Briggs bellowed. The Armaldo stooped down and drew a claw back, throwing it forward at the base of the Mienshao's neck.
Rip!
"C-Captain!"
Hertsog gasped for air and reflexively pulled himself up off the ground after Salvini's outcry, reaching a paw up to feel his pelt where his scarf was supposed to be. The weasel looked down and saw that there where his garb had been, was his bare fur and a torn thin strip that still clung to his neck. There in Briggs' claws was the remainder of his scarf, including the portion with the pattern of a Second-Rank.
"I'm relieving you of your position!" the Armaldo spat. "And you can go ahead and book three extra spots for reassignment. I don't wanna see any of you on this island once that gecko is out of here!"
"Wh-What?!"
"You're reassigning us from Mengir, too?!"
"Hey! Hold on!" Salvini protested. "You can't just take things out on them! They weren't involved in any of this!"
"You're in no position to complain, you little traitor!" Briggs snarled. "Next time, you won't have someone higher up to hide behind!"
The Armaldo turned and stormed off, his angry footsteps barely masking the invective he grumbled under his breath. As the Fossil Pokémon slipped away, Hertsog and his charges were left staring off in shock at the turn of events that had just happened.
"We're- We're going to have to leave Mengir?!" Phyllis stammered. "B-But I-I've been here m-my entire life!"
"I should have known something was up when we switched spots," Payak spat. "Get out of my sight, Salvini. Walk yourself back to that hut."
"Payak!" Hertsog snapped. "That's not-"
"Ne me interesuva! And you're not higher-ranked than me anymore, so don't tell me to shut up about it!" the Ariados exclaimed. "None of this would have happened if it wasn't for whatever Salvini did in that room!"
Salvini bit her tongue and lowered her head. She fought to try and raise her voice, to tell the truth to her teammates, only for her words to die in her mouth every time. Perhaps there was no need to tell, as Payak quickly pounced upon the bitter silence with his own interpretation.
"You did let them get away, didn't you?! Why?!" the Ariados shrieked. "Do you like ruining your friends' lives for fun and games?!"
Salvini started to get bleary-eyed as she realized how her attempt to do the right thing had spiraled much further than she had ever expected it to. As the Grass-Type tried her best to fight back the mist in her eyes, she hesitantly raised her head, finally able to muster her voice to answer her teammates.
"I was just trying to do the job I signed up for," the Grovyle finally said.
Payak shook his head disgustedly, before scuttling off and muttering a bitter 'some job you did' under his breath. Phyllis hesitantly began to walk off as well, giving a betrayed look back at the gecko before slipping off into the night. As the Grass-Type drooped and her spirits began to sink, she felt a paw with a long and wispy fur tug at her shoulder.
"Come on," Hertsog sighed, shaking his head. "Let's get you to the medic's hut."
The pair set off for an exit from the building, Salvini limping along with Hertsog supporting her uneasy gait for the medic's hut back in the town across the stream. The two Pokémon continued off into the night, trudging off into an uncertain future.
Guardia and her teammates looked around the square, jaws agape. They were expecting the Subway to have occasional accommodations for terrestrial mons from seeing this 'Seaspear Station' from the bluff, but this was almost a whole town!
The Cubone could see a wooden lattice interleaved with bubbleweed towering overhead, the structure apparently acting as a support to the great bubble they were in. All along the lattice, signs and posters plastered with runes hung from timbers, intermingled with chains of multicolored and knotted strings. A bit further off, there was a stony building near the far end that lay in the shadow of the tower, next to another Subway passage.
Closer ahead and to the left, there was the hull of a sunken ship that had been repurposed into a tavern and eatery. Opposite of the sunken wreck were a small number of mats and collapsible stands intermingled with small pools of seawater that seemed to run particularly deep, with vacant spaces for others that had been packed up for the night.
As the little Cubone took in the scene in awe, her teammates similarly soaked in the surroundings. Not the least including a blue Nidoran who pawed incredulously at the dry sand on the ground.
