The afternoon after Lyn's arrival, the Iron Fleet's base was the most raucous that anyone could remember. The closest it'd ever been to this was the time when Hess bought one of those tatty treasure maps from the market made to swindle more gullible pirates and managed to turn up a chest of Poké abandoned on a sandbar. The whole day, a steady stream of pirates had shown up at the base's entrance where Hess and Rodion sat and waited to size up potential deckhands for their new ship, much like the Farigiraf who was currently present. As he had many times earlier that day, Hess got up after a brief interview ensuring that the would-be recruit at least had her sea legs about her, and after growing satisfied, puffed his chest out with a toothy grin.
"Heh, welcome aboard!" Hess chortled. "You could do worse than joining aboard the gold-threaded crew with fists of-!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," the Farigiraf grumbled. "Just give me my money already."
Hess blinked as the Farigiraf pawed at the ground impatiently, before his face fell. Rodion gave a disapproving sigh, before tossing a gold-and-silver scarf wrapped around a jingling lump. The Farigiraf caught the scarf with her mouth and unfurled it, spotting a sizable bag of Poké in it from Lyn's stash as Rodion narrowed his eyes at her with a sharp huff.
"You'll get half now and half after the mission's done," the Floatzel said. "If you try and skip out on us, we'll be taking it back. With
interest."
The Psychic-Type rolled her eyes with a scoffing "
sure you will" under her breath. After a brief moment to count off her pay by telekinetically levitating the bag's contents, the Farigiraf collected her coins and garb before drifting off into the base with a harrumph. Hess watched after the departing Psychic-Type briefly and turned to greet the next prospective member of the Iron Fleet, only to see an empty lane ahead of him.
Snippy attitudes from some of the new blood aside, things had been going pretty well. The Iron Fleet had more than doubled its ranks in barely half a day, and for once, they weren't short on talent to pick from. Besides, the leftover funds could go to rum and entertainment. With how rowdy life could get among Orleigh's corsairs, it was wise to always have ways handy for putting a crew into a good mood.
Hess felt a tug at his arm, looking down to see Rodion staring up at him. The Floatzel briefly cast a worried look past the entrance of the crew's base, before turning back to his captain.
"Hess? Got a moment?" Rodion asked. "We should have a talk at the bar."
Hess blinked a moment at Rodion's reaction. Whenever his first mate was in a mood like
that, it was usually a sign of trouble. But just what was he seeing when just about everything had been going right for once?
"Sure?" the Aggron replied. "Don't suppose it'd hurt."
Hess and Rodion made their way back through the entrance of their half-finished base and into its now-crowded bar. The place was definitely more packed than it normally would be. Drapion, Haxorus, Barbaracle… those new deckclaws were definitely stronger pirates, if a bit more ornery than normal for their ranks if a freshly-recruited Granbull's boasts of having 'never handed out a black spot he never made good on' was anything to go by.
After retracing their steps through their base, Hess stopped by the Oricorio barkeep and snagged a bottle of rum alongside Rodion. They drifted off together to his usual table by the base's rock garden, where Kichiro was already there waiting for them. The pair took their normal seats about the table, Hess already throwing his bottle back and drinking as Kichiro eyed some of the newer faces in the base, before shaking his head with a low grunt.
"Wonder how long
these guys are gonna stick around," the Ledian scoffed. "We're basically just bribing them to join with that money Lyn gave us."
"Oh come on, they're not
that bad, Kichiro," Hess said. "Our recruits all have prior experience with sailing! It's not like we needed to go out onto the outskirts to bribe a bunch of Ferals with food."
The Ledian reflexively buzzed out a huffing "It's
Keiichiro", only for Hess to wholly ignore his protests. The Aggron took another swig from his bottle before he set it against the table with a sharp
tak.
"Besides, once we pull this raid off, that galleon will be ours for keeps," Hess insisted. "After a start like that, at least
some of these 'mons are going to be motivated to stick around. Not to mention that word of a big success like that is bound to motivate other pirates to join us!"
A yowl of protest rang out in the background, Hess and the others turning their heads just in time to see black-and-white Linoone and a Garbodor snatching a cup away from a Litten a few tables over. The Litten tried to get up, only for the Garbodor to casually shove the Fire-Type off his seat and send him pitching to the ground with a yelp.
"Gods, what a
dweeb!" the Garbodor snickered. "Try staying on your feet, ki-!"
A steaming jet of water zipped in and struck the Garbodor at the back of his neck. The Linoone whirled around as dark wisps began to build around his right forepaw, only to see a blade of pressurized water being held at his throat, its owner glaring down at him with a bared-fang growl.
"Keep starting trouble with your crewmates like that, and you two will make the trip over to our next raid tied to the bow as living figureheads," Rodion snapped. "
Got it?"
The Linoone hastily shrank back, the Garbodor following suit as he scurried off grumbling under his breath and pawing at an emerging burn on the back of his neck. Rodion dispelled his Liquidation and took a moment to fetch a new cup for the Litten. After seeing the Fire-Type settle back in, the Floatzel uneasily drifted off from the table and made his way back to his own. He plopped back into his seat, turning to Hess with a sighing shake of his head.
"I'm not so sure that's a
good thing, Hess. The existing crew's already a handful at times, and I don't like the attitude of most of these new guys," Rodion said. "Especially those two square-necks that came along with us. I don't think you're going to get most of those 'mons to back off with a few drinks if you upset them."
"Is that last part such a bad thing though?" Kichiro muttered to himself, before taking a sip from his drink and speaking up with a sharp buzz.
"Look, even with these new deckhands, we haven't even had a day to work with to properly recruit and fill out the ranks," the Ledian reminded. "If we sail out like this, both the Mistral Marauder and the Argent Aviso-"
"The Starfall Striker."
Kichiro's mouth hung open briefly, before it curled into a skeptical frown and one of his eyes almost seemed to narrow. Hess blinked at his Bug-Type subordinate's reaction, before giving a puzzled tilt of his head.
"What? If we're going to keep it, I don't want to call my new ship something stuffy like the 'Argent Aviso'. It'll be the 'Starfall Striker'," the Aggron insisted. "It's got a ring to it, doesn't it?"
Kichiro pushed his cup back onto the table and folded both sets of his arms with a dubious shake of his head.
"'Starfall Striker'? Seriously?" the Ledian scoffed. "You spend all your time worrying about some stupid name and you couldn't even come up with something catchy like 'Starfall
Shogun' or something like that?"
Hess paused a moment, before raising a claw to his mouth in thought.
"Actually, now that you mention it, that
does have a bit of a ring to it…"
The Ledian hesitated briefly, before a self-contented smirk came over his face.
"
Of course it has a ring to it,
I came up with it!" Kichiro said proudly. "A shogun's a-!"
The Ledian caught himself after noticing Rodion raising a brow. The Bug-Type shook his head again and flusteredly tried to move on.
"Anyway that's beside the point here!" Kichiro insisted. "My point is that if we have to sail off like this, both of our ships are going to be understaffed. Are we really going to manage a raid being so spread-out?"
Hess narrowed his eyes in response, before folding his arms with a low huff.
"Of course we will, Kichiro! Do you think I'm
stupid?"
Kichiro stared at Hess for a second, and once again quirked a brow with a dubious frown. After a noticeable silence, the Ledian opened his mouth to speak, only for Hess to cut him off with a sullen scowl and rumbling growl.
"Don't answer that," the Aggron grumbled. "But my point is, that we'll manage."
Hess pointed off at Rodion as the Floatzel sipped at his bottle of rum and a knowing smile settled over his steely maw.
"I mean, the Mistral Marauder could be in worse claws than having
Rodion captaining it," Hess insisted. "You'll be sticking with me on the Starfall Shogun to whip these new 'mons into shape, Kichiro."
