Chapter 91b: At Great Cost, Part 2
The normal hustle and bustle of the stretch of Vollezee's lagoon just outside of the southern exit of Canalhouse City's central canal came to a splashing halt. Its normal rhythms were upended as the Siglo Swellow barreled out into the open water, pushed along by currents from its escorts in the air and sea. Swimmers hurriedly ducked out of the way as the schooner clipped a few unfortunate watercraft in its path, with barks arising from the water as a few guards and incensed bystanders lobbed attacks after the fleeing ship. Everyone who was able had come to the ship's aid, even if a few needed a hasty rousing with Reviver Seeds.
On the stern, Team Traveller braced themselves as Crom looked off behind them, noticing the attacks from their pursuers growing sparser and more erratic. All the while, the tall houses and spires of Canalhouse City in sight began to shrink as they hit the open water. The Druddigon let his vision linger a moment as a moment of calm began to settle in amid the booms and shouts in the background, before he flopped down on the deck with a sigh of relief.
"Whew, for a second I didn't think we were going to make it," Crom said. He looked up, just in time to see Ander shoot an askew glance back at him, before the Scyther peered off at the distance with a visible grimace.
"Er… we didn't make it," Ander insisted. "Or at least, not yet."
Ander raised a scythe and motioned off ahead of the ship. There, past the lavender sails hanging from the mast, were the tall, red-brick sea walls that had been built on the barrier islands dividing Canalhouse City and its lagoon from the Cradle's high seas. Crom and his other teammates blanched a moment, as Elty spluttered and yelped out of alarm.
"Ch-Chyba żartujesz! How are we supposed to make it past that?!" the Growlithe exclaimed.
Nobody had a good answer to Elty's question. The walls were strong, and if they were anything like Tidemill City's, they were staffed with fierce guards with seafire at the ready. It had already taken a stroke of good fortune for them to slip away from such defenses last time… a thought that made their stomachs knot with unease and their minds fill with uncomfortable worries about whether they'd be able to escape an even tighter net around them.
"Fear not! You won't be facing those ramparts alone!" a voice squawked. "Trizano, the Valiant Knight Skarmory, is here to help!"
Elty and the others turned their heads, and much to their surprise, saw Trizano approaching along the deck. Crom blinked in astonishment at the Skarmory's appearance, as he stumbled over his words with a start.
"T-Trizano?! What are you doing here?!" the Druddigon cried. "I thought you still couldn't see!"
The Skarmory faltered briefly, before rustling his metallic feathers and shaking his head back.
"I can see shapes and foes right in front of me," Trizano replied. "Pokémon have stood and fought their ground with less. What sort of teammate would I be to let that stop me from a fight where all wings are needed on deck?"
Crom and his companions looked on as Trizano spread his wings and readied for battle alongside them. Something about the Skarmory's bravery was infectious, since with his eager determination, the lot suddenly felt less unprepared for the battle ahead of them.
"R-Right! We can't just give in here!" the Druddigon insisted. "If we all work together, I'm sure we can-!"
"There! Don't let them get away!"
Crom and his teammates turned their heads towards the water behind them as an awful sound rang out and scrawls of pinkish light suddenly zipped in overhead. Much to their alarm, they saw a purple-headed Slowking at the head of a party of guards trailing the ship. The air grew thick from attacks flying back and forth, when all of a sudden, a spray of attacks shot up from below the water, knocking back a Gorebyss and a Prinplup in lavender scarves. The eyes on the Slowking's head shell abruptly widened, when the form of a Dragalge with a red and blue belt about his body abruptly surfaced in front of him, dragonfire dancing around the tip of his snout.
"Uvidimsja, mudak!"
Viktor disgorged a Dragon Pulse square in the Slowking's face and sent him pinwheeling back in the water. The rest of the formation of guards froze briefly, as other Pokémon with the same-colored belts abruptly surfaced and formed a large wave in the water about them. The Dragalge and his allies rode the Surf forward, bringing it down on the guards and washing them away with sharp cries and yelps. The Siglo Swellow lurched from the wave's ripples, as its swimmers hastily clung to the sides of the ship to avoid being pushed away from it while most Pokémon on the deck crouched to avoid losing their footing.
As the ship evened out, Crom looked down, where the water was suddenly alive with Pokémon in blue and red belts converging in tight formation, with none other than Viktor and Nerea alongside them. The Dragalge of the pair shook his head, before shooting a sideways scowl up at the Druddigon and his companions.
"You airbreathers are really not making this easy, you know that?"
"Enough, Viktor. We always knew this was potentially going to be a difficult escape," Nerea insisted. "Just stay alert, since I doubt the Company wouldn't have some sort of trump card…"
BLAM!
Sharp blasts rang out, as small orbs zipped through the air. A couple deckhands were abruptly swallowed up in light and fell to the wood in what quickly became apparent to be Apricorns freshly shot out from cannons. Pleo and his companions turned as the deck descended into chaos, with some sailors scurrying for cover while others attempted to help free their trapped companions.
And then they saw it.
Off on the starboard side with cannons trained was a galleon in Company colors, coming straight at them. The sea and air about it were filled with accompanying fliers and swimmers, while there at its prow was none other than its Samurott captain, crouched and ready to spring forward.
"Th-That's Lyn!" Pleo yelped. "Did he know we were coming?!"
Lyn leapt forward and dove into the water, the cannons on the Argent Aviso's deck firing again as the Siglo Swellow's defenders hurriedly formed a wall of Protects to deflect the incoming projectiles. In the water, Nerea grimaced at the sight for a moment, before she turned to Viktor and motioned off at Lyn and his approaching underlings with a sharp cry.
"Viktor, we can't let him reach this ship!"
The Dragalge grunted in affirmation, before propping himself up over the water as he called out to his fellow clansmons.
"You heard her! Everyone, engage those square-necks!"
Viktor sliced forward in the water, followed by other Pokémon from the Khranitel Rod as they bellowed out battle cries and swam in to intercept Lyn's underlings. They spewed jets of water and various beams as the air ran thick with attacks flying about between both sides. Other members of the ocean clan hung closer to the hull, falling in line to aid the Siglo Swellow's escorts, when a deafening roar suddenly rang out from the other side of the ship.
"GRAAAAAAWR!"
The Siglo Swellow abruptly lurched as a plume of water erupted from the port side of the bow. Pleo and his companions turned their heads and at once felt the color drain out of their faces. There, rearing up with seawater cascading down his scales, was a Gyarados at the head of a party of Company fliers overhead and swimmers that had just surfaced from deeper in the lagoon's water. Startled shouts and cries went about the ship and its escorts as they quickly realized from the Gyarados' colors that that was none other than Administrator Zorn. The sea serpent flashed his fangs as he let out a loud, bloodcurdling growl.
"Going somewhere?!" the Gyarados snarled. "If you think that you can just scurry away from us like a bunch of Wimpod, you're sorely mistaken!"
