2nd Rebirth Moon, 908 – Caractacus' Hideout

With Caractacus hard at work creating Amos' new pincer and stinger, the company had to occupy their time lazing around the cave. Phoebe opted to use an observation deck built by Caractacus to keep an eye out for Ulrich and Vilgot with Magni accompanying her.

That left Amos and Evelot lying around in the main cave. The chipper Mimikyu used her newfound free time to take all the liquified energy from the stolen moves they collected and coat them onto fresh bullets for later. She divided them up among Amos and Phoebe's bags.

Amos mindlessly kicked his leg in the air as he reclined on a ragged couch, the origin of which he didn't want to know of. He huffed, scratching at his chest and turning constantly onto his side. "…I'm so fucking bored."

"You could help with lookout duty," Evelot suggested.

"I'm not in the mood to talk to Burkhard."

"…" Evelot narrowed her eyes. "I see. Well, you could see how Caractacus is doing."

"He'll just kick me out of his lab again. Plus, he's weird. I have no interest in getting to know the guy. I just want my new equipment, and I want to leave as soon as possible."

Evelot sighed. "Good thing you have no interest in making friends, because that attitude certainly won't help."

"Who asked you?"

"Sorry…"

"…" He groaned. "I didn't mean it. You're a good kid, even if you're obnoxiously positive."

"Um…thank you?"

Amos rubbed his eyes. "I feel so useless. Until that hound finishes with my equipment, I'm basically a moving target to shoot. I shouldn't have to rely on anyone to protect myself."

Evelot giggled. "Well, that's what friends do. They protect each other."

"We're not friends."

"As you keep saying." She carefully dipped a bullet into a serum, then started cleaning it. "Still, you guys are the only ones I feel…safe around. I'm a nervous wreck around strangers, but I've grown more comfortable around you. That should mean something."

"Hmph…" Amos turned onto his side again and groaned. "Stupid fucking…"

She huffed. "You know, you should learn to be less vulgar with how you speak. It's not…" As she turned around, she noticed him twitching with his back facing her. "…Ammo?"

"N-Nothing!"

She glared. "Are you scratching your arm?"

"I said shut up!"

Evelot jumped from her seat and shuffled over. Before the Gligar could protest, she grabbed his wing and flipped him onto his back. She found him pinching his right arm, which looked splotchy and red.

"Oh, for goodness…!" She facepalmed. "This is why I didn't want you performing half-baked surgery on yourself!"

"I'm fine. It'll go away in a few days," he grumbled.

"Nuh uh, I'm not listening to this." She grabbed and pulled him off the couch. "You could get an infection from that!"

"My Immunity ability keeps me from getting sick."

"Just because your body can filter out most foreign toxins and bacteria doesn't mean you're immune to lethal infections. Do you know how many people die from tetanus alone?"

"That's one of the things I can filter out—"

"You're missing my point! Just let me treat your arm!"

"…" Amos narrowed his eyes at her pleading, yet determined expression. Seeing as he was literally doing nothing anyway, he relented and let her drag him along. "Fiiiiine. You're lucky I'm too tired to care…"

"I'll take what I can get."

To say Phoebe wasn't taking her watch duty seriously would be an understatement. Clambering up the elaborate tunnels and ladders of Caractacus' hideout, she stationed herself in an observation room that gave a secret view of the outside through a camouflaged window. She could peer down over the gorge and the general area in front of the hideout. It was a simple task.

Though, the Aipom was less invested with looking out for danger and more interested in rambling to herself out loud. A shame that Magni, who was resting at the foot of the ladder leading up to the secret room, happened to be her only audience in attendance.

"That stuck-up jerk just won't let it go, will he?" she growled. "I tried talking to him, and he won't look me in the eye unless it has something to do with those two nimrods chasing us. If he expects me to get on my knees and plead for forgiveness, I'd sooner stab myself in the neck!"

"…" Magni audibly huffed and curled up his body to drown out her ranting.

Phoebe rested her head against the hidden window and glared down at the gorge. "I mean, what did I actually say that was any different to how I usually treat him? It's not even the first time I made fun of his crybaby backstory, so what's different now? What did I possibly say that offended him so much that he refuses to talk to me?!"