"Wow… there's a lot more stuff down here than I was expecting when we saw it," Nida murmured.
"Well, what can I say? The Subway does get its share of Pokémon from both land and sea passing through," Dimitri explained. The Fossil Pokémon's gaze shifted over to a mostly-deserted cluster of crude stands by the moon pools, to glimpse the yawning form of a Ludicolo behind a blue table lined with gummis.
"Hrm… actually, since it's on the way," the Kabutops murmured. "Might as well get that delivery done with."
The crab scuttled over, his charges in tow as he waved to the Grass-Type. The two quickly slipped into conversation as Dimitri fished out a chest from his bag and began to haggle with the duck over a price. For Nida, the details of the conversation went in one ear and out the other, as her mind grew preoccupied with troubled thoughts.
All this time, no matter where the team had gone, the Company had found them shortly afterwards. How long would they have this time before they had to run again? And how much longer could they test their luck in trying to discover how to awaken Pleo's powers?
"Oi, kid. Are you going to buy something or what?"
Nida, Guardia, and Elty looked up to see Pleo staring up puzzledly at a Kingler from one of the circular pools. Elty hastily gestured with his paw at the young Lugia to come, and after a little confusion, the white bird waddled back over to his teammates, shaking a few droplets of water off his plumes.
"How come Bluewhorl doesn't build shops around pools like that, Nida?" he asked.
"Well, I don't know how pools work back around your 'Bluewhorl', but the reason why they're there is because of the golden rule of business," Dimitri chuckled, as he pocketed a small number of glinting coins from the Ludicolo and paced off from the blue table.
"Whenever you've got enough Pokémon hanging around in one part, shops are bound to follow after them!"
"This 'money' thing really makes you hut-dwellers do weird things," Guardia said, shaking her head. "But more importantly, where exactly are we supposed to sleep?"
Dimitri stretched a scythe over towards a stone structure on the edge that was shaped roughly like a bell, where at the bottom, there was an entrance with a glass jar lamp filled with water with glowing blue flecks hanging over an open stone doorway.
"That's the station hostel here," he explained. "It's a little different from what you're used to on land, but I think it'll do for the-"
"Well look who finally decided to come back!"
The group turned and saw that an assortment of sea dwellers had surfaced in the moon pools as others swum up against the Subway's wall, the entire school donning sky blue belts marked with large red dots around their heads and necks. There at the pool Pleo had bobbed in earlier was the form of a Kingdra, who shot an unamused sneer at an increasingly uncomfortable-looking Dimitri.
"Oh… er, hi there… Kuda," the Kabutops murmured.
"Hrmph, you sure like to waste everyone's time with your surface trips," the Kingdra snorted. "We were beginning to wonder if you'd finally died of dehydration up on land this time."
"Sorry," Dimitri sighed. "I had a last-minute request on the way out."
"Yeah, he took us down to this place," Elty added.
The Kingdra swam up, and moved his snout about to examine Dimitri's passengers. After giving a passing glance at each of the four members of Team Traveller, the seahorse scoffed before directing a withering glare at their Kabutops guide.
"Tch. Just what we needed down here, more air-breathers," Kuda spat. "Next time you should make them swim down here on their own!"
"Aw, lay off of it, Kuda," a Lumineon admonished from behind the bubble's wall.
"Yeah," a Whiscash said from a moon pool further behind. "There's nothing wrong with some 'mons passing through and seeing the place."
"And you get to meet plenty of new faces," an accompanying Dewgong reassured. "Like that weird Wingull over there!"
"Eh?!" Pleo exclaimed. "Why am I 'weird'?!"
The Lugia gave a confused bob of his head, only for Kuda to scoff and give a disdainful shake of his head.
"Plenty of new faces that would be better off staying on their sea rocks!" the Kingdra snapped. "Dimitri, why are these 'mons even here?"
"Well, they look a little roughed up," the Lumineon murmured. "Maybe Dimitri picked them up after they fell into the sea?"
