Special Chapter: The Deepest Wounds, Part 2

Off under the column of fog, Nagrobek's Mystery Dungeon churned and shifted with the Distortion within, its resident ferals navigating the ever-changing terrain as they attempted to carry on with their lives. Among them were the forms of two Foongus under a sky with trees dangling upside-down in the distance above, watching a noticeably scruffy and haggard Growlithe pass by tugging along a trio of visibly greenish, unripened Cheri Berries through the dirt. The young pup would occasionally drop one of the berries, forcing him to go back and attempt to drag it along.

"… Eh? Isn't that Growlithe a bit young to be gathering on his own?" one of the Foongus asked.

"Just leave him," the other Foongus grumbled. "We've got our own problems with those knot-necks in lavender prowling around and we can't be watching over every random kundel in the dungeon."

Elty watched as the Foongus pair slipped off, shaking his head and glaring determinedly as he brought his meager meal along for a gap among the dead trees filled with fog. He'd been lurching from day to day since the square-necked Pokémon took his mother, with little more than the scraps he'd been able to gather through half-remembered lessons from the departed Arcanine. All the while he'd desperately clung to a faint hope that she would come back, even if the Protector herself had to return from wherever the square-necks had taken her egg to make it happen.

The Growlithe proceeded forth, carefully pacing along with his meal into a haze that thickened to the point of being unable to see the nose on his face… before thinning out little by little to reveal the contours of a stony den wedged between tree roots.

"H-Huh?!"

Elty abruptly stopped with a start, dropping his berries out of surprise as he discovered the form of a lazing Pangoro occupying his expected refuge. The bear's black and white fur filled into view as the Growlithe made his way forward, fumbling with his words as the Pangoro got up, shooting a harsh glare over at the intruding pup.

"What do you want?" the Pangoro demanded. "I'm trying to sleep here."

"B-But this is my place to sleep," Elty stammered. "My mother found it and everything!"

"Yeah, well it's mine now."

The Growlithe spluttered as his face contorted in anger, the fire in his belly burning as he snorted out some stray Embers.

"You- You can't do that!" Elty cried. "It's mine! This place is-!"

The Fire-Type was cut off by a set of claws digging into the scruff of his neck and lifting him up, before sending him flying back into a tree trunk with a shriek. The Growlithe picked himself in a daze and watched as the Pangoro lunged for him, prompting him to curl up and screw his eyes shut before hearing a low growl, looking up to see the Dark-Type looming over him with a hateful glare.

"Take a hint, you stupid dog!" the bear snarled. "Get out of my territory before I shove you into the Distortion!"

Elty yelped and took off running back through the fog for dear life. The pup hurried through the thick mist the best his senses would allow him, picking up speed and bounding out as soon as he saw the shape of the tree trunks outside take form. The Growlithe stood there panting and looking around uneasily, when his eyes shrank to pins at the horrified realization that he felt lighter after coming out...

He'd left his Cheri Berries back in the den!

"My food!"

Elty paced back for the Distortion before stopping, realizing that the Pangoro would surely be waiting for him on the other end. The Puppy Pokémon pulled his ears and tail tight against his body, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

"… Why is this happening to me...?"

The Growlithe slunk off and settled down on a pile of loose leaves, burying his head in them. Everything he did to try and fight to keep himself fed and alive seemed to fail, as if the Travellers themselves preferred he stopped existing. He curled up, sitting there and waiting for the winds of the Distortion to come and sweep him up… off to whatever dark place awaited him and his mother.


KLANK! KLANK! KLANK!

"Get up, scum! It's time to make yourself useful!"

Pyry and Pekka jolted at the sound of harsh clanging at the front of their cell, where the forms of a Passimian and a Vikavolt stood followed by a glaring Exploud with bound arms. The Passimian slipped a key into a lock built into the door and threw it open, hitting the wall with a loud crash as the the sound of other cells opening and indistinct shouting rang out in the background.

"W-What's going on?!" Pekka yelped.

"Hrmph… it seems it's our turn to crush rocks for them," Sirmia murmured, drawing a blank stare from her Gible cellmate.

"Crush… rocks?"

"You didn't think we were just going to let you sit in your cells and get fat off of our food, did you?" the Vikavolt sneered. "No, hurry up and help process the current batch of tin ore along with the rest of the scum!"

The Passimian threw a pair of hands into the cell and latched onto Pyry's fin and the back of Pekka's neck, dragging them for the door with a yelp. The two Ground-Types struggled and flailed with startled cries as they were drug through the doorway, where they saw the Exploud from the next cell over glowering behind the Vikavolt. For a brief moment, Pyry and Pekka saw their Gogoat cellmate trade a nod with the Exploud, blinking curiously before the Ground-Types were pinned to the ground by their captors. The Vikavolt gave a sharp buzz, readying a glob of silk between his mandibles, when a deafening blast suddenly rang out that made the Vikavolt jolt upright with a startled buzz.

"Huh?! What on earth was that?!"

The Exploud shifted, the guards unaware that his limbs were beginning to move suspiciously against his bindings, before he threw his head down and charged, bellowing out to the Gogoat inside.

"Now!"

Bill bit down on the Passimian's arm and yanked the lemur in with a shout as the Exploud pushed the Vikavolt in from behind and tumbled into the cell together. Sparks began to build around the wings of the Vikavolt, only for the stag beetle to be struck by a gout of fire from a wide-eyed Arcanine and then slammed headfirst into a wall by the Gogoat, sliding to the ground with a feeble groan. Pyry and Pekka gasped for air, watching as the Passimian was pinned to the ground by the Exploud, only to kick him free and make a frantic break for the cell door, slamming it shut and locking it as he panted haggardly.

"H-Hah! Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable, scum!" the Passimian snapped. "Consider your tickets to The Pit booked after your little stunt-"

"Stay back! Back I tell you!"

"Eyaaargh!"

"They're ganging up on us! Sound the alarm!"

