Chapter 9: Tunnels and Old Men
As the crew took down a couple trainers lurking on the upper parts of the route they neared a tunnel that had two people standing outside looking very puzzled. As the group approached both ran up to slakoth seeing he was a trainer and begged for help.
"PLEASE THEY ARE GOING TO PISS OFF THOSE POKEMON IN THERE." Were their cries to Katsuie as well as a bunch of other mumbo jumbo though the old man of the duo was looking super glassy eyed at the slakoth in disguise.
"That dude creeps me out." Naga told Mitsu. They both agreed and then once they heard that Magma had gone into the cave they knew they must follow.
"OH GUYS NEW AREA!" Katsuie spoke as they entered the cave. They all looked back puzzled and even asked why the slakoth made a big deal of this. "Well guys according to the author's rules we can make a new friend here."
"FAN OUT!" Mitsu hollered with his eyes filed with passion as they sought to add another compatriot to their forces. Though in the ensuing moment's joy turned to misery as the party realized that the only thing in the cave were more whismur.
"Yeah Fuck this. We already have one of those annoying things I don't want another." All agreed…Even Kicho.
"HELLP!" They heard the calls up ahead from a wingull being held by a team magma grunt. The party didn't care for the bird put saw that there was a red suit and that sent all of them into a feral frenzy. As they approached the team magma grunt called out and backed further away from the party.
"One more step and the bird gets it." He said with authority even though he didn't have a knife or a gun or even a stick on him to back up the threat. The party looked at each other and then advanced forward without caution or thought. "Crap." The grunt said as he then pulled a pokeball from his belt releasing his sole pokemon a poochyena. Masamune then smiled as he charged in and dispatched the weaker dog in a matter of a few easy bite attacks. The grunt was floored as each member of the party started cracking their knuckles as they walked right past the thankful and happy wingull who was grateful to them for saving him. Mitsu pushed the wingull out of the way as the crew approached and encircled the magma grunt. Mistu then looked back at Katsuie and signaled with his hand to the slakoth, who then nodded his head like he understood the assignment. The slakoth pulled a boombox way too big for the backpack from out of the backpack as the magma grunt gasped as he knew what was going to happen next. Katusie hit a button and hoisted the boombox overhead. Smooth 1990's gangster rap ensued as the magma grunt cringed his face as the first flurry of slow motion punches rained down upon his face.
"DIE MOTHER FUCKER DIE MUTHA FUCKA STILL FOO!" "DIE MUTH AFUCKA DIE MUTHA FUCKA DIE!" Over and over again to a slimmy beat that the song rang out as each member of the crew took turns wailing on the grunt like he was an office printer that would not cooperate. The Magma grunt opened his eyes as the blows rained down as he now saw all members of the party rocking aviator shades while the soundtrack to his ass beating continued. All were stoic behind the glasses as the whooping continued until the finally Mitsu pushed the others back and landed the finishing blow with a boot to the forehead of grunt slamming his weakened jaw into the ground and pooling blood all around him. As the song faded out, Kicho passed cigarettes to the boys as the guest wingull they "rescued" watched in silent disgust at the violence he witnessed.
"A good start." Motonari proclaimed as he then put the cigarette out on the body of the dead Magma member.
"WELL DONE!" The boys then looked up and put away the boom box and the glasses as the old man from outside emerged and came to grab the shell shocked wingull. "Oh My you really are scared from that evil team magma." The old man's eyes were glassy in the foggy cave so that he did not notice the dead body covered in cigarette burns. The man just grabbed the wingull and introduced himself as Mr. Briney and explained that if the boy and his troop ever needed anything he would be down at his cottage near Petalburg south of the woods.
As the waved his hand back toward Katsuie in a very odd fashion as if waving to a love intest the man took off with his pokemon who was curled in the old man's arms in a fetal position. "That guy is weird." Nagamasa told the group.
"Hey guys," Kicho called out as she was rummaging through the grunt's bag. "There is a package I think the fat man wanted."
"Kicho what the hell?"
"What?"
"Are we literally just running everyone's pockets that we happen to have an altercation with?" Mitsuhide spoke as he watched the Whismur grab all the grunt's money.
"Are we not? You guys literally stomped him to death."
"With a soundtrack!" Katsuie added. All laughed as they agreed they were a demented bunch, as they then refocused on Kicho's finding of the package.