"…" Magni lifted his head, feeling irritating by her complaining, and looked up the ladder. "Bad memories?"

"Is that what this is about?! I said something while he was in a bad mood?! He should just get over it! I get over my baggage all the time! Who cares what he went through? He's here now! Can't change what already happened. He should consider himself lucky. Most people have something holding them back. He's a loose cannon. He had everything he ever wanted, and he threw it away because he decided to be a dick about it. He can change! He's the one holding himself back!"

"…" Magni glared. "Phoebe. You…okay?"

"Eh?! What do you mean? I'm perfectly fine!"

"You care…Amos?"

"I don't give a shit about Amos! Why should I care if I hurt his feelings?!"

Magni groaned, wishing he had a stronger vernacular in the surface world's language. He could explain his thoughts better in Subterran, but something told him his wisdom would be lost on the irate monkey. Even still, he took a deep breath and focused on his struggling vocabulary to formulate something of a cohesive point.

"Angry over…Amos. Why?"

She scoffed. "Why wouldn't I be angry? He's a rude, sexist, murderous jerk who cares about nothing but himself!"

"…And you?"

"What do you mean me?!"

Magni finally stood up and extended his neck to peek into the observation room. "You…no different."

She gasped. "How dare you! Comparing me to him?! HA! As if! I'm nothing like that wannabe mercenary!"

Magni's glare narrowed. "You…are rude?"

"Well, sometimes—"

"Hate men?"

"I wouldn't say I hate all—"

"Murder?"

"…" She groaned and turned away from him. "You make a lousy therapist, you know that? And where do you get off calling me a murderer? At least I don't eat people like you!"

"…" Magni tilted his head. "Like me?"

"Yeah, like you! Like…" Her shoulders sagged, and she pressed her forehead to the window. "Yeah, like you."

"Are you…Savage Kin?"

"…" She closed her eyes. "It's a bit more complicated than that. I was just…born bad."

"No one born bad."

"Except me. I was just a spawn of darkness the day I hatched. That's all I ever was, and that's all I'll ever be." She sighed. "So really, where does Amos get off acting like his life is so shit? Some of us were cursed before we were even conceived."

Magni shook his head. "No one born bad."

"Saying it over and over doesn't make it true, big guy."

"You…not…tied to curse. You…map."

"Map?"

Magni groaned. "Words. You…guide. You guide…" He shook his head again, struggling to find the words. "Guide…cracks in shakes."

"…" Phoebe facepalmed. "Look, I'm not in the mood to decipher whatever the hell you're saying. Either learn thirty years' worth of English on the spot or just spit it out. What are you trying to tell me?"

"…" Magni sighed. "Stomp ground, cracks made. Cracks follow no…path! You guide path of cracks."

"…That makes even less sense. Why are you talking about breaking the ground or something? What does this have to do with me?"

"You not tied to curse. You…guide path of cracks."

"What does that have to do with any—" She paused, the pieces finally clicking into place. "I'm…not controlled by a curse. I make my own path, even when the paths are numerous and uncertain like the ground splitting as you stomp it. Is that what you're saying?"

Magni nodded.

"…Well, that's even more stupid."

Magni glared.

"That's just the same shit you said earlier! It's easier said than done! I can't control who I am! You don't know what that feels like!"

"Hunger. Flesh." Magni's glare deepened. "You food for Magni, but…friend."

"…" She sighed. "Alright, fair point. I supposed I would look delicious to you."

"Control hunger. You…control blood hunger."

She laughed bitterly. "Blood hunger. Yeah, that's one way of saying it." She crossed her arms and leaned back against the window. "Still, it's not an actual hunger I'm holding back. I'm just not a good person, Magni. I never will be."

"But care for Evelot."

"…She's different."

"Then let Amos be different."

"…"

"Savage Kin or not, you choose…your path."

"…" Phoebe glanced over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of her cracked reflection smiling maliciously at her. She sighed and stepped away from the window. "I'm going to go talk to Amos. I don't care if he turns me away. I'm getting this off my chest once and for all."