Much to Hess' dismayed surprise, a tense quiet hung over the table. Rather than the excited reaction he'd expected from his first mate over having a chance to be a proper captain himself, the Floatzel seemed visibly uneasy, and Kichiro was as skeptical as ever.
… Were things really as amiss as those two were making it seem? He'd been over the moon over how far the Iron Fleet had come in half a day and was already looking towards the future, but with reactions like theirs…
"Captain Hess! Captain Hess!"
A sharp squawk cut through the air, as a gray-and-white blur flew in through the entrance and landed. The sound of clawed feet pattering against the wooden floor rang out, as a Staravia from their crew hurried over to their table. The Flying-Type was visibly winded from a long flight, but still musted the energy to raise a wing in salute.
"I just got back from watching Gestirn Island like you ordered!" she exclaimed. "That ship from Tromba is there and was being raided by the local Imps right before I left!"
Hess, Rodion, and Kichiro stiffened up at the Staravia's account, as nearby Pokémon trailed off and turned to look over. After a moment of stunned incredulity, the Aggron's underlings around the base, new and old alike, began to trade quiet murmurs with one another.
This was it. The moment they'd been preparing all day for was really happening so soon. Hess shook his head and narrowed his eyes insistently.
"What exactly went down out there, Myra?"
"Well, the trap went off just as expected. The guards and townsfolk both got riled up and took everyone prisoner," the Staravia said. "I didn't hang around to see where they took the crew, but they had Lugia with them, so he should still be there!"
Overlapping chatter filtered about the crowded pirate base, some of it worried whispers of whether they were really prepared enough to chase after a Protector, while others gave low grumbles about having had their much awaited shore leave cut short. Still others eagerly insisted on being out on the water as soon as possible from the promise of loot both on Gestirn and after handing off the Protector. Hess traded glances with the other Pokémon about his table, and from the Aggron's own expression, he was firmly in the last camp.
"Then we don't have any time to waste," Hess insisted. "Go and tell the other Council members, we'll get everyone together and in the water as soon as we can."
Hess got up from his seat and forcefully stomped the floor to quell a growing wave of chatter. The few pirates who hadn't yet focused on him turned from their games and drinks, as the Aggron cried out over the room with a sharp bellow.
"Oi! Party's over, everyone!" Hess barked. "Get off your tails and get your gear together, we're casting off by sunset!"
At once, the room sprang to life at Hess' order. One after the other, Pokémon hurriedly got up from their seats and ducked off around the base to prepare their items, while others made their way for the door to go and tend to the Iron Fleet's ships alongside Rodion and Kichiro. With two ships that needed to be made sailworthy, they were going to have their paws full for the next few hours. On their way over to the door, Rodion lingered as Kichiro zipped out the entrance, the Floatzel stopping at the doorframe to size up the old faces of the crew he knew, along with the new ones he and Hess were entrusting the fate of their mission to.
"I sure hope this goes well…"
And they needed it to. For their own sake.
Everything went by in a dark blur after the Slumber Orb hit the Siglo Swellow's deck. From time to time, Pleo thought he could hear voices or feel his body brush up against something, but the first thing he definitely remembered was the feeling of cold stone against the side of his body.
Pleo shifted, hearing worried, overlapping voices and smelling stale, musky air. He cracked his eyes open wearily and saw that he was someplace dark, with blue lights hanging from the walls outside.
"Nnrgh… Whuh?" Pleo asked. "Where are-?"
As Pleo came to, he saw that he was in a stone cell with iron bars and the blue light of glow-moss was coming from the hall outside of it. He glanced down and noticed that the tips of his right wing's flight feathers were missing, just like they had been after he was caught by Nagant. The young Protector's eyes widened as he sprang up with a panicked squawk.
"H-Huh?!" the Lugia cried. "Wh-What happened to-?!"
"We got boarded and taken prisoner, remember?" Ander's voice answered.
Pleo turned towards the back of the cell, where he saw dim light coming from a small, barred window. He squinted as the sound of shuffling footsteps approached and saw other Pokémon with him in the cell. There was Ander, alongside Crom and Trizano, the latter displaying metal wingtips that had been cut down. Guardia was there as well, visibly on-edge and eyeing her surroundings without her club with Dimitri beside her, who attempted to reassure her that nothing would happen to her, 'or at least not yet'. The lot of them showed signs of having been roughed up earlier, with most of them sporting scuffs and bruises. Trizano stepped forward from alongside the others and let out a low sigh.
"Thankfully you fell asleep from that Slumber Orb," the Skarmory said. "The guards were rough on a lot of the crew while bringing them in."
Pleo stiffened up and turned back to the bars, walking over and staring blankly at them. As he gaped along the length of the cell block, he began to see the bars of other cells across the hall. He then noticed square lanterns made of wood and oiled paper hung overhead in a narrow hall which went on a ways to the left, while just to his cell's right, the hallway abruptly stopped at a thick, sturdy-looking wooden door.
The sound of murmuring voices turned his attention back to the cells across the hall as he noticed the shapes of various Pokémon in the ship's garb. A few like a Greedent were slumped over on the ground, while others were visibly on-edge like an Ekans who kept quivering and sucking in anxious breaths—one of Elty's old friends if he remembered correctly. In the cell directly across, he spotted an Unfezant who noticed him before motioning at others in the cell. The other figures shifted in the dim light and made their way forward, including Vicente who got up and approached the bars with an uneasy paw at his shoulder.
"I see you're up, Pleo," he said. "Are you doing alright?"
Pleo grimaced and tried to squeeze his head past the bars only to find that they were too narrowly spaced for more than his beak to slip past them. Vicente seemed to pick up on his worries, as the Fighting-Type shook his head.
"We'll be fine. We're just sorry that you got into this mess," the Hitmontop murmured. "The ship was in really bad shape when the guards came aboard about two hours ago. We… didn't have many options other than surrendering."
Pleo turned his head to the side and tried to peek past the bars to try and spot Nida and his other teammates. Except between the dim lighting and the angle, he couldn't see her… She
was here with the others, wasn't she?
"Where's Nida?" Pleo asked. "And everyone else?"
"They're alright. Just scattered around a bit," the Unfezant reassured. "Nida's three cells over from us. We figured that out after Crom asked us to pass a message along to her earlier."
A moment of blinking silence followed from Pleo's cell, as Crom sheepishly pawed at the back of his head.
"I mean… it's kinda hard
not to be worried about her right now, Pat," the Druddigon said.
Pat hesitated, before giving a puzzled tilt of his head back at Pleo and his companions.
"I take it that you had something you wanted to tell her, then?" the Unfezant asked.
Pleo hesitated for a moment. Just what could he say right now when they were in as big of trouble as they were? Was there
anything he could do to try and make things better?
… Even if it wasn't much, he supposed there was one thing he could pass on to her, at least.
"… Just that I'm awake and okay right now, I guess."
Pat drifted off for the far end of his cell, speaking to an unseen Pokémon on the other end. After a moment's pause, another voice spoke up and called for attention to a cell to his left followed by chatter as another group of sailors gathered along the wall and listened in. So
that was how they were planning on telling Nida about him. At least he could be confident that she'd find out he was okay…
Pleo turned back to his teammates and sank back on the stone floor as he hung his head. It just felt like one thing after another had been going wrong lately. Even if they had known before going into Gestirn that it wasn't a safe harbor, he hadn't expected them to be attacked before they even
pulled into port…
"I just don't understand why this is happening," the Lugia muttered.
"I guess our colors must've gotten passed along after everything that happened in Tidemill City," Ander sighed. "If news reached
Haipheh when we were there, it would've been more than long enough for it to reach here as well."