No sooner than the moment Zorn finished his bellowing entrance did the Company Pokémon with him start to throw attacks at the Siglo Swellow. The sea and air escorts hastily fell back, frantically putting up their barriers in front of the hull just after a few pockmarks had been punched into it not far above the waterline.
From their place on the stern, Team Traveller felt the Siglo Swellow grind to a halt as it fought churning waters from all sides and no longer had the aid of friendly currents to push it forward. Off at the starboard side, Lyn knifed through the water at the head of a wedge-shaped formation, charging close enough to the ship for them to see the reds of his eyes.
At the last second, a sudden deluge of water slammed into the Samurott's formation, driving its ranks and its leader back. The Commissioner steadied himself and fought to keep his place in the water as he saw Nerea and a number of Pokémon from the Khranitel Rod pelting them with attacks. For a brief moment, Nerea turned her head back, waving hurriedly to Team Traveller on the stern.
"We'll hold them off!" the Manaphy cried. "Just help your crewmates clear a way forward for your ship!"
Droplets of water fell from the sky as low, darkened clouds formed over the Siglo Swellow. Back on the ship's port side, Team Traveller hurried off to make good on Nerea's urgings and ran down to the main deck and caught a glimpse of a few Pokémon in the water rearing up and swaying and twirling about rhythmically as rain began to pour from the sky. Much to their concern, the localized downpour seemed to make the Pokémon in the lagoon's water visibly more energetic. Not least of all the Gyarados Administrator among them, who gave a toothy sneer at the Pokémon aboard the ship.
"Let me show you just what you've gotten yourselves into!"
Water began to build up at the back of Zorn's throat, as the defenders on the deck cried out and hurriedly threw up an array of Protects. As soon as their barriers went up, the Gyarados disgorged a massive torrent of water that he swept from left to right along the length of the ship. The Hydro Pump came fierce and forceful, enough so that Team Traveller had to come and help steady a few defenders like an Unfezant and an Elgyem who almost lost their balance while holding their Protects from the sheer force of Zorn's attack.
The defenders' Protects held enough to save the masts from the Administrator's onslaught, but the torrent was still forceful enough to dislodge chunks of unprotected wood from the upper part of the ship. Just past the forward mast, a Simisage lost his footing with his barrier, leaving the jet of water to sail on and mow down an unfortunate Bergmite and Nosepass who both hit the deck in a daze. After his Hydro Pump ebbed away, Zorn slunk deeper into the water, leaving Pleo panting in frightened shock as he wondered to himself how they were even supposed to win this battle.
Were it a straight fight on land, they could maneuver around Zorn. But they were in the sea, in the Gyarados' native domain, and on a ship that could be crippled after enough well-placed attacks of that sort on the wrong places. The young Lugia wavered a moment when he heard the clatter of hooves against the deck's wood and looked to his right to see the Zebstrika from the former pirates approach the railing, flashing a determined grin as sparks danced on his hide.
"Ha! What a bunch of idiots!" the Zebstrika sneered. "This weather's perfect for lighting up swimmers like that Gyarados! If you all can keep his buddies busy, me and the other zappers on-deck can fry him!"
The port side of the Siglo Swellow suddenly came alive with a hail of attacks. Some, like a barrage of rocks from Dimitri, were aimed at the swimmers about Zorn, while others were trained at the fliers above him. The air grew thick with fliers breaking off to chase one another, prompting Pleo to beat out his wings to try and join them, only to be forced to dive for cover from an incoming spray of black orbs. He crouched there panting briefly, when a sharp cry rang out and a Murkrow spiraled out of the air and into the water from a spread-winged tackle from Kiran. Other shouts came from around Zorn, prompting Pleo to turn his attention towards the Gyarados when his eyes lit up in surprise. There, Zorn's defenders in the air and water nearby had been pushed out of the way by the crew and their allies in the water, leaving a clear line of sight with the Company Administrator.
Pleo looked back at the Zebstrika's position and saw a number of other Electric-Types had gathered about him. Judging from the sparks forming on their hides, it looked like they saw their opening too.
"Come and get it, you ugly fish!" the Zebstrika bellowed.
The Zebstrika shot out a wide spray of blue sparks, his position on the deck coming aglow in electric blues and yellows as the nearby Electric-Types threw in attacks of their own. Pleo's eyes lit up as he realized that he too would be able to help their efforts, and with their combined attacks, surely it'd be enough to put Zorn on the ropes.
Pleo breathed in as static began to dance on him, before batting his wingtips at Zorn as a thick, brilliant bolt shot out from between them. He watched it sail through the air, but halfway over to Zorn, it abruptly changed course much as if it'd hit a wall and struck an empty patch of water just beside the Gyarados.
"Huh?!" the Lugia squawked. "M-My Thunderbolt!"
Pleo's beak slackened as he watched the same thing happen with one attack after another from the Zebstrika's party. The electricity crackled in the water, but the Gyarados showed no signs of being any worse for wear, which was confirmed by him turning his head with a loud snarl. Zorn's gaze fell onto the Zebstrika, who stiffened up and went rigid as the other Electric-Type about him scattered. The Zebstrika remained fixed in place from sheer terror, pulling his head and tail in against his body as he felt his innards sicken with fright as the Gyarados loomed over him.
"A-Aaah…"
The Administrator lunged forward with his maw opened wide at the Zebstrika's head, and clamped down with an audible crunch. The Thunderbolt Pokémon's tail shot up as the Gyarados lifted the kicking and thrashing Electric-Type into the air by his neck. The nearby sailors froze and watched blankly as the Gyarados shook the former pirate back and forth in his mouth. The Company Administrator then bit down a second time, drawing a yelp from the Zebstrika in his jaws, followed by silence as the Electric-Type went limp.
Zorn threw the Zebstrika back to the deck, where he hit the planks with a loud thud and laid there with a weak, whimpering groan. No respite came after the Administrator's attack, as a hail of attacks zipped in and forced Pokémon all up and down the port side of the ship to hurriedly dive behind Protects and whatever cover they could find, including Pleo as he dove behind a set of crates with Crom panting frantically.
"I-I don't understand!" Pleo cried. "Wh-What just happened to all our attacks?!"
Crom turned his attention back to the water, where just past the railing, he could just barely spot the spiky, black form of a Pincurchin surfacing with static dancing on her spikes amid the waves. The Dragon-Type's mouth flopped open, and his eyes lit up in realization.
"A-Ah! It's that Pincurchin there!" the Druddigon cried. "She must be a Lightningrod 'mon!"
The Pincurchin noticed Crom pointing her out and swam away, hastily latching onto a passing dark blue Barraskewda that carried her off in a hurry. Crom spat up a gout of bluish dragonfire after the two, just missing after the fish spirited the Picurchin away. Pleo at once flew up in pursuit, as he called after the pair with a sharp shout.
"Hey! Get back here!"
