6th Rebirth Moon, 908 – Copper Gorge

With their encounter against Ulrich and Vilgot buried in the past, the Broken Glass Alchemical Company recuperated in Caractacus' hideout, letting their injuries heal. They spent the last few days making preparations for their trip, knowing they won't be without a proper carriage for some time. Packing supplies won't be an issue thanks to Evelot's shadow storage, but there remained a slight problem.

Where do they go now?

Amos and Phoebe sat across from each other, hovering over a map as they sipped some alcohol that had. Evelot teetered on a chair at the end of the table while Magni lay curled up by the wall, sleeping soundly.

"We did not think this through," Amos grumbled.

"We did not think this through at all," Phoebe agreed.

Amos smacked his face down on the table and growled. "We were so caught up with finding the crackpot that we didn't even consider how we were going to find Last Autumn. We don't have any leads on these guys, much less where they're hiding."

Phoebe glared. "Well, don't look at me. Weren't you the one employed by them?"

He groaned. "The only thing I know for certain is that they have some base hidden in the Outlands. Emphasis on hidden. Only Althalos knew where they were, hence why…keeping us alive was a risk."

She frowned. "I don't get it. You were selling poison, sure, but what part of that required killing you all off?"

Amos glared. "I don't think it was the Wraith they were worried about. I think they were concerned with it connecting back to them. They had us hire alchemists in secret to mass produce the stuff before selling it across Virdis. Then we ran tests from our clients and gave the reports back to Cain."

Evelot glared. "That's…concerning."

Phoebe raised her brow. "Your family made that crap. Anything you can tell us?"

She shrugged. "Just that it was incredibly potent. It's designed to incapacitate and kill after several months. It's mainly a weapon to hold someone hostage via alchemical warfare. But I don't know what benefit Last Autumn gets from poisoning a few people if they have the means to kill without notice."

Amos glared. "What about the other function? That it can spread post-mortem?"

She shook her head. "A side effect that was repurposed in the original design, but the range can only encompass the width of a standard bedroom at most. It dies off after an hour or two without a host. Of course, without the elementium particles holding the lethal toxins, the poison gas is harmful, but rarely lethal."

Phoebe leaned back in her chair. "So, they're manufacturing poison to assassinate people in secret that can also poison anyone that gets too close?"

Amos tapped his pincer on the map. "Could it be made into a gas? As in the base form?"

Evelot paused for a moment. "Hmmm, maybe? I suppose if you alter the mixture enough, you could get the same effect as a gas."

"Hmm…" Amos sighed. "Well, talking about it doesn't get us anything but a handful of theories. Last Autumn kept themselves hidden for three decades without gaining attention from the region. Cain's not stupid enough to parade himself out in public."

Phoebe hummed to herself before asking, "Well, if the Deadly Seven were employed by Cain, maybe asking one of them?"

Amos shot a deadpan glare at her. "Sure, let me just grab Ulrich's skull and put on a séance to ask."

"You know what I meant, asshole."

Evelot whimpered. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. You two took quite the beating from the last three. We have no idea how strong the remaining sins are."

"Well, they're hunting us down anyway, so might as well strangle a couple questions out before we kill them," Phoebe said.

Amos closed his eyes for a moment, then asked, "Do you think the crackpot knows anything?"

"Tch, Tac? He's been hiding out in seclusion for years."

"But he has to have some knowledge on Last Autumn. One of their leading enforcers attacked him, remember?"

"That…ghost fellow?"

He nodded. "If anyone has any knowledge on Last Autumn, even if it's minor, it's him. At the very least, it may point us in the right direction. We find Cain, we slaughter him, then we set ourselves up to hunt down the rest of Last Autumn one by one."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, real simple. Must've took you a whole twenty seconds to come up with that plan."

"I don't see you offering anything."

"I stir up trouble and profit off it. There's no real planning on my end." She scoffed. "Still, you have a point. Tac knows the Outlands better than any of us, so might as well give him a shot. Where is he, anyway?"

Amos stood up. "I think he locked himself in his lab."

"Great. I'll bust the door down."

Evelot fidgeted in her seat before saying, "Uh, you guys go on ahead. I'm going to stay here and check on Magni's injuries again. I don't want him carrying us until he's fully healed."

Amos nodded. "Alright. We'll be back soon." He and Phoebe got up and headed down a tunnel through the cave.

Evelot waved to them until they were out of sight. Once they were gone, she sighed and reached inside her shadow storage. She pulled out a dark green journal with a withered cover bound in chains. The title was obscured from age, but the word Faucher was legible.