"If that's why they're here, there's nothing wrong with that, Kuda," the Dewgong chimed in. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine until they pay up their fee!"
Nida's ears pricked up at the seal's suspiciously enthusiastic tone, prompting her to twitch her whiskers and backpedal a bit to Dimitri's side.
"… 'Fee'?" the Nidoran asked.
"Yeah, rescuing stranded air breathers isn't easy work, you know!" the Whiscash added. "And we like getting rewarded for our generosity!"
"Someone already covered them," Dimitri said, interrupting the catfish. "Besides, I'm the one who picked them up anyways."
The Kabutops' words drew a wave of groans. If the four children had already had their rescue fee paid, then there was little point in lurking around.
"What a waste of time," the Dewgong spat.
"Whelp, nothing to see here," the Lumineon grunted. "I'm swimming back to our resting place."
The reactions of his fellow sea Pokémon drew a dismayed look from the Kabutops, before he huffily called after their departing forms.
"Hey! Why does everything involving surface-dwellers have to involve a reward?!" Dimitri protested.
"Did you even collect anything to take them down here?" Kuda pressed. "With how much you've started sucking up to landmons since you evolved, I'm starting to think that you didn't."
"I did collect a reward this time," Dimitri snapped. "And even if I didn't, how is helping out other Pokémon so much worse a use of my time than holding up some ship-"
"First off, that ship was crewed by pirates," a gurgling voice interrupted. "Second off, you didn't 'help these Pokémon' on your time. You did it on ours."
The Fossil Pokémon turned around and noticed a familiar Dragalge had emerged from one of the moon pools from behind. The Poison-Type shot a withering glare at Dimitri, which made him flinch and blanch as he attempted to regain his bearings.
"Oh… hello, Ataman Viktor…" he gulped. "I got the seeds you asked for!"
"That's wonderful," the Dragalge grumbled. "But I asked you to get them two days ago."
"Uhm… well you see…" the Kabutops began. "Something came up."
The sea dragon shot back an icy, dispassionate stare as he shifted his glance over the members of Team Traveller one by one.
"I can see that… We were supposed to leave for Otvaga Island this morning but instead we had to wait for you all day," Viktor growled. "Looks to me like you were once again running errands for strangers at the expense of your own rod."
"But he wasn't running errands!" Pleo insisted. "He was helping us get away from trouble!"
"Well, are you still in trouble here?" the Dragalge demanded, only to be met by a hesitating response from the young Protector.
"No…"
"Then there's no reason to continue to be held up here, is there, Dimitri?" the Poison-Type demanded.
"But-!"
"But nothing!" Viktor shouted. "You either swim with the rest of us tonight, or you can find some other rod to hold up with your inability to keep to a schedule!"
Dimitri turned and lowered his head to face Team Traveller sheepishly. As the children's moods drooped, the crab reluctantly spoke up.
"… Sorry, it looks like this is the part where we have to split up," the Kabutops murmured, shaking his head.
"… It's fine," Nida mumbled. "We'll manage… somehow."
Dimitri sighed and slid his bag off his shoulders and onto the ground. The Kabutops bent down and opened it, fishing out a small pouch which he extended towards the Nidoran.
"Here," the Kabutops said. "It's not much, but even if I can't be there to help you in person, this oughta help you get a claw up on things."
"Eh?!" Kuda explained. "Why are you wasting your money on those-?!"
"Can it, Kuda!" Viktor snapped.
The Dragalge's outburst made the Kingdra stiffen up and go quiet. Afterwards, Viktor turned his attention back to Dimitri, giving a frustrated shake of his head and an impatient churn of the moon pool's water with his fins.
"We've waited long enough. Come on, we're leaving."
