Chapter 70: Seeing is Believing

At the Siglo Swellow's beach encampment, Vicente made his way up and down the lines of tents as the sailors began to wrap up their construction work. The Hitmontop looked around as some of the Pokémon started to drift into the shade of the shelters, when buzzing wingbeats sounded out from behind, prompting him to turn and see Beatrix approaching him.

"Vicente! How is that encampment coming along?" the Illumise pressed.

"See for yourself, Captain."

Vicente motioned around him at the fan-like layout of the encampment. While spartan, the tents and lean-tos provided sufficient shelter for a base camp, with the fire pit already stocked and a chunk of worn sail repurposed for a flag hanging from a driftwood pole. A small smile formed at the ends of the first mate's mouth, as he proudly turned back to his superior.

"Ideally we won't need it for too long," he said. "But it should provide a better base to work with than the Siglo Swellow's hull."

"Hrm, not bad at all," Beatrix remarked. "I'll need to start dividing up the crew for scouting parties. The sooner we find Cernun and the Knights' Ledger, the sooner we can sail off from this rock-"

"Vicente!"

The pair looked up at the sound of a sharp squawk as the sailors around them began murmuring uneasily upon seeing the haggard forms of Kiran, Dimitri, Elty, and Guardia hurrying in, visibly distraught. Beatrix grimaced as the sailors gathered around them, prompting Vicente to hurry up to the four.

"Kiran? What are you doing here?" the Hitmontop asked. "I thought you left for the Mystery Dungeon!"

"Th-The ghosts!" Kiran cried. "They ambushed us and took Ander along with Pleo and half my pupils!"

The eyes of the surrounding sailors widened as a few recoiled with audible gasps. Among them was Natrix, who had flushed pale and backpedaled a few paces at the Swellow's words.

"Y-You mean there really are ghosts out there?!" the Servine squeaked.

"Yes!" Guardia insisted. "All of the lore that Laurens told us is true!"

"They were a bunch of big, purple and cloudy monsters!" Elty yipped. "We tried to fight back, but our attacks just passed right through them!"

Beatrix and Vicente grimaced, turning an insistent gaze over to an Elgyem in the group of gathered sailors.

"Kelly, where are they?" Beatrix insisted. "Even if they aren't in the dungeon, you should still be able to sense their badges, shouldn't you?"

The Elgyem floated in place and closed her eyes deep in focus, waiting quietly for a few moments before starting to shift and abruptly snapping back to attention in alarm.

"I-I can't feel anything around them," she stammered. "Their badges must have been taken off."

A palpable sense of panic settled on the gathered sailors, as a few started to shrink back from the direction of the treelines, while others retreated to the perceived safety of their lean-tos. With his eyes firmly trained on the Siglo Swellow, Philips hastily scooped up a bag at his feet and threw it onto his shoulders as he called out to his peers.

"Oh drown this, let's get out of here before they find us!" the Raichu exclaimed.

"All of you, just calm down a moment!" Beatrix snapped. "We're not going anywhere without our Protector!"

The sailors froze, trading nervous looks with one another as the flightier members of their ranks warily slunk back out in front of Vicente and Beatrix, casting apprehensive glances inland all the while.

"B-But what are we supposed to do?" a Sliggoo demanded. "We don't have any idea of where the Protector could've been taken!"

"Yeah, and if those things took the Protector, what hope do we have?" a Dwebble asked.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the group as no one seemed to have an answer to the Dwebble's question. Elty, Guardia, and even Kiran shifted uncomfortably, unsure what they could even offer with how impotent they'd proven to be against the ghosts earlier. Dimitri brushed his scythes together uneasily, when his mind turned back to the shack that Kiran had described seeing in the morning, along with his passing encounter with a local feral…

"I mean… we found out there's supposed to be Pokémon like us living in the Mystery Dungeon. If we can find them, maybe we can see if they can help us at all since they've clearly been getting by even with these ghosts," Dimitri said. "We've still got our items and Kelly knows how to find us, so we can try to retreat if we run into trouble. If nothing else, it'll make sure that if anyone else gets taken, it'll just be us."

The crowd began to murmur, seemingly satisfied by the Kabutops' plan, only for Natrix and Philips to suddenly pause and grimace as an uncomfortable realization came over them.

"… What do we tell Pladur about this?" Philips asked.

"Yeah, if he hears that his niño is on his way to the Spirit World, he'd probably keel over from shock in his state!" Natrix cried.

"Let's… keep things quiet for now until we find out more," Beatrix instructed. "Everything that you all have heard on this beach stays on this beach until I say otherwise."

The Illumise turned to Kiran and his teammates with an uneasy pause. She opened her mouth to speak to the four Pokémon, struggling to find the right words before shaking her head with a sigh.

"… If you haven't returned by nightfall, I'll gather the crew and try to figure what we can do."

"Right," Kiran answered. "We'll do our best out there."

The Swellow and his companions hastily bade their farewells, heading off back into the forest as the gathered deckhands watched the group melt out of view, quietly hoping and praying that somehow their Protector and the Travellers above could help turn these dire circumstances around.


In the grand hall leading up to the Board's meeting chamber at the Company's headquarters in Vollezee, the sound of tapping footsteps rang out as Lyn made his way towards a pair of double-doors at the end. The Samurott's pelt had been freshly cleaned and scrubbed of its normal salty tang, his lavender scarf newly fastened, and his gait carrying an impatient stiffness to it as he made his way to what would surely be the beginning of his career as an Administrator. Along the way, a party consisting of a Cryogonal, an Empoleon, and an Espeon in dark blue armor chattered amongst themselves before the doorway, leaving Lyn to growl and thrust a seamitar forward.

"Out of my way!"

Lyn shoved the Cryogonal to the ground with the flat of his blade, the Empoleon and Espeon hastily darting aside from the Samurott's path. The otter returned his seamitar to his scabbard as the three guards quickly reassumed their posts, leaving him to push the doors open and reveal the long stone table from which the Company Board convened, with Inler already waiting at its head with the full gathering of Administrators present.

"Welcome, Commissioner," the Nidoking said. "We've been expecting you."

"Hrmph, you certainly look confident this time around," Darzin growled. "That's… unexpected, to say the least."

"I should hope so, Darzin," Lyn retorted. "At long last, I have completed my mission."

The Samurott fished through his satchel and proudly raised a Red Apricorn before the gathered Pokémon. Elilan shifted in his seat and gave a skeptical raise of his brow at the sight, prompting him to rest his right arm against the back of his left paw and move his right claws up to his chin with a piercing scowl.

"Well, that's certainly bold of you to say that to our faces," the Zoroark scoffed. "What's going to be your excuse for disappointing us this time?"

"Oh come on, Elilan. He's here and he's even got an Apricorn with him!" Zorn chortled. "Have him open it and let's see the Protector for ourselves!"

"Gladly," Lyn replied. "I bring you Lugia, the Guardian of the Seas!"

The Commissioner took out a decorated clay cup and fit the Apricorn into its curvature at the floor before the table. He took up his right seamitar, training the tip on the nut's surface, before slicing the top off with a flick of his paw. Inler and the gathered Administrators watched as a jagged beam of light shot out and began materializing on the floor before them into the frightened form of a Ditto, who blinked his beady eyes and looked around warily, noticing the members of the Board staring down at him.

"Er… hi?" David said.

