The Contender's Ascent

by Insane Dominator

Third installment to "The Fairy Contender". Months passed since Nic and Erza finally united, but now things get really interesting. New challenges face Nic as Pokemon begin to rise, more complex foes challenge him and his powers, and something darker than darkness itself seeks Nic. With friends new and old joining forces, Nic and two worlds unite in ways unimaginable. OCxErza

70. Under the Surface

As a Hitmonlee guard strolled by, he stopped to take a cautious look around. He had humans on him, so he wasn't worried if he spotted trouble, but his Fighting-type instincts were yelling at him to be ready to move at a moment's notice.

"Coo!"

The Hitmonlee stopped and sharply turned in the direction where he heard a small sound. "Who's there!?" He waited for any response; however, he was met with silence. His narrow eyes sharply scanned the many bushes around the area. He wasn't just imagining that, was he? Maybe a Flying-type sentinel flew by and he just missed it.

"Mm…must be the wind. Of all the days for an invasion, I'm stuck out here." He scoffed, turning to walk off leisurely. "Oh well, not like anyone can get up here anyways. The cliffs are too steep, and the stairwell was deconstructed to ensure that."

As the guard was walking off to another area to patrol, a small shudder came from bushes. Inside the safety of the shrubs, Staraptor was watching through an opening in the shrubs to watch the coast become clear once more. She turned back towards Junior, who was covered and muffled by her wings.

"Junior, what did I tell you about being quiet?" she lightly scolded.

The baby fidgeted energetically, but Staraptor kept her at bay within her wings to not make any sudden motions.

With the city under a huge state of turmoil from all the fighting that was transpiring, this was the perfect opportunity for Nic and Erza to get past them all. The massive white palace that was on the cliff was as lavish and massive up close as it was afar. One could describe it as majestic in a way with the pure marble sculpted around it.

The only cover they had up there was makeshift bushes and undergrowth that acted as a base for them on the side of the massive palace. If it were just Nic, it wouldn't be a problem being out of sight when he could use Camouflage or go underground. But the case wasn't the same for Erza. Still, compared to any other compromises that Erza would have made, this was one of the better ones.

'I wonder if something happened to Mest to make him take this long?' Erza pondered. 'Don't tell me that he was compromised…no, that's too presumptuous. If he was, he would have teleported or altered their memories on the spot. We should have considered mapping out the layout before we sent him.'

Nic was more apprehensive about their approach. Realistically, and perhaps ideally, it would have been more straightforward to teleport straight to the top and put a lid atop of this so-called 'King'. If it were Natsu, it would be simple as that. However, what if he wasn't the root of the cause? What if there was something they might have overlooked that was elsewhere inside the castle? Hypothetically, the King could have potential traps around or secret passageways for a quick escape.

There was no sense of right and wrong in this situation. Information was valuable. Knowing was half the battle. He knew Natsu went to take Zeref on all by himself, and that expended his 'secret weapon'. Who's to say that this new enemy they were facing didn't have reserves of their own hidden away? Better to flesh them out so no haphazard would be crossed later.

'This King…I'm certain that he knows plenty about me, otherwise he wouldn't have sent those Apostles that distance just for me and Erza. He probably took Erza too in case he needed an insurance policy to keep me at bay.'

He paused at that thought. Though he didn't count on it, he glanced over at his wife beside him, pondering of such a possibility. He was internally thankful that he considered getting those collars off so that ultimatum wouldn't come to pass.

'We don't know anything about this guy personally, which puts us at a disadvantage. What we know is his seclusion after this whole revolution began, and that he appointed these Apostles.' He furrowed his brow. 'Maybe I should have used my Mind Form and read on what that Jailer knew when I picked up Erza…'

The explosive sounds coming from the city echoed in the distance, grappling their attention.

"Sounds like the others are cutting a little loose down there," Erza noted quietly.

"Yeah, sure looks like it." Nic responded.

"Coo!" Junior chimed loudly at the flashy explosions in the distance.

"Junior, please. Settle down!" Staraptor hushed, trying to keep him at bay.

'You guys still there?'

A voice rang inside Nic and Erza's heads, bringing them to quick realizations.

'This voice…Mest, is that you?' Erza asked.

'Yeah, it's me. Don't worry. Sorry for keeping you guys waiting.'

'How's it look in there? Any snares?' Nic quipped.

'No, not exactly…' Mest's tone started sounding uncertain. 'But, Kirlia and I did find something that you guys might wanna see.'

Nic furrowed his brow. 'Something we'd wanna see?'

'Mest, where are you now?' Erza demanded.

'I'm inside locked doors. You guys hold still, I'll make you come to me.'

Before Nic, Erza, or Staraptor had time to inquire what was happening, the three – including Junior – were all teleported off the spot.

The next thing they knew, they were stuck in the same positions as they were a second ago, only instead of the discrete security of nature, they were met with a dark space with iron gridding beneath their soles.

"Where are we?" Erza blinked, turning towards the person before them. "Mest?"

"Ssh!" He hushed her. "Yeah, it's me. Keep your voices down."

Nic got the message, furrowing his brow. "What did you and Kirlia find?"

Mest visibly frowned. "See for yourselves."

Nic and Erza gave glances at each other. Mest didn't sound anywhere nearly as sure as he usually was. Whatever it was must be something unusually disturbing, even for an infiltrator like him. They braced themselves as they headed over towards the grid's edge, where a faint, eerie light illuminated from below.

Upon looking down at what Mest was concerned about, instant confusion and worry filled the air.

Erza's eyes shrank as she winced. "What…is that?"

Nic didn't vocalize, but he and Staraptor's eyes were wide with surprise of their own.

…

Was Harrison having a good day? Well, considering that only a few hours ago he was locked away in a cell, and coincidence being on his side that he took root in a big scheme to finally break free of such confines ran by a sociopathic Cofagrigus; not to mention, liberating the hundreds of other people from the 'PC' and liberating their island as they speak.

So in short, yes, he was having a good day. But Grumpig threatened to ruin that.

Harrison brought his hands together to generate more lightning. He raised them overhead and brought them forward, projecting the dense blast at Grumpig. The Psychic-type stayed still as he generated a Psybeam from the black pearls on his head, sending the psychokinetic beam at the electricity. An instantaneous flare lit up in front of Harrison that made it too bright for him to see thoroughly, to which he covered himself.

With an opportunity, Grumpig snorted greedily as he hopped onto his spring tail and launched himself head-first at Harrison. His black pearls shined as a forcefield enveloped his forehead, via Zen Headbutt.

"Water Wall!"

A massive wall of water suddenly shot up between Harrison and Grumpig. The pressurized barricade was enough to repulse Grumpig's efforts, sending him flying onto his back with a thud, followed by a snort-like thud.

Harrison uncovered himself, seeing that he was saved. "Huh? Water?"

"Are you okay, I's?" Mable asked.

Harrison looked back at her, grinning. "Yeah, I'm good…watch out!"

Mable turned around and gasped. Harrison was quick enough to push her down before a lunar-like sphere beamed their way. It barely past the space between them and shot into the wall of water, erupting and dispersing it to vapor.

Florges scoffed, looking displeased at her Moonblast missing its intended target. "Slippery oafs."

"Hey, you good? Sorry about that." Harrison apologized, straightening himself back up to his feet.

"Y-yeah, thank you." Mable quipped.

"Don't mention it. Looks like we're even now." He turned to face his Grumpig, to which Mable looked back at her Florges. The two were back-to-back as they watched their respective Pokémon's movements to anticipate what they were going to do next.

Grumpig brought his hands together and spread them apart, generating a purple orb of psychic energy that he brought back. Florges brought her hands together, manifesting another bright pink hemisphere made of lunar energy. Three dense beams fired from Grumpig's orb as Florges launched her own.

Harrison and Mable were quick-witted enough to create magic seals in front and counter with spells.

"Lightning Spear!"

"Jet Blast!"

A condensed bolt of lightning fired from Harrison's magic seal at the same time Mable expelled a pressurized jet of water at Florges' attack. Harrison's electricity met Grumpig's energy beams and created simultaneous implosions that erupted between the two sides.

"So…how'd you end up down under with the rest of us?" Harrison asked, keeping his back towards Mable.

"Me?" She was caught off guard, but was quick to recover. "Well, I was helping my family run our floral shop, and that's where Florges felt at home. She's always been rather protective of the flowers we raise."

"I see. I was just learning under my father on managing the stadium…guess I gotta find a new gig now." Harrison's eyes widened when he saw the smoke stack before him tear open, revealing Grumpig rushing head-first after him with Zen Headbutt. "Step left! Now!"

Mable gasped and immediately pivoted. She backstepped towards her left just as Harrison stepped sideways to avoid Grumpig. The pig continued his charge through the mist in front of Florges, startling her.

"Huh!?"

Before she had the chance to react, Grumpig's head collided with her own. She fell onto her back with a loud squeal, which took Grumpig by surprise.

"Huh? Oh, sorry about-GAAAH~!"

With his back turned, Harrison pivoted and projected lightning from his hands at Grumpig's back. Electricity coursed through his body and made his nerves tremble uncontrollably for several seconds before falling directly onto Florges.

"Say, do you remember that ceremony that was held in the stadium back in winter?" Mable asked, continuing their conversation.

Harrison raised a brow. "Huh? Uh, yeah, I think I do. You're talking about that one with all those flashy flowers that bloom past sundown, right?" He quickly caught on. "Hold on…" He shot a look at her. "Did your family raise all those!?"

"Uh, y-yeah. It was really good business for us."

"That was the talk of the city for like a whole week!"

"Uh, t-thank you…"

Harrison flashed her a smirk. "Well, look on the bright side, when we need flower decorations for the victory party, I know who to call."

Florges struggled underneath Grumpig's heavier physique, unable to stand up, she squirmed frantically. "Gnnngh! Get…off me, you filthy pig!"

"I'm trying, but my nerves are a little…er, shocked." Grumpig snorted at the unintended pun. 'Though, this walking, talking flower smells pretty nice…I wonder if her leaves taste good?'

Her patience thinned, Florges closed her eyes and calmed down. Seconds later, her eyes flashed open. "I said…GET OFF! PETAL BLIZZARD!" Her body suddenly expelled multiple pink petals that circled around her body, creating a compressed whirlwind of petals that enclosed her and Grumpig.

"What now!?" Harrison exasperated, turning to glare.

The two watched the swirling hemisphere of pink petals carefully from a distance, but they were taken back by how fast the range expanded, whirling like an actual blizzard. Harrison and Mable cried out as the storm of petals met with their bodies, causing pain that pushed them onto their backs.

The typhoon of pink petals raged for a short while before it vanished. Florges was finally up on her petals upright with her head high. "There, that's more like it."

"Owww…damn that hurt." On his back a short distance away, Grumpig gradually slouched up. "Hey! The hell was that for!?"

Florges remained nonchalant. "Sorry, it just seemed that you were too close to my Petal Blizzard, that's all."

"You oversized bouquet! That was on purpose!"

"You're exaggerating. Anyways…" She turned her attention towards Harrison and Mable. The two were sprawled on the ground, their clothing torn in a few places thanks to the sharp petals. They looked clearly worn out. "Sorry…but the only flowers that will be decorated are for your funerals. Unless you choose to stay down like you are." Florges threatened.

Harrison and Mable grunted as they struggled towards their feet. Harrison wiped blood off a small cut on his right cheek that he received in the Petal Blizzard. 'Shit, that knocked me for a loop…' He looked over at Mable, who fared no better. 'Looks like Mable's not doing so hot either. We can't take another hit like that or we can kiss our freedom goodbye. Think I's. Think!'

He took a quick glance around to check his surroundings. He saw the infighting that was stirred between the many mages and Pokémon that were duking it out against the other. With how chaotic it was between the moves and spells that were flying about, he couldn't rely on any of them to lend a hand.

That's when he noticed something. Despite the few petals that were left behind, they sat in the puddles left from Mable's earlier spells. An idea came to mind.

'What if…' He furrowed his brow and faced Mable. "Hey, Mable."

"What is it?" She asked, verbally alarmed.

"Listen, I got a favor to ask. Do you think you can douse them with water with one of your spells?"

Mable blinked. "I guess I can try…no, I will try! I have just a spell for that, but I just use it to water the flowers…"

"That'll do, just do it!"

"Okay!" Mable was confused with what Harrison had in mind, but that didn't stop her from following his lead. He's led them this far. Better to take his word for it. She reached her arms out, manifesting another blue magic seal.

"What now?" Grumpig snorted.

"Dousing Shower!"

She raised her magic seal at an angle skywards, which shined brightly before expelling dozens of low-pressure water streams much like a sprinkler. The streams fell into a long arch down towards the pavement and onto Grumpig and Florges. The two covered up as the water quickly drenched their skins, and gradually dialed pressure further to where it slowly turned off. As the water pressure diminished, the arch gradually shrank, leading a trail of water up to Harrison and Mable's feet.

"Perfect. Just like that." Harrison smirked.

Grumpig grunted, but when he realized it, he looked down at his body to find that it was simply wet. "Huh…? Heh! Really? Was that all you had left?" he snorted. "All you did was get me wet! What was that supposed to do!?"

"Trust me, you'll find out." Harrison raised his left hand, which crackled with static.

"Huh? I's, what are you…?" Mable trailed off as she looked down at the drenched pathway that led towards their opponents. 'Hold on, why'd he ask me to drench them first? That doesn't make any sense…unless he's gonna-!'

"You wanna eat a buffet you jobless pig?! Well here! You can eat voltage!" Harrison raised his crackling hand high before slamming it into the water, causing a massive flourish of lightning that traveled quickly across the surface.

Neither Grumpig nor Florges had the reaction time to do anything about it. They were helpless as their drenched bodies conducted the lightning and electrocuted them on the spot.

"Ion Discharge!"

The two Pokémon cried out in pain as they felt the full might of Harrison's Lightning Magic in Mable's Water Magic. The voltage coursed all throughout their bodies to mind-numbing levels for what felt like an eternity. Harrison greedily smirked as he poured the clashing ions across the surface until his spell's limit had reached its expiration.

Once the lightning faded, static crackled across the sizzling, drenched ground and around Florges and Grumpig. The two were numb and immobile with fixated astonishment on their faces before they slowly fell backwards, thudding loudly.

Neither got up as their swirling eyes indicated their stamina completely gone.

"Heh…hope you got your fill," Harrison sneered.

"You did it! You actually defeated them!" Mable quipped.

Harrison turned his head and smirked at her. "Hey, couldn't have done it without you. You know, we actually make a pretty solid team." He flashed her a wink. "Gotta take pride in that magic yours."

Mable gasped lightly, her cheeks turning a tint of pink. She bit her bottom lip and turned away. "U-um…yeah, sure…"

"Hm?" Harrison raised a brow, confused by her reaction.

…

Lucy and Cana were still upright physically, but metaphorically, they felt the exact opposite.

In the span of a few minutes, enough happened to feel like the world was spinning too fast for neither to keep up. Lucy's performance with her Star Dress Mix was a whole new feeling that knocked the wind out of her, literally. And Cana had just woken up from a dream shortly after. The fact that she could feel dizzy enough was a testament that this was not a dream.

Sune watched from afar, her jaw almost slacking at what she had witnessed. 'I don't believe this…did they actually take down all of Apostle Suria's humans?' She blinked. 'Just…just what are these people?'

"So then, how do you like us now?" Cana besmirched Suria, her Liepard mimicking her confident, smug smirk. Just seeing the horror on her face was enough to bring them self-gratification.

"My…my precious humans…" Suria was quivering, still processing the revelation. She looked like she had seen a ghost. "I…I poured all the care I had into them…and you just…"

"Looks like you broke her. Good going." Blade sneered.

"I…I…GWAAAAAAH~!" Suria let out a high-pitched, song-like wail. It hit a note that was as high as an opera. It held onto where it even surprised Lucy at her lung capacity. "My precious humans! By darlings! You…you dare sully them like this!?"

"Um…I think she's a little mad," Lucy muttered.

"Yeah, no kidding. Freaking harpy's having a panic attack." Cana chimed.

Suria barely contained her composure. She quickly scrambled for her Human Cubes and held them out. "R-return, darlings!" The unconscious humans sprawled around Lucy and Cana turned into magical particles that returned to the cubes' insides. Suria put them away and gave them all a glare. "You two…I was hoping that I wouldn't have to get so rough with you. But now, it seems that you have been very naughty, so now…I will have to punish you myself! Tough love really isn't my forte, but I see that I will have to do that…for my dears that you've gone and hurt!"

Cana squinted. "Looks like she's getting serious now."

Suria took in a deep inhale that instantly cooled the air. When she exhaled, her mouth widened as she expelled an Icy Wind that spread vastly across the street towards her opponents. Cana held up a set of cards and swiped them skywards.

"Wind Edge!"

She summoned an air draft from the ground, creating a current to deflect the icy-cold air at a skywards angle over their heads. The pressure of the cold air barely brushed above their heads, making the hairs on their necks stand up from the chill flowing above them.

'They countered cold air with an upward current?' Blade's brow scrunched. With Suria on the offensive, there was only one way around: The buildings. Luckily for him, he had the legs to handle that. With a scoff, he brought a heel back and felt his muscles lighten.

"Agility!"

In a swift blur, he suddenly jettisoned off the street, beelining towards the adjacent building and jumped. He ricocheted off the wall, over a sign, and plastered to a windowsill that sat at an angle. He bolted directly at Liepard, his leaves glowing bright green for Fury Cutter

'Suria's Psychic-typing doesn't do good against Dark-types. I'll settle with this one first!'

Just as Liepard turned to see the incoming Bug-type attack and wood gecko, Prinplup shot between them and crossed his wings in front, the tips glowing metallic gray via Metal Claw. Bright sparks grinded as the sharp attacks collided in a deadlock.

"Don't forget about me, pal!" Prinplup scowled.

"Nice job, Prinplup!" Cana followed the praise with a swipe. "Now, Liepard, Psych Up!"

A mischievous smirk fell upon the feline's maw. "Let's even things up, shall we?" With Prinplup holding off Blade, her scythe tail flicked. An ethereal spiral-like energy appeared in front of her that drew in energy from Blade that merged with her body. The energy from the swirling vortex faded back into her body, leaving her nimble and swift.

"Assurance!"

Liepard's front paws flared with purple energy that she sprung off of onto Blade. The Grovyle remained wary and planted his feet on Prinplup's claws, using them as a catapult to somersault off of and flip over Liepard's pounce.

As he straightened out, however, he heard the audible sound of keys jingling overhead. Klefki made herself known as she unhooked her arms.

"Now, Klefki, use Foul Play!" Lucy commanded.

"And around we go!" Even though her Speed was reduced, Blade was still close enough to be snared. She grabbed him by the large leaf on his head and turned her entire body, dragging Blade around with her until momentum allowed her to throw him straight towards the ground below.