Magni moved aside and let her jump down from the room. "You care…for Amos."

"I don't care about him at all. I just want this stupid guilt or whatever to be done and over with."

Magni smiled. "Hmm. Yes."

"Oh, don't act smug. You're still a shit therapist."

Closed off in his laboratory, Caractacus worked diligently on his latest project. Sitting off to the side of his workbench were the remains of a pillar scavenged from the old ruins near the gorge. After cutting up the pieces he needed, he slowly worked on shaping the material and adding the internal components. His eyes continuously flickered between his schematics and his handiwork.

But how was it possible? How was he cutting into the metal thought to be unbreakable before?

He had metal wires attached to his mechanical paw with the index digit producing a mini plasma torch to carve through the metal. The wires were connected to the cube-shaped artifact sitting atop his workstation. This was the source of his cutting power.

He didn't understand how, but the cube possessed an innate power that allowed him to cut through the refined elementium pillars. It was the only power source in the world that could achieve such a feat. If so, that meant there wouldn't be a creature alive who could destroy Amos' new pincer and stinger. It would be his finest project.

Still, the origins of the cube eluded him. Though his efforts to modify it for work on the pillars was a step in the right direction, there was much about it still left to discover. Months of dedicated research led to only the most baseline discoveries. All he gathered was that some odd power source dwelled within the dense artifact and that it radiated with a profound noise akin to a heartbeat.

Though, he ran many tests and found no conclusive evidence that the artifact was a living creature. Then again, much of the artifact was alien to him. If he read the murals in the ruins correctly, the earliest ancestors of Virdis saw similar objects careening out from the sky and crashing down millions of years ago.

It seemed preposterous to think such an intricate object came from the greater sky, and yet…

Caractacus, feeling himself slip deeper into his thoughts, sighed and retracted his paw. "Save the reflections for another time, Caractacus. Prioritize your client's prosthetics, then kick them out as soon as possible." He glared. "If those two knuckleheads outside get bored and leave, my hideout is compromised. If that maniac jackal comes looking for me again, I won't get an opportunity like last time."

He felt his metal arm whirring and twitching behind him. He glared over his shoulder, spotting it briefly spinning in place before he wrestled back control.

"Of all the…" He configured his paw back to normal and reached around his shoulder. He pressed a button hidden under his clothes, unlocking the metal arm from his back. He pulled it out and set it across the table. "Still weirds out when my emotions rise. Must keep better fluctuation of my electricity."

As he checked the arm for any damage, he heard a low humming coming from his right. He flicked his ears toward the sound before turning toward it. It was coming from the cube, and it appeared to be humming with an ethereal blue light shining off the eye.

He picked the cube up and glared into the light. "What the…? That's a new reaction." Curious, he twisted and turned it between his paws. As he did, the light seemed to glow a smidge stronger in a certain direction. "Did I see that right?"

He carefully raised the cube, pointing it toward his lab's entrance. Balancing it on one paw, he stepped out of his chair and carefully hobbled toward the door, where the light continued to blink stronger.

"Something…is reacting to the cube?"

Meanwhile…

"…How much free time does this jackass have?"

Ulrich and Vilgot, having scoured through Copper Gorge for days, pulled themselves out of the latest trap they accidentally stumbled upon. This time, it was a pitfall filled with sewing needles concealed under a fake tarp painted so intricately that it resembled the ground. And the reason the two flying Pokémon managed to land in the pitfall was because Ulrich once again set off another trap that held fake jewels, which led to the duo getting snared in rope and flung down to the concealed pit.

Ulrich plucked a needle out from his cheek and huffed. "Well, that was your finest blunder yet, Vilgot. Excellent work."

The Flapple's head shot up, his eye twitching. "My fault? You think it was my fault that you decided to go for the obvious bait?"

"Well, if you weren't pestering me so much, maybe the trap wouldn't have gone off."

Vilgot gritted his teeth. "You are just…so…!" He snorted with a heavy exhale. "Look, it's getting late out, and we've made zero progress finding the company's location. We still don't know if they're in the gorge or not."