At the sound of panicked shouts behind him, all semblance of confidence quickly drained from the Passimian's face. The Fighting-Type looked back and saw beams and projectiles flying wildly around the hallway as Pokémon stormed out of freshly-opened cells and mobbed guards in lavender scarves one after the other.

"Wh-What the-?"

The Passimian looked around the prison hall in a panic, until he noticed a white-furred Ninetales in Company garb running in in a hurry. Instinctively, the Passimian raised a hand, waving to try and flag his cohort down.

"H-Hey!" the guard exclaimed. "What's going on he-"

The Passimian's eyes widened as the Ninetales' eyes flashed a brilliant violet and a cone of an alike-colored aura swirled from her forehead in visible rings. The Fighting-Type hastily attempted to fall back, only for rings to suddenly strike him and hurl him to the side headfirst against the bars. The Passimian slumped over with a weak groan, leaving the Ninetales to step atop the fallen Fighting-Type's body and peer intently through the bars at a slack-jawed Pyry and Pekka.

"Huh?!" Pyry exclaimed. "You just beat up your own buddy!"

"Hardly."

The Ninetales stooped down and snatched up the misshapen metal key from beside the unconscious Passimian and slid it into the cell door's lock. The Exploud pulled the door open, leaving the Ninetales to drag the Passimian and throw him beside the Vikavolt before filing out with its occupants. As the Exploud locked the cell door behind him, Pyry and Pekka stared incredulously at the Ninetales who drew an impatient growl from the Exploud.

"Took you long enough!" the Exploud grumbled. "Here I was getting antsy the signal was a false alarm!"

"Yeah, well I can't be bailing all of you out from your own dumb mistakes," the white Ninetales retorted.

"Explain yourselves," Sirmia demanded. "Who are you, and what is going on here?"

"We're members of the Phlogiston Raiders, and we've been waiting for two months to make our move here," the Gogoat explained.

The Arcanine tilted her head before noticing Pyry and Pekka staring off in the distance as pained shouts and screams rang out. Sirmia looked back, watching as lavender-scarved Pokémon were mobbed among the corridors, some being pushed into cells and locked up, others being pounced and set upon by angry prisoners, and still others fleeing in a mad dash for safety away from pursuing mobs. The three Pokémon stared incredulously for a moment, before slowly turning back to the Exploud as a satisfied smirk spread over his toothy mouth.

"Liking the handiwork, huh?" he said. Pekka and Pyry peered up at the Exploud and then back at the now-closed cell, wincing as the sounds of angry revenge being dealt out in the background filtered to their ears.

"Yeesh, I'll say," the Trapinch murmured.

"What about the Pokémon in the mine the guards keep talking about?" Bill insisted. "That 'Pit' they keep threatening Pokémon with."

"We weren't able to get anyone embedded into it since all the guards there are from the same group of mercenaries," the Exploud explained. "We'll do what we can to find it and free them once the reinforcements make it up here."

"Well, we don't have time to wait for that. Let's not waste the advantage we've got for now…" the white-furred Ninetales said, before turning her snout up and letting out a piercing howl that made Pyry and Pekka cringe and caught the attention of the newly-freed prisoners.

"Hey! We've got your ticket to freedom here!" the Ninetales shouted. "Just get out of the cell block before the guards can do anything!"

The Ice-Type's call was answered by a loud, roaring cheer from the prisoners in the hall as the crowd began to charge off down for its far end, prompting Sirmia to dash off after the group and Pyry and Pekka to hurry along after her. The hallway quickly thickened with bodies, the scent of freedom prying the convicts away from their cells and indulgences of revenge, sending the thronging mob of Pokémon charging down the hallways past one bend after the other for a pair of double doors with sunlight filtering through their cracks. As the mob neared, the doors abruptly flew open, revealing a Scizor in dark blue armor at the head of a smaller group of snarling Pokémon in lavender scarves.

"There they are! Crush those scum!" she cried. "We'll assist the other blocks after this one!"

The Scizor and her underlings filed into position, the guards at the front raising a wall of light barriers while their compatriots deeper within sent a volley of attacks down the hallway. The air filled with yelps and screams as the attacks found their marks, felling a number of prisoners at the front of the mob, only for others to charge ahead and take their place, careening square into the blockading guards. The front line quickly turned into a melee of blows and shouts, with Sirmia caught in the thick of it spitting up a column of fire onto an unfortunate Ferrothorn.

"Aaaaaaagh!"

The Grass-Type shrieked and writhed under the flames, before staggering over and slumping to the ground. Sirmia, satisfied with her belly-fire's work, shoved the spiked guard aside, giving a disgusted growl at the prone Ferrothorn.

"Don't get between me and my pup, you vile-!"

The Arcanine suddenly felt a wet burst catch her in her gut, launching her back and sending her tumbling into a wall. Sirmia staggered up dazedly, growling and seething when she felt her paws leave the ground, looking over in a panic to see a Slowbro with glowing eyes and his arms held out guiding her body into the air.

"Lights out, you miserable mutt!" the Psychic-Type snarled.

The Slowbro moved his arms, preparing to fling Sirmia into a wall, only to feel a pair of sharp pains on his legs. The guard winced and lost his focus, dropping Sirmia back on her feet as she darted back from the startled Slowbro.

"Agh! What the-?!"

The Psychic-Type's gaze darted down, where he noticed a pair of angry-looking critters hanging onto each of his legs: a Trapinch on his right ankle with his powerful jaws, and a Gible on the calf of his other leg.

"You little brats!" the Slowbro seethed. "Get off of me!"

The Slowbro thrashed wildly, flinging his Gible and Trapinch attackers to and fro in an effort to shake them loose. Pyry heard Pekka suddenly yelp and hit the ground with a thud, before feeling a forceful swat that knocked him loose and sent him tumbling to the ground. The Gible looked back and flinched after seeing the guard looming above him, only to let loose an agonized scream as Sirmia wrestled him to the ground with a fierce bite. Pyry and Pekka picked themselves up panting, watching as the Arcanine got off the unconscious Slowbro and spat up a wad of spittle. The time to celebrate the victory proved to be fleeting, as a deafening blast caught their ears and made the three jolt back.