As Blade fell with a loud cry, Liepard landed on her forepaws and pivoted. The energy from her forepaws suddenly shifted to her hindlegs. She back-kicked Blade directly in the gut, causing an airwave to pierce through his back, signaling a critical hit.

Time slowed down around Blade as his face looked contorted in pain. He felt pain. He gagged as he went sailing across the ground and tumbled, barely catching himself and grinding several feet to a halt. He crouched on a knee, putting a hand to his abdomen.

"Tch…well played. You got me there." He grunted.

"Bet you felt that. Assurance does more if you get damaged before." Cana turned towards Lucy. "Lucy?"

Lucy nodded. "On it!" She turned and reached out. "Staryu, Psywave!"

Staryu blinked several times as it launched into the atmosphere. It spun in place before launching a wavy, hot pink, kinetic energy wave directly at Blade. The pained Grovyle shot glares at the oncoming move before pulling an arm back.

"Pursuit!"

He slugged his arm forward, meeting the Psywave head-on. The kinetic waves diffused right before him as he kept his arm out, not looking affected in the very least.

"He stopped it!?" Klefki quipped.

Blade sneered. "Paying attention much? Dark-type moves always trump Psychic."

"Nice one, dear. Now let me handle them." Suria chimed.

"I thought I told you not to call me that!" Blade exasperated. "Arceus! Doesn't anyone listen?!"

Suria seemingly paid no heed to his complaints as her eyes glowed bright purple. "Psychic!" She reached her hands out, creating a psychokinetic wave that traveled across the ground. It barreled for Prinplup, who was ready for it.

Before it met him, however, Liepard moved in front, taking the psychic wave instead. It enveloped her, before it dispersed due to her typing. Suria's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, don't worry. We're listening alright," Liepard assured. "You're right, it is handy to have a Dark-type against a Psychic." Her tail started flicking around. "We're not hard of hearing…just selective is all. Like certain other mons out there."

From the corner of her eye, she shot a look at Sune, who tensed up on the spot. "But you know, it isn't a bad idea to hear them out…you might just learn a thing or two if you do."

Once again, Sune found herself unable to say anything back. She wanted to dismiss Liepard's claims on the spot, but couldn't bring herself to say anything about it. She just stood motionless as her gaze fell towards the ground.

"Spent quite a bit of magic already…let's say you, Lucy?" Cana turned towards her blonde guildmate.

"Using that special form tapped me out almost completely. Can't say I have much left either."

Loke got in front of them, adjusting his cuffs. "Don't worry, you two. Just leave it to me. These two won't get anywhere close to you this time."

Lucy smiled. "Thanks, Loke."

Suria scoffed. "It makes no difference! One way or another, I'll be sure to make you all behave! Here in Pokétopia, it's us Pokémon who get to decide!"

"You wouldn't know the meaning of partners even if it smacked you on the forehead!" Cana rebuffed.

"Excuse me!?"

"Like I wouldn't know myself." For a brief moment, Cana thought of Tenrou Island, specifically how she treated Lucy. "It doesn't matter of they're Pokémon or people, they're still our partners! They have as much say as you or anyone else. There's no one in charge, it's all mutual. You say you treat your humans with love and are caring towards them, but you still treat them lower than you. What a shit example you sure are for a Trainer, aren't you!?"

Liepard and Prinplup spread their legs and sneered, feeling what Cana was preaching.

Blade eyerolled. "Here we go with the preaching again."

"I'll make sure that you behave…after I put you all in a nice slumber!" Suria exclaimed. She placed her hand to her lips as they glowed bright pink.

"Look alive, guys!" Lucy warned. Everyone braced themselves as they knew what would happen next.

"Lovely Kiss!"

The Jynx blew a kiss, with thick lipstick-shaped energy beaming their way. Liepard and Prinplup braced themselves.

"Liepard, Fury Swipes! Prinplup, Metal Claw!"

Both Liepard and Prinplup brought out claws that shimmered underneath the sun. Together, they slashed at the affectionate status move, dispersing the lips on the spot.

"I'll pour even more love into it this time!" Suria's lips puckered up as she blew even more kisses. The array of lip-shaped energy fluttered towards her enemies in large numbers in rows that didn't let up. Liepard and Prinplup worked simultaneously to keep her attack at bay.

"HRAH!" Lucy pulled out her Fleuve d'étoiles and unleashed an aquatic whip at Blade. The Grovyle stayed light on his feet as he effortlessly dodged the attacks. He went to close the gap, but was interceded by Staryu, who fired another Psywave that raced over the pavement interjecting him. He pulled away, flipping into the air where he was exposed to Klefki racing at him. He brought his forearms up in an effort to block her Draining Kiss, which sapped his energy on the spot. He dropped to the ground and landed on a knee, grunting. That's when Loke closed the gap with a heel covered in light in an attempt to kick him square in the face; it missed by a hair when Blade brought his neck back to dodge.

With his wine-like leaf pulled back, he scowled harshly and brought it forward, slamming Loke in the lower abdomen with the appendage, sending him skidding back.

"Loke!" Lucy cried out.

"It's okay, Lucy. I'm good," Loke assured. 'But damn, that hurt.'

"That didn't look like Pursuit at all!" Klefki noted. "A new move?!"

Blade pulled his leaf back, taking a moment to look back and sneer. "Huh…guess I just learned Slam. Fine by me!" Without hesitation, he sprung back into the fray.

As the battle raged on right before Sune's eyes, she was still processing everything that was going on around her. Everything that she was seeing, everything that she heard; everything was swirling around in her already fractured mind. Just who was right at this point? There had to be an answer that nobody was telling her!

'Am I seriously this overlooked, that all I'm good for is…just being a sideliner?' Her tails curled and uncurled as her stress vented. 'My job is to stop criminals and keep peace. I should be out there fighting to break this scuffle up! So why am I so useless here!?'

"Hey, I've seen it before. I'm just saying, if they didn't respect you before, why bother with them? What's written in stone ain't always the just…at least that's how we roll."

Liepard's wprds from before rung in her head like a bell, again making Sune momentarily waver. She shook her head to straighten her fragile thought process. 'No, no! They're the ones at fault here! Not me! I'm not trash like that! Just remember what they taught you, the law is the law. The law is the law…the law is the law…'

With the sounds of the battle becoming more autotune to her, her eyes glazed over as she watched Liepard and Prinplup fight off Suria's Lovely Kiss. It brought back a thought she had long ago.

…

With the rise in Pokétopia's economy from the ground of the former human control it had, Pokémon had started adapting to modern day human life. Many had already started taking jobs to support themselves, while others were still trying to decide whether or not to raise humans for themselves.

Amongst the many pedestrians in the open streets, Sune was taking a nice walk through the busy street. All around her, Pokémon were talking to each other, smiling, and, oddly enough, were starting to wear human clothes. It was a strange sight to see, but she's gotten used to it over the past week of being exposed to this gradual shift.

It still felt strange that she had an actual name now. Since she was an official resident in this estrange economy now, she had to do a little paperwork to help identify herself. Perhaps she could have gone for something more standout-ish, but she figured it would work.

The dubbed Vulpix was minding her business as she looked around at the numerous stands and stalls in the district. Some were occupied with only one vendor, while the larger ones had two, if not three. 'All these Pokémon are actually working. They're earning their living…'

As she passed by an apparel shop, she couldn't help but gaze through the open doors that she strolled by. Inside she saw numerous Pokémon of various shapes and sizes, from Pikachu to large Crustle. She saw the workers going around and helping the customers pick out clothes that would best suit them.

'I need to find a job. Something to really help me stand out.'

"Hey, freeze! Don't move!"

Sune's ears flicked at the sound from further up the street. She saw a Nuzleaf with a large sac over his shoulder that presumably carried stolen foods. He jumped over a Vileplume's flower petals like a springboard and left the civilian startled. An officer Linoone barreled down the street at an alarming rate in a mad dash after the apparent robber.

"I said freeze!" The Linoone got even closer, quickly bridging the gap between himself and Nuzleaf.

"Heh! Sorry, but I think I'll pass!" Nuzleaf sneered, just before he pivoted and took a sudden sharp left turn.

"Oh sh-!" Linoone's momentum worked against him. Unable to make the sharp turn, he barreled into the base of a stand owned by a Vespiquen. It collapsed onto him, gushing him with rich Honey and a very outrageous shopkeeper.

"Haha! Sucker! Too bad Linnone aren't so nifty when it comes to tight turns!" Nuzleaf turned and continued his trek past citizens that got out of his way. "Move aside! Out of my way!"

Citizens looked frantic as they didn't do anything to stop the robber. Sune stood in shock, but as soon as that went away, it was replaced with a fiery initiative. She got in his way, her tails unfolded as she glared ahead.

"Out of my way, furball! I won't mind mowing you down!" Nuzleaf took a leap into the air, flicking the leaf on his head as it glowed bright green. "Razor Leaf!" He fired multiple glowing green leaves in a funnel that barreled right for Sune.

"Eek! Somebody help her!" A Wigglytuff panicked helplessly.

Sune stared fearlessly at the oncoming attack. Instead of getting out of the way, she opened her maw wide as she charged up a fireball. She expelled the Flame Burst at the Razor Leaf, which incinerated all the leaves upon contact. The stronger Fire-type move closed the gap on Nuzleaf in midair. His eyes shrank before he was engulfed in a combustible flare that lit up the street.

As the smoke flourished overhead, Nuzleaf fell straight down with a loud thud on his back, unconscious. The bag he stole dropped as well, spilling out several berries beside him.

Sune blew off to the side. "Hasn't anybody told you not to steal? Huh?" She then noticed something. All around, the Pokémon in the area looked at her shocked. As if she was the one who was the criminal. It left her confused. "W-what…?"

Panting was heard from further ahead. Rushing with splinters and golden Honey slathered on his fur, the Linoone eventually caught up. "There you are! You're coming with me…huh?" He paused when he noticed that the criminal wasn't responding due to being knocked unconscious. When he looked at Sune, he started piecing things together. "Miss…what exactly happened here?"

Sune subconsciously curled in her tails. "Well, you see…"

…

The incident took itself to the Public Safety Department's HQ. Sune found herself face-to-face with the big Chief himself, Hugo. The Pangoro was looking between her and the stacks of documents beside him with a scrunched brow.

"Hmm…I get it now." Finally after evaluating all the reports, he turned in his chair directly at her. "So you took out a robber turning into the Shopping District, and used a move in doing so."

Sune felt her hair prickle, but she spoke anyway. "Um, y-yes…is that bad?"

Hugo let out a sigh. "Well, in this instance, he attacked you first, so we'll label this as an act of self-defense. But, to be fair, you did help out an officer's case. We're thankful for you standing in, but next time, do mind to not get in the way. We're not accountable for your safety otherwise."

"O-oh…I see." Sune's gaze fell to the navy-blue carpeting of the office. She didn't know why, but she felt unsatisfied with the circumstances. She voluntarily stepped in to help out as a citizen, and even though they worded it differently, she was given a slap on the wrist for something out of jurisdiction.

'I guess when I was trying to do good, they still didn't like it…'

Hugo used two fingers and passed a form to Sune. "Here, sign here so you can go. This won't go on your record, but we want to be sure that this doesn't happen again."

As Sune used her mouth to pick up the pen and sign her name, the door to the office swung open, revealing a frantic Ferrothorn. "Chief Hugo! We've got another call!" he shouted.

"What have I told you about knocking before, Harvest!?" Hugo lashed out. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something here!?"

The Ferrothorn – Harvest – cringed. "Oh, uh, right." He lifted one of his spiked limbs, gently knocking the door beside him. "Chief, may I come in?"

Hugo shook his head, groaning. "What is it, Officer Harvest?"

"We've got a call about a Cacturn that's been lurking around the Shopping District. He just struck again when a civilian was passing by!"

Hugo furrowed his brow, moving the shaft in his mouth to the other side. "Gngh…these cases with Dark-types are getting more annoying by the day. I didn't become Chief to see this malarkey. Do we have any available officers in that area?"

"Just Officer Slink. He's on patrol right now," Harvest noted. "Sir, we need more help."

"I know that, Harvest! Thank you for reminding me!" Hugo roared. He calmed down and slumped back into his chair. "We're getting three new recruits wrapping up their training by next week. Hopefully that'll do."

"Just three? Now's not the time to be frugal, sir! The island is counting on us to protect its populace! We should start looking into advertising more!" He then noticed Sune, who remained silent during the whole exchange. "Oh, hey. Aren't you that Vulpix that stopped that Nuzleaf today?"

"Um…yes, why?" Sune quipped.

Harvest immediately turned back towards Hugo. "Chief! We should hire her! She'd be perfect for us!"

Hugo looked taken back, almost as much as Sune was at the proposal. "What nonsense are you spatting about, Harvest? She is a citizen!"

"I mean, yes, technically. But you've gotta admit, she knows how to take the initiative. If it wasn't for her, Officer Quills would have been in even bigger trouble. Plus, you just said that we need more help. Don't you think that she'd be a good police officer?"

"It's not in my place to voluntarily draft Pokémon, Harvest," Hugo sternly pointed out. "Besides, our training is tough. Only the best can cover the main fields."

"Sir, with all do respect, I think that's precisely why we're so short at the moment. We can use the numbers!" Harvest turned back towards Sune. "What do you say? We have plenty of openings!"

"Harvest! Out! Now!"

Harvest flinched, but ultimately complied. "R-right, sorry for intruding…" He gradually walked himself out, with a spike gently closing the door.

Hugo sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Sorry about that. Officer Harvest means well…he just has trouble keeping points to himself. You'll have to excuse him for that."

Though Hugo tried to dismiss the intervention, it clung to Sune like a Sticky Barb. For her, this could be no closer to what had to be a calling, for a lack of better word. She had to admit to herself that it felt liberating to stop that crook from getting away. She took the initiative when everybody else just got out of the way. To her, her justice meant a lot.

That's when it hit her. If she wasn't allowed to help as a citizen, she could do so as a cop!

Sune shot up, beaming at the Chief. "Where do I sign up!?"

Hugo nibbled on his leaf and chuckled. "Haha! A brave heart and a comedian." He continued chuckling until he saw the straight-faced glare Sune gave him, bringing his demeanor down to ground zero. "…you're joking, right?"

"I know what I'm saying. I was looking for a job anyways, so…" She stood on the chair, beaming with pride. "This is what I wanna do!"

"You know there's a bunch of laws you have to abide by. We can't stand rule breakers, now."

"And that's why I'm here. If you need Pokémon to set them straight, then that's why I'm here."

Though spur of the moment, that moment precisely was what Sune sat her sights on. She wasn't going to be as useless as the other citizens in this town. Her fiery spirit burned brightly as she looked towards her new career.

…

Sune looked down at her badge sitting on her vest, her paw holding it up so it showed her name. 'I memorized every possible law. I worked hard in the physical test too. I should feel so accomplished and proud that I got to this point.' She felt her paw shaking. 'So then why…why does this feel so wrong now?'

The sound of clashing snapped her out of her funk. She looked up to see Loke making attempts to parry Blade's Fury Cutter, only to barely keep up. And whenever Blade swiped back, Loke's blocks were repulsed with intense force, leaving gashes that spilled his blood.

"Loke, hang on!" Lucy shouted. She gripped her Fleuve d'étoiles tightly and lashed out at the Grovyle. However, he saw it coming his way, and with his increased speed, he used a singular swipe vertically that sliced the water whip right down the center, startling Lucy.

'His attack's gotten stronger!?'

Meanwhile, Liepard and Prinplup continued their advances against Suria. The Jynx was blowing kisses that no matter how much she blew, the two kept getting closer, especially Liepard.

'This isn't good. At this rate…!' Suria needed a means t escape this impending mess, fast! She could count on Blade to intercept, but he was preoccupied at the moment with Lucy. She needed something else to throw her enemy off.

That's when she had an idea. The moment she glanced at the befuddled Vulpix, her eyes fixed with envy. 'Yes, that will do just fine.'

"Go, Liepard!" Cana punched the air vigorously, with Liepard clawing swiftly through the last kiss and pouncing towards Suria.

"I don't think so, sweetheart!" Suria suddenly pivoted, turning towards Sune. She puckered up and blew another Lovely Kiss directly at her. The action took Cana and Liepard by surprise.

'What is she…?'

Liepard looked to where the kiss was heading, and it immediately clicked. 'What a bitch move!'

Sune was so lost in what was happening around her that she had trouble focusing. She realized the kiss heading her way, but didn't react in time. She only had enough time to gasp in sheer confusion and dismay.

"Move!"

However, just when Sune thought she was about to be put to an undeserved slumber, a force shoved her off to the side, pushing her down with a thud. When she looked back, time slowed down as her hazel eyes looked on, seeing Liepard taking her place as the kiss met her cheek. It dissipated, and instantaneously, the effects kicked in.

Before Sune's eyes, Liepard started getting drowsy, her body starting to lose strength before ultimately slumping towards the ground.

"H-hey! Are you okay?!" Suen panicked.

Suria mischievously chuckled. "Works for me! Time to put you down, you bad kitty!" Suria moved towards the sleeping Liepard, her right hand glowing bright white.

"Liepard, get up and move!" Cana urged.

Liepard was unable to follow the command. She laid down before Suria as the Jynx's palm swept across her face, sending a powerful shock through her face that rattled her entire body senseless.

"Wake-Up Slap!"

Time slowed down as the super-effective Fighting-type move left Liepard in a daze. She spiraled through the air and barreled over Prinplup, who looked equally as startled at the force of the attack. The Cruel Pokémon scowled as she landed on the street with a loud thud to her side.

"Liepard!" Cana cried out.

Liepard laid on the pavement with eyes brimming with swirls, unable to continue battling.

Suria chuckled. "Well now, didn't think that you would make me bring out my secret weapon to use against Dark-types. I'd be impressed if it weren't for what you all did to my beloved humans."

Sune stood speechless, processing what just happened. She didn't have the words to speak, let alone think straight. Did that Liepard save her from an attack intended for her? It didn't make any sense. No, it couldn't make sense. Yet that's what happened, much to her utter horror. "She…she saved me…?"

Prinplup quickly got over his shock and angrily turned towards Suria. "You tramp!"

"Prinplup, Bubble Beam!" Cana furiously called out. Prinplup complied with gusto, inhaling deeply before expelling a voluminous blast of blue bubbles directly at Suria.

Suria sneered. "Nice try. Psychic!" Her eyes glowed bright purple, making a telekinetic energy that froze the Bubble Beam just as it was about to hit her.

"Crap, not again!" Cana lowly scowled, Prinplup grunting in his own plight.

Suria snickered. She shoved her hands forward, sending the Psychic-influenced bubbles back at Prinplup and Cana. The latter hastily pulled out more cards and fired them as glowing projectiles to meet the bubbles centerfield, generating multiple explosions between them.