Ulrich crossed his arms and huffed. "Even so, we still have Caractacus to search for. Even if we don't find these chumps, the others can get them. The hound is the real prize."

Vilgot scoffed. "What? So you can tie him down and beat him to a pulp?"

"You don't know what that jackass did to me. He slighted me when we first met, and now I'm going to exact my revenge. The second I see him, I'll turn him into a bloody paste!"

"…" Vilgot groaned. "Whatever." He plucked a needle from his skin. "We should set up camp for the night and reevaluate how we're going to find the company."

Ulrich sighed. "Very well. I suppose some nourishment is in order." Arms crossed behind his back, he floated out from the gorge.

Vilgot huffed and flapped after the Alolan Raichu. Stuck-up, no good, tantrum-throwing…

Caractacus' Hideout…

"Quit squirming. I'm almost done."

Amos twitched uncomfortably as Evelot rubbed the disinfecting solution over his arm. Try as he might to escape the Mimikyu, she forced him to stay by the sheer threat of crying, and he didn't want to deal with her tears or the resulting fallout of Phoebe getting mad at him for making the Mimikyu cry.

Evelot grunted as she scrubbed his arm. "Unbelievable. I knew something like this would happen. How could you be so stupid as to stab a gun into your arm?"

He rolled his eyes. "I didn't stab the gun into my arm."

"Same difference."

"Well, I don't need you pestering me over what I do to my own body."

"It's my problem whether you like it or not. I'm not going to let you get an infection because you're too proud to ask for help." She finished cleaning off his arm and moved on to bandaging up. "I mean, really. You'll be going into surgery as soon as Caractacus finishes with your new pincer and stinger. This is the last thing we need to deal with."

He groaned. "Whatever."

She narrowed her eyes sadly. "And besides, we'd all be worried if something happened to you. Our time together might not have been for that long, but I feel like we've grown as a team since we left Scornpeak. Magni, Phoebe, and I care about you."

Amos scoffed. "You expect me to believe Burkhard cares about my wellbeing?"

"…" She looked away briefly. "…Amos, she didn't mean that stuff she said before. That's just how she talks. She's really sorry."

"Yeah. I'm real sure."

"She is. Honest."

"Tch. It's just another of those things she says but doesn't actually mean. She's no different to any other scumbag I've encountered across Wick."

Evelot sighed. "I still think you should give her the chance to apologize before you come to that conclusion. She's been eating at herself trying to find the right time to apologize. She just…has trouble connecting with others."

"…"

"I know I try to push you two to become friends, but ignoring her won't help us either."

"You don't understand. I poured my feelings out to her, and she still had the gall to mock me for what I went through."

"Does she…even know what you went through?"

"…" He closed his eyes and sighed. "What does it matter if she does or doesn't?"

"Well, you could tell me. Get it off your chest."

"I've dumped enough emotional baggage for one lifetime."

Evelot pulled the bandages taut around his arm and tied them. "Amos, you know you can trust me. I'll never laugh or make fun of someone for their pain. After all, even though I don't try to show it…" She closed her eyes with tears poking out onto the cloth of her costume. "It hurts hearing all the rotten things everyone has to say about my parents."

"…"

"I know they weren't good people, but I still loved them. I loved my family. My brothers, my sister. My…friends." She looked away. "All I have is Phoebe now. She's the only part of my past I have left."

"…" Amos sighed, crossing his arms over his lap. "You promise you won't mock me?"

She wiped her eyes and nodded. "I would never mock someone's pain."

"…" He tilted his head back and glared at the ceiling. "It's not an easy thing for me to talk about. That day was one of the worst in a lifetime, but it helped me understand the boundless cruelty of other creatures. I finally understood why the life of a bounty hunter was one of solitude: trust isn't easily earned, and it can be abused."

"Amos…"

He sighed. "I was becoming more well-known as I progressed as a bounty hunter, and I made the terrible mistake of bragging about my wealth. It wasn't much, but I earned and saved up quite a bit during my career. I was planning to eventually retire young and live a simple life. Work hard first, live life to the fullest after. I made the mistake of letting temptation get the better of me. I fell for the temptations of a demoness, her voice flowing like honey, but her soul tainted with greed."