Lyn's jaw dropped from shock as he let his seamitar fall to the floor with a clatter. From the other end of the table, Inler, Farn, Zorn, and Elilan at once let out fierce, livid growls. Darzin was the sole exception among their number who stared in befuddled shock, before he too joined the others and let out a sharp snarl as Elilan shot a piercing glare back at the Samurott.

"Tsk. Why am I not surprised, Lyn?" the Zoroark scoffed. "Every time I think it's impossible for you to sink any lower, you always manage to prove me wrong."

A loud slam rang out from the end of the table, Lyn's blood chilling as he saw Inler had stood up and pressed his claws onto the stone, his horn lowered threateningly as his mouth cracked open to reveal a mouthful of fangs.

"Commissioner! What is the meaning of this?!"

Lyn recoiled from Inler's roar and stammered nervously. How could this be?! He had captured Lugia as clear as day in front of the entire crew on Buyeom right before they were chased out of port! There wasn't any time that the Apricorn could've been switched before they left!

"I- I can explain-"

"Oh, I think it's perfectly clear, Lyn," Elilan interrupted. "You've been getting desperate and thought you could get away with misleading us thinking that you'd finally completed your mission with this subpar imitation!"

"B-But I captured the Guardian with this very Apricorn in Magmapool Town! I shot him out of the sky myself!" Lyn insisted. "There's no way that this Ditto could've been in there unless-"

The whole thing had been a ruse of course, precisely to engineer this embarrassment! Lyn set his teeth on edge, realizing that whoever had put him in this circumstance could only have done so with this Ditto's willing cooperation. With his blood boiling, Lyn scooped up his dropped seamitar, leveling its tip in front of David's startled eyes with a forceful swing.

"A-AAH!"

"You! If you feel like leaving this room alive, you'll tell me who you work for and who put you up to this right now!" the Samurott bellowed. The Ditto shrank back, staring at the tip of the blade shaking like a leaf as he struggled to answer.

"I- I- A-Aah…"

"Really Lyn, that's supposed to convince us?" Elilan sneered. "The Ditto will obviously say whatever he feels will save his own gummy hide at the moment, so why am I supposed to believe a word from his mouth?"

Lyn froze and blanched at the Zoroark's retort, backing away with a grimacing silence. As loath as he was to admit it, drawing his blade on the Ditto had poisoned the well on anything he had to say right here. The Ditto did have a role in all of this, he just knew it! And yet, even if the Ditto blurted out the truth now, it meant little as he would've just as easily proclaimed himself to be the King of Conntow if he felt it'd save himself! The Samurott hung his head, unsure what he could do to defend his name now that it looked like he'd been the one to put the blob up to this deception as the Ditto got up and began to wave for attention.

"H-Hey!" David insisted. "If you all let me go, I'll-!"

The Ditto was abruptly cut off by the large yellowish orb of a Focus Blast that flung him back and splattered him against the wall. Elilan brought a raised claw back to his side as Inler pinched his brow and shook his head with a low grumble. At the other end of the room the doors flew open and the sound of running footsteps rang out, prompting the gathered Administrators to turn and see a Cryogonal, an Empoleon, and an Espeon rushing in as Elilan pointed a claw off at David.

"Scrape him off and wring out what he knows before sending him on an expedited transfer for Nagrobek!" he snarled.

"I have no objections," Inler harrumphed. "Guards! See to it that Administrator Elilan's request is fulfilled!"

The guards swooped upon David, prying the groaning blob from the wall and hastening out the chamber with a loud slam of the doors behind them. The Zoroark in the room turned and growled, shooting a fierce glare back at the ashen Samurott.

"I see that the apple truly doesn't fall far from the tree," Elilan snapped. "Really, when your father undermined the Company under the leadership of the prior Board, at least he didn't have the gall to do it to their faces!"

The Zoroark shook his head disgustedly before leaning back into his chair, the faint outlines of a smirk beginning to spread over his mouth.

"And I see no reason why a wretch like you shouldn't meet the same fate," he sneered. "I motion to strip his rank and expel this sorry excuse of a Commissioner!"

Lyn grimaced and felt his blood run cold as droplets began to form at the corners of his eyes. He had stuck things out ever since the fateful day when his father ruined everything, going through the Academy even when Sevan had thrown in the towel for sellswording and he'd been tempted to do much the same when illness claimed his mother. He'd earned his place here through years of hard work! A-And it was all going to be erased over a dirty trick he was in the dark about?!

"Y-You can't do that! I've served the Company faithfully for years!" Lyn cried. "All of you should know that I'd never stoop to such a harebrained-!"

"Stop talking, Lyn!"

Lyn bit his tongue and looked over surprised at Farn, who was staring at him with piercing, golden eyes. The Administrator had never been one to take lightly, but as a 'mon who he'd looked up to since being a Second-Rank, the harsh tone all but sucked the life out of the Samurott's face.

"A-Administrator Farn?"

"Even if your version of events is right and you were sabotaged, you're not helping your own case," she chided. "What argument do you even have right now? This is the third time we've heard from you that you've had the Protector only for you to turn up empty-pawed! What sort of track record is that to stand on?!"

The Luxray let a few stray sparks fly among her fur out of annoyance, shaking her head as she turned away.

"I know that you obviously place some importance on succeeding at what your father failed at, but this is a company," she snapped. "We can't advance Pokémon in our ranks over the sentiments of a subordinate that for all we know just isn't cut out for duties above his rank. You of all Pokémon should know that."

Lyn stared ahead blankly, the surroundings around him turning fuzzy and faint as he felt his world slipping away from him and his seamitar to slip out of his paw. A loud splash rang out as Zorn slapped the water of his pool with his tail, the Gyarados giving an unimpressed snort as he chimed in.

"Hrmph. Save your time, Farn," Zorn scoffed, before turning to Lyn.

"If you ask me, it looks pretty obvious you thought you could pull a fast one on us and take a seat at the table!" he snarled. "You're through, Lyn! And you'll be lucky to pick berries for a living by the time we're done with-"

"No."

The four Administrators turned and stared in surprise at the Nidoking at the head of the table. Zorn stuttered at a loss of words for a moment, realizing that after everything the Director still had an objection?

"… Director?!"

"While Commissioner Lyn's results are… disappointing to say the least and he certainly would have motive to want to deceive us, there just isn't any evidence to prove that was his intent," Inler explained.

"Director, you can't be serious. Do you think that Ditto got himself captured in an Apricorn for his own amusement?" Elilan demanded. "Of course Lyn tried to deceive us!"

"Hrmph, for someone who wants to one day lead the Company, you sure jump to conclusions quickly, Elilan. We know that Lyn compromised his cover in Giotto, so who's to say that the Imperials didn't get the idea to try and deceive him?" Inler rebutted. "A wasted trip would mean they would have the freedom to hunt for the Protector at their leisure as we waste our time trying to salvage this mission!"

The Nidoking shook his head, before letting out a sharp harrumph.

"Due to inconclusive evidence, and with the stakes so high, our best course of action is simply to stay the course, and get this mission back on track so the Imperials don't have such an opportunity," he continued.

Lyn paced back and he stared blankly at the Nidoking who now held his fate in his paws. From the left side of the table, Elilan shot up out of his seat, fuming and seething back at the Poison-Type.