"It would have been so much easier for you if you still had your Liepard covering for you, right?" Suria taunted. "Such a shame. Looks like you'll have to exhaust whatever's left of your magic just to compensate for that."

Sune eventually managed to come around. She shook herself back to reality and hastily rushed towards the fallen Liepard. She stood over her head, looking cautious and worried alike. "H-hey! You alright?! C'mon, say something!"

Liepard's body twitched as she was barely coming around. Though hardly enough strength to stand, she was able to open her eyes and see the worried face of Sune. "Heh…well, doesn't this suck, huh?"

"I…I don't understand. Why?" she whimpered softly.

Liepard hazily stared at here before glancing away. "…hm…you know, I'm not sure myself. Guess I just thought it was the right thing to do…" She sneered at herself. "Heh, ain't that ironic, huh? Saved by a Dark-type. Gotta suck, right?"

Sune gritted her teeth, shaking her head. "T-that's not important! Why?! After everything I did?!"

A conniving laughter came from behind. Sune turned around to find Suria standing behind her. "Please, darling. You shouldn't be so soft on a criminal. She needed to go down anyway. But…I suppose I should thank you. You were the perfect target to hit where these humans and Pokémon hurt most."

"So you…used me as a scapegoat?"

"Don't take it so personally darling. At least you were useful in this way…" An arrogant smirk crossed Suria's face. "Not that you were going of much help otherwise."

SNAP!

As if a mental thread was snapped inside her head, everything around Sune began to fall into perspective. She stood there, her hazel fox eyes fixated with an epiphany.

Everything that happened throughout her career, everything that happened today; everything fell into an empty pit inside her head. The training that went through, the laws that she memorized and abided by, and the utter, disrespectful, humiliation that she had to stomach throughout her days here on Pokétopia. It was as if the building blocks that she had built herself on based on principles had completely fallen over. A wave of memories crashed through her brain at that moment.

From the feeling of stopping that Nuzleaf, that's where it all began. Her self-righteousness had no place as a citizen…or so, that's what she was manipulated into believing. But ever since earlier today, she had always believed that if she had stuck by the law, she would get the respect and the earnest status she deserved. But the abuse from Hugo, Dahab, and now Suria was too much!

There was just no pleasing these superiors!

"And you think whatever they say must go? Not to sound picky…but you know how this world operates, don't you? In other words…no matter how much you shake your little tail, they're just gonna use it like a mop till it gets filthy."

Liepard's words rung through her broken mind like a bell. Now she got it. She was understanding what she meant by that. She stood over Liepard as the feline was waning back to unconsciousness. It was at that moment, she felt something inside her body burn heavily.

In spite all the prejudice she was taught; to abide by the damn laws; to always respect your superiors; being considered nothing but a failed grunt and reduced to nothing more than bait…and yet she was given respect by this one fallen Liepard.

Her body finally relaxed, her eyes closing as she came to ultimate reality of her situation. Something needed to change. And if following rules won't make that happen…

Suria shrugged, turning back towards the remaining opponents left. "Think of it this way, we're essentially doing your job for you. You can make the arrests if you want, but I want those humans all for myself." She eyed Cana and Lucy lustfully. She slowly sauntered past Sune, her hips swaying like she was dancing. "Now, be a good girl and wait there, while we clean up the mess."

Sune's tails slowly uncurled, as if completely relaxed. She opened her eyes slowly, her glare possessing a flame inside.

Cana swiped her arm. "Metal Claw!"

Prinplup crossed his wings that glowed metallic gray on the ends. He bolted after Suria hastily, but was interceded by Blade as he pulled a Leaf Blade from the side, causing the two slash moves to breach a stalemate. The two were interlocked dead center, leaving Suria ample room to work with.

"Now…let's put you back to bed, dear." Jynx faced Cana, licking her lips lustfully to gloss up her lipstick. "I promise…I'll make it worth your while."

"Cana, watch out!" Lucy warned.

Just before Suria was about to make another move, a spherical, compressed fireball launched from behind her back. It enveloped her in a roaring blaze, causing her to let out a cry of pain through the sputtering flares.

"Wait, what?!" Blade glanced back, only for his back to be pelted by small embers. He cringed in pain before pulling away from Prinplup.

"What was that?!" Lucy gasped.

"Lucy, look!" Klefki pointed ahead, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Wait, that's-!"

The flames engulfing Suria settled, revealing the Ice/Psychic-type barely steadying herself. Her hair was partially charred, and her dressed was all but tarnished. "Gnnngh…that really hurt…" She looked around to see where that attack came from, and her eyes followed a certain someone. "You!"

Cana and Prinplup looked stunned. Walking in front of them, Sune stopped and turned towards the two Apostles, giving a calm, assertive glare at them. Her tails stood upright as she spread her forepaws like she intended to block them off.

"It's…the little officer fox!" Lucy quipped.

"What the hell is going on?" Cana furrowed her brow.

Suria looked at the Vulpix, visibly pissed. "You…what do you think that you are doing?! Young lady, you are in for a world of trouble for that!"

"No." Sune bluntly scowled.

Suria blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. No. I've had more than my fair share of those above me telling me what to do. When I became an officer, the biggest priority was protecting Pokémon from misdeeds done by others. Pokémon that committed bad things…but now I get why they do those things." Her fixation hardened. "It's because of those like you, who don't know the first thing about earnest and respect! Just because you're at a higher position than anyone else, doesn't make you right!"

Though she was barely awake, a small smirk tugged at the corner of Liepard's lips.

"I now see…that I was following the wrong kind of Pokémon. I was always looked down on by everyone around me because of my stature and status. If anything, that's a crime by principle itself. So let me make this clear so that even a paint-wearing clown like you can understand!"

"P-paint-wearing…!" Suria's eyes dilated from the offense.

Sune planted her paws firmly on the ground. "I'm going to protect Pokétopia…from the likes of you!"

Suddenly, her body gave off an orange wave that dispersed over her head. Moments later, the atmosphere became brighter with the sun beaming incredulously down on the group.

"Heh…well now, look who finally sprouted a backbone. Better late than never." Blade smirked.

"She's fighting them, too?" Lucy realized.

"Looks like it," Cana realized. She thought back to when they were still locked up, how Sune was venting back then. 'Guess it was bound to happen. Looks like what Liepard said before really stuck to her. At least now we're not as deep in trouble as we were.'

Sune glared at Suria specifically, as if she was ready to burn a hole through her body. "Y-you little runt! I'll get you fired for this!" Suria snapped, turning towards Blade. "Blade, do something!"

Blade shot her a look. "Are you nuts?! Don't you know fire and grass don't mix?!"

"Oooh, dear, why must you be so insensitive!?" Suria wailed. "Fine! I'll just handle this myself!" She opened her mouth and took in a cold breath. "Icy Wind!"

Her mouth glowed bright blue as an exhale of a broad, cold wind raced across the atmosphere towards Sune and everyone else behind her. The Vulpix raised her head and generated a fireball and careened her head back.

"Flame Burst!"

She unleashed the fireball straight ahead into the cold air. The superheated sphere met the breeze, barely slowing down as the Fire-type move melted the ice specks upon contact. It continued its course until Suria's shock resorted her to an alternative.

"Psychic!"

Her eyes glow bright purple as her hands reached out to focus the energy around the fireball. Just before it was about to reach her, she stopped it with the psychokinetic force and forcefully dispersed the flames to flashy embers. However, what she didn't expect was Sune being in her face, startling her.

'How'd she move that swiftly?!'

"Feint Attack!"

Sune moved her tails towards her right side, looking ready to swing them across her left. But when Suria was ready to brace for it, she smacked her tails across the right side, slamming her face, as well as smearing her eyeliner and lipstick across her face. The Dark-type move put the Jynx onto her side with a loud thud. Sune landed on her feet, glaring at the fallen Apostle.

"Damn, now that's what I call tough," Cana whistled.

"Yeah, she's actually pretty feisty," Prinplup admired.

Suria grunted as she stammered up to her feet. She turned towards Sune as her lips puckered up and glowed. She blew a Lovely Kiss at her, to which Sune's body was surrounded by a fiery-orange aura. Her six tail ends sprouted ghastly fireballs that she flung at Suria, via Will-O-Wisp.

The singular kiss mark met a fireball, causing both to collapse and diffuse. However, multiple more fireballs sailed after Suria, which she wasn't ready for. She looked frantic just before the ghostly flames met her body, enveloping her in fire that burned brightly – and painfully.

"AAAHHH!" Suria let out a cry of pure pain and agony. The burn effect etched into her as Sune watched readily. "You…HOW DARE YOU!" Suria raised her right hand as it glowed, readying a Wake-Up Slap."

Sune braced herself and raised her tails. She disappeared and reappeared before Suria, swiping at her with another Feint Attack to meet the Fighting-type move head-on. There was a moment where the two were even, but the burn caused Suria to falter.

Sune flipped away and landed on her feet. She spread her legs as dark purple wisps of energy appeared between the Vulpix.

"Let's see how you handle this! Hex!"

As Suria was writhing in pain from her burn, she noticed dark purple flames starting to form around her. "Huh? What now-?!"

Before she could finish, the Ghost-type move engulfed her, making a howling wail in the process. The flames made of ghastly manifestations ate through her, causing the Apostle to open her eyes wide and wail in writhing agony.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH~!"

As she cried out in agony before everyone, they all stared with shock on their faces at how harsh the attack looked. They were speechless as the flames imploded, making dark smoke that surrounded Suria.

"Holy crap…talk about harsh. She's not holding back at all." Cana muttered.

"If I remember right, Hex does double its usual power if the opponent is suffering from some kind of ailment," Lucy elaborated. "Which means, that attack did a lot more to a Psychic-type like that Jynx just now."

Sune kept still as the smoke cleared around Suria. Her hair was a complete mess, all charred and frizzy in various areas. Her skin looked charred, if not bruised. Her clothing was all but tarnished, leaving much of her usual attire exposed. She shuddered as she shakily stood before Sune.

"Last chance. Stand down. Now." Sune berated.

Suria was quiet at first, but then she started to chuckle…quite hysterically. Everyone, even Blade, watched her as she looked like she had lost her mind. She certainly looked the part.

"What's up with you?" Blade asked, visibly curious.

"Heeheehee…you know, I find it very amusing," Suria chimed. "To think that a little gal like yourself can pack a wallop…but, as talented as you are…I'm just not interested." She slowly turned towards Lucy and Cana. "I'm more interested…in humans…hehe…"

Cana furrowed her brow, grunting. "What's with you and your obsession with humans? Are we seriously that despicable to you?"

"Despicable?" Suria paused, her lips twisting into a smirk. "Hoho~, dear, you couldn't be any further away from the truth."

"What?"

"The Apostles…though we were all brought together with the relevance of our history with humans, the others are more based on their spite for them. As for me, well, the truth is…" She wiggled her hips, looking lusciously at them. "I just really like humans! I mean, can you blame me? Such physiques that just draw you in, their lips, their beautiful eyes…oh~, such beautiful, ripe specimens…" She broke down to another heinous chuckle.

Everyone gave her shocked and disturbed looks, and rightfully so. Even Blade couldn't look past this. He started stepping away as Suria was licking her inflamed lips like she was seeing a sweet dessert. If they all didn't think she was disturbing before, she was now.

'This thing's not just a perv…it's a total creep!' Lucy cringed at the thought. Even Taurus looked more tamed compared to this thing!

'I've heard of some messed up tastes, but this one's on a whole other level,' Cana thought.

Suria snickered. "That's why, if you all still come to me, I'll treat you just right. We can make this work. Such fine specimens like you…need me."

"You are one sick 'mon, you know that?" Blade openly scolded her.

"Oh, dear Blade. It's okay if you don't understand. I'd be more than willing to lend you one of my humans. Just so you can…experience the joys of having them." She smirked and winked at him, only further adding to the chill down the Grovyle's spine. "Now, how's about we finish this, and leave the smothering…to me."

Lucy and everyone took stances as they waited for what was to come. Blade looked at her, then at Lucy, then back at her; a straight face the entire time. Finally, after a pause, the Grovyle turned away.

"That's it…I'm done! Nope, not doing this!" He started towards the other side, leaving Suria by herself.

"Blade, dear, where are you going…?"

"First of all, I told you to stop calling me that! It's creepy, on top of you! And second, what's it look like?! I'm taking my chances with the bozos over here."

"Wait…you're doing what?!" Lucy gasped.

"Is he voluntarily switching sides like that?" Klefki wondered.

Suria blinked slowly to process this information. "…excuse me?"

"Listen, I might be a jerk, but at least I'm sensible. I'd sooner take my lot with their stupidity over this damn society and your twisted delusions. That's one line I ain't crossing sister." He stomped over towards Sune's side. "Move over, I'm tagging in."

"U-um…okay?" Sune was visibly confused by the turn of events, but she was more focused on Suria than anything. She would have to deal with this later. 'Well, it's not like he's anywhere near as bad as Miss Suria anyway…'

Cana couldn't help but smirk. "Heh, well how about that? Guess that's what happens when you focus so much on your lust for humans, eh?"

To say Suria was hurt would be a big understatement. The burn made her cringe, but it paled in comparison towards the betrayal. "You…HOW DARE YOU! I WILL MAKE YOU ALL UNDERSTAND WHY HUMANS ARE SO IMPORTANT!" She opened her mouth wide, expelling a large Icy Wind.

"I don't think so!" Cana brought out cards with pictures of a curvaceous woman wearing a skimpy bikini on each one. The cards glowed as they launched past everyone.

"Sexy Lady Card!"

The cards all puffed into smoke, sprouting into 3D women wearing revealing swimsuits. They all appeared before the cold, icy air, using themselves as a barricade. Their large numbers grouped together to huddle from the cold, despite a couple poofing back to card form on the spot.

"The heck kind of weird-ass spell is that supposed to be?" Blade scowled.

"You'll find out," Cana smirked, pulling out more cards with pictures of skimpy women. "You like humans that much? Well go on! Have as many as you please! I've got plenty for you here!"

She flung out more cards, manifesting into numerous women that gathered with the rest. They all flung themselves onto the stunned Suria and clung to her. They wrapped their arms around her and pressed their bodies against hers, leaving the Human Shape Pokémon smothered with the affection.

"Hey there, Suria~!"

"Please give me your love!"

"I'll be a good girl for you!"

"Please, spend a little time with me~."

"O-oh…oh my…" Suria slurred, looking dreamily. "All these humans…all these ripe young ones…" Her cheeks flushed as she couldn't help but feel her right arm between a set of busts. "You're so affectionate, darlings~! Hoohoohoo!"

She was so lost in her fatigue and hysterics that reality was all but lost to her.

"Oh…I get it now," Prinplup dryly noted.

Cana beamed. "Yeah, that'll keep her busy."

"Alright, let's hurry this up before this gets any weirder. I'm gonna puke if I have to see more of this nonsense," Blade scowled, turning towards Lucy. "Hey, blonde girl! Got any tricks up your sleeve?"

Lucy blinked. "Tricks? Well I…" She then realized something. Her gaze fell onto her wrist, soecifically her Z-Ring. She got an idea. 'What if we…' She didn't hesitate. "Yeah, I got one trick, but I'm gonna need your help."

"Whatever, let's just do it already!"

Cana smirked, knowing what she was doing. She turned towards Sune. "What do you say? Mind giving us a hand, too?"

Sune nodded. "Yes! Let's do it!"

"You ready, Lucy?"

"Yeah, let's finish this!"

The two girls held up Z-Crystals in their right hands, inserting them into their Z-Rings. In Lucy's Z-Ring was a Bugium-Z, and in Cana's was a Firium-Z. As soon as they clicked, they crossed heir arms in front as the insignia of an insect and flame appeared. Light was absorbed all around them, darkening their surroundings. The burning flares around their bodies were accompanied by two distinct poses they both took. Lucy brother her arms up like a swoop and brought them across, whereas Cana brought her arms up constantly like she was creating a flame.

The Z-Power both were charging shot into the air, arch down onto Blade and Sune respectively. A bright green arch of Z-Power enveloped Blade as he struck a pose that mimicked Lucy, as did Sune with Cana.

"Let's do this!" Lucy and Cana shouted.

"SAVAGE SPIN-OUT!"

"INFERNO OVERDRIVE!"

Blade was the first to act. He opened his mouth and lurched forward, expelling a thick silk that fired straight at the occupied Jynx.

"Oh, sweet dears, where do I start with you?" Suria turned towards the woman on her left. "How about you~? Mmmm…" She puckered her lips hugely as she moved in to meet the girl's, but instead of soft lips, she met sticky silk that quickly trapped and confined her. "Mmmmm~?! MMMMM!"

Blade raised his head high, dragging the cocoon of silk along with him. He flung his head to the side, flinging and smashing Suria into the pavement. He then did flung her into the ground on his other side, making yet another crater in the pavement. Each time opted a loud, muffled cry of pain from inside.

Meanwhile, Sune raised her head high, feeling the Z-Power Cana gave her charging into a massive fireball that she kept contained overhead. The fireball was far bigger than her Flame Burst, but she kept it contained until the time was right.

"Sayonara, Suria!" Blade pivoted his entire body, craning his neck and slinging the silk thread into the sky. The cocoon was subsequently dragged with it and went hurling into the sky.

"THIS ONE'S FOR LIEPARD! HRAH~!" Sune launched the oversized flame with all her might directly towards the cocoon in the sky. The broiling flame shattered doors and uncontrolled embers in its wake as it rushed skywards towards its destination.

Suria muffled cries of agony as she was feeling all matters of pain, but nothing at that moment compared to the broiling sensation of the heat that burned through the silk. Her body was visible as she let out a high-pitched wail before disappearing briefly in the engulfing inferno. Everyone below watched as the skies exploded with a large plume of fire pulsating overhead. The avenue shuddered from the heat the attack gave off, kicking up dust past the group below.

Before Blade and Sune, they watched the flames disperse and drop a burning silhouette towards the ground. With a loud thud, Suria landed on her back, her entire body covered in char and burn marks. Her eyes were massive swirls, signaling her defeat.

The fight was finally decided.

Lucy and Cana's expressions brightened. They raised their hands high and high-fived one another. "ALRIGHT!"

"We did it! Yippee!" Klefki cheered, spinning feverishly.

BEEP-BEEPBEEP-BEEPBEEP! Staryu exclaimed.

"I know, it was tough! Phew…I'm beat!" Klefki sighed tiredly. "I just wanna go to bed now."

Prinplup managed to relax. "Well, that certainly put us through the wringer. I think that's the term. Anyways…" He turned towards Liepard, realizing she needed help. "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm on it!" Cana reached into her purse, pulling out a Revive. "It's a good thing I stocked up before we decided to take the trip here." She rushed over and touched Liepard's face with the medicine. The crystal dissipated into her fur, making a bright green wave phase through her body. Once it was gone, she saw Liepard's body begin stirring.