"What?"

"Her name was Rosamund. She was one of the first people I thought I connected with, and she promised me something I never considered for myself: a love life. She played her game, tempting me with promises of settling down and stepping off my solo plan. I actually considered her offer, and I even slept with her in a moment of vulnerability." He gritted his teeth. "I told her my feelings, feelings I never trusted with anyone but myself. I poured my heart out, so she stomped on it."

"W…What happened?"

He growled. "She practically raped me! Not only did she tempt me into bed, she manipulated me into giving her a chunk of my savings! That bitch had no love in her heart! She used me just to feed her addictions! I was confused, heartbroken, betrayed! Furious…" He clenched his eyes shut. "That was the worst feeling I've ever felt, and it was entirely my fault for not seeing the obvious ploy! I shouldn't have allowed myself to get that close to someone!"

"Amos—"

"And when I confronted her, she had the gall to say I deserved it just because she was some poor bitch who saw a guy with money! The rich deserve to be trampled by the poor! That's basically what she said! All of that because I had money and she didn't! I wanted to do something, anything, to get my money back…"

Evelot narrowed her eyes, not liking where this story was going. "But?"

"…" Amos sighed. "How do you think my eyes ended up the way they did?"

"…Oh. I'm so sorry."

He grunted. "She butchered my career as a bounty hunter. I had to work hard to relearn how to fight. That's when I took up using a gun when they started becoming more popular."

"…Amos, did you…well, you know—"

"Kill her?" He huffed. "Those rumors about me hating women? They all started because of her. I hunted her and her cohort down and killed them both. Slaughtered them. Decorated their bodies on the streets to remind people about who they're dealing with."

She gasped. "Amos!"

"I don't regret a single thing I did that day. She wanted to act like the invincible victim? That's what happens when you act smart for too long."

Evelot narrowed her eyes. "You were used and mistreated. I understand. But still, nothing's solved through violence. It's like an infection." She gingerly patted his bandaged arm. "The longer you let the infection fester, the worse it'll get. Ignoring and living with it won't make the pain go away."

He pulled his arm away from her. "Trusting others doesn't seem like the better alternative. No one knows who we really are. No one wants to see the real you." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I learned that day to never show the world what I'm really feeling. I'll never, ever let anyone see me at my most vulnerable again."

She touched his shoulder. "You don't have to hide your feelings from us."

"Tch."

"I'm serious. I know you're a good person, Amos. You had a bad life, but it's never too late to change and start over."

"Easy for you to say. Everyone has a demon in them, and suppressing it is impossible the moment it's released."

"…" Evelot looked away sadly. "I…can sort of understand that."

"You?"

She cradled her arms together and shuddered. "To tell you the truth, I…had some bad thoughts the first few months after losing my family. I can't remember the face of who killed them, but I remember having nightmares of hunting that monster down and…s-slaughtering them." She trembled. "That wasn't who I was. I didn't want to become a killer. I eventually accepted what happened, but sometimes the nightmares return, tempting me to hunt the monster down."

"…"

"Killing terrifies me. I have to constantly tell myself that the times I've killed were purely self-defense. I don't want to give myself justification to go on a manhunt for someone I don't even know the name of. I sometimes wonder…what would happen if I remembered what happened on that day."

"…" He sighed. "Well, if you ever remember, you won't have to worry about who killed your folks. I'll put a bullet through your monster's skull myself."

"…" She closed her eyes and shuddered. "I miss my family…"

He watched her tremble and weep beside him. Normally, he would opt to ignore it and let her cry herself to sleep, but…something tugged at his heartstrings as he observed her feeble state. She was like a scared child lost and drenched in the rain seeking shelter. All alone and worried about the darkness encroaching around her.

"…" Amos reached out and gently stroked her back. "Well, it's not much, but…I suppose you have us to make up for the loss."

Her eyes widened. She looked up at him in disbelief. "Amos—"

He hissed. "Don't make a big deal about it or anything. I'm just fucking sick of listening to you—" He froze as she suddenly tackled his side and wrapped her arms around him.

"Th-Thank you," she whimpered.