"Speaking of keeping things hidden…"

Buried away in his lab, Caractacus was hard at work packing his belongings into crates. He hadn't officially announced his desire to travel with the company, but he knew they would take him along once he unveiled the surprise he had been working on the last few days. Granted, it was something he already had on standby, just never had the reason to finish building it.

Among his packing, he left out the ancient stone cube periodically blinking in soft blue light on his workstation. The sole reason for his decision to leave, hoping to uncover the secrets of the cube.

After he finished packing his supplies, he picked the cube up between his paws and studied it. "Someone among that group has you excited? Your excitement brings me excitement, mon ami." He brushed his organic paw atop the cube. "I wonder what song you will sing when I uncover your past. An ancient lifeform such as yourself must know so much. Why do you refuse to share your secrets with me?"

The cube blinked softly as it always did, bathing his face periodically in soft blue light.

"No answer as usual? C'est la vie." He petted the cube gently. "You may answer me in your own time. For now, we have a lot of work to do." He looked around at his mess of crates and squinted. "Now, where did I put that travel case—"

BANG!

Caractacus gasped, throwing the cube into the air as his lab door flew open. "Oi, Tac!" Phoebe shouted. "Got a question for you!"

Caractacus dove for his falling cube and caught it between his paws. "Of all the…!" He sat up and petted the cube. "Okay, doesn't look damaged." He turned and growled at the Aipom. "Knock, you peanut-brained zygote!"

She scoffed. "Good morning to you, too."

Amos waltzed in, shooting her a tired glare. "You really could have knocked first."

"I did knock. With my foot."

"That was a kick."

"Is there a difference?"

He rolled his eyes and glared at Caractacus. "Listen, we need to ask you something."

Caractacus stood up and set his cube back on the workstation. "Could it have waited until after I was finished with my work?"

Phoebe looked around at the packed crates. "Yeesh, you weren't joking about leaving."

"Though you two successfully killed any means of my hideout getting leaked, you also brought upon a tidal wave of destruction that will no doubt be noticed the second someone passes by Copper Gorge. So, either way, I have been compromised."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry or whatever."

Caractacus sighed. "Anyway, what do you two want?"

Amos glared. "We need your input. You know the Outlands well, so we figured you could point us in the right direction."

He shrugged. "I know people, so…yeah, I can tell you whatever. What is it you need?"

"We need to find a man named Cain Underhill."

Caractacus' eyes widened for a brief second before glaring at them. "Cain…Underhill?"

Phoebe smirked. "Oh good, you know him. See, we were going to take a couple clubs and beat his head in like a watermelon. Fun times, as you can imagine."

"…" Normally a jovial hound, Caractacus' mood turned deadly serious as he straightened up. "You've got to be kidding me. You all came all the way out here for my help because you needed a means to hunt Cain Underhill down?"

Amos glared. "Yeeeeeah? Why?"

"Tch. Well, that complicates things."

"…Why?" Amos aimed his mechanical pincer at him. "You're not secretly working for the guy, are you?"

Caractacus' eyes widened, then he threw his head back and burst into laughter. "You're serious? Oh, don't be a moron, Lancaster!" He stumbled back against his workstation and wiped a tear from his eye. "Put the gun away. You know it won't do anything but waste your energy."

"…" Amos lowered his pincer. "So, you're not working for him?"

"I work for myself, no one else." He chuckled. "No, I'm just surprised you two got mixed up with that lunatic."

Phoebe shrugged. "Well, more so him. I just want payback because he was in charge of some asshole who was extorting money from Evelot and me."

Amos crossed his arms. "But you do know the guy, right?"

Caractacus laughed. "Oh, I don't just know him. I'm quite familiar with Cain. He kind of just showed up one day in the Outlands according to the older folk. About forty years ago, give or take, Cain Underhill appeared in the Outlands. Young, but brilliant. Not as brilliant as me, of course, but something of a genius. They say he was skilled with alchemy, but his real passion was anatomy and psychology. He had an uncanny talent for surgery, too."

Phoebe winced. "Lovely."

Caractacus glared. "Though, he kind of disappeared one day. Didn't really show his face much in the last thirty years, though you hear whispers of him roaming these parts conducting business."

Amos glared. "And would one of those businesses happen to be Last Autumn?"

"…" Caractacus smirked. "Okay, now I know you lot are up to something crazy."

"You know they're still active?"