"Hold it right there! That decision isn't yours alone to make, Inler!" the Zoroark spat. "We're a Board and make decisions based on votes! Especially if they are determining the fate of this Company and of Anyilla!"

"I do not need a reminder of how basic proceedings in my own Company work, Elilan," Inler growled back. "And especially not from a whelp like you!"

The Administrator and Director traded sharp glares with each other for a moment, before the elderly Nidoking turned to the rest of his subordinates with a low grumble.

"But very well, let's settle this," he said. "There's four votes between us, so let's put them up and see where things fall."

"Four votes?" Darzin fumed. "I'm here too, you know! So that makes fi-"

"Shut up!"

The Dragonite flinched, shrinking back and pulling his antennae close to his head as he opted to not press the matter any further. With the loose end in their ranks tied down, Inler turned to the other three Administrators as he began to speak.

"I've already made my case and my own vote should be clear," the Nidoking said. "The rest is up to you three."

"Hmph, it should go without saying that my vote is 'no'. Lyn's tenure on this mission has just been one exercise in incompetence after another," Elilan scoffed. "The fact that a simple extraction mission led to the Lugia ending up in the Empire's claws and being lost to a bunch of Tromban peasants ought to speak for itself as to why he should be pulled from this mission."

"I second that motion. I remember having to intervene multiple times during Lyn's first mission as a Third-Rank to recover documentation from the Merchantry due to him acting like a reckless loose cannon," Zorn glowered. "I hoped that the extra experience since then would've dulled those tendencies, but not only are they still around, I had to effectively do his mission for him on my island! You're telling me that I now have to overlook a blatant attempt to deceive me? I'm sorry, Director, but I can't stand for this."

Lyn grit his teeth, as the gathered Pokémon trained their attention onto Farn. The Luxray stared with a lengthy silence at the Samurott, prompting him to drift back to memories of his father's fall from grace and hang his head in despair and wait for what would surely be the final vote needed to seal his fate…

"I vote in favor of retaining Commissioner Lyn on this mission."

Lyn sprang up in surprise as the Administrators in the room stared stunned at Farn. From his place across the table, Elilan spluttered in shock, hardening his eyes into an incredulous scowl at his Luxray colleague.

"Farn?! What do you mean you vote 'in favor'?!" he exclaimed.

"Because as frustrating as Lyn's recent run of failures has been, him deceiving us just doesn't align with his record of service as a Commissioner," she explained. "Beyond that, there's just too many alternative explanations for what could have caused the incident with the Ditto to definitively lay blame at Lyn's feet."

The Luxray shook her head, before continuing on with audible conviction before her peers.

"If the record said something different, I wouldn't be taking this position. But reorganizing the mission at this stage would only cause more chaos and you know it, Elilan," the Electric-Type continued. "So for now, it is better to look past the coincidences, as frustrating as they may be, and to trust that things will revert to their mean."

"And as Director, my vote counts for two in the event of a tie," Inler reminded. "So as it stands, Commissioner Lyn remains tasked to retrieve Lugia."

Lyn exhaled out of relief, picking up his seamitar from the floor and sheathing it as his paws continued to waver. In the background, Elilan buried his face in an open paw growling under his breath, as Inler turned and stared stone-faced back at Lyn.

"Be mindful that results matter in the Company, Commissioner. We've been exceedingly patient with you so far with your attempts to bring the Guardian of the Seas before us, but this is your final chance," the Nidoking said. "Even if it's far from what I want, the Board does have another candidate who can pursue him should you appear before us empty-pawed again."

Lyn shifted uncomfortably and quietly gulped at the Director's ultimatum. The terms were as stark as they'd ever been, but at least there was no confusion over what needed to be done…

"Understood… Director."

The Board's members got up and began to depart, Lyn staying behind to calm his nerves as Inler and his subordinates started filing out. After hearing his superiors' footsteps begin to fade away, the Samurott shuffled off, hesitantly making his way for the doorway at the other end. The Commissioner made it to the last few paces before the doors, when he saw Farn stop and wait for her peers to leave, before turning back with a forceful scowl.

"I don't normally make decisions like the one I did back there, Lyn," she said. "Don't make me regret it."

The Luxray hardened her eyes as stray sparks danced through her mane, leaving the Samurott to pause, before nodding back.

"I don't intend to."

Lyn carried on past the doors and away from the chamber, passing the Cryogonal and Espeon remaining outside keeping watch and making it to the end of the hallway at a three-way intersection where he headed left and hung his head. He had seen Lugia fly around the harbor with his own eyes, so how could all of that have just been a ruse from the Empire?! They hadn't even known he was in their waters until Giotto!

… They couldn't have, unless there was someone on his crew who worked with them. Lyn's teeth clenched as his eyes hardened into a glare, storming along angrily as his mind grew ever-consumed by one desire:

To find the spy who had set him up and to make him pay.


"Ander, wake up!"

Ander shifted as a chirping voice reached his ears, feeling his joints ache while his eyes opened to a hazy dimness. He let out a weak groan, shuffling his limbs against a stony surface as he heard other voices nearby. The Scyther brushed up against something soft and looked up, only to see a Lugia's face staring down at him. At once, Ander sprang back wide-eyed and let out a frightened shriek.

"Aah! G-Get away from me!"

"H-Huh?! Ander it's just me!" Pleo insisted.

"Wh-Wha-?"

The Scyther lowered his blades, spotting Crom and Nida stirring in the background and realizing it was merely Pleo who'd given him a start as he looked about his surroundings. The last thing he remembered was getting pinned down and succumbing to a sudden drowsiness after staring into the yellow eyes of an attacking ghost. Whatever had happened to them since then, they had been taken to this darkened chamber with stone flooring and walls, where a glance to his right revealed an exit into a hallway that was blocked with iron bars and a padlock as Crom and Nida shambled to their feet.

"Ow… why can't I feel my badge?" Crom murmured. "And where are we?"

"That's what we'd like to know!" a Charmeleon's voice piped.

Ander and his companions looked behind them to discover the wall to the right of the cell was an open grate of iron bars, where on the other end were a haggard-looking Charmeleon, Sealeo, Chingling, and Noibat. The four blinked in confusion at the strangers, and as their eyes adjusted to the light, they noticed the Pokémon's' scarves were an uncomfortably familiar gold pattern with a spiked, silver teardrop on them.

"Wait, you're from the Iron Fleet!" Nida cried.

"And you're one of those Tromban dweebs, so what's your point?" the Noibat demanded.

"Did… you get taken by the ghosts as well?" Pleo wondered.

"Hmph, it wouldn't have happened if Eltenios hadn't turned traitor," the Sealeo growled. "The only reason why we're here and your stupid friends aren't is because they got lucky!"

"Right… 'luck'. I suppose we shouldn't have dismissed those screams so quickly," Ander said. "But I don't really understand what's going on here. The ghosts said that they'd be taking us to the Spirit World. This feels… surprisingly like our own."

"Pah, who cares!" the Charmeleon growled. "The Captain wants that bird, so we're gonna capture him!"

"Huh? But aren't you all locked up as well?" Crom asked.

Alfred trailed off, holding his mouth open with a blank, flustered stare. The Charmeleon hemmed and hawed a little before shaking his head and summoning his prior adamance.

"Er… we'll capture him after we get out of here!" the Fire-Type insisted.

"And how do you plan on doing that without tipping off those ghosts or whoever is holding us captive?" Ander pressed.