"…" He sighed and continued stroking her back. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Unbeknownst to the two, lost in their silent moment of comfort, a third party watched them from behind the corner of the cave. She just happened by right before Amos explained his circumstances to the alchemist, halting any attempts to converse with him.

The anger that welled inside her subsided. With all motivation to walk in and confront Amos deflated, Phoebe stepped away from the cave and made her way back to the observation cave with a sourness in her expression.

I think…I understand you a little better, Lancaster.

The sun set over Copper Gorge, casting the area into darkness, save for the fire brewing atop the twisting canyons. After finding suitable ground to set up camp, Vilgot cooked up some food over the open fire while Ulrich lazed around on the ground, staring up at the stars.

"You know, if you look at the stars long enough, you can trace out my handsome face," Ulrich said. "They should name a constellation after me when I become famous."

"Uh huh," Vilgot grumbled, crushing some berries over the hollow rock serving as their pot. From their rations, he was making a bean stew with berry juice serving as the broth.

"And that tiny one next to my face can be you, Vil. My partner in crime. The twin terrors of the Outlands, riding and dying together through thick and thin!"

"Uh huh."

Ulrich glared at him. "You could try and sound more upbeat, buddy."

Vilgot rolled his eyes. "It's been a long few days, and plucking needles out of my skin wasn't the highlight of my day. I just want to eat and go to bed."

"What happened to reevaluating our search plans?"

"In the morning. I'm tired."

Ulrich shrugged. "Whatever. You wouldn't be so crabby if you hadn't set off all those traps like you did."

"…" Vilgot sighed through his nose. He picked the rock bowl off the fire and poured an even amount of stew into two different hollow rocks. He handed one of them to Ulrich. "Eat up."

With a flick of his wrist, Ulrich telekinetically brought the bowl to him. He sat up and started drinking from the rock. Vilgot picked his up and carefully rocked the stew before taking a sip. It wasn't anything special, much less appetizing, but it hit the spot after a long day.

Vilgot set his bowl down and wiped his mouth. He stared at the ground for a moment, lingering on a passing thought, before lifting his eyes toward the Raichu as he continued drinking down his meal. A bubble of anger rose in his chest, but Vilgot kept himself collected as he took a deep breath.

"We've been friends for a while, Ulrich, so I feel comfortable saying this. I feel like we would complete missions faster if I took charge for once. I know that you want to be the big hotshot of our dynamic, but I'm just in this for the thrills. I don't mind you having the fame and glory, but maybe we should do things my way from now on. You know, if we didn't waste time playing with the company like you insisted, we wouldn't be searching through this gorge. We don't have to stop having fun with our work, but maybe take things more seriously. You think?"

Ulrich kept on eating his meal, though his occasional pauses suggested to Vilgot that he was listening, so he continued.

"I mean, it's a real honor to be considered one of the Deadly Seven, so that alone should be recognition enough. I agree that we should capture Caractacus, but maybe put aside your feelings against him for the time being. This could be our chance to get everything we desire, and I think I'm the one that will lead us to our envisioned future. We could be the kings of the Outlands, and we can stretch our influence beyond the borders. Why stop with this lawless land when we can take everything for ourselves? We're strong, and I'm sure if we work together we could even defeat the likes of Lust, Greed, and Wrath. They're the strongest out of all of us, but we can take the down together. Your power and my tactics, we could demolish them and take over running the whole of Virdis from the shadows until everything is in our clutches. All the riches, all the fame, all the bitches! We could be—"

He was interrupted by a loud and obnoxious belch, followed by Ulrich tossing his empty rock aside. The Alolan Raichu innocently scratched behind his ear, shooting his partner the side eye. "Did you say something, Vil?"

"…" Vilgot's eye twitched.

"By the way, your stew sucked. You didn't have anything better than beans—"

"I'VE FUCKING HAD IT!"

Ulrich jolted as Vilgot suddenly sprung off the ground and flew into him, pressing his forehead to the confused mouse's. "Uh, what?"