"Here is the thing, you say you want to clear Brenden's name….but beating up gym leaders isn't going to solely fix that. What if….and this is a big if…we help people occasionally?" The Whismur explained to the group. The gang sat in silence as they pondered the strange idea. I mean help people. That wasn't really their gang's vibe.
"Guys….this might just work." Masamune spoke.
"But if it doesn't." All looked to Mistuhide. The treecko just smiled and pulled out the aviators.
"Then black air force energy." All the others already had the shades on ready to rock before he finished the sentence. All then nodded in unison as they made their way toward the tunnel exit.
Immediately Slakoth was rushed as they exited the tunnel by that very same fat man who was once again very liberal with his authority to simply grab hold of Katsuie thinking him a trainer and then running around to the center of the city and up the Devon tower. The pokemon of the party were immediately frustrated at the hands on nature of the fat man and were in hot pursuit back through the city and up the Devon tower.
"Honey LOOK!" The woman who her and her disgruntled husband were once again at a local coffee shop sipping on the morning dew and trying to ready themselves for the next part of their journey.
"Babe! I swear if you love pointing out this party of pokemon running about town so much then why don't you just go join them? Afterall, maybe they're the circus." She then poured her coffee on his head burning and angering him in process as he cringed and winced in pain.
"JERK!" She huffed as she went back to her hotel room to pack up. Leaving him with the steam of the coffee and the bill to pay.
Up in the tower the fat man handed the same package they recovered to the slakoth in hopes that he would deliver it to Slateport harbor once again the people took the silence of the pokemon posing as Brenden as affirmation and acceptance of the quest. Much to the chagrin and awkward shame of the crew as they arrived in the President's office after scurrying past security up the stairs. The President then seeing the agreeable nature of the boy then pulled him aside and gave a separate task to the party to deliver a letter to Dewford town. "You are a good boy kiddo. I appreciate how you don't backtalk me. My assistant was write, maybe there are some good children out there in this world. Unlike that kid who killed Prof. Birch. Everyone in the group shook their heads and slapped their foreheads at that statement.
While they weren't in agreement that running errands for this mega corporation was in their best interest they did agree that having an ally such as this company would be a positive boon toward changing the narrative about Brenden, as Kicho had expressed earlier. This was their discussion as they exited the building with the two parcels in their possession. Also they were wowed by the pokenav that the president had given them.
"Okay so what does the map say, Naga?" Mitsu asked to his friend holding the nav.
"Well we need to go South through the Sea to get to both of those locations." This information floored all of them. As none of them were that good of swimmers and they did not have a boat.
"Great so this is it huh is this going to be the thing that stomps out our fire in this mission?" Motonari said with a slump in his voice as the party sat thinking the shocking news over.
"Look lets at least go to the sea access that we know of outside Petalburg and see if an opportunity presents itself." Nagamasa retorted with hope in his voice.
"Ahhh I gotcha, we're gonna steal someone's boat." Masamune winked and gave the zigzagoon a dab.
"Yes….I mean no! No that is not something we are going to do." He replied back to his back knocked away the dab.
"Well anyway that idea beats staying here accomplishing nothing. Plus there might gyms in these cities so let's get a move on." Mistsuhide spoke as the leader of the group should. He didn't really care for the errand boy detour but just wanted to keep the mission alive in his team's hearts. The group all agreed and they started off for that coastline south of the woods.
"HEY!" A pissed off young girl with rage in her eyes stops an equally angry couple checking out of the Rustboro City Hotel. "Look I am May, I am looking for a young boy running around with a Treecko." She tries to show the couple a picture of the boy but the couple scream at her to leave them alone as they are trying to save their marriage. May backs away and apologizes as she then tones down her attitude slightly and goes about asking other people around the property.
"Such rude people here." The wife says to the husband.
"I know I just hope that perhaps the people in Dewford town are a bit more reasonable." The two on their grand vacation of Hoenn then storm off to their next adventure hoping it better than the days of Rustboro.
…
As the party made their way back through the Petalburg woods they found themselves near the coastline that would offer the shortest trip down to Dewford town. However, the coast was not rife with boats and transport as they had hoped. "Guys we need to find something." Mistu said to the group as they fanned out trying to see if they could find anything that could get them out to sea safely.
"Uhh….So I found a boat over there." Nagamasa said calling the others over. "But I don't really think we will like who owns it." Confusion and concern fluttered onto the faces of the gang as they followed over to where their friend was pointing them.