EPISODE II - DARK, WONDEROUS PAST
CHAPTER XVII - LAYING PLANS
Sam stared at the ceiling of the hut, focusing his attention on the shadows flickering above his head from the fire that crackled over his shoulder.
His mind kept drifting back towards that conversation back in Tapu Koko's Shrine. Hearing about the Guardians. About what the pirates may have been after. The legendary knowing he had been human.
He was still reeling from all those revelations. It had been more answers than he had ever got before, and yet, it still left him with even more questions. Or at the very least, a ton of theory.
When Sam had explained about the Arcanium, it turned out Koko had been aware of such a place, it has been part of one of the larger temples on one of the smaller islands nearby, on the borders of some of the Wela's land. And if the pirates were headed for it… it was even more imperative that they got there before Blackaxe's goons did.
Koko had sent himself and Alice away, at least until they and Odessa could lay down some early plans and preparations, encouraging the pair to rest in the meantime and start fresh tomorrow.
Still, it hadn't done much to ease things off for him.
"Sam?" Alice quietly asked as a faint snore rung out from Bruce, sleeping in another part of the hut. "You awake?"
Sam shuffled in his hammock, keeping his eyes on the ceiling. "Yeah, you struggling to sleep?"
"Kinda." Alice admitted, her voice coming from behind him, "Just thinking on what the Tapu said."
"Same." Sam replied with a sigh.
He heard her hammock creak, "Like, how did this 'Master' know that you would show up here? I've heard of some Pokémon being able to see the future, but that's like, seconds or minutes."
With foggy thoughts, Sam grimaced, "Yeah, that's well past my paygrade."
That earned a chuckle from Alice, "I get that. Fire Continent? The Guardians being this proto-guild? If you told me I'd be hearing about this when we first met, I'd probably-"
"Punch my lights out?" the Scorbunny replied with a smirk.
The Buneary hesitated, "I was going to say that I'd violently tell you to piss off."
"So punching me."
"Grr, fine, that."
Huffing with a flicker of amusement, Sam chewed his bottom lip, feeling another theory come to the front of his thoughts. He debated sharing it, only for a second, before he finally opened his mouth.
"Kain was a Guardian."
The other hammock creaked more sharply this time, "The fuck are you on about?" Alice questioned with a hiss.
Sam sat up, his hands gripping the canvas, feeling his mind begin to race again, "You know what the Tapu said? About how the Guardians were betrayed by one of their own guys?"
"Yeah." Alice grunted, sitting up herself to get a better view of him. "What about it?"
Rotating himself round to look at her proper, Sam took a sharp breath in. "Kain said he knew the Guardians. And he knew where the Oracle was and he knew about the Temples here. Come on, it makes sense. How else would he knew about all that if he hadn't been one of them?"
The Buneary stiffened, "It'd explain a lot… but if he did betray them, why?"
That sent a shiver running down the Scorbunny's spine. Alice wasn't wrong. What made Kain try and destroy the Guardians? Was it tied to what he was looking for in the temples here?
Sam gritted his teeth, Unless Koko decides to give up their vow of silence, the only way we're gonna find that answer could be in that Arcanium.
"I guess we'll find out soon." Sam replied, "Hopefully Koko will have a plan."
Alice shuffled back into her hammock. "After everything, there better be more of an answer." She uttered, "I'm gonna try and get some sleep. Night Sam."
Sam laid back down onto his bedding, "Night Alice."
A couple of minutes later, he heard Alice's breathing deepen and become rhythmic. And it didn't take long before Sam slipped under too.
The sea of colour emerged much sooner this time, the colours smoothly shifting without pause. They seemed less intense than before, as if to make it easier to see the little green form of Squishy sat in front of him. "Hi!" they declared, "So you managed to work out where that Arcanum is?"
Taking a glance down to confirm his body was still there, Sam directed his attention back on the strange Pokémon. "Seems like, I hope anyway." He admitted, "I'm guessing you aren't here for just a chat."
The blob deflated slightly, "Afraid so. Whilst you were talking with the others, I couldn't help but listen in. It helped jog a few memories."
Sam tilted his head, "Memories?"
"Kinda? Memory works a bit differently for mon's like me. I had a feeling… that I knew this Master that the Tapu mentioned."
"Master…" Sam rolled the word off his tongue before the realising clicked, "Wait, you knew him?"