"I know a lot more than you can imagine." He crossed his forelegs and sat down. "If you're asking me where Last Autumn set up shop, they're even more elusive than I am. If you want to know where Cain is, I definitely don't know where he ended up."

Phoebe scoffed. "Well, that was a waste of time." She turned toward the door. "Thanks for nothing, Tac."

Caractacus snickered. "Tch. Though, I offer a piece of advice: you two are in way over your heads if you think you can tackle Last Autumn. Compared to them, you're nobody. Last Autumn is made up of the most powerful and influential figures across Virdis. They didn't amass power by dumb luck. They're very real and very dangerous."

Amos rolled his eyes. "I didn't think you were scared of them."

"Who's scared~? I'm just stating a fact."

"Well, that won't stop me from cutting Cain to ribbons, so lecture me all you want about how I'm walking to my execution." He and Phoebe started out the door just as the Boltund cleared his throat. They stopped and looked back at him. "What?"

"…" He sighed. "I didn't say I wasn't interested in your little plan, just that it was inane." He stood up. "You want to know why I know so much about Last Autumn?"

Amos crossed his arms. "Why's that?"

He nodded toward the cube on his workstation. "I'm not too interested in parting from you lot quite yet, so perhaps I should shed some light on what I've been researching down here. You may find what I uncovered quite illuminating."

Amos and Phoebe took notice of the cube and saw how it softly glowed in the dark lab. "What…is that?" Phoebe asked. "Is that some sort of lantern?"

"Not quite." Caractacus picked up the cube and balanced it atop his metal paw. "I want to introduce you to my little friend. I affectionately call it Alpha." He smirked. "But, in ancient times, it goes by another name. It is referred to as…Logos."

Evelot quietly shuffled through the deeper parts of the cave, further than she ever traveled alone. Some of the tunnels had collapsed due to Ulrich's rampage days prior, leaving some ways completely blocked off. She blindly followed whatever path she could take, traveling deeper below Copper Gorge.

She kept the withered journal tucked between her back and tail, all the while staring at the ground in solemn contemplation.

"Hey, since we have her, maybe we should ask her about that thing…"

"What thing?"

"Those rumors about the Fauchers and their secret research. If we got our hands on that, imagine what we could accomplish!"

"That's right. Your parents were rumored to have access to some special creatures. The rumors say they were trying to unlock the secrets of life and death."

Evelot narrowed her eyes. To think they knew of the rumors surrounding my family's research. This journal is the only memento of my family's legacy, and it weighs upon my shoulders like a curse. I…can't risk anyone knowing the alchemy my family had been practicing.

Her right eye began to itch. She lightly scratched it as tears welled up and stained her costume.

Number 17. Number 24. I'm sorry for any hardship we may have brought you in our quest for knowledge. I never fully comprehended the harm my family was capable of, or the consequences that led up to their…

She winced, shadows of a figure breaking into their hideout and executing her brothers, sisters, and parents with merciless intent. She couldn't remember the face of their attacker, their visage warped in static. She could only recall something their attacker whispered at the peak of her inevitable destruction.

"Don't take this personally. Revenge…no longer matters to me."

Evelot's death was certain had it not been for the timely intervention of her bodyguard. He fended off against the attacker, yelling at her to run away. Evelot tried to escape, but then everything went dark after that. She recalled the crushing weight of something on top of her, then remembered waking up in Phoebe's arms.

It was all a blur. Nothing made sense anymore. Her family was gone. Numbers 17 and 24 disappeared to who knows where. Her bodyguard vanished in the collapse of the hideout.

All Evelot had left was the research notes of her family's legacy.

A curse she didn't want to burden herself with any further.

"Logos?" Amos asked, approaching the glowing cube cautiously.

Caractacus nodded. "Took me forever to find accurate translations, but I'm ninety-nine percent certain it refers to this thing as Logos. Beautiful specimen, isn't it?"

Phoebe squinted at the cube. "It…certainly is something. It…kind of looks familiar, but I can't place where."

Amos knocked on it. "What does it do?"

Caractacus shrugged. "At the moment, not a whole lot. It is the secret to how I can cut through the reinforced elementium, however. I just hook up some wires to my metal foreleg and channel its energy through my claws to cut into it. It's a unique power source, unlike anything I've ever seen. To think, the power to store electricity into a mobile storage space. It's like a personal Charjabug."

Amos glared. "This is the thing you found in that tomb in the ruins."

"Correct. While I was, err…recovering from my injuries, I stumbled upon those ruins and found this inside. When I found out I could cut the metal with its energy, I used it to replace the metal limbs I was using." He proudly tapped on his metal jaw. "It'd say I got a sweet deal out of it."