"Uh… er… look, we'll think of something, alright!" Alfred snapped. "And when we do, we're knocking you into next week and taking you all back with us to the ship!"

"Yeah! So you better start saying your prayers, twerps!" the Chingling added.

Nida folded her ears back and narrowed her eyes unamusedly. Evidently even utter defeat was not enough to make some of Hess' underlings know when they were beat.

"I'm sure we'll manage somehow…" she grumbled.

"Basta! Would you all keep it down in there?" a rumbling voice growled.

Team Traveller turned their heads towards the hallway at the sound of tramping footsteps, where they saw a group of Pokémon approaching with an Aggron at its head. The lot of them sported blue scarves bearing a white design that seemed to be a pair of intertwining antlers, and curiously enough all had eyes with cross-shaped pupils.

"You're already on thin ice as it is," the Aggron snapped. "I'd suggest you not do anything to push your luck."

From the pirates' cell, the four Pokémon blinked and stared at the Aggron in the group. The Noibat raised a brow, scrutinizing the stranger as he couldn't help but think he was…

"… Captain Hess?" the Noibat asked.

"Oh for crying out loud! How do you mix him up with that Aggron?" the Sealeo snapped. "He looks way younger than the Captain and he's got those freaky eyes!"

"Hrmph. I've certainly been hearing that name a lot today, but no," the Aggron said. "The name's Roteck, and I'm here to bring you all to your date with eternity."

At the Aggron's words, the pirates went wide-eyed and dove into the far corner, quailing in front of the cross-pupiled strangers while the Chingling squealed out of fright.

"Y-Yeeek!"

"'E-Eternity?' W-Wait! Please!" Alfred squeaked. "Don't kill us! We didn't steal anything yet!"

"Not you. You'll be dealt with later," Roteck growled, before turning to his subordinates and pointing over at Nida, Crom, Pleo, and Ander.

"Those four," he instructed. "Bring them before Duke Valter at once."

Team Traveller blanched out of surprise, Nida staring up with an uneasy grimace at the Steel-Type as his underlings began to undo the padlock on the cell door. Who exactly was this Aggron? What was he planning on doing to them? And…

"Who is Duke Valter- Hey!"

The Aggron and his accompanying underlings stepped in and unceremoniously dragged the four out, marching them down a short hallway full of empty cells before reaching a set of rickety wooden stairs. The lot pressed on, passing a crude lobby with tables and chairs formed from battered crates and barrels when Nida and her companions exited it and looked around, surprised to find themselves in the middle of a street lined with simple huts and tents with small patches of fog off in the distance.

"Ah!" Pleo cried. "There's an entire town here!"

"Yeah, yeah, we get that a lot," Roteck harrumphed. "Now keep moving."

The Steel-Type and his fellow guards forced Pleo and his companions forward, taking them down a street lined with shops and stalls, including one staffed by a Kecleon and a Yamask who had tried to style it after its scaly proprietor through a coat of red and green paint and eyes on the awning. Nida noticed that curiously, all of the shops seemed to trade pieces of paper back and forth, with their owners referring to them as the likes of "two rations of wood" or "three rations of gummi mix", while the shoppers looked up at them with cross-shaped eyes much as their captors.

Nida wondered to herself what the significance of the eyes could be, when further down the path, they came across berry bushes being tended to in cramped plots sandwiched between shacks along the banks of two intersecting streams. The Nidoran squinted off at it to try and catch a better view, before they crossed a rope bridge over the nearer of the two streams. As she passed over, Nida noted that unlike the stream further off in the distance, this one seemed to drop immediately from the ground and into the water, almost like a gouge in the earth.

"Do try and make a decent first impression," Roteck grunted. "The Duke and the others are waiting for you just ahead."

Nida, Pleo, Crom, and Ander looked up to see a pavillion formed from stone pillars with a ring placed atop it and vines growing along the structure's surface. The lot marched in where a small crowd had gathered around a Dusknoir, with a curious number of its ranks composed of Ghost-Types who traded wary looks at the four and among each other. Crom looked around, noting that for whatever reason, the Dusknoir seemed to lack a cross-shaped pupil unlike the other Pokémon. Whatever was behind it, it didn't seem to make him come off as any friendlier, leaving Crom to wonder to himself what the Pokémon had in mind for them given the Aggron's mention of 'eternity', when the Dusknoir floated up and addressed the Aggron and his charges.

"Ahh… so they've finally awoken," the Ghost-Type said. "My name is Valter, and I'm the leader of this town."

The Dusknoir approached Nida and her companions, who inched away from the Ghost-Type uneasily. Unswayed by his guests' discomfort, Valter shook his head, giving a quiet harrumph before continuing on.

"Make yourselves comfortable, not that you would be going anywhere fast," he remarked. "I had a few questions for you, as did our patron…"

"Your patron?" Crom gulped.

Team Traveller turned at the sound of clattering hooves from their left as a blue deer paced into the pavillion's shade. Ander at once recoiled with a startled yelp as the youngsters with him stared mesmerized. The creature's shape was the spitting image of David, except his shoulders came up to about Crom's snout, his antlers were a pale blue, and most curiously of all, his eyes bore the same cross-shape as the other villagers in town. The deer pranced around, throwing his antlers back proudly with a beaming smile before his audience.

"That's me!" he cheered. "Cernun, the Voice of Life!"

Nida and Crom looked at the creature with a loss for words, their silence broken by Pleo who excitedly squawked and darted up waving his wings before the Xerneas.

"Wait, it's the real you!" Pleo exclaimed. "We've been looking for you all over the island!"

The gathered Pokémon traded surprise glances and murmurs at Pleo's outburst, a few wondering aloud if he somehow had met Cernun before. All the while, Valter eyed Pleo warily and moved over, giving a probing stare down.

"And just how do you know of our Lord Cernun, little one?" Valter demanded.

"I don't think it matters too much, Valter," Cernun chuckled. "He seems nice enough and I'm always looking for more acolytes. Darkwood Square needs all the helping hands it can get."

"This is great!" Pleo chirped. "It's just what we need to take on the Company and go back to Tromba-"

"Hold on, nobody said anything about you being able to leave."

Pleo's words died in his mouth as he and his teammates looked over at Valter. The Dusknoir's red eye had hardened into a pointed scowl, prompting Nida to uneasily shuffle her feet and speak up.

"What… do you mean?" the Nidoran asked.

"Well, the outside world's full of Pokémon that want to take me away and harm this town," Cernun explained. "So the safest way to keep that from happening is to make sure that as few Pokémon as possible come here."

"As you can see, many of the inhabitants here are Ghost-Types," Valter elaborated. "Because of that, we are able to combine our powers to trick any outsiders into believing this island is haunted to leave us alone."

Crom and his teammates jolted up at the Dusknoir's response. Did he mean to say that those ghosts that had attacked them were really Pokémon that they'd seen here around the village?! But… they captured them and brought them here, and at the same time they wanted other Pokémon to leave them alone? How did any of that make sense?!

"But… if you didn't want us here, why won't you let us leave?" Crom asked.

"Because, you're not alone, and your friends will surely abandon this island thinking they are in mortal danger," Valter replied. "In order to maintain the ruse, those who we take are kept here on the island as part of our numbers."

"H-Huh?! But we need to go back home!" Pleo cried. "Everyone's counting on us!"