"Right…" Squishy replied, "Like I said, a feeling. He hadn't been in charge for very long, but he was smart. Like, he was the kind of person to make a lot of plans."
The discussion with Koko resurfaced and Sam could feel himself stiffen, "Is it… is it possible he knew I would end up here? Like, me specifically?"
Squishy started to wobble out a new reply, only to freeze as if hesitant. "I… I don't know. He could have."
Sam felt a spike of annoyance rise up his throat before the blob shook themselves, "Anyway! Back to the point. You should find what Kain was looking for in the ruins, as well as a lot more about the Guardians."
Nodding, Sam shuffled on the spot, feeling a slight chill spread across him. "Right… like, what do you think I will learn?"
When Squishy spoke again, the childish tone was gone. Instead, they spoke in a quiet, stoic tone.
"Well, you'd find out who I am."
Rex's frown only deepened as he watched the sun dip below the horizon, trying to spot the signs of a ship emerging, or of a messenger flying towards them. But there was still no sign.
As the sun finally vanished, he turned and strode back into the lightweight gazebo, now lit with lanterns to continue showing the maps. He knew sending out the schooners was a risk, and there was no point in calling them back so soon, but he did request the captains and Calvin send some form of message before the end of each day, to keep him informed of their progress.
That hadn't arrived.
It could have only meant one thing.
Turning towards the camp, he blew a faint, but clear whistle.
With a few moments, a swift looking Noctowl had entered the gazebo, "Do you need something Guildmaster?" she asked.
"I need you to fly out after the schooners whilst it's dark." Rex started, "See if you can work out their condition, then report back to me."
"Will do. I'll be back before daybreak." She turned and headed back into the camp, likely to gather a handful of supplies.
The Guildmaster meanwhile turned back to face the centre table, "I know you are there Perry."
The Corvisquire dropped down into the gazebo, flashing a smile as he entered, "Figured you'd need my help. Missing folks?"
"Exactly." Rex replied, not sharing his smile. "I need you to get back to the mainland as quickly as you can, and pass on a message to Esper for me." He narrowed his eyes, "I have a feeling we are going to need some more support."
The following morning, Sam, Alice, Bruce and Denver followed Kyra and Denzel back towards the Chieftain's hut, fully expecting a new plan to be put together to take on the pirates.
What they didn't expect was to see two familiar looking Pokémon arguing in the village centre.
"It's for your own good!" Zeke growled, keeping himself side on towards the Trumbeak that was trying to take a few steps closer.
"Are you hearing yourself?" Kaliani cawed, "You went through a lot! I just want to help!"
"And I'm telling you that you're only going to get yourself in trouble!"
Denver stared blankly at the arguing pair, his claws clicking as if trying to process the squabble. "Err… that's the sailor that he kidnapped right?"
"Yeah." Alice replied, "And looks like she still won't back off."
Sam frowned at the sight of the pair, letting out a heavy sigh at the sight. He could understand why the two would be having a go at each other. Zeke was probably still feeling a complete mess after what happened, and Kaliani had gleaned enough of an understanding that Zeke hadn't been responsible. No wonder they were bouncing against each other so much.
Bruce's vines soon sprung forward, slapping the ground between the pair, causing the electric type to flinch and the flying type's head to snap round. "Yeah." Bruce bluntly said, "Might want to cut that out."
"You got away too!?" Kaliani exclaimed with clear relief.
"Barely." Sam admitted as he strode to meet them, "Glad to see you guys made it too."
Zeke bowed his head slightly in thanks, "Same here. I'm sorry I wasn't much more help."
"Not much help my backside!" Bruce bellowed, "You took out like half the pirate fliers, you did a lot!"
Sam couldn't help but feel sorry for Zeke as the canine's head dipped in shame. Geez… the poor guy still can't let himself feel good.
"When did you even get here?" Alice asked.
Kaliani looked somewhat embarrassed. "We kinda stumbled across this place in the night. Stayed the night outside."
Huh, I'm not sure how we didn't notice something was up.
"Excuse me." Odessa said, standing by the entrance to the main building, "We're ready to start discussing the plan."
"What plan?" Kaliani asked, "We've only just got here."
"Hopefully one to save our guys from the pirates." Bruce replied.
"Amongst other things." Kyra said, walking towards the Trumbeak, "How about I fill you both in?"