Pleo built up light in his beak and readied a Weather Ball as the rain rolled off his plumes, only to notice the glowing orb felt damp and cold this time. He spat it up at the Pincurchin and Barraskewda, seeing it come out in a watery ball that sailed along for the two. The Barraskewda spotted the incoming orb at the last moment, diving below the water right as the Weather Ball slammed into the lagoon's surface with little more than a splash to show for its efforts.
Back on deck, Guardia fetched a Stun Seed and looked up to see Kiran flying after the Barraskewda and his passenger with a Slow Wand clasped firmly in his talons. In the water, Dimitri scythed his way through the water for the pair, only for the Pincurchin to shock him with a small bolt of electricity as he neared, breaking his momentum. Guardia readied her Stun Seed, but stopped mid-fling as she noticed the Barraskewda kept breaching and diving back under the surface. The Cubone watched as the fish weaved around one attack after the other, much to her slack-jawed frustration.
"Gah! How's anyone supposed to hit that Bachinuni when that Kamasujaw keeps tugging her around like-?!"
"A-Ack!" a Trumbeak cried. "We're getting boarded-!"
Guardia whirled back and saw Elty, Trizano, and Pladur looking on blankly as the Trumbeak crumpled to the deck. A quick glance over revealed the culprit: a Toxicroak pulling her fist back from a Poison Jab, having freshly boarded by clambering up a hooked rope from the starboard side. A few nearby sailors tried to run in and intercept the Toxicroak, only for a hail of rocks and a jet of water to sail in and drive them off as an orange-furred Lycanroc and a Crawdaunt made their way aboard. More Pokémon in Company scarves followed after, boarding and throwing the defenders on the starboard side into disarray. Trizano ducked out of the way of an incoming Shadow Ball, and after a moment to let his eyes focus, turned back and motioned at Guardia and the others to follow.
"Come on!" the Skarmory said. "It won't do any good worrying about the Pokémon in the water if we can't even hold our own main deck!"
Trizano pointed his wingtips ahead, Elty, Guardia, and Pladur following them over to see a Heracross and Dusclops in Company lavenders encroaching on them. The lot braced themselves and dug their feet in for battle. Trizano gave a glinting flash of his wings, before lunging for the Dusclops and knocking him back with a spread-wing tackle.
"Sbrigatevi! Before they dig themselves in!"
The others needed no further encouragement as they dove into the fray alongside their fellow sailors. In the water, Viktor and his fellow clansmons were hastily closing ranks around the Siglo Swellow, throwing up Protect barriers to block incoming attacks. The blows began to thin as more and more, various swimmers from Lyn's crew hurriedly broke formation and swam off. Viktor spat a few globs of poison after his withdrawing foes, when he noticed that something wasn't adding up:
The swimmers were turning tail too soon for the amount of fighting they'd put up. Since when were the crews of Company Commissioners this lily-livered?
"One shock of a lifetime, coming right up!"
Viktor turned his head and blanched after seeing a Tauros approaching in the water with an Electabuzz clinging to his back. The bull was swimming along, better than he'd have expected an airbreather with hooves to, and churning up the water into a growing wave as static began to dance on the Electabuzz's pelt.
It was then that the Dragalge realized that the pair were readying an electrified Surf. One that was aimed square at them.
"I don't think so!"
Nerea suddenly popped up in the water in front of the Tauros and Electabuzz and shot a pair of pink orbs at them from her feelers. The Company Pokémon recoiled briefly after getting struck, before the orbs re-emerged from their bodies and traded places. Nerea swam away from the two, just as the duo's eyes shot wide and the Electabuzz abruptly lost his balance and fell into the water. She looked back at the two as they flailed and thrashed about with panicked yelps.
As was to be expected after her Heart Swap. Its effects would last but a short time, but there was always something satisfying about seeing it humble hardened foes. These two goons being no exception.
"A-Ack! Wh-What happened to my hands?!" the Tauros cried.
"What happened to my hooves?!" the Electabuzz yelled. "And why can I see my own body-?!"
And a short time was all that everybody needed to deal with those two. An Ice Beam sailed in from the deck, followed by a hail of other attacks alongside it. The members of the Khranitel Rod joined in with jets and waves of crashing water, making the Tauros and Electabuzz disappear into the churning sea. For a moment, empty, bubbling water remained, before the two Company grunts floated back to the surface unconscious, leaving Nida up at the ship's railing to huff out a puff of icy breath.
"That oughta take care of those two," the Nidorina scoffed.
Any sense of victory was short-lived after an agonized scream rang out from further out in the water. There, Lyn could be seen drawing a seamitar back from a Golisopod who keeled over in the lagoon. Before the water could finish settling, the Samurott shoved the fainted Golisopod aside and stared down a lone Nerea, narrowing his eyes into a piercing glare.
"So you're the Blue Fairy I've heard so much about," he growled. "Somehow I was expecting a bit more from the 'mon who took advantage of my father's kindness and disgraced him."
In spite of Lyn's overpowering demeanor, Nerea remained defiant. She flared her feelers out, shooting a stubborn glare of her own at her much larger foe, even with his brandished blades drawn.
"Hrmph, you clearly haven't come to talk through your family problems," the Manaphy spat. "Though don't be mistaken, Samurott. I am a Protector. I haven't eluded your ilk for all these years by being a pushover!"
Lyn lunged forward with a bellowing roar, barrelling through the water with his blades drawn. Back on the Siglo Swellow, the port side of the ship rang out with yelps as Zorn spewed another Hydro Pump along the length of the deck, the watery jet picking through an increasingly hole-riddled array of Protects that sent various sailors tumbling off their feet with yelps. Among them was Crom, who rolled back along the ship's timbers and came to a stop on his side, weakly lifting his head up in a daze.
"U-Urgh…"
Crom struggled up to his feet, water dripping off his scales as his vision wobbled, when he looked up and saw that the localized rain above the ship was still coming down in buckets. All of that was from just a few Rain Dances? With this sort of weather helping their Water attacks, no wonder why Zorn's underlings were giving them such trouble! Vicente looked over the Rain Dancers in the water, as he seemed to have realized the same and turned over to Beatrix with a worried grimace.
"Captain, we've got to do something about this rain!" the Hitmontop cried. "Those Company 'mons are picking us apart in this weather!"
"Way ahead of you!" Beatrix cried.
Beatrix brought her tarsi together as something that looked like a ball of brilliant sunlight formed between them. She flew up and flung the orb up into the sky, where it burst in the air and parted the clouds above with overbearing sunlight.
Crom looked up in awe as the rain briefly let up, only for the clouds to come rolling back in along with heavy rain. He looked back out to the port side of the ship and blanched upon seeing a Dragonair and a Bruxish wrapping up the tail end of a Rain Dance. What hope did they have of getting rid of this rain when there were more Pokémon ready to use Rain Dance than there were Pokémon among their ranks who could do anything about it?
The Druddigon chanced to notice the Pincurchin surface again and zip by, still clinging to her Barraskewda partner. With her stunned in full view, this was their chance to pick her off!