"Gngh…man…that was a doozie." She looked up to find her Trainer looking over her. "Cana? Is it over?"

Cana snickered. "Yeah, it's over alright. See?"

Liepard turned her head towards the smoldering heap that was Suria. A smirk crossed her face. "Heh, serves that tramp right. I can still feel that bitch-slap now."

"Um, excuse me." Sune walked closer, looking down in shame.

"Oh…hey, you did that?"

Sune rubbed her forelegs together. "Y-yeah, I did…" She shook her head and straightened up. "Listen, about before, it was my fault you got knocked out like that. I take full responsibility for my indecisiveness. For that, I'm truly sorry." She lowered her head to show her remorse.

Despite the genuine apology, Liepard chuckled. "Hey now, there's no need to be so worked up around me. You gotta learn to chill sometimes. But…" She placed a paw atop her head, giving her a genuine smile. "I'm grateful to you."

"She's right. You're a good 'mon. I mean it." Cana praised.

Sune had to hold back her tears. She was waiting so long to hear such words, words that never came as her duties as a police officer. The respect that she had been yearning for, and the gratitude that nobody had spent on her had finally come around. Her lips started quivering as she was hiccupping her hitched breaths out.

Prinplup joined up with Cana and Liepard as they all silently acknowledged the Fox Pokémon's aid.

Lucy sighed in relief. "Well, I'm glad that's all over." She turned towards Loke and Virgo. "Thanks, you guys. You guys deserve a rest."

Loke was on a knee, flashing a smirk. "No problem, Lucy. Call me anytime…see ya."

"I'll be of better service to you next time, Princess," Virgo assured.

Lucy watched both Celestial Spirits fade back to their realm. She turned towards Blade, who kept turned away with folded arms ad a scowl. "So, uh, Blade, what are you gonna do now?"

He raised a brow. "Me? Hmph! Well for one thing, I'm taking off these damn clothes!" He began undressing his vest, undoing the buttons and extra belts added before slamming it to the ground. "There! That's more like it! Stupid clothes, like we need that stuff anyway."

"Meh, fashion statement's debatable," Liepard shrugged.

"So then, you're just gonna quit like that?" Prinplup inquired. He sounded partially annoyed, if not disappointed. He for one didn't like business unfinished. But in a case like this, better safe than sorry.

"That's right. I'm through playing along." He scowled as he stretched his arms overhead. "The only reason I got here was because they saw my own dismay with humans and wanted to use it. But really, I just wanted to be as far away from those idiots as possible. And now I'm on an island with a bunch of Pokémon trying to act like those same idiots. If I were you guys, I'd get off her as soon as possible. No good is being in this dump of a rock."

"Well, as convincing as you make it seem, we've got business here. And it involves tearing down this 'dump's' system that's screwing us over back where we're from." Liepard elaborated.

"Yeah, we wanna make them pay for making us hurt our friends!" Klefki exclaimed.

Blade put his hands beside him. "Well that's your call. You wanna get your hands dirty, that's on you. Just don't expect me to grab a towel for ya when you ask."

Lucy stepped forward, looking at Blade with conviction. "Look, our friends are in trouble. If you really don't wanna be an Apostle anymore, then what about helping us out?"

"Lucy," Cana shot her friend a glare, to which Lucy glared back.

"It's okay, Cana…I trust him. After all, he willingly performed that Z-Move with me…I think that's more than enough to prove that he's on our side."

Blade eyed Lucy, as if pondering on her words. Though, it wouldn't be right to say that she was wrong. He meant what he said when he was fed up with this society. However, despite these facts, he chose to turn away.

"Whatever, I'm outta here…" He was about to saunter away, but stopped only a couple paces when he saw what lied on the path that he was about to take.

The street ahead had a melee of destroyed businesses, signs, and a few fires everywhere. Pokémon wearing clothes were engaged with human mages that were either overpowering them or losing ground. The sight of a Clefable wearing a business suite and hitting a mage with a briefcase was something he didn't think make sense. And even less when the mage used a type of metal magic to slash through the suite and down the Clefable.

In short, it was nonsensical chaos that he didn't want to continue.

Blade groaned, turning back towards them. "Alright…I'll help you clean this mess, then we'll go from there."

"Thanks, that means a lot," Lucy smiled.

Blade scoffed. "Whatever." Something else came to mind. "Oh, right, guess I can finally drop my damn now. Look, for simplicity's sake, just call me Grovyle. All this nickname stuff is pointless…" He grumbled as he walked past the group, leaving them to watch his back.

"Right behind you! I've got some choice words for a certain Pangoro!" Sune boldly strutted behind Blade…Grovyle.

"Be my guest."

Cana smirked. Though she appreciated the help, now was not the time to slow down. "C'mon, gotta find the others and regroup!"

"Right! Let's go, guys!" Lucy raced alongside Cana, their Pokémon in tow through the avenue.

…

Nic wasn't one to show befuddlement much, not with everything that he's seen and been through during his time on Earthland. He's seen a lot of bewildering things, and this was no exception.

For the first time in a while, Nic showed genuine shock at what laid before him.

Sitting on the solid, plated flooring a story down from their view, there were six cylindrical incubators with generators attached to their tops. What looked like a steady flow of electricity was pouring from the generators into long, thick extension chords that conducted to six massive telecoils that towered around a forcefield-like dome. Inside the dome, it was what was inside the dome that left them all speechless.

Inside the co fines of the makeshift barrier was a massive, copper-colored, robust machinery that looked similar to a cross between a conductor and a canister. It had to be no less than twenty-feet-tall. Numerous chords ingrained it into the ground, with three massive lacrima varying from yellow, green, and red all evenly spread out in a triangular fashion. It wasn't making any notable engine sounds, though the flashing lights meant that it was active, if that was any indicator.

In short, it looked much like a madman's experiment left in the dark.

"What in the world is that?" Staraptor muttered out.

"Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is that whatever this thing is, it spells bad news." Mest answered.

"I've never seen anything like it before." Erza admitted aloud. She had to admit, while she had grown accustomed to much of the modern-day technology of PokéEarth, she had to admit, there was still much that she found bewildering to look at. This was one of those few things she knew wasn't normal, even by that world's standards.

"Whatever the hell this is, I've got that feeling too," Nic admitted. "This thing is no ordinary machine, I can tell from just a look alone."

He recalled his own fair share with abnormal technology, namely what he saw in Lysandre Labs ages ago. The machines that contained Xerneas and Yveltal were the closest things that this bizarre engine reminded him of. And that only served to unnerve him more.

As they were looking at the bizarre contraption's eerie lights, something in the corner of Staraptor's eye brought her attention away. "Look, down there."

Everyone's heads shifted to look down at the floor a short distance past the six electrifying incubators. There was what looked like a holographic screen that was showing controls and readings of various wavelengths, from brainwaves, to electrical output. A solid keypad sat on a silver platform that sat a few feet high.

The operator of this machine was something else that surprised them. Said operator was what had to be another Pokmon based on its appearance. It was an upside-down squid with numerous blue tendrils sprouting from atop its head, yet they were all slicked back and glossed over. Its main body was a translucent purple with six yellow dots showing down the middle. It had a pink break and yellow eyes with dark irises that were squinting mischievously at the screen before it. But, what perplexed them about it was that it had a massive robe on, with a jutted hood that curved out with red undersides around its joined feet…or rather, top? The rest of the robe was seldomly black and had slits where the huge two tentacles fit into for arms. The rest fell along his back much like an actual cape.

They all watch the huge squid glide a tendril's tip along the keypad, pushing up a small dial that shifted a bar's reading a little more from one incubator to another. Said incubator's reading eventually met the others' readings at the same level.

"A Malamar?" Erza pondered. She recognized the Pokémon from her time in Kalos. She pulled out her PokeDex and began to analyze the creature down below.

"Malamar, the Overturning Pokémon. When it comes to strong hypnosis, there's an endless number of people who utilize Malamar for their nefarious deeds."

Hearing the entry didn't make the situation any better for Mest. "A Pokémon with strong hypnotic powers?"

Erza nodded. "Yes…though admittedly, I haven't seen one use of as of yet. The Malamar that we've fought were from Trainers who were sensible enough to not resort to hypnotism." She then thought of something. 'Or perhaps they didn't know Hypnosis at all…'

"But what's one doing down here?" Mest felt something uncomfortable beside him. When he looked over, he saw Kirlia struggling to refrain from banging his head. Yet he looked in pain. "Kirlia? What's wrong?"

Kirlia grunted low, clutching the sides of his heads. "My…head…it's starting to hurt…"

Mest blinked. "Your head?" He furrowed his brow as he speculated something. He placed his own hand on his head to see if he was in any pain. However, unlike Kirlia, he felt nothing of the sorts. 'That's strange, I don't feel anything…is it something that only Kirlia can feel?'

Nic glanced over at the aching Kirlia with his own thoughts running on full throttle. Before he could internally speculate, his attention went back towards the Malamar when he saw the lights flicker.

The Malamar watched the screen carefully, his smirk ever so conniving as he watched the readings show a fully charged stability in the conductors. "That'll do." He reached a tentacle over and tapped a button, causing the system to brake immediately.

The six containers eventually opened, revealing six Electric-type Pokémon comprised of a Raichu, Electrode, Flaaffy, Luxio, Eelektrik, and Heliolisk; all whom looked exhausted.

The Malamar guard smirked before chuckling. "Alright, break time! You lot get your rest and eat your fill now!"

The six deflated Pokémon were mute as they all followed in a single-file line into a small corridor that led to a door. The Malamar watched them all walk through lethargically before turning back towards the control panel. He tapped a few buttons before an audible click was heard, followed by the screen turning blank. He huffed before he folded in his legs and floated across the floor towards the door.

As soon as the door closed behind him, the coast was clear for Mest to teleport everyone to the lower floor.

"We should hurry, no telling when they'll be back." Mest insisted.

Erza nodded at the notion and turned back towards the massive generator within the forcefield. "What could this possibly be for?"

"That's hard to say," Nic responded, furrowing his brow. "Looks a lot like a generator, doesn't it? You think it must be transmitting something?"

"With how secluded it is behind doors, I'm willing to bet my entire supply of cheesecakes that it's not any normal generator." Erza paused. "I've seen complex before, like the Jupiter Cannon and the controls to FACE…not something like this before."

Mest looked around until his attention fell onto the holographic screen on a metal platform. "That must be the control panel."

The group started gathering around the control panel, seeing the gray screen with a white logo titled 'Sleep Mode' fading in and out.

"Can we get in through this?" Erza pondered.

"Let me see." Mest leaned forward and started tapping on some keys. As he did, the sleep screen flicked to another screen with a bar that had room for multiple digits for a code. "Not good. Looks like we need a passcode to get through."

"We'll just have to try all of them until we find the right one."

"If we do, it might lock us out after the first few tries. Besides, we don't have that kind of time." Erza turned towards her husband. "Nic, can any of your forms try?"

Nic furrowed his brow. "Alright, let me try." He stepped forward, his body glowing to a cross between a Psychic and Electric-type. The main clothing was the composition of his Psychic-typing, with the edging and outlining being from his Electric-type. 'Let's see what I can hack out of-'

BA-DUMP!

Nic's pupils shrank as he suddenly felt a searing pain run through his brain. His breath hitched as he suddenly stepped back, putting a hand to his head.

"Nic?! What's wrong?!" Erza asked anxiously, getting close to his side.

"This…this pain…it feels like…there's too much pressure on my head…!" Nic suddenly felt another aching pulse shoot the nerves inside his brain. It was so intense that he almost doubled over. He dropped to a knee and gnashed his teeth at the throbbing pain, much to Erza and Staraptor's worry.

"Nic, stay with me!" Erza pleaded.

"We're here! Hang on!" Staraptor shouted.

"Coooo?" Junior tilted his frame, looking visibly confused at the familiar man in pain, as well as his mother figure's worry.

Mest gasped, remembering something. "Kirlia…!" When he turned around, Kirlia was lying on his side, curled up and groaning in pain. He was clutching the horns on his head like his life depended on it, as if it was the only thing that kept him together.

"It…it hurts…I feel like I'm gonna explode…!" He bit his bottom lip as he was suppressing a cry. "Mmmmmmm!"

Mest rushed over to his side. "Hey…stay with me! Can you hear me?!"

"Mest, you should probably put him inside his Poke Ball." Erza advised.

"It's worth a shot." He pulled out Kirlia's Poke Ball and held it up to him. "Quick, return!"

Kirlia quickly retreated back to his Poke Ball, leaving Mest to sigh in relief.

"There…hopefully that'll make him feel better."

Meanwhile, Nic was clutching his head tightly as wavelengths inside his head were scrambling all over. Even with his Mind Form having the most ambient in psychokinetic control and mind manipulation, he was unable to regulate it properly. He felt like his brain was going to explode from the shambolic waves rushing through his head.

"Nic, hang in there!" Erza was rushing her own thoughts, thinking of what would remedy this. 'It doesn't look like he'll be able to do anything in this condition. Is what Kirlia was feeling just now the same as Nic?!' She didn't hesitate, not while Nic was still responsive. "Nic, shift out of your Mind Form! Hurry!"

"R-right…" With a grunt, Nic reverted back to normal. The searing weight and vertigo he was having quickly dissipated. He let out a dense sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?!" Erza clutched his shoulder tightly, looking a mix of worried and relieved.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Nic grunted. "Whatever it is, it's giving off some kind of…psychic signal."

Erza blinked. "'Psychic signal'?"

Nic turned towards Staraptor. "Staraptor, did you feel anything?"

The Predator Pokémon shook her head. "Afraid not. I'm not feeling anything, even now."

"Perhaps it can only be sensed by Psychic-types, maybe that's why." Mest thought aloud, putting a hand to his chin. "That would explain why Nic and Kirlia felt that pain just now."

Erza hummed. "That would make sense. Psychic-types have an abnormal wavelength…" Then suddenly, she caught onto something that caught her fancy. "But if that's the case, why wasn't the Malamar affected? It's a Psychic-type as well."

"Probably because it was part Dark-type," Nic figured, standing upright with no visible pain. "Psychic-type moves have no effect on Dark-types, so it probably has an immunity to feeling it."

"But still…a psychic signal strong enough that it was able to overwhelm Nic's Mind Form. This is very bad." Mest grunted. "We need to get to find another way to get into this thing. I have a hunch…but I think it's because of this machine that might be affecting all the Pokémon."

Nic and Erza turned with speculated shock. "You sure?"

"I am. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so heavily guarded like this. This 'King' might have a hand in this…something tells me that we needs to see what he knows."

"Yes…and there's also that Malamar. That worries me." Erza admitted bitterly.

Nic furrowed his brow. "Yeah…I have that same feeling, too." He shut his mouth as he realized a connection. 'Hold on…Malamar and hypnosis…and this machine…could this mean…?'

"If that Malamar is able to hypnotize just about anything and everything, then we might have found the suspect." Mest sneered. "He could be manipulating everything behind the scenes."

Staraptor glanced at him. "As in using that King for a face?"

"It's possible. Can't see any other logic behind that reason."

"It must be using its hypnosis to force those Pokémon to work." Erza figured, turning towards the six chambers around the three massive towers. "Using hypnotism to force Pokémon to power this thing…what a monster."

"That makes sense. For something this confined, it'd be risky to let anyone outside know consciously." Nic noted, eyeing the doorway the Malamar and the other Electric-types exited through. "They might be kept around somewhere so nobody else outside the castle knows about this."

"So they're powering this forcefield around the machine," Staraptor noted. "Those towering conductors must be what stabilize it."

"Cooo…" Junior turned and eyed the massive yellow, translucent dome. To him, it looked so shiny, and glossy…and bright. It caused the premature creature to follow his impulses and smile wide. "Cooo!"

Everyone else was focused on the forcefield and the conductors that surrounded it, as to where Junior found himself more inclined to crawl towards the forcefield itself.

"Just look how big these must be. Just one looks enough to power an entire city." Erza noted. "Yet there's three of them."

"This shield must require tremendous amounts of power." Staraptor narrowed her eyes, recalling the exhausted looks the Electric-types had as they vacated the premise. "So that's what they were for…"

"But why use Pokémon? Most equipment we're familiar with run on Magic Power. It wouldn't make sense to exhaust other Pokémon when Earthland has other plentiful sources." Mest pointed out.

Nic frowned. He didn't like this, not one bit. He knew the situation was complicated enough as it was, but this was something else entirely that began turning wheels. Now that he was looking at the massive conductors, he noticed that the tops of them were all large yellow lacrima that were glowing brightly. With how the hairs on the back of his neck were sticking out, it was the work of static electricity.

'Kecleon said earlier, something about some of the machines operated on this island were running on electricity and lacrima power alike? It's like these conductors are using the lacrima to store the electricity, and the machinery they're attached to regulate it.' He thought. 'It's starting to become more modern like PokéEarth itself…'

"Coo…" Junior cooed lowly, his attention drawing towards the shimmering barrier again.

"It looks like the dome required all three conductors to work. Perhaps if we disrupt one, it'll cause it to collapse." Staraptor noted.

"That might be the case. There's also the probability that they might have the ability to repair themselves, like Nirvana's legs." Erza noted, recalling the whole Oracion Seis incident. "Let's break them all simultaneously, just to make sure."

"Right," Nic and Staraptor agreed.

However, before they could enact their plan, Junior slowly reached for the shimmering barrier. Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by Staraptor.

"Junior, no!" She sprung for him, but it was too late.

ZAP!

The moment Junior touched the barrier, a spark ignited at his puffy hand, causing the baby to pull back and cry. "WAAAAAHHHHH~!" His crying alerted the others, startling them.

Staraptor swiftly swept Junior up in a wing and immediately pulled away. She shielded the crying baby and attempted to muffle his crying so they weren't audible through the exits.

"What happened!? Did he just touch it!?" Mest panicked.

Suddenly, the bright yellow lacrima atop the conductors all turned red. They beamed on and off as a high-pitched alarm went off. The screen on the control panel showed a red screen with the words 'SECURITY BREACH' in bright white.

"Shit! That's the alarm!" Mest grunted. "Guys, we gotta move, now!"

"WAAAAAHHHH!" Junior bellowed out, tussling in Staraptor's plumage.

"Junior, it's okay! Calm down!" Staraptor pleaded, but to no avail. She turned towards Nic. "Nic…I'm sorry!"

Nic frowned heavily. "We'll worry about that later! Right now, we've gotta-"

The sound of the front doors creaked open the floor above. The Duosion and Torkoal guards on duty started their way inside. "Intruder alarm! Secure the area!" They heard the shout.

"WAAAAAAAH~!" Junior cried and fussed more frantically.

If Staraptor had teeth, they would be gnashing. 'Damnit! I was too preoccupied! I should never have taken my offs off him! Damnit, this is too risky as it is now! I just burdened Nic and everyone else!'