BOOM!

All eyes turned back through the doorway and into yard, where a large cloud of dust and smoke rose from the wall ringing the complex. The Scizor stared wide-eyed with her jaw hanging limp as the gust cleared, revealing a gaping chasm blasted into the prison wall, with a fiery blur rushing away from it.

"Gah, there's a hole in the exterior walls!" the Bug-Type shouted. "Don't let the prisoners-!"

The Scizor ringleader was cut off by a fiery burst, launching her back with a stunned hiss. From the direction of the shattered wall, the form of the culprit, a Chandelure in a lavender scarf became apparent, prompting the Exploud to crack a broad grin as the guards stood in fixed shock.

"Now's the time to charge!" the Loud Noise Pokémon cried. "Don't let those square-necks bog you down!"

The Exploud charged ahead, the prisoners following in a mob descending on the still-stunned guards. The air grew thick with cries and traded blows as both guards and prisoners fell, but amidst the struggle, an ever-widening path onto the yard opened up, prompting the Chandelure to cry out to the Pokémon inside

"The exit's open!" he shouted. "Hurry up and take advantage of it while you can!"

The mob of prisoners charged ahead, some on the fringes straying off and getting bogged down fighting the remaining guards scattered ahead. From within the melee, Sirmia, Pyry, and Pekka ran ahead, dashing along the open yard for the hole in the wall with all the strength their legs could muster.

"What are we supposed to do after we get out?!" Pekka exclaimed.

"I don't know, veikka!" Pyry panted. "Worry about one thing at a time first!"


"Grr..."

From his office in the tower overlooking the cliffside prison, Elilan had watched the prison erupt into chaos, as trails of smoke and dust curled up from within the complex. The low boom of cannonfire rang out from the ship-packed sea below, with a set of four red-sailed ships among them catching Elilan's eye as they led the charge in an attempt to pin down the ships docked at the garrison. Other ships shot volleys of Apricorn grapeshot and lobbed bombs up the cliffside towards the walls of the prison. The Zoroark glared and dug his claws into the window frame to gouge a set of deep grooves with his claws, before instinctively whirling back at the sound of a Trevenant coming to a hurried halt behind him.

"Betulo!" the Zoroark Administrator exclaimed. "There's Apricorns flying past my office window! Give me a status report of what's going on out there!"

"The garrison and Dulefield Town have been attacked by pirates and a riot's just broken out in the prison," the Ghost-Type answered. "It started right when the raid did, so our current assumption is that the pirates and prisoners are coordinating their actions."

"What?! How on earth pirates manage to set up lines of communication from my prison?!" Elilan snapped. "Imperials shouldn't have been able to manage this, let alone a bunch of unwashed raiders!"

Betulo opened his mouth to speak back, only for a deafening blast to rattle the office's windows. The pair peered out the window, where a cloud of dust and smoke was rising up from a chunk of the prison's exterior wall freshly reduced to rubble, with other plumes rising further away. Crashes and wooshes rang out, as further attacks continued pouring in from the ships in the sea below. Elilan grit his teeth and balled his paws up into fists, his voice coming out in a seething, dangerous growl.

"I don't have time for this…" he fumed. "Just make sure Subject Blue is secured and order your subordinates to fall back to defensible positions, I'll help even the odds a bit."

"Understood, Administrator."

Elilan breathed in and closed his eyes as a corona of magenta light surrounded his body, his eyes shooting open awash in the same hue, the aura about him pulsating for a lingering moment before bursting outwards in all directions.


"Hurry up, the exit's just ahead!"

Sirmia stomped impatiently from the edge of the hole in the prison wall, standing atop a mound of rubble and looking back at Pyry and Pekka as they ran along struggling to keep pace with their peers in their rush towards freedom. She watched as one prisoner after another passed the pair through the hole, prompting her to furrow her brow and wonder aloud to herself whether she ought to have just dragged them over herself.

"We're trying! My legs can't keep up with yours!" Pyry cried. The Gible's partner lurched along, his breaths coming in ragged pants as he called back to the Arcanine at the end.

"Just keep runni-!"

Pekka flinched as a flash of magenta light overtook the yard, prompting him and his partner to skid to a stop as dead-looking trees suddenly erupted from the ground, turning the open yard into a cramped series of paths and clearings amid piles of disturbed dirt.

"A-Ah!" Pyry yelped "The wall! Where'd it go?!"

"Feel around for it!" Pekka cried. "It's gotta be some sort of trick!"

The pair frantically felt out ahead of them, only for their limbs to find nothing but empty air. The newly formed woods behind them began to sound out with shouts as a few prisoners fell to the ground after guards caught up with them, prompting some of their peers to charge blindly away in the suddenly transformed courtyard. Pyry looked around wildly, trying to make sense of how the hole in the wall could have been hidden from them so suddenly, only to find himself puzzled time and time again.

"Wh-What's going on here?!"

The two jumped back as a sudden gout of fire tore through the air above them, rending a magenta-rimmed hole with a pile of rubble and the form of an impatient Arcanine staring down at them. Pekka went slack-jawed as he looked around at the dungeon-like surroundings and the ruined wall ahead, trying to make sense of how the sight he beheld could be possible.

"What the-?"

"Hurry and get over here!" Sirmia snapped.

Pyry and Pekka ran ahead for the hole ahead of them, jumping through as they faceplanted and came to a tumbling stop in the dusty rubble just outside the prison wall. The Trapinch and Gible stared flummoxed at the wall behind them, before turning back to see Sirmia scowling down at them.

"What happened to you?" the Arcanine demanded. "I stopped hearing you trying to get out after that flash of light repaired the wall!"

"I-I don't know! We just started seeing and hearing things!" Pyry stammered. "It was like it was all-"

A sudden glow of magenta light came from the hole in the wall, leaving behind what seemed to be unbroken bricks. Pyry stared ahead, running a claw over bricks that felt unnaturally smooth to touch.