"Ah! That Pincurchin's back!" he cried. "Let's try hitting her again!"
Crom ran up to the railing and spat up a Dragon Rage, the others nearby him joining in with their own attacks. Unfortunately for the group, the Barraskewda just kept moving out of the way time and time again. Crom grit his teeth in frustration. They were so close, and yet they still couldn't turn things around!
"Gah! We can't get a clean hit on her!"
Just then, the faint crack of breaking glass rang out, prompting Crom to turn towards Kiran just in time to see his Slow Wand splinter from overuse and silk webbing fly out from its tip. That time, the webbing caught up with the Barraskewda and the Pincurchin, clinging to their bodies as the Barraskewda flailed and tried to brush it off in the water.
Before the two could make any progress freeing themselves from the ensnaring silk, the water below them suddenly erupted in a plume as Dimitri cast a hail of rocks upwards, freshly torn the bottom of the lagoon. The pair shot back and flopped over in the water reeling in a daze. Sensing an opening, the Kabutops turned and waved with his scythe, calling up to the Pokémon on the Siglo Swellow's deck.
"They're down! Get them!"
Crom needed no further prompting for what to do next and immediately spat up a gout of blue dragonfire that struck the Pincurchin in the water. It was then followed by an Extrasensory from Pleo, a Poison Sting from Nida, and a veritable hail of other attacks and items from the deck. As the waters settled, Pleo could make out the Pincurchin and Barraskewda listing in the water, both unable to do much other than burble weakly and float limply in the sea.
"Ah! We got them!" Pleo cried. "We finally got-!"
The Lugia was cut off by a stray rock striking him from behind, where Elty, Guardia, Trizano, Pladur, and a number of sailors were still locked in fierce battle with Lyn's boarding party along the starboard side of the deck. A Graveler had since joined the Dusclops and Heracross, and hurled a final Rock Blast that sent Elty skidding back. The Growlithe fought to keep his balance, panting heavily as he looked to his teammates with a worried stammer.
"G-Gah! I don't know how much more of this we can take!" he barked.
"Pladur!" Trizano shouted. "We need to change the way we're fighting this battle, and fast!"
A sharp hiss rang out as the Heracross from Lyn's crew rounded on them, readying a charging thrust of his horn. Pladur flashed his claws and prepared to strike, when an Air Slash abruptly flew in and struck the Heracross in the head. The Bug-Type crumpled up and hit the deck with a sharp thud, as Pladur looked up to see Pat flying overhead weaving around beams and attacks zipping in.
The Fraxure's eyes lit up as a moment of realization came over him. Pat was one of the ship's fliers, who helped push the ship forward with air currents when it needed extra bursts of speed. There wasn't much the Unfezant could do about the ship right now, but…
"P-Pat! Can you give us a Tailwind to work with?" Pladur asked. "We need to stay on our feet against these guys!"
The Unfezant obliged with a nodding grunt, beating his wings and whipping up a stiff wind that ran at the defenders' backs, pushing their movements forward. Vicente was the first to take advantage of Pat's aid, throwing himself forward with a High Jump Kick that caught an orange Lycanroc in his flank. The Lycanroc screamed in pain as he was launched into the air from the blow, clipping the railing with a yelp before he pitched overboard. Trizano couldn't make out the sight clearly as his vision remained muddy beyond a little over a wingspan away from his body, but after hearing the sound of a loud splash from the water, he realized that with the right moves, Pat had given them everything they'd needed to turn things around on Lyn's boarding party.
"That's it!" the Skarmory cried. "Focus your attacks on whatever will knock them back the most. They can't attack us if they're overboard!"
Trizano brought his wings together and threw a churning Whirlwind forward, which swept up the Dusclops and sent him flying over the railing. A nearby Toxicroak froze briefly before Elty lobbed a whitish orb in front of her, which shattered and similarly flung her overboard with a yelp. There was a sharp cry, when the pair saw the Graveler stagger back cradling his face in the wake of a swat from Guardia's club. A bellowing roar followed, as Pladur charged in with his claws coming alight with dragonfire. The Fraxure lunged ahead, tackling the Rock-Type with a raking swipe of his claws that crunched against stony hide. His strike sent the Graveler's lurching and rolling back against the railing, the Rock-Type's eyes shooting wide with alarm as he pitched over it.
"AAAAAAAH!"
The Graveler's screams were silenced by the sound of his stony body hitting the water, followed by confused shouts and cries for help from the lagoon. Back on the Siglo Swellow's deck, Lyn's underlings had had their ranks thinned considerably by other sailors pushing them back in similar fashions. A Crobat among them hurriedly called out a retreat and flew off from the deck, prompting the others to follow suit and begin to clamber back down the ropes over the side. In the process, a few slipped and fell off the railing after being clipped by errant blows during their retreat.
Elty panted as the last of the square-necks on deck retreated, with the ship's timbers being littered with Pokémon lying slumped over in groaning heaps. A few sailors hurriedly went about to try to treat and rouse their wounded allies, while others like Natrix and Philips turned their attention to fainted Company goons such as a Heracross that was moaning incoherently. The Servine and Raichu grabbed the Heracross and brought him up to the railing, when his eyes suddenly flickered open and shrank to pins at the sight of the lagoon water below.
"N-No wait! What are you doin-?!"
The pair threw the Heracross from the ship and sent him tumbling head over heels until he fell into the sea with a loud plunk. His counterparts still on the deck met similar fates one by one in short order. Back in the water, Viktor turned his head around and noticed that Lyn's underlings were distracted from having to come to the aid of the flailing members of the repulsed boarding party, prompting him to let out a sharp cry to his nearby clansmons.
"This is our chance to push them back!" the Dragalge exclaimed. "Everyone, assume formation!"
Viktor and the nearby swimmers churned up the water into a roaring wave, bringing it down on the Company Pokémon along the Siglo Swellow's starboard side. A chorus of yelps and startled cries rang out, which grew more and more distant as the boarding party and their allied swimmers were washed away by the deluge, and even the Argent Aviso visibly drifted further back from it. After Viktor and the others cleared the waters along the schooner's starboard, her defenders hurried about to try and push the ship forward or go off to relieve the battle on the ship's port side. From the deck, Pleo let out a sigh of relief as the din of battle on that side of the ship seemed to drift further away, only for a pained shout to cut through the air.
"A-Aah!"
There, further off in the water, Pleo and his companions watched as Nerea reeled from a slash from Lyn's seamitar. A few nearby Khranitel Rod Pokémon attempted to come to her aid, only for snarling Pokémon in lavender to cut them off. Nerea grimaced and panted, attempting to steel herself as the Samurott readied his blades and circled his wounded foe.
"You shouldn't expect any mercy from me," he growled. "After what happened to the last 'mon who took pity on you, I know better than to do that."