Viktor and Kuda dove into the water of their moon pools, leaving behind only faintly bubbling water as a record of their presence. Dimitri looked over his companions before giving a reluctant wave back to Team Traveller and lowering himself into a nearby pool to slip under the surface after the two seahorses. Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia looked out past the bubble wall over Seaspear Station, and saw the three's forms appear briefly outside before joining a larger school of Pokémon and slipping off into the dark waters away from the glowing flecks of algae around the rest stop.
"… This just isn't our day, is it?" Elty sighed.
"Let's… just get some rest right now," Nida muttered. "We shouldn't be staying up when we're worn out like this…"
The Nidoran turned around and looked off at the hostel Dimitri had pointed out earlier. With all the bad things that had happened to them today, the four tiredly staggered off for the building, eager to finally get some rest and respite from their tribulations.
When Team Traveller finally entered the stony, bell-shaped building that Dimitri had pointed out, they were met with a peculiar scene. Inside, they found a strange ground floor with a stone staircase leading up to a second level, and an assortment of decorative rocks and pebbles. The space was deserted, the sole exception consisting of a Corsola lazily going through a colorful collection of knotted strings tied to a cord behind a table-like stone by the entrance, wondering aloud how it was that a drill could pierce the heavens. Pleo craned his head around curiously, before turning to the Water-Type.
"Um… is this really a place to sleep?" he wondered. "There aren't any windows... Why, there's not even tables or stools here!"
"That's what the rocks are for," the Corsola grunted back. "And isn't it a bit late for kids like you to be up? Why don't you go find a place in the chamber upstairs?"
"Huh?" Pleo asked. "The sleeping place is underwater, too?"
"... And?" the receptionist asked.
"Y-You can't expect me to sleep underwater!" Elty spluttered. "If those bubbles outside popped, I'd drown without being able to do anything about it!"
"You would not believe how many times we hear that," the Corsola groaned, before rolling her eyes and pointing an arm up at the ceiling. The Water-Type moved her arm-nub along, where on closer examination the stony ceiling seemed to have a distinct bowl-like shape to it.
"Feel better now, Growlithe?"
"Am I supposed to?" Elty huffed. "Just what exactly is a weird-looking roof supposed to do?"
"Surely you've played with putting an upside-down cup into a tub of water before?" the receptionist sighed. "How air stays in the top of the cup?"
"Uh… well… not really? I mean, I guess I've heard of it-" the Growlithe murmured, before shaking his head indignantly "What are you even getting at here?"
"She's saying that this place up top is like a big cup, Gardie," Guardia tut-tutted. "So if water comes in, there will still be air at the top. Even I could figure that out!"
"… Wait a minute, when did you ever get your claws on a cup-?" Nida began, only to be cut off by the Corsola clearing her throat.
"Anyhow, since we've established that you won't drown in your sleep here, mind heading on ahead?" she demanded. "You're not the only ones here who need sleep."
"Er… right," Pleo said.
The four shambled up the stairs, where much to their surprise, there was no hallway like back at Mengir's Cromlech Inn. Instead, they found a large, dome-shaped room held up by a circle of stone columns that occupied the entire floor, lit by the faint glow of jars filled with water containing blue flecks of light.
"Eh…? No room to ourselves?" Pleo asked.
The team looked around, and discovered that sure enough, there didn't seem to be any other rooms. The entire space was flecked with mostly-unclaimed straw bedding with an occasional bed taken up by a dozing form. Indeed the only sign of there being any life at all in the room were the tired snores of the Pokémon inside, and a still-awake group consisting of an Ampharos and two Flaaffy who traded curious glances over at the group before turning away.
"… Let's not dwell on it. Besides, it's not that different from the lodging at the guild," Nida sighed. "It's been a long day, and we really should rest right now-"
"Un momento!" a bleating voice cried, which made Nida's barbs stand on end and prompted her to whirl around.
"Eh?!"
The team looked up and saw the two Flaaffy from earlier, decked in red cloth. The leader of the two wore his scarf in a flat and unassuming style, while the other strangely enough wore his as a headband.
"The name's Currituck, and this is my brother Bodie," the leading Flaaffy cheered. "You wouldn't mind if we asked a bit about your day, would you?"