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH~!" As Junior cried at the top of his lungs, he and the others around him suddenly teleported out of the vicinity.

"Freeze, right there!" The Duosion guard made it to the railing, but when he looked down, there was no one down there. "Huh? Wait, where's the intruder…GAH!" Suddenly, like Kirlia and Nic from before, he started convulsing and cringing on the spot. "Gnnnnngh…!"

"What's wrong!? Are you hurt!?" The Torkoal guard panicked, not feeling a thing as he looked around. "Who's in here!?"

From the bottom door, Malamar swung it wide open, floated his way towards the scene. "What's the meaning of this?! An intruder?!" He scanned the vicinity, but saw no sign of anyone else in the chamber. "Why, there's no one here…tch, a bug in the system perhaps?"

'Octavius.'

A voice echoed inside the Malamar's head, making him blink. "Hm? Oh! It's you…you little puppet."

'I sensed that there was some trouble just now. I thought that we've covered all the corners of this operation.'

Malamar – now known as Octavius – looked up and around. "I thought we did, too. Must have been an error bug in the system. Maybe some metal fell and triggered it."

'…no, there was most certainly someone there. The barrier wouldn't react the way it did otherwise.'

"Hmm…" Though he was as skeptical, Octavius didn't feel nearly as concerned as Quinlan was. "Well, to be safe, I'll get some extra monitoring. That should at least smooth out the tension. You mustn't forget, as long as I'm here, the world's turn of events are as good as mine to bend. If they come back…there won't be a tomorrow for them."

A silence prolonged on Quinlan's end of the link. 'Just remember…not another soul can bear this truth.'

"I'll see to that." Octavius glanced up at the Torkoal and aching Duosion. "But first…" He floated his way up towards the upper level, meeting the two guards with a dark smirk.

"Gah! A-Apostle Octavius!" The Torkoal guard panicked.

Octavius smirked and chuckled. "You two…" The dots on his translucent body shined bright, emanating a bright, hypnotic wave that the Duosion and Torkoal immediately fell for. In a few seconds, their startled faces became calm and ready to commands. "I need you to keep your mouths shut for now, but I'm going to be needing you both for a little…insurance around here."

Meanwhile, inside the sanctum that was his room, Quinlan got off his telepathy and stared out at the closed balcony. The rest of his room was completely dark, so the sunlight beaming down through the glass highlighted the threatening frown plastered on his face.

"We can't let this world's inhabitance has its way…not when we're on the verge of our revolution."

…

Deep within the infighting of the residents of Pokétopia, the streets were still packed with numerous humans and Pokémon fighting against each other. Many were falling left and right, though the ratio was more in favor of the latter.

In the deep midst of it all, Nic, Erza, and Mest appeared in midair, quickly getting their feet under them before they touched the ground.

"Wait…we're back in the city?!" Erza exasperated.

"We just teleported here, and of all the damn places to be…" Nic glanced at Mest. "Mest!"

"Don't look at me like that! It wasn't me this time!" he insisted.

"If not, then who was it?" Erza wondered.

The notion quickly sank into Nic. His eyes slowly widened as he thought back to when Junior was crying wildly. 'Don't tell me…did Junior do that on impulse?' He looked around for the small cloud, but he was nowhere in their sites. That's when another realization dawned upon him. 'Staraptor's gone too…damnit!'

"Hey, look!"

The three turned their attention onto the surrounding Pokémon that were starting to notice them.

"Hey, hey! Isn't that who I think it is!?" a Corphish quipped.

"Hiyup! That's definitely him! That's Adamantine's human on the loose!" A Swanna chimed. "And it looks like he's got company with him!"

"Haha! Great! Finally, something pricier than all these small fry squirming about!" A Gumshoos sneered.

"The big catch and bonuses to go along with it! Haha, this is my lucky day!" A Graveler shouted.

Erza braced herself. "We're completely surrounded. Mest!"

"Right, on it!" He made an attempt to teleport, but despite them all flickering, nothing happened. "Wait, what?"

'He can't teleport?' Nic glanced around, noticing a Dugtrio was close by. His eyes narrowed at the realization. 'Of course, Arena Trap.'

"You're all not getting away that easily!" The Dugtrio declared. "Hurry, swarm them before they know what's happening!"

Nic begrudgingly scowled. "Guess we're doing this now…"

"Get'em!" A Hitmonchan ordered. Beside him, his three humans, all being various mages, readied magic seals to launch spells at them.

"Erza! Mest! Get down!" Nic ordered.

Erza and Mest picked up the warning and immediately crouched.

Nic turned his head, opening his mouth to expel distorted, ultrasonic soundwaves that seared through the air. The Supersonic was much faster, reaching the three grouped mages and made them all cringe and disrupt their spells. Nic craned his head around, unleashing the status move in a full sweep in all directions. The frontlines around him instantly rippled with each passing Pokémon and subordinate mage left in a dizzying state. When he did a full circle, he pivoted and watched his surroundings carefully.

One of the unaffected Pokémon – a Purugly – shook her head and pointed a paw at them. "Don't just stand there in stupor you nitwits! Get them!"

The mages that were under her command were too disoriented from the Supersonic to respond. They only heard a loud catcall from behind, causing them all to turn onto their Trainer with magic seals ready.

"Wait! No! Not me! GAH!"

The spells and attacks fired, causing an explosion of elemental energy. Many mages still fired attacks of their own, however, their confused states caused them to misfire in random directions into the horde. Spells went off and exploded, causing various humans and Pokémon alike to scream and get blown away. Confused Pokémon were amongst the many knocked down, be it by spells, attacks, or hurting themselves. But not a single one was on target for Nic or the others.

'He used Supersonic to turn the horde on themselves,' Erza realized. 'Rather than waste energy attacking, Nic used the warfare of infighting.' A small smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. She'd compliment him if it wasn't for the direness of their situation. "Hurry, let's clear a path while we still can!"

Without hesitation, Nic, Erza, and Mest all pulled out Poké Balls.

"Charizard, go!"

"Talonflame, I need you!"

"Come on out, Kirlia!"

The capsules were launched into the air. Kirlia's ball opened and shot the energy directly below. He stood on the tips of his toes, looking much better compared to earlier.

Talonflame emerged in midair, extending her wingspan to make embers flourish around her as she cawed.

Shooting higher than her, Charizard emerged from his Poké Ball with folded wings. He flexed them out with a loud, draconic roar that shook the airspace. Airwaves reverberated throughout the entire avenue at his arrival.

'I'll have to worry about finding Staraptor later. For now, she can handle herself.' Nic glared forward, ready to deal with the disoriented masses.

…

The next thing Staraptor knew, she felt a breeze against her back.

"Wait, where-?!" When she looked around, her sharp red eyes scanned her new surroundings. Unlike the cyber chamber and fancy equipment that surrounded her literally a second ago, she found herself surrounded by nature. Trees and forest life, along with long grass tickling her talons, welcomed her.

"Don't tell me…" She felt a serious case of déjà vu wash over her. She turned towards Junior, who was still fussing, yet he stopped crying. 'Did Junior just teleport again?'

"Gnnnngh…cooo?" Junior soon calmed down, blinking to find Staraptor looking at him. His modd instantly lifted. "Coooo!"

She scanned him, seeing no visible signs of damage. 'Doesn't look like he's sustained any permanent damage. That shield just must have buzzed him. Wait…where's Nic?!'

She looked around, realizing that it was just her and Junior in sight. 'Did they get transported elsewhere? They must still be on the island!'

"Coooo!" Junior lifted his hands up energetically, not knowing what he had just done.

"Junior…you can't just teleport like that! What have I told you?!" she scolded. "This is no time for your little games! Now is not play time!"

"Coooo…?" Junior tilted his head, blinked, and stuck his small tongue out. He suddenly teleported out of Staraptor's wing, startling her.

"Cooooo~!"

When Staraptor looked ahead, she saw Junior hopping away a short distance away into the underbrush. His giggles were muffled by the ruffling of the foliage.

"Junior! Get back here this instant!" Infuriated, Staraptor lifted her wings and shot after her wayward responsibility.

…

Mest reached his arm forward. "Kirlia, use Magical Leaf!"

Kirlia performed a full pivotal spin on one foot before leaping into the air. He swiped both arms, expelling glowing green leaves that fired at a variety of confused Pokémon and mages nearby.

Erza swiped her right arm across, glaring ahead with vindication. "Talonflame, quick! Use Steel Wing!"

Talonflame let out a loud caw as she flexed her wings, their shading brightening to a shimmering metallic gray. She flapped once and bolted like a winged missile with silver streaks on either side. She beelined at Mach speed in a straight line through the street, passing hundreds of Pokémon and mages on either side. Silver smoke eruptions flourished behind her as they all cried in agony.

In the straight row of dust and smoke, Talonflame cried out as she glided in an arch overhead towards her original position. As she passed Charizard, flew squawked, "You're up!"

"Copy that," he snarled. "Nic!"

Nic brought his left arm down, then swept it forward. "Charizard, Heat Wave!"

Charizard pulled his wings back slowly to gather momentum. When enough was built up, he let out a draconic grunt before flapping once. A maelstrom of burning whirlwinds expelled in all directions as he aimed downwards. The impact with the ground caused the searing waves to erupt everywhere. Hundreds of Pokémon and humans alike were defenseless against the shockwaves that were literally caught ablaze. Windows were shattered, and concrete walls melted on their surfaces. Any trees planted nearby were incinerated to scorched remnants. Many foes were sent flying with dense burns or scorch marks from Charizard's large-scale attack.

The whirlwinds were so immense that they could have been spotted as a literal heat wave from miles away covering a sizeable fraction of the city.

…

On the other side of the city, Vanessa stopped and lightly gasped. She turned in the direction of the Heat Wave's exertion being unleashed. 'These auras, they're…'

"Vanessa, what's wrong?" Sophie asked.

Vanessa sorrowed her brow. "Nothing…I just felt some of our guild's aura." She looked in the general direction where she sensed the aura. An excess amount of heat was surging through the atmosphere that was enough to make her sweat, even from this distance. Though, she did her best not to look affected by it.

"We've gotta keep moving. I'm sure that our guild's doing just fine. Shouldn't we focus on finding that factory?"

Vanessa frowned, remembering their objective. "You're right. We need to keep looking."

The two chose to press on, though just as they were making headway once more, another realization dawned upon Vanessa as she was keeping tabs on the auras surrounding her.

'Now that I think about it, I've been able to sense everyone's auras just fine up until now. So then…why is it that I can't sense Joey or his team? Are they out of range?' She thought. 'I haven't seen them since the shorelines…I wonder where they are now?'

…

Darkness. Darkness and rock. That's all The Freaks felt around them.

The trio had been seeing nothing but black for Arceus knows how long, but the fact that they were able to find themselves still walking ahead and not running into any dead ends meant they were heading somewhere. Trubbish and Yanma were in tow, taking the guard and following their Trainers' lead into the narrow detour.

"Captain, I really don't think that we should be down here. You know our history with…going under." Dereece prompted.

Joey eyerolled. "Thank you for reminding me, Dereece. Though I would really appreciate it if you didn't bring it up!" He snapped back at him.

Though Dereece meant well, Joey knew exactly what Dereece meant. His history with experiencing things underground made him doubt his decision making at that moment. Memories of Kane's ambush and the Parasia incident rose to the surface and only added to the uneasiness the captain had.

'We should have used Larvesta's String Shot as a safety line in case we got lost down here…guess it's too late for that now. At least we got Escape Rope left over to use in case it gets dicey.' He felt his shoulder bump into the rocky wall, making him grunt.

'This would be a lot easier for us if we had Flash.' Joey frowned at the notion. He would have to deal with that later. He turned towards Duncan for his alternative. "Duncan, give us some light."

"Hmph," Duncan scoffed, but he didn't offer words of rebuttal. He reached back and pulled out his Elfen Forja, activating the First Gear and only pouring just enough Magic Power into the device to make the one end light up like a torch. He held it up high to help them see farther down the dark, decrepit crevice that lied ahead.

"Look…just how far this goes," Dereece said worriedly. "Where do you think it leads to?"

Joey furrowed his brow. "Only one way to find out. Everyone…watch your steps."

The trio and two Pokémon continued their wayward path, albeit slowly and steadily. Duncan stayed afront to help light the way, though unlike Joey and Dereece, he didn't show any visible signs of anxiety – just his trademark scowl.

"So you think the others made it into the city by now?" Dereece asked, trying to keep his thought occupied without panic.

"Who's to say? Those so-called Apostles were pretty persistent." Duncan blatantly pointed out. "Then again, with what we went up against, that's to be expected."

Dereece turned towards him with a dry glare. "Gee, thanks for your optimism."

"You're the one who asked. I was just stating facts."

Yanma scouted ahead, looking around with her insectoid compound eyes. With her able to cover all her angles, as well as overall better sight, she was able to provide them directions. "Oh! There's a ledge up here, watch yourselves!"

"Really? How far are we tal-gyagh!" Before Dereece could finish his inquiry on her scouting, he took a step forward, which proved to be a big mistake. He felt his entire body fall over. He quickly activated his magic to help break his fall when he was only a few inches from hitting the earth.

"About right there," Yanma finished.

Dereece quickly unfroze from his initial shock and furrowed his brow. "Gee, thanks for the warning." He steadied himself upright by using his hands and pushed against the thin air, setting himself upright as his magic deactivated. He dropped a few inches and met solid ground at the bottom of the high ledge Joey and Duncan looked down upon.

'That is pretty steep. Glad I had my magic on me or I could have been seriously hurt…'

Choosing not to take the drop by chance, Joey manifested a stairwell made of his own barrier, reaching down to the ground. The rest of the party followed behind his lead down the stairs and met up with Dereece before they continued their way. Yanma went ahead of them to resume her scouting.

"Forget about Repels and Escape Ropes, we should have gotten a map instead." Dereece grunted.

"Even if we did, doubt it would have been of much use anyways." Joey pointed out. "This route we took was blocked off before, wasn't it? There might be a chance that not even these Apostles know about it. You wanna take your beef going back and check to see if that Vikavolt is there?"

Dereece failed to make a valid excuse.

"Yeah, thought so."

"That's one way of looking at it," Duncan casually added.

Joey fell silent as he was watching where he was stepping, so that he wouldn't end up taking a plunge himself. 'Why was this tunnel hidden in the first place? What's hiding down here?'

"Oh! Dereece, I see something!" Yanma shouted from ahead.

"Let me guess, another ledge?" Dereece dryly inquired.

Suddenly, Trubbish let out a light belch, pointing a floppy hand straight ahead.

"Trubbish? What is it girl?" Joey looked straight ahead where she burped at. He furrowed his brows as he noticed a faint but noticeable opening down the narrow crevice they were in. "Hey, guys. You seeing what I'm seeing?"

Duncan held the torch further ahead of them to help them see better. True to what Yanma and Trubbish pointed out, they noticed a narrow opening not too far ahead of them that opened to a lighter area.

Dereece gasped. "Hey, yeah…they're right. I see it! That's gotta be an exit!"

"We'll know once we reach that point, buddy. C'mon."

The small group retained caution as they silently filed their way through the duration of the dark, natural tunnel that poured into the open. As soon as Yanma reached the opening, she had far more room to maneuver around. Trubbish was the next to flop her way out, giving the space a belch of pure shock. Joey and Dereece filed out next, with Duncan in tow. With the sudden increase in visibility, Duncan deactivated his Elfen Forja and rested it on his shoulder once more.

"Where are we now?" Dereece questioned aloud, looking at his spacious settings. When he looked about, he noticed how the ceiling of the cavern was nowhere nearly as close to them as he thought it was. Looking up, it was barely visible, but seemed to be a good hundred feet over their heads. Nothing but open rock laid before them, like a baren landscape stripped of everything bone dry.

"Looks like there's a lot more open space down here than I thought," Duncan noted, glancing up at the ceiling. "If I didn't know better, guess we're probably right underneath the center of the island."

"I can imagine that. This island isn't all that big, but still; to have all this space just lying underneath it all…what's this much space doing down here right below everyone's feet? You'd think that they'd find out about a place like this."

Duncan hummed low, choosing not to comment on his captain's claims.

Dereece turned left and right, seeing the enormous cavern expanding to either side. "So, where do we go from here?"

"Guys…?" Yanma called from the cliff's edge up ahead.

"What is it, Yanma?" Dereece asked.

"You…might want to come here and look at this."

Blinking, Joey and Dereece decided to take a look at what Yanma was referring to. They paced over towards the visible cliff and came to a stop a few feet from the edge. Duncan and Trubbish soon followed, but not a single one pf them couldn't hide the shock that was in their gazes at what laid before them.

And what they saw left them speechless. A but one word was what Joey needed to tell how they felt.

"…woah."

With the high ground the cliff provided, The Freaks bared witness to a massive town – no, a city – that was massive in size. The entire province looked heavily worn out, with many building already having shown they were destroyed. Debris and stone laid in various places, but the city itself nonetheless remained intact. It had everything, ranging from walls and streets, to stone monuments and buildings that were either still intact or half-broken.

In the center of this behemoth structure, there lied the center of this find: A massive palace, with a dome top with a pointed spire that laid atop of it. It looked heavily enchanted, with runes and accents on each glistening arch that was made of gold. Despite some holes in its exterior, it was otherwise in one piece.

All in all, to say they were stunned would be an understatement.

"Is…is this what I think it is?" Dereece quipped. In his shock, he didn't realize that Yanma had perched herself atop his head.

"An entire city…underground?" Joey quipped, with Trubbish hiccupping with shock.

Duncan's stalwart scowl loosened some, become one of uncertain disbelief. He clutched his Elfen Forja tighter as he gazed at the abandoned streets and cities.

"Captain…just look what we've found. What could this mean?" Dereece questioned aloud.

Joey paused, furrowing his brow. He was just as skeptical about this as his best friend and teammate, but even from their point of view, the ruins themselves looked massive. He scanned left and right, seeing the expanse of the aged province going on as far back to the edges of darkness. It left him with as much question as it did with awe.

"Well…only one way to find out, right?" Joey took a step back, bringing his arm back before rushing it forward. He summoned another staircase made of his own barrier that reached far down. It was thinner due to the square feet being pushed to the limit, but it seemingly made it to the bottom far below. "Follow me, you Freaks! Time to see what kind of treasure's buried underneath our feet."

Joey led the expedition down the makeshift stairwell towards the ruinous destination that lied beyond them.

As they were making their way down, nearly miles into the ruins themselves, The Freaks were barely visible, yet the perspective didn't go unnoticed. Despite the darkness that the domain laid in, if one looked closely, there were small shifts in the shadows of the ruins.

…

Still within the sanctum of his chambers, Quinlan had returned from his momentary intermission to observe the current carnage happening in the streets of his province. Even though he may have seemed quite calm on the surface, the dense frown he had as he witnessed Nic's Charizard swallow everything in a searing maelstrom of heat did little to sedate his patience.

