Hello everyone, sorry for the wait, work has been problematic as winter rolls around, and I took a little break from writing and played some Pokemon. Now let's get to chapter 10.

Chapter 10

Seasick, Curses, and Big Bugs

After sailing for a while, Laphicet, Saara, Fury, and Ryu were watching everyone do their things, with everyone just doing their things, and Zane finished making 9 Pokeballs. "I gotta say, you guys look less like pirates and more like a circus troupe." Benwick said to Laphicet, as he walked up to him, with Oozy in his hat.

"But it's never a dull moment with them." Oozy said to Benwick, as Laphicet moved closer to Laphicet. "Are you all right with having daemons on board, Benwick?" Laphicet asked Benwick.

"Not remotely an issue. If you're aboard this ship of misfits, you're a pirate! That's just our creed. At least, that's what the captain and the first mate always say." Benwick said to Laphicet. "Yeah, that's how we Pokemon were about to stay on this ship. That captain and first mate are something else." Oozy said to Laphicet.

"Speaking of the captain… What's Aifread like?" Laphicet asked them. "Hmm… Let's see, how do I put it? He's like if the sea were a person, and that person had a pointy beard." Benwick said to Laphicet.

"Huh. A… A beared... sea?" Laphicet asked Benwick. "I think you're confusing the boy." Oozy said to Benwick. "Look, everyone on this ship is an outcast from society in some way." Benwick said to Laphicet, making Laphicet look at everyone.

"Despite that, Captain Aifread accepted us for who we are and took us all on board." Benwick said to Laphicet. "And it's that mind set that let us Pokemon join the crew. "So he's… a kind man?" Laphicet asked Benwick. "By the sound of it, I think open minded is a better word to describe him." Fury said to Laphicet.

"Well, would you say that the sea is kind or open minded?" Benwick asked Laphicet and Fury. This made both of them turn to the sea. "How would it feel to dive in with an open wound?" Benwick asked Laphicet.

"It would sting! A lot." Laphicet said to Benwick. "Quiet so. Some days he's calm and steady, and others he rages. He can be shallow, deep, even a whirlpool." Benwick said to Laphicet, making everyone look at him.

"Sounds like he's a little scary and hard to read…" Laphicet said to Benwick. "Yeah. Sometimes it's hard to serve him, but that air of mystery keeps us around and makes us wanna take those jumps." Benwick said to Laphicet, as they all walked to the edge of the ship and looked at the sea.

"At the end of the day, the dread pirate Van Aifread is one heck of a guy!" Benwick said to Laphicet. "He sounds like Velvet and Zane in a lot of ways." Laphicet said to Benwick, surprising Benwick.

"Wait, what?! How so? Aww, I didn't describe him right at all, did I?" Benwick asked Laphicet. "Don't forget the boy only knows a handful of people, he doesn't know how complicated people can be." Oozy said to Benwick, as Laphicet started to think, and as Eizen and Duncan walked up to them.

"Benwick, we're changing course at once for Port Reneed." Eizen said to Benwick. "Sir? What's going on?" Benwick asked Eizen. "Yeah, Port Reneed is out of the way of our destination." Oozy said to Eizen.

"Three of our men have collapsed from the corsair's scourge. They first showed symptoms three days ago. How are you holding up?" Eizen asked Benwick. "I'm still doing all right. But if this really started three days ago… that means we're all carrying it, doesn't it?" Benwick asked Eizen.

"That's what I'm afraid of. But if we head straight to Port Reneed, we should be able to get medicine there." Eizen said to Benwick. "I'll check on everyone's condition!" Benwick said to Eizen. "Make sure everyone stays hydrated. Including yourself, understand?" Eizen asked Benwick. "Sir, yes sir!" Benwick said to Eizen.

"All hands, Assume emergency positions!" Benwick said to everyone on the ship, getting all of their attention. "We have the corsair's scourge on board." Oozy said to everyone. This caused the crew to move at high speed without missing a bet.

"The crew's holding up well for a bunch of folks at death's door." Rokurou said to everyone. "What do you mean? Is this corsair's scourge fatal?" Velvet asked Rokurou. "Quite. No one knows what causes it, but it starts with a high fever, and ends up with the body falling apart like sand." Magilou said to Velvet.

"Like sand?!" Laphicet asked Magilou. "You're joking right?" Zane asked Magilou. "Nope. Once there was a great band of pirates who ruled the seas… but the disease spread through their ships and killed every one of them. That's why it's called the corsair's scourge." Magilou said to everyone.

"Does that mean we've been infected as well?" Eleanor asked everyone. "You humans, or sure." Rokurou said to Eleanor. "Only humans fall prey to the corsair's scourge." Magilou said to Eleanor. "But doesn't that mean, out of all of us, you, me, and Eleanor are infected?" Zane asked Magilou, as he stuffed the 9 Pokeballs into pockets. "Oh! R-Right… Alas! That my glorious saga should meet such an ignominious end!" Magilou said to everyone.

"Can Zane even get the corsair's scourge?" Joy asked everyone. "That is a good question? We don't really know what Zane is?" Liz said to Joy.