Trizano raised his head and paused in thought for a moment, before turning back to the Scyther with a wary murmur.
"I… don't think that it's that simple, Ander," the Skarmory remarked. "When we pulled in, even the townsfolk were upset and attacked us. And I definitely remember that Krookodile from those guards saying that we 'raided' them."
Pleo blinked back at Trizano and cocked his head with a puzzled frown. Now that Trizano mentioned it, he remembered that the Krookodile who led the attack on their ship said something about that, but…
"Wait, but why would they think-?"
A loud pound rang out on the bars right behind Pleo's head, making the Lugia jump forward with a yelp.
"
Halt den Mund, pirate scum!"
Pleo whirled around and saw the hall was much better-lit now, with the Krookodile from earlier standing just outside his cell and pulling a balled-up set of claws back from the iron bars. A Heliolisk and a Mabosstiff walked up to his side, the former holding a lantern filled with blue glow-moss aloft.
He supposed that would explain the extra light. And thanks to it, he became keenly aware of the piercing glares the three guards were leveling down at them.
"This isn't some Juice Bar for you to collaborate with each other as you please!" the Krookodile snarled. "Keep running your mouths off and we'll
gag you until it's time for your trial!"
Pleo and his cellmates shrank back and stared in stunned confusion for a moment. After a moment to gather his nerves, Crom batted his wings and waved his claws with a protesting stammer.
"B-But that's insane!" Crom cried. "We're just a normal merchant crew!"
"
Suuuuure you are,
Shardrago," the Heliolisk scoffed. "That's why half our town square is still being repaired from you sacking and looting it, huh?"
"Yeah,
you know what you did! Don't play dumb with us!" the Mabosstiff spat. "We even got word straight from the Capital about your colors belonging to a pirate crew wanted for high crimes against the crown!"
'A pirate crew wanted for high crimes against the crown'? Just what sorts of things had the Imperials been saying about them after they left Giotto? The six grimaced a moment, wondering if they could even begin to say anything that could potentially explain the full truth to the guards, only for the Heliolisk of the lot to turn his attention over to Pleo. The Electric-Type paused briefly, before turning his snout up and bringing a hand to his chin as he narrowed his eyes at the young Protector.
"Now that you mention it, I could've sworn there was someone mentioned in the report from Giotto
just like that overgrown Wingull there."
Pleo and the others grimaced, and from what they could see of the Pokémon in the other cells, they were similarly on-edge about the guards recognizing him. Did that mean they already knew he was a Protector as well?
Trizano hastily stepped forward and batted out his wings. They needed to change the direction this conversation was going, and
fast.
"Look, this is all just a big misunderstanding," the Skarmory insisted. "I'm sure if we had a chance to explain ourselves, Sheriff-"
"'Robbie'. And a likely story there,
Panzaeron," the Krookodile scoffed. "I suppose you also mean to tell me that your ship's
not the Siglo Swellow and the lot of you aren't from Tromba?"
Trizano paused and let his mouth hang open briefly in indecision. On the one hand, while it seemed like the Krookodile didn't know about Pleo's identity after all, being honest about it could just as easily backfire. For all they knew, they'd be playing right into whatever story the Empire had cooked up about him.
On the
other hand, they hadn't had a chance to prepare a cover story for if they got caught in
Imperial waters, and getting caught in a lie was a sure way to get these guards to assume the worst about them. The Skarmory hesitated and saw a number of others do much the same, when a Sableye from one of the cells across the hall broke the silence.
"Er… well, the '
lot of us' is kinda a broad statement there-" the Sableye began.
"That's the name of our ship! And we
did come from Tromba!"
The Sableye trailed off before he and the others in the nearby cells stared at Pleo, before promptly groaning and burying their faces in frustration. Well, so much for being able to tease out how much the Krookodile knew or not about Tromba. Robbie studied them for a moment, before folding his arms and turning away with a sharp huff.
"I suppose that's what you get for dragging in a bunch of youngsters into your dirty work," the Krookodile huffed. "Since everything you've said so far matches up exactly with the pirate crew that sailed in and raided our town last week!"
Robbie cocked his head back slightly, his eyes narrowed into a withering glare. Whatever hopes the team had had of being able to talk their way out of their situation, it seemed like the Sheriff wasn't having any of it.
"Really, how did you expect us to forget it when you lousy pirates wouldn't
shut up about it during your last raid?" the Krookodile demanded. "If you think that I'm just going to sit back while a bunch of unwashed thugs try to use
my island to make a name for themselves, then you're
sorely mistaken!"
Pleo blinked at the mention of there being a raid last week. But they hadn't been anywhere close to Gestirn at the time! The young Lugia let out a startled squawk, before clinging to the bars with a sharp cry of protest.
"B-But that
couldn't have been us!" Pleo insisted. "We were still on Tromba when you were being raided!"
Robbie gave no reply other than to roll his eyes and turn for the door with an audible scoff. Pleo poked his beak past the bars, desperately pleading for the Krookodile and the other guards to stop and just listen to him for a moment. His pleas fell on deaf ears as the Sheriff put a set of claws on the door, hesitated briefly, and turned back to face the length of the cell block with a sharp harrumph.
"Save it for the trial," Robbie snapped. "The judge is convening urgent hearings for the lot of you tomorrow. It won't be long before you all get your just rewards."
The guards made their way past the door and out of the cell block one by one, Robbie pulling the door shut behind him with an audible
slam that made Pleo and his teammates flinch. The lot traded nervous glances with one another, as worried cries and murmurs went about the rest of the cells. Pleo let his gaze linger on the door out of the cell block for a moment, before he looked over to Crom with a quiet gulp.
"… What are we supposed to do now?"
Crom grimaced and pulled his wings tight against his body. He glanced up at the barred window in the wall and stared blankly as his voice came out in an uneasy murmur.
"I… wish I knew, Pleo."
Elilan thumped his claws against his study's desk and frowned at his guests on the other side. Their meeting had been arranged on relatively short notice, but Sorge was there as usual. Aldrich in spite of still sporting visible bandages over parts of his left wing had also made it, and Ketu had finally secured enough time away from Lyn's ship to meet in person. Why, even Ellsberg had managed to excuse himself from his duties for the day!
And of course Zelle was there too for the second time since yesterday. She'd stopped by once already to arrange their present meeting at the earliest possible time that wouldn't raise any questions. That, and to drop off some "interesting reading material" as she'd told the guards at the gate. To her credit, she wasn't
wrong. It just wasn't enough to soothe the Zoroark's mood right then.
From the ashen expressions of the five Pokémon on the other end of the table, the cause of the Administrator's displeased mood was on everybody's mind: Subject Red. The Pokémon who was the missing linchpin for their goals for Anyilla, for the
Cradle, who had all but slithered up to their front steps.
And here, yet again, he'd eluded their capture. Worse still, Kline’s existence was now public knowledge. Not to mention, they hadn't even managed to capture a single one of the
two other Protectors who had joined forces with him as a consolation. Elilan's posture was stiff and visibly agitated that day, as he brought a claw up to pinch his brow and lingered a moment with a low sigh.
"How on earth did this
happen?" he grumbled.
Ellsberg and the members of Team Sentinel traded hesitant looks with one another. After quietly sucking in his breath, Ellsberg shook his head and composed himself.
"There isn't a good explanation, I'm afraid," the Mothim admitted. "Our initial plans fell through and we were forced to improvise. Not long after that, we were caught off guard and the Protectors got away from us. Simple as that."
Aldrich glanced away and curled his wings in on himself. He hated the idea of coming back empty-handed again, but there wasn't much to be said about what had happened beyond the truth, as unpleasant as it was.