Phoebe glared. "But what does this have to do with Last Autumn?"

"…" Caractacus narrowed his eyes. "I…had something of a partnership with one of their members."

Amos raised his brow. "Care to elaborate?"

"Remember when I mentioned knowing Cain Underhill? That wasn't from me just picking up pieces of info. He has a younger brother, actually. Abel Underhill."

"There's another one?" Amos groaned. "Of course."

Caractacus nodded. "We had regular contact with each other, though…well, we talked less and less after my run-in with that mad jackal. Kind of sours a partnership when one of your allies comes hunting for me."

Phoebe glared. "And this guy never ratted out your location?"

"I'm still here after five years, so seems so." He glared. "Last time I saw him was…probably six months ago? Yeah, sometime during the Life Moon. He stumbled onto Copper Gorge like he got into a fight. Didn't look so hot, either. Kept muttering something about evil work being done by the Arcania Kingdom. I think he passed a note along to some idiot noble who was traveling through the Outlands." He shrugged. "If his note was as nonsensical as the explanation he gave me, I'm not surprised there hasn't been further commotion over it—"

"Wait, back up," Amos interrupted. "What did he mean by evil work in Arcania?"

Caractacus shrugged. "I know as much as you do." He glared. "Well, not quite. He mentioned something called Talos, I think, but that was the only straight answer I could get out of him. Like I said, he was barely conscious when I last spoke to him."

Phoebe glanced at the glowing cube. "Did he know about that thing?"

Caractacus nodded. "He did, though he didn't like talking about it. However, with the way he reacted to it, I was under the impression he knew more about Logos than I did."

Amos clenched his teeth. "And if he knows anything about that damned cube, so does Last Autumn."

"That's my assumption, at least."

"…" Amos groaned. "Alright, can you tell us everything you know about what the hell Logos is? If it involves Last Autumn, it might prove useful."

Caractacus leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling in thought. "Let's see, from the translations and context clues I gathered from the obelisks, I have a rough idea of their story. From what the obelisks say, mysterious objects rained down from the sky thousands of years ago, described only as a shower of lights and stardust. Some crashed onto Virdis, others flew beyond the horizon. By my guess, someone of the ancient world discovered what fell from the sky and dedicated those obelisks to their story. That…is really the extent of what I could gather."

Phoebe scoffed. "Well, we could've told you that. Seemed straight forward from what we saw."

Amos glared. "Except for that part about the founder. You mean to tell me a savage carved elementium obelisks and told a story through them? I've seen ancient cave drawings from our savage ancestors. I've never seen anything that detailed ever composed."

Caractacus smirked. "That's where I speculated the truth of that story. Each time you look back at our history, there's always little bumps and nods to the past. Of course, with the history of this region erased prior to the last two hundred years, there's only so much you can uncover. But there is one fact that has always puzzled me. A phenomenon with no explanation beyond simple superstition and ghost stories."

"What do you mean?"

"Are you familiar with the rumors about the Great Ruins? That those who enter its territory will experience visions of ghosts and haunting chills the deeper you enter? It sounds crazy, but documented evidence dictates it's real. A real conspiracy."

Phoebe raised her brow. "You think that stupid cube has something to do with the hauntings in the Great Ruins?"

"What else could explain such a phenomenon?"

Amos rolled his eyes. "The mass genocide of Ghost-Types? Unfavorable weather? Mass hallucination coupled with placebo? I thought you were a man of science. This all sounds like nonsense."

Caractacus smirked. "Everything can be explained with scientific discovery. Everything has a place in the universe. We ourselves have the power to bend the world based on our preassigned elemental energies. Grass-Types command the fields, Psychic-Types investigate the inner workings of the brain, and Ice-Types make the best smoothies. Old legends are derived either from story or from history. It's our job to peel back the layers of time to uncover the truth, and it's my job to innovate the future.

"Did you know there's an old legend in the Hoenn region? It speaks of a flying castle that housed the legendary Children of the Sea, those blessed by Kyogre himself. It sounds completely inane, but it tickles the scientific part of my mind. And what legends does Virdis hold that has been held up in dubious history? How about the phenomenon that turned our savage ancestors into veritable geniuses when the arbiters arrived a thousand years ago? A mind cannot adapt to new ideas so quickly."