Lyn tightened his grasp on his blades and threw them back in the air for a downward slash. The Commissioner swung his left seamitar forward at the Manaphy, when a sudden flash of yellow light struck him and his body locked up from the hot, searing jolt of a Thunderbolt. The Samurott bellowed out of pain and reflexively jerked back, before turning towards the source of the attack. There, he spotted Pleo at the Siglo Swellow's railing, dripping purple and silver dye off his plumes from the rain and sticking his tongue out at him.
"Grr, why you-!"
Lyn spat up a watery pulse at Pleo's position, prompting the Lugia to leap out of the way with a startled squawk as it crashed against the railing. The Samurott felt a sharp pain in his back and tumbled forward in the water, whirling around to see dissipating green light from Nerea's nubby arms as she glared back with a sharp scoff.
"Hey! I didn't say we were done fighting!"
Nerea flung another Energy Ball at him, forcing Lyn to hurriedly parry it with a swipe from a seamitar. From the deck of the ship, Pleo darted back up to the railing and looked on as Lyn and Nerea resumed their battle, only to hastily jump aside as a drenched Butterfree plummeted to the deck just beside him.
Wham!
The Butterfree hit the planks with a dull thud, laying there twitching and groaning, making Pleo grimace and turn his head in time to see Zorn pull his tail back still dripping water off of it. The young Lugia noticed that the Gyarados' other underlings in the water weren't close enough to shield him from any blows, prompting him to point ahead with a surprised cry of realization.
"Ah! Zorn's lackeys aren't around him!" the Lugia shouted. "This is our chance to attack!"
Kiran looked over from throwing an Air Slash at a Company Jumpluff, when sure enough, the Company Administrator seemed to be fully open to attack… for now. Without hesitating, the Swellow dove forward and clipped the Gyarados with a Wing Attack, followed by another hail of rocks from Dimitri, a Blast Seed from Guardia and a barrage of attacks from the defenders afterwards. Pleo watched as Zorn thrashed and snarled, the Lugia sucking in a sharp breath as he prepared to attack. It was then when he heard voices amid the din of battle, far clearer than he ought to have.
The voices began to swirl in his mind again: wishing that Kline and the others would be there to help them. To be back home. To be anywhere but here amidst this stormy maelstrom surrounded by snarling goons. Pleo didn't stop to try and figure out whose voices he was hearing. He knew full well from when this had last happened to him.
He was hearing his friends. His fellow allies from right here aboard the Siglo Swellow. These were their thoughts, their hopes, their cries for someone to help them. Pleo still didn't understand why it was that they brought out his powers, but he heard his companions' pleas for help. And as Tromba's- no their Protector, he'd churn the sea and skies to answer them.
Almost by reflex, Pleo focused and readied an Extrasensory as his feathers suddenly grew awash with a silvery white glow, shining through the purple dye dripping off his body. On the deck a short ways away, Ander reflexively cringed at the sight, looking up with a vacant, fearful stammer.
"A-Ah…"
"I won't let you hurt my friends like this!"
Pleo's eyes came aglow with golden light and he opened his beak, spewing out the golden rings of an Extrasensory. The individual rings came out larger and so closely spaced together that his psychic barrage looked more like a Solar Beam than the attack he remembered using against Bunsen. The rings knifed through the water, Zorn diving below the surface just as the enhanced Extrasensory cut through the water and skies, various swimmers and fliers disappearing into its light as the beam carried on into the sea walls in the background. Pained screams and frightened shouts rang out as the darkened skies came alight with a golden glow, Ander flinching with a low, frightened whimper from Pleo's overwhelming assault.
As the Extrasensory cleared, Team Traveller's members looked out over the railing, where most of Zorn's underlings lay fainted or stunned in the water. Those who were still able to were swimming back hurriedly, opting to throw jets of water and beams from a safer distance that the ship's escorts were better able to deal with. A glance over at the sea walls revealed that Pleo's attack had affected them too. There, shapes of Pokémon could be seen scurrying for cover at its top, and the bellows and cauldrons used to keep it seafire had been knocked off their mountings, which made Natrix 's eyes light up in realization
"Ah! That attack messed up their seafire gear!" the Servine exclaimed.
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Philips cried. "Let's get going before they get it back togeth-!"
The Raichu never finished his words, as yelps and shouts of "Look out!" rang out from the water followed by a loud, dull thud. A sharp tremor ran through the ship's timbers and the Siglo Swellow suddenly lurched up from underneath, as much to everyone's alarm, it pitched heavily to starboard. A number of the deckhands lost their footing, some landing against the mast or the railing while others were sent tumbling screaming into the water. Team Traveller's members hurriedly tried to cling to whatever they could for support as the deck's incline grew increasingly vertical, when Elty lost his footing and rolled head over heels with a panicked yelp. The Growlithe hit the railing and bounced when he felt a small hand grab onto his pelt and looked up to see Guardia holding onto him for dear life.
"H-Hang in there, Eltenios!"
Elty looked down at the churning water and felt the color drain from his face, his heart pounding frantically in his chest. The ship then stopped tilting as the hull rocked back to the port side, the momentum of the settling ship throwing Elty and Guardia back onto the deck with a pair of yelps. The two laid stunned on the ship's timbers for a brief moment, when Elty's ears picked up the sounds of Pokémon crying for help from the water. The Growlithe looked over to see sailors thrashing and flailing desperately in the water, and felt a shiver run down his back as he watched a few, including Natrix and Philips, get swarmed by Pokémon in lavender scarves.
A deafening, bloodcurdling roar suddenly rang out. Elty pinned his ears back with a low whine, looking towards the port side of the ship just in time to see Zorn surfacing right beside it and snarling down at the deck.
"Did you really think you could get rid of me so easily?!"
For a moment, Team Traveller froze and paled at the sight of the looming Gyarados. After a moment to shake his head and calm his nerves, Pleo dug his heels in and shot back a defiant glare at the sea serpent.
"W-We've come this far by working together!" the Lugia cried. "Even if you're a tougher Administrator than Darzin, we can defeat you too!"
Pleo shot off a Thunderbolt at Zorn, his teammates joining in with their own attacks at the Gyarados Administrator. Zorn lurched back with a pained bellow as the blows zipped in and found their marks, when a sudden shock of blue and red flew at his head. A cutting gust of wind ran across Zorn's face, prompting the Gyarados to grit his teeth and turn to see a Swellow flying away from his head.
"Annoying little pest!"
Zorn cracked his maw open wide and lunged forward as ice began to wreath his razor-like teeth. Kiran saw him approaching fast and attempted to flee, only for Zorn's jaws to catch up with him and clamp down with an audible crunch.
An agonized scream rang out as Team Traveller looked on at Kiran's struggling form. The Gyarados shook the flailing Swellow in his mouth as the bird's strength ebbed away and his body went limp much to Pleo and his companions' horror.
"K-Kiran!"