"… None of us were expecting Subject Red to blow his cover and change into one of his stronger Formes, much less
in the middle of the capital," the Noivern added. "We had to make a split-second decision over what target to prioritize in a public battle that would be impossible to keep under wraps. In light of how paramount he is to our goals, we decided to cut Lugia and the Ledger his friends stole loose for the sake of our mission."
Elilan's eyes narrowed briefly, as his muzzle retained its stern, neutral expression. Even so, even a Zubat could've seen the sense of disappointment coming off the Zoroark, as his voice carried a hint of impatience as he spoke again.
"That doesn't explain how he managed to
elude you," Elilan said. "Since this isn't the first time you've engaged Subject Red while he was in that Forme."
There was a moment of silence from Team Sentinel's end of the table, as the four stared ahead unmovingly. Ellsberg was the sole, visible exception, as he nervously studied the glances of the others to try and gauge if the lot of them were in any trouble. After a brief pause, Sorge began to speak in a low, grudging tone.
"We pinned him and his teammates down when Subject Red hit us with a hail of light arrows. His true power awakened while we were recovering and he hit us with Land's Wrath while in that state," the Kommo-o explained, before looking out the window towards a line of damaged buildings in the distance.
"I… don't think I need to remind anyone just how powerful it was. Most of us were able to get to cover, but Ellsberg and Aldrich were caught out in the open and put down for the count," the Dragon-Type insisted. "By the time the dust was settling from the surrounding rubble, he'd transformed back into his Core Forme and was too high and far away in the air with his teammates for the rest of us to do anything on the ground."
"If he hadn't bogged us down with those ground waves right beforehand and slowed our movements, I
still think we could've caught him there," Zelle said.
The Sylveon grit her teeth, before shaking her head with a sharp frown.
"What does that snake think he's going to accomplish, revealing himself to the public like this after so many years?" she huffed. "The rest of the Company knows about him now and the Empire almost certainly will soon as well. And for what? To be able to escape from us
once?"
Elilan paused in thought for a moment as a visible scowl settled over his face and he tightened his claws. It wasn't as angry as Ellsberg had initially feared, but it was still there. A clear sign that the Administrator had been displeased with the turn of events.
"Well, it certainly doesn't make things any easier for
us," Elilan harrumphed. "That said, I would much rather have
our hand to play than his right now."
The Zoroark reached under his table and pulled out a blue object that he set onto its surface. Ellsberg peered down and saw that it was a worn blue tome with a cross-shaped marking on the cover: the volume of the Knights' Ledger that Ketu had stolen from Team Traveller.
A glance back up revealed that Elilan's mood had improved a bit. It wasn't
happy, but he seemed more at peace with the outcome of their attempt at capturing the Protectors than the Mothim had expected.
"Now that neither the Company nor the Empire currently have a portion of the Knights' Ledger of their own to threaten the other with, it gives us a few options for reeling things in if things don't go according to plan," the Zoroark explained. "Even if one of them captures Subject Red before us, at least we'll have an insurance policy we can use to twist their arms and get him back."
Elilan shook his head and looked down at the Ledger, before leveling his eyes back across the table with a small smile.
"While I haven't gotten a chance to look through much of this volume since you brought it in, but I've seen enough from an initial skim to know that Inler is mentioned by name," he remarked. "Its contents will be more than useful for providing us leverage to work with."
The smile curled down into another frown as Elilan's eyes trailed off for a moment. The Zoroark turned his head up and gave a fixed stare across the table, one with a visible sense of immediacy and urgency that quickly rubbed off onto the others.
"Even so, it's better to prevent this contingency plan from being needed in the first place," the Dark-Type said. "We should review what our options are at the moment and plan accordingly."
Sorge and the others on Team Sentinel traded glances with one another. They didn't like the extra layer of difficulty that Kline's stunt had brought them, but it wasn't as if they had
no options to work with. After all, they still had one of their own embedded in the middle of the Company's efforts to seize a Protector.
"Ketu
does still have his position as Lyn's first mate," the Kommo-o offered. "Lyn is still chasing after Lugia and it wouldn't be hard to work that to our advantage. After all, I can't imagine Subject Red wouldn't try to meet up with Lugia again."
Elilan turned his attention over to the Weavile. Ketu pinned his ears back for a moment, before letting out a low sigh. It wasn't a secret that he'd hoped to have washed his claws of Lyn and his mission by now, but…
"Lyn's current strategy involves letting pirates do his dirty work for him. It'll definitely be harder, but there might still be an opening to snatch Lugia out from under him," the Weavile explained. "Since the two are obviously working together now, we could always use Lugia to lure Subject Red back out into the open. And considering Lyn's track record, who knows? Maybe he'll flame out and make our job a bit easier."
"And what do you intend to do about Lyn still suspecting that there's a spy among his crew?" Elilan asked, folding his arms with a quiet frown. "That's hardly a trivial threat to your operations, Ketu."
The Zoroark turned to the rest of Team Sentinel, studying them for a moment before he continued on in a wary tone.
"Are you all
certain you'll still be able to mount an extraction operation for Lugia in these present circumstances?"
Zelle stepped ahead of her peers, flicking her feelers briefly as she shot a small smile at her superior.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. We have a way of turning Lyn's suspicions to our advantage," she insisted. "After all, if he's so adamant on trying to find an Imperial spy, we can always just give him one."
The Zoroark fell silent for a moment, before raising his brow back at the Sylveon.
"… Elaborate?"
"It's Administrator Darzin," Zelle began. "Our initial plans fell through because
he sabotaged our mission. We did some research into his recent activities afterwards and we have reason to believe he may be spying for the Imperials in earnest."
Zelle fished through a satchel and threw out an indigo cloth onto the table. Elilan raised it and smoothed it out, where the single-leaved pattern of an Imperial sailor could be seen as clear as day.
The Zoroark inspected the scarf briefly, before letting it fall back onto the table and shooting a sideways glance back at Team Sentinel’s members.
"… Why didn't you bring this up at the Board meeting?" he demanded.
"We didn't have a solid story to work with yet. After all, mere hearsay won't take Darzin off the board as a competitor," Ketu replied, crossing his arms. "We didn't want to go around slinging accusations without knowing first if he had an alibi."
Aldrich took a step forward as a knowing smirk settled over his face. The Noivern clearly had something in mind for Darzin, though before Elilan could ask further, the Dragon-Type spoke up on his own.
"That's why we were planning on
fixing that," Aldrich said. "To give that fat lump the reward that he deserves. And it might even give us an opening to get more directly involved in Lyn's mission."
The Zoroark said nothing for a moment, before sinking into his seat and resting his muzzle onto the back of his right claw. Elilan trained his eyes and ears on the Noivern and his companions, before speaking up with a small, expectant smile.
"What is it that you all have in mind?" he asked.
"We find out the full story of what Darzin has been up to and then inform Olivia about it. With a few appropriate additions, of course," Sorge replied. "From there, we'd use our free time as agents of the Intelligence Division presently on leave to open an investigation into him."
"One that much to everyone's shock, will wind up being the end of Darzin's career after we discover that he was actively spying for the Imperials," Zelle explained. "It shouldn't be
too hard to get what we need to put that story together, and I already have a few ideas of how we can use it to our advantage."
Elilan paused briefly at the Sylveon's words. After a moment's quiet, he brought his claws onto his desk and leaned in with a small smirk.
"… Go on, Zelle. I'm listening."
"All rise!"
Guardia stiffened up to attention as footsteps rang out further ahead of her. Things over the past night had gone by in a blur, but somehow she never imagined that she'd be back in an Imperial courtroom. The one she, Pleo, Crom, Dimitri, Trizano and Ander had been brought to was built in a long, hall-like structure with wooden walls and a timbered roof. The accommodations were rougher than they had been on Giotto, and a few other things seemed to be different as well. There weren't any lawyers present yet, and the audience was seated behind them with a curious box of seats over to the left.