"Yeah, if you've had a dreary day, we can lend a listening ear!" the Flaaffy with the headband offered.
Nida twitched her whiskers warily, sensing something was amiss. Were these Pokémon from Tromba? The sheep with the headband certainly wore his scarf like he was from it. And why were they so energetic at this late hour?
"Um… who are you two again?" Elty asked.
"They're my children," an older, bleating voice added. "As you can see, age hasn't quite taken that child-like curiosity out of them."
The Growlithe whirled his head to see the voice's owner. She turned out to be an Ampharos, with visibly aged features and a small notch in her right ear. This detail was momentarily lost on Pleo, who excitedly piped up with...
"Oh! Hatteras!" he chirped. "What are you doing down here?!"
"Er… it's actually Alexandria. Bodie, Currituck, could you two give me a moment?"
The two Flaaffy wandered off, muttering something about "boring elder stuff", as the Ampharos named 'Alexandria' turned back to face Pleo.
"I'm surprised you'd think I'd be a 'Hatteras'. It sounds like a male name, but I'm female," the wizened sheep chuckled. "I guess you're not from around here?"
"Er, no. Not exactly…" Nida admitted.
"We're apparently from a bunch of different places," Guardia said. "I only came along when this lot came by Kenobi Island."
"Ah, so you're on an adventure!" Alexandria bleated. "Well, I suppose it never hurts to wander off from home a bit as long as you have a way of keeping in touch!"
At the mention of "keeping in touch", the wizened Ampharos noticed Team Traveller collectively droop.
"... Don't you?" the sheep asked.
"I'm… not really sure right now," the Nidoran answered.
The older Pokémon raised her eyebrow curiously, seemingly at a loss at Nida's response.
"Hrm?" Alexandria wondered. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, it just seems we've been getting into a lot of trouble on the surface," Nida explained. "And I'm not really sure where we can go."
"Oh, is the Company causing you grief?" the Ampharos asked. "You wouldn't be the first such group I've encountered before in my travels."
Guardia jumped into a defensive stance, flinching back as though a secret had been exposed.
"Chotto matte, how on earth did you know?!" Guardia exclaimed.
"Because the surface above here is crawling with Company Pokémon?" Elty explained.
"… Oh right," the Cubone replied, sheepishly pawing at the back of her neck.
"If you're having trouble with the Company," Bodie murmured, "why not see the Blue Fairy?"
Two fluffy heads poked out from behind a column. Their mother raised an eyebrow at them, then shook her head before turning back to an increasingly curious-looking Lugia.
"The Blue… Fairy?" Pleo wondered.
"… She's a traveling advina who's run into her own share of trouble with the Company," the motherly Ampharos explained. "I don't know exactly what's happened with you, but if you need tips to stay ahead of those square-necks, she'd have plenty to give you."
"Yeah, she was in Braveshoal Town just the other day, and she usually sticks around for a few days at a time when she's around," Currituck explained.
"Wait, Braveshoal Town?" Nida asked.
"It's an undersea town at Otvaga Island," Bodie explained. "Lots of sea Pokémon around here live there for part of the year before going on migrations with their clans."
Wait a minute! Did that Flaaffy just say Otvaga Island? Then...
"Ah! That was where Dimitri said he was headed!" Nida squeaked. "We'd just need to follow him and-"
The Nidoran paused as she realized she had no idea where that town was, or what direction Dimitri had even swum too. How was the team supposed to find either without some idea of what to do?
"… oh, right," the Poison-Type muttered. "We still don't know where Dimitri went to get to Otvaga..."
"Oh, it's not that hard to find," Currituck insisted.
"Yeah, just follow the Subway passage to the east from here, and it will take you straight to it!" Bodie chimed in.
"Thanks for the heads-up," Nida said, giving a thankful nod to the electric sheep. "We'll be sure to go there right away!"