"In either case. I can't allow our vessel to die from this. Or let my main partner in crime die before we complete our mission. If either of you start to feel ill, speak up." Velvet said to Eleanor and Zane. "I will." Eleanor said to Velvet. "I just find it touching that you care about me that much." Zane said to Velvet.

"All right, we'll all be helping out in the search. Everyone but Zane and Eleanor, that is." Rokurou said to everyone. "Huh?" Eleanor asked Rokurou. "Aww, why do THEY get to stay? I might be dying too, you know!" Magilou said to everyone. "You're a witch. Magic yourself healthy. Now quiet whining. "Also we don't care." Liz said to Magilou, before everyone scattered.

"Ah! Not even a witch is safe from the ravages of the Reaper's Curse!" Magilou said, before walking away, her back lowered. "The Reaper's Curse?" Eleanor asked, wondering what that was.

A couple hours later they reached Port Reneed which had a very dense forest behind it. "Okay, where's the herbalists? If I remember right, the corsair's scourge needs a particularly special medicine." Rokurou said to everyone, as they all got off the ship, with their Pokemon in their Pokeballs.

"Yeah, it's a wildflower called 'sale'tomah". Its juice can cure the corsair's scourge." Eizen said to Rokurou. "Doesn't sound too tricky." Rokurou said to Eizen. "Let's not relax until we have it in hand." Velvet said to everyone. "Right. Now let's get going." Eizen said to everyone.

"Hold on a minute! Won't you just be spreading the disease if everyone wanders into town?" Eleanor asked everyone. "Surprisingly, no. For whatever reason, you can only catch it over the ocean waves. It's speculated it might have something to do with the salt in the air, or maybe the microbes in the seawater." Magilou said to Eleanor.

"Nobody knows the cause for sure, but there are no recorded cases of people catching it on land." Eizen said to Eleanor. "I see. A strange affliction indeed." Eleanor said to Eizen.

"We'll be back soon. You all remain on the ship." Eizen said to Benwick. "All right. Good luck out there, sir!" Benwick said to Eizen. "We've got to hurry." Eizen said to everyone, as everyone but Eleanor and Laphicet started to move.

"Sale'tomah… Is this really going to be necessary?" Eleanor asked, thinking out loud. "What do you mean, Eleanor?" Laphicet asked Eleanor. "Oh, nothing, it's just… Well, the herb is known to work well for fevers and the like, but… it tastes bad. So bad. Some say it would even bring a daemon to the brink of tears…" Eleanor said to Laphicet.

"Maybe so… But better to drink it than to die, right?" Laphicet asked Eleanor. "Oh! I;m not worried. It- It just reminds me of stories from my childhood, is all." Eleanor said to Laphicet.

While walking through the town, they heard rumors of their deeds being passed around quite a bit, from them breaking out of the prison to killing the high priest, of course the stories were way out of control.

But after a bit, they found the herbalists. "Hello there! How can I help you today?" The herbalists asked everyone. "We're looking for sale'tomah flowers." Eizen said to the herbalists.

"Well now! That's an order I don't get every day. It's not for the corsair's scourge, by any chance?" The herbalists asked everyone. "The very same. Some of our crew developed fever three days ago. I want to take care of it as quickly as possible." Eizen said to the herbalists.

"Understandable, but unfortunately, I'm not out of stock right now." The herbalists said to Eizen. "How can you be out of stock? The flower's in season, isn't it?" Eizen asked the herbalists.

"It is, but not too long ago, a daemon appeared in Werg Forest, where we harvest it, and now the Abbey won't let anyone inside." The herbalists said to Eizen. "They what? Why haven't they exterminated the daemon?" Eleanor asked the herbalists.

"From what little I've heard, they've had trouble tracking the thing. A hundred people go in, maybe only one will actually come across the beast." The herbalists said to everyone. "If it's so rare, then what's the danger?" Rokurou asked the herbalists.

"Because nobody who's encountered it has come back alive. And those that have come back said they never found the monster but were attacked by a massive number of giant bugs that have taken over the forest." The herbalists said to everyone.

"First the corsair's scourge, then no medicinton, the Abbey, Giant Bugs, and a mysterious daemon. Never a dull moment with the Reaper's Curse, eh?" Magilou asked everyone, confusing Eleanor.

"I could try to order some from other towns, but if you're already on day three, it might not make it in time." The herbalists said to everyone. "But if we go to the Warg Forest, the sale'tomah will be in bloom, correct?" Velvet asked the herbalists.

"Right, but the daemon and bugs…" The herbalists said to Velvet, but was interrupted by Zane. "Either we die by corsair's scourge or the daemon and the bug, we rather die fighting." Zane said to the herbalists. "Suit yourself." The herbalists said to everyone, before they all walked away.

"Hey, Laphicet, what's the Reaper's Cruse Magilou was talking about?" Eleanor asked Laphicet, as they walked to the forest. "Supposedly, Eizen's presence has the power to bring misfortune to the people around him." Laphicet said to Eleanor. "Is that some sort of special malak power or something?" Eleanor asked Laphicet.

"It's worse than mere misfortune. At Vortigern, there was a sudden mass outbreak of daemonblight, and many of his fellow crew died on his watch." Magilou said to Eleanor. "I find that a little hard to believe, honestly." Eleanor said to everyone.