Even so, there were some things that still felt much the same. Up ahead was the Gardevoir judge settling in behind her podium, with the Lairon bailiff clearing her throat to the judge's left. A sharp tug up forced Guardia to her feet, where she glanced over to see Robbie scowling down at her briefly before heading off to a table opposite of theirs. The Cubone took a moment to glance back towards the box of seats as an Empoleon came in with a blue scarf and a gold design depicting the prongs of a trident. Guardia blinked briefly as the Water-Type sat down, when she saw guards in plates of cerulean armor come in alongside him. She hesitated and sucked in a sharp breath, before turning a worried gape over at her teammates.
"Just how high up is
that Imperial?" Guardia whispered. "Just look at all those Pokémon guarding him!"
Trizano tilted his head and studied the Empoleon briefly, and after spotting the penguin's garb, turned back to Guardia with a low whisper.
"Pretty sure that that's the local Duke," the Skarmory explained. "I don't know what has happened here exactly, but it must've been pretty serious to get him invol-"
"Silence in the court!"
Guardia and her teammates flinched as the sharp rap of a gavel pounding against wood rang out and they looked up to see the Gardevoir behind the podium staring them down with an exhausted, exasperated expression. The Psychic-Type sorted a small stack of notes beside her, and pinched her brow with a tired sigh.
"This is going to be a
long day," the judge grumbled. "Since you are the first lot of…"
The Gardevoir trailed off briefly, before glancing down at a set of notes on her desk. After a moment to read over the runes to herself, the judge turned her attention back over at Team Traveller with a sharp scowl.
"Ten groups due for trial and sentencing today, so let's try to make this quick," she scoffed. "In light of the normal Prosecutor being unable to carry out his duties thanks to injuries from last week's raid, Sheriff Robbie will fill his role today."
"Hrmph, not that I'd have expected it to be hard even if there
had been someone willing to serve as their public defender," Robbie remarked, shaking his head. "Just look at their rap sheet!"
The judge hissed for the sheriff to remain quiet and held her gavel out accusingly, which prompted the Krookodile stiffen up and clamp his jaws shut. As the courtroom returned to silence, the Gardevoir trained a steely glare over at Pleo and his companions and folded her arms.
"I highly doubt anyone present needs any reminders, but you six stand accused of a number of crimes against Her Majesty's realm, not least from when you pulled into port and raided the town square last week," the Gardevoir said. "We're
still repairing damage from that whole episode. Among them, you are facing charges of arson, battery, grand theft lager…"
The Psychic-Type droned along with a list of crimes that seemed to go on and on, as Guardia began to squirm and grow restless. The Cubone turned a glance over towards the evidence table, where there among the evidence were various belongings from their ship. Her bone club, scarves and sailcloth with Company and Valter's patterns, Orbs and Seeds…
But the thing among them most that set her on edge was the red volume of the Knights' Ledger they'd stolen along from Vollezee. Apparently those secret compartments weren't as well-hidden as Beatrix and Vicente had hoped.
Guardia growled under her breath, fuming to herself that if only she had her club, she could give their captors a stiff swat. She hadn't thought far enough about what she'd do afterwards, but it'd surely be better than just waiting around tied up like this!
The Cubone was jolted back to attention by a sharp thump against wood, which made her flinch with a start. Guardia whirled and looked up with a dirty scowl, only to freeze as she saw Robbie glaring over at her from the Prosecutor's table with bared fangs.
"Oi! At least
try to pretend you're paying attention here!" he growled. "Just because you don't have a public defender doesn't mean your charges magically go away!"
Guardia followed the Krookodile's claw back towards the judge's podium, where she spotted the Gardevoir giving a scowl sharp enough that it looked like it could break hide. The judge let her withering glare linger for a brief moment, before continuing on with a forceful huff.
"And worst of all,
kidnapping a Protector," the Gardevoir finished. "How do you all plead?"
The courtroom fell silent for a moment, before uneasy chatter began to float around. Guardia looked about and saw that the spectators in the audience were trading puzzled looks with one another. Even Robbie seemed taken aback, as he glanced at the Cubone and her teammates and then back at the judge with a quirked brow.
"… 'Kidnapping a Protector'?" the Krookodile murmured. "Wait,
those were the high crimes against the crown they committed?"
"I realize you've had your claws full lately, but it
was in the report submitted from Giotto, Sheriff Robbie," the judge explained. "A crew from Tromba with white sails and a blue waterspout pattern…"
The Gardevoir trailed off and let her mouth hang open as her gavel slipped from her hand. She stared at Pleo for a lingering moment, when her eyes widened in visible shock.
"Who had abducted a bird with features resembling a Wingull or a Swanna, with a long neck and silvery white feathers…"
Guardia noticed that the courtroom had fallen deathly quiet as the color also seemed to have drained from Robbie's face. A glance back at the audience in the courtroom revealed that everyone was focused on Pleo in a moment of stunned silence, which was at last broken by the Lairon Bailiff raising a forepaw with a startled stammer.
"W-Why, that description is exactly the same as that strange bird among them!" she cried.
The courtroom at once burst into an uproar, with some members of the audience wondering aloud how poorly the guards must've read that report to not realize one of the "pirates" had a description matching a kidnapped Protector, while others questioned if the strange bird could truly be a Protector, with one loudly dismissing the idea as ridiculous since: "when had anyone ever heard of a 'pirate Protector?'" The harsh pound of a gavel against wood rang out, as the judge cleared her throat and cried out over the din.
"Order! Order in the court!"
Pleo glanced over at Robbie, who as impossible as it seemed, appeared to have turned an even
deeper shade of red, as he set his teeth on edge in an embarrassed grimace. The Krookodile shook his head and hurriedly made his way towards Pleo and quickly began to undo his bindings.
"I… think that I'm just going to leave this part out of the official report," the sheriff remarked. "Let's just hurry and get you out of that defendant's box and pretend this never-"
"B-But I wasn't kidnapped!" Pleo exclaimed "These are my friends!"
A stunned silence lingered in the air as everyone in the room, guard and spectator alike, stared at the young Protector. From the side, Ander and Crom traded uneasy glances with one another, as the Druddigon pinned his wings behind his back with a low murmur.
"I don't get it, how could this have
happened?" Crom wondered. "It's like someone knew our sail patterns and went out of their way to cause trouble in them!"
Ander blinked when it dawned on them. The Iron Fleet
had raided the Siglo Swellow not long after it had left port from Kenobi and made off with a good chunk of the supplies they had.
In that case…
"Now that you mention it,
is that really so implausible?" Ander asked. "Since we
did have a set of sails stolen a while back, and the Iron Fleet was even wearing our colors on Gio-"
"To answer your earlier question, but we plead not guilty, of course!"
Ander and his teammates peered over and saw Trizano taking to the stand. The Skarmory attempted to bat his wings out for dramatic effect, only to find that their bindings kept them firmly at his sides. After a brief moment of flustered embarrassment, Trizano composed himself, and settled for turning his beak up dramatically.
"As you can see, the truth of the matter's a bit more complicated than what you've heard! You have our deepest sympathies for the raid your town endured, but there's been a case of mistaken identity!" he insisted. "After all, Trizano the Immortal may be a dashing wanderer, but a
pirate? Perish the thought! It'd sully the wings of a defender of the weak such as myself!"
The Pokémon in the audience murmured, most of them shooting unimpressed glances and scoffs back, with even the Krookodile sheriff grumbling about how Trizano was trying too hard. But there among the crowd, a Graveler with black crystals and a Naclstack in matching scarves and glinting badges pinned to them blinked briefly. The pair studied the Skarmory closer for a moment, before the Graveler had a flash of realization and stood up, pointing off at the Immortal with a startled cry.