"Right away as in 'right now'?" Guardia asked. "In the dead of night?"
"Er… right," Nida sighed. "We should probably get some shut-eye first."
The team picked out their nests for the night and settled down. As the four curled against the straw lumps, their eyes began to droop and yawns began to rise in their throats.
"Nida," Pleo chirped. "Before we go to bed… could you tell me a story?"
"… I honestly can't think of anything right now, Pleo," Nida sighed, shaking her head. "It's been a rough day, and we're all tired and worn down, and-"
"If you need a tale to help you count Mareep..." Alexandria said. "Might I help?"
The four Pokémon looked up and blinked at the Ampharos. A story certainly couldn't hurt at this hour… Even so, something seemed to be nagging Elty, and prompted him to turn to his Nidoran teammate.
"Psst, so wait," Elty whispered. "Does that mean when she heads off to sleep she counts herself?"
"Elty, shush!" Nida snapped, slapping a paw over the Growlithe's muzzle.
"Eh? What are you going to tell us?" Guardia asked.
"I think I'll start off with something that your spike ball friend might like," the Electric-Type answered. "It's a tale that I heard before about a Nidorino called the 'Prince of a Thousand Enemies'."
"Bah, even down here we have to hear that same old story?!" Elty snorted, before pausing in a realization. "Hey… wait a minute…"
He did a double-take, staring at her. Wasn't that the story that Nida kept telling over and over? Then...
"How do you know about that anyways?" he demanded.
"An old friend told it to me once," the Ampharos replied. "One who was a lot like your Nidoran friend with you."
The Electric-Type sidled over and sat down on a straw bed in front of Team Traveller, her sons coming over and similarly taking seats as Team Traveller's members sank into their straw piles. The Ampharos cleared her throat, and then began to speak.
"A long, long time ago," Alexandria began "Back in the time of the old world, there was a young Prince Nidorino who ruled over all the world's Nidoran."
"One with many, many children…" Pleo murmured.
"That's right dear," the Ampharos answered. "He had so many children that they were like the stars in the sky. And they were all very, very hungry…"
As Alexandria began to recount the familiar story, Nida's eyelids started to become heavy and droop. As the Poison-Type began to drift off to sleep, thoughts of Kiran and Crom came back to her mind…
And somehow, in spite of being cooped up in the underwater hostel, for a fleeting moment, she felt as if she was back home.
As the sun slowly started to rise above the horizon, the Siglo Swellow bobbed along the waves between Kenobi and Mengir. Below deck, Crom and Pladur busied themselves as usual preparing breakfast inside the ship's makeshift galley. The Fraxure watched as his son was busy mixing a white substance and berry juice with a simple reed whisk.
"Remember, small and fast movements, Crom," Pladur instructed. "You want to get that flavoring into the entire batch."
"Dad, I know how to stir!" Crom protested. "I do it all the time back home in the bakery!"
As the Druddigon continued to stir and whip the bowl of gummi mix and flavoring, he heard the sound of voices creep in through a few cracks in the wall. The chattering beyond the wall just loud enough to compete with the sounds of breakfast being made.
"Heh, you've gotta hand it to Pat! Here I was worried that I wouldn't get a letter back from the kids and the missus for another week, and that Unfezant drops one off overnight!"
The talk about letters made Crom's claws begin to slow and grow distracted, prompting the young Druddigon to turn a curious head and turn towards his father.
"Eh? We got mail from back home?" he asked. "But I don't remember hearing about it last night…"
"Oh, Pat dropped it off a few hours before we left port," Pladur said. "Cenn and your mother sent a letter for us during his last trip."
"Eh?! They did?!" the Druddigon cried out. "But then why didn't you tell me?! "
"Er… well... you were asleep when I got the letter and I didn't want to wake you," Pladur sheepishly admitted. "It should still be in my bag at our quarters. Why don't you take a break to go read it? I can handle the rest of the stirring."