"The Reaper's Curse is all too real!" Bienfu said to Eleanor, as he appeared. "It was the Reaper's Curse that tore me from you and got me captured by Miss Magilou!" Bienfu said to Eleanor.

"Oh… Is- Is that so?" Eleanor asked Bienfu. "I missed you so much! The hazy, halcyon days when I would blow on your cheeks to make your tears dry up." Bienfu said to Eleanor. "H-Hey! That's not-" Eleanor said to Bienfu, but was interrupted by Bienfu.

"It must be destiny that we've been reunited! How I wish I could return to your side once more." Bienfu said to Eleanor. "Do what you want. I don't care." Magilou said to Bienfu. "Really?!" Bienfu asked Magilou, with a surprise tune in his voice.

"I won't stop you. Maybe she WANTS a malak who freely divulges a young girl's secrets." Magilou said to Bienfu. "I'm fine, thank you very much! I've already got Laphicet to look after as it is." Eleanor said, crossing her arms and looking away from Bienfu.

"Aww, no fair! Is he the one who blows on your tears now when you cry?" Bienfu asked Eleanor. "He most certainly does not! And as of right now, you're a stranger to me!" Eleanor said to Bienfu. "Bieeeeeen!" Bienfu said, before running off crying. This made Eleanor sighed.

Then Eleanor noticed Velvet and Zane giving Eleanor a flat look. Then Velvet and Zane moved Laphicet away from Eleanor. "What?" Eleanor asked them. "Just so we're clear, Laphicet will do no blowing on any cheeks." Velvet said to Eleanor.

"Of course not! Er, I mean, not that it ever happened in the first place, anyway!" Eleanor said to Velvet, blushing a little. "Well next time use your sleeve." Zane said to Eleanor. "Arg, just forget it!" Eleanor said to everyone, placing a hand on her head. "Ah yet another victim of Reaper's Curse!" Magilou said to everyone, making Eizen sigh with a whatever tune in his voice.

"Eleanor, are you feeling all right?" Laphicet asked Eleanor. "Yes. For now, at least." Eleanor said to Laphicet. "I'm glad for that, but remember, the Reaper's Curse is no joke." Laphicet said to Eleanor.

"Is Eizen's Curse even real? I'm having trouble believing in it." Eleanor asked Laphicet. "You never know! Talk like that might give you a stomachache. Or a blister. Or a bug might fly into your mouth." Magilou said to Eleanor. "A bug?!" Eleanor asked Magilou, as she and Laphicet freaked out.

"Miss Magilou, please stop making up things just to scare Madam Eleanor! Like when you said that four navy warships tried to detain the Van Eltia and disappeared without a trace? Or that Eizen made a stopover on an island, and the men there caught daemonblight? Or a man bumped into his shoulder and started laughing and died from suffocation?" Bienfu said to Magilou.

"Please, stop. That's even more frightening." Eleanor said to Bienfu. "That's a pack of lies. It was seven warships. Everyone on the island- not just the men- caught daemonblight. And the guy who bumped into me died from hiccups." Eizen said to everyone.

"That makes it sound worse, and makes me wonder how we're still alive." Zane said to Eizen, as Eleanor and Bienfu freaked out a little. "Ah! Hold me!" Bienfu said to Eleanor.

"But as far as the corsair's scourge goes, you don't need to worry. Just drink the sale'tomah juice, and you'll be fine." Rokurou said to Eleanor. "Assuming they're in bloom." Velvet said to Rokurou. "Yeah, there is that." Rokurou said to everyone. "I have a bad feeling about this." Eleanor said to everyone, putting a hand on her head.

While walking Eizen kept flipping his coin, and kept getting tails. Magilou noticed this. "Tails again, huh? That Reaper's Curse of yours is consistent, if nothing else." Magilou said to Eizen. "The curse even affect coin flips?" Eleanor asked Eizen.

"Seems that way." Eizen said to Eleanor. "A malak's powers affect physical objects and can at times even synchronize with their wavelengths." Magilou said to Eleanor. "And in your case, it's the coin?" Eleanor asked Eizen. "Yeah. That's why it always comes up tails." Eizen said to Eleanor, as he flipped his coin and it landed on tails.

"You must forgive my skepticism." Eleanor said to Eizen. "Whether you choose to believe it or not is really up to you." Eizen said to Eleanor. "It might be worth noting that coins is also Eizen's vessel." Magilou said to Eleanor.

"So is that "wavelength" business the reason why Laphicet always has that compass around him?" Eleanor asked Eizen. "That's part of it, but in another sense, it's a kind of proof of his manhood." Eizen said to Eleanor. "Proof of his… manhood?" Eleanor asked, before looking at Laphicet.

"Must polish you, so you don't rust! Hm-hm-hm…" Laphicet said to his compass, with a sining tune in his voice, as he cleaned his compass.

"That doesn't make any sense." Eleanor said to Eizen. "For a praetor, you really don't know that much about the world, do you?" Magilou asked Eleanor, earning a mean look from Eleanor.