"Hey wait a minute, we had a
Panzaeron just like that come by our guild a few months ago!" the Graveler exclaimed.
"Yeah, one with the same theatrical streak and everything!" the Naclstack added. "And he was nothing but nice the last time he was around!"
The other Pokémon in the audience stared at the pair and then at each other, a few voices beginning to wonder aloud whether or not the strange, theatrical bird on the stand might
actually be telling the truth. Others remained unimpressed, including the town's Krookodile sheriff, who shook his head and folded his arms in reply.
"Hrmph, you're all acting as if a pirate crew's never fielded a scout before!" Robbie scoffed. "For all we knew, that
Panzaeron there was out there chumming it up with you before flying right back to his friends with tips of where to strike!"
"… That's right, actually," the judge remarked. "It wouldn't be too difficult to dispatch a flying scout from that caravel of theirs."
Crom blinked for a moment. A 'caravel'? He didn't think that one would look
that similar to the Siglo Swellow, since its sails were shaped differently from a caravel's, but even so, that couldn't possibly be right.
"Wait, hold on. We sailed in on a
schooner!" the Dragon-Type protested. "So what's this about a caravel?"
This time, it was the guards that found the Druddigon's remark strange. The Mabosstiff with Robbie wondered aloud whether or not 'those pirates last week
had come on a caravel, right?', which his Heliolisk peer insistently affirmed. Robbie himself seemed to waver a bit over the testimony, but even so, the judge remained unmoved, as she idly bandied about her gavel and clicked her tongue.
"That's hardly proof of your innocence there," the Gardevoir scoffed. "After all, it's not unheard of for different pirate ships to share colors and the Pokémon that raided us were
very adamant that they hailed from Tromba."
Dimitri tilted his head skeptically at the judge's comment, only to pause as he realized something about her argument wasn't adding up. At once, the Kabutops shot up from his seat and opened his mouth in protest.
"Because they're obviously trying to frame us!" Dimitri insisted. "If that was really us who raided you, why would we come back so soon? With a damaged ship, no less? What sort of pirates would take
that sort of risk?"
The judge seemed to hesitate after that argument, and Robbie didn't have any quick rebuttal to it either. In the meantime, the audience remained silent afterwards beyond a few puzzled whispers, the bulk of it unsure what to make of the odd discrepancy. Sensing that he and his teammates had gotten a chance to plead their case, Ander stepped forward and joined his teammate.
"And what kind of Pokémon were even part of the raiding crew, anyways?" Ander asked. "If we're from the same band of pirates, surely there'd
some Pokémon from last time present with us, right?"
"I'm sure that a deeper comparison would turn up some matches, but I'll humor your request," the judge scoffed. "That ship was captained by an Aggron, and there were reports of a Floatzel leading a team that raided the brewery…"
The Gardevoir carried on with a list of other Pokémon that had been spotted wearing their colors during the raid by various locals: Charmeleon and Vileplume, Sealeo and Noibat, Ledian and Hoppip… Crom's mouth flopped open in disbelief as the judge continued on. He was pretty sure he knew who the culprit was from just 'Aggron and Floatzel', but the others left no room for doubt:
"Wait a minute, that really
is the Iron Fleet!" Crom exclaimed. "How on earth would
they have gotten the idea to frame us?!"
Trizano bit his tongue and wavered briefly. Yes, everything about the explanation made sense, except for the fact that it depended on the
Iron Fleet to come up with the scheme. The same crew that had managed to bumble onto Pioppo from getting themselves lost in the Cradle. He didn't have an explanation for how on earth they'd had the sudden flash of brilliance, but every contradiction they'd turned up, everything that they'd learned, it all pointed towards them being the culprit.
And the Skarmory thought that he knew exactly what sort of argument to plead their innocence with in light of it.
"Your Honor, don't you find it strange that there is so little overlap in species between our two crews?" Trizano asked. "I mean, if we were from the same crew of pirates who attacked you, why would we want our teammates to get all the loot and not have any for ourselves?"
"And more importantly, if we didn't bring a Protector we allegedly kidnapped
then, why would we do it
now?" Guardia insisted.
Hushed whispers went about the courtroom as the Pokémon in the audience began to comment over the trial's unexpected turn with each other:
"Sounds like Robbie won't have to do a lot of work cross-examining today."
"The
Tragosso does have a point…"
"Sounds too convenient. What if it's all an elaborate ruse?"
The Gardevoir judge paused and set down her gavel as she pinched her brow and seemed to waver briefly. She put her hand back down before staring back at Team Traveller's members in genuine confusion.
"But if those pirates
weren't you or allies of yours…" the Psychic-Type said. "Then who-?"
A distant
boom, almost like thunder suddenly rang out. And then another, and another. A few members of the audience got up, trading worried glances and chatter when the courtroom filled with the sharp slam of the chamber's doors being thrown open. There at the entrance was a Yanma in indigo garb flying up wide-eyed and in a visible panic. She flitted in place briefly, fighting against tired pants as she motioned to the judge and stammered out in alarm.
"Y-Your Honor! The pirates are back!" the Yanma exclaimed. "And they've brought reinforcements this time!"
Startled yelps and cries went about, Team Traveller's members freezing and feeling their blood run cold as the audience hastily cleared out of the room. The judge stared on in shock for a moment, before hastily banging her gavel against the podium and turning to Robbie with a visibly unnerved grimace.
"Court is adjourned!" the Gardevoir ordered. "Sheriff Robbie, get these Pokémon back to their cells and report to the harbor immediately!"
The Krookodile hurried over and pushed Pleo along out of the defendant's box as a small party of guards hastily dragged off his companions. The young Protector squawked in protest, only to see the Heliolisk from earlier gather up the trial evidence and hastily shove it into a satchel. He couldn't just let the guards take that! Or treat his friends like this! Or-!
"Come on! We don't have all day here!"
Pleo yelped and squirmed after feeling a set of claws hurriedly prodding at him. The Lugia craned his head over his shoulder, where he saw the Krookodile sheriff behind him scowling down impatiently.
"We'll sort this out sometime when I
don't have a bunch of smelly raiders to push back into the sea!" Robbie barked.
The guards hurried Pleo and his companions along, with Robbie staying at the Lugia's side to personally escort him. Things seemed to go by in a blur as Pleo and his companions were whisked amid alarmed shouts through a back entrance past the judge's podium. A set of wooden hallways and stairs flew by in his vision before Pleo found himself in a stone room on the ground floor in front of a door that led to outside. One after the other, the lot made their way past the exit, where they stopped to try and gather their bearings.
Behind them was the stone base of the courthouse, with its timbered upper levels and gabled wooden roof above it. The rest of the town filled in front of them, the sound of distant booms prompting Pleo to turn his head towards the sea when he abruptly froze.
There, past the pointed rooftops and the occasional structure styled after a Pokémon's head, he saw trails of smoke curling up in the distance and heard crashes and faraway shouts. Sounds much like when Hess and the Iron Fleet had come to Tromba for the first time, except they were much louder and more frequent. He couldn't get a clear view of the ships or their sails past the rooftops, but just from the number of masts poking over them, it didn't seem like the pirates had only come with one ship this time…
Pleo snapped back to attention after feeling claws roughly drag him along. He fought to keep his footing and looked up to see Robbie tugging him, his teammates similarly getting pulled along by other guards. A quick glance revealed they still hadn't been unbound all this time, prompting Pleo to squawk and bat his wings out in protest as he turned to the Krookodile sheriff with a startled stammer.
"W-Wait! But we're on the same side here!" the Lugia insisted. "If you untie my friends, we can help you fight!"