Valter harrumphed and narrowed his eye as he curtly responded to the young Protector, peering down with a scolding shake of his head.

"Hrmph, well I'm sure that being in the Voice of Life's presence and receiving his blessings will surely be an adequate recourse-"

"V-Voice of Life?! That's no Voice of Life, that's a demon!"

Cernun recoiled at the sound of a piercing cry, jerking back as Ander sprang up and flashed his scythes defensively with widened eyes.

"The Voice of Life is the collective will of nature that keeps life on this planet going on!" the Scyther insisted. "How is being stuck with this monster that perverts life supposed to be any comfort?!"

Nida, Crom, and Pleo bit their tongues as the surrounding Pokémon began to glare and glower over Ander's words for what felt like a silent eternity, the his rant evidently a grave insult to the Xerneas before them. Wisps of shadow danced around Valter's fists for a fleeting moment, before they dissipated with a sharp harrumph.

"I've heard enough for now. Whatever plans you came here with, they're not happening. There will be plenty of time for you to get accustomed to your new roles here, whether you choose to resist it or not," the Dusknoir snapped. "Roteck! Get these disgraceful wretches out of my-"

"Un attimo!"

A silvery blur cut in from above, coming to a stop in front of Team Traveller and revealing the form of a Skarmory. Nida flushed pale at the sight, stammering until she noticed the bird was also sporting eyes with cross-shaped pupils, and wearing an off-white scarf with a blue square she remembered seeing on Mengir…

Wait a minute! This Skarmory was-!

"Trizano?!" Nida cried.

"Hear them out for a moment, Duke Valter," the Skarmory insisted. "After all, it's not every day that Lord Cernun is graced with the presence of a fellow Protector."

Cernun raised his tail and flared his ears out of surprise, the fawn's eyes widening as he darted up to the intervening Skarmory with an incredulous stare.

"A fellow Protector?"

"That's right, the white one among them is the Protector of Tromba!" the Steel-Type insisted. "Surely it would be worth listening to what he has to say, wouldn't it?"

"What makes you so certain about this, Trizano?" Valter asked, shooting a dubious frown back.

"The Valiant Knight Skarmory never forgets a face," Trizano answered. "And I distinctly remember this one as none other than the Protector that I encountered in my last visit to Mengir."

Valter raised his voice to object, only for the Xerneas behind him to near and nudge at his shoulder. The Dusknoir blinked puzzledly, turning back to see Cernun looking insistently at him.

"Let them speak, Valter," Cernun insisted. "I want to hear what's going on."

Valter paused, before grudgingly drifting out of the way and allowing Pleo to pace forward uneasily. The Lugia ruffled his feathers awkwardly, before clearing his throat to speak up.

"Well… we were being chased around by the Company and we met Nerea around Braveshoal, and she said this island is supposed to have a 'Knights' Ledger' that would make the Company and the Empire leave us alone," Pleo explained. "And then when we ran into Kline, he said that you'd be here, Cernun, and that you'd be able to help us!"

The Xerneas paused with an uncomfortable expression, before shying away and shaking his head.

"I… think you may have been mislead," Cernun murmured.

"Huh? What do you mean 'mislead'?" Nida demanded. "You're here, aren't you? So why wouldn't the Knights' Ledger be?"

"All things that come here must remain hidden in order to preserve Lord Cernun's safety," Valter retorted. "Including that ledger. Not that I'd expect that impudent snake to have told you of that."

"Wait, why? And what's wrong with Kline?" Crom pressed. "He was helpful to us when we ran into each other!"

"Hmph, we can hardly say the same."

The Dusknoir floated up slightly and pointed back towards the bridge Pleo and the others had crossed earlier. The Lugia and his companions looked back at it blankly, before Pleo gave a puzzled tilt of his head back to Valter.

"That stream we crossed?" Pleo asked. "What did Kline do to it?"

"The ground used to be flat there, that's what!" Valter snapped.

"It's a scar he left behind while he was here," Cernun said, shaking his head. "Valter tried to explain to him that it was safer for him to stay with me, but he refused to listen and lashed out at my acolytes when they got in his way. I attempted to stop him, but my powers were somehow weakened when I tried to fight him."

Ander grimaced and shivered at what must have happened to the town for Kline to leave such a wound on it. Nida and Crom stared wordlessly, wondering what on earth could've made Kline lash out in such a manner, before Pleo turned back and gave an insistent beat of his wings to Valter.

"B-But you'd have to let us go eventually!" Pleo cried. "I'm Tromba's Protector and I'm needed back there!"

"You go ahead and think that, uccello," Valter huffed. "Unlike last time, I won't so easily allow this haven to be disturbed just so that you can chase your whims, Protector or not."

The Ghost-Type turned around and took his leave for a set of steps leading to a raised bluff when he stopped and turned his head towards Roteck on his way over.

"See to it that they are settled in," he instructed. "This village will have new members to tend to, and it can't afford to sustain idle hands that add nothing back to it."

"Understood, Duke Valter."

The Aggron paced ahead as Valter departed, walking up to Team Traveller as he looked down at them with a gruff, impatient scowl.

"Come on, you're not going anywhere soon," Roteck said. "So you might as well get used to your new home."

Nida, Crom, Pleo, and Ander stared bewildered as the Aggron pushed them along for the bridge, the four staring puzzledly as Trizano hopped up and gave a reassuring smile.

"Go on. I'll explain what's happening as you tour the village."

One by one, the four set off, grudgingly going ahead of Roteck as Trizano followed after them. All the while, Nida cast uneasy glances at her surroundings, wondering just how they were supposed to get the Knights' Ledger, much less find their way back to their friends in these circumstances.


As Team Traveller was marched towards their new home, the less-seaworthy members of the Iron Fleet huddled together tightly below deck. A few of their number poked timid glances up the staircases to the deck, while others traded worried murmurs of what had become of Alfred and his group. An air of lingering expectation hung about the anxious gathering as the pirates looked over to Hess and Rodion, hoping to persuade them to flee the wretched island.

"Wh-Why are we here right now?" a Litten whimpered. "You saw those things, let's get out of here!"

"Uh… technically, we didn't see anything," a Drednaw replied. "We just couldn't find Alfred-"

"You know what I meant!" the cat snapped.

"All of you just simmer down a moment!" Rodion barked. "We can't get going anywhere fast before the ship's water is replenished!"

The Floatzel's scolding at once drew a torrent of protest from the other pirates in reply. Was it really so bad to just sail off with a little less water? After all, getting water from this wretched hellhole meant going back… and that meant…

"You can't seriously expect us to go out there! Those… things are eating souls!" a Wimpod exclaimed. "Gods knows what they're doing to Alfred and the 'mons with him right now!"

"Look, I at least roughly know where the water is," Kichiro said. "It's somewhere east of the Mystery Dungeon here."

"So go and get it yourself!" the Wimpod spat.

"Oh, screw that, I already got chased by those ghosts going out there!" the Ledian snapped. "One of you can have a turn!"

The crew broke out into a heated uproar, with conflicting demands for Kichiro to go back or for so-and-so to fill his place flying about in an overlapping din. Hess threw a claw over his face, pinching his brow with an audible groan before slapping his tail against the timbers and letting out a sharp bellow.

"All of you just shut up a moment!" Hess shouted. "Look, between the ghosts and the abandoned island, it looks like we're on Pioppo. Or else some island that's really similar to it."