On another screen, he could see Suria out cold and burnt to a crisp. Not too far away was Blade leaping ahead of Lucy's group down an avenue.

It was evident at this point, the tides were starting to change.

"Almost half of my Apostles were bested in battle…and one of them has betrayed us." Quinlan acknowledged. "More so…" He looked at the latter frame, zooming in on Sune as she ran besides Cana. "It would seem that some of our most loyal patrons have lost heart on our society's potential…how very unfortunate."

To say that he was unsatisfied with the current predicament would be putting it lightly. He was feeling a number of things all at once that made it hard for him to retain his focus on one subject alone. However, despite all the setbacks he's been putting up with for the day, in spite of all the melee and the in-fighting happening amongst his society's populace, he knew better than to allow that weakness overtake him.

'Yes. In hindsight, these are all trivial matters. The bigger picture lies on our endeavor for time.' He continued his observations with calm returning to his face once more. 'Though the matter regarding Nic Pularis is another all by itself, all else will fall into place. Though the humans in this world are capable of magic to defend themselves, they are still human nonetheless. And humans in general lack the durability that Pokémon possess. Though commendable for besting some of my Apostle, that only brought them closer to their limits. It's only a matter of time before they lose what little footing they've gained.'

The many monitors continued showing it, the Pokémon that the humans were fighting against were strewn across the ground unconscious, yet another took their place and attacked back. One mage in particular had his scaled right arm pulled back to swing at the disoriented Muk in front of time.

However, just as he was about to swing, he felt his body getting peppered by a dense yellow pollen that scattered from behind. It came from an Archipelago Vivillon that was using Stun Spore, paralyzing him.

"W-what the…? I can't move…!"

His sudden paralysis gave the Muk all the time he needed to recover. He growled low before opening his mouth wide, splattering him with Sludge Bomb and sending him flying into a building's wall with a thud.

Quinlan watched similar scenarios play out all across the monitors. Humans grunting as they were falling one after another. Pokémon were starting to group together and corner them one after another. When a group of mages were using long-ranged spells in a full circle outwards, they failed to react when a Tropius came down from above with a Body Slam, crushing one and making an airwave that pushed the others onto their stomachs, where the surrounding Pokémon blasted them with attacks.

Another instance showed a female mage firing a stream of fire at a Corsola, only for it to hardly do anything. The Corsola countered with a Brine that pushed straight through the blaze, stinging the mage as she covered herself with her scraped forearms. The saltwater stung immeasurably to where she cringed.

"She's mine now!" A Meditite jumped above with a glowing knee, soaring down onto her with a Hi Jump Kick straight into her gut that instantly grounded her.

Quinlan watched everything unfold, his eyes never leaving the screens. To him, this had to be irony at its finest.

"…come to think of it, this reminds me of an old legend about this island." Quinlan mused to himself. "If I remember well, it dated well past three centuries ago. The story of an island province, ruled by a king of great influence and power. Before that, this island was but home to a small settlement, which gradually grew over time thanks to its geographical resources. It serves well for long-winded travels by sea boat, and so with enough people and resources, a province was born."

…

The Freaks stepped foot into the ruinous domain that laid before them. Now that they were much closer, they could see just how old and aged everything was.

To say everything was written in stone would be an understatement. It was nothing but stone. Aged concrete and marble that was severely worn out and deteriorated to where it looked like one touch could reduce even a wall to dust. Just staring alone was enough to give them anxiety if they'll suddenly collapse on them.

It was grave feeling.

"Just look at this place…it's like somebody just up and buried it alive," Dereece muttered, his tone mixed with awe and anxiety.

"The air feels cold and stale," Yanma commented. Even though it could have been her wings vibrating, she felt a shiver down her thorax.

"Yeah. There's nobody here."

"Hard to believe not. This city has to be literally ancient." Duncan noted.

"But why is an entire city underground? Does anybody else know about this?"

"If they did, I find it hard to believe they'd sit quietly above like they are now."

"I don't know, it's not completely broken…" Joey insisted, retaining some positivity. "I mean, get a broom and some paint, maybe some decorations here and there, and it just might look brand new." He moved his finger to feel the marble, only for it to shatter and break a hole in it. He immediately recoiled with a scowl. "…eh, maybe some glue, too?"

"Take a good look. Everything is made out of stone and marble. That alone can tell you how aged this city was." Duncan noted, scanning the ruins' texture.

The Freaks took a moment to continue their observations, observing the structures they were passing by. The silence. The staleness. The feeling of depravation. They felt it all the way down to their lower spines as they walked further down a street. Debris laid strewn across the ground in shattered positions, some even piling onto one another.

"Yanma, you see anything?" Dereece asked.

Yanma scoped from above with her 260 degrees vision, scanning for anything that stood out. "Not a thing. Nothing that looks alive at least."

Trubbish let out a gassy belch.

"I know, right? Even I wouldn't eat this mess…" Joey muttered in agreement.

"It could be that this must have been this island's initial settlement," Duncan blatantly noted, garnering Joey and Dereece's shock. "It makes sense when you think about it. Everything is outdated, no people, nor even signs of life. You can say that everything was stripped from it and put under."

"Well when you put it like that, you make it sound like they're Drilbur-people." Joey cringed at the thought. "Talk about living in a cave."

"Is there even a way back to the surface from here?" Dereece wondered aloud, staring at the ceiling with uncertainty. "It's almost completely closed off."

"Aside from the one exit, I have my doubts." Duncan sneered.

As they were all walking casually, they were passing by pitch-black alleys. Though it was too dark to see, there was something that stirred. Black digits resembling fingers twitched almost instinctively, reacting to the live figments that walked freely.

From a higher altitude, Yanma continued her scouting when she noticed something that caught her eye. "Hey! I see something!"

Dereece perked up. "What is it?"

Yanma fluttered down on top his head to perch, but she kept her head high and pointed in a general direction. "Over that way, there's a really big building that looked like it was made of gold."

Duncan blinked. "A building made of gold?"

This immediately piqued Joey's interests. "Wait, we're talking like solid gold, right? Like the kind that you can sell like Big Nuggets? Nobody told me this would turn into a treasure hunt."

"Captain Joey, what do we from here?" Dereece turned to his captain for an answer.

'Maybe there might be something down here worth investigating after all.' With resolution, Joey straightened his back. "Guess we don't have any better led to go off. Lead the way."

Yanma buzzed before ascending into the air once more. She took one more look around before taking off in the direction of the supposed building.

"No point standing around. Head out." With that order, Joey started forward. Dereece and Duncan followed close behind.

As the three were wandering down the street, Trubbish waddled close behind them. She ventured along until she heard the sounds of shifting and what sounded like a bated breath. She perked up and turned around with a small hiccup, only to find nothing in sight aside from debris layered everywhere. She slowly blinked before she let out a small belch. She slowly turned forward and started walking away so as not to fall behind her Trainer.

Silently, black fingers twitched as he gripped to a torn wall, a silhouette slowly emerging and staring with a burning, grizzly red eye glowing.

…

Yanma hummed as she glided above The Freaks, taking roads that led to the supposed destination set.

Joey scanned the debris littered around him, noticing some of the buildings otherwise seemed intact. 'I wonder who lived here? You'd think they'd leave something behind to give us a hint. It's like they all just packed up and moved at once. I wonder what could have caused this?'

The captain of The Freaks was a lot of things, and that was putting it lightly. However, unlike a lot of people that he came across, he had some stronger aspects of common sense. He paid attention in class – even if henpecked by Dereece to do so. His education partially involved the rise and falls of kingdoms, including the Kalos kingdom, hence the ruins that were based on Victory Road. Such a case was by an assault. Though here, it could have been other causes, like bankruptcy.

'I guess being on an island would limit currency expenses. But still…' He saw the destruction and ruins around him. 'Something tells me that wasn't the real reason for all this. Riots? Natural disasters maybe?'

"Hm?" Yanma slowed down up ahead, causing the entourage to slow down their pace.

"What is it, girl?" Dereece wondered. He looked ahead to see what took Yanma's interests, in turn startling him. "Huh? What the…?"

Several meters ahead of them, the small group saw a large, manmade wall that seemed to go from side of the street to another, completely blocking off everything visible. The wall itself stood at least two stories high, and was severely cracked and chipped up, most likely from age.

"A wall? In the middle of a street?" Joey furrowed his brow in question.

"What could a wall this big be doing in this part of the city?" Duncan inquired.

Joey put his hands to his hips. "Well if they were trying to build a damn,

"I doubt it would be to hold a dam, that's for sure." Duncan frowned, recalling the castle that Yanma mentioned earlier. "I think this is a rampart."

"A rampart?" Dereece quipped.

"Hold on, I think I remember this too from our Kalos History class back in high school. Aren't those related to fortified cities in wars?"

"Hmph…yeah. And if the castle is in this direction, that stands to reason they were protecting something of value."

"Like…treasure?" Joey cocked his brow at the possibility of gold.

"Perhaps…or perhaps something valued to the point that it caused a war to break out and put this kingdom under."

Dereece stepped between them. "I~ think this is a as good time as any to remind everyone that we still have an objective at hand here? Hello? Friends in danger? Ring a bell?!"

As they were digressing, Trubbish was close by when she heard more shifting from behind. She quickly turned around to find nothing there, yet she heard another movement from another direction. She turned and gave The Freaks a quick belch to warn them.

"We didn't forget, Dereece. We're just on a detour route. Sheesh. If I had a million Jewels for every time I heard a complaint from you, we'd be so loaded we wouldn't have to worry about work. Heck, we could forward that dough to completely remodeling this island…after yours truly of course."

"You still on your bucket list ideas?" Dereece groaned.

Joey shrugged. "Hey, look at it this way. If we knock down this Pokémon society, something's gotta take its place. And I think Sunday dance sermons would be a start."

Burp! Trubbish burped again, louder.

"This isn't the time to bring that up! Look, the point I'm trying to make is, maybe we should just check everything before we rush in, that's all."

"Well, when you put it that way, can't argue. So…good luck, Dereece!"

"What?!"

"You make a good scout. With your magic, you won't trigger any booby traps there might be in the castle. Just get inside, check for treasure, and if empty, we'll use the Escape Ropes."

"No way! I am not taking a dive on this one!"

"You know, the captain's being logical. It saves effort, plus its not like you're suited for combat with your magic properties anyway." Duncan noted.

"Who's side are you on!?" Dereece snapped.

"It's an in and out job, no harm." Joey assured.

"That's not reassuring!"

"Well it's not you have ideas to share!"

Trubbish blinked slowly, processing the lack of clarity the trio were having. Having been patient enough, she inhaled loudly before opening her mouth wide.

BUUUUUURRRP!

The loud, obnoxious belch caused their argument to fall apart. They cringed at the corrosive smell that Trubbish blew in their faces.

"Oh…nasty! What did you eat!?" Dereece waved away, plugging his nose.

"Trubbish, mind telling me what that was-"

Shuffle…

With their focus off each other, they were open to hearing the estrange sound of movement close by.

"Did you guys just hear that?" Joey quietly muttered.

Duncan tightened his grip on his Elfen Forja, ready to use it at a moment's notice.

They all tensed up as they straightened themselves and looked around for anything suspicious as small shifts echoed around them. Whatever it was, it was moving fast.

"Guys…" Dereece gulped. "I don't think we're alone down here."

…

"However, though governed by mutual respect, the province itself had all but a Monarch. A figure for the people to look to. And so, civil outbreaks occurred, and rights to territories and resources were acclaimed by others. This in turn led to all-out bedlam."

He paused to take a look at the screen. What he described was exactly what he witnessed right now.

"At the time, the center of Rolica was home to a bishop. And so, using Holy Magic mixed with forbidden arts, the bishop enchanted a special staff that would prove one's worth of being their king. However, it proved to be…a grave gamble."

…

With Yanma's lenses, her vision was peering in every direction. When she saw something move in the direction of a debris pile, she turned towards it. "Over there!"

"Where?" Joey turned his attention where Yanma was directing. Even when it was a sharp pivot, he only caught a glimpse of something that moved around a debris pile. His eyes narrowed as he knew not to take the situation lightly.

'I just saw that. Yanma was right…something's definitely down here with us.' He turned back towards his team with a serious disposition. "Stay close…I mean it. Something's circling us."

Dereece and Duncan kept silent as they looked in every direction. The Freaks and Trubbish were in a circle formation as they kept their eyes and ears open for any prompt sounds. Outside the faint skittering, it was quiet to where they could hear each other's hearts beating.

It was clear to each other, they were anxious.

For a while, nobody moved a muscle. The only things in overdrive were their eyes and ears. Joey's hearing aids were helping him pick up on the echoes of the shifting and broken footing.

'It's close…very close.'

The instant, something skittered beyond a nearby adjacent debris mound, Trubbish hiccupped before opening her mouth, firing a Sludge in the trajectory of the cretin's path. It exploded in front of it, causing it to hiss and retreat in the opposite direction.

'There!' Joey crossed his index and middle finger as he jutted his arm out. He manifested a wide barrier in the distance, which was met with a rather loud thud.

"Nice work, Captain." Dereece commended.

Joey allowed the praise to pass over. "Move in." He started towards the left side of the debris, whereas Duncan proceeded around the right corner. Dereece activated his magic so he could go right over the debris mound for a vantage point. They weren't going to allow any corners cut.

As they drew closer, the sounds of grotesque hissing became louder. It sounded like a feral animal being disoriented. Though, as soon as it was in full view, it brought far more concerns than they did questions.

Joey's eyes shrank. "…what…is that…?"

At the base of his barrier, there was something twitching that was gradually getting back up. It had the appearance and ligaments of a human being, but it had no clothes, and nothing to show beneath the waist. Its body was almost completely black, with red wrinkles and veins all over the flesh. It was hunched over and used the barrier to support itself as it got to its bare feet.

"Is that even a human?" Duncan inquired.

The moment the creature was comprehensive, it turned its head towards The Freaks, showing a bald face that had no nose, but two black eyes with very tiny red pupils that burned brightly in the darkness. Its jaw was unnaturally unhinged, so it showed them its unkempt, grizzly, decayed teeth.

The creature hissed low as its body slowly turned towards The Freaks. It took baby steps with loose hanging arms…just like a zombie.

"Uh, C-Captain?" Dereece quipped fearfully. "W-what was that you said earlier about Drilbur-people?"

"That ain't no Drilbur," Joey quipped, not taking his eyes off the decrepit beats.

"But if it's not that…what is it?"

The question was open-ended as the decrepit humanoid's eyes scanned them. Its retina burned so harshly that it was like looking into the fiery pit of Hell. Even Duncan felt a chill down his spine.

"Can it talk, you think?" Dereece asked.

"I'm not even sure it can understand us," Duncan growled.

"What do you think it wants?"

Joey kept his stare fixed on the entity. It was silently gazing back at him, as if transfixed on something. The longer Joey stared, the more human it looked to him. It was a very…peculiar feeling. The two were locked in a motionless staredown. The world of darkness around them seemed nonexistent for a few seconds. In that very short time, Joey could read what those eyes said.

Lifeless pain.

The moment it seemed like Joey saw this, his breath hitched.

"KRAAAAAH!" Suddenly, the humanoid howled and pounced at surprising speeds, rushing Joey with hands outstretched and jaw gaping.

'So fast!' Joey processed that before he was tackled onto his back, the creature on top of him. He was keeping him away from his face and neck as it made attempts to gnaw and reach for him.

"Captain!" Dereece panicked. Duncan looked equally as startled.

Joey struggled to get the humanoid off his body. He kept the creature away by its shoulders. He knew if he didn't it could very well tear his flesh off. He did not want to take that chance.

'The hell is this thing?! Did it just react to what I felt just now?! Is it some kind of instinct?!' He grunted. 'The hell if it's some human thing, it's not in its right mind!'

"Could use…a little help here!" he called out. "Trubbish! Acid Spray!"

Trubbish closed her mouth and lurched back, gathering acidic liquids from her stomach. She leaned forward, expelling dense purple acid that shot like a pump into the humanoid. It met its flesh and body, causing its flesh to sizzle and steam.

"KRAAAAH!" The creature hissed as it flung itself off Joey and onto his back, writhing from the burning acid all over its body. Its cries were like a banshee that was in distress that rung through everyone's ears.

With it flailing haphazardly, Duncan gripped his Elfen Forja tightly, pouring some of his magic into it and slammed the end down on the creature's face. The force caused a loud thud and a snap before its body went limp.

"Captain, you okay?!" Dereece moved closer to Joey and helped him up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Despite that, Joey's heart raced as he stared at the creature that tried to kill him. His gaze was sharper than before. "Is it dead?"

The Freaks watched as the humanoid laid still for a few seconds with no signs of life. Suddenly, they saw its fingers twitch, with cracking of joints. To their horror, they saw the entity gradually return to its feet, its broken face and neck snapping back into place. Its glare burned brighter than ever.

"T-that is just disturbing…" Dereece mumbled, pointing at it.

"Everyone…we've got company." Yanma warned above.

Distant snarls echoed all around them. They all glanced around and saw that the creature was not alone. Undead denizens with identical looks and piercing eyes sauntered into view. Some skulking, some crawling over debris. But all of them hissed and snarled as they closed in on the trapped invaders.

…

"For those who were unworthy that dared to lay their hands on the artifact, their souls would fall victim to their own greed, and become shadows that will forever haunt mankind. I believe that they were labeled as…Decrepits. Aptly named, if I must say. Many have tried…and all have failed. It soon came to those who had reason in their few numbers to stand against this undead army created by their own desires.

"In their darkest hour, a single man rose up and led the people to fight against this disaster. They sealed off the province by using barriers to block in the manipulated, and buried the province itself beneath their feet. I believe it stands to reason that was my ancestor who led the proactive reaffirmation. Ironically enough, that same staff fell with the former province. The legend is said to hold religiously high beliefs to those who still worship it. The cursed words about the staff states that 'He who is a true king shall light the way for the damned to shine'. Yet, it never came to pass."

Quinlan couldn't help but chuckle. "I find it rather poetic, how humanity has condemned itself by facing itself. Wars waged, people slaughtered, all for what? In the end, when one fight ends, another takes its place." He continued observing the carnage with a straight face. "The greatest curse of humanity…how history dares to repeat itself."

…

A humanoid – a Decrepit – pounced for Joey, but he intercepted by creating a barrier that blocked it off.

"Barrier-Make: Crash!"

Joey forced the barrier to push with the might of a bullet train, shooting the Decrepit and a half-dozen others into the distance. More closed in around the barrier's range on all fours, crawling closer to him. They were interceded when Trubbish got in front of Joey and shot another round of Acid Spray across the ground, melting it into a sizzling trench that was corrosive to the touch. But that only bought them a little time for closure.