"I just said we'd sort this out
after this was over," the Krookodile huffed. "Raid or no raid, I'm not about to blindly trust a bunch of wanted 'mons with-!"
"There they are!"
Before Robbie could finish his words, a jet of water abruptly zipped in and struck the ground before them, sending the lot diving out of the way. From the ground, Pleo looked skywards, where at once he noticed a Bombirdier in a teal, swirl-patterned scarf pass overhead—one who was clinging to a feathery apron with a similarly-garbed Azumarill latched onto her back. The bird let her chest feathers droop, revealing a peach-colored sphere that fell loose and towards the ground much to Pleo's horror, as he quickly realized that the orb was…
"Ack! Th-That's a Slumber Orb!"
Pleo hurriedly beat his wings together and blew a gust of wind at the Slumber Orb, sending it veering off course just enough for it to shatter against the side of a building further down the street. Robbie's underlings noticed the emerging peach haze, and hurriedly withdrew, dragging the others along with them as they fell back from the sleep-inducing clouds spreading in front of them.
Much to Pleo's relief, the peach clouds stalled and began to dissipate, only for the sound of wingbeats all around him to alert him to the return of the Bombirdier… along with a number of others who'd joined in: a Toucannon with a riding blue Meowstic in orange garb, and a Braviary with a Perrserker and Morpeko riding wearing red. The three Flying-Types stopped briefly on the ground to each let their riders off as Team Traveller braced themselves. The pirates collectively approached, all of them snarling and visibly ready for battle, with the Braviary spreading his wings menacingly.
"Hrmph, so much for the element of surprise," the Braviary harrumphed. "Though no matter. This shouldn't take too long to deal with."
"Mop up those Imps!" the Perrserker shouted. "If we nab that bird, this mission's over with!"
The Perrserker brought his claws together into dagger-like blades and lunged ahead with a frenzied cry. Pleo hurriedly jumped back as Robbie stepped in with a sideways chop of his claw and threw the pirate to the ground. Any respite proved short-lived as the other pirates swiftly descended on him, prompting the other guards to rush in to try and stop them. From the side, Ander attempted to scrabble away towards a nearby shopfront as a Mabosstiff from the guards tumbled along the ground in front of him. The Mabosstiff quickly rolled back onto his feet and charged off as Ander backed into something stony. The Marked Scyther flinched briefly and looked over to see Dimitri was behind him, the Kabutops bringing his wrists up against the tips of his blades.
"Dimitri? What are you-?"
"Just hold still for a moment!" the Kabutops insisted.
"Leave our friend alone!"
Ander and Dimitri looked further down the street to see the Bombirdier and Azumarill being bogged down by Crom and Guardia desperately trying to interfere in spite of their bindings. Crom attempted to spit up a Dragon Rage, only for the Bombirdier to jump away while Guardia rammed into the Azumarill with a Headbutt that threw him off balance.
"Gah! Annoying little runt!" the Water-Type snarled. "Clearly I'm going to need to beat a message through that thick head of yours!"
The Azumarill summarily threw Guardia to the ground with a yelp. Dimitri and Ander blanched as the Azumarill pinned Guardia and readied a jet of water in his mouth, when a sharp squawk rang out from further to the left.
"Stop it! Get away from them!"
A brilliant yellow bolt sailed across the lane and knocked the Azumarill off, stray sparks settling on Guardia's scales as she hurriedly scrabbled away to safety. Pleo ran in, beating his wings in a vain attempt to try and get airborne when the Bombirdier abruptly dropped down with a tackle that trailed dark flecks in its wake. The blow sent the young Protector stumbling back as the pirate snatched the Lugia's King's Rock from under his scarf. Ander watched as Pleo cried out in alarm, when the Scyther was snapped back to attention by weight tugging against his scythes. A glance back revealed Dimitri continuing to try and free himself as the ropes started to visibly fray.
"Come on… come on…"
Dimitri gave a pair of stiff tugs against the tips of Ander's scythes, only for the Kabutops' bindings to hold. At last, with the third tug, the ropes gave way, flinging aside lengths of cut rope as his scythes freed up.
"Alright, lemme get those ropes off of you!" the Kabutops insisted "Hang in there for a second!"
Dimitri brought his scythes down over the top of Ander's bindings, giving a pair of forceful hacks before they too gave way and freed the Scyther. Ander shook feeling back into his limbs with a low grunt, as Dimitri motioned off at Trizano ducking and weaving a small ways away.
"Focus on untying everyone else! We need to get out of-!"
Dimitri cut himself off after a flash of purple light came from the direction of the guards' battle. The Kabutops hastily pulled Ander to the ground just as an errant Psybeam punched a fresh mark into the plaster of the wall behind them.
"H-Help!
Help!"
A squawking cry came from further up the street, where they saw the Bombirdier dropping rocks onto Pleo from a passing flyby. The young Lugia recoiled and fell to the ground, when the pirate swooped down after him. The Bombirdier descended onto the young Lugia, pinning him as he squawked and thrashed to try and break free. An indignant glint came over Dimitri's eyes, the Kabutops brandished his scythes as he cast a brief glance to Ander over his shoulder.
"Free up Trizano and anyone else you can!" he insisted. "I'll handle this one!"
Dimitri shot forward and beelined for the Bombirdier just as she readied her beak to try and jab at Pleo with a sharp peck. Water began to wreath Dimitri's scythes and he let out a loud hiss as he closed the distance with the Flying-Type.
"Not so fast, pirate!"
The Kabutops threw his scythe forward and caught the Bombirdier in her chest. The pirate flew back, hitting a nearby wall with spluttering chokes as she struggled to get up. A Rock Slide swiftly cut off her attempts, knocking her back onto the ground amidst a wall now pockmarked with stray stones.
Dimitri panted as skidding footsteps against the path's gravel rang out, prompting him to turn alongside his companions over to the Azumarill. The Water-Type pirate stiffened up and went wide-eyed after seeing he was now outnumbered, looking back at his peers fighting in the background with a frantic wave.
"H-Hey!
Guys!" the Azumarill whined. "H-Help me out over-!"
A sudden flash of green cut the pirate off mid-cry as Ander shot forward with a cross-shaped slash of his scythes. The Azumarill yelped and rolled along the ground, the Water-Type uneasily righting himself and attempting to struggle up as Trizano dropped down from a jumping Aerial Ace from above. The pirate crumpled to the ground and went limp under the Skarmory's talons, letting out a weak groan as the Steel-Type stepped off of him and glanced at his teammates where he saw Crom and Guardia rubbing at their newly freed wrists.
"That ought to buy us a little time," Trizano said. "Quick! Let's get to cover before the others notice!"
Ander and Dimitri hurried off with Crom and Guardia for the shelter of a corner alley, Pleo taking a moment to hurriedly snatch his King's Rock back from the ground before following suit alongside Trizano. The six hurriedly hunkered down behind the wall as the sounds of raging battle and the occasional crack of splintering wood rang out from the street outside. A pall came over the group as Crom leaned against the wall to catch his breath, the Druddigon turning with startled, widened eyes over to his teammates.
"Wh-What do we do now?" he gulped.
"Yeah! My bone and our Ledger's just sitting in the middle of that battle!" Guardia cried. "We
need those if we're going to get out of here!"
Trizano attempted to peek about the corner, only to hurriedly pull his head back as a bolt of electricity zipped in and struck the wall just above him. The Skarmory clenched his beak briefly, before glancing at his teammates with an emphatic beat of his clipped wings.
"We need to cause a distraction of some sort!" he insisted. "If we can buy some time to free our friends back at that prison, we can dig in against these pirates!"