Zorn wrenched his head and threw Kiran off to the side, sending him pinwheeling through the air before hitting the water a short distance away. The Gyarados briefly looked after Kiran as lavender-scarved Pokémon converged on the Swellow, before turning back to the ship. He sized up the Pokémon on deck, before narrowing his eyes with a low growl.
"Pathetic," he spat. "Let me show you the true might of an Administrator!"
The Gyarados widened his jaws as brilliant light began to build up at the back of his throat. Pladur's eyes suddenly shrank to pins, as the Fraxure stammered and raised a shaky set of claws at the Company Administrator.
"Th-That's Hyper Beam!" Pladur yelped. "We need to stop him! If he gets that off, we're as good as sunk!"
The Fraxure frantically spat up a Dragon Pulse at Zorn, the rest of Team Traveller joining in with various attacks of their own. Pleo flew ahead, lobbing a crackling Thunderbolt from between his wingtips that made Zorn lurch back in the water, but much to his horror, did nothing to dispel the light in the Gyarados's mouth.
"Burn!"
Zorn disgorged a bright, white-hot beam that cut through the air and sliced into the deck with a loud blast as he began to sweep it sideways. Team Traveller scattered and dove for cover, Pleo attempting to do the same when the beam caught up with him. The Lugia reeled as in a flash, the entire right side of his body was engulfed in searing pain. The next thing he knew, he was shooting back in the air, catching glimpses of the Gyarados spewing his beam onto the deck in a sweeping motion before the young Protector hit the hard wood below with a wet thud.
Pleo's head spun, his vision growing muddy as loud screams and the crack of splintering wood rang out. After a while, the commotion died down beyond scattered shouts, as the Lugia cracked his eyes open with a low whine.
"O-Ow…"
Pleo stumbled up and looked around to see the yards of the front mast hanging broken from it and visible holes burnt into parts of the sails. All around him, Pokémon lay strewn motionless about a deck that now had a large hole punched into it, the felled deckhands visibly burned and showing few signs of life beyond faint breathing or an occasional twitch. Other Pokémon were staggering up, a few like a Quilava who dribbled blood from fresh scrapes had their nerves fail them and limped off to try and hide below deck. Those that remained tried to stand their ground but visibly trembled with fright, as desperate cries filled the air.
"P-Protector! H-Help us!"
"Y-You did it once! You can do it again!
"J-Just do something! Please!
Pleo stared in shock at the hole in the deck and the mangled yards of the front mast. H-How could he do anything about that without his powers to help him? The sound of hoarse panting turned his attention back to Zorn, who was visibly winded from his attack, but still well enough to curl his maw into a mocking sneer.
"Hah! Did you think that I held that back out of the kindness of my heart? I merely waited until your defenses were weakened so I could blast your glorified pile of driftwood apart!" the Gyarados snarled. "Still think you're just going to sail away from me?"
The attacks from the water came in thicker that time, as Zorn's Hyper Beam gave the Company swimmers and fliers still well enough to fight the confidence to draw near once again. Those among the Siglo Swellow's escorts who were still able hastily threw up their Protects again, but with visible gaps in between them, it proved insufficient for the hail of blows that came in. Nida hastily jumped out of the way as a bolt of electricity zipped in right beside her and blackened the wood where she had just been standing, looking up panting to see Zorn's earlier vigor had returned to him as he coiled his body in the water.
"Hrmph. A cute show," the Gyarados remarked. "But this is the end of the line for you all."
Zorn began to ready a Hydro Pump in his jaws as the Siglo Swellow's crew looked on in horror. A few hurriedly tried to interrupt him with attacks, though others like Nida remained frozen in shock. The Nidorina pinned her ears back and flinched, bracing for the Administrator's inbound Hydro Pump when all of a sudden, a loud, distant rumble rang out. A wave about twice Nida's height suddenly rolled in from shore, striking Zorn and the other Pokémon in the water. Startled cries rang out as Zorn was jolted out of his aim and his Hydro Pump sailed harmlessly over the deck, the Gyarados whirling about to see giant columns of green light shooting up among Canalhouse City's rooftops.
"What on earth?" Zorn said.
Nida stared off at the dust and smoke curling up from the distance as the columns dissipated. Was that Kline? The Nidorina quickly looked at Zorn, who began to turn back towards the ship. Nida took advantage of the Gyarados' brief distraction and quickly dipped her paw into her bag. She grabbed onto a Stun Seed and lobbed it at the Gyarados, which broke against his hide with a hail of sparks as the Administrator let out a sharp grunt. After a few brief moments for her to realize that her Stun Seed had hit its mark, she turned and called out to her comrades.
"Quick!" Nida exclaimed. "Now's our chance to strike!"
Team Traveller's members dug in their feet and threw their attacks forward in a barrage at the Gyarados Administrator. Stony flechettes, cutting winds, an icy ray… all of it seemed to visibly wear Zorn down.
But at the same time, it also jolted his body back and freed him up from his petrification. Zorn moved back in the water, building up blinding light in his maw when he heard approaching wingbeats, seeing Pleo nearing visibly winded, with sparks dancing on his plumage and his face curled up in fierce defiance.
"Stop it! Leave my friends alone!"
The Lugia brought his wings together as a Thunderbolt shot out from between them. It wasn't any bigger than his last one, but this time, it struck Zorn square in his head. The Administrator seized up and bellowed in pain as yellow electricity danced around his body briefly, dissipating as the young Lugia flew past.
For a short moment, Pleo watched as Zorn visibly tottered in place. And then, the Gyarados listed and flopped over onto his side in the water with a large splash. As the water stilled, everyone, both from Zorn's underlings and the Siglo Swellow's crew, briefly stared on stunned at the defeated Administrator. The Siglo Swellow's defenders were the first to snap back to attention, as a Qwilfish by the hull piped up to her nearby compatriots.
"Hurry!" a Qwilfish cried. "Go for everyone that fell overboard!"
The Qwilfish was abruptly cut off by an Air Slash flying in from the Company's lines, sending her keeling over limply into the water as Zorn's snarling lackeys approached once again while throwing attacks ahead. Swimmers from the Siglo Swellow and the Khranitel Rod hurried in lobbing back attacks of their own, and after a brief, sharp skirmish, the attacks thinned as the harrying Company Pokémon were driven back.
Nida looked over at the railing as a few dripping Pokémon were pulled aboard from the lagoon, some like a Bayleef coughing up water and visibly shivering, while others like a Dwebble were dragged aboard unconscious. Things were still dicey, but with Zorn lying fainted in the water, surely they could pull through in this battle-
"A-Ah! They're lighting the seafire again!" Crom exclaimed.
Nida looked up following Crom gesturing off at the sea walls in alarm. There, one of the cauldrons had been lit aflame and Pokémon swarmed around a set of bellows they were hastily placing back into position. Viktor caught the sight as well, the Dragalge grimacing briefly, before looking up towards the deck with a stern frown.
"You need to go, now!" he barked. "We'll try and hold out until Kline can catch up with us!"