The Druddigon nodded and set down the whisk and bowl against the table before darting out of the galley. The little Druddigon scampered down the darkened and creaking hallways, making his way past cabins and crates before he arrived at the shared room where he, Pladur, and a good number of the Siglo Swellow's crewmembers slept.
The Dragon-Type opened the door and stuck his head in, and after discovering that a number of his crewmates were still sleeping inside, he crept along with careful and slow paces. He made his way past a few slumbering Pokémon, before he finally arrived at the straw bedding he and his father had slept on overnight. After looking up, he noticed a simple bag made of tan cloth hanging from a peg on a rafter above Pladur's bedding, and began to root through it.
He felt his claw pass over the rinds of berries, a few hard seeds, and a few small articles of wood and clay… aha, an envelope! The young Druddigon pulled out the envelope and felt that it had been opened along the top, surely his mother's letter. The creature pulled the letter out, and in the low light, began to glance over the paper.
It was a message with the expected well wishes and inquiries as to how he and his father were doing. The bakery was holding up better than expected, and Cenn was being his usual rambunctious self.
Pyry was still at work in the bakery, and his friends weren't causing (very much) trouble. The neighbors had settled back into their work in and around the town and life had largely settled back into a routine. Why, were it not for the fact that the letter was addressed to him and the well-wishing in the hunt for Team Traveller, Crom would've thought the letter was like one of the ones to his father he and his family sent in the past.
All-in-all it was a very homely message, and the paper even smelt of flour and bread… Just like that little bakery that was now so far away.
Crom's heart ached at the thought of how distant home and the village was. The Druddigon grunted and shook his head, stuffing the letter and envelope back into the bag. The Dragon-Type turned and began to retrace his steps back to the door, when towards the exit, he chanced to notice Ander's bag lying on a crate from the corner of his eye. There, protruding slightly from the mouth, was the same bulky form that he remembered seeing back at the battlefield at Kenobi.
Zzz...
Crom looked around and listened to the quiet chorus of snores coming from around the room. It didn't seem like anyone was awake… so, maybe… it wouldn't hurt if he just took a little peek inside.
The young Dragon-Type bent down and slipped his claws into the mouth of Ander's bag. After feeling a bulky wooden cover against his claws, he latched them tight against it and carefully pulled the tome out.
The book was a large codex with a jet-black cover, adorned with a white eight-pointed star with lengthened cross-axes. The Druddigon opened the book up and discovered that it was filled with a strange script whose glyphs all seemed to look like floating eyes and sticks.
"Eh? What is this?"
There didn't seem to be any guide for how to interpret the strange runes, though as Crom looked around, he began to notice the tome was full of drawings that were embedded alongside the glyphs.
There was a picture of white, hoofed figure with a plated girdle rising from a blackened rift, calling down fiery lights onto a town… Wait a minute, this figure was Arceus! But why was he being drawn like this?
The young Druddigon leafed through further pages, and found picture after picture of great, monstrous creatures creating havoc. There was a red bird in a dead, petrified forest surrounded by what appeared to be statues of terrified Pokémon. A great white-and-yellow titan dragging an island under the waves of the seas. A white seabird in the heart of a great storm laying waste to a seaside city… Wait a moment-!
"E-Eh?!" Crom exclaimed. "Th-That's Pleo!"
As Crom began to turn through a few more pages, he suddenly felt something flat and chitinous press up hard over his snout and a presence tugging him back. The Druddigon gave a muffled squeal of fright, and flailed desperately against his captor as he was pulled out of the room and into the hallway.
"A-Aah! Let me go! Let me go-!"
"Quiet down already!" a buzzing voice scolded. Crom felt the presence let him go and yank the tome out of his claws, as the young Druddigon whirled around wide-eyed, he came face-to-face with an unamused Ander.
"A-Ander?!" Crom squeaked. "What are you doing?! Why did you grab me like that?!"
"Why did you root through my stuff like that?" the Scyther demanded. Crom blinked, and began to look at the ground as the color flushed from his crest.
