EPISODE II – DARK, WONDEROUS PAST

CHAPTER XVIII – JOURNEY TO THE ARCANUM

Kyra took point as the assembled Rescuers and tribesmon parted their separate ways. Bruce, Zeke and Denzel were already scrambling towards where they had originally entered, headed back towards the jungle and Libertalia itself, whilst Denver, Kaliani and Odessa move towards the mountain, albeit on a path that ran more alongside it rather than up it. Kyra stopped for a moment, looking over the two rabbits. "So, you said the main ruin right?" she asked, tilting her head back to get a better look at the pair, "We can reach it within the day, but that seemed very specific."

Sam merely shrugged; I suppose she must have connected the dots quickly enough. "That's kinda the aim. Might as well check the big one out first."

It was a logical move, indeed, Tapu Koko hadn't raised an objection about that, so it must have been the correct place. The chameleon flashed a thumbs up, "The Grand Temple then, I know the quickest way, follow me."

Kyra led them out of the village along a different path from the others, running towards the North East and rapidly descending downhill, almost as if the water type had plenty of experience in making her way down the trail. Even Alice, not normally one to go slowly, was struggling to keep pace with her own hops.

Great! Sam sarcastically uttered to himself, huffing as he avoided the rocks that threatened to send him tumbling down the slopes. More running!

Soon, they were amongst the trees once more, but not for too long, as the gradient became shallower and the path more devoid of features, apart from the leafy plants that flanked it. It was here where Alice finally spoke up, "This ruin, it's on another island right?"

"That's right." Kyra admitted, "It was a neutral ground for the tribes, but the pirates have overrun it, cutting everyone but the Tapus off."

Alice frowned, "Then how are we getting there? Is there a bridge?"

"Just a short boat trip." Kyra replied without hesitation, "I normally swim across but… I don't think you two would like that.

Sam felt a chill run through him, imagining a pirate ship as big as the one that attacked the Penguin and Crow coming out of nowhere. "What about the pirates? Aren't they patrolling the coastline?"

Kyra flashed a smirk, "The coastline yes, but the channels between the isles are too shallow for their biggest boats. The smaller ones don't often move across either. The only boat that appears regularly is the one that heads up the island's rivers."

That did little to comfort the Scorbunny, "And what if we came across the river boat?" He questioned.

"Get to the shore as quick as we can." Kyra replied, her smirk disappearing. "It's not fast, we can get on land and into the jungle before they arrive."

The fire-type bit his lip in response, I hope you're right.

It wasn't long until they could hear the gentle lapping of waves, and Kyra pulled the two rabbits of the beaten track towards the source. Through the trees, Sam could make out the sandy white beach, pristine and undisturbed, through the breaks in the trees. He could even see a few palm trees leaning over the seafront. But as they passed a particularly thick brush, Kyra motioned them to stop.

"Give me a hand with this." She asked, brushing some of the big leaves aside to reveal a long wooden craft, not made of planks but more like it had been hollowed out from a rather large tree. He quickly recognised it was a canoe, easily large enough to accommodate all three of them, and better still, it was even fitted with some kind of outrigger stabiliser. Huh… I wonder how I know that… old memory?

He tried to focus on the thought… but just as quickly, it slipped away. Damn it.

Together, the trio pulled the canoe free from the ferns and half carried, half dragged it towards the beach, with Sam and Alice lifting the front end up between them as best as they could. That was, however, when Kyra stopped pushing from the rear and scurried past them just before the edge of the jungle. "I'll check to see the way is clear, I'll be right back."

The Sobble paused only at the edge of the trees, looking briefly from left to right, before she ran forward and into the water, her form immediately fading out of their sight before she even dove under the waves.

Wiping his brow of the sweat forming there, he sat down next to the canoe. Alice came round the front of the canoe, panting lightly as she looked towards the water. "Any idea what we're going to find in the Arcanum?" she asked, taking in a longer breath to extinguish her panting.

Panting slightly harder, Sam took a second to slow his breathing too. "No idea." He admitted, only to pause for a moment, the 'dream' from last night coming back into mind. "I did end up speaking to Squishy again last night though."

Alice raised a brow at the words, crossing her arms across her chest. "What did he have to say then?"

Sam brushed his ears back, "Not much, but it was interesting though. Turns out he might have known the Master."

The Buneary huffed at that, "That what we calling him now, the same guy who predicting you were coming?"

"I guess so." Sam replied, answering both questions at the same time. "He's not sure, kept saying his memory wasn't exactly in the best state. I'm not even sure he's amnesic like me."

"Not exactly helping us out." Alice sighed.

Leaning back, Sam felt a slight smirk coming on, "But here's the interesting thing. He also said we might find out who he is in the Arcanum."

Alice's ear twitched as she looked back to Sam, her mouth dropping open for a second before closing, as if reprocessing the information. "Squishy is linked to the Guardians too…" she uttered in realisation.

"Exactly." Sam replied, beaming as he clicked his digits, "Maybe whatever we found out about him ties to what Kain was after."

"Maybe." Alice admitted, turning her gaze away and back to the water. "Let's just hope we don't set another Kain free."

Deep down, a part of Sam knew it was a bit of a long shot, maybe Squishy couldn't offer every answer. But sometimes having that extra information was all they needed, at least enough to point them in the right direction.

Sam got back onto his feet, "Let's just hope that the others have an easier time than us." He said, changing the subject, "Once we have the rest of the guild here and Bruce's team comes back with some intel, we can work on getting Nia and the others free. Bonus points if we keep any weapon out of the pirate's hands."