The Siglo Swellow's deckhands balked. They were just supposed to sail off? Right now? When they were still trying to dig their way out from the damage and disarray Zorn had left behind?
"But we have 'mons overboard-!" Beatrix started, only to be cut off with an ethereal glow from the water.
The Illumise and the others turned their heads to the starboard side of the ship, where they saw Nerea awash in a brilliant blue light. The Manaphy was swimming forward, ahead of the Khranitel Rod's swimmers as Lyn and his accompanying underlings froze, a few hurriedly casting Protects as the water around Nerea began to stir up. Beatrix stared entranced for a moment, before a sharp splash from the water turned her attention to Viktor, who slapped the water's surface with a fin and glared up impatiently.
"We'll do what we can for them, but this might be your last chance to leave without getting burned to a crisp!" the Dragalge insisted. "So hurry up and get out of here!"
Beatrix looked over at Pleo and saw that he was panting and struggling to stay on his feet, dripping dye off his plumes. She looked between the winded Protector, her haggard and frightened crewmates, and the seafire bellows off on the walls. The Illumise hesitated for a moment, before gritting her mandibles and letting out a sharp cry to her surrounding crew.
"Batten down the hatches and full speed ahead! We're setting sail!"
The sailors hurriedly went for the ship's rigging, the Siglo Swellow abruptly lurching from its sails billowing out and the efforts of its escorts. All the while, Nerea went under the water's surface and vanished from view as a towering wave quickly built up. Was that a Surf? The wall of water plowed ahead for Lyn and his underlings, cresting and breaking as a chorus of shouts and screams rang out along the Siglo Swellow's starboard side. On the deck, Crom watched from behind a damaged chunk of railing as Pokémon were thrown about by the wave like Substitutes and the bow of Lyn's ship itself visibly shot up at a precarious angle. The shouts in the water grew more distant as Lyn and his underlings, ship included, were pushed back in the lagoon.
Crom yelped as a Shadow Ball flew right past him, the dragon crouching and hugging the deck along with his teammates as attacks shot overhead from the port side. They looked up at the sea walls as the Protect users still standing on the deck hurriedly cast their barriers, pointing them overhead just as the guards up on the wall rained beams and missiles down on them. Crashes and the sound of splintering wood punctuated the air amid thick cries, and at any moment, Crom expected to see his vision fill with flames all around him…
But it never came.
The Siglo Swellow limped along through the water, making it past the red-brick seawalls while attacks continued to fly in at the ship's stern as Crom's heart pounded in his chest. After what felt like a small eternity, the attacks began to grow increasingly sporadic, infrequent enough for the young Druddigon to warily poke his head up. He almost immediately regretted it, as he saw a party of swimmers in Company lavenders behind them.
"A-Aah!"
The guards threw a spray of jets and beams at the ship, making the Siglo Swellow's crew brace for the worst. A few got up to hurl attacks back from behind the cover of the Protects on deck, while others helped push the damaged ship forward with their currents.
"Huh?"
Much to Crom and the others' surprise, the attacks and shouts from the Pokémon never thickened and the guards in the water didn't continue to give chase. Barring some covering attacks, the groups of swimmers stayed near the entrance of the sea walls, with no ships in Company sails to be seen anywhere nearby. Crom slumped to the deck in exhaustion, looking around as the crew members warily made their way over to tend to the wounded still lying strewn about, a few visibly quivering and trembling from their ordeal.
A quick glance back at the shrinking sea walls revealed thin wisps of dust and smoke curling up from the direction of Canalhouse City, as Crom looked on blankly. Everything that Team Zephyr and Nerea and the Khranitel Rod had done for them, it had been so that way they could escape. Except there was a long, lingering question that gnawed at the dragon's mind before he looked over to Beatrix uneasily.
What would happen to Kiran and the others? To everyone still fighting behind the sea walls?
"Th-They'll make it, right?" he asked.
The Illumise captain gave no answer for a long while, as she stared off at Vollezee Island slowly shrinking off into the distance. The Bug-Type hung her head and gave a glum, uneasy shake in reply.
"I don't know," Beatrix sighed. "But we need to make the most of things."
Crom wasn't sure how to respond. From the long faces he could see on his teammates as they neared, it was evident they were similarly at a loss about what to do. Pleo cast a glance off at the damaged sails on the front mast, before turning to his companions with a deflated murmur.
"… Where do we even go now?" the Lugia muttered.
Crom looked back towards Vollezee's sea walls, as smoke curled up behind them along with rainclouds and flashes of light from the still-raging battle on the other end. The Druddigon felt his eyes mist up as he turned out towards the open sea, letting his head hang as his words came out in a faltering croak.
"… A-Anywhere but here."
Half an hour later, the deck of the Argent Aviso was in disarray from battle. The ship's wood had been pockmarked here and there with holes and fresh battle scars, and a few of the cannons had been damaged beyond use from attacks that had slipped through. The medbay had been overflowed as wounded Pokémon in lavender scarves were laid out for treatment on deck and in the water, among them being Administrator Zorn himself, who was wincing from a Sitrus Berry being applied to a blackened electrical burn on a patch of his scales.
Lyn heard growls and jeers coming from the spar deck and turned to see a sorry procession of roughly thirty Pokémon being drug along bound in ropes, silk bindings, and netting as more able Pokémon from his crew harried them. Most of them were still dripping seawater, some had fake Company lavenders on, while others who were more obviously adapted to aquatic lives had blue and red belts instead. Lyn bared his teeth and narrowed his eyes down at the lot. These thirty or so Pokémon were the ones who hadn't slipped away with that blasted schooner and that ocean clan who'd stuck their noses into things. He would've hoped to have the lot of them bound and gagged here alongside Lugia to finally put an end to this whole saga, but yet again, they'd found a way to slip his grasp. To say nothing of Manaphy, as well.
Lyn made his way down as the captives were shoved in front of him. A Relicanth and a Golisopod, a Servine and a Raichu… the lot of them looked haggard and some visibly squirmed and flinched at his appearance. The Samurott walked over and sized up his prisoners, when his eyes fell upon a sopping Swellow from among their number. Even with his flight feathers freshly cut and Company lavenders on, he still recognized it to be none other than that 'Kiran' from Lugia's companions.
"You."
Kiran sucked in a sharp breath and braced himself as Lyn approached. The Samurott drew his right seamitar from his scabbard and leveled it under the Swellow's throat, the motion drawing a startled squawk and forcing the bird to turn his head up.
"You're one of the Guardian's little friends," Lyn harrumphed. "What did you think you were going to accomplish by coming here?"
Kiran breathed in and out tensely, his eyes drifting down to the point of Lyn's blade at his throat. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke up, trying but not wholly able to fight back an audibly unnerved tone in his voice.
"I came to find a way to keep him safe," Kiran replied. "It's my duty to him along with all of my other pupils."