Soon they entered the woods, which wasn't that thick with trees, but it was full of hills that had a very steep angle. "This must be the Warg Forest." Eizen said to everyone. "We need to be careful. There may well be exorcists around." Velvet said to everyone. "Those fools in armor are the last thing you should worry about. Attack Order!" A female voice said to everyone.

That's when a swarm of bees made out of green energy came shooting at them. This caused everyone to scatter. When the bees stopped, they noticed a creature floating up to them.

It had a round orange body, four small wings, and long black arms arms with two orange claws for fingers, a orange face with large red eyes, yellow pincers, large round black and yellow horns, with a red crystal in the middle of it's head, and attached to the lower part of the round body was a black and yellow honeycomb like dress, with a bump in the middle of it.

"This is my forest." The bug said to everyone, with a female voice. "Great, a Vespiquen." Zane said to everyone. "You know this beast?" Eleanor asked Zane. "Vespiquen, a Bug and Flying Type, and she's a queen. I've seen her kind surrounded by many of its pre-evolved forms, Combee." Zane said to Eleanor.

"Then why is she alone?" Laphicet asked everyone. That's when Zane noticed Vespiquen was alone, and it took him a few seconds to figure out why. "You're an exile queen, aren't you?" Zane asked Vespiquen.

"Exile queen?" Velvet asked Zane. "Vespiquen are responsible for giving birth to the new Combees of the hive, but every now and then, a female Combee egg will be laid, when that happens one of the three things happen. One the egg is protected and worshiped as the next queen of the hive as the current one is starting to die. Two the egg is taken away by a few Combees and start their hive in a new home. Or three, the Combees raise the egg in secret and have her overthrow the currant Vespiquen." Zane said to everyone.

"What do you mean overthrow?" Eleanor asked Zane. "When the Combee think the Vespiquen is asking against the good of the hive, they raise a new Vespiquen to not only force the old Vespiquen away, but become the new queen, and lead the hive down a new path." Zane said to Eleanor. "So, why did they kick you out of the hive?" Zane asked Vespiquen.

"They forced me out because they refused to fight the Abbey. Our mission is to kill them. But they wanted to hide and do our job of pollinating the flowers. Who cares about flowers when war is our first priority. I can not tell you how many flowers they brought me trying to convince me to give up the fight." Vespiquen said to Zane.

"You're fighting the Abbey. Then we need not be enemies. We're fighting the Abbey as well, but we need to get some flowers from the forest." Laphicet said to Vespiquen. "I don't care. I'm strong enough to take care of the Abbey myself. After I take care of you. Attack Order!" Vespiquen said to Laphicet, before firing a swarm of bees made out of green energy came out from her honeycomb dress at Laphicet.

"Liz use Dragon Rage." Velvet said to Liz, as she let Liz out of her Pokeball. "Right." Liz said, as she fired a burst of blue flames at the swarm. The flames hit the swarm, causing big explosions, stopping both attacks. "Everyone, Me and Liz will take care of her." Velvet said to everyone.

"You sure Velvet?" Laphicet asked Velvet. "I'm sure. Pulse, I want to fight her." Velvet said to Laphicet, giving Vespiquen a mean look. "Bring it on." Vespiquen said to Velvet, giving Velvet a mean look.

"Liz use Ember." Velvet said to Liz, as she charged Vespiquen. "Sure." Liz said as she fired a burst of fire at Vespiquen. "Like I should be scared of a flame like that. Air Slash." Vespiquen said to Velvet and Liz, as she flapped her wings, firing wind blades. The wind blade cut threw the Ember, making Liz jump to the left.

Then Vespiquen noticed Velvet getting close to her. "Defende Order." Vespiquen said, before firing a swarm of bees made out of green energy came out from her honeycomb dress. The bees formed armor around her, negating most of the damage. "Attack Order." Vespiquen said, as the bees around her charged at Velvet.

Velvet jumped back, and summoned her claw and lit a flame, burning the bees before they reached her. "Poison Gas." Liz said, as she breathed a purple cloud at Vespiquen. The cloud hit Vespiquen, as Vespiquen breathed some of the cloud in, making her feel weak, as a purple mark appeared under her eyes.

"You think a little poison will stop me. Swift!" Vespiquen said, as she fired yellow stars from the bottom of her honeycomb dress, making Velvet and Liz run at high speed to avoid the stars.

"Poison Fang." Liz said, as she charged at Vespiquen, her mouth glowing sharp purple teeth. But when Liz jumped up to try and bite Vespiquen's wings, Vespiquen caught Liz by the snout. "Let's see how tough you are when your mouth is kept shut." Vespiquen said to Liz, with a smirk on her face.

Liz looked at Vespiquen in rage, and purple goo with purple electricity started to leak out of her mouth, sith a couple drops hitting Vespiquen. And once those drops hit, Vespiquen got zapped by a surge of purple electricity.

"AH! Venoshock! But you already used four moves! How did you learn that!" Vespiquen said to Liz, as she tossed Liz away in pain. "Me learning Venoshock is the least of your worries." Liz said to Vespiquen. "Huh?" Vespiquen asked Liz.