"Agreed." Alice replied, nodding at his words, "Still got to get across the water first."

Almost on cue, Kyra's form shifted back into view, the chameleon already out of the water as she walked towards them, her face tight, "I've got good news and bad news." She declared as she joined them.

Already feeling some dread, Sam quickly spoke up, "I think we could do with some good news." He replied, moving to join the two girls.

"The only boat out there is the river boat." Kyra said, brushing her fin back, "And with it behind a headland they won't see us for a while yet."

"Yet?" Alice asked, her frown deepening.

Kyra shrugged, "That's the bad news. It's waiting to move up the same river that leads to the Grand Temple and it's loaded with pirates. That means we're going to run into them sooner rather than later."

"And they are right outside the temple then." Alice growled, her body shaking.

Hissing, Sam grabbed hold of the canoe. "Come on then, let's make sure they don't get ahead of us!"

The journey was thankfully short and sweet, the water was calm and only gently rocked the canoe as they paddled across. That didn't mean it wasn't tense or was relaxing however. Sam had gritted his teeth the whole time as he and Alice worked the paddles whilst Kyra operated the rudder at the back. His eyes also drifted towards the headland that the water-type had pointed out - the location of the river boat - hoping that someone didn't stick their head around the corner and spotted their approach.

But no Pokemon appeared, and soon, the canoe slid to a halt on the far beach. Arms aching and sweat soaking into his fur, Sam helped the others pull the canoe up towards the edge of an even thicker jungle and covered it in leaves. "We'll have to go along the river, at least part way." Kyra explained, brushing her hands against her sides as they backed off. "The jungle is a lot thicker here than normal. And it's filled with really nasty bug-types."

Sam frowned at her words, his mind easily drifting back towards the pirates. "But what about the river boat?"

"If we stay low and stick to the foliage, they'll have a hard time spotting us."

The two guild members shared a glance, with Alice cocking her head in response. "Not exactly got much choice here." She admitted.

The Scorbunny rubbed his hands together, directing his eyes towards the headland. "Alright… might as well see what we're up against."

Allowing Kyra to lead the way again, the trio moved for the headland, albeit at a much slower pace as they moved past the ferns. There was no trail to follow this time, and with the leafy plants blocking the way, the team had to make sure they didn't make too much noise. Sam's heart began to beat harder, he had way too much experience with plans going wrong out of nowhere. He really didn't want to take too many chances now, not this far from support.

Voices began to rise as they reached the top of the hill at the centre of the headland, and Alice peeled back a big leaf to reveal the new scene. At the mouth of a narrow river, tied up to the end of a makeshift pier was a single boat. It was far smaller than even the schooners he had been on, no more than ten metres in length and about half as wide. Scattered across the deck was several wooden crates, more of which were being loaded by the pirates, most of who seemed to be water and poison types.

What caught his attention though was the contraption at the back of the ship, a wheel that lacked an outer rim, where paddles took its place. For some reason, it seemed vaguely familiar to the Scorbunny, even if he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Looks kinda advanced…" Sam whispered, eyeing a Quilliadin grumpily looking at a shape hidden behind the contraption.

"I wouldn't know how it works." Kyra admitted quietly, her frown deepening, "That wheel on the back spins and pushes the boat forward.

"First time I've seen it." Alice replied, "Maybe the pirates looted it off another ship."

Sam flicked an ear as he leaned forward, trying to focus on the propulsion. "You don't think the pirates could have built this?"

"Makes sense." Alice replied, her eyes narrowed, "I doubt they could have made this tech on their own. It looks like something you'd get back on the continents."

Kyra's expression seemed blank, and Sam started to open his mouth to explain when he heard a new voice from below.

"How do you get your hands on this kind of stuff?"

Sam turned back towards the boat, realising it was the Quilladin that was speaking, focused on whoever was behind the wheel. "I mean, I know you didn't get the engine. But those orbs… that's something else. And the parts, we're lucky to find those on the trade ships.

Then came an all too familiar voice. "I have my sources. You'd be amazed how many mons I can call on."

Next to him, Alice stiffened. Sam himself could feel his hands shake as his temperature spiked. God no… not him.

"What's wrong?" Kyra asked, frowning.

"Sam…" Alice started, "Is that…"

"And trust me, as long as I get paid, I always make sure to deliver, especially given how… unique some of my sources can be."

The contraption groggily rumbled into life, the paddles slowly beginning to turn in rhythm. A blue form rose from behind it, wiping his hands as he smiled at his handiwork. A dark blue frog, his yellow eyes gleaming in the sunlight, didn't even turn to face the grass-type, almost as if putting himself on display.

Sam couldn't hide his growl. "Fuck…"

Aidan merely smirked, "Just get me upto that temple, and let me put these products to good use…"

Author's Note: Okay, technically I'm still continuing with my Grand Tour fanfic, but I felt that it had been long enough that I needed to catch up with Guardians of Balance, so here I am! But it's also running slightly differently. I've recently been experimenting with making the chapters I write even shorter, with an absolute maximum of 2500 words, but preferably below 2000. That way, I can complete chapters much quicker, even if other projects take place, and frankly it feels more satisfying, and this is something I want to bring along with Guardians of Balance. In addition, I aim to have several of these smaller chapters link together in such a way that they would essentially serve as one combined larger chapter as needed. Hopefully, this should allow for quicker, more digestible posts for the fan-fic.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!