"One big illusion…"

The Gible trailed off, only for the sound of crunching footsteps to ring out as the moles from earlier and a small party of escaped prisoners ran up to the wall, the Gogoat among them impatiently stamping his feet at Sirmia and her charges.

"Hey! What's the holdup here!" Bill demanded.

"Yeah, why are there no more Pokémon coming?!" a Poliwhirl in a prisoner scarf shouted.

"It's the prison!" Pekka cried. "Some Pokémon's making a bunch of illusions to throw off the others inside!"

"Over there!"

A sharp shout rang out as a bolt of electricity flew by and splintered a nearby tree branch, prompting the Poliwhirl and a number of prisoners to break off with a start for the undergrowth. The remaining Pokemon turned where they saw Electrode rolling over a nearby hilltop, signalling to a large mob following behind.

"I see escapees!" the Electric-Type cried. "Don't let them get away!"

"Let them figure it out on their own! We'll come back for them later and we've got ourselves to worry about right now!" the Ninetales shouted. "If we have to retreat and you can't make it to the ships in town, no one's helping you!"

The fox darted off for the wooded areas further inland, prompting Pyry, Pekka, and Sirmia to follow suit as attacks flew along the wall. As the three ran ahead, Pyry and Pekka looked off in the distance, where they could hear distant booms and see smoke curling up from a far-off seaside town with a harbor hosting three haphazardly docked ships. The pair paused as they noticed the ships were flying blue sails with white flame patterns, realizing that the booms were coming from none other than a raid! All they had to do now was make it down to the shoreline and...

"Huh?! Where are you going?!"

Pyry's cry prompted Pekka to whirl his head and see his Arcanine guide starting to pace off in the background. The pair ran after her, prompting the Fire-Type to stop, and furrow her brow back sternly.

"The Mystery Dungeon," Sirmia answered. "I have a pup waiting for me back there."

"You can't go off there alone!" Pekka exclaimed. "You'll get picked off like that!"

"Yeah! And we've already needed your help to get by!" Pyry cried.

The pair's protests were cut off by an arc of electricity zipping by overhead, prompting the three to jump back out of surprise, and Sirmia to shake her head back at the young pirates.

"I'm sorry, but this is where our paths split," the Arcanine insisted. "I'm sure you and your friends can work something out."

"Maybe it doesn't have to," Pekka insisted. "Look."

The Trapinch pointed ahead with a nubby foreleg off at the foggy plume in the distance, following a winding trail that hugged a set of wooded coastal hills back to the village.

"It'll be safer going down there in numbers," Pekka insisted. "You can slip off back for your dungeon in the confusion!"

"Yeah, they can't be checking for Pokémon going inland all that carefully!" Pyry added.

Sirmia frowned before her ears perked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and her nostrils caught the whiff of Pokémon approaching from upwind. The Arcanine peered off at the looming column of fog in the distance, before shaking her head resignedly.

"Good enough. Hold on tight," she growled. "I can't turn back to rescue you like last time."

"Hold on ti-? Ack!"

The Gible's words were cut off with a yelp as he felt a nip at his back fin and was hoisted onto Sirmia's back, the dog repeating the process with his Trapinch partner. The pair latched onto the Arcanine's fur as she bounded ahead, sprinting off through fields down the bluff the prison sat on as she dashed off for the churning town in the distance.


Back in Dulefield, chaos reigned in the square where the prisoners had marshaled earlier. Smoke curled over the rooftops as Pokémon garbed in blue smashed storefronts and picked through their contents. Further inland, a group of guards who'd attempted a failed counterattack mounted a hasty retreat under withering fire, with a bellowing Feraligatr leading its charge.

"Hah! Not so tough when you don't have numbers on your side, are you?!" Laurens snarled. He spat up a torrent of water after the fleeing guards, only for the sound of darting footfalls to reach his ears, and prompt him to see none other than his Pyroar captain hurrying up with a satisfied grin.

"Good work, Laurens," Captain Amaro said. "Looks like that little dust-up you arranged is paying us dividends already."

"Hrmph. It's a shame that we're not doing this to their blasted sea-mud capital," Laurens growled. "I've got a score to settle with that place for what it did to my home."

"All in due time, Laurens."

The Pyroar cast his gaze past Laurens, where a red Oricorio, a Honedge, and a Durant were stripping some metal furnishings off of a storefront, when a barrel suddenly shifted and began to move away. The barrel moved along, red paws poking out from under them when the Oricorio suddenly bolted up to attention and pointed out the barrel to her fellows.

"Hey! This barrel's moving!" the bird cried.

The brigands set aside their plunder and bolted for the barrel as it abruptly dropped to the ground. The Honedge knocked it over with the flat of his blade, throwing out a wide-eyed Mienfoo in a lavender scarf. The Fighting-Type attempted to bolt away, only for the Durant to catch the Pokémon by his scarf and lift the hapless guard with his mandibles.

"Gih!"

"Dirty square-necked scum!" the Durant snarled. "You should've run when you had the chance!"

"No matter," the Honedge sneered. "When this is all over, we'll take you for a nice, long walk off a short plank."

The Mienfoo quivered at the threat, the Fighting-Type's face flushing pale as he curled up, his innards having grown sick with fear over the fate that would inevitably follow that long walk.

"N-Ngah…"

The Durant shoved the Mienfoo to the ground, prompting the other two pirates to swoop down on the Fighting-Type as blows and pained shrieks rang out. Amaro shook his head in distaste before letting out an irritated growl at the three that made them pause and glance up uneasily.

"Hrmph, focus less on settling your scores and more on the task at hand!" the Pyroar barked. "The further we can push out the guards actually resisting us, the more freedom we'll have to clean out the town."

"Fine by me," Laurens added. "More loot's a fair trade over watching some random square-necks cack themselves any day."

BLAM!