Amos and Phoebe shared a look, slowly easing into the Boltund's insane theory. As strange as it all sounded, Virdis wasn't exactly a region with a normal history. Even with what was public knowledge, there were always the odd hiccups in their past. But the idea there existed something so ancient that it defied what they knew today…

"I'm telling you that there's a great unknown in our history, and I want to claim it for myself to learn the secrets of this Logos," Caractacus stated. "If Last Autumn truly know something about it, all the more reason to hunt them down."

Amos pinched between his eyes and sighed. "This is so much to take in. We still don't even know what that thing is. Is it…a device?"

Phoebe glared. "Or is a Pokémon?"

Caractacus grinned. "Ah, a good eye, Burkhard." He patted the cube. "Truth be told, I'm still figuring that out for myself. Pokémon come in many different shapes, sizes, and forms, so it's hard to say what this is exactly. As of now, it's simply…an unknown."

She sighed. "Just what I needed: a superweapon in the hands of mad criminals. Lovely times all around!"

Amos glared. "Although, if we could somehow harness that power for ourselves, it might give us an edge over Last Autumn. If this thing is as powerful as the supposed legends claim, what chance would they stand against us?"

Caractacus smirked. "Oooh, I like that evil mind of yours, Lancaster. If there's more of these little guys out there, we might be able to take Virdis for ourselves."

Phoebe smirked. "You two are talking about taking over Virdis or something? Don't leave me out of the fun. I wouldn't mind becoming a queen for a spell."

Amos sighed. "Still, all of this in mind, it doesn't really tell us where to find Last Autumn. We're still lost on that part."

"Tch. Right."

"Eh, wellllll…" Amos and Phoebe looked at Caractacus, who awkwardly scratched behind his head. "There is one chance we have, except…that requires an entirely different search for something missing."

"What do you mean?" Amos asked.

"I mean…the only person I know who knows where Last Autumn is hiding…is Abel Underhill."

This seems like a decent spot.

After her tireless journey through the depths of Copper Gorge, Evelot pulled a small shovel from her shadow storage and dug a hole straight down. It was mindless work, but she carried on until she was at a decent depth beneath the surface.

She dug and dug and dug, traversing about ten feet below the earth at a steady pace. Once she reached fifteen feet, she stopped, figuring she was deep enough. She was likely at the deep part of Copper Gorge from what she mapped out during their stay. The chances of anyone searching this far below the earth were slim.

Evelot put the shovel away and picked up her journal, staring at the withered cover unsurely. "Mom. Dad." She caressed the journal's spine, sniffling quietly. "I'm sure this is what you would want. Keeping our secrets safe until the end of time."

She pressed the journal to her forehead for a moment, offering a silent prayer to her family, before setting it in the dirt. She sunk into her Phantom Force and popped up above the hole. She pulled out a couple potions and smashed them together, dripping down a gray goop that plopped on top of the journal. As the mixture began to harden, Evelot started shoveling dirt back into the hole.

No one knows the depths of alchemy like I do, so only I must be burdened with its secrets. My family's legacy for trouble and warfare, those are my burdens to carry. I…I must not act out on my impulses. No matter the horrors I saw that day, I cannot continue the cycle of violence.

And yet, when she thought of that figure warped in static, she couldn't help the bubble of rage in her chest. It passed as soon as it formed.

I must not get angry. I must not give in to hate.

She finished refilling the hole, patting the dirt down a couple times. Satisfied, she put her shovel away and started shuffling back the way she came. However, as she did, she pulled out one last vial from her storage space.

"Better safe than sorry." She shook the potion, then tossed it over her head.

She didn't look back as a loud and powerful explosion went off behind her, collapsing yet another tunnel in Copper Gorge.

And burying the shameful secrets of dark alchemy.

"Abel Underhill?" Amos repeated. "But I thought you haven't seen him for months."

Caractacus shrugged. "But he is our best lead towards finding Last Autumn."

Phoebe snorted. "With the way you described him last time, is he even sound of mind anymore? Hell, is he even alive? Getting sick out in the Outlands is a death sentence. I should know, I lived with the only medically trained doctor in the Outlands for five years!"

Caractacus sighed. "Your options aren't looking good either way. At the very least, someone might have seen Abel if he's still in the Outlands, dead or alive. It'd be a long shot getting anything out of a corpse, but I believe he is out there somewhere. It's just a matter of a scavenger hunt."

Amos crossed his arms. "Do you know why he ended up the way he did?"

"If I had to take a guess, some sort of dispute he had with his brother. It would explain his condition, at least." The hound scratched his chin. "A most peculiar puzzle, you could say. Perhaps he'll finally tell me the secrets of this perplexing cube. Either that, or he takes his secrets to the grave. A shame if that were the case. I always wanted to pick at his brain."