The assembled Pokémon walked into the building, the Chieftain leading them into an open chamber that was well lit with open windows built into the ceiling. An firepit, clear of any wood or flame, was at the centre of this chamber, with a large round table placed over it. Floating at the other side of this table, was Tapu Koko themself, the legendary inspecting a map stretched across the table. "Greetings." They said, "Did you sleep well?"
Sam and Alice stepped forward, "Well enough, given…"
Sam stopped mid-step. Behind Audacity, the other recruits, Zeke and Kaliani had frozen in place a few steps back. Wincing, Sam quickly waved a hand between then, "Oh, sorry, that's Tapu Koko, don't worry, he's friendly."
That seemed to settle the concerns for the other guildmembers, as they were gathered around the table and got a view of the map. It was rougher and more hand drawn than some of the maps that the Guild normally utilised, but it did showcase not only the island they were on, but the other nearby islands too.
"Sam." The Tapu started, "Would you like to set the stage?"
Every eye in the room locked on to, and with an impromptu shiver, Sam leaned against the table. Welp, here goes nothing.
Taking a breath, he got started, "Okay, we've got a few problems, but the obvious one is that the pirates have got a lot of our guys captive, and they're in danger every moment they are with them. Which by extension means the Wela too." He gave a respectful nod towards Odessa, Kyra and Denzel, who stood in a group at Koko's right side.
"Yeah!" Bruce exclaimed, "We need to get them back!"
"And push the pirates out." Kyra reminded him with a cocked brow.
"Right." Sam admitted, turning towards the Tapu and Odessa, "You guys know this place better than us, any idea where the pirates are based?"
"I recall someone calling the place Libertalia?" Alice said.
"Yes, that is what Lady Blackaxe calls it." Odessa admitted, pulling out another map and laying it over the top of the islands one.
It became quickly apparent it was a town map near the north-eastern edge of the Wela's island. Sam hadn't seen a map of Robinswood, but he did have a solid idea of the layout. Robinwood was built in somewhat like an incomplete spiderweb, with the buildings spread out into clusters that were connected with forest paths.
Libertalia in comparison looked like a big block that had been divided into an uneven grid, many of the paths between the structures being at right angles to each other, all save for a winding road that ran along the outside, contained within what Sam had to guess was an outer wall. That wall went all the way round the edge of the town, save for the north-eastern side, where piers were marked out. He even spotted a tiny slither of land across the water that was also walled off.
Alice winced, "That looks like quite the fortress. How tall are the walls?"
"About six metres." Denzel replied. "And they have watchtowers along the walls, and they cleared the trees near the edge of the encampment.
Now it was Sam's turn to frown as he looked over the map. They couldn't really go knocking on the front door, and trying to sneak over the wall would be tricky.
"Can't we… I don't know. Swim in?" Bruce asked, his brow furrowed in thought.
"I've tried that." Kyra admitted, fiddling with her head fin, "They've got Water-Types patrolling the bay, guards on the shore and their boats."
"And going in from the air?" asked Denver.
"They've got Flying types for that."
Sam rubbed the back of his head, "Und-"
"Ground types." Kyra interrupted.
Balls.
"So we can't sneak in or force our way in." Sam said. "And I'm guessing it's not that much easier inside?"
Tapu Koko leaned onto the table, "Even if you got past the patrols and the outer wall, there are dozens to a few hundred pirates and their benefactors that are inside Libertalia, alongside Blackaxe and her lieutenants. And that is not the worst problem."
They turned towards Denzel, who looked a little bit spooked. "They have some kind of… beacons. They are these towers that got erected not long ago.
That caught Sam's attention as he returned a slack expression at the Grookey. "Beacons?"
Denzel seemed to get that little bit more pale, "They tested one near another tribe's camp. It started glowing and then… we couldn't use our moves."
The air seemed to go cold as Sam and Alice shared a glance, No moves at all? All our powers just… turned off? His foot began to tap, How can we even deal with that?
Across the way, Denver's eyes looked cloudy, only to sharpen within an instant. "Fuck… those conspiracy nuts were right."
Zeke leaned forward, flashing a blank look, "You know about these beacons?"
Denver blinked as he realised everyone was looking over at him. "Shit." He replied with a sharp click of a claw, "I've only heard rumours about it before I left Sand. Something about there being some kind of tests for these amplifier devices. They like, could cause these weird effects all around them."