That's when Velvet popped out her deamon claw and grabbed Vespiquen by the back. Velvet then slammed Vespiquen in the ground, a few times, breaking the ground, before throwing Vespiquen into a tree. All of this, plus the poison make Vespiquen stay on the ground.

Velvet then walked up to Vespiquen. "What are you waiting for, finish me." Vespiquen said to Velvet. "I would rather not. I like you. And I think I'd have more fun watching you serve me." Velvet said to Vespiquen. "Like I have a choice." Vespiquen said to Velvet.

"No you don't. And to wound your pride even more, I'm going to call you Empress." Velvet said to Vespiquen. "The title of the sovereign ruler of an empire. You would call me that while I'm your servant?" Vespiquen asked Velvet.

"Yes. So welcome aboard Empress." Velvet said to Vespiquen, Empress, as she threw a Pokeball at Empress and caught her. Then Velvet let Empress out of her Pokeball, with Empress no longer poisoned and feeling good enough to fly again. "Now then. We're looking for a specific flower in this forest. Can you take us to it?" Velvet asked Empress.

"Before I lead you to your flower, what is it?" Empress asked Velvet. "Yeah, what does this sale'tomah flower look like exactly?" Laphicet asked everyone. "In a word, ugly. The flower itself is purple, with leaves and stems of maroon." Magilou said to Empress and Laphicet. "Oh, those things. Yes, I know where they are." Empress said to everyone.

"By the way, do you know what sale'tomah means in the language of flowers?" Magilou asked everyone. "Was it… " deceitful coexistence"?" Eleanor asked Magilou. "What's with that? Even its symbolism is awful." Velvet said to everyone. "Just imagine how bad it tastes." Zane said to everyone.

"Deceitful… coexistence…" Laphicet asked. "Heh heh heh, the perfect flower for us." Magilou said to everyone, making Velvet, Eleanor, and Laphicet sigh in frustration. "What's wrong, Laphicet?" Rokurou asked Laphicet.

"Magilou is right… isn't she?" Laphicet asked Rokurou. "Could be. Eleanor is from the Abbey. I'm not sure that someone like that would ever genuinely want to make friends with us.

"That's what I thought." Laphicet said to everyone. "But it's not all quarrels between us. There's… commonalities, I guess you could call it. We share common ground." Eleanor said to Laphicet. "Deceitful coexistence doesn't trouble me at all! I'll always be here for you, Madam Eleanor!" Bienfu said to Eleanor, as he appeared out of thin air.

"You and I shared an eternal vow that binds us together!" Bienfu said to Eleanor, getting closer to Eleanor. "All I did was make a pact to tether you. I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about it in a way that could create the wrong impression." Eleanor said to Bienfu, moving away from Bienfu. "Bieeeen! Madam Eleanor… You're so cold." Bienfu said, running away as he cried.

"Dry your eyes, Bienfu. You still have me don't you?" Magilou asked Bienfu. "Oh, Miss Magilou! You're the only one for me, honest!" Bienfu said to Magilou, floating around Magilou. "Good, good. Now think hard on my kindness, and do as you're told!" Magilou said to Bienfu. "Yes, ma'am! I'll just have to hang in there until I find a new love!" Bienfu said to Magilou, earning a mean grin from Magilou.

"Well, he's dead." Zane said to everyone. "Laphicet. Think about deceitful coexistence this way." Velvet said to Laphicet. "Daemon, exorcist, malak, Pokemon, pirate, witch… We're never going to be a single, cohesive until. But each of us understands where the others are coming from in a way that's very real." Eizen said to Laphicet.

"So it's not really a deception." Laphicet said to Eizen. "Yeah, not really. I think "selfish coexistence" might make a better fit." Velvet said to Laphicet. "Hahaha! Maybe so." Laphicet said to Velvet. "I agree, after all one way we're all here for selfish reasons." Zane said to Laphicet, making Eleanor sigh. "If you're done talking, let's get a move on." Empress said to everyone, as she started to lead everyone deep into the forest.

After walking around a bit, they found part of the forest covered in snow. "Snow? What's going on here? Is this more of the Reapers Curse?" Eleanor asked everyone. "I have no idea what that is. But we're just in another bug's territory. These little ones, forced here by the Abbey, into a land not suited for them. Poor things." Empress said to Eleanor.

"What are you talking about?" Eleanor asked Empress. "The Abbey owned this forest before I showed up. Once I did, I did hit and run attacks on the Abbey's forces, forcing them out and claiming this land as mine. But instead of a counter attack I expected, they started to send Bug Types into my forest. With the occasional scout team trying to sneak around." Empress said to everyone.

"Why would they do that?" Eleanor asked Empress. "Don't know. All I know is that they're keeping us here. Like we're guards, but to what I have no clue." Empress said to Eleanor. "Aw Eleanor? What's that on your shoe?" Laphicet asked Eleanor.

Eleanor looked down to see a pure white, oval shape worm on her shoe, with the worm having a spiky ice coat on the back part of its lower part of its body and tiny black dot eyes. And what it was doing on Eleanor's shoe, was eating snow off a leaf.

"It's so cute." Eleanor said, as she picked up the worm. "That's a Snom. A Bug and Ice Type. They eat snow to make the spiky ice armor. That's why they're turning this part of the forest into a winter wonderland." Empress said to Eleanor.