Amaro and Laurens whirled at the sound of the blast, looking back to see smoke curling up from the harbor as one of the pirate ships listed and began to capsize, allowing a corvette in lavender sails to pull in. The harbor's water suddenly went white with churning brine and waves as beams of various lights zipped around and the skies thickened with rapidly approaching shapes.

A cry went up from a street further behind them as a Simisear carrying a chest was felled by a slicing wind from the air, knocking the pirate to the ground and scattering the chest's spoils as a Luxio and Dragonair dropped their loot and fled in a panic. Over by the captured Mienfoo, the Durant looked up, only for a fiery burst from the air to catch him in the head and sprawl the ant out unconscious, leaving his fellows and the Mienfoo to scatter off in opposing directions as Laurens and Amaro noticed that the shapes in the air were sporting lavender scarves and that others could be seen prowling the streets in the distance.

"Over there!" a Graveler cried.

"Those must be the ringleaders!" an Absol shouted. "You heard Captain Lyn's orders, don't let them get away!"

Laurens went wide-eyed as from every direction, the surrounding alleys and lanes suddenly grew thick with Pokémon in lavender scarves. The massed Pokémon spat forth a salvo of beams and projectiles, sending the two scurrying to a stony Storage Shop's damaged entrance for cover.

"You know what? This was a bad idea!" the Feraligatr cried.

"Keep your nerves about you, Laurens!" Amaro snapped. "It'll take more than a single Company ship to make us turn tail from this town!"

The Pyroar slipped through the storefront as attacks poured through the windows and scattered seeds and berries all around them, before charging and breaking down a side door with a tackle. The pair dashed through into an outside alleyway, where they came face to face with a charging horde of Company Pokémon. Laurens grimaced and braced himself, only for his superior to build up light in his mouth, which he disgorged down the narrow lane, filling the air with pained screams and dust as a loud blast rang out.

Laurens blinked his eyes, struggling to keep the dust out when he saw that the alleyway was now strewn about with the weakly twitching forms of burnt and groaning Pokémon, with a pile of rubble where the side of a shop had been with an open square visible just beyond it.

"We've got an opening!" Amaro cried. "We'll regroup and see what we can do to force these new 'mons off-balance!"

The pair ran down the alleyway, over the rubble where the shop corner was as Laurens followed his superior into the square where a barricade of crates and debris had been set up to the left with a rag-tag group of pirates perched behind it braced for battle with an unseen foe.

"Here he comes!" a Carbink yipped. "Get the big one before he-!"

The Fairy-Type was suddenly cut off by a blue blur rushing in, getting flung headfirst into a wall and slumping over. The culprit was quickly revealed to be a Samurott with a drawn seamitar and a lavender scarf with a purple square overlapping a quartet of smaller ones, prompting a Lombre to rush in readying attack, only to be summarily cut down with an agonized scream by a fierce swing from the otter's blade.

A Beartic charged ahead with a fierce roar, readying a claw swipe, only for Lyn to spit a Water Pulse into his face and knock him to the ground. The otter reared up and bellowed, prompting other pirates to waver and their nerves to fail them as Lyn rushed forth. The brigands scattered madly out of the Water-Type's path, fleeing as fast as their legs could carry them as the Company Second-Rank quickly zeroed in on the Beartic as he staggered to his feet. The Ice-Type turned and saw the Samurott charging, his body freezing in place in stupefied terror.

Lyn raised his blade and prepared to bring it down onto the Beartic's stomach as the Ice-Type screwed his eyes shut and flinched, only for the sound of a roar and a sudden pulse of air to knock Lyn off-balance and slam him into a nearby wall. The Samurott grimaced, whirling back and looking across the square where a Pyroar stared him down amidst a trail of disturbed rubble.

"That's quite enough, you overgrown sea rat!" Amaro snarled. "It'll take more than that for me to let you end a good plundering!"

The Beartic pulled his head back and cracked his eyes open, panting as he saw Lyn clambering away from a visibly cracked wall. The polar bear folded his ears back, hastily scooping up the Carbink and Lombre as he rushed off just as the Samurott got back up, dusting himself off with a threatening growl.

"That's where you're wrong, you filthy pirate," Lyn spat. "You thought that you'd be able to have your way with one of our own islands and that no one else would come to stop you?!"

"Pah! You're just some random Second-Rank!" Laurens growled. "I've turned 'mons of your ilk into quivering messes before and you'll be no different!"

The Samurott glared, pulling his other seamitar free and spinning it about his knuckles, before stopping it with a firm grip on its hilt. The otter swung his blades out wide, giving a low, challenging snarl back at the Pyroar and his protogé.

"Then go ahead and try it, pirate scum!"

Lyn's taunt prompted Laurens to spew a torrent of steaming water at the Company Pokémon, catching him in his flank. Undeterred, he grimaced his teeth and swung out his seamitars for a lunging slash, only for a deafening burst of air to strike him in his face.

"Grah!"

Lyn recoiled, digging his feet into the ground as he stopped his momentum and sprang forward for Captain Amaro. The Pyroar hastily tried to sidestep his foe, only for the Samurott to catch him in the jaw with a retaliating uppercutting punch.

"Agh!"

The blow knocked the lion flat onto his back. At once, Lyn brought the blade in his other paw up for a swift slash, when a loud roar rang out from behind.

"Chew on this, you miserable otter!"

The Samurott suddenly felt a crushing, piercing pain sink down on his shoulder and bellowed out in pain. There, Laurens had bit down deep into his shoulder, sinking a set of fishhook-like teeth into Lyn's hide. The alligator pushed the otter down, readying a swipe of his claws for Lyn's neck when he suddenly saw the Samurott's free arm jut forward.

Splutch!

The Feraligatr went wide-eyed as he felt a searing pain in his side, screaming out muffledly as he thrashed about. The alligator felt a punch at his throat and his body suddenly launched backwards following another blow at his gut, sending him tumbling away into the middle of the square until he hit a crate in the barricade.