Pleo sucked in tired, startled breaths as he tried to size up the battlefield. There were pirates and guards fighting just ahead of them, and pirates and guards fighting to the left. A low groan turned his attention rightwards, where just a few steps from their hiding place, he spotted the Bombirdier twitching weakly from beneath the remains of Dimitri's Rock Slide. Just next to her was a bag with its contents spilling out, which included the familiar golden shine of a Luminous Orb. Pleo hurriedly darted out and snatched the Orb in his wings, before calling out to his companions further behind.
"Everyone, close your eyes!"
Pleo screwed his eyes shut and dashed the Luminous Orb to the ground, as a brilliant light erupted. Yelps and a couple startled cries of 'My eyes!' rang out, and as the light subsided, Pleo warily cracked his own open. At once, he discovered that both pirate and guard alike were stunned and lurching about in a daze—including the Heliolisk with the evidence from earlier, who'd tripped and dropped his bag into the street.
It was just the opportunity Pleo and his companions needed. At once, Crom tore out into the street and hurriedly snatched the Heliolisk's evidence bag before the group took off running. From the corner of his eyes, Pleo saw a Morpeko in red garb coming to as they ran off, the pirate shaking his head and pointing after them.
"Hey! They're getting away!" the Morpeko cried.
A hail of pointed stones shot forward and sent the Electric-Type flying back in its wake. Pleo briefly glimpsed back and saw Robbie taking the pirate's place as the roar of renewed battle rang out. The young Lugia flinched from the sound of shouts and splintering wood, before he opted not to stay and see what happened, hurriedly lowering his head and running forward.
The surroundings flew by in a blur afterwards, with the streets and buildings blending together outside of brief moments to stop and reorient themselves when Trizano or one of their older teammates would point them off towards the stone walls of the garrison where the others were being held prisoner. All the while, everyone couldn't help but notice that the shouts and growls of battling Pokémon kept growing louder in the background.
"Hold on! That's it up there!"
Dimitri motioned for a stop with a scythe as the six reached a lane approaching the garrison, which was now sporting fresh patches of missing shingles on its roof but otherwise much to their relief, appeared to still be standing in one piece. The group hurriedly took cover beside an alcove, as Guardia warily studied the garrison and then turned back to her teammates.
"So what's the plan for getting everyone out?" she asked. "Last I checked, there were a bunch of metal doors in the way inside!"
"There should be keys for the cells in there!" Trizano explained. "If we can get to them, it should just be a matter of letting everyone out and-!"
"Ack! Watch out!" Crom shouted.
A sudden, brilliant beam of white light zipped in and sliced into the wall behind Pleo, kicking up a spray of dust and plaster as he and his companions dove for cover. The Lugia yelped and blindly ran off for the mouth of a nearby alleyway to the left with his head held low. He crossed the threshold just as several large stones smashed into the corner and its surroundings. Pleo panted a moment under a set of cloth awnings and tried to regain his bearings, looking to his left to see Crom, Trizano and Ander similarly winded and gasping for air.
He looked back towards the mouth of the alleyway as a violet, toxic-looking glob sailed past the exit. The Lugia recoiled and shivered as the poison dripped down the wall at the alley's exit, but couldn't make out any sign of someone being in the street beyond feeling a few thumps coming from the distance. He looked towards his teammates to ask if they knew what was going on, when his eyes shrank to pins and his beak flopped open with a moment of startled realization:
They were missing two of their teammates.
"A-Ah! Where's Guardia and Dimitri?!" Pleo cried. "We need to go back for them!"
"You can hide all you want, but you're just prolonging the inevitable!"
Pleo turned from his friends and back to the mouth of the alleyway to see a hulking Tyrantrum and a Seviper leading a host of other Pokémon in orange garb prowling forward and already passing the first of the alley's awnings. Without thinking, the Lugia brought his wings together and threw a churning Whirlwind at the pirates, knocking Tarquin his feet and into some of his underlings behind. The Seviper next to him spat up another glob of poison, only for Trizano to step in front of Pleo and block it with his wing. Crom hurriedly breathed out a Dragon Rage over the Seviper's head, only for her to duck out of the way. The Seviper let out a dismissive scoff in reply, brandishing her bladed tail with a mocking sneer.
"Hah! Work on your aim, you little-!"
The Seviper's jeer was suddenly cut off by the cloth awning from above creaking and falling onto her, the snake groping about underneath the cloth and thrashing her tail with a furious hiss. Pleo and his companions didn't bother to wait to see what became of her or Tarquin and took off running as cries of "They're over there!" rang out from behind them. Pleo's heart sank as the shouts just kept coming and coming. How many pirates were they even
dealing with here?!
"Up there!" Ander exclaimed. "To the right!"
Pleo and his companions rounded a corner around an upcoming intersection, coming across another alley with empty boxes heaped up against a fence. The four hurriedly clambered up the containers and vaulted over, Ander kicking the boxes over before making his way up himself. From there, the four ran down twisting alleys that went by one after the other as they climbed up away from the sea and towards trees in the distance that grew taller as they neared. All the while, the only life to be seen around them consisted of the occasional glimpse of Pokémon timidly peeking out of their windows.
After what felt like an eternity, the four spotted a sunlit path up ahead and came across a road that headed out into hilly fields and forests further inland. The dull boom of cannonfire rang out in the background, prompting the lot to turn back towards the sea as their jaws slackened at what they saw:
Plumes of smoke curled up from Starpeak Square's harbor as the distant din of battle continued to ring in their ears. The skies were choked with indistinct shapes pursuing each other, and brilliant beams occasionally streaked through the air and between rooftops. The state of the harbor was just as unsettling. The little bay was choked with so many ships that for a second Pleo thought that all of Rosequartz Town had come over: the brilliant gold-and-silvers of the Iron Fleet, red sails, blue ones, oranges like the scarves the Tyrantrum and Seviper had, and others he'd never seen before…
They just kept going on and on. Pleo stared out blankly at the chaos in the distance, where his friends and a whole town of Pokémon they had just started to proving their innocence to were. Except they were at the edge of everything, unable to make a difference to help them again.
The Lugia felt a nudge at his shoulder and saw Trizano looking down at him. The Skarmory lingered briefly, before glancing up towards the sea himself and then turning back to Pleo with a low sigh.
"As much as I hate to say this, there's nothing we can do for them right now, Pleo," Trizano said. "We're better off finding someplace to hide and regroup so we can try to fight these pirates off when we're better prepared."
The four flinched as a loud boom rang out and a plume of dust rose from a cluster of buildings about halfway between them and the coastline. Just how deep into town were those pirates getting by now? Ander turned his head up as he briefly glimpsed scattered Pokémon flying overhead for the edges of town, and even a few fleeting figures further up the road hurriedly darting from one back road to the next for the fields and forests.
On the one hand, that was a sign that the pirates hadn't encircled the town if others were fleeing into the hinterlands. But the very fact that others were
doing that and not opting to stay in their homes…
"I don't like the looks of our odds trying to hide here," Ander gulped. "Come on, we should be able to lie low in those forests outside of town!"
Nobody argued Ander's point as he hurried along the path and slipped off into a quieter back road. Pleo darted after him with his head hung low, briefly glimpsing back down towards the sea as he fought back a lump in his throat.
He was supposed to be a Protector. To be there for his friends when they needed him most. So why were his powers not there to help him make a difference?
Would his powers even be enough after they weren't on Vollezee?
And why did he find himself having to leave his friends behind yet again?
Author's Notes:
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Halt den Mund! - German: "Shut your mouth!" / "Shut up!"
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Shardrago - German: "Druddigon"
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Panzaeron - German: "Skarmory"
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Tragosso - German: "Cubone"
as salt in the wound, but we’ll let Review!Alvise and the gang have a bit of a break here.
and tearing it to shreds à la Nia in XC2.