"Use Sludge!" Joey commanded with gusto. Trubbish followed up with a sharp inhale and lurched forward, expelling a dense ball of sludge at the thwarted Decrepits. Each was struck by a singular ball right in the face that blew them away.

Dereece yelped in his frantic panic. He dodged a Decrepit lunging, but another flanked his sides. He backpedaled for his safety, but was intercepted by a Decrepit lunging at him from behind. "Gah!"

With her astute vision, Yanma caught on and turned towards the intrusive sight. An orb of white energy manifested that turned into a Signal Beam that she fired at the Decrepit, blasting it intensely in its chest to make it fall on its back.

With a clear window, Dereece's breath labored as he ran past it and scaled a debris pile. The Decrepit's joints snapped as it craned its body and followed Dereece up the unsteady mound. Dozens were gathering around him, but before they could reach him, he activated his magic and scaled well out of their range. This caused a few to lose balance and fall to the ground with loud snaps of joints.

Decrepits howled like feral animals as dozens rushed for Duncan all at once from every direction. The Trainer/Mage held his Elfen Forja and twirled it overhead to gather momentum. He pivoted and struck one in the face, then another in the neck. He pivoted and dodged the third before circling around and slamming the end into another's cranium.

"KRAAAAH!" A Decrepit lunged at him from behind, but it wasn't fast enough to stop the metal sphere end that struck its face, causing it to fall backwards.

Duncan grunted as he found less room to work with. His grip tightened as the gears on his staff switched, with the green lacrima shining.

"Gear Three: Wind!"

He swung his staff overhead, gathering a draft that turned into a whirlwind that he swung into the ground. A powerful gust flew everywhere that blew away the surrounding Decrepits. As soon as the wind died down, Duncan kept his feet spread and observed their movements with a careful eye.

Much to his shock, the Decrepits that were knocked down twitched before slowly snapping up in hunched positions.

'They keep getting up…do they not feel pain?' He quickly turned and swung his staff into a Decrepit, making a small wind burst that knocked it over. Around it, more closed in. 'No matter how much they're hit, it's like they're zombies…are these things really undead?'

Joey gritted his teeth as a Decrepit closed in on him. He cloaked his fist in a spherical barrier and socked the monster's face hard enough to send it careening. A half dozen crawled around and howled behind him, but Trubbish flanked them and spat more Acid Spray all over their bodies. They howled as their skin sizzled with the conductive liquid.

"HRAH!" With a grunt, Joey slammed another barrier into them, sending the acid-drenched beings into others behind it, making them convulse and grunt from the acid.

'There's just no end to these guys!' Joey elaborated his thought as he swiped his arm across, making a long arch that fortified a barrier that blocked numerous Decrepits. 'These things don't stay down. And more just keep crawling out of nowhere. They're just punching bags that don't feel anything and multiply.'

Even he wasn't that dumb. The Parasia were one thing, but this was a whole other matter entirely. He knew the best course of action to take at a time like this.

'Can't waste magic and energy this! Gotta get out of here!' He made his next move."Dereece! You remember how we escaped those Parasia on the island!?"

"Yeah! I do!"

"Then everybody get close to me, now!"

Duncan glanced over his shoulder and pulled back. Dereece stepped towards the ground to meet up with Joey and his Trubbish. With the exception of Yanma above, The Freaks regrouped and found themselves surrounded by Decrepits in every direction.

"Everyone better follow my lead!" Joey swiped his arms in opposite arches. "Barrier-Make: Ball!"

A turquoise sphere made of Joey's barrier surrounded The Freaks. With all-around protection, the Decrepit were latching on and clawing at the surface to no avail at even laying a scratch.

"Let's roll!" Joey started gathering momentum to roll down the avenue. It started slow, but with cooperation form Dereece, Duncan, and Trubbish, the four were able to get the ball rolling, literally. The Decrepit latching on either slipped off, left behind, or flat-out ran over. They ran inside the sphere and rolled along the streets, away from the Decrepit that howled and gave chase.

Dereece in particular was laboring heavily in breath. In his struggled to keep up, he spoke his worries. "Captain…where are we going…?!" he asked between breaths.

"As far away from these things as possible!" Joey countered. "I'm not entirely sure, but they could be the reason why this whole place is closed off from the surface!"

"You really think so?!"

"Possibly…but we don't have time to sit around to figure that out. Change of plans, we're getting back to the surface. Whatever these undead things are, they're no immediate danger to the surface, which is in chaos. We'll catch up with the others and settle things down here…it's not a good idea to just leave things like this unattended."

Duncan hummed low. To a sense, he agreed with Joey's logic.

They came up to a fork in the road and Joey immediately made the call. "Left!" They all steered left in their pacing, causing the large ball to change course into a left turn. What they didn't expect, however, was the large group of Decrepits hissing and emerging from broken windows and openings in houses. They swarmed the path they were taking like a blockade.

"Oh no…" Dereece whimpered. When he looked over his shoulder, his heart skipped a beat when he saw Decrepits following them, all crawling swiftly or running in hunched fashion.

With no turning back, Joey exhaled and undid the sphere surrounding them. They all broke into a sprint with Joey carrying the lead. As they closed in on the horde ahead of them, Joey reached his hand out.

"Barrier-Make: Board!"

He created a large board that covered a lot of surface area. He dropped the barrier like a trapdoor onto the horde and crushed all the Decrepits in his way. Though, the sheer number made the board slant upwards like a ramp. Joey sprinted up the ramp, with his peers close behind. Some of the Decrepit that weren't in the way started scaling the ramp in pursuit, almost catching up to Dereece.

In a panic, Dereece's eyes widened and he activated his magic again, barely escaping a hand that grazed his ankle.

As soon as the others leaped onto the stone pavement, Joey undid the ramp, causing Decrepits to collapse and struggle. Others didn't care and ran over the mess, chasing in bloody pursuit.

"We gotta lose them! Now!" Dereece shouted.

"Up ahead!" Yanma shouted.

The Freaks' attention turned to the street they were coming up to. There were two buildings still intact, with small towers that looked partially damaged.

As they were coming up to the structures opposite of each other, Joey hatched an idea. "Dereece! Knock down that tower! Now!"

"Right away!" Dereece ran through the air above, reaching his arm at the structure on his right. "Yanma, Signal Beam!"

Joey aimed for the tower on his left. "Trubbish, Acid Spray!"

Both Pokémon launched their respective attacks at the damaged towers. Trubbish's acidic fluids launched and stained the midriff region, quickly eating away at the rock. Yanma's beam struck the damaged side of the corresponding tower in a destructive explosion.

The damage between the two adjacent buildings caused the aged stone to crack apart. The structures slowly creaked as they gradually fell onto the ground, overlapping with a plume of crumbled stone and dust that impeded the path behind them as they passed through.

Behind them, Decrepits howled oblivious to the falling debris. Dozens were crushed in an instant, and many others were interceded by a large wall of broken stone and concrete.

The Freaks stopped and looked back, seeing the impending destruction blocking off the pursuers.

"Let's see them crawl their way out of that!" Joey huffed. Finally able to catch a break, he could rest his lungs as the sounds of scowls and hissing were from the other side.

"Looks like a majority of them were right behind us. If they're as mindless as they are ugly, that should hold them for a little while." Duncan noted.

Joey stared at the makeshift wall they made for a moment, his brow furrowing. He looked like he was thinking critically. Something that Duncan caught onto.

"You look like you wanna say something."

"Yeah…that rampart we saw before…you think it was made against these things?"

Duncan squinted at the epiphany. He stared back at the wall with a tense frown. He didn't think of that until just now. "Hard to say. Can't say it's impossible."

"You said ramparts are walls inside cities, and this city is underground…I'm starting to think this is no coincidence that this building Yanma saw earlier and these zombie things might be related somehow."

"You honestly wanna go in that direction?"

"You said it yourself. If streets are blocked off the way they are, these things must either be after something…or protecting something."

Duncan's eyes narrowed. He got an idea what his captain was onto.

"Uh…guys…"

Joey and Duncan saw Dereece staring down a large avenue, his eyes fixed with pure horror.

The group turned, their bodies freezing at the goosebumps running down their spines. They saw an entire avenue on their right side…literally crawling with a massive horde of thousands of humanoids turning the corner and into the open. Their numbers were so massive that it looked like a tsunami was heading right for them.

"QWAAAAAAAAH~!" They all bellowed and howled like feral monsters possessed, racing after them with bright, bloody glimpse in their eyes.

Any track of thought any of them had was replaced by fear. Even Trubbish and Yanma were looking purely afraid.

Dereece gulped. "CJ…uh…I don't suppose you have some kind of plan to, uh, stop that?"

"…run."

"E-excuse me…?"

"RU~N!"

Joey cried out with the truest notion of fear. He darted in the opposite direction in a dead sprint, Duncan immediately following. Dereece took one more glance back at the horde swiftly moving their way before common sense took over. In a panicked cry, he raced as fast as his legs could carry him.

In the wake of their sprint, the ones that were trapped behind the collapsed walls started to climb over, joining in the swarm that flooded the streets.

The trio, Trubbish, and Yanma sped off for their lives, not bothering to look back. They knew that doing so would only slow them down.

'Just how many of these things are there?! Is this city's entire populace nothing but these undead?!' Joey's mind was racing as fast as his legs. 'Then no matter where in the city we go, these things will follow! There's no point running if there isn't anywhere to hide!'

The thousands of howls from behind alerted them. He needed to think faster!

'Gotta buy time! Let's see if poison slows them down!' Joey turned towards his Trubbish. "Trubbish, girl, give'em a Toxic Spikes!"

Trubbish ran as fast as her tiny feet could carry her, only to slow down and open her maw towards the air. An orb of purple, poisonous energy with a bright center formulated and launched from her maw into , exploding into purple comets with dark purple smoke following.

All the spikes fell to the earth behind them, phasing through the ground with toxic ripples. The Decrepits didn't seem to pay heed as they mindlessly raced ahead.

Though hopeful it was in long-term, the move's effects were in vain as the undead wave washed over the spikes. They trampled over the trap, making a passing wave of poison expel over a massive area with toxic bubbles surfacing. However, the creatures neither flinched nor showed visible wear as they gave chase.

"Not even Toxic Spikes is slowing them down?!" Joey exasperated, with Trubbish belching her worries.

"Captain Joey, forget slowing them down! Let's use the Escape Ropes!" Dereece insisted.

"Yeah, good idea!"

The Freaks slowed to a stop as Dereece reached for his essentials he carried on hand. With only a short time before the flood of monsters heading their way, his sweaty hands were digging at an alarming rate for the rope that could save their lives.

"Uh, Dereece…anytime now! Like now!" Joey urged.

Dereece was drenched in sweat from the running and anxiety, but he rummaged as hastily as he could until he got out the rope they needed…only, there was a small flaw.

"Captain…there's only two in here!"

"WHAT?!" Joey exasperated.

"They must have taken away most of our stuff when we were caught! We were lucky they didn't check my cargo pockets…"

Duncan glanced back at the swarm and shot a spiteful glare. He had to keep his grunt low. He refused to allow things to end like this.

Joey looked back, seeing the flood of monsters head their way. He didn't have time to think of an alternative – only consider!

With a straight face, he kept his eyes off his colleagues. "Dereece, Duncan…you both get out of here, now!"

"What?! Are you insane?! No way! I'm not leaving you down here!" Dereece backlashed.

Duncan shot his captain a side glance.

"I'm not giving you a choice! Find Nic and the others! Captain's orders!"

"But…I…"

"Get going! NOW!"

Dereece wanted to argue back, but he froze in the reality of their predicament. His lips formed words that made it sound like 'Joey', but it went mute. He knew that this was a terrible idea, he just knew it, but this was no time to argue. They needed to get to safety as soon as possible.

Though he hated it, Joey's right-hand man swallowed a lump and balled his fists tight. He knew what he had to do…whether he liked to or not.

"…we'll come back for you. You better be safe, you hear, CJ!?" Dereece quipped.

Joey nodded as he turned away. "Yeah…can do. Just leave…please."

Dereece nodded and passed an Escape Rope over to Duncan, who accepted it and readied to take off. The former kept the other to himself. Dereece recalled Yanma back to her Poké Ball and put it away. All set, they started undoing the ropes' ends.

Though before they left, Dereece did his best to compose himself to not look pathetic in front of Joey. "I'm sorry…"

The two ropes extended upwards, causing the two to fade behind Joey. He kept his back turned as his teammates and the ropes faded away.

"…I know." Joey muttered.

Trubbish let out a light burp as she turned towards Joey, seeing his uncertainty.

"C'mon, little garbage gal! Let's move!" Joey suddenly turned down an avenue, with Trubbish hiccupping in tow as she paddled behind as fast as possible.

…

In an instant, Dereece and Duncan reappeared in front of the collapsed tunnel on the beach. When they turned back towards their entrance, Dereece looked ashamed, if not despaired. "Captain Joey…"

Duncan turned away, adjusting his cap. "You gonna stand there all day sulking, or what? You know how he is. It'll take more than something like that to kill him."

Dereece turned towards him. "Duncan…"

"Besides, realistically, he made the right call. Our magic nor attacks were putting a dent in them. At the very least, his barriers can buy him time for an escape route if necessary." He glanced back at Dereece, as if he's sure of what he meant. "You gonna waste that precious time mourning?"

Dereece sniffled, but the reality of the situation dawned upon him. "…you're right. We have to find the others, and help our Captain!"

Duncan scoffed at his resolve. In haste, the two darted along the sand towards the city, where hopefully the others were.

…

With a lash of her Fleuve d'etoiles, Lucy whipped at numerous mages in her way. As soon as they were down, the Slugma commanding them opened his maw, creating multiple fireballs via Incinerate.

"Staryu!"

With a blink, Staryu rushed in front of its Trainer with a loud beep. It unleashed a condensed spray of saltwater at the fireballs, creating a steam burst to erupt in the middle of the exchange. With the cover, Cana pulled out a magic card and enchanted magic into it.

"Prayer's Fountain!"

She slammed the card to the ground, creating a massive rush of water jets that spouted everywhere. The jets doused the Slugma and fellow nearby Pokémon with enough force to wash them away.

However, a Vileplume withstood the rush and held her ground. She aimed her top at Cana like a cannon ready to fire, but the atmosphere suddenly got brighter. "Hm? Did it just get brighter…? Huh?!"

Overhead, a fireball shot at alarming speeds, directly into the flower's center. The Vileplume combusted within the explosion that sent smaller embers everywhere, stinging other Trainers and humans.

Sune landed in front of her peers, shooting the surrounding populace a glare. "Everybody, watch yourselves! We'll take the quickest route to a less populated area to regroup!"

Cana nodded. "Right, lead the way!"

Grovyle sneered. "Well you better move fast on those tiny legs." He heard a cry coming from his left and backpedaled from a Vigoroth's claws. He slammed his huge leaf like a whip in his face, sending him on his back. "Because this 'paradise' is getting too crowded."

A Tropius wearing a tuxedo hummed loudly above their heads. He flapped his leafy wings and rained down sharp, funneling leaves that were aimed for them at immense speeds thanks to his Chlorophyll Ability.

Cana gasped, quickly pulling out three tarot cards and shooting them skywards. They lit ablaze that was magnified by the harsh sunlight. They burned through the funneling leaves and met the startled Tropius, engulfing him in an explosive blaze.

"Nice one," Liepard smirked. Suddenly, a loud thud came from not too far away. Her green eyes narrowed at the sight of something large and imposing marching his way through the street. "What the hell…?"

Sune appeared in front of a mage and slammed her tails into his face, causing him to fall back onto his Nincada Trainer. Sune landed and looked around, seeing she was being flanked by a Shedinja and Forretress. She remained patient and diligent as she expected what was to come.

The Forretress went first, her shell's front glowing via Bug Bite. The Shedinja's shadow blackened before it reached out across the ground for Sune, via Shadow Sneak. At the last second, Sune sprung into the air and avoided the shadow that took a sharp angle skywards – coincidentally hitting the Forretress's underside and making her buffer.

'Now!' Sune's vulpine gaze sharpened as she careened her mouth into the air, generating another Flame Burst. She fired the fireball straight down on top the staggering Forretress, engulfing her in a broiling explosion that sent heated comets all around. Many Pokémon and their mages scowled in pain. And that went for the Shedinja as well, who dropped to the ground the moment the embers touched it.

Sune dropped to the ground and looked around, seeing more elbow room present. 'Looks like we're making progress. Gotta hurry before my Drought Ability times out soon.'

"OFFICER SUNE!"

A loud, impending voice boomed through the melee, causing the Vulpix's ears to stand up. 'That voice…!' She recognized that harsh tone anywhere. As she slowly turned in the direction of the shouting to recognize certain figures that brought her déjà vu.

"There she is, Chief! Right there!" Flora directed a leaf at Sune, who was in her line of sight. "It's Officer Sune!"

Stomping to the front, the Pangoro took a stern stand, shooting the Vulpix a fierce glare. "Sune." He snarled.

Sune felt her breath hitch. "C-Chief…"

"Great, the drama just keeps coming." Grovyle groaned.

"What in the name of Arceus do you think you are doing!? Have you lost your bloody mind!?"

The Vulpix was shaken up at first, feeling her legs almost buckle. However, she quickly got over it and gave the Chief a defiant glare – something that he noticed. "…what it looks like. I'm putting an order to this…my way!"

Hugo's nose wrinkled as he looked genuinely surprised. "Your way?"

Sune spread her legs, her tails standing up. "That's right! The way we're doing things now isn't making any progress for anyone! You think you're right just because you're calling the shots? Well guess what! I'm doing what I feel should be done around here!"

"Sune…" Cana watched the Vulpix take her stand against the Pangoro. She looked so vindictive, so sure of herself. It wasn't anything like the submissive officer who worried about her career a short while ago.

Flora stepped up, reaching a leaf out. "Uh, S-Sune…you really shouldn't talk about-"

"Shut it, you overgrown garden decoration! I'm talking here!" Sune's harsh tone clamped up the Sunflora before directing back at the Chief. "Let me make this clear. I am not kissing up to you. All you've done is drag me around and blame me for being incompetent. You didn't even give me a chance! I was just fodder to be an errand girl and a punching bag for you 'higher-ups'. Well, you don't seem to get something…this punching bag can hit back!"

The Chief was silent as he balled his fists tightly. His stern, cold glare told all the measures of anger and disappointment that a Pangoro could feel. "…I always knew a fox like you was bound for trouble," he coldly scowled, undoing his belt with his Human Cubes. They dropped to his feet as he started for her. "I'll deal with you myself. As an officer of the law, I have to make sure that your insubordination doesn't go unpunished. If you don't know the meaning of your position…" He held up a clenched claw. "Then I'll have to show you the hard way."

Sune scoffed. "So now you decide to act? Could have avoided all this if you just said no from the start."

"And believe me, that's something I'm regretting. Officer Flora!"

The Sunflora saluted. "Y-yes, sir!"