"Uh… er…"
There… wasn't any real explanation that he could give to Ander beyond his own curiosity. The Scyther, seeming to gather that no real harm had been done to his property, pulled his tome close to his chest, shook his head, and gave a stern glare.
"Don't go violating other Pokémon's privacy like that!" the Bug-Type scolded.
"I'm sorry… It's just… well, I saw it during practice back in Kenobi and I was curious," Crom said, lowering his wings and pulling his head and tail in apologetically.
"If you must know what it is, it's a copy of the Scripture of Truth," Ander explained. "It's a book that's very important to Marked like me and Cassie."
"Huh? But why?" Crom asked. "And why is it filled with strange runes and those drawings of monsters destroying things? And why is Pleo in it?"
"Those runes are the language that we used to use long, long ago, back when the Cradle was still young," the Bug-Type answered. "As for what's in it, it's an annal of the history our ancestors saw, and their warnings for the generations that would come after them."
"But what does it say?" Crom pressed. The Druddigon's question was met by a long silence from Ander, before the mantis finally gave an involuntary flick of his wings and began to speak.
"... It's not anything you need to be worried about right now," Ander grunted. "The readers of this book have been taught to only reveal its contents to those who are both ready and trusted to bear the burden of its knowledge."
Crom took a step back and blinked. Just what sort of knowledge was in this book? And what did Pleo have to do with it?
"Just… don't worry about it, Crom," the Scyther sighed. "Things will be easier for the both of us if we just move on from this."
With that, the bladed mantis quietly crept back into the sleeping quarters, presumably to return his treasured book to a safe resting spot. Crom faltered a moment, and then uneasily began to make his way back down the hallways of the ship.
As the little Dragon-Type carried on, troubling thoughts swirled about his head. Why wouldn't Ander give him a straight answer about the Lugia in the book?
Though its head crest was spikier, and the figure seemed to be much larger, it had the distinctive silvery-white and blue plumes of a Lugia. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought that the picture was depicting a great monster!
But why? Why would Ander and the rest of the Marked see Pleo that way-?
THWAM!
"A-Ack!"
The ship suddenly lurched, which sent the Druddigon pitching forward and tumbling against the timbered floor. The sound of jars and bowls crashing to the floor, along with Pladur yelping came from the galley as the wood groaned and shuddered with the sounds of a commotion coming from the upper decks.
"They're going for the rear mast!"
"Quick, get a Protect up!"
As Crom picked himself up, he saw his father dash out of the galley and look around wide-eyed.
"D-Dad?! Wh-What's going on?!" he cried. "Did we hit something?!"
CRASH!
The ship rocked and groaned once again, which sent the Dragon-Types desperately latching onto a nearby barrel for balance. As the ship evened out, Crom darted off for the exit to see what the commotion above deck was.
"Ack! Crom! Wait!" Pladur exclaimed, running after his son. "It's not safe out there!"
The Fraxure's pleas fell upon deaf ears, as Crom hastily clambered up the rickety, wooden staircase onto the deck, his father closely following. The two looked up and saw that the rear mast had broken and listed at its mid-section while Pokémon darted to and fro in a panicked commotion. Father and son looked around for the cause of the ruckus, until their glances fell to the ship's port side and the two's blood ran cold.
There, off in the not-so-far distance, was Hess' golden-sailed caravel, the ship and its escorts rapidly closing in on them.
Author's Notes:
- Mwo (뭐) - Korean: "What", used here as an interjection. (South Korean Revised Romanization)
- otlichno (отлично) - Russian: "fine", "very well" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)
- kaisō (海藻) - Japanese: "seaweed" (Hepburn Romanization)
- Ne me interesuva! (Нe мe интeрeсува!) - Bulgarian: "I don't care!" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)
- Ataman (Атаман) - Russian: "Chieftain", "Commander", traditionally used as name of the leader of a Cossack host. (BGN/PCGN Romanization)
- advina - Spanish: "fortuneteller"