"Like an Orb…" Zeke mused.
Sam's ear went erect as Denver clicked his claws again, "Right! Like the Orbs but they'd cover a lot more ground! I just thought they were some hoax though."
Kaliani shuffled on the spot, "So if they stop us using moves…"
"Then it's like a beefed up Nullify Orb." Alice stated, "Overlap a few of them, and it won't matter if you take out one, the others can take up the slack."
"Which is going to be hell if we can't use our moves." Sam grunted, tightening his fists. That base might as well have been impenetrable.
A tentative vine rose from Bruce's bulb. "Wait a sec. Wouldn't that stop the pirates from using their moves too?"
Huh, Bruce's right.
"It would." Denzel replied, "Which is why the pirates carry swords and bombs."
Ah… shit… I thought that one sword I saw on the ship was a one off. Sam bit his lip, "Then unless someone has like, swords on their body, we're in trouble."
"Can't we use swords ourselves?" Alice said, "Even up the fight?"
Another thought emerged in Sam's head like a lightbulb, "Yeah. If we get our hands on those bombs, we could blow the beacons up and get our powers back."
"They aren't that big." Denzel stressed, fingers tapping the tabletop. "They won't bring down the towers."
"Could take out what causes the effect. I heard they were built like Orbs." Denver said.
"Should be pretty fragile then." Alice said.
"But that depends on us getting close enough to blow the beacons in the first place!" Kyra warned. "And if we get our moves back, so do they."
Sam bit his lip, his foot tapping becoming more pronounced. It sounded like they needed numbers or a heck of a lot more firepower. "What about the Wela and the other tribes? Hell." He turned towards Koko, "You aren't the only Tapu right? And you are all legendries. Together you could leave a hell of a dent."
"Yeah!" Bruce exclaimed, "You are gonna have, like what, mastery over jungles or something?"
Alice glowered back, "If it were that easy, the pirates wouldn't be here."
The Tapu merely let out a very faint snort, more from amusement than annoyance. "We may be Guardian Deities, but compared to other legendries, we aren't that powerful. Whilst the beacons don't have an effect on our own moves, we would eventually fall to sheer numbers, even with the tribes fighting with us."
That left only one option let, at least, that seemed obvious for Sam to see. He let out a heavy sigh, "Then we need to get in touch with the rest of the Guild."
"Yeah, but how?" Bruce asked with narrowed eyes. "We don't have any communicators, and we can't just swim over."
"Don't have a ship anymore either." Kaliani grumbled.
Zeke flicked an ear, "Rex would have to start a search at some point, are there other ways to get a message out?"
"Setting off a big bonfire?" Denver grunted half-seriously.
"There's always the old light beacon."
The conversation shifted towards Denzel, who was fiddling with the twig in his hair as he spoke. "It hasn't not been lit for years, but it work."
"That only works at night." Kaliani blurted out, "And the pirates will see it just as easily."
"Not if we block off the light from the direction of pirate town." Denver butted in, "Then just… I don't know, aim the light roughly where we can from?"
Sam finally stopped tapping his foot, clapping his hands together in response. Finally, something good we could work with.
"Alright. Then we light that beacon, get the Red Kite and the rest of the Guild here, then we can make a go for Libertalia."
Odessa frowned, "I assume your Red Kite is a boat? The pirates have several, including their biggest, the Vengeful. Could yours fight them off?"
Denver whipped his stinger tail behind him, "Edward wouldn't shut up about the Kite and it's guns, so yeah, she could."
"Great!" Bruce cheered, "We've got a plan to get the others out! Bring Rex in, then kick Blackaxe off the island!"
Sam opened his mouth to reply, only to catch a glimpse of the Tapu Koko looking over at him. Icy blue eyes narrowed, reminding him of the other problem. The one that really had Sam worried. Not only that, he had to explain the importance of getting to the Arcanum, but also keep his nature as a human concealed from the others.
"There's one other thing." Sam said, "The pirates are breaking into a load of ruins around here."
"Yeah? So?" Denver questioned, "Seems pretty pointless compared to kicking out the pirates."
"The ruins could contain dangerous weapons." Odessa explained, "Something the pirates can use against us."
"Enough that it could stop both the tribes and the Guild." Alice chimed in, enough for Sam to mentally sigh with relief for her throwing that in.