"And we know there is water here," Rodion added. "Which is more than what can be said about the other islands around here. We just need to know where exactly it is to replenish our supplies…"

"… What do you mean by that?" a Vileplume asked.

"We've got enough water left for about a day at sea," the Floatzel replied. "If we set sail for an unsettled island, there's no telling that there will even be water for us to find."

"And we already got caught in a storm once already!" Hess growled. "I don't know about you, but I'm not in the mood of becoming the laughingstock of Orleigh for dying of thirst at sea!"

Hess shot a piercing glare around the gathering, the crew's protests quickly ebbing away as the Aggron shook his head and continued in a low rumble.

"So… do we have any volunteers?"

Chirp chirp chirp

Hess narrowed his eyes, turning towards the back right of the gathering where a Kricketot was chittering to himself. The Aggron let out a low growl, prompting the Bug-Type to abruptly stop, before shrinking back uneasily.

"I… uh… didn't say anything."

Hess' face fell into a sour frown as he let out an impatient snort and stomped the timbers of his ship underfoot.

"Are you seriously going to make me pick someone again?" Hess fumed. "Show a little backbone already!"

"I volunteer Alvise!" a Pawniard cried.

Alvise reflexively jolted back with a start at the Pawniard's outburst and looked back with a surprised stare. The Manectric wondered what on earth had come over the Dark-Type, only for it to dawn on him that the runt had been one of the dweebs he'd whipped into shape back at the ruins, prompting him to harden his eyes into a harsh glare and bare his fangs angrily.

"Wait, what?!" Alvise cried. "Volunteer yourself, you stupid jerk!"

"I remember you couldn't shut up earlier about being an elite pirate," the Pawniard growled.

"Yeah! Last I checked, elite pirates didn't sit around on their butt all day while others did all the work!" a Voltorb added.

"So why don't you head out and find us some water, oh mighty elite?" the Pawniard demanded.

The Manectric let out a sharp snarl and began to let furious sparks dance on his pelt, prompting the other pirates to shrink behind their captain with whimpers and whines. Hess stared at the scene puzzledly, wondering what had happened between them and the new 'mons and why they were suddenly going on about this 'elite' nonsense. The Aggron opened his maw to bring up the three's failure at the tournament, when a sudden thought crossed his mind… Alvise was one of the buddies of that blasted Marowak, so if he was sent out, his friend would be a natural pick to help him scout the island full of soul-eating ghosts! With his mind set, Hess stomped the deck underfoot and let out a low growl.

"Hrmph, with an attitude like that, maybe making yourself useful is just what you need!" Hess snapped. "And take that Marowak friend of yours with you!"

"N-Nanda?!" Nori protested. "They didn't even mention me earlier-!"

"Nah, you can go too," the Pawniard insisted. "And you can take Valatos with you while you're at it!"

"Yeah, show off that eliteness you're made of!" the Voltorb jeered.

The Marowak spluttered incredulously, waving his club and stomping his feet frustratedly back at his Aggron superior.

"If you think this is some sort of joke, it's not funny!" Nori growled. "We already had to scout Tidemill and you're not dragging us into something like that again!"

Hess yelped and backpedaled at Nori's outburst, before cringing and freezing in realization that he'd cowered in full view of his crew. The Aggron's mind went blank, dreading what he expected to be derisive mockery when a Staravia's scoff cut through the air.

"Hrmph, sounds like you three are just a bunch of cowards," she harrumphed.

Valatos let out an irritated buzz as his teammates growled and bared their teeth back at the Staravia. The Yanmega beat his wings and flitted up, hissing square into the bird's face.

"Say what?" the dragonfly fumed. "If you're so brave, why don't you volunteer yourself!"

"Because you lot have been going on about how great you are, but now that you've got a chance to prove it, you try to fly from it like a bunch of weenies!" the Staravia spat.

"Hey! This isn't cowardly at all!" Alvise insisted. "Part of being brave is knowing what battles to pick, and-"

Bwok bwok bwok!

The Manectric trailed off at the sound of derisive clucking, looking ahead to see the other pirates making mocking jeers while the more able mimed wingbeats… including none other than Hess, who paused, before giving a sheepish glance down to an incredulously staring Kichiro.

"Wait, is it right for me to be doing that as the captain?" Hess asked, prompting the Ledian to bury his face into one of his fists.

"Aren't you asking that a bit late here?"

"Look, you've gotten your orders," Rodion harrumphed. "So if you're as strong as everyone else seems to think you are, either give a clear reason why they're wrong or get going!"

Valatos, Alvise, and Nori hemmed and hawed uneasily. Going out to get water on this hell island was just asking for a trip to the Spirit World! Surely Rodion had to understand it was unreasonable to demand them to just waltz out there by themselves!

… On the other hand, if they didn't go out after how much they'd bragged about being elites to the rest of the crew, they'd never live it down. If they had to go around being treated as cowards by a bunch of bottom-tier pirates like these dweebs for the rest of their career, they might as well walk into the forest and offer themselves up to the ghosts! With their minds set on avoiding certain humiliation, Alvise and Nori dug in their heels as Valatos shot back a defiant scowl at the Floatzel.

"You know what, fine! We'll find your stupid water!" Valatos snapped.

"Hrmph, glad to hear. When you get to shore, just keep going straight ahead until you see the Mystery Dungeon and then look around the eastern side of it," Kichiro instructed. "The stream's somewhere there, and I'm sure you'll find it if you keep at it."

The three huffed and made their way up the deck, hounded by the other pirates all the while even as they clambered down a set of rope netting to a waiting blue Gastrodon. Amidst jeers and taunts, the three set off on the Gastrodon's back, reaching the beach where Alvise and Nori got off the mollusk who beelined back for the ship without so much as looking back at them. Alvise and Nori walked inland groaning and grumbling as Valatos flitted after them, the three pausing and looking off at the thick forest ahead of them with palpable dread.

"Uh… is it too late to walk that 'elite pirate' thing back?" Nori gulped, before a rumbling voice called off from the distance.

"Oi! Hurry it up already!"

The three looked back towards the ship, which was too far to make out Hess' form clearly, but not far enough to keep his voice from booming over the water to them. Alvise shook loose some seawater from his legs, before giving an annoyed grunt and turning back towards the forest.

"… Come on, let's go."

With that, the Manectric set off, followed behind by his Yanmega and Marowak teammates as they slipped off the beach and into the overgrowth. As the sunlight faded and the beach disappeared from view, the three crept along, tensely eying their surroundings as they tried to trace Kichiro's path to the water the ship needed.


At the same time, the crew of the Uragan had dispersed onto shore into Magmapool Town to help with the search for the missing Protector. Cabot, Niilo, and Berecien were among the sailors to look around, passing up visits to hot springs, markets, and card shops as they searched high and low for any clue of Pleo's whereabouts, only to come up empty handed time and time again. Eventually, the trio's stamina wore down, prompting them to trudge along tiredly into the doorway of a tavern, where they noticed its tables were taken up by fellow Pokémon in indigo scarves.

"Looks like we're not the only ones who wanted to take a break from searching," Niilo sighed.

"Blugh… just what we needed after not being able to find a single lead," Berecien groaned.