"Winter, that's the perfect name for you. I'll think I'll keep you." Eleanor said to Snom, before reaching for a Pokeball, only to remember she doesn't have a free one. "Here." Zane said to Eleanor, tossing her one Pokeball.

Eleanor caught the Pokeball. "Thank you." Eleanor said to Zane, as she caught Winter and caught her. Eleanor then let Winter out and onto her shoulders.

"While I'm passing around Pokeball, Magilou and Rokurou, these are for you." Zane said to Magilou and Rokurou, as he tossed each of them 1 Pokeball. "Laphicet, these are for you." Zane said to Laphicet, as he gave Laphicet 3 Pokeball. "And these are for me." Zane said to everyone, showing the last 3 Pokeballs.

"If you're all done goofing off, let's get moving again." Empress said to everyone. "She's right, we're wasting time. Let's move." Velvet said to everyone, before they all started to move.

Soon they found themselves in front of a red energy barrier. There a tan rock bug standing on two legs with black talon claws, black stones in a sun shape around it's twig like arms, thick black stone bearded and eyebrowed, a black stone on the top of it's head, and two massive stone axes on the end of it's arms.

The incest was surrounded by a handful of dead exorcists. "Oh great. Kleavor, the nut case." Empress said to everyone. "Kleavor?" Laphicet asked Empress. "Kleavor, a Bug and Rock Type, and they're known for being strong and can not only block attacks, but can cut large trees down in one swipe." Empress said to Laphicet.

That's when Kleavor turned to everyone. "Well, well, well. Looks like a few more fools have shown up. I do hope you put up a fight then the others, my axes need a real opponent." Kleavor said to everyone, before slamming his axes into the ground.

"I like him. We'll handle him." Rokurou said to everyone, as he stepped forward and let out Saber and Hui. "Three on one. No problem." Kleavor said to them. "Are you sure you can handle all three of us?" Rokurou asked Kleavor. "I think I can manage. Lunge." Kleavor said to them, as he had a light green outline around himself and he charged at Rokurou, Saber and Hui.

"Hui use Metal Claw." Rokurou said to Hui, as he and Saber used their blades to block Kleavor's axes, and locked weapons with each other. "Right." Hui said, as his claws turned silver, and he lunged at Kleavor.

But Kleavor noticed Hui, and jumped back into the air, dodging Hui's attack. "Double Team." Kleavor said, as many copies of him laned in front of Rokurou, Saber, and Hui. "Which one is the real one?" Hui asked everyone.

"Leave that to me. Metal Sound." Saber said to Jui, before scraping his saber against his body, making a nasty sound. This caused one of the Kleavor copies to cover the side of its head.

"There's the real one. "Quick, Saber use Shadow Sneak, and Hui use Quick Attack." Rokurou said to Saber and Hui, as he charged at Kleavor. "Right." Saber and Hui said to Rokurou, as Saber sank into the shadow, Hui glowed white and ran at high speed, and both moved towards Kleavor at high speed.

"Stone Axe!" Kleavor said, as he slammed his axes into the ground, making rock burst out of the ground, and making Saber and Hui crash into the rocks. But that's when Rokurou got up into Kleavor's personal space, using his blades to try and cut Kleavor, but Kleavor's rocky hide made it hard for Rokurou's blades to cut through.

But this did give Saber and Hui the chance to recover from the crash. "Aerial Ace." Saber said, as he disappeared and reappeared behind Kelavor, and slashed the back of Kleavor's legs, making Kleavor lose his balance.

"Brick Break." Hui said, as his claws glowed white. Hui then jumped up into the air and came down on Kleavor, forcing Kleavor into the ground. Then Rokurou, Saber, and Hui jumped back, as Kleavor got up. A few seconds later, Rokurou, Saber, Hui, and Kleavor got back into a fighting stance.

But before either one of them attacked, all of them started laughing. "You three aren't that bad." Kleavor said to them. "I could say the same for you." Rorukrou said to Kleaver. "Would you mind joining us? I think you'd be a big help in the battles ahead." Saber asked Kleavor.

"Why not. I've run out of exciting fights here in the forest." Kleavor said to everyone. "Welcome aboard Carver." Rokurou said to Kleavor, as he caught Kleavor, now Carver. Then Rokurou let Carver out of his Pokeball.

"So is something going on back there, Carver?" Rokurou asked Carver. "No clue, but these guys always make sure the barrier stays up, even if I'm about to slash them in half." Carver said to Rokurou.

That's when Laphicet pulled out his compass, with this compass going crazy. "Are you making that move?" Eleanor asked Laphicet. "No, it just did it by itself." Laphiet said to Eleanor.

"He's in sync with his compass, just like Eizen and his coin." Eleanor said to everyone. "Eizen, you're an earth Malak, right? Do you sense anything around here?" Magilou asked Eizen. "No, I don't. It seems Laphicet's senses are sharper than mine." Eizen said to everyone.

"Probably because he bonded with a compass, boosting his senses. While you bonded with a coin, boosting your luck, or bad luck in your case." Zane said to Magilou. Then the compass pointed to the path ahead of them.