Laurens lay there for a moment, his tongue lolling with a tired pant that felt warm, sticky liquid oozing in his mouth from holes where fangs had been torn out. He staggered up to his feet and winced as he felt pain shoot through his side, prompting him to brush a claw up against it and pull it back to reveal it completely reddened with blood.

TheFeraligatr fought to keep his balance, only to suddenly feel a frigid blast at his left foot. Laurens' yellow eyes shrank to pins as he looked down and saw his foot frozen to the ground in a chunk of ice.

"A-Aah!"

Laurens looked back up and screamed out of fear at the sight of a charging Samurott. At this point Lyn's shoulder was studded with teeth and portions of his hide had been torn up and dribbled blood, yet, he still kept coming. The Feraligatr pirate tugged desperately at his trapped foot, watching in horror as Lyn raised a seamitar and barreled for him.

"Time to end you, pirate!"

The Samurott swung his seamitar for his foe's throat, when a gout of fire zipped by and a burning pain swallowed up his wrist. Lyn bellowed, dropping his blade before whirling and glaring at the Pyroar culprit as smoke curled from the ends of his mouth.

"Well played," Amaro spat. "Exactly the sorts of dirty tricks I'd expect from a Company peon like you."

"You're in no position to be moralizing me," Lyn growled. "Have at you!"

Lyn fished his blade back up and lunged at the Pyroar, only for the lion to build up light in his mouth. The Fire-Type lowered himself, spitting up a brilliant beam of light that swept up the otter with a pained cry and sent him pinwheeling to the ground. Amaro panted, watching satisfiedly as smoke curled up singed hairs on Lyn's body with one of his seamitars lying just beyond his grasp. Before the tired captain could relish in the outcome, he suddenly went wide-eyed as the Samurott abruptly threw out a paw and lobbed his remaining seamitar at him, the broad blade zipping through the air and slicing Amaro's foreleg.

"Gah!"

The lion roared in pain, looking down at his left foreleg to reveal a red streak forming along a long, straight slice. The Pyroar attempted to dart forward, only to wince as pain shot through his leg, prompting him to totter and struggle to keep himself upright.

Over at the ruined barricade, Laurens finally dislodged his stuck foot enough to limp forward, panting as a loud bellow filled the air. The Feraligatr cringed, looking up to see Lyn grab his dropped seamitar from the ground and run for Captain Amaro. The Pyroar hastily attempted to steel himself, when the Samurott suddenly lunged at the Pyroar with the tip of his blade trained square on his abdomen.


"This is it, we're here!"

Sirmia's course down the hill had taken her and her passengers through rolling fields of grass and crops into the outskirts of a ramshackle settlement of wooden huts by the sea. The place already had a forbidding air to it with its decrepit, decaying buildings, but the sight of blue and lavender scarved Pokémon fighting on the shore in the distance couldn't help but make the Arcanine splutter out of incredulity.

"This is where you're running to for safety?!" she cried.

"No! We've got to get through it for safety!" Pyry insisted. "If we can get to those ships out in the water, then we can escape!"

The pair continued bobbing up and down as Sirmia ran forward, shooting her head back with an incredulous scowl. The Arcanine wrenched her head back and shook it with a disbelieving snort, spitting up a few embers as she charged along muttering aloud.

"You sea-walkers truly are a [hovertext=''Polish: "insane", with nuance closer to "stupid" or "foolish"]szaleńczy[/hovertext] lot, you know that?"

Pyry opened his mouth to protest, only to hear the sound of haggard panting and hurried footfalls. The Gible looked ahead and went wide-eyed at the sight of a Company Trumbeak with torn feathers and a Whirlipede hurrying along in a mad dash.

"F-Fall back!" the Trumbeak yelped. "We'll regroup on the fringes and try to re-enter the town!"

"When's that stupid garrison going to help us-! Ah!"

Sirmia skidded to a stop as the two Pokémon hastily braced themselves and assumed battle stances. The Trumbeak let out a low, somewhat overeager sounding growl, clearly intended to try and intimidate the interlopers ahead.

"What do you think you're doing-?! Eyaaaagh!"

The injured bird was cut off by a plume of fire that swallowed her up, leaving the hapless creature flailing and screaming before slumping over. The Whirlipede braced himself with a visible quiver, readying a Rollout, only for a fierce howl from Sirmia to fray the Bug-Type's nerves and send him fleeing blindly for an alley as the Arcanine charged ahead down the lane.

"Do you have any plans of how to get around here?" Sirmia demanded. "I doubt every one of those lavender knot-necks is going to be so easy to drive off!"

The Arcanine ran along as Pyry and Pekka scanned their surroundings. The sound of rapid footfalls from a street at the end of a nearby alleyway caught their attention, prompting them to see a group being led by a white Ninetales, Exploud, and a Gogoat.

"Ah! It's the moles from the prison!" Pyry cried. "If we stick with them, then we're sure to be-!"

Suddenly, the mood on the other street changed as the moles stopped and hastily tended themselves. The Exploud grimaced and dug his feet in, readying himself for a piercing shout that reflected in a sharp cry back to the other prisoners.

"Brace yourselves!" the Exploud shouted. "We've got-!"

The Exploud and Gogoat were suddenly swept up in an abrupt downburst of icy air, the pair struggling to get up as an icy layer built up over their bodies and pinned them to the ground. The form of a Weavile darted in, prompting the Chandelure to ready a gout of ghostly flames only to be cut off with a shriek by a fiery, bluish ray from a Noivern. The Ninetales snarled and disgorged a frigid wind at an approaching Sylveon, only to be knocked to the side by a Fire Punch from a Kommo-o. Pyry, Pekka, and Sirmia watched as the Ninetales lay panting on the ground and struggled with all her might to get back on her feet, the Ice-Type's efforts being abruptly cut short by a glowing orb of moon-like light from the Sylveon that sent her limply toppling over. The two Ground-Types stared with slackened jaws as the sound of frightened shouts and fleeing footsteps reached their ears, before Sirmia wrenched them back and took off running away from the alleyway.

"Wh-What was that?!" Pyry squealed. "I thought there was a raid going on!"