"Maybe we can ask to join someone's table?" Cabot proposed. "After all, most 'mons here seem to be from our crew…"

The Cranidos and his companions began to mill around in search of a table with open seats, only to find themselves struggling unexpectedly. The first table they came across was already crowded with other crewmembers, while another had only two remaining seats, with one taken up by a Pikachu in a deerstalker hat scooting in with a mug of black coffee. The three opted to try their luck in the back corners, where they came across a pair of tables: one filthy and covered in spilled, half-dried drinks, and the other occupied by a red-scarved group consisting of an Archen, Tropius, Nidorino, Marshtomp, and Vaporeon that had left tomes and papers strewn about while babbling amongst themselves about some 'green Dunsparce'. Cabot sighed and began to drift back with his friends for the door to come back to the tavern later, when a buzzing cheer reached his ears from behind.

"Hey! Over here!"

The Rock-Type turned and saw a Vespiquen at a table near a side window waving cheerfully, a Salandit next to her drinking from a rum-filled cup before giving a wave of his own. Berecien and Niilo's expressions eased a bit, before the pair shuffled along with Cabot for the table, the Vespiquen pulling along a pair of extra seats with an amiable buzz as the group neared.

"How have you been doing?" the Vespiquen asked. "Any luck with finding that Protector?"

"I wish, Melli," Berecien sighed. "Everyone saw him here with those przemytnicy, but nobody seems to know what route they took to get back to their island."

"That's some really poor planning if they just kept all the ships together close enough for Lugia to put them all out of commission with one attack," Niilo grumbled. "Who signed off on that?"

Cabot shifted uneasily as his friends talked about Pleo. After how much the Lugia had opened up to him on Giotto, it just felt… wrong to be hunting after him like a common pirate again. He shook his head, before opting to see if the Salandit and Vespiquen at least had any idea of how the young Protector was doing.

"So what about you two?" Cabot wondered. "Did you find any leads yet?"

"We haven't really been looking around town for any," Tegu replied. "Jun assigned us to show the ropes to some of the newer members on the crew."

The Salandit motioned off at a Sneasel and a Jangmo-o creeping up behind a Whismur in indigo at the bar, as the Dark-Type of the pair snatched away a coin purse at the Whismur's waist. The Whismur paced ahead a few steps, before looking down in alarm to see his purse had been snatched, and turned to see the pair laughing and waving it tauntingly in front of him.

"Those two in particular. Clyde and Barrow is what they go by."

Berecien's face fell into a sour frown as the Sneasel and Jangmo-o continued to jeer at the Whismur while he hastily reclaimed his purse, leaving the Ponyta to turn away with a disgusted snort.

"What a lovely bunch," he scoffed.

"Eh, they're not bad Pokémon," Tegu insisted. "They're a little slow to pick up on stuff, but for a pair of thieves from Giotto who'd never set foot on a ship before, I guess I can't really blame them."

The Salandit tilted his cup back to drink up the final drops of his rum, before pushing the cup aside and hanging back, propping his feet onto the table much to Berecien's visible annoyance.

"You know, other Pokémon still have to eat off that table," the Ponyta grumbled.

"Well, good thing I won't be here to take up space by the time that happens," Tegu retorted.

"Quit your shenanigans and get your feet off that table, Tegu!"

The gathered Pokémon at the table looked to their side to find Nagant staring at them with a sharp, irritated glare. The five blanched before the shrimp directed her scowl at the Salandit of the group, making him blink in surprise as the Water-Type let out an audible hiss.

"You're a member of Her Majesty's navy, not some band of pirates," the Clawitzer snapped. "Act the part."

Tegu bit his tongue, before grudgingly pulling his feet off the table and returning to his normal sitting stance on his chair. Nagant hopped along huffing and grumbling, shoving an unfortunate Pansage out of her way as she beelined for a tub of water set at the end of the bar. The Water-Type steadied herself, before hopping into it with a loud splash that kicked up a spray of saltwater that splattered onto Clyde and Barrow, making the pair turn around with audible frustration.

"Agh! Hey!" the Sneasel protested. "What's the big-?!"

Nagant shot a wordless glare at the two that made Clyde's protest abruptly die in his throat, the Sneasel and his companion hastily retreating to the other end of the counter. Back at Cabot's table, the Cranidos and his friends stared at the irritated Clawitzer for a moment, before opting to turn their attention to a cluster of hollowed apples filled with nuts set out at the center of the table.

"Yeesh, who spit in her drink?" Niilo murmured.

"Well, she was going off to meet the Duke this morning…" Berecien said.

A sharp clink rang out as Nagant grabbed a clear bottle, pouring a portion into a clay cup before slamming the bottle back against the bar. Berecien and his companions watched as a volume of clear fluid sloshed out of the top and onto the counter, as the shrimp grabbed her cup and guzzled its contents.

"I'm guessing it didn't exactly go well," the Ponyta muttered.

"Maybe someone should go cheer her up?" Melli proposed.

"And spend the night in the sick bay after eating a Water Pulse from her?" Niilo retorted. "No thanks."

"Whelp," Tegu remarked. "Nothing we can do other than to give her a wide berth for a while."

The Salandit shifted and promptly put his feet back onto the table, leaving Berecien to stare nonplussed a moment, before shooting an unimpressed frown.

"Are you really going to disobey the Captain's orders when she's in a mood like that?" Berecien questioned.

"Hey, she technically never said I couldn't put them back on," Tegu said with a sly grin, prompting Berecien to roll his eyes.

"Ugh, whatever."

Tegu disregarded the Ponyta's warnings with a dismissive wave as Niilo gave a teasing chide to Berecien, sparking a bantering back-and-forth between the two over who was more in the right. All the while, the conversation flew over Cabot's head entirely as the Cranidos wrestled over what to do once he ran into Pleo again, when he looked back at Nagant, noticing that she was alone with her drink and not interacting with any of her underlings around her.

"I… need to talk to the Captain," Cabot murmured.

"Wait, right now?" Niilo asked.

"Yeah. Something's been bothering me and I don't want to wait with it anymore."

The other Pokémon at the table traded wary looks with one another, before turning their attention back to Cabot.

"Look, whatever it is, I really think you should give her some space for now, Cabot," Berecien insisted. "You know how the Captain can be."

"I'm aware of that, but this is important and I've already waited with this for long enough," the Cranidos replied. "Just trust me on this?"

"… If you say so," Tegu said. "But I'd be careful how to bring things up with her."

Cabot nodded back, getting up from the table as he made his way across the tavern. The Cranidos breathed in as he neared Nagant in her tub, clearing his throat to speak.

"Captain Nagant, I-"

The Clawitzer turned as the corner of her eye caught Tegu's feet on the table, prompting her to hiss sharply and jump out of her tub, shooting out a watery pulse from her firing claw that launched him into the wall with a splash and sharp cry. Cabot turned wide-eyed back to the table where Tegu flopped forward into a puddle on the floor as Melli gave a startled gasp and Berecien and Niilo blanched. The tavern's patrons stared at the scene and the Pokémon near Nagant quietly inched away from the clearly unsettled shrimp, leaving Cabot to squeak and cringe as Nagant turned to him grumbling under her breath.

"Insubordinate little whelp…" she fumed. "And what was it, Cabot? I barely started my drink."

Cabot stammered and shrank back, looking off once again at the felled Salandit at the other end of the room. The Cranidos wondered to himself if coming to plead his case was really such a good idea and fumbled with his words trying to avoid stirring his superior's wrath.