"It stopped, but… something feels wrong." Laphicet said to everyone. "Define wrong?" Zane asked Laphicet. "It kind of feels like when we got sealed inside that earthpulse." Laphicet said to Zane.

"So a force similar to Innominat's power? I'm starting to think this may be no ordinary daemon we're dealing with here." Velvet said to everyone, as they looked at the barrier. "Well then, let's find out what's back there." Zane said, as he pulled out an arrow, and started to channel dark energy into it.

Zane then fired the arrow at the barrier, causing black cracks to form before it shattered. "After you." Zane said to Velvet, gesturing his hand towards the path. Velvet said nothing, before all of them started to walk down the path.

But the path led to a dead end. "It looks like a dead end up ahead. Laphicet, do you feel anything here?" Velvet asked Laphicet. "No, not right now." Laphicet said to Velvet. "Let's look around. There must be something important back here for the Abbey to have such a strong barrier here and to send people to die to make sure it's still up." Zane said to everyone, as they started to look around.

Then Laphicet noticed purple flowers with a spike in the middle of it in the back. "Ah! Look! Purple flowers!" Laphicet said to everyone. "Yep. Sale'tomah." Eizen said to everyone.

"We found the flower, but this can't be why they locked this area off with that barrier? Something else must be here." Zane said to everyone. "Worry about it later. It's flower picking time." Eizen said to Zane. "Agreed. Velvet said to Eizen, as Laphicet looked at the flowers, with Magilou getting closer to him.

"Whaddaya think, kiddo? I told ya these things were hard on the eyes! I mean, who PUTS those colors together?" Magilou asked Laphicet. "To your simple eyes they may be hard on the eyes, but to us bugs they're very pretty." Empress said to Laphicet.

"Really? Why?" Laphicet asked Empress. "Most of us bugs, Bug Pokemon included, have a different sense of color. You call this flower purple, but to me and other bees, this plant is a bright yellow. The one color I've never actually seen is what you call red." Empress said to Laphicet.

"But they are kinda nasty-looking." Laphicet said to Empress. "True, these plants can be a little of an eye swore on a sunny day." Empress said to Laphicet. "But if they help the others, that's good enough for me!" Laphicet said to Empress.

That's when Laphicet noticed a rhinoceros beetle in the flowers. Zane then noticed the beetle, and saw it glowed red and black. "LAPHICET GET BACK!" Zane said to Laphicet.

That's when the beetle turned into a daemon, with nasty wings, long legs, a long curved down horn, two massive piners with horns attached to the end of it, spikes on the back, and a large mace-like thorax with a curved spike at the end of it.

"Laphicet!" Velvet and Eleanor charged at the beetle and swung their blades at it, making it fly back. "This must be the daemon we were warned about!" Rokurou said to everyone, as everyone got ready for a fight, with Zane letting out Eshu, Magilou letting out Ludo, Eizen letting out Duncan, and Laphicet letting out Saara.

"Are you alright?" Velvet asked Laphicet. "I'm OK." Laphicet said to Velvet. "So much for this deamon being hard to find. Is this the Reaper's Curse yet again!?" Eleanor asked everyone. "Talk later, fight now. Eshu use Shadow Sneak." Zane said to Eshu.

"On it." Eshu said, as he sank into his shadow. Then Eshu appeared in the beetle's shadow and tried to hit it in the back. But the beetle flew into the air and dodged Eshu's attack. But this made it crash into the barrier that was around Velvet and the daemon in the capital. This made it crash into the ground.

"Another barrier!" Velvet said to everyone. 'That barrier… Even my praetor artes can't break that! What's going on here? Why go to such lengths to keep this daemon alive?' Eleanor thought, as she looked at the barrier.

'So this is the third head. No wonder they've been trying to keep this thing alive, and why they sent many exorcists here to die. This is going to be tricky.' Zane thought, as the beetle got up.

"Either way, I don't think we're hauling home any flowers unless we beat up Mr. Bugglesworth here!" Magilou said to everyone, as the beetle turned to them. "Right. Everyone. Let's do this! Liz use Poison Gas, Empress use Attack Order." Velvet said to Liz and Empress, as they all charged at the beetle.

"On it." Liz said, as she let out a purple cloud blocking the beetle's sight. "Not like you're giving me much choice." Vespiquen said to Velvet, before firing a swarm of bees made out of green energy came out from her honeycomb dress, through the purple cloud. The bees hit all over the beetle, and caused a small explosion.

That's when everyone got close to the beetle, ready to cut it to pieces. But the beetle flew into the air and dodged their attacks. "Ludo, bring that thing down with Hypnosis." Magilou said to Ludo.

"You got it." Ludo said to Magilou as she let out a pulse of pink energy. The pulse of pink energy hit the beetle, and made it sleepy and slower. This let Magilou hit the beetle out of the sky with a water bolt and made the beetle hit the ground.

"Saber and Carver use Slash, and Hui use Metal Claw." Rokurou said to Saber, Carver, and Hui, as they all rushed the beetle. "Right." Saber, Carver, and Hui said, as they all charged at the beetle, with Saber blade and Claver's axes had a white outline, and Hui's claws glowing silver.