"I- I don't know!" Pekka stammered. "Maybe they're some local Rescue Team that dug in to fight!"

"What sort of random hicks can do that?!"

"Get it together and give me some directions for where you want to go here!" Sirmia snapped. "Or else the two of you are coming to my den!"

Pyry and Pekka cringed a bit at the idea of being drug off to a feral den, before scanning their surroundings. Their eyes darted from one damaged lane to another, the local hip-roofed buildings sporting fresh scars from recent battle, when their eyes settled on a downhill lane that ended with a deep pool of blue, white froth revealing itself to be the foam of breaking waves in the distance.

"There!" Pekka cried. "That one should take us right to the harbor!"

Sirmia lowered her head and took off running down the lane, flying past the shadows of wood and stone buildings as she charged along with her passengers for the sea. The three Pokémon carried on, when they noticed the path ahead spilled out into an open space where trampling footprints had been left behind.

"Gah!"

"Huh?! What's-?!"

"Ack!"

The Arcanine ran ahead, where much to her alarm, she saw that she was now in an open square, with a roaring Samurott rushing along at the other end. Sirmia skidded to a stop, leaving Pyry and Pekka to tumble off with a yelp, picking themselves off the ground and looking up to see Lyn lunging for a wide-eyed Pyroar.

The three watched as the tip of his blade caught the sun's light, before sinking deep into the Pyroar's abdomen. A loud, agonized scream filled the air, followed by a horrid gurgling noise that made Pyry and Pekka screw their eyes shut out of fright.

The pair cracked their eyes open to see Lyn yanking his seamitar free, spewing a watery jet at his blade that came off with a bloody spray. Amaro tottered a moment, his eyes flickering before he toppled over onto his side, a growing pool of dark, crimson liquid forming underneath the fallen Pokémon's body in front of a horrified-looking Feraligatr in a blue scarf.

"K-Kapitein Amaro!"

Further behind in the alleyways, a host of Pokémon in blue scarves stared dumbly, their eyes widened and faces flushing ever paler out of fright as the scene before them sunk in.

"Th-They got the Captain!" a Pupitar cried.

"What do we do?!" a Bibarel whimpered.

"Retreat! Retreat!" a Crustle shouted. "Every 'mon for themselves!"

The blue-garbed Pokémon turned and scattered, the wounded Feraligatr stumbling back with a whine before bolting out of the square. Lyn sheathed his newly-cleaned blade and growled as he readied to spring forward, only to suddenly whirl his head back and prompt Pyry and Pekka to scream in fright.

"You! Don't think you can escape that easily!"

The Samurott spat up a pressurized orb of water, prompting the pair to dive for cover behind a crate. The two Ground-Types felt the crate splinter beside them, running off for an alleyway as another Water Pulse chased Sirmia off. Pyry and Pekka ran as fast as their legs could carry them, only realizing after running through a blind intersection that the attacks had ceased following them… and that the two of them were alone.

"Wh-Where's Sirmia?!"

"Forget about her right now!" Pekka insisted. "We need to make it to those ships!"

The Trapinch bolted ahead down the back alleys for the blue seas in the distance, prompting Pyry to dart after him in a hurried attempt to keep up. The duo charged on past ramshackle wooden huts towards a sunlit space, rushing out into an open street only to go wide-eyed at the sight of a lavender-scarved Lycanroc and Golbat that whirled their heads at their sudden appearances and lowered themselves into attack stances.

"Over there!" the orange-furred Lycanroc shouted. "Those two brats are trying to make a break for it!"

"Well let's see them shrug this off!" the Golbat snarled.

The bat sent forth a cutting gust of wind, prompting Pyry and Pekka to dive for cover in an alleyway behind them. The pair ran ahead, weaving amidst the mazelike alleys in a wild zig-zagging pattern between awnings and clumps of rubble as errant attacks zipped past them, the baying sounds of the pursuing Golbat and Lycanroc remaining stubbornly at their heels.

"Agh! We can't shake 'em!" Pyry whined.

Pekka noticed the soil underfoot felt sandy and loose, along with a slumping awning held up by a small row of upended barrels up ahead. At once, the Trapinch cut the Gible off, kicking his feet up widely as he nipped one of his teammate's claws and pulled it onto the edge of his thorax.

"Hold onto me tight and close your eyes, Pyry!" the Trapinch shouted.

"Huh? What's going-?"

Pekka suddenly sprang down and tore into the earth, dragging Pekka along as the sun faded away and the Gible was surrounded by dirt on all sides of his forward vision. The young land-shark screwed his eyes shut, an attempt to cry out of surprise cut off by a freshly dislodged clod of dirt as the Trapinch burrowed along until coming to a sudden stop.

Creeeeeeak

A wooden creak filled the air, followed by the sound of a loud crash that jolted dirt loose from the roof of Pekka's impromptu tunnel. The two heard their pursuers' shouts ring out along with the pounding of footsteps approaching at a sprint. The steps came heavier and heavier, prompting Pyry and Pekka to freeze and screw their eyes shut expecting to be torn out of the ground at any moment… only for the tremors to weaken, and the shouts to grow fainter and fainter until the two could hear naught but the sound of their own panting and racing heartbeats.

The pair warily paced backwards towards the mouth of Pekka's tunnel, discovering it to be dark until the Gible felt cloth against his paw. The land shark pushed the cloth up and warily poked his head out, discovering it to be the awning they'd seen earlier, the lot of it and the barrels covering the hole and trail Pekka had left behind. One after the other, the Ground-Types pulled themselves out, noticing fresh footprints left behind by the Lycanroc. Pyry panted for a moment as his eyes adjusted back to the sunlight, until he noticed a strange taste in his mouth and the feeling of mud on his tongue that prompted him to gag and suddenly spit its contents up.

"Pah! Pah! I got dirt in my mouth!"

"Oh boo hoo for you," Pekka grumbled. "I do all of this work digging that tunnel and- Huh?!"