Phoebe groaned. "Oh yeah, simple plan. Let's just do what we were already doing and blindly traverse through the Outlands until we stumble upon exactly what we need." She glared. "What are the chances of us even finding this guy?"

"Better than your chances of finding Last Autumn in your current state."

Amos groaned. "Unfortunately, he's right. If we're serious about pursuing Cain, we can't keep wandering aimlessly. Though, I don't like the idea of solving our aimless wandering with more of it."

Caractacus smirked. "You'd be surprised how connected the Outlands is. Information gets around in its own time. Though, you could try your luck with another of the Deadly Seven."

"No thank you."

"That's what I figured. Now, when shall we depart?"

Phoebe raised her brow. "You're coming with us?"

"Of course. You and I now have similar destinations, so I hope to see what wonders you'll unearth for me."

Amos groaned. "Riveting. Though, I hope you don't expect Magni to carry all your luggage on his back the rest of the way. It's already going to be a rough ride until we find a new carriage."

Caractacus chuckled aloud, wagging his digit at them. "That…won't be necessary."

After returning from her trip through the cave system, Evelot returned right as Amos and Phoebe did, asking her and Magni to come along with them. Following the directions given by Caractacus, they traveled down to a deeper part of the cave system where they found the Boltund waiting next to a metal door.

Caractacus rubbed his paw smugly against his chest. "I'm quite proud of my foresight, even if I never intended for this to be a steed-powered apparatus."

Evelot tilted her head. "What is it you want to show us, Caractacus?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just a solution to our travels. Behold!" He grabbed a nearby chain and pulled on it, lifting the metal door. Dust blew out from the other side and wafted in the company's faces.

As they fanned the dust away, lanterns burned to life and illuminated the dark room before them. Sitting inside the spacious cave was a large wagon, triple the length and double the width of their original ride. It was painted a rich purple and had the initials 'CM' engraved in a fancy font along the doors. Eight wheels held up the large carriage, and a coachman's chair sat at the front.

"Whaaaaaat?!" the company gasped.

Caractacus laughed, gesturing them forward. "I'm glad you're impressed. That paint wasn't cheap. No wait, it was cheap. I stole it. Anyway—"

Guiding them to the carriage, he opened the door and let them through (with Magni merely sticking his neck through). On one side of the carriage was a mini seating area with a compressed kitchen, complete with an iron stove and water basin. On the other side was a sleep area, both walls possessing two levels containing cots and blankets.

Caractacus laughed at their stunned expressions. "This was originally supposed to be automated like my other wagon, but I figured Scolipede-powered would suffice. Had to make some adjustments for the extra seatings and beds, though thankfully I went grand with the size in my original design. Might as well travel in style, right? Oh, and we can have a little space between the cots for your alchemy station, Evelot."

Phoebe blinked at the interior in astonishment before facing the Boltund. "What the hell is wrong with you? You built this—"

"Renovated," he corrected.

"—renovated this is three days?!"

"I have been called a workaholic once or twice in my life."

Evelot's eyes shimmered. "It definitely looks cozy."

"Very nice," Magni muttered.

Amos glared. "Well, this beats traveling in the snow. Alright, I guess you're coming with us, Caractacus."

He bowed. "Thank you for your generous offer. Now, let's collect my belongings and get on the road." He hopped out of the carriage and skipped down the tunnels.

Phoebe glared once he was out of sight. "Call me crazy, but I don't trust him."

Amos nodded. "He did make it clear he had no allegiance to anyone. Plus, he clearly didn't make his decision to travel with us after we told him about our mission. He wants something from us."

"Hmph. Best to keep an eye on him?"

"Definitely."

Evelot narrowed her eyes worriedly. "Don't you guys think you're being too harsh? Caractacus went out of his way to help us."

Phoebe patted her head. "Sorry Eve, but…he made his point clear. We're just business partners to him, and they tend to stab you in the back."

She whined softly. "That's mean…"

Amos sighed, leaning back against the carriage. "That's life for you. Cruel and unjust."

Meanwhile…

"Heh. There you are."

With his mission from Amadeus in hand, Babylas finally arrived at his destination. Having gone around the perimeter of Copper Gorge, he traversed the rocky hills before stumbling upon the old, abandoned mining town near the top. The hideout of the Dead Men Soldiers, and the location of his target.

The Banette's ever-present grin stretched as his group of Shedinja floated eerily behind him. "Let's begin."