But the Beetle got up and flew into the air, dodging Rokurou, Saber, Carver, and Hui attacks. "Eshu use Swift." Zane said to Eshu, as he fired arrows at the beetle. "Right." Eshu said, as he whipped his tail at the beetle, sending yellow stars flying towards the beetle.

But the beetle dodged their attacks again. But this time, the beetle ended up crashing into the barrier, making it fall to the ground again. "Saara use Dragon Breath." Laphicet said to Saara, as he charged a fire spell. "Duncan use Dragon Breath as well." Eizen said to Duncan.

"On it." Saara and Duncan said, as they both let out a steam of teal energy, hitting the beetle, and forcing it back. Then Eizen punched the ground, and made a rock pop out of the ground, making the beetle crash into the rock, dealing a lot of damage to the beetle. Then Laphciet fired his fire spell at the beetle, making a small explosion, and dealing some damage.

But the bug was still able to survive those attacks, and get back in the air. "Winter, can you do something to bring it down?" Eleanor asked Winter. "Maybe. Powder Snow." Winter said, with a female voice, shooting out a gust of wind and snow at the beetle.

This caused ice to form on it, and made it slow to a cawl, even with it still in the air. "My turn, Attack Order." Empress said, before firing a swarm of bees made out of green energy came out from her honeycomb dress. The bees hit all over the beetle, and caused a small explosion, knocking it out of the sky.

"Time for me to finish this. Stone Axe!" Carver said, as he charged at the beetle. Carver then put his arms together, and slammed his axes into the beetle, forcing the beetle into the ground, and making rocks pop out of the ground. Carver then jumped back.

That's when the beetle let out a burst of black and red energy, turning back into its normal rhinoceros beetle. "Phew! Insect-collecting is a sweatier hobby than I thought." Magiilou said to everyone, as they put their weapons away, Zane turned back into his normal form, as Laphicet walked up to the beetle.

Laphicet then picked up the bug. "Look! Can we keep him?" Laphicet asked everyone, holding the beetle up to everyone. "No. Hand it over. I'll dispose of it." Velvet said to Laphicet. "Aw." Laphicet said, as Velvet walked up to Laphicet, and summoned her daemon hand.

"Come on Velvet, what's wrong with the boy having a pet. It'll be good for him." Zane said to Velvet. Velvet looked at he deamon claw. "The Abbey had some reason for protecting it. Maybe we should keep it alive for observation." Rokurou said to Velvet. Velvet looked at Laphicet, and Laphicet gave her a hopeful smile. This made Velvet sigh.

Velvet then slammed her claw into the barrier, making it freak out. That's when Zane walked up to Velvet, charging an arrow with antimatter, and rammed it into the barrier. This shattered the barrier.

"You heard Zane. You want it, you feed it." Velvet said to Laphicet. "I will! I'll take care of him!" Laphicet said to Velvet. "Anway, not that we've got these flowers, Eleanor, Zane, and my crew ought to be out of danger." Eizen said to everyone.

"Hey! Forgetting somebody?!" Magilou asked Eizen. "Let's see, me, Eleanor, Eizen's crew… I'm pretty sure that's everyone." Zane said to everyone. "Is there no love for a maiden like me?" Magilou asked everyone. "I like you." Ludo said to Magilou.

"Knock it off." Velvet said to everyone, as they formed up. "It looks like we've closed the door on this little episode. That insect daemon was a bit of a surprise, but I still think this "curse" business is overblown." Eleanor said to everyone. This made Eizen sigh.

"I can count on one hand how many have survived more than three years at my side. If you're not careful, you might wind up as Corpse Number 50." Eizen said to Eleanor. "50?!" Eleanor asked Eizen, in disbelief.

"That's how many comrades I've lost." Eizen said to Eleanor. "Oh! I- I'm sorry." Eleanor said to Eizen. "Just saying don't let your guard down." Eizen said to Eleanor. "Right." Eleanor said to Eizen.

"Don't worry Eleanor, I have a feeling you won't be the unlucky 50th one." Zane said to Eleanor. "What makes you think that?" Eleanor asked Zane.

That's when everyone heard a crack, and while looking around for the source of the sound, a large tree branch fell on Zane's head. "Just… a… feeling…" Zane said to Eleanor, before falling to the ground, knocked out.

"Zane!" Laphicet said, as he started to heal Zane, preventing any major damage, but Zane was still out cold.

"Now that we've got what we need we should get back to the ship." Velvet said to everyone. "What about Zane?" Laphicet asked Velvet. "Either finish healing him or start dragging him, we wasted enough time in this forest." Velvet said to everyone, before she started to walk away.

"Alright." Rokurou said to Velvet, as he and Eizen grabbed Zane's legs, and started to drag him back to the ship, face still in the soil.

Hello everyone, I hope you like this chapter. Please follow or review if you like this story.

Oh and before we go, the things about Empress getting forced out of her hive and about how her eyes see colors differently, is based on real bees. I learned that in school and couldn't help but use it on Empress. Now I'm not 100% accurate, but I tried to keep it as close to the facts as I could, and I hope you find this fact interesting.