The Trapinch cried out of alarm, realizing that the sea looked far more distant than he last remembered and that the rolling fields near the outskirts could be seen at the other end of his vision. The Ground-Type stammered, realizing that in their haste to flee, they'd run in the complete opposite direction of their escape route!

"Th-They chased us inland!" Pekka yelped. "We need to hurry up and get back before-!"

The Trapinch looked back at the sea, only for the rest of his exclamation to die in his mouth and his jaw to hang agape. There, out in the harbor was the form of a lone ship with blue sails, slipping out of the port in a hurry with Pokémon following it by air and sea, off for the deep blue beyond Nagrobek Island… and them.

"… they sail off…"

Pekka stared blankly, when he noticed the sound of struggling breaths coming beside him, seeing Pyry curling up in a ball. The Gible's face was riven with shock, his breaths coming one after the other hyperventilating as he appeared to slip deeper and deeper into despair.

"Wh-Why didn't äippä come and help?" Pyry whimpered. "She was supposed to be at the prison… She was- She was-"

WHAP!

Pyry yelped in pain and rubbed a claw up against the side of his maw he watched Pekka pull a leg away, chittering frustratedly back at the Gible.

"Get ahold of yourself, Pyry!" the Trapinch hissed. "Look, we'll just lie low in the Mystery Dungeon a little and try to find our way off! It's what we were told to do if we ever got stranded!"

"But-"

"Now, Pyry!"

The Gible gulped, running along after his partner as the two bolted for the open outskirts. Along the way, Pekka noticed a chain of hills lined with trees to the west, prompting the two to rush past tattered shacks until they reached fields of berries, cutting through them until the tree line was in their sights just across a slightly raised earthen path.

"There's two of the escapees!"

Pyry and Pekka went wide-eyed at the sound of a loud bellow behind them, dashing ahead only for a blast of icy air to slick the ground in front of them. One after the other, the Ground-Types stumbled and fell face-first onto the ground, lying there groaning a moment only to feel vines and hooves shoving them over and pinning them down, where a frantic look back over their shoulders revealed the forms of an Abomasnow and a shiny Zebstrika glaring down at them.

"A-Aah!"

"Hah! Nice going with your little escape attempt there, brats," the Abomasnow sneered.

"Yeah, with your friends retreating, you've got nowhere to run," Zebstrika growled.

Pyry and Pekka quailed, the world around them spinning as their limbs began to go numb and their heads light out of fear, the sound of ugly laughter and a pair of forceful squeezes against the ground snapping them back to their present circumstances.

"I'm sure the 'mons in The Pit will put you two clowns to good use," the Abomasnow jeered. "There's going to be a lot of examples that need to be made after today to get everything back in-"

The Abomasnow's jeers were cut off by a sudden burning wind blowing in a spray of fire that struck the Ice-Type and his partner, sending them tumbling back with pained cries. Pyry and Pekka lay on the ground and curled up, screwing their eyes shut when they heard the sound of panting and felt a warm, furry creature brush up against them, prompting them to crack their eyes open and see that their rescuer was none other than...

"S-Sirmia?!"

"You shouldn't have kept me waiting," the Arcanine murmured.

"Wh-What are you doing here?!" Pyry cried.

"Yeah, we thought you ditched us!" Pekka added.

Sirmia shook her head back, only to lower and crouch at the sound of a low growl from behind the two Ground-Types. The pair darted behind the Fire-Type, peering back to see Abomasnow and Zebstrika rising to their feet ready for battle when the Arcanine looked back over her shoulder and barked sharply.

"There's no time!" she insisted. "Run for the Mystery Dungeon and don't look back! I will rejoin you!"

"B-But what if you don't?!" Pekka insisted. "There's other guards lurking on the way over there!"

A pained look flashed over Sirmia's face. She looked back at her approaching foes, hanging her head low as a string of hesitant words came out.

"… Then… I want you to take care of my child."

Sirmia's words sent a sudden chill down Pyry's scales. What… What did she mean by-

"Huh?!"

"He's still young and needs a defender," the Arcanine said. "I don't know if you two can do it alone, but you're the only hope he and I have right now."

A blank look came over the two, their minds turning back to sea tales they'd heard bandied about Rosequartz's taverns about the words spoken by Pokémon who knew they were about to die. Of the forlornness and acceptance they had of fate being sealed, with nothing left but to face it bravely.

"Sirmia, I-"

The sound of a bloodcurdling cry rang out as the Zebstrika ran forward, followed by the Abomasnow. Sirmia grit her teeth, before hastily turning her head back and shouting at her two passengers.

"Just go!"

Pyry and Pekka watched as Sirmia sprang ahead for the attacking guards, before they turned and bolted for a patch of undergrowth to the left. The pair ran along as the sound of shouts and blows rang out behind them, punctuated by the woosh of expelled fire as they clambered through bushes and shrubs up the steep hillside.

The two continued on, forcing their way past brambles and stones when they reached a path high up that continued on along the winding contours of seaside hills for a plume of fog in the distance. A loud shrieking yelp suddenly pierced the air, prompting the pair to jump up, and look back down the hill below.

"Sirmia?"

The duo looked and saw naught but the unmoving tops of trees from further below them. The pair waited tensely for any sound or movement of Sirmia coming up the hill after them, only for nothing to come but the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. Pyry stared down blankly for what seemed like an eternity, his eyes beginning to run damp as he felt one faint hope after another ebb away. The Gible began to sniffle, when a nip at his tail turned his attention back, seeing a shaken-looking Pekka behind him.

"C-Come on," the Trapinch insisted waveringly. "We need to hurry up before they start tailing us."

The two shuffled on, picking up their speed on the path as they ran for the column of fog in the distance. All the while, scattered about the trampled dirt on the way over, little tears were left splattered amidst the dust, as the sound of hitching voices and sniffling came off the hillside path.


Author's Notes:

- kundel - Polish: "mutt"
- szaleńczy - Polish: "insane", with nuance closer to "stupid" or "foolish"