Bruce looked somewhat conflicted, his eyes flicking around, "Like, what's the chance of them finding something?"
Kyra shrugged, "Is it a chance you want to take when your friends are in danger?"
The Bulbasaur looked towards the table, unable to answer. Kyra wasn't wrong, and Sam knew there was more than just stopping the pirates capturing anything dangerous inside, but also the possibility of answers about what was going wrong with the world.
"So." Sam said, "We need to cover those ruins too. That gives us three jobs. One, get an idea of where we break into Libertalia."
"Recon then?" Denzel asked.
"Recon." Sam confirmed with a nod, "Hopefully we can work out where any prisoners are. Two, we get that light beacon back up and running. And three, we make sure the pirates can't break into the ruins." He rubbed the back of his head, "We're gonna have to split up."
"That's risky Sam." Alice warned, narrowing her gaze from where she stood next to him.
"I know." Sam admitted, "But we've got a lotta ground to cover and a lot of people to protect."
"Indeed." Koko added, "With the villages to protect, the tribes cannot commit many warriors until we are ready for the attack."
"So we get all three of those done." Bruce said, "And we can go after Libertalia?"
Sam nodded back, "Exactly."
"Then I'll do the recon." Bruce declared with a determined tone, his jaw set and his chest puffed out. "I want to see if everyone is alright."
"There is a lot of ground to cover." Denzel admitted, "I can show you the way. And us grass types should blend in with the trees better."
"I'll go with you." Zeke meekly said, "I'll blend in too, and if the flyers come in. I've got a better chance at taking them out."
Denver clicked his claws, "You better keep an eye out for Edward then. I'll go for the light beacon. I helped fix a few lighthouses back home, I can get it working."
Kaliani seemed more hesitant, her eyes flicking between the Electrike and Skourpi, "You will need someone who knows naval signals." She said, "I'll go with you."
"I can guide you up the mountain paths." Odessa said with a hint of pride, "I've visited that mountain many times."
Nodding, Sam turned towards Alice, "That leaves us to check out the main ruin then."
"Sounds like a plan." Alice said with a smirk.
"It's over on the next island along." Kyra said, "Mind if I tag along? I know where to look."
Alice shrugged as the two rabbits shared a glance, and Sam returned the nod towards Kyra. "Sounds good."
She would be a big help in finding the place.
"That leaves my role." Koko said, a faint crackle of energy.
Sam frowned, "What's that?"
Koko tilted their head, "I need to speak to my fellow Tapus, in order to co-ordinate with the other tribes. Some of them… may need a lot of persuasion to join the fight."
Nodding back, Sam looked across the room at the assembled Pokémon. "Sounds like we've got a plan then."
The Tapu floated a bit higher, "Once we have completed our tasks, we should return here for the rest of the preparations."
"Agreed." Sam said, turning to address everyone in the room. "Alright guys, we've got our jobs. Get what you need, then head out. We'll meet back here in a couple of days."
With that, the Pokémon started filing out of the building, forming up into their groups for their missions. Sam started turning to follow them, "Sam, Alice, a moment." Tapu Koko asked, prompting Sam to turn back to face them, along with Kyra. The Tapu looked over them with a wary eye, "The pirates have been making significant inroads towards the ruins there with strange equipment, be careful once you are on that island."
"We will Tapu." Kyra said with a bow of her head.
"And Sam?"
Sam perked his ears as the Tapu directed their attention towards him, "Whatever is in there… I do hope you find what you are looking for."
He slowly nodded back, feeling the fire in his chest warm himself up, "I hope so too."
From above, you watched as Team Audacity and the Tapu left the chamber, and as always, the Shadow was not far from you.
"This Arcanum does seem most mysterious, do you think?"
The shadow seemed to lean forward, as if to better inspect the maps on the now unattended table, "And with these new found individuals thrown into the mix, the plot thickens. But what is clear, is that regardless of what happened, it seems like the Guardians left some kind of artifacts behind with the intent they'd be used again. If not, why not simply just cast them out to the ocean? Perhaps they left a contingency in case something like Kain, or Kain himself, remerged."
It was a good question, and the shadow drifted closer towards you, "Hold the course. Answers are coming. I can feel it."
Author's Note: Again, it's been too long for getting this post out, but there have been a tonne of different events happening IRL which has been throwing me off. Either way, I hope you folks enjoy this chapter!