"YOU! I have had it with your attitude! It's always me, me, me, ME with you, isn't it?! You lazy, irritating fuckwad! Ever since we joined the Deadly Seven, that ego of yours has been getting worse and worse! I was fine with it at first until you started treating me like a sidekick than your partner!"

Ulrich glared and pushed him back. "Geez, what crawled up your skin and died?"

"You are so blind to your own faults that you've been blaming me for stupid shit you caused! You're the one who set off all those traps while I was suggesting finding alternative routes around them! You just can't listen to anyone but yourself!"

Ulrich scoffed. "Please, if I let you inspect every trap we ran into, we would've been here for months."

"At least we wouldn't have been covered in needles, paint, and pain!"

"Let me remind you that Absalom appointed me as the fourth strongest member of the Deadly Seven while you're only the sixth—well, I guess fifth now that Ali and Wig bit the dust, but that still makes me your superior."

Vilgot clenched his teeth. "Just because you're stronger than me doesn't make you the better fighter. There's more to fighting than just strength!"

Ulrich laughed. "And what moron fed you that nonsense? Strength is what makes the world go 'round. You think you could beat me in a fight by chomping on a few berries and hurtling yourself like a cannonball? I'm the reason you don't veer off course!"

"You're also the reason why we have so many close calls on our missions. You're constantly playing with our targets like a baby Meowth and its food. You can't help yourself toying with everyone—"

"Because I'm the strongest. And people who say skill trumps power are just sad losers who know they'll never amount to anything with their fancy techniques. I bet I could even take on the Three Deadly Storms."

Vilgot laughed in his face. "Oh right! Let me tell you exactly what would happen if you did that! The specter will have you gasping for air during your monologue. The knight will cut you down before you have the chance to boast about how great you are. And the tyrant will turn you into a bloody red mist that'll spread across the whole of Virdis. Hell, Spring-Loaded Harriet would annihilate you with a single finger! You know, someone with actual skill!"

Ulrich scoffed. "You don't actually believe that nonsense people keep spouting about her, right? The rumors that she transcended the mortal plane and learned how to fly? A land-based Pokémon learning how to fly because she became enlightened? A classic case of a powerless loser who needs to boast herself up to seem even remotely intimidating."

Vilgot glared. "Harriet is one of the deadliest martial artists in the world—"

"Look at me, I can swing my arms fancily! I am the greatest fighter ever—oh look, an attack the size of a planet! I will use my amazing kung fu to—oops, I am now dead." Ulrich shot him a deadpan glare. "And that was my recreation of what would happen if I encountered her."

Vilgot growled. "This is why you couldn't survive the Outlands without me. You believe your own hype so much that you can't even see when someone else is stronger than you. You even think you can take on the three strongest sins by yourself!"

"Isn't that the same nonsense you were jabbering on about a moment ago?"

"I said as a team and—wait, you were paying attention?!" he snapped.

"Hard not to."

"You actual asshole!"

Ulrich smirked. "It's not my fault I'm so amazing. That's why I'm the rightful bearer of the Pride title."

Vilgot laughed bitterly. "Oh really? The rightful bearer? Gee, you really do believe your own hype because I remember that day quite differently. I believe you were nearly killed by the last Pride and Envy bearers when we arranged to challenge them."

"Nah, I still killed Pride. Not sure how you killed Envy, though."

Vilgot's smirk grew. "You're an actual idiot. You don't even know that you were so incompetent back then that you almost died. Guess what, genius! I'm the one who killed Pride and Envy!"

Ulrich glared. "What?"

"Your so-called final attack was just you being delirious after a few sharp blows to the head. I'm the one who killed them while you were distracting them!"

"That's a lie! I killed Pride! I'm—"

"A fraud! You never killed either of them! They were actual skilled and deadly opponents who could counter every one of your attacks, and I had to bail you out by capitalizing on the right moment! If anything, I should be Pride and you should be Envy! I deserve that title more than you!"

Ulrich growled. "You don't deserve squat! I'm the best of the best, and I don't need you slowing me down reaching toward the top!"

"You would've been killed ages ago if it weren't for me! I'm constantly putting up with your crap because I pity how sad and pathetic you really are!"