"I-I was wondering if we could have a moment to talk in private?" Cabot stuttered, prompting the Clawitzer to look around her before harrumphing and flicking some water off her smaller claw.

"Hrmph. This is private enough, just keep your voice down."

"Uh… w-well, I was just thinking… what if?"

The Cranidos gulped, bracing himself as he hoped that enough of Nagant's patience remained for him to mutter out his next words.

"What if we're better off just letting Pleo go back to his home island?" he asked.

"What?!"

The hubbub in the tavern suddenly quieted down at Nagant's shout, as she noticed that everyone in the hut was now staring at her and the Cranidos. The shrimp hopped up, still dripping as she neared her Rock-Type subordinate with a harsh glare.

"Fine, we'll go somewhere more private," she growled.

The Clawitzer latched onto Cabot's scarf with her large claw and dragged him away with a yelp across the tavern's floor. Berecien, Niilo, and Melli traded worried looks as Cabot slipped past the doorway of a side entrance where Nagant pulled him into a shaded alleyway and let him go with a sharp hiss and irritated click of her claws.

"Cabot, have you gone mad?!" she demanded. "'Let Lugia return to his home island'. Travellers above, why didn't you just suggest that I deliver him in person over to the Company's Director himself!"

"I haven't gone mad!" Cabot exclaimed. "I know that it sounds a little crazy, but-"

"Do you not remember anything from Giotto?!" Nagant snapped. "How could you say that we should just let the Protector go when Her Majesty's realm is falling apart because her subjects think that he abandoned her?!"

"I know what's happening on Giotto," he insisted. "But-"

"That bird is the only hope our empire has right now!" Nagant barked. "And you just want to let him fly off?!"

"Captain, if I could just-"

"Did you really think that I needed to deal with this after Duke Seok blew me off?!" she shouted. "Honestly, as if it wasn't bad enough that Her Majesty's nobles aren't taking matters seriously-"

"Stop interrupting me already!"

Cabot watched as the Clawitzer stared back incredulously, making him flush pale out of realization he'd snapped at his superior. The Cranidos flinched and stumbled back, attempting to stammer out an apology as he cringed out of fright.

"Aah! I-I'm sorry, Captain! I didn't mean-!"

"Stop."

Cabot felt a pinching sensation tug at his shoulder and looked up to see Nagant pull her claw back as she scowled back at him, yet had a surprisingly calm demeanor about her.

"Take a deep breath and tell me what you were trying to get at," she ordered. "Respectfully."

Cabot inhaled sharply and hesitated over just how he could best plead his case given how bad of an impression he just made. The Cranidos looked down, as he fidgeted with his claws and warily began to speak up to his superior.

"It's just that… when I was spending time with Pleo, he felt so miserable all the time and kept talking about how much he missed being at his home and with his friends," the dinosaur murmured. "After he left us for his friends at the stadium, I kept thinking about how what we're doing might be wrong…"

He pulled his arms back to his sides and looked up at Nagant, giving an uneasy stare back at the wizened shrimp.

"We're supposed to be the good guys, aren't we?" Cabot asked. "So why are we hunting down a Protector and forcing him away from his friends when it makes him so miserable?"

Nagant stared back silent, her features unmoved outside of a serious scowl. Cabot paused for a moment, before continuing on uncertainly.

"I mean, I know that the Company is still going after him, and I'm sure he knows it too," he said. "But in spite of that, he genuinely wants to be with his friends. If we try to drag him away… aren't we just doing what the Company's doing?"

Nagant's face fell into a frown, prompting Cabot to gulp realizing that he was losing his superior's patience. The Cranidos waved his arms, hoping to try and persuade Nagant to bear with him a little longer.

"Th-That's not to say that we shouldn't do anything!" Cabot insisted. "I'm sure Pleo would let us help him keep the Company off his back! And we could try and explain how everything's a misunderstanding, and do the same with those Pokémon in Tidemill, and-"

"I've heard enough."

Cabot blinked, watching as the Clawitzer turned away towards the tavern's door with a low grumble.

"I appreciate your idealism, Cabot, and the Navy needs Pokémon who can see the silver linings in these cloudy days," she said. "But this is one time where it's just not going to cut it."

"Wh-What do you mean?" Cabot stammered. "This is the Guardian of the Seas, we can't just-"

"Humor every idea that bounces through his mind because he doesn't know any better?" Nagant demanded as she looked back at him. "Think, Cabot. When you were young, didn't you have any things that you wanted that in retrospect you were stubborn or irrational about?"

The Cranidos reflexively opened his mouth to protest, only to trail off after his mind turned back to when he first signed up for the navy. His own enlistment had happened on a whim thanks to his recruiters making naval life sound like an exciting adventure! Even if everything had worked out in the end, with how the whole episode had led to a fight with his parents and how little forethought he'd put into the matter at first… it was hard to argue that his thought process wasn't childish or irrational. He stared back at a loss for words as Nagant let out a harrumph and shook her head back.

"That's what Lugia is going through. How can he possibly understand his place in the world or what he needs when he's been hatched for all of a month?" she asked. "And why should I stake the Empire and my place in it on that?"

Cabot shrank away uncomfortably at his captain's retort. Nagant… admittedly made a fair point about all the Pokémon in the Empire needing Pleo… b-but was there really no way to resolve this other than to hurt him and tear him away from his friends?! The Cranidos struggled with his thoughts, when the clink of metal drew his attention back to the alley and prompted him to see a small bag of coins at his feet.

"Wh-What's this?"

"Money, for a fare back to Giotto," Nagant replied. "If you're not prepared to carry out your orders in this mission, you're better off taking leave until we're finished and going back to your home to help patch it up after that pirate raid."

"H-Huh?! But I want to stay on the crew with everyone else!" Cabot insisted.

"Then are you going to follow your orders and do what's expected of you in this mission?" Nagant asked.

Cabot faltered a moment, grimacing before drooping and grudgingly replying to his superior.

"… Yes."

"Hrmph, I couldn't hear anything," Nagant scoffed. "Must've been the wind whispering-"

"Yes, Captain!"

The Clawitzer paused, tilting her head slightly as she watched Cabot stare back at her with hardened, determined eyes. The Water-Type said nothing as a faint smile spread over her mouthparts, leaving her to shake her head and turn back for the tavern.

"Glad to hear we're on the same page then," she said. "That bottle of vodka isn't going to finish itself."

Nagant hopped off, leaving Cabot alone to peer uneasily at the dirt underfoot. For all his bluster and conviction he'd mustered just moments ago, he couldn't help shake the sense that it was a terrible mistake to chase after Pleo once again… How was he supposed to face him when they saw each other again? Explaining that he was there to take him away back to the loneliness he'd felt on Giotto…

The Cranidos shook his head and forced his chin up. No, it wasn't a choice between Pleo and his happiness. It was a choice between whether Pleo would be able to be around any friends at all or if those awful Company Pokémon would get their claws on him! The dinosaur set off, making his way back through the door to the tavern rationalizing that Pleo would surely understand once everything was explained to him…

Or at least he hoped he would.


Author's Notes:

- niño - Spanish: "kid", "boy"
- Basta! - Italian: Interjection meaning roughly "Enough!" or "Stop it!"
- Un attimo! - Italian: "Hold it!" lit. "A moment!"
- uccello - Italian: "bird"
- przemytnicy - Polish: "smugglers"