"Handle with the mess around here…I've got to handle a rogue cop."

"Sir!" Flora turned away, hastily rushing to the crowd of meshed humans and Pokémon. 'Sune…you've gone off the deep end. I can't help you anymore…I'm sorry. You've done this to yourself! I have to do my job!'

Sune glared daggers at Hugo with no reluctance. The Pangoro saw that look and frowned deeper than before. He wouldn't admit aloud, but if she had this kind of fortitude, then maybe he would have given her a little more respect. But no, all she did was backtalk and try to reason. Such a shame.

On the other hand, Sune once had such respects for the Fighting/Dark-type due to his position and stature. She was taught verbatim to abide by the law, that by doing what he said was just. Looking back now, there was always a part of her that wanted to throw a Will-O-Wisp his way every time he didn't give her credit she deserved. She would just have to work harder to earn that approval. How foolish she was.

"You should really be focusing on containing the riot than me, you know." Sune noted.

Hugo's leaf shifted to the other side of his mouth in a sneer. "Not when you're amongst them." He took the initiative, moving in with glowing fists. He moved so fast that he closed the gap between himself and Sune in a second.

Sune gasped, barely able to evade the Bullet Punch that struck where she stood, impaling the pavement and stone.

"Sune!" Cana exclaimed.

Sune gnashed her teeth, steadying herself as she slid to a halt. "It's fine! Don't worry!" She adjusted herself as Hugo pulled his fist out of the ground. "He may be stronger, but he's not as experienced as I am. Just give me cover so I can deal with him!"

Cana nodded, smirking. "You got it!" She flung tarot cards to her side, engulfing a Primeape and three other humans approaching her in colorful explosions.

Lucy was lashing her whip at various Pokémon and people, trying to get as much room as possible. 'There's so many of them around. How are we supposed to find Natsu and the others to regroup?' She noticed a shadow overhead and looked up. Her eyes squinted at the Venomoth flying right for her with sharp fangs glowing bright purple.

Lucy braced for the attack, only for time to slow down when the approaching Venomoth was knocked out of the sky by a fist engulfed in flames. The blonde's brown eyes widened as a familiar pink-haired man was in the air with dark eyes beaming with energy from that blow.

"Natsu!"

The Venomoth crashed into the crowd of Pokémon and humans, knocking many over from the wake of Natsu's punch. He glanced over and smirked at his friend. "Thought I smelled something familiar around here. So, you girls got here alright?"

"Hey, guys!" Happy chirped. "You made it!"

"Happy!"

"Ha! You're forgetting about us, too!" Lucy looked over to find Charmeleon, Darumaka, and Tyrunt close by. All of them looked well despite some scratches. Charmeleon seemed to have gotten the most due to his scuffle with Amaryllis earlier.

A whirlwind broke through the masses, blowing plenty of Pokémon away. In the center of the passing gale was Wendy. "We finally found you guys!"

"Wendy!" Cana smirked.

"HRAH!" Carla landed a roundhouse kick on a Kantonian Persian, flooring it and twirling around with a scoff. "Hmph! Looks like you're all still kicking. Good."

"It's so good to see you're all alright." Lucy smiled faithfully.

Natsu beamed. "It was nothing. Oh yeah, we've got some friends, too."

"Um…hi?" Meekly coming out of hiding, Arcelia made her presence known. Swablu and Amaura flanked her as they had supportive smiles for their colleague.

"So who's the eel, Wendy?" Cana interjected, making Arcelia cringe.

"It's okay, she's a friend. She wants to help us, right?" Wendy affirmed.

Arcelia nodded. "Yeah, I do."

Grovyle eyerolled with a groan. "Welcome to the party. You're not missing anything."

"Huh? Hey, Lucy, who's the grumpy gecko?" Happy inquired.

"Oh, him? That's Blade-er, I mean Grovyle. It's okay, he's on our side." She looked over at the wood gecko, seeing him turn away with folded arms. "…I think?"

"She said it, not me." Grovyle denied before slashing at an approaching Girafarig with Fury Cutter. She repulsed out of caution. "Save the catching up for later! We've got a society's legs to straighten up here!"

Natsu rammed his fists together, making embers flourish at the surrounding horde. "Just what I was thinking. Alright, who wants some!?"

…

Quinlan continued his observations through the palace monitors. He bared witness to the fights going on around and hummed. Silently, he stood up and started sauntering over towards the closed windows. He could see the many populace once again as they were fighting for their lives.

But, to his stand point, he could already tell how the prolonged fighting would go. It was only a matter of time. And he was watching with hidden anticipation.

…

A yellow static discharge struck a Mr. Mime's Light Screen barrier, causing Harrison's spell to lose significant strength and only make it grunt. The Mr. Mime straightened itself with a triumphant smirk.

Harrison panted exhausted, his patience and his Magic Power drained. "You know…mimes really freak me out-gah!" He was struck on his side by a glowing needle-colored arm that slammed him into the ground harshly. This time, he had trouble getting up.

"Ha! Finally gotcha!" the attacking Maractus chimed.

"I's!" Mable saw her ally get taken down and generated a magic seal. "Get away from him!" She fired a compressed blast of water at the Maractus, who stood there and took it.

As the water closed in, it connected and only was absorbed into his body. The Maractus' body had green energy waves emit from all over that made him look healthier after the spell's liquids subsided.

Mable gasped. "No way…"

"Sorry, but that's what you get when facing a Pokémon with Water Absorb." Maractus swiped his arm. "Now, boys!"

Around Mable, fellow mages with collars around their necks complied as they launched a variety of earth and ice spells. Pebbles and ice shards bombarded her as she cried out in pain. She flung across the ground and rolled close to Harrison's side.

"Mable…" Harrison gnashed his teeth, seeing her get struck like that. If he could move, he'd electrocute the crap out of all of them. 'Damnit, I don't have any strength! Stupid magic reserves are dry! Now what!?'

…

Gray was supporting Juvia as they were limping down a street. Their Pokémon were beside them, all equally as exhausted and worried after their respective battles.

"You think you'll be alright, Juvia?" Gray asked as he supported her side.

Juvia nodded. "Yes, it's just paralysis. I'm sure Wendy can-gngh!" Juvia cringed when static enveloped her body for the umpteenth time. Add to all the ink that she took in earlier and she felt like her insides were wearing on her.

"Juvia! Hey! Stay with me!" Gray held her closer. He noticed how pale she looked. 'This is bad. Her body's going limp by the minute. Gotta find Wendy, or Nic even!'

Suddenly, large, silky webs shot past him, intercepting his path with large nets of silk that prevented him and the others from moving any further.

"What the-?!" When Gray turned around, he saw a Galvantula accompanied by a variety of Pokémon, all glaring and closing in on him.

"I've cut ff their escape route. Make sure they don't get away!" The Galvantula roared in a low tone.

Numerous Pokémon proceeded to fire an assortment of long-range attacks at Gray and his party. Gray gnashed his teeth and brought up an arm, summoning a spiked wall of ice to shield the attacks. They bombarded the makeshift defense, gradually pummeling at its sturdiness. It didn't help that some attacks were Fire-type moves as well.

"Wear him down! He won't get away that easily!" The Galvantula encouraged.

Gray grunted as he and the others were cornered in their time crunch.

…

"HRAH~!"

Another mage flung through the air, falling onto the masses gathered around Elfman, Machoke, and Rhyhorn. Despite the numerous Pokémon that were taken down with their mages, many more continued to gather around the exhausted muscles of Fairy Tail.

Elfman swung his Iron Bull forearm into a mage, and another, and then a third. All went careening onto their backs as their Trainers recalled them back to their cubes. They all started reaching to get more.

"No you don't! Rhyhorn, Rock Blast!"

Elfman called the attack. Though only recently revived, Rhyhorn had enough energy to stand upright and roar. Silver energy manifested on his head as he launched rocky, silver projectiles in succession. A total of four rocks bombarded the Pokémon, stopping their advances.

Machoke broke through the advances with his muscles having great definition. Using Strength, he picked up a Graveler by its head and threw it like a softball into the distance.

The dust passed around them, the three panting from exhaustion. Elfman especially since unlike Machoke and Rhyhorn, a Super Potion nor a Revive was going to mend his broken bones and wounded insides. Even now, it was taking everything in him just to stand up.

"You good?" Machoke called behind his back.

Elfman fixed himself. "Yeah…just needed to catch my breath was all."

Machoke narrowed his eyes. "Good…because it looks like that's all the rest we'll be getting."

Rhyhorn roared out to the masses that were gradually closing in on them. The three braced themselves as a few mages stepped forward with magic seals, firing elemental spells.

…

Tyrunt scowled as he roared into the air. His neck tuft glowed white and ejected yellow projectiles and scattered them across the ground, turning into jagged stones via Stealth Rock.

For anyone who got too close, the stones defied gravity, clashing into their bodies and causing them to buffer. They were then open to the misfortune that was a jagged strike and a fiery punch that belonged to Charmeleon and Darumaka respectively.

"That's what I'm talking about, guys! Keep it up!" Natsu cheered, his fists swelling in flames. "Fire Dragon's-"

Before he could finish, he noticed a white powder scattering around him. Just then, the powder combusted, swallowing him in an explosion of his own fire that caught his Pokémon's attention.

"What?! Natsu!" Charmeleon yelled.

Lucy gasped as she saw the wall of flames that had engulfed Natsu.

The smoke cleared, revealing Natsu still standing upright. His body had some char marks on it, but nothing that he couldn't handle. "Gnngh…damn…wait, did that fire actually hurt?" He looked up at who was responsible. But all he saw was a Marine Pattern Vivillon fluttering above.

"A butterfly…?"

"Natsu, be careful!" Happy urged.

"Yeah, I hear ya!" He ignited his fists once more and charged for the Vivillon. "Bug or not, you're in my way!"

The Vivillon's eyes glimmered before he flicked his wings, sending another wave of thin white Powder that sprinkled over Natsu. His eyes widened as he closed in, but was unable to pull back before the few embers of his flames touched the powder.

BOOM!

A heated combustion enveloped Natsu in his own heat, causing the air to shudder as he flung backwards with a cry.

"Natsu!" Lucy panicked.

"How did it do that?! Is that an attack that turns fire against itself?!" Happy panicked.

Natsu careened backwards until he caught himself. He used one hand and flipped onto a knee. His body had char marks on it, with steam coming off his skin. He looked to be in actual pain. "Gngh, that's smarts…" He grunted.

Carla looked from a distance, visibly stunned by what she saw. 'That powder just now, is it combustible?'

Lucy looked defensive at Natsu's situation. "Hold on, Natsu! Klefki!"

"Okay!" Klefki was about to toss a key. She picked out a Zodiac Key and lobbed it to her.

"Open: Gate-"

Before Lucy could finish, ethereal white chains shot at her. They snagged her wrist, then her ankles, then gradually enveloped her body as they engraved to her skin. The key she had in her hands lost its shine. "What the-?!"

Another set of chains latched onto Cana's arms, causing her cards to stop working. "I can't use my cards?!"

The Mightyena that launched its Embargo barked. "Get them!"

Lucy and Cana grunted as they were surrounded by mages and Pokémon alike. Wendy panted as she and her Pokémon were unable to find much room to work with. As for Natsu, when made a fireball as fast as possible, the Vivillon made even more Powder, making it all combust around him and making him scream.

Hugo's fist glowed bright blue for another Bullet Punch, which Sune dodged at the last second. She jumped onto his arm and sprung into the air, generating another large fireball. She twirled and fired the Flame Burst downwards towards Hugo and landed its mark, swallowing him in a large eruption of flames.

As Sune came down, however, a black paw reached out of the cloud, startling her. It grabbed her by the collar and slammed her harshly into the ground. The Vital Throw was too strong for her to overcome as she found herself pinned to the ground by Hugo.

"Don't resist arrest," the Chief snarled. "It'll only look worse on your resumé."

Sune gnashed her teeth as her body ached from his weight. In her troubles, the sunlight returned to normal temperaments, become significantly cooler.

It wasn't just them who were losing ground. Gray's barricade was gradually dwindling down, and Elfman's situation had him literally on his knees unable to make more Take-Overs possible. Not just the mages, but the Pokémon were all losing ground with them.

Harrison and Mable were in no condition to fight as they were both out of magic and at the mercy of the surrounding greedy Pokémon ready to bring them in.

Watching all this unfold, Quinlan calmly smiled. He had nothing to worry about. "And so the hour's bell tolls."

…

Further within the city, Vanessa and Sophie were continuing their investigation for the elusive factory, only to come up short. No matter how many buildings they passed by, there wasn't any indication or appropriate size of a factory. It was getting frustrating and exhausting.

"Were not getting anywhere like this," Sophie finally admitted. "Let's face it, we're lost."

"So it would seem…" Vanessa looked around, finding anything that looked top-secret by any means. But all she saw around her were plain cafés and apparel shops, as well as homes for people to live in. 'There has to be a hint that we're not seeing. Think, Vanessa. If you were part of a secret operation, where would you want to be?'

She considered the possibilities of here to look for the factory. The most likely odds she knew were in the castle, but Nic and Erza already went there. Odds were they probably handled that by now. She would check around the stadium too, but it was pretty much destroyed in the commotion. What was she overlooking?

She halted her introspection when a familiar pair ran up to them from the distance. Their auras indicated they were real.

"Vanessa! Sophie!" Dereece cried out.

"Dereece and Duncan?" Sophie gasped.

'I was wondering where they went?' Vanessa thought to herself.

The two caught up with the two girls and caught their breaths. Between them, Dereece looked to be the most worried. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. "We…we've got a huge problem!" he choked. "C-C-Captain…l-left behind! A-And no Escape Rope! Chased by m-monsters…"

"Dereece? What's wrong?" Sophie moved closer out of worry. "Stay calm. What happened?"

Dereece breathed in and out until he slowly came to his senses. "It's Joey…something really bad happened."

"Something bad…?" Vanessa furrowed her brow. She did not like the sound of that one bit.

"There's more going on here than just on the surface," Duncan added. "You should try under your feet. Down there…it's a whole different world."

Vanessa and Sophie exchanged looks with each other. Was that supposed to be a metaphor, or was he being literal? Between their predicament and Dereece's breakdown, it was hard to tell who was the more logical one in this debate.

"You said Joey's in trouble, where?" Sophie pushed the subject for answers.

Dereece vigorously nodded. "That's right, he's-"

Suddenly, a low roar echoed through the ground. There were vibrations that were gradually growing, getting harsher by the second.

Everyone stopped what they were doing across Pokétopia as the entire island was shuddering madly.

"Carla…do you feel that?" Wendy muttered.

"Yes, I feel it. It's massive." Carla answered.

"An earthquake?" Gajeel wondered.

"Whatever it is, it sounds like it's coming from below." Pantherlily added.

The remaining Apostles stopped in their tracks as they also looked down at the shuddering ground.

"What is this?" Adamantine scoffed.

"Cof-Cof-Cof! Who's making all this noise?!" Dahab sneered.

Zeus said nothing as he looked suspiciously everywhere.

It wasn't just the city feeling the shock. The palace shuddered as well from the wake.

"Oh my, sounds like quite the storm out there." Octavius noted matter-of-factly.

Quinlan stood in front of his sealed balcony, visibly frowning with a furrowed brow. He did not look so pleased with what he was feeling.

Back down in the streets, Erza saw the pavement cracking apart around her. She turned towards Nic. "We need to get off the ground, now!"

"Charizard!" Nic called out to the Flame Pokémon. As he swooped down, Nic and Erza jumped onto his back and shot into the air. Talonflame flew not too far behind.

Mest and Kirlia opted to teleport themselves gradually to higher ground farther out. They both appeared on rooftops as they looked down anxiously. "The hell's happening now…?"

The rumbling continued for several seconds all throughout the island, growing stronger, and stronger…and then it went silent.

Silent.

…

…

BOOOOOOOM!

Just then, the center of the city erupted like a volcano, sending tons of dirt and stone flying as a monumentally massive structure emerged from the earth. Everything went from zero to one-hundred in a matter of two seconds. Nobody was prepared for what had risen just now.

The entire island roared as the fissures completely collapsed around the rising structure. Dirt overturned itself as a new layer of earth rose as solid pavement. A dense foundation of concrete and dense stone surrounded the base of the massive golden building that towered above all others. Any nearby people and Pokémon that weren't blown away by the eruption stepped back to marvel in a mix of awe and worry.

"What…what the heck is that?" Mest spatted. "Did that thing just come out of the ground?"

"Woah…" Kirlia awed.

"Huh? Wait…where the heck did that come from!?" Lucy cringed as she recovered from her initial shock, only to be met with total surprise.

"Is that what the earthquake just now was all about?" Cana inquired.

Hugo was still suppressing Sune, but he glanced back with widened eyes. "What is the name of Groudon just happened?"

Quinlan observed from his chamber at the sight, for the very first time, showing genuine surprise at the revelation.

As the dust settled, a finger touched a button.

[Britney Spears – Circus]

Music started playing in the silence for all to hear. as a silhouette started walking into view along the building's roof. It started low, but kicked up as the figure scaled the roof with a smaller amorphous plump in toe.

"Look, I see something!" a citizen pointed at the roof.

All eyes were on the silhouette as golden looped earrings dazzled underneath the sunlight. A smile was on the figment's face that seemed genuinely proud. But to a very few, it was a smirk they recognized all too well.

Gajeel's eyes shrank. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"Is that…?" Sophie started.

"Joey…?" Vanessa blinked.

Dereece's eyes shrank from genuine shock. "Captain Joey…"

The stylish blonde smirked as he held the foreign object high in the air, emitting a vibrant turquoise light like a beacon across the province's skies.

"Yo! Am I late to the party!? Cuz I brought the backup dancers!"

BUUUUUURRRRP!

With the belch from Trubbish echoing, Joey started dancing rhythmically. Slowly emerging in shuffles in identical fashion to Joey's movements were dozens of turquoise-colored humanoid bodies. It was only a few, but it soon became dozens, then hundreds that started flocking out in a unison dance routine. Each one had a glimmering body much like gold, only instead of gold it was turquoise.

The sight was equally as dazzling as it was shocking to the entire populace. A literal army was emerging in a breakdance fashion and performing shuffles and acrobatic flips in conjunction with the song.

"Is that really Joey?" Erza sounded more concerned than surprised.

Nic, who observed with just as much surprise as anyone else, couldn't even begin to fathom the surface. "What hell did Joey get into this time…?"

"HAHA~!" Joey used a barrier and slid down the rooftop to the stairwell. Trubbish followed his lead. He jumped and twirled in midair, landing on a knee with the golden staff by his side. He gradually rose to his heels with his head down, his arm twirling the staff with gusto around. The humanoids pivoted and moved off to the side to clear a path for them towards the front. Joey pivoted and spun around and presented himself with a proud and stalwart smile.

"King Joey…HAS RISEN!"