Lyn narrowed his eyes and pressed the tip of his seamitar firmly in between Kiran's plumage. The Samurott watched his Swellow captive squirm briefly, some of his nearby companions flinching and looking away, expecting the worst. Satisfied he'd sufficiently cowed the lot, Lyn spoke up again and let out a dismissive scoff.
"Well, you're not in much of a position to do that now, are you?" he retorted. "Given the charges that you're facing, I'd strongly encourage you to focus more on keeping yourself safe."
Lyn leaned his head in, close enough for Kiran to feel the Water-Type's breath on him. After lingering a moment to let the Swellow waver and watch him pale in fright, the otter let out a low growl before speaking up.
"Give me a lead to work with, and I'll see to it that you'll return to your island while you're still a spring Torchic."
Kiran seemed to blanch for a moment, only much to Lyn's surprise, a fire seemed to light up in the Swellow's eyes. The Flying-Type glared back and answered with an angry and defiant huff.
"Do you really think that you can just bully anyone into doing your bidding?" Kiran snapped. "As if I'd help the likes of you! Let alone against my own pupils!"
Lyn twitched his whiskers and tightened the grip on his seamitar, when he noticed the same determination in Kiran's eyes start to appear in the others' nearby. In a Servine's, in a Raichu's, and in the eyes of the rest of the Pokémon in impersonated Company garb. The Water-Types from the ocean clan they'd drug aboard similarly seemed to have been infected by the Swellow's defiance, not least among them a Kingdra who flopped against the netting binding him down with a sharp scowl.
"Go swim into a sea vent, air-breather!" Kuda spat. "I'd rather air-drown than get my fins involved in that!"
"Yeah, we're not going to help you capture our Protector!" Natrix cried.
"And he'll stop you!" Philips added. "We know he will!"
"Shut up!"
The bound Pokémon flinched as they heard Lyn raise his voice into a roaring bellow and the thunk of a sharp object embedding itself into the deck's wood. After opening their eyes, they quickly noticed Lyn's seamitar wedged into the deck just by Kiran's left wing. The Samurott gave a dark, overpowering glare at the lot and grit his teeth with an audible snarl.
"Hrmph, I see I'm wasting my time," he said. "You all can try your luck with that defiant attitude in a place more suited for treasonous scum like you: Nagrobek."
Lyn watched as Kiran's and the others' eyes shrank to pins as soon as the words left his mouth. Perhaps that had made his would-be rebels more aware of the gravity of their situation. While the shock of their pronounced fate still lingered, Lyn yanked his seamitar out of the deck and turned over to a Crobat with an absent-minded motion of his blade at his captives.
"Kane, get them back to shore and processed," the Samurott ordered. "Perhaps the Guardian can be made to care about their plight, but I don't have any further use for them right now."
The Crobat gave a low grunt in reply before calling out a "you heard him" to the other sailors nearby. One after the other, Lyn's underlings drug off their prisoners for the brig below deck and for nets hung from the side of the ship, flailing and protesting all the while. As their cries faded into the background, Lyn heard the water churn along the starboard side of his ship, looking over to see Zorn swimming up to him. The Gyarados briefly glanced off at the tendrils of smoke curling up from Canalhouse City, before letting out a growling sigh.
"Ugh, what a disaster," Zorn muttered. "Has there been any report on what on earth happened onshore with that earthquake and those green lights earlier?"
Lyn looked up in the distance and saw a Fearow making his way for his ship. That was Maurier coming back from his assignment to check up on what had happened earlier in the city. Surely just the information Administrator Zorn would be looking for at the moment.
"We should be getting a report just now, actually."
The Fearow banked and flew down, coming to a stop on the railing nearby and saluting with a wing. Lyn sheathed his seamitar and drew forward on all fours, giving an impatient tilt of his head at his scout.
"Maurier, what did you find out there?"
Maurier ruffled his feathers and fidgeted a moment, as he spoke up and seemed to be making a conscious effort to project a confident tone in spite of lingering hints of unease in his voice.
"Er… it's still not fully clear what happened, but the lights were from a running battle in the city between Team Sentinel and this big… snake thing," the Fearow explained. "It's not really clear what it was, but word going around says it was a Protector named 'Zygarde'."
Lyn and Zorn both stiffened up. 'Zygarde'? The very one that Sicula claimed had appeared on Tromba? What on earth had happened there? And more importantly…
"Where is this 'Zygarde' now?" Zorn pressed.
Maurier hemmed and hawed briefly, before continuing his report.
"Well… he made a bit of a mess in the city and then just abruptly vanished," the Flying-Type said. "The other team you dispatched is still combing for details, but if you need more information, maybe it'd make sense to talk with Ketu or Ellsberg."
"Ketu or Ellsberg?" Lyn asked. "Why? What happened with them?"
"I mean, I didn't see them," the Fearow answered. "But they were apparently present with Team Sentinel and saw everything that happened."
Lyn stiffened up as his mouth flopped open at Maurier's report. Ellsberg was off with Team Sentinel during all of this? But why? Was there some sort of assignment the lot had received that he didn't know about?
The Samurott faltered a moment, before nodding back at the bird. He could get to the bottom of that later, sometime when his paws weren't as full.
"Thank you, Maurier. That'll be all for now."
Maurier saluted, before beating his wings and flying off. After the Fearow drifted away, Zorn turned back towards the unsettled city at the other end of the lagoon, shaking his head with a low grumble.
"I can tell already that the next Board meeting's going to be quite something," the Gyarados said. "Though I don't understand how on earth we have this little of a lead about where the Guardian of the Seas would go to."
Lyn turned to the Administrator and cocked a brow puzzledly.
"… We actually have a lead at all?" the Samurott asked. "What is it?"
"Just that schooner was last sighted headed westward. Straight for Imperial waters if its course was anything to go by."
Lyn paused, before he gave a knowing smile. It admittedly wasn't much of a lead, but after the arrangement he'd made on behalf of the Board with the Iron Fleet and Orleigh's Pirate Council… it was enough of one to still turn to his advantage.
"Actually… I think I can work with that," Lyn replied. "We did have that business with the pirates lined up, but I'd like a chance to petition the Board for a few last-minute preparations that I'd need before setting off."
Zorn blinked and gave a puzzled tilt of his head. The Samurott always had a cocky streak, but he wouldn't have this sort of confidence without some reason for it. So then, it beggared the question…
"Just what sort of preparations are you talking about?" the sea serpent questioned.
Lyn turned and peered off at Vollezee's sea walls. After a moment studying the passage out of it and the cerulean seas in the distance, he shook his head and gave a terse grunt in reply.
"Force. And a lot of it."
Author's Notes:
- Uvidimsja, mudak! (Увидимся, мудак!) - Russian: "See you (later), аsshole!" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)
- Bachinuni (バチンウニ) - Japanese: "Pincurchin" (Official Romanization)
- Kamasujaw (カマスジョー) - Japanese: "Barraskewda" (Official Romanization)
- Sbrigatevi! - Italian: "Hurry (up)!" (interjection, addressed to multiple people)