"You would still be that ambitionless loser I met if I hadn't convinced you to take up a life of crime like I did! I'm the one who gave you purpose!"

Vilgot snarled. "Well, I've decided on a new purpose: finishing this mission without you!"

"HA! You'll get creamed by those losers without me! I'm finding the company and bringing Evelot and Caractacus back to Cain!"

"Not before I find and use them to help further my own station in the criminal underworld! How's that for an ambitionless loser?!"

"You think you could do a better job than me?!"

"I know I can!"

Ulrich snarled. "FINE! First one to capture Evelot gets all the glory, then we'll see who really needs who!"

"Fine by me, because I don't need you in my life ever again!"

"Fine!

"Fine!"

"FINE!"

"FIIIIIIINE!"

Ulrich boosted off the ground and took off into the gorge. "You're going to feel so stupid when I find them before you do! Have fun sleeping, you jerkass!"

"Oh, I'll take my sweet time!" Vilgot yelled as the Alolan Raichu flew further and further away. "Knowing how dense you are, you're going to get baited by a portrait of a naked woman and snared into a pit of boiling oil!"

Caractacus' Hideout

With the night falling over Copper Gorge, the company made their way to the space they were using as a bedroom. The girls and Amos slept in separate tents while Magni curled up between the tents.

As they crawled into their tents for the night, Caractacus peeked his head in with a goofy smile. "What's up, mes amis? Heading to bed already?"

Phoebe yawned. "Well, it's not like we've been doing much but lazing around the place."

"Of course, of course."

Amos glared. "Alright, what the hell do you want?"

Caractacus laughed. "Caught on already? Well, I suppose I won't waste your time: I'm on the finishing stages of your new equipment."

Their eyes widened. "Seriously?!" Evelot gasped. "Wow, you work fast!"

Caractacus grinned smugly. "That's the brilliance of a genius you're witnessing. I'll have the finishing touches ready by morning. As a matter of fact, I made need your help with those touches, Evelot."

"Me?"

"I may some of your Rainbow for the pincer, plus some alchemical expertise for the other components."

"Oh, uh…s-sure, I suppose I can help."

"Excellent!" He then turned to Amos. "As for you, I suggest mentally preparing yourself. We'll be putting you under for surgery. I may need Evelot's help with that as well."

Amos glared. "Well, it was bound to happen eventually. Are you even a qualified surgeon?"

He shrugged. "I managed to fix up my own body with one paw, so you could literally do worse."

"…It's frightening that I'm forced to agree with you."

"Excellent!" Caractacus stepped back outside the room, blowing out the lantern hanging on the wall. "See you all in the morning!" With that, he stepped out of view.

Phoebe sighed. "Maybe he can give you prosthetic eyes to fix your vision."

Amos scoffed and crawled into his tent. "I will literally kill him if he touches anything other than my arm and tail."

She smirked. "What happened to the silent treatment?"

"Shut up and go to bed."

She smiled softly to herself and crawled into her tent. "Heh. Whatever."

A twinkle of joy sparkled in Evelot's eyes before she followed the Aipom to bed. Well, they haven't made up yet, but it seems the tension in the air is dying down a bit. Thank goodness.

After stepping out of the room, Caractacus' cheerful demeanor shifted to a serious glare. He glared at the artifact, which rested by the door. His mechanical arm reached down, gripped into an edge, and lifted it to the hound's side as he walked away. The strong light coming off the cube dimmed gradually as he moved away from the room.

"Scintillating discovery," he muttered. "Perhaps my time with the Broken Glass Alchemical Company shouldn't end so readily. I can't explain it, but that is the beauty of science: uncovering what cannot be explained."

He returned to his lab, set the artifact back on his workstation, and continued his work on Amos' equipment.

"I better work overtime on this one. He'll be so impressed with my craftsmanship that he and his cohorts won't be so eager to part with me quite yet. And if I can earn their kinship…"

He plugged his mechanical arm back into the artifact and resumed cutting into the metal. The artifact blinked at a normal, steady pace like before, but the Boltund didn't plan on keeping it that way forever.

"Perhaps I'll discover which of those four is causing you to act up, mon